She said resentfully: “The art of imperial rule—I don’t care about that.” Unifying the world was something that had to be done according to circumstances; it wasn’t something that could be solved just by reading books, right?

He thought for a moment: “As for unorthodox teachings, historical oddities, and strange tales—those are indeed recorded in abundance.”

“Good, then my condition is—I want to enter Smoke Sea Tower to read books.” Feng Miaojun paused, then added, “You must guarantee that I have the right to enter Smoke Sea Tower to read at any time.”

This condition came like divine inspiration, even causing the rare sight of Mo Tizhun being momentarily dumbfounded: “What?”

“Whenever I wish to enter Smoke Sea Tower to read books, I can go in.” She repeated, “Can the Grand Preceptor Mo arrange this?”

“What are you looking for?” He was bewildered. “I could just fetch it for you and be done with it.”

“I’ve heard that Smoke Sea Tower encompasses all knowledge in the world, and I want to know everything.” She showed her most sincere expression. “That’s why I want to look for myself.”

Her purpose for entering Smoke Sea Tower was a single unspeakable one: to find a way to break the Ao Fish curse!

This goal couldn’t be revealed to anyone, especially Mo Tizhun. If he knew that her life was connected to Yun Kai’s, he would unhesitatingly take her little life. As difficult as it would be to kill Yun Kai, killing her would be that simple—after all, killing her would be equivalent to eliminating that great demon. As for vows not to kill children and such, one shouldn’t take them too seriously. Grand Preceptor Mo had a thousand methods to have others dispose of her.

Mo Tizhun looked at her as if she were insane: “Smoke Sea Tower houses over seventeen million volumes—otherwise how could it live up to the name ‘Smoke Sea’? Finding books in there is no easy task.”

“I will do my best.” Find a method to save herself, find a way to sever the ill-fated connection between her and Yun Kai… find the path to freedom.

Mo Tizhun let out a long, long sigh, his face showing vexation.

This little girl didn’t want fame or fortune, only seeking to read books—was she foolishly naive or ambitious? Dog shit! In his view, it was neither.

Just consider the simplest point:

The threshold for entry to Smoke Sea Tower was frighteningly high—did she think any random cat or dog could slip in? No, each entry required “imperial decree”!

Mo Tizhun couldn’t possibly allow someone of commoner status to enter and exit Smoke Sea Tower—even he didn’t have such authority. Without that decree, one would be riddled with arrows. It was a place of critical importance; even he might not be confident of breaking in.

Why would the King of Jin grant a long-term access permit to an ordinary person? So, this involved the question of Feng Miaojun’s identity. She must have a close connection with Mo Tizhun for the King of Jin to possibly do this as a favor to him.

In other words, Feng Miaojun must enter the sight of the King of Jin and the Jin royal court. The entanglements of interests involved couldn’t simply be described as “complicated.”

He knew this little girl was extremely cunning. The condition she proposed would not be simple.

Feng Miaojun also widened her eyes at him, her pupils filled with innocence and trust. Hah, she had long known that this matter wasn’t as simple as it appeared on the surface. Xiao Yan had been perfunctory with her at the time; indeed, he lived up to his name. But why would she waste the Grand Preceptor Mo’s time on simple matters? She had once been a businesswoman; willingly exchanging a lifetime of wealth and glory for one opportunity could only mean that the benefits of this opportunity far outweighed the former.

Mo Tizhun poured the last drop of strong liquor from the jar into his stomach and belched: “Do you know what I just went to do?”

“Kill someone.” When he had entered earlier, he carried a thick aura of ruthlessness, which she had also experienced from Yun Kai.

“Mm.”

Feng Miaojun slowly withdrew her smile: “The person who was hunting you down and putting you in such a sorry state wasn’t Yun Kai, am I right?”

“You figured it out.” Mo Tizhun’s hand movements paused, and he smiled with amusement. “Indeed, it wasn’t him. After our battle, he never pursued me again. The Wei Kingdom still doesn’t want to be our enemy. Heh, why would he do something with no benefit?”

This meant that after the battle at Juping Village, the conflict between Yun Kai and him had ceased. Thinking about it, Feng Miaojun understood. Wei and Jin kingdoms didn’t share borders; between them lay the Yao Kingdom and other small vassal states. Killing a Kingdom’s Grand Preceptor was a great offense; at this time, the Wei Kingdom did not need to deeply offend the Jin Kingdom.

Feng Miaojun finally showed signs of anger: “You used me!”

If he hadn’t said the pursuer was Yun Kai, why would she have cared whether he lived or died? She would have left him where he was and fled early on.

Mo Tizhun shrugged, looking completely at ease: “I never said the person chasing me was him. You misunderstood, and I simply didn’t correct you.” He had concealed, not deceived. If this little girl wanted to blame someone, she should blame herself for not realizing it.

After all, she was still a child; how could her thoughts match the farsightedness of adults?

Her tender little face puffed up with anger, making one want to give it a pinch. Looking at her, Mo Tizhun’s mood unexpectedly improved.

Indeed, after Mo Tizhun appeared severely injured, he never explicitly said that his condition was due to Yun Kai. She didn’t know the relative strengths of these two men, but she thought that as fellow Grand Preceptors if Mo Tizhun truly wanted to escape, who could stop him? Yun Kai, as the beneficiary of the Rising Dragon Pool incident, probably didn’t want to expend much effort either.

Feng Miaojun also knew that she had been careless this time, but if it could earn a great favor from Grand Preceptor Mo, this deal wasn’t a loss. It wasn’t that she wasn’t clever, but rather that she knew nothing about the greater trends of the world. Her vision was too narrow, leading to biased judgments.

Standing high allows one to see far. A lifetime as a commoner would only allow one to struggle with daily necessities.

Besides, the information she had given Mo Tizhun had also been “concealed but not deceived”—she hadn’t told lies, only hidden the truth. Mo Tizhun had merely returned in kind; what right did she have to be upset?

Understanding this point, she no longer dwelled on it and instead asked him: “The person hunting you—you killed them tonight in retaliation?”

“Heh, this little bastard tried to deny it after I caught him, only confessing everything after I chopped off his hands and feet, begging only for a quick death. Heh, could I grant his wish?”

“I cut his vocal cords and threw him by the nest of black army ants. If he’s lucky, he might bleed to death before the ants finish eating him.” Mo Tizhun said grimly: “By the way, this traitor was my third disciple.”

After his battle with Yun Kai, he returned immediately. His third disciple had come to meet him at the border of the Yao Kingdom, caring for him with the same customary attentiveness. Having suffered some injuries in battle, he focused on recovery and didn’t take many precautions. Unexpectedly, this rebellious disciple had tampered with his food and water, and then suddenly attacked…

The temperature in the guest room seemed to suddenly drop. Feng Miaojun rubbed her arms, feeling very cold. Did Grand Preceptor Mo have a particular fondness for ant nests? She quickly changed the subject: “Killing one’s master is a grave sin. He must have been acting under someone’s orders, right?” Subordinates defying superiors was something people couldn’t tolerate. Having such a prestigious title as a disciple of the Grand Preceptor, why bear such heavy moral pressure?

Unless it was for revenge, or to pursue greater interests.

“My adversary.”