Chapter 384: The Crowd Panics 9
Lu Yan started explaining to her, “Si Jin is around Northern Liang now, and he is a young grand master. This kind of strength makes Li Rouxuan fearful, but he is even more afraid of offending you enough that you call upon Si Jin to leave Northern Liang.”
Qi Qingyao was silent.
Lu Yan continued, “He would leave you without weakness if he were to kill off Qi Boli and the others, or even just brutally torture them. If that was the case, you would have nothing left to care about, so it would be very likely someone without a care left in the world would call upon the mysterious Si Jin to flee Northern Liang. As for Si Jin, if he were to run to whatever country, he would increase the powers of that country several times over due to his status as a grand master!”
That was rather reasonable. Qi Qingyao continued, “If we were to escape to Eastern Ling, Southern Ming, or Western Zhou, whichever country, that country would then have three grand masters. In that case, the power of that country would be overwhelming, while Northern Liang would still have only one grand master…”
“That’s right.” Lu Yan lowered his brows slowly and said, “As for the State Preceptor and the… Head Grand Secretariat, they’re usually busy fighting one another behind closed doors, but now they have to keep up appearances and be on the same page in public. The State Preceptor will not allow Northern Liang to become the weakest country nor will he allow the other three countries to double their strength. So he’ll be so courteous to you you’ll start to wonder if he’s mistaken you for a completely different person.”
A bright smile suddenly broke out on Qi Qingyao’s face. “There’s one more thing.”
“What is it?” Lu Yan asked.
Qi Qingyao’s dark pupils shrank all of a sudden. “Zhu Shen is following me. I’m afraid he may have already told the State Preceptor of my daughter’s gift.”
Alert, Lu Yan said, “I know about the two grand masters fighting over becoming your daughter’s master. Don’t take them at their word.”
Profound intention flashed through Qi Qingyao’s eyes. “I know. Those two old men just want to use my daughter to lure Si Jin out. My daughter is but a mere pawn to them! As if I would ever believe that those old men actually want to teach my daughter to become a grand master, especially considering that our Erniu is from Northern Liang. Who would accept nurturing someone from an enemy state as their disciple? They’re not so kind or insane as to be seeking to cultivate the talent of their enemy state.”
“You’re still rather shrewd.” Lu Yan’s praised her.
Qi Qingyao shrugged and replied somewhat breezily, “According to you, I won’t bother with the State Preceptor as long as he does not lay a hand on Qi Boli and the others.”
Lu Yan suggested, “That’s right, you don’t have to care about the State Preceptor and the Head Grand Secretariat for the time being. What I think you should contemplate now are the two grand masters. They will definitely use the excuse of wanting your daughter to be their disciple to pester you, just waiting for Si Jin to make an appearance.”
Qi Qingyao, “…”
Lu Yan continued in a very serious tone, “Regardless of where Si Jin is, if the grand masters are to pester you, he will definitely show up. And if he does, it’ll be another terrifying battle.”
Qi Qingyao rested a cheek in her hand and asked, “Is there a way to get rid of these grand masters?”
Lu Yan laughed in an odd manner. “If your grand master shows up… he’d definitely take all of the attention off you. When the time comes, he’ll be the eye of the hurricane, and you will be untouchable.”
Qi Qingyao did not say anything.
Had she not become their target because Si Jin was refusing to appear?
As if they could even find Si Jin!
Lu Yan observed her gloomy expression. Eyes half-lidded, he feigned a casually indifferent tone as he asked, “Can I ask you something?”
“Ask away,” said Qi Qingyao.