novelraw Chapter 418: Playing With Fire
Chapter 418: Playing With Fire
Late at night.
“I thought you wouldn’t come,” Jin Yuan remarked, her eyebrows arching high as she watched the figure approach from the shadows.
Yu Zhao casually tossed the discarded Transmission Talisman onto the table and took a seat unhurriedly.
“You don’t dare harm me, so what should I fear?” she retorted coolly.
Jin Yuan’s sharp gaze narrowed, scrutinizing Yu Zhao’s face as if searching for signs of false bravado. Moments passed before she suddenly broke into laughter.
“Hahaha, those pompous fools would never dream that they’re the ones being kept in the dark!” Jin Yuan leaned forward abruptly, their noses almost touching, the tension in the air electric.
Her breath mingled with Yu Zhao’s as she whispered, “When did you figure it out?”
“Why should I tell you?” Yu Zhao countered, her voice calm.
“Because I can help you escape them,” Jin Yuan replied, leaning back into her chair, exuding unshakable confidence.
“By all accounts, you’re the same as them. Why help me?” Yu Zhao asked, her skepticism evident.Since their first encounter, Yu Zhao had sensed no malice from Jin Yuan. On the contrary, Jin Yuan had subtly warned her multiple times to stay away from Feng Jiu Si’s group. Tonight, accepting the Transmission Talisman Jin Yuan sent had been an act of curiosity, a desire to uncover her true motives.
“I’m not helping you; I’m helping myself,” Jin Yuan explained, propping her chin on her hand. Her tone was serious. “We started from the same place, but they want to take shortcuts to surpass me. I can’t let that happen.”
“You’re smart enough to guess why Feng Jiu Si married you,” she added.
“A Furnace?” Yu Zhao ventured.
“Exactly. You figured it out,” Jin Yuan confirmed.
Yu Zhao’s lips twitched into a faint smirk. It wasn’t intelligence on her part; Feng Jiu Si’s behavior had made things blatantly obvious. The idea that a group of distinguished young elites would vie for a mere Nascent Soul cultivator? Their charade was transparent.
Her suspicions deepened during her studies of Array Path under Tu Xiao, where she unearthed curious tidbits: over the past few centuries, the heads of prestigious families—Wind, Fire, Earth, and Water—had all taken female cultivators from Auspicious Palace as Dao companions. Each wife had met an untimely death, whether within a few decades or mere years. For instance, Feng Jiu Si’s mother passed away after 48 years of marriage, reportedly due to illness, while Huo Shao Yan and Shui Qiu Bai’s mothers—twin sisters—mysteriously died on the same day.
Coincidence? Only the naïve would think so.
Then there was the Jade Ruyi adorning Yu Zhao, an artifact that enhanced her beauty and charm while binding her. It was an unmistakable sign. She deduced that Auspicious Palace wasn’t merely a sect but a sinister supplier of Furnaces to powerful clans.
“From the moment you stepped into the Wind Family, we knew you weren’t Fairy Liu Yun. Her portrait has been circulated widely. Do you know why no one exposed you?” Jin Yuan asked.
“Because they don’t care who I am,” Yu Zhao answered, her eyes cold. “They only care about having a Furnace to enhance their cultivation.”
Her deduction about Auspicious Palace’s true nature had made this evident. The Jade Ruyi was more than an artifact; it marked its bearer as the perfect Furnace.
“You’re sharper than I thought,” Jin Yuan admitted, impressed. At first, she had dismissed Yu Zhao as another naive woman duped by Feng Jiu Si’s theatrics—much like her own mother, who had been drained of blood essence and left to die by her Dao companion.
Since witnessing her mother’s fate, Jin Yuan had vowed revenge. She rejected her father’s offers to procure a Furnace for her and refused to marry into another family. She would rise by her own strength.
Her offer to Yu Zhao tonight wasn’t born of kindness but a desire to disrupt Feng Jiu Si’s schemes.
“How do you plan to help me leave?” Yu Zhao asked after a moment of thought.
“There’s a Teleportation Array in the rear courtyard. Activate it, and it will take you to the Metal Realm, where someone will erase all traces of you. After that, the world is yours to roam,” Jin Yuan explained confidently.
She fully expected Yu Zhao to leap at the opportunity, but Yu Zhao shook her head.
“I’m not leaving. Not yet.”
Jin Yuan’s expression hardened. “What do you mean? You want to stay?”
“Yes,” Yu Zhao replied firmly, meeting Jin Yuan’s gaze without flinching. In her eyes, Jin Yuan saw a wild ambition that matched her own.
For a moment, Jin Yuan was stunned, then incredulous. “You intend to keep playing along?” she asked.
Yu Zhao lowered her gaze, murmuring to herself. “They must have a pact—a wager, perhaps—to win Fairy Liu Yun’s favor, with her as the ultimate prize. Even with the real Liu Yun gone, they continue their game, each vying to prove their worth.”
She smirked faintly. “Their antics are my opportunity.”
Feng Jiu Si had introduced Yu Zhao to the Medium Thousand World. Tu Xiao had taught her the Array Path. Though Huo Shao Yan and Shui Qiu Bai had yet to prove their usefulness, she knew they would eventually. If they sought to use her, why shouldn’t she exploit them in return? The outcome would depend on who played their cards better.
“You’re playing with fire,” Jin Yuan warned.
“Whether it burns me or fuels my ascent, I’ll decide,” Yu Zhao replied, her expression calm though her blood thrummed with excitement. It had been too long since she’d felt this alive.
The thought of dancing on a knife’s edge thrilled her. Stability and comfort weren’t her desires; she craved challenge and the unknown. No matter how treacherous the path, she would forge ahead.
“Dancing on the edge of a blade… interesting,” Jin Yuan mused. What had seemed like recklessness now struck her as a fascinating gamble. The thought of those arrogant elites being outmaneuvered by their supposed Furnace brought a wicked grin to her face.
“Fine. Let’s see what you can do,” Jin Yuan said, her tone laced with anticipation.
“You won’t be disappointed,” Yu Zhao promised.
“I’ll be watching.”