My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 79

For some reason, after that conversation, the previously turbulent Luocha Sect suddenly quieted down.

Guzhu and Hanmei seemed to have sensed something, and they ostensibly halted all their scheming, with every action appearing as though they were considering the Luocha Sect’s best interests as Guardian Elders.

During these past few days, Yan Hongyin had been given many of the Luocha Sect’s account books—from tributes from various countries down to taxes collected from the stores and businesses run by disciples at the middle and foot of the mountain—all clearly laid out on her desk.

The guards who had been closely monitoring Yu Tianbao’s courtyard were withdrawn overnight and replaced with ordinary maids and servants.

Even the person who had been prepared to impersonate the “seriously ill Yu Luocha,” previously discovered by the dark envoys, had his throat slit and was thrown into the bottomless cliff valley of Kunlun Mountain where no one could investigate.

Yan Hongyin felt a frustrating sense of powerlessness, like cutting water with a blade only to see it flow on undisturbed after a moment’s pause.

The shops under the Luocha Sect’s protection were mostly run by those whom Yan Hongyin considered “walking bounties.” The account books could be described as chaotic and disorganized, yet they contained no fundamental errors, showing a level of caution that amazed Yan Hongyin.

She even began to wonder if these people were truly the evil criminals who were evading the law and defying authority as described in the bounties.

However busy she was, Yan Hongyin had been visiting Su Mengzhen’s bamboo building daily for almost half a month. Sometimes she conversed with Su Mengzhen about cases she had handled in the Central Plains and people she had met; other times she quietly watched Su Mengzhen teach Little Thorn.

Yu Luocha was almost constantly by her side, often luring Little Thorn away from classes to play. But Mr. Su Mengzhen didn’t seem particularly angry; instead, he joked with Yan Hongyin that he could teach two children here, and that her husband clearly needed education.

Su Mengzhen’s father had been a scholar who participated in the imperial examinations, carrying the nobility of a scholar in his bones.

The Su Mengzhen he raised appeared refined and even somewhat fragile on the surface, but upon closer inspection, every bone and fiber of his being was etched with resilience and strength. Even when he smiled gently, there was a misty, pressuring quality to it.

In summary, he was exactly the type of martial arts-practicing scholar that Yu Luocha despised most.

Yu Luocha’s face turned green while Little Thorn happily rolled around the room, their truancy alliance having been broken for several days.

Yu Luocha was a peculiar person. He carried the cruel coldness of a wild beast and the indifference of one who walked in darkness. Probably no one except the people of Loulan would consider Yu Luocha a good person. Yet this dangerous-looking man was surprisingly popular among children.

In Loulan, Yan Hongyin had discovered that the people of Loulan greatly respected Yu Luocha as their High Priest. Young men and women occasionally gathered courage to approach Yu Luocha with playful remarks when he appeared to be in a good mood. But those little ones running all over the city would invariably hang off him in a string whenever they saw him.

Moreover, the cats, dogs, and hawks in Loulan all seemed to like him, deliberately coming over to rub against Yu Luocha when passing by. Only the Peregrine Falcons trained by the Jinyiwei for message delivery maintained a cold, noble demeanor of “don’t come near me” under Yu Luocha’s harassment.

Thinking about it carefully, the sensitive little dumpling Hua hadn’t shown any aversion to Yu Luocha from the first time they met; in fact, he was more attached to Yu Luocha than to Yan Hongyin.

Yan Hongyin was different. She wasn’t generally liked by children, and even many untrained hawks, dogs, and cats mostly dared not approach her. The fish in the pond was the only living thing Yan Hongyin had successfully kept alive, which explained why she was so fond of touching Yu Luocha’s hair.

When Su Mengzhen heard Yan Hongyin’s sighs, he smiled and said, “Children always like to play with other children.”

Yan Hongyin raised an eyebrow.

Su Mengzhen couldn’t help but smile again. “It’s not because of age, but because children and those cats and dogs are mostly pure and genuine. They are young and small, and they have their own ways of protecting themselves. Recognizing their ‘own kind’ at a glance is perhaps an instinctive skill for avoiding harm that we gradually lose as we grow up.”

“I had thought that such childlike innocence would only appear in youngsters sheltered and loved within major sects, far from crowds, far from strife, far from conflict. Yet I never expected that in such a chaotic and disordered place outside the border, such a pure heart could also be nurtured.”

This was far more difficult than simply adhering to one’s principles or steadfastly keeping to the path.

Yan Hongyin lowered her head and took a sip of tea. She naturally knew all this.

From the moment she entrusted Hua Manlou to Yu Luocha for training, she knew.

Ximen Chuixue and Yan Hongyin were the same, walking a path of perseverance, a path of tempering, of cultivation, of constantly honing themselves like a blade being forged.

But Yu Luocha and Hua Manlou had, from beginning to end, simply been themselves.

Su Mengzhen took out a plate of snacks from the food box beside him. They were bright red and looked like little lanterns, quite adorable. “These were made by Little Thorn this morning. I’ve been waiting specially for Your Highness to arrive, enduring Little Thorn’s urging.”

Yan Hongyin: “……”

Didn’t Senior Su think that the red color of these pastries looked very much like the color Little Thorn turned when angered by Yu Luocha?

Yan Hongyin took out a silver needle to test them; there was nothing abnormal.

Su Mengzhen calmly cut a small piece and put it in his mouth. After a moment, with a subtle expression, he said, “……It’s edible, at least.”

Strictly speaking, Little Thorn was a poisonous thorny plant, but the problem was that even it didn’t know what it might have accidentally mixed into its creations. The good ones were wonderful, but the bad ones……

Once when Yan Hongyin came to visit Su Mengzhen, she found him and Little Thorn collapsed in the bamboo building, unresponsive to calls. Su Mengzhen’s heartbeat had even temporarily stopped, but fortunately, the swaying Little Thorn soon managed to climb up, bringing Su Mengzhen back to life as well.

Since then, Su Mengzhen had developed the habit of waiting for a doctor to be present before tasting anything.

“During this time, Your Highness must be quite troubled by the difficulties in organizing the regions outside the border?” This time, Su Mengzhen extraordinarily refrained from continuing to eat, placing his spoon aside.

Yan Hongyin looked at Su Mengzhen, “Does sir have any insights?”

“Your Highness’s governance strategy is not greatly flawed, but it’s merely not flawed.” Su Mengzhen had actually considered pursuing an official career through the imperial examinations in his youth, but many choices weren’t made because one wanted to choose them, but because they were the only options available.

Su Mengzhen slowly said, “The regions outside the border and the Central Plains differ not only in location but also in countless other aspects. And Loulan and the Luocha Sect are even more different from each other.”

“The Central Plains has always been known as a land of propriety and royal authority. Even though it has experienced warfare and tumult, divisions and reunifications, the people living on that land inherently yearn for peaceful lives, follow rules and regulations, and fear power and status.”

“But the regions outside the border are different.”

Su Mengzhen had been here for quite some time, and although he couldn’t leave, with his wisdom and perspective, he could see more clearly and truthfully than Yan Hongyin.

“The tribes here take root and survive in the desert, draw nutrients from barren lands, and form alliances amidst disorder. The people here are resilient, self-reliant, contradictory, and unbound. They might choose to endure exploitation by tribal chiefs for relatively stable lives, yet they could also take up cleavers and fight to the death overnight because of a broken water bag.”

“For people outside the border, power, status, beautiful women, territory… none of these are most important.”

Su Mengzhen narrowed his eyes, looking at the snowy mountains and clear sky outside the window.

The beauty of the lands outside the border was a contradictory beauty of ruggedness coexisting with sanctity, an exciting atmosphere woven from danger and tranquility.

“Survival is the desire etched into their bones.”

Yan Hongyin’s eyes flickered; she suddenly understood something.

Why the Luocha Sect could abandon those small, petty schemes overnight—because they sensed the approaching danger of a storm. They would rather lie low and observe than risk their lives in such a situation.

“The Luocha Sect arose outside the border, yet is quite different from the common people here.”

“It’s difficult to determine whether the children and youngsters in the Luocha Sect have blood of innocents on their hands, whether they are evildoers. The same goes for fugitives who have come here from various places.”

“This is a gathering place for malevolent spirits.”

“These malevolent spirits, either driven out from the Central Plains or rejected by tribes and small nations outside the border, are fierce and bloodstained, having embarked on a point of no return. But humans are born wanting a place to belong, and even those who have turned into malevolent spirits cannot escape this human nature.”

“The Luocha Sect is their only refuge.”

Yan Hongyin frowned.

Indeed, while there were great villains in the Luocha Sect, there were also many descendants of evildoers, or people whose crimes were not serious enough to warrant death, or those who had been exiled outside the border due to false charges or guilt by association. For them, the Luocha Sect was the only place that accepted them.

“These malevolent spirits may feel remorse, may be inherently wicked, and there are many whose good and evil are hard to discern, whose stance is unclear. But on one thing, they have reached the same understanding.”

“They will never allow anyone to destroy the Luocha Sect, to destroy this only place they can call home.”

Yan Hongyin: “Without the constraints of law, such a gathering will inevitably become a disaster over time, which is precisely why the Luocha Sect cannot fall into others’ hands.”

Yan Hongyin wasn’t exactly a qualified ruler; her heart wasn’t harsh or cold enough. Though accustomed to life and death, she always carefully judged everyone’s crimes.

What she had learned since childhood differed from ordinary women and scholars; she learned to observe the minutest details and trained in stealth.

She wasn’t skilled at organization and governance, but remembered the methods used by capable officials to manage chaotic cities after warfare.

She had tried to apply these methods to the Luocha Sect.

In Loulan, knowing her limitations, she had found a suitable administrator for Loulan. But the Luocha Sect was too chaotic, entirely different from Loulan, which had already established order.

She couldn’t find someone trustworthy to entrust it to, nor could she find a more suitable method.

It was already afternoon, with sunlight streaming through the window, bringing warmth to the room.

“Who says the Luocha Sect has no law to constrain it?”

Su Mengzhen smiled and slowly began.

“Why do you think people outside the border always refer to the ‘Luocha Sect’ when speaking of the demonic sect?”

“The Luocha Sect has been able to exist and develop peacefully until now because they have their own laws.”

Yan Hongyin was stunned. “What?”

Su Mengzhen held the warm teacup in his palm and said softly, “The law of the Luocha Sect is called ‘Yu Luocha.'”

“If Your Highness doesn’t know how to organize and govern the Luocha Sect, why not ask the person sleeping by your side?”

The people of the Luocha Sect inherently carried rebellion and disloyalty, but all their rebellion was premised on Yu Luocha being severely ill or dead.

They were sensitive to Yu Luocha’s existence to a degree that Yan Hongyin couldn’t comprehend, and even Agha hadn’t anticipated this point.

Yu Luocha hadn’t done anything; what made Guzhu and Hanmei aware of Yu Luocha’s existence was Yan Hongyin.

No one knew better than Guzhu and Hanmei whether Yu Luocha was seriously ill. The reason they hadn’t attempted to assassinate Yan Hongyin when she first set foot in the Luocha Sect was their concern about Yu Luocha behind her.

When Hanmei came to her room that day, she seemed to have been led by Yan Hongyin to say many things, to explain many matters, but she hadn’t left empty-handed.

In fact, she had obtained the information she most wanted to know.

Having learned from Yan Hongyin that Yu Luocha might not be seriously injured, she promptly abandoned all plans and went back into hiding.

Like the most cunning and cautious venomous snake.

Yan Hongyin lowered her eyelids thoughtfully, and after a while, she said, “He wants me to go find him.”

Yu Luocha had long known what problems Yan Hongyin would face, but Yan Hongyin’s personality was such that when facing problems, she always thought of how to solve them herself rather than seeking help from others.

As the leader of the Luocha Sect, if Yu Luocha said he was handing these matters over to Yan Hongyin but then interfered, it would likely trigger Yan Hongyin’s instinctive wariness.

That’s why he had been sticking by her side every day, always subtly mentioning the history of the Luocha Sect’s establishment, hovering around Yan Hongyin with hints, waiting for her to speak up.

Thinking of the occasional expressions of helplessness Yu Luocha showed when looking at Yan Hongyin during this period, Su Mengzhen found this couple truly interesting.

“I can understand his anxiety, but Little Thorn has been so exhausted these past few days that its writing is crooked and perfunctory, which is unacceptable.”

Yan Hongyin cleared her throat lightly, stood up, and bowed deeply to Su Mengzhen. “……Thank you for sir’s guidance.”

The smile in Su Mengzhen’s eyes deepened.

When he was still the master of the Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower, he had greatly valued talented youngsters and actively fostered them. These physically healthy and capable young people were the future and hope. Though bedridden, he might have felt envy but never jealousy.

He raised his hand, about to help Yan Hongyin up, when he heard her say, “Would sir be willing to accept three students?”

Su Mengzhen instinctively replied, “Not Yu Luocha.”

Yan Hongyin: “……It’s not him.”

Curiosity appeared on Su Mengzhen’s face. What kind of people would make Yan Hongyin specifically approach him, sending them to learn from him in this secluded valley cut off from the world?

“One is the legitimate heir of the previous dynasty’s Ye family; one is a comrade who once fought alongside you when you were stationed at the southern border, the only bloodline of the King of Taiping.”

Su Mengzhen’s fingers twitched slightly.

“And the third……” Yan Hongyin raised her eyes to look directly at Su Mengzhen.

She had been visiting Su Mengzhen daily during this time with her own intentions.

“Is the current dynasty’s third prince, the heir apparent of the Great Ming who has not yet been officially proclaimed.”

The legitimate heir of the previous dynasty’s Ye family, the only son of the King of Taiping, and the heir apparent of the Great Ming—these three individuals with conflicting identities had met by chance and gotten along harmoniously for all that time. Yan Hongyin suddenly had a subtle thought.

She had sent a message to the emperor thousands of miles away, and the current emperor was indeed a ruler of great resolve.

“These three students, do you, dare to accept them?”