Volume One: The Millennium Stream Chapter 33: The Game of Strategy

Sun Zikai did not care how the situation outside the house would conclude. He walked inside, set up a copper hot pot, and lit the fire right there in the courtyard. He spread out the beef, mutton, and fish provided by the inner and outer sect disciples on the table, prepared the dipping sauce, and began to eat and swish the meat with Jiang Yujin and Feng Yueyi, enjoying a moment of leisure.

About an hour later, the commotion outside the gate ceased, though voices could still be heard from beyond the wall from time to time.

"Brother, you're amazing!"
"I support you."
"Big brother, if you run out of meat, just say the word! I'll bring you some every day!"
...

Jiang Yujin scalded her tongue on the meat and chided, "You act so high-profile; you’re bound to implicate the gatekeepers."

Sun Zikai, who loved mutton most of all, finished a dish of sauce in three swipes of his chopsticks. While devouring the food, he replied vaguely, "It was all my master's idea. I just do whatever my master says."

"You're lying!" Jiang Yujin exposed him. "Even my master finds it strange. Sect Leader Fu Zhe is steady by nature and would never do such a thing. I guessed at once that it was your idea. For a guy like you who speaks of nothing but freedom, nothing you do is surprising."

Feng Yueyi, who had never eaten hot pot before, slapped the table in excitement. "The way you people from Linghou eat is truly wonderful! We could catch some wild game from the Xian Garden, chop it up, and throw it in, too."

"Huh?" Jiang Yujin asked. "I heard that's not allowed. Doesn't the Beast Sect forbid outsiders from hunting their beasts?"

"That applies to you lot. My master is a foodie and often catches wild game to taste... Oops!" Feng Yueyi covered her mouth. "I didn't say anything just now; you didn't hear anything."

Sun Zikai sighed, stood up, and leaped directly into the Xian Garden from the west. Before long, he returned carrying three rabbits. After cleaning, skinning, and gutting them, he ignited flames in his hands, and in no time, they were roasted—exactly one for each of them.

Feng Yueyi was dumbfounded, exclaiming, "Brother Kai, your execution is just too efficient."

Sun Zikai buried his head in the mutton, eating three bowls without stopping. Covered in sweat, he sighed that there was no wine to drink.

Twenty breaths later, twelve-year-old Ru Nan stood on the roof of the east house. Feng Yueyi beckoned her down to eat, but Ru Nan had come for Sun Zikai. She asked cautiously, "Senior Brother Sun, what is your cultivation realm?"

"Can't you feel it?" Sun Zikai countered. "Anyone can see that I am at the first stage of Qi Refining."

"Do you possess any unique secret arts?"

"I have my own methods. It wasn't that hard to beat Ma Yuhong. He’s just a show-off, propped up by medicine. No need to fear him."

"I see..." Ru Nan appeared troubled. The fact that Ma Yuhong had been defeated was something she could not yet accept. In a short time, the inner and outer sects had spread the news so wildly that it even overshadowed the incident of Ma Dairan's gate being smashed.

"Come down and eat!" Sun Zikai invited.

"Uh, no thank you, Senior Brother Sun," Ru Nan waved her hand and left.

After she was gone, Sun Zikai remarked, "I was a bit too high-profile. I should have just fought him to a draw; at least I shouldn't have made it so outrageous."

"You clearly did it on purpose," said Jiang Yujin, who had spent over a year with him and knew him best. "You are never impulsive. Everything is under your rational control. Why did you do it?"

Sun Zikai replied, "I didn't want to hold back against the Ma family. If it weren't for the safety of Ansheng Pass and the people of the fourteen cities, that palm strike would have severed his head."

At that moment, a voice echoed in the courtyard, "It is fortunate that you did not."

Sun Zikai was startled, as he had not sensed any energy or life force approaching. The visitor was none other than the Sect Leader, Cui Qingrui.

Cui Qingrui stroked his beard, smiling as he appraised the three of them. They immediately rose and knelt to pay their respects. Cui Qingrui looked at the bubbling copper pot and said, "Add another set of bowls and chopsticks."

And so, the four of them sat around the pot, swishing meat.

Cui Qingrui's arrival certainly had a reason. Sun Zikai felt that something was bound to happen. The last time he had intentionally used his true strength against Cui Qingrui, a man of such high cultivation, he must have noticed something suspicious.

Sure enough, Cui Qingrui dipped his meat in the sauce and asked casually, "Have you ever heard of Han Lei?"

Sun Zikai's chopsticks paused for a moment before moving again in the pot. Neither Jiang Yujin nor Feng Yueyi had heard of him. Sun Zikai said calmly, "I have. When we three first came to the sect, it was Elder Han Lei who met us at the South Gate."

Jiang Yujin whispered to him, "Oh? He's the one?"

Cui Qingrui said, "Indeed. He took a piece of gold from you, saved up enough capital, and went off to the city to become a wealthy landlord."

Jiang Yujin murmured an acknowledgment, not knowing what to say. Cui Qingrui glanced at Sun Zikai and said nonchalantly, "Alas, he didn't enjoy his fortune for long. He died a miserable death."

Jiang Yujin was surprised. "He wasn't very old. Was he ill?"

"Coming from the Medicine Sect, what illness could he possibly have? He was tracked down by enemies." Cui Qingrui made a throat-slitting gesture, then picked up a piece of fish and dipped it in sauce.

Jiang Yujin murmured again, but she lowered her head and subconsciously looked at Sun Zikai, catching his gaze. Her brows knit together. She remembered that Sun Zikai had bought Ansheng Residence for one hundred taels, and he had told her the silver came from Han Lei's home. Could it be...

Sun Zikai, aware of her thoughts, set down his bowl and chopsticks and said calmly, "You two, go buy some wine."

Feng Yueyi, quick to read the room, agreed immediately. She stood up, pulled Jiang Yujin along to bow to Cui Qingrui, and hurried out the gate.

Once they were gone, Sun Zikai picked up his utensils and continued eating. Cui Qingrui dropped the act, his tone turning colder. "Young man, you were too ruthless. Even for revenge, there was no need to implicate so many innocent lives."

Sun Zikai said, "As expected of the Sect Leader. Things the Ma family couldn't find, you have investigated clearly."

"You underestimate the Ma family," Cui Qingrui said. "I have already hidden the Kuiying couple, as well as their children in Linghou."

Sun Zikai stood up immediately and kowtowed to Cui Qingrui. "Thank you, Sect Leader."

Cui Qingrui continued eating, his hands and mouth never stopping. "I have also spoken to the gatekeepers and sent a few trusted subordinates. At the very least, they won't let the Ma family kill them in broad daylight."

Sun Zikai kowtowed three more times. "Thank you, Sect Leader."

Cui Qingrui closed his eyes, savoring the food. After a long while, he spoke, "Did you really kill Han Lei?"

"Yes. Every soul in the house, I beheaded. I left no living thing, not even cats or dogs," Sun Zikai said flatly.

"You are too violent, child. If you take revenge in this way, your sins are even heavier than those of the Ma family."

"That is from your perspective," Sun Zikai replied. "You can examine the degree of evil objectively from a third-party perspective, and your conclusion will certainly be the most just and reasonable. But for me, who was in the midst of it, no sin could ever outweigh the humiliation my parents suffered. Killing his whole family? I only regret that I killed them too quickly, preventing them from suffering greater pain."

Cui Qingrui felt deeply disappointed by Sun Zikai's attitude. In truth, he understood the reason; he had long since investigated the boy's past. A vagrant at five, fighting adult barbarians at seven—in this child's world, killing had become a way of processing problems. The books he studied most were medical texts, which contained no concepts of righteousness, shame, or moral philosophy; his methods leaned closer to the primitive instincts of living beings.

"Follow Fu Zhe and learn more of his ways of conducting himself. Your current temperament is not conducive to cultivation."

"Yes."

Cui Qingrui asked again, "How did you manage to kill Han Lei?"

"Caught him off guard, a sneak attack. The others were all mortals; they were easy to kill."

"You're lying. You didn't need a sneak attack." Cui Qingrui pointed his chopsticks at Sun Zikai. "You truly have the strength to kill him. Although I still find it hard to believe, every moment you make me feel that you are strong—incomprehensibly strong. That day... you nearly killed me."

Sun Zikai did not reply, his face flushed. Cui Qingrui looked at him suspiciously. "You're not going to refute me? You're quite brazen."

Sun Zikai said calmly, "I promised my master that I would not kill anyone at will, except for the Ma family. If my master had answered that day that I could kill, I might have truly harbored the intent to kill you."

"Boy," Cui Qingrui stared at him, "what makes you think you can kill me?"

"If I were to kill you now, I certainly couldn't do it, because no one knows how strong I am; that is why I can catch people off guard. That is why I said I always win through sneak attacks."

Cui Qingrui was silent for a moment, then his brows lifted and killing intent flared. Sun Zikai clenched his fists, his heart taut. An invisible force had just swept across his entire body; had Cui Qingrui been serious, Sun Zikai would have been torn to pieces. It was almost impossible to block.

Sun Zikai immediately realized the gap in strength between him and a Golden Core cultivator.

Cui Qingrui sighed, "Truly a weakling, yet you possess the actual ability to kill the strong. Does your power come from innate talent or acquired cultivation?"

"Acquired cultivation," Sun Zikai answered truthfully. "No one taught me to cultivate, so I could only refine my body and seek another path. My current strength is thousands of times that of an adult man. A momentary burst of power can kill the strong."

"That sounds like alarmist talk, yet I have to believe it," Cui Qingrui said. "Child, you are a genius of cultivation. You have effectively pioneered a new path; you are enough to be remembered through the ages."

Cui Qingrui added, "If the Ma family knew your background, they would kill you even if it meant tearing their relationship with the sect to shreds."

"I am not afraid. I am currently pondering how to wipe out the Ma family," Sun Zikai said. "Does the Sect Leader have any good ideas? By the way, I won't let the Heavenly Medicine Sect off either. Everyone involved back then will be buried with my parents."

"Stop dreaming. Dealing with one Ma family would cost the Yanming Sect half its life. Don't even think about the Heavenly Medicine Sect; it's impossible."

"I have my own plans. I know you also want to deal with the Ma family. If you can use me, just say the word."

Cui Qingrui wiped his mouth, stood up, and said, "There will be a time when I can use you. My visit today was mainly to warn you: do not kill at will anymore. Follow Fu Zhe and learn how to be a proper person."

Cui Qingrui was clearly uneasy about Sun Zikai. His behavior was not enough to make him a person of trust, even if he was a true genius. Cui Qingrui had come to test his true strength, and after discovering he could kill Sun Zikai at any time, his heart was at ease. Secondly, he came to discipline this fellow; a person prone to violence might eventually despise the lives of others and walk a wicked path due to a single thought. Thirdly, he wanted Sun Zikai to know he was exposed and to stop acting clever with any small maneuvers within the sect.

Sun Zikai felt as if his vital point had been seized by Cui Qingrui. He had to express his sincerity again, pointing out his focus on the Ma family and his willingness to serve the Sect Leader. But Cui Qingrui said lightly that the conflicts between the Ma family and the sect were merely minor frictions and had not reached the point of life and death, sealing off Sun Zikai's enthusiasm with a single sentence. No matter how mature this child was, he could not match Cui Qingrui's schemes. In the presence of the Sect Leader, a deep sense of powerlessness enveloped him. Sun Zikai began to regret being too impatient to reveal himself, giving the other party the space and opportunity to manipulate him, driving himself into a corner and losing the initiative.

Fortunately, he realized this in time and did not say another word. He had originally intended to tell him about Bai Zhu, but now, sensing his own stupidity, he buried the truth deep in his heart.

Sun Zikai bowed. Cui Qingrui asked casually, "What else have you done?"

Sun Zikai did not answer or show any reaction. Cui Qingrui smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, my mouth is tighter than that girl Yueyi's. No second person will ever know about your affairs."

Cui Qingrui paused, for he saw a flash of killing intent in Sun Zikai's eyes, but it quickly turned into calm water and vanished.

He wondered if the fellow had just thought that killing him was the best way to keep a secret. Cui Qingrui felt that this boy was even more complex than he appeared, but he also realized that Sun Zikai was now guarded and hostile toward him, so he could not stay any longer. He would have to wait for the next opportunity to manipulate the brat.

After giving a few simple instructions, Cui Qingrui vanished.

Sun Zikai released his perception to its maximum, and indeed, he discovered that the Sect Leader was still hiding in the southeast corner of the courtyard. It was a very profound method of hiding spiritual energy, concealing even his presence, but he could not hide his life force.

Sun Zikai sat upright at the table, remaining motionless for a long time. Cui Qingrui observed quietly. After a long while, Cui Qingrui suddenly realized he might have been discovered, but that made no sense, as his concealment method was difficult to detect even among his peers.

After watching for a long time, Sun Zikai still did not move. Cui Qingrui finally broke the stalemate. He walked around Sun Zikai once, then flew away, only to reappear in the southeast corner of the courtyard a few breaths later.

At this moment, Feng Yueyi and Jiang Yujin walked in. Feng Yueyi shouted, "Brother Kai, has the Sect Leader gone?"

Sun Zikai replied directly, "No."

"Huh? Where is he?"

About thirty breaths later, Sun Zikai picked up his bowl and chopsticks and said, "Now he's gone. Let's keep eating."