An hour later, inside the suite …
Although the shackles on Huangpu Xiaoya's body had been removed, several more barriers had been imposed on her. It was not a problem for her to eat and drink, but she could only summon the feeblest spiritual energy. If she intended to harm herself, she would be paralyzed in bed by electric currents.
Therefore, Huangpu Xiaoya could only stare at Li Yao, who was reading a thread-bound book casually on the opposite bed like a trapped animal. The book was Huangpu Shiyi's personal collection. He was in a good mood today and had offered to lend it to Li Yao.
Staring at Li Yao for a long time, Huangpu Xiaoya saw that he was still smiling casually. She gritted her teeth and said, "Shameless."
Li Yao smiled and said, "You think I'm shameless just because of this? There are more shameless things. Do you want to hear them?"
Huangpu Xiaoya was dazed, not understanding what he meant.
Li Yao went on. "In fact, when I think about the whole thing, there are a few things that I can't figure out. Look. Huangpu Shiyi came to the Skyhill Domain for the purpose of inviting you back and converting you into an Immortal Cultivator so that you could join the Temple of Immortals, didn't he? At that time, he didn't know my capability yet. He was only doing Fengyu Zhong, who was also a member of the Temple of Immortals, a favor by killing me.
"I was not his focus at all. You were.
"Then, here comes the question. When it comes to recruiting new members, especially those who are born in a core family of the Cultivators and have been influenced by the ideology of the Cultivators since childhood, one has to start from the beginning and go step by step, right?
"For example, I can tell you how kind and beautiful the Temple of Immortals is and that it was founded for the peace of the universe and the well-being of the common people. Or, at the very least, I can tell you that the Temple of Immortals has its own difficulties and that it is not the Immortal Cultivators who are at fault. It is the three thousand Sectors, and so on and so forth.
"Then, I can show you some of the dark secrets of the Cultivators so that you will know that the Cultivators are all animals in human clothing. They appear to be righteous on the surface, but they are nothing but thieves and prostitutes in their bones.
"So on and so on. Brainwashing, imperceptible influence. You will be converted step by step.
"This is the standard procedure for recruiting people into the guild."
"But how did Huangpu Shiyi do it?
"The moment he arrived, he showed you the series of explosions in the Skyhill Domain, as if he was worried that you couldn't see how vicious he was. He was simply trying to arouse your anger and resistance against the Temple of Immortals."
"But now, we've been kidnapped for more than half a month, and he's only talked to you two or three times. Logically speaking, it's only normal that you can't think straight in such a short time. Why didn't he bring you to the headquarters of the Temple of Immortality? Find a few middle-aged or old female cultivators with kind faces, preferably benevolent and kind-looking ones. One to play the good cop, the other to play the bad cop. We'll coax and pester them, using multiple approaches at the same time. "
"If the Temple of Longevity's method of recruiting people is so crude, I find it hard to imagine how this organization could survive for so long. There's even a faint momentum of rising. "
"The Huangfu family is a thousand-year-old noble family of swordsmiths and one of the core families in the world of Cultivators. You are the most excellent genius of the younger generation in the core family. Even if I spend a year or so on an important person like you, I'll never be able to make it. I don't think it's a lot.
"Thirdly, even if he did want to switch hands, was it necessary to be so hasty? The medical facilities on the starship were certainly not as advanced as those in the headquarters of the Temple of Immortals. Why didn't he wait until he reached the headquarters and asked for a professional doctor to perform the operation? Couldn't he wait for another ten days or half a month?
"Those are the three suspicious points. I thought for an hour, but I couldn't figure them out until you called me shameless just now. "
Huangpu Xiaoya was somewhat dazed. She thought hard for a long time, but she still didn't understand what Li Yao was trying to say. She mumbled, "What do you mean?"
Li Yao smiled and said, "It's simple. If Huangpu Shiyi's purpose was to recruit you, what he did was absolutely stupid and illogical.
"However, he never wanted you to join the Temple of Immortals since the very beginning. If anything, he was scared that you would join the Temple of Immortals.
"Since the very beginning, his purpose in the Skyhill Domain was to get your hands."
Huangpu Xiaoya took a deep breath. Lightning flashed in her head.
After Li Yao said that, everything became clear. But she was even more desperate now.
"So, everything was his plan. He — he is my uncle, but he has always wanted my hands."
Huangpu Xiaoya shuddered beyond her control. "Horrifying. You Immortal Cultivators are truly horrifying. You are not human beings. You are not human beings at all."
Li Yao smiled. "For a super refiner such as Huangpu Shiyi, even if he wanted to switch hands, he couldn't have chosen the hands of a random Tom, Dick, or Harry. Also, in the Huangpu family, the cells in the hands of his relatives of the same generation or older than him are all aging and won't be useful for long. Therefore, he could only look for a new hand among the juniors.
"Amongst the younger generation, who could possibly compare to you, the genius inheritor?"
"As it happens, you are his niece, and your father is his brother. Your bloodlines are very close to each other. There won't be a problem when your bloodlines are melded.
"Therefore, your young and vigorous hands must have been specially prepared for him by the gods.
"He intentionally played the picture of the explosion in the Skyhill Domain to stop you from joining the Temple of Immortals since the very beginning. He was so impatient to take action right now because he wanted to make sure that what was done could not be undone.
"If you return to the headquarters of the Temple of Immortals, and you decide to become an Immortal Cultivator, there will be no reason for him to chop off your hands. Haha."
Huangpu Xiaoya was dumbfounded. She said, her voice shivering, "You — you have seen through everything, and you are still willing to be the disciple of such a venomous man."
Li Yao sneered. "So what? I once killed my own master, didn't I? Huangpu Shiyi and I are just making use of each other. Now that we are both still of value to each other, we will not turn on each other. A master-disciple relationship based on interests is much stronger than one based on friendship."
"Yes."
Huangpu Xiaoya closed her eyes, with cold tears running down her cheeks. She mumbled, "I almost forgot that you are a venomous, cowardly, selfish Immortal Cultivator, too."
In the dark room next to the suite …
Although Li Yao's loyalty had been confirmed, Huangpu Shiyi and Su Jiuzhen still did not give up monitoring him.
Three crystal cameras and tapping devices were still hiding in the corner. They were more than five times more stealthy than the crystal cameras and tapping devices at the beginning.
It was a very delicate psychological tactic.
Since Li Yao had dismantled so many crystal cameras and bugs in the beginning, he had subconsciously thought that Huangpu Shiyi's methods were just so-so and that his ability to install crystal cameras and bugs was limited to this level.
Therefore, Li Yao did not notice the last three crystal cameras and tapping devices that were much stealthier than before.
However, it was exactly because he did not notice the crystal cameras that he said so blatantly that the room was caught in awkward silence.
Su Jiuzhen said coldly, "Is what Li Yao said true?"
Huangpu Shiyi's forehead was covered in sweat. He stammered, "About — about that …"
Su Jiuzhen sniffed. "It's your business if you want to chop off Huangpu Xiaoya's hands. But did you inform Master Lotus of your real purpose when you used so many resources of our organization? Did you inform Master Lotus in advance of such an act?"
Huangpu Shiyi shuddered immediately. He replied with a bitter face, "I — I —"
"So, you didn't."
Su Jiuzhen sighed and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. After all, you and I are both members of the Lotus King System. If we were to talk about it and cause internal strife, what good would it do me?"
"However, what if other people learn of it and use it to attack the Lotus King for his lack of discipline?
"You have three days to explain to the Lotus King after we go back. If you don't do it yourself in three days, I'll have to write a report and report it to the Lotus King.
"Huangpu Shiyi, not that I'm criticizing you, but it's not impossible for you to do such a thing. But you should've talked to the Lotus King first. Why did you do it on your own? What a fool!"
Huangpu Shiyi's face was pale. He grunted, "I thought. I thought …"
Su Jiuzhen stared at him in the eyes. "You thought that the Lotus King wouldn't help you, didn't you? You couldn't have been more wrong. Now that you've joined the Lotus King's side, and you know how influential the Lotus King is in the organization, you should've trusted the Lotus King completely.
"I know the Lotus King's attitude toward his subordinates better than you do. If you had told the Lotus King in advance, I guarantee that he would've taken care of it for you without leaving any traces behind.
"Alright. What's done is done. There's no need to talk about it. After the competition between you and Li Yao tomorrow, ask him to chop off your hands and replace them. Then, you can go to the Lotus King and ask for his forgiveness. I'll put in a good word for you."
Huangpu Shiyi wiped his sweat and said, "Thank you, Master Su. Thank you so much, Master Su. After we go back and the veins in my hands are unclogged, I will immediately refine the most advanced Thirteen Ghost Mother's Soul Needles for you.
That was exactly what Su Jiuzhen had been waiting for. He snorted, not giving any comment. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the light beam again and said to Li Yao, "The boy is quite smart. He has seen through your scheme.
"However, for him to be able to casually say such harsh words to you, his master, it seems that he really didn't realize that there was a listening device in the room. He also didn't expect that we were still closely monitoring him until now."
"Then, his claim that he joined the Temple of Immortals for his own interests should be believable, too.
"Alright. Now, I'm finally 100% sure that Li Yao has joined the Temple of Immortals sincerely and that he is a real Immortal Cultivator.
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