The morning sun filtered through the bamboo screens of the master bedroom, casting a warm, golden glow across the jade bed.
Yan Shuo slowly opened his eyes.
For the first time in a hundred years, he didn't wake up with the instinct to immediately draw a weapon. He didn't feel the phantom aches of old battle scars, and he didn't feel the crushing, agonizing weight of the Abyssal Star-Core trying to tear his meridians apart.
He felt light. He felt impossibly, wonderfully powerful.
The heavy, pitch-black core in his dantian was rotating with a smooth, silent perfection, completely tamed by the ocean of Yin Qi he had absorbed last night.
Yan Shuo let out a quiet, relaxed breath and tried to sit up.
He couldn't.
He looked down. Tantai Zhi was currently clinging to him like a highly lethal, incredibly beautiful octopus. Her arms were wrapped securely around his waist, her face was buried in the crook of his neck, and one of her legs was thrown over his thighs to ensure he couldn't roll away.
She was sleeping soundly, a soft, contented smile on her flawless face.
Yan Shuo's pragmatic brain calculated that trying to pry a sleeping peak-expert off his body would likely result in him getting accidentally thrown through the ceiling. So, he simply relaxed back into the pillows, resting his hand gently on her soft dark hair.
I could get used to this, he admitted to himself, staring up at the ceiling. No assassinations. No wars. Just endless soft rice and a perfectly forged foundation.
After a few minutes, Tantai Zhi stirred. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her glowing golden eyes. The moment she saw Yan Shuo awake and looking at her, her smile brightened enough to rival the morning sun.
"Good morning, Husband," she murmured sleepily, nuzzling his neck. "Does your chest still hurt?"
"Not at all, Wife. I feel perfect," Yan Shuo smiled, gently stroking her back. "Your Qi was exactly what I needed. You saved me months of meditation."
Tantai Zhi beamed, her heart swelling with absolute pride. She had successfully protected her husband. She had healed him. To her, this was the greatest achievement of her entire hundred-year life.
She reluctantly untangled herself from him, sitting up and stretching gracefully. "Then I will go make us a grand breakfast to celebrate your complete recovery! I will hunt a Cloud Boar and roast it with sweet spirit honey!"
"That sounds amazing," Yan Shuo said, sitting up as well. "While you cook, I'll go check on our new maid. Make sure she hasn't swept a hole through the courtyard."
Tantai Zhi's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of the fox, but her good mood was too powerful to be ruined. "Do not let her look at you for too long, Husband. If she annoys you, just kick her."
"I'll keep that in mind," Yan Shuo chuckled.
A few minutes later, Yan Shuo stepped out onto the veranda, dressed in fresh, pristine white robes.
The courtyard was practically glowing. It was so clean that the white jade tiles were reflecting the sky like a mirror.
In the corner, Su Mei was leaning heavily on her bamboo broom. The burlap sack she wore was covered in dust, and there were dark circles under her pink eyes. She hadn't slept a single wink. The memory of the Saintess's world-ending killing intent had kept her scrubbing the ground with terrifying dedication all night long.
Hearing the slide of the bamboo screen, Su Mei stiffened.
She slowly turned around and immediately dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead against the mirror-like tiles.
"Good morning, Lord Yan!" Su Mei greeted, her voice slightly hoarse. "The courtyard is swept! The peach blossoms have been managed! I haven't looked at the bedroom once, I swear!"
Yan Shuo walked off the veranda, his footsteps completely silent. He stopped a few paces in front of her.
"You can stand up, Miss Su," Yan Shuo said. His voice was no longer the warm, doting tone he used with Tantai Zhi. It was the calm, heavy, authoritative drawl of a Demon Lord addressing a subordinate.
Su Mei scrambled to her feet, keeping her eyes glued firmly to Yan Shuo's boots.
"My wife is currently in the kitchen," Yan Shuo stated lazily, opening his paper fan with a sharp snap. "Which means we have exactly twenty minutes to have a productive conversation before she returns. Tell me about the Righteous Alliance."
Su Mei swallowed hard. "W-What do you want to know, My Lord?"
"I humiliated Manager Qian, I broke the Heavenly Net Array, and I dropped their fifty-thousand-ton golden bank onto the middle of the street," Yan Shuo listed off his accomplishments casually, as if talking about the weather. "The Patriarch is currently nursing a shattered array compass and a bleeding Nascent Soul. They are going to retaliate. How?"
Su Mei's intelligence-gathering brain finally clicked into gear. This was her specialty. This was the only way she could prove her worth and avoid becoming a literal rug.
"They can't attack you directly," Su Mei said quickly, her eyes still on his boots. "The Saintess is too strong, and the Azure Sword Sect has too many defensive formations. If they declare open war, it will tear the Central Continent apart. The Alliance operates on the illusion of 'Righteousness' and order."
Yan Shuo nodded slowly. "So, they will use politics."
"Exactly," Su Mei confirmed. "The Asura's Vault was technically Alliance property before the Saintess shattered the door. They will use that as an excuse. They will send an Imperial Envoy—a team of high-ranking inspectors—to the Azure Sword Sect to 'audit' the damages and demand compensation."
Yan Shuo smiled a dark, knowing smile. "An audit. Let me guess. They will demand an astronomical sum of spirit stones that the Azure Sword Sect cannot possibly pay."
"Yes!" Su Mei nodded eagerly. "And when Sect Master Zhao inevitably fails to pay the fine, the Envoy will issue a Righteous Decree. They will demand that the Sect hand over you and the Saintess to face the Alliance Tribunal in the Central Continent."
It was a classic, flawless political trap.
If Yan Shuo and Tantai Zhi refused to go with the Envoy, they would be labeled as demonic traitors who defied the Righteous path. The entire continent would be legally allowed to hunt them down. If they did go, they would be walking straight into the Alliance headquarters, right into the Patriarch's hands.
"Who are they sending?" Yan Shuo asked, snapping his fan shut.
"If the Patriarch is truly angry... he will send the Sword Punisher," Su Mei whispered, a hint of genuine fear creeping into her voice. "Elder Mo. He is a Late Nascent Soul Grandmaster. He is completely ruthless, deeply arrogant, and he holds the absolute legal authority of the Alliance."
Yan Shuo tapped his closed fan against his chin.
In his past life, he would have simply intercepted Elder Mo on the road and separated his head from his shoulders. But now, he had to play the game differently. He was supposed to be a weak, fifteen-year-old soft-rice eater.
"An arrogant auditor," Yan Shuo murmured, a genuine spark of amusement dancing in his eyes. "I love arrogant people. They are so incredibly easy to break."
He looked down at the trembling fox maid.
"You did well, Miss Su," Yan Shuo praised her casually. "Your intelligence is accurate. Keep your ears open for any sound transmissions coming from the Central Continent. If you are useful to me, I will make sure my wife doesn't accidentally drop a mountain on you."
Su Mei let out a massive sigh of relief, bowing deeply. "Thank you, Lord Yan! I will be the best spy you have ever had!"
"Just keep sweeping for now," Yan Shuo chuckled.
Suddenly, a frantic, breathless voice echoed from the stone path leading up to the estate.
"Lord Yan! Lord Yan! Disaster! Absolute disaster!"
Yan Shuo turned around to see Sect Master Zhao sprinting up the mountain path. The poor Sect Master looked like he hadn't slept in a week. His robes were messy, his official hat was crooked, and he was sweating so profusely he looked like he had just climbed out of a lake.
Zhao didn't even notice the terrified maid in the burlap sack. He collapsed onto his knees at the edge of the courtyard, gasping for air.
"Sect Master Zhao," Yan Shuo greeted him mildly, clasping his hands behind his back. "You seem stressed. Did you run out of tea leaves again?"
"Tea?!" Zhao wheezed, his eyes bulging. "Lord Yan, the Righteous Alliance is at our gates! A massive golden warship just parked right outside our barrier!"
Sect Master Zhao grabbed his hair, looking like he was on the verge of tears.
"It's Elder Mo! The Sword Punisher!" Zhao cried out. "He brought a hundred elite enforcers! He has unfurled an Imperial Decree! He says we owe the Alliance thirty million spirit stones for the destruction of the Asura Vault, and if we don't pay by sundown, he is going to arrest the Saintess!"
Yan Shuo stood perfectly still, his face an impenetrable mask of calm.
Right on schedule. The Righteous Alliance was moving exactly as Su Mei had predicted. They wanted to use the law to crush his comfortable retirement.
"Sect Master Zhao," Yan Shuo said, his voice dropping into a smooth, incredibly reassuring tone. "Take a deep breath. Stand up. Adjust your hat."
Zhao blinked, entirely confused by the boy's complete lack of panic. He slowly stood up, nervously straightening his robes. "B-But Lord Yan... the Decree... the thirty million stones..."
"Let me worry about the stones," Yan Shuo smiled. It was the smile of a merchant who had just found a very fat, very gullible sheep. "Go back down to the gates. Open the barrier. Invite Elder Mo and his enforcers into our main reception hall. Serve them our best tea."
Sect Master Zhao looked horrified. "Invite them in?! They are here to arrest us!"
"They are here to talk," Yan Shuo corrected smoothly. "And I am a very reasonable man. Just tell Elder Mo that the Saintess's husband will be down shortly to discuss the sect's finances."
Zhao hesitated, but there was something in Yan Shuo's calm, dark eyes that absolutely demanded obedience. The Sect Master swallowed hard, bowed, and practically ran back down the mountain path to follow the orders.
Yan Shuo watched him leave, letting out a quiet, amused sigh.
The bamboo screen behind him slid open. Tantai Zhi stepped out onto the veranda, holding a wooden tray with a massive, perfectly roasted boar leg glazed in glowing honey.
"Husband?" she asked, tilting her head. "Was that the Sect Master? Did he want breakfast?"
Yan Shuo turned around, his dangerous aura instantly vanishing, replaced by his warm, doting smile.
"No, Wife. He just came to deliver a message," Yan Shuo said, walking over to take the tray from her hands. "We have some guests from the Central Continent waiting in the reception hall. They want to talk to us about some money."
Tantai Zhi's golden eyes instantly narrowed. The sweet aroma of roasted honey was suddenly overshadowed by a faint, chilling wave of killing intent.
"Guests?" she repeated softly. "Do they want to take Husband's spirit stones?"
"They certainly want to try," Yan Shuo chuckled, tearing off a piece of the perfectly cooked meat and eating it. "This is delicious, Wife. Why don't we go down there and see what they have to say? It might be entertaining."
Tantai Zhi's lips curved into a very small, very terrifying smile.
"Of course, Husband," she murmured, wiping a drop of honey from his cheek. "We will go together. And if they raise their voices at you, I will make sure they never speak again."
Yan Shuo just smiled, offering her his arm.
It was time to show the Righteous Alliance exactly what happened when you tried to audit a Demon Lord.