Chapter 452 -48: Foreign Affairs
Upon following the secretary into the quiet chamber, Yan Yu saw the head of the Yin Yang Bureau hurriedly writing with a vigorous and fluent stroke, inscribing two characters:
General Slayer.
After the secretary had left, Yan Yu asked, “What did you want to see me for, Lord Master?”
“Yan Yu, you’re over forty this year, aren’t you?” the Lord Master put away his brush and placed it on the inkstone stand beside him.
“Just had my birthday last month,” Yan Yu replied.
“Hmm,” the Lord Master grabbed a towel beside him and wiped his hands, “I’ve always believed that the chief position at the Yin Yang Bureau should be held by an experienced veteran. However, many argue that in these chaotic times, being proactive is better than defensively maintaining the status quo.”
...
“The incident with Xiandao Jingyin was a lesson for everyone.”
Yan Yu remained silent, standing respectfully with his hands tied.
“Go,” the Lord Master said, waving his hand dismissively upon seeing Yan Yu’s silence, “prepare yourself for next week.”
Yan Yu nodded and left, his expression unknowingly turning solemn.
Although the Yin Yang Bureau of Chongying had The Four Great Demon Kings, Xiandao Jingyin had always been regarded as their leader, not only because she had the support of the Xiandao Corporation, but also because her political views were highly consistent with those of the Lord Masters—to strengthen the overall power of the Yin Yang Bureau at all costs.
By contrast, Shenyuan Simie was more interested in enhancing his own powers, and Aoi Daiji didn’t care about anything, making them both unsuitable leaders. Therefore, choosing Yan Yu as the successor was the most appropriate.
Yan Yu was well aware, though, that this was merely a temporary measure by the Lord Masters.
While he outwardly embodied the spirit of Bushido, dutifully following all commands from his leaders, he secretly harbored a passive resistance to warmongering. The Lord Masters, unaware of his private thoughts, regarded him as “loyally committed but ultimately too old to be of much use.”
I may not stay in this position long, but as long as I hold it, I will strive for peace every single day, vowing to prevent the needless loss of my precious subordinates’ lives in foreign lands beyond our borders!
Soon enough, Yan Yu adjusted the work plan for the first half of the year, recalling most of the dispersed Onmyoji agents and instead focusing all efforts on conquering all the Mysterious Realms within the country’s borders.
This adjustment did indeed align with the thoughts of the Lord Masters, as they needed time to integrate the personnel drafted from the local Yin Yang Bureaus after suffering heavy losses of their elite troops within The Secret Realm of Li Palace.
However, the Homeland Strategic Bureau across the ocean was clearly dissatisfied with this development.
If the Yin Yang Bureau chose to recuperate, then who would contain the cultivators of Lu Country? After surveying the area, it seemed that only Pear Blossom Courtyard was up to the task.
Thus, as early as February, they held a secret meeting with Pear Blossom Courtyard to discuss the upcoming bilateral alliance contract, sidelining the Yin Yang Bureau which had betrayed both sides in The Secret Realm of Li Palace.
Upon receiving the news, Lord Master was furious and vented to Yan Yu in a message:
“Does this damned alliance not want us to have a peaceful New Year? Crossing half the Earth to meddle, is there any way we can strike back at them?”
“Of course, there is,” Yan Yu replied, “there’s no barbed wire over the high seas, why not just fly there with Sword Control?”
“Don’t you think I want to, Old Yan?” Liu Longtao retorted irritably, “With the directive set to prioritize homeland defense, how could I possibly take the lead to contradict it?”
It is commonly known that the cultivators of Lu Country are far fewer in number than the Transcendents of other countries, yet their quality far surpasses them. Thus, in the battle of The Secret Realm of Li Palace, others faced wholesale slaughter, while Lu Country didn’t even have a single injury.
But if you consider it from another angle, when others lose a dozen or more people, they simply recruit more from the general public, while the loss of even one cultivator in Lu Country is deeply mourned. Therefore, they can only focus on homeland defense and wouldn’t dare to imitate the Homeland Strategic Bureau’s move of causing chaos on foreign soil— the risks are too great, the cost-benefit ratio is unfavorable, and being encircled and attacked would be a major loss.
“Knowing this, why do you still ask me?” Yan Yu questioned.
“Aren’t you and the Amur Witch in a relationship?” Liu Longtao suggested, “mention it to her, have her lead her people through the Bering Strait and strike them, put those pigs on the spot, too.”
“Enough,” Yan Yu cut him off, “What do you mean ‘in a relationship’? We’re just acquainted.”
“Stop beating around the bush with me,” Liu Longtao quickly replied, “Every time we get diplomatic inquiries from them, nine out of ten questions are about you. I’m betting the higher-ups are even considering having you marry off to the Northern Desert for a marriage alliance.”
“Then you go marry first,” Yan Yu said, “Oh right, she became the leader of the Amur Witches? When did that happen?”
“A few days ago,” Liu Longtao answered and after a brief pause, typed again, “Are you acting clueless? Didn’t she tell you right away?”
“Wait, let me ask,” Yan Yu closed Lord Master’s chat window and scrolled his finger down… and down again, it seemed Anna really hadn’t messaged him in quite a while.
“Heard you’ve become the big boss?” Having found the contact, he crafted a message and sent it.
“Yes, so you only remembered me now?” The reply came back quickly.
“I haven’t received many messages from you lately,” Yan Yu said.
“Hmm, been dating,” Anna typed.
“With whom?”
“A foreign male supermodel, handsome, cool, and stylish.”
“Is that so? Well then, congratulations,” Yan Yu replied without hesitation, “Given that, this friendship can probably end here.”
“Wait!” The immediate response came, “Why would you delete me as a friend just because I’m dating?”
“Because I don’t want to flirt with a married woman,” Yan Yu responded.
The other side was silent for nearly ten seconds before a message came back:
“Just because I’m single doesn’t mean you’ve seen me flirting with you.”
“That’s because I like it when the woman takes the initiative,” Yan Yu replied.
There was silence again for half a minute, and then suddenly a video invitation popped up.
Upon opening it, there indeed was Anna with her blond hair and pretty face, with what looked like a wasteland in the background.
“How come you seem to have aged a bit?” Yan Yu asked in surprise.
“Do you even know how to speak? Do you? Do you?” Anna immediately became enraged, “I’ve matured in demeanor!”
“Did you mature because of a relationship?” Yan Yu laughed.
“I haven’t been in a relationship,” said Anna with indignant righteousness, “I just wanted to see your reaction.”
“How are things on your end?” Yan Yu asked.
“Not so smooth,” Anna sighed.
“Weren’t you made the chief of the Amur Witches?” Yan Yu asked.
“That’s just a nominal title,” Anna replied, “Amur needed the support of Lu Country, so they put me, who has Lu Country lineage, in that position, but the real power is still in the hands of several witch elders.”
“Isn’t that even better?” Yan Yu laughed, “You get to sit on the chief’s throne without having to handle the chief’s work, and you let them deal with all the troublesome matters.”
“What’s so good about that…” Anna hesitated for a while, then suddenly said, “Yan Yu.”
“What’s up?”
“I think I might not be my dad’s biological child.”
“Hmm,” Yan Yu pondered, “What makes you say that?”
“Because blond hair is a recessive trait,” Anna said with a worried expression, “How could a child with Lu Country father’s lineage turn out blond? But if I were the product of my mother’s affair, then my so-called Lu Country lineage would be a joke, wouldn’t it?”
“You can ask your mom for some clarity,” suggested Yan Yu.
“My mom’s dead,” Anna said casually, “She was out with her boyfriend when the city fell, and by the time my aunt found her, half her body had been gnawed away by werewolves.”
Since this girl had grown up in a single-parent family and had no feelings for her mother who had abandoned her, Yan Yu didn’t offer comfort; instead, he continued to suggest:
“Then you can still get a paternity test done.”
“I’m scared,” Anna sighed continuously, “What if it turns out I’m not my dad’s biological child?”
“Then so be it,” Yan Yu said, “If you really want to clear things up, go for the paternity test; if you’re scared, then don’t. Your dad raised you for nearly twenty years, and the father-daughter bond isn’t just about being biologically related or not.”
“You’re right,” Anna showed a somewhat relieved expression, “Then I won’t do it. Whether or not I have Lu Country lineage, it’s enough as long as my descendants have it.”
“Why are you so fixated on lineage?” Yan Yu asked curiously.
“Pretending you don’t understand, huh?” Anna immediately scoffed, “Have you found someone yet?”
“Not yet,” Yan Yu answered, “Still gloriously single.”
“I’d advise you to not even bother looking,” Anna snorted, “I’ve already told your diplomats, suggesting a political marriage.”
“Oh?” Yan Yu kept his composure, “What did the diplomat say?”
“He said, your marriage is for you to decide, they can’t dictate it from above,” Anna said.
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“That’s how it is, arranged marriages aren’t fashionable anymore,” Yan Yu said.
“Right, so I told him,” Anna continued with a smirk, “You have the freedom to choose whom to marry, and I have the freedom in diplomacy. The moment you find a girlfriend, that’s when I’ll turn against Lu Country.”
“You, you can’t do that! You just can’t!” Yan Yu made a few mock exclamations before suddenly asking, “Is this the reaction you wanted to see by telling me all this?”
“Your acting is too stiff,” Anna critiqued, “Feeling honored and breaking into tears are the appropriate reactions when the Queen of the Northern Desert offers you her hand.”
“But you just said the Queen of the Northern Desert doesn’t decide the affairs of the Northern Desert court,” Yan Yu reminded her.
“What if I can?” Anna puffed up arrogantly, “I bet Lu Country wouldn’t dare to take the risk.”
“Lu Country would dare even less to offend the Divine General Dinghai,” Yan Yu said.
“Right, so actually I’m warning you,” Anna brought her face closer to the camera, showing off a pretty and cute smile, “You’d better stay firmly in your position as Divine General, or the day my power surpasses yours, I’ll capture you and bring you here to marry me.”
It must be said that a blond woman, at least in her youth, indeed possesses an exotic charm, so much so that, even though she was spouting threatening words, one couldn’t help but find her appealing, almost wanting to tease her a bit.
“Haha,” Yan Yu was totally unfazed by her threat, “Then I’ll just look forward to that.”