Chapter 2052: Chapter 2052 First Impression
Li Xingrou sauntered with a provocative sway of her hips, attracting the attention of everyone present.
For a moment, even the chatter of the crowd dimmed considerably.
"This woman thinks she’s enticing, but she’s nowhere near as captivating as Scorch. Doesn’t she find it tiring walking around like that?" Ye Liuyun sneered to himself, unable to appreciate such intentional flamboyance.
However, Li Xingrou believed she was truly captivating – all her movements were drawing the attention of countless male disciples in the venue.
Li Jian stood up immediately, a friendly smile on his face. "Miss Xingrou, you sure are determined to bewitch all of us today!"
Her cheeks flushed warmly with his compliment, lighting up with a smile. "You’re such a smooth talker! And who’s this friend standing next to you? You haven’t introduced him to me yet."
Seeing that she was addressing him, Ye Liuyun had no choice but to stand up politely and greet her.
"My name is Chen Feng, I’ve just arrived at Sect. I look forward to learning a lot from you!"
"Chen Feng? The new alchemist? My name is Li Xingrou, just call me Xingrou if you don’t mind! I don’t think I’ll be the one in position to look after you, quite the opposite! As an alchemist, you’ll be the one taking care of me." Li Xingrou replied with a courteous laughter.
This was also a kind of tactical testing for her. If Ye Liuyun would start addressing her casually by her first name, it would indicate his frivolous nature.
"You’re too kind, senior."
Ye Liuyun still addressed her as senior and didn’t change how he referred to her, and Li Xingrou didn’t insist either.
"I came across a recipe for Youth Preserving Pill in the Pill Hall the other day. I’ll definitely refine some for you when I have free time, hopefully to add more glimmer to your radiance and enhance your beauty!"
After a bit of a thought, Ye Liuyun decided that if he wants to deal with Murong Tian, he first needed to start with the people around him. He must dissolve his alliances slowly, isolate him, then seize the opportunity to get rid of him with someone else’s hand.
In this way, even if Northsky Sect or the Alliance of Merchants sought an explanation, it would have nothing to do with him.
"Haha!" Li Xingrou immediately laughed when she heard this.
"My dear junior, you are so thoughtful! This pill is even more precious to me than the Breakthrough Pill! You must keep your word, I’m definitely going to claim it!"
The moment she heard about the Youth Preserving Pill, she completely threw the task of investigating his background out of her mind.
At least Ye Liuyun showed an attitude with no hostility towards her, and even offered a present, demonstrating his compliance. She assumed it should be quite convenient to ask him for favours in the future.
"How could I forget my senior’s matters?" Ye Liuyun immediately replied.
"If you were to take this pill with your looks, you’ll definitely be more than the top beauty of the Sect, the entire East, even!"
On the side, Li Jian complimented her lavishly, making Li Xingrou laugh even more charmingly.
She immediately made a bold promise to Ye Liuyun, "You have my cover in the Sect from now on!"
He thought that making a good first impression was sufficient. Any further flattery would be excessive, leading her to suspect his motives.
So, he thanked her, and didn’t say anything more.
She was quite impressed with Ye Liuyun, and exchanged a few words with Li Jian, then excused them.
The gathering was actually organized by Murong Tian for various purposes. As the sacred disciple, his intentions which are inconvenient to convey directly, are communicated through Li Xingrou.
Matters like when it was about time for someone to provide something, who presented lesser gifts, or who didn’t do a good job, would all be conveyed through Li Xingrou.
So, at every gathering, Li Xingrou was the busiest.
Calmly observing her movements and conversations with his divine sense, Ye Liuyun immediately understood the role she played.
"Feng Chen is the biggest spy, and Li Xingrou is the pivot that connects these disciples. The remaining key figures should be the sponso, strategists, and fighters who support Murong Tian!"
Ye Liuyun was thinking and began to communicate telepathically with Li Jian for this information.
"The sponsor is probably the Alliance and the Eastern Royal Management behind Li Xingrou, though I’m not quite sure. I believe we’re his largest sponsor, the disciples from the sect. His resources are primarily acquired from us.
The strategist must be Liu Xing from the Array House. He doesn’t have much strength, but he’s very cunning and has given Murong Tian countless bad ideas to trick people. But he’s the top disciple of the House’s chief Wu Kun, no one can do anything with it.
As for the fighters, Murong Tian has two guards at the early eighth-tier who provided by the Alliance for protection. And all the dirty work of assassinating disciples is done by Liu Zimo and Xing Baiyu."
"What’s their level and hobbies?"
"Liu Xing is of mid-fifth-tier, a philanderer, while the duo are of late-sixth-tier, avaricious. Murong Tian bought them over early by targeting their weaknesses.”
Ye Liuyun considered this information and finally decided to target Liu Xing first. Without his think tank, Murong Tian would be more prone to mistakes.
Moreover, Li Jian’s information wasn’t accurate. Murong Tian and Li Xingrou were still in the sect; they couldn’t possibly get extensive support from their family. At most, they might go back and take some cultivation resources, but certainly not a significant amount.
To learn more about this situation, it would be more reliable to pry it out of Liu Xing.
"How’s your relationship with Liu Xing? Can you arrange a meeting with him?"
"As long as there are beautiful women, it shouldn’t be too difficult to ask him out!" Li Jian assured confidently.
Ye Liuyun carefully planned, "After the banquet, you can go find Liu Xing and tell I’d like to improve the formation of the manor. Ask him over for further consultation.
Remember to inform him that there is a beautiful performer, and a curvaceous maid at my place. If he can alter the formation of the manor as per my requirements, I may consider sending the maid to him.
At that time, accompany him to prevent him from having suspicions."
"Liu Xing is a deceitful fellow. Be careful, or it may jeopardise your plans! If he sets his sights on your servant, you may end up losing her even if you didn’t plan to," Li Jian warned Ye Liuyun.
Yet, Ye Liuyun responded dismissively, "That’s no issue. Since he’s fond of beauties, he’ll surely come to test the waters. As long as he comes, I’ll get a chance to teach him a lesson."
"Well then," agreed Li Jian, albeit reluctantly.
By that time, most of the attendees had already arrived at the venue, with Feng Chen being one of the last to show up. Once he arrived, he sat in his usual spot without engaging in conversation.
Upon seeing Ye Liuyun, he nodded in acknowledgment.
He then took the initiative to send a voice message to Ye Liuyun, explaining why he was there.
"Every time Murong Tian hosts a gathering, he invites me out of courtesy. And I come solely out of courtesy too. You shouldn’t take this wrong, it means nothing!"
Ye Liuyun nodded while smiling, and thought to himself, "The absence of the pot calls the kettle black, right?"
At this time, Li Xingrou also went to find Murong Tian, having changed into a new formal attire to accompany him for the grand entrance.
Seeing Murong Tian had arrived, everyone in the hall immediately rose to their feet, greeting him with utmost respect.
As the first sacred disciple, he deserved such treatment. Ye Liuyun, albeit reluctantly, followed suit.
