Chapter 573: Sowing discord, the Duke of Qin’s huge stakes (2/2)
“Please speak.” Chu Yunyi said magnanimously, but his face turned black as soon as Long Feiye spoke again.
He asked, “Do you know the whereabouts of the Di Clan?”
General Chu was even more alarmed. He only knew that his son must have suffered thoroughly under Long Feiye’s hands. Otherwise, he’d never reveal such secrets. Chu Yunyi remained silent, so Long Feiye asked again, “On the borders of Western Zhou and Tianning, they exist as a clan of merchants?”
“This old man only knows this much. With the Duke of Qin’s skills, it shouldn’t be very hard to lure out the Di Clan,” Chu Yunyi replied.
“Will Nether Clan Head consider trading the location of the Di Clan in exchange for Chu Tianyin?” Long Feiye asked back.
General Chu immediately grew alert, but Chu Yunyi said nothing. He only shook his sleeves and stalked off. General Chu chased after him with an urgent tone, “What do you mean by this? Aren’t we going to rescue Tianyin?”
He was waiting for Chu Yunyi and Long Feiye to keep talking until they reached the terms for Chu Tianyin’s exchange. He never thought it’d be Long Feiye who’d offer those terms first, or that Chu Yunyi had simply left without considering the options.
It would have been better if he didn’t say anything at all, because Chu Yunyi grew incensed. “He’s a useless waste who couldn’t accomplish anything but spoiled everything instead. What’s the use of bringing him back?”
Now it was General Chu’s turn to rage. He ran in front to block Chu Yunyi and demanded, “State your intentions clearly!”
“This old man gave him so many troops to tighten up exits at the Poison Sect’s underground palace, but what did he give me in return? Not only did he fail to kill Long Feiye and the rest, he even exposed the existence of the Nether Clan, the location for Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons, and news regarding the Di Clan! Heh, you still want this old man to save him?” Chu Yunyi raged back.
“Witch Aunt was present at the underground palace as well. Tianyin already did his best! It’s obvious to anyone who has eyes how much that boy’s done for the Chu Clan over the years! If it wasn’t for Tianyin, our Chu Clan would never have befriended Crown Prince Ye; if it wasn’t for Tianyin, our Chu Clan would never have planted roots in the capital city! It’s impossible for men to avoid making mistakes unless they’re sages or extraordinary persons. You can’t condemn everything about Tianyin just because of a single mistake!” General Chu was furious as well.
“Then explain to this old man, what happened with the Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons? And the Di Clan? Don’t tell me he wasn’t the one who leaked the information?” Chu Yunyi shot back.
“They must have tortured him! Otherwise, Tianyin would never have revealed any of our secrets! Moreover, he doesn’t know much about the Di Clan at all—how many details could he have shared?” Even Gu Beiyue didn’t know. Of everyone in the Nether Clan, only Chu Yunyi and General Chu had the full story. The information was the most hidden piece on their elaborate chessboard.
General Chu was quite sure of himself, but Chu Yunyi only laughed at him. “If we go by your logic, then I have a chance to be forgiven some day if I spill all the secrets of the Nether Clan as well?”
“That wouldn’t happen! I know my son best; he has his limits! Even if he lost his life, he wouldn’t betray the Nether Clan!” General Chu was quite agitated.
“These two things don’t count as his limits already? What does, then? Tell this old man!” Chu Yunyi roared.
“At least…at least he didn’t say anything about the Shadow Clan,” General Chu defended.
Chu Yunyi only shook his head. “The Duke of Qin just didn’t bring it up, that’s all. How are you certain he didn’t spill the beans? Heheh, Gu Beiyue was right. Rather than save him, it’s better to discard him outright.”
General Chu couldn’t take these words. “What does Gu Beiyue count for? Does he have any right to decide the Nether Clan’s matters? I forgot to tell you something, but today the Duke of Qin said that it was someone else who told him about the Driving Arrow Arts. Gu Beiyue’s already helped Han Yunxi on multiple occasions. Now he’s even working at her Pill Fiend Pharmacy. Just for the sake of the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion? Alright, maybe he doesn’t want to rescue Tianyin, but why didn’t he help with Qingge’s early labor as well? It’s obvious that he’s on Long Feiye’s side!”
Chu Yunyi may have been mad about Chu Tianyin, but he still possessed his reason. With shock, he asked, “Someone told him about the Driving Arrow Arts?”
“Precisely! Who else would know of our Nether Clan’s secrets besides Gu Beiyue?” General Chu sneered. “Fortunately, Long Feiye already found out before he captured Tianyin, or else my son would definitely be the scapegoat for sharing that secret as well.”
Formerly, General Chu had only harbored suspicions against Gu Beiyue without any solid evidence, but now he was completely against the man because of his fury. Moreover, Chu Yunyi had his own share of doubts after Gu Beiyue refused to help him twice. Now General Chu’s words only stirred up his own misgivings.
“Gu Beiyue….” he muttered thoughtfully to himself.
“Over the past few years, he’s kept out of the Chu Clan’s power struggles and schemes in Western Zhou. With a personality like his, he’s probably betrayed us long ago,” General Chu added, putting more oil on the flames.
Chu Yunyi’s gaze darkened as he stood there in silence.
“As I see it, Long Feiye won’t give up easily now that he’s found out about the Di Clan. Instead of trading intel on them for our man, we can tell him about the Shadow Clan’s secret instead! Gu Beiyue’s its only member, and he’s so sickly that he’d never be able to stand against them. The Di Clan’s more worthy of standing with the Nether Clan to unite the world!” General Chu seized the occasion to push forward.
Chu Yunyi looked at him before he finally said, “The Nether and Shadow Clans were both in charge of protecting the same master in the past. We’ve been akin to one family over the years. Beiyue, that child…”
“Big bro, you can’t be soft-hearted towards him in the face of our bigger goals!” General Chu cut him off. “Especially at a critical time like this. We can’t allow Long Feiye to track down the Di Clan, not just for Tianyin’s sake, but the sake of our master plan! We need to distract him with the Shadow Clan instead!”
Chu Yunyi still remained silent.
“Big bro, you and I are the only ones who know about the Di Clan. Say something!” General Chu urged.
Chu Yunyi finally opened his mouth and…