Chapter 57 : The Art of Push and Pull Lies Within
One night passed.
The old tree outside the boudoir had lost most of its leaves, which scattered all over the ground, rustling all the way to the distance.
Whoosh—
Whoosh!
The fallen leaves swirled up and down following the movements of Mu Qinglan's right fingertips, looking from afar like a conductor in a grand theater orchestra, exceptionally elegant.
'Mechanist arts are truly versatile.'
The white-haired girl sat in her wheelchair, lightly flicking her fingertips.
The next instant.
All the fallen leaves consciously flew to a corner and piled up, as if they had been swept by someone.
'But versatile also means not specialized.'
Mu Qinglan shook her head slightly and looked down at her feet.
There, a cat was nuzzling against her black stockings, fluffy and a bit ticklish.
"What's wrong?"
"Cold."
After the cat answered, she burrowed back into the shadows and said nothing more.
Mu Qinglan didn't let her come out.
Unless there was something to report.
Cold? Mu Qinglan immediately understood—Shen Yao was here.
Then there was no rush to practice mechanist arts. She'd show her the progress she'd made in magic later.
—She planned to tell Shen Yao that she would attempt the Human Gate next month.
That would be her public story too.
Of course, Mu Qinglan would keep well hidden even this false information, only telling a few people she trusted relatively more to prevent accidents.
"I came alone."
Shortly after, Shen Yao announced this as soon as she entered.
Mu Qinglan remained calm and composed, as if whether she came alone or with others had nothing to do with her. She just smiled scummily and meaningfully said "oh":
"Oh... so it's a secret meeting."
"It's not a secret meeting."
"If it's not a secret meeting, what is it?"
"It's..." Halfway through her words, Shen Yao immediately realized and changed the topic: "Anyway, I came to find you on official business."
"Can't you find me for non-official business?"
The bad woman pitifully took her hand, her cat-like soft body leaning against her arm.
"..."
Shen Yao fell silent.
Though soft jade and fragrant warmth filled her arms—she could even be said to have gotten quite an advantage—she still felt like she'd been flirted with by the bad woman again.
The bad woman's body was as soft as a cat's.
Her thoughts were as changeable as a cat's too.
Before Shen Yao could enjoy it for even half a minute, Mu Qinglan boredly pouted and returned to her initial cold and rational expression.
"If you have business, speak."
Shen Yao said seriously: "Heyang has been quite chaotic recently, as you know, so the royal family has dispatched a guardian to station at the Six Bureaus until the eastern district matter is properly resolved."
"Who?"
"Reportedly surnamed Wang."
"Ah, him..." Mu Qinglan nodded. "Continue."
"Before the eastern district matter is resolved, all information related to the eastern district will be compiled and sent up for the Chief Constable and that guardian to review, so yesterday's gambling match between Bai Yuyu and Sun Zhu was also seen by them."
Shen Yao said softly.
"My master even had a bet with Guardian Wang on who would win."
"He must be quite angry."
Mu Qinglan smiled wickedly.
With her emotional intelligence, she naturally wouldn't ask who bet on whom—that would be insulting to someone's master.
She also knew that Guardian Wang—in the game's plot, he was the emperor's staunch confidant, serving as quest giver in many royal family-related storylines.
He also had quite a few royal secret techniques.
"What was the wager?" Mu Qinglan asked curiously.
"One Heavenly Flower Pill."
"That thing," Mu Qinglan was slightly surprised. "That's quite expensive—it strengthens foundations and cultivates primordial energy. He just bet it away?"
Shen Yao was silent for half a second: "Guardian Wang's wager was a Heavenly Flower Treasure Pill."
"Hilarious."
Mu Qinglan couldn't help but be amused, thinking this royal guardian wasn't here for charity—he really wanted to see her fail? Worthy of being the Old Wang classmate that players praised as wearing the same pants as the emperor.
Maybe they even wore the same pants at night!
Heavenly Flower Treasure Pills were purple consumables in the game, meant for returning players and new players to level up quickly and catch up with the main force.
One Heavenly Flower Treasure Pill could grant one hundred free experience points.
Heavenly Flower Pills were half that.
These things were in short supply, controlled only by the royal family, and quite valuable.
Willing to bet with this, he probably thought her side couldn't possibly win... really, being looked down upon.
Mu Qinglan's eyes narrowed for an instant.
"So what does this have to do with me? The royal family has long disliked me. When you owe too much, you stop worrying—one guardian's hostility doesn't count for much."
Shen Yao shook her head, her voice cool and cold: "It's not about him. I suspect Master might want to meet you."
"Su He?"
Shen Yao nodded: "Bai Yuyu and I are his only two disciples, and we both have good relationships with you. His curiosity about you is natural."
She thought about the scene of the two meeting, hesitating for a moment on her cool face.
Then said: "If asked about this matter, Bai Yuyu probably won't spare praise for you."
"Little Bai is quite straightforward."
Mu Qinglan shook her head with some amusement, then felt this was indeed that silly child's personality—carefree, lively and outgoing—so she said: "Then let her praise me all she wants. I'll accept it all."
Though Bai Yuyu might like to praise her, she surely had her own judgment.
That secret would absolutely never be revealed.
"Master will probably want to meet you in the next couple days. Is there anything you need me to prepare?" Shen Yao proactively asked.
"No need." Mu Qinglan glanced at her.
Meeting with that Six Bureaus Chief Constable was already part of her plan—Little Bai's well-intentioned boasting just moved up the timeline a bit.
But it didn't matter.
"My talent is so good, Chief Constable Su will weigh how to place his bets." Mu Qinglan smiled confidently.
Hearing this, the cool girl couldn't help but look at her suspiciously.
She naturally knew Mu Qinglan had good talent—reportedly even the National Advisor had praised her considerably—but Su He was a martial artist. What degree would a magician's talent need to reach to be valued by a martial artist?
Oh? You still don't quite believe it?
That's right, the last time Shen Yao saw me, she probably guessed I could break through the Heaven Gate within two or three months.
But this time, more could be revealed.
It was just right to use this talent to knock her down a peg.
The bad woman deeply understood—the art of PUA lay in push and pull, loose and tight. Only suppression would breed dissatisfaction and eventual lip service; only indulgence was the same.
Like flying a kite.
Reeling in and releasing the line must flow smoothly—only then could it fly higher.
Yesterday she gave Miss Shen a sweet candy. Today, it seemed she needed to knock her down a bit.
Thus, Mu Qinglan's mind was set. She lightly flicked her fingers, shooting out a thin ray of sunlight from her fingertips.
It was "Light Wisp"!
Beside her, Shen Yao, who was still wondering why the bad woman had stopped talking, suddenly widened her eyes, her cool expression nearly breaking: "Small mastery?"
She remembered that last time she came, Mu Qinglan was still far from small mastery. How had she achieved it now?
Wasn't this a bit too exaggerated?
This talent was even stronger than hers as an innate destiny trait holder. Could it be she also had an innate destiny trait?
You should know.
Even when she practiced martial arts suited to her constitution, she couldn't do it this fast!
"So I said I'm a genius!"
Seeing Shen Yao's slightly agape mouth, Mu Qinglan smiled lightly.
"What? For a genius like Miss Shen, shouldn't you also be able to easily accomplish these things?"
"..."
Shen Yao didn't speak, knowing the other was teasing her.
Seeing her silence, Mu Qinglan's expression returned to calm, her knuckles lightly tapping the wheelchair's armrest: "So, is this enough?"
"Even Chief Constable Su wouldn't easily ignore a magician with such a bright future."
"If he weren't your master, I wouldn't reveal this to him either."
The bad woman was lying.
In fact, she was willing to show her talent to Su He only because she knew he was firmly against the emperor's faction.
It had nothing to do with Miss Shen.
But she still said this.
After all, this would make Shen Yao feel trusted, and this sense of being trusted would drive her to say more favorable things about herself to Su He.
—She was completely bad.
"He won't move against you," Shen Yao pondered for a moment. "Though he's a second-rank Martial Saint, he couldn't possibly be willing to perish together with your father for the emperor's sake."
"Exactly."
Mu Qinglan didn't want to discuss this further and changed the topic: "Yesterday I told you to watch the storage area carefully. Did you receive it?"
"Yes," Shen Yao nodded. "But why?"
Mu Qinglan smiled inwardly. Could I say this is because I'm thinking of giving you a second big gift? But gifts should be surprises—saying it out loud would ruin the effect.
So she just smiled mysteriously.
Avoiding the question by speaking of other things: "What about Sun Zhu? After taking such a big loss yesterday, can he swallow this?"
"After he returned yesterday, he took a long-term assignment and left. Whether he's trying to avoid the limelight or..." Shen Yao wasn't quite sure.
"Just wait."
Mu Qinglan smiled:
"Hyena types—how could they let go so easily?"
○
At the same time, in the Six Bureaus Chief Constable's training ground.
Su He picked up a cup of freshly brewed tea, drank a sip with some annoyance, then looked at his disciple sitting across from him and asked: "You're saying you didn't know what was happening the whole time and won in a daze?"
"Old man, why are you being so rude!" Bai Yuyu said dissatisfied. "Didn't I lend her all my luck? The victory should have some of my contribution too."
Su He was speechless.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this. In your opinion, how is Princess Mu's cultivation talent?"
When asked about this, Bai Yuyu instinctively wanted to stand up and praise her good friend enthusiastically, but thinking it over, she felt she couldn't be too ostentatious, so she reluctantly said: "Not inferior to me."
"Not inferior to you?"
Su He was somewhat surprised—that meant even stronger than her.
He had previously been just curious about what kind of person that princess was to get along so well with both his disciples.
But now, his interest was truly piqued.
"Little Bai, could I meet your friend?" Su He smiled kindly.
Bai Yuyu looked at him, feeling this would be good for her friend, slowly nodded, then warned: "You can't bully her!"
"I won't..."
Su He was helpless.