148: Practice cooking more.

“Hurry up and tell me, what exactly do you want?”

Inside that familiar old room at the Misty Rain Painted Barge, Boss Mei was brewing tea for Zhou Yan.

However, Zhou Yan was not appreciative.

“Lord Zhou, don't be so anxious. Judging by your demeanor, you must be heading to the capital soon, right?”

“The chaos you stirred up in Jiangzhou this time has offended quite a few people.”

“Originally, those big shots somewhat knew your background and were wary, not daring to antagonize you.”

“But after this incident, it's hard to guarantee that someone won't throw caution to the wind and do something foolish.”

“So, to ensure that Your Lordship has a more comfortable time in the capital, I happen to have a promising cooperation opportunity here. Are you interested, Your Lordship?”

Zhou Yan's expression turned cold.

“Why call me Lord? Call me Immortal Master.”

“Don't you know I'm preparing for Core Formation?”

Boss Mei was momentarily speechless by the interruption, forgetting what she was supposed to say next.

“Why are you spacing out? I'm about to achieve Core Formation. You suddenly called me here—shouldn't you offer some sort of gift?”

Zhou Yan's self-righteous demeanor almost made Boss Mei laugh out of anger.

“Immortal Master Zhou, aren't we here to discuss cooperation? If you act like this...”

“If you won't give anything, forget it. You have no sincerity at all, so I'll be leaving now.”

Zhou Yan stood up, ready to depart.

Boss Mei originally thought he was just bluffing, but to her surprise, he rushed out the door and flew away. She quickly tried to stop him and barely managed to hold him back.

If she had been a moment slower, he probably would have flown home, gathered his people, and left via the Teleportation Array.

Returning to the room, Boss Mei had dropped her professional smile, leaving only a deep sense of helplessness.

“The Immortal Master is clearly a member of the Righteous Path and an official in charge of law, yet he doesn't speak reasonably at all.”

Zhou Yan ignored her resentful gaze, weighed the Storage Pouch in his hand, and seemed quite satisfied.

“Did I? I haven't lied to you once. I had already decided to proceed with Core Formation.”

“You know my talent. Core Formation is nothing difficult. If it weren't for your letter, I would have already reached the capital and found a place for secluded cultivation.”

“So, you wasted my time and you need something from me. What's wrong with me asking for a Core Formation gift first?”

Boss Mei gritted her teeth, but ultimately suppressed her anger.

“Can we discuss cooperation now, Immortal Master Zhou!” She practically squeezed the last few words out through clenched teeth.

“I'm very happy you gave me a Core Formation gift. But I don't like your tone.”

Zhou Yan made a gesture as if to leave again. This time, Boss Mei instantly blocked him before he could even stand up.

“Immortal Master Zhou, could you please state whatever matters or demands you have all at once? Talking like this is truly boring.”

“Is it? I think it's quite interesting.”

Zhou Yan burst out laughing and sat back down, wearing an expression of pure innocence that made Boss Mei want to kick him, but she restrained herself.

“Tell me about the cooperation details. If it's reasonable and the benefits are sufficient, I might consider it.”

Feeling that he had messed around enough, Zhou Yan finally became slightly serious.

To deal with these pleasure-seekers, you have to treat them as entertainment.

Sure enough, after all that fuss, Boss Mei got straight to the point.

“We have some guesses regarding the reason for your trip to the capital this time.”

“I don't know your exact objective, but this isn't something you can get involved in alone.”

“The Young Lord said you possess Soul Transformation-level capabilities, but what you are facing is a true Soul Transformation battlefield.”

“That intensity is something below the Soul Transformation stage cannot comprehend.”

“You are ultimately not the true Saint. While you are still undergoing trials, you need the help of the Joyous Union Sect.”

“You don't need to worry about that; I know what I'm doing. And don't try to elevate the Joyous Union Sect's status in my mind. Whether you are involved or not, it makes no difference to me.”

Ignoring Zhou Yan's teasing remark, Boss Mei turned and walked toward a scroll painting. She tapped it with a flash of spiritual light, and the scenery on the painting began to twist and tremble.

Finally, the scroll transformed into a doorway, and a woman walked out of it.

She wore simple, light-blue casual clothes. Her features were delicate and lovely, but her eyes were lively and clever, carrying an air of proud defiance.

Even standing casually, she could not conceal her extraordinary bearing.

“Using the beauty trap again? This move is too cliché.”

“The same trick won't work on me a second time.”

Zhou Yan was currently preoccupied with achieving a Breakthrough to the Core Formation Stage. Compared to cultivation, the beauty trap was insignificant; his heart was completely unmoved.

The lovely-looking woman immediately changed her expression and shouted angrily.

“Pah! You scoundrel, how dare you flirt with me! How presumptuous!”

Seeing her anger, Boss Mei quickly explained.

“This is the Grand Princess of Great Yu, Her Highness Song Ling.”

Realizing his mistake, Zhou Yan apologized to Song Ling.

After receiving the apology, Song Ling merely snorted coldly, tilted her head to the left, displaying the classic arrogant posture of a Young Miss.

“So, this is...”

Seeing Zhou Yan's slightly awkward expression, Boss Mei's inherent nature as a member of the Joyous Union Sect stirred restlessly again.

Just as she was about to do something, she met Zhou Yan's eyes.

Those dark golden eyes seemed to be saying:

If you pull any more stunts, I'm leaving again.

Only then did she put away her playful thoughts, lightly cleared her throat, and spoke.

“The situation is actually this.”

“About three hundred years ago, the Northern Abyss Yao Race launched a large-scale invasion of Great Yu.”

“At that time, the emperor who preceded the last one led a royal expedition to suppress the Northern Abyss Yao army.”

“He ended up dying in battle, and his body was taken away by the enemy general. That war shook the foundation of Great Yu, giving many opportunists a chance, which led to the current structure of the imperial court.”

Mentioning this period, Song Ling's expression turned grim.

Zhou Yan also had some understanding of this period of history.

According to unofficial histories, the Duke Zhenguo at the time was already steadily forcing the enemy back on the front lines, but the old emperor got carried away, believing the Yao Race was nothing special and that he could handle it too.

So he personally led an expedition, bringing a hundred thousand Imperial Royal Army troops, intending to gain some renown.

As a result, he was captured by the enemy general leading a dozen Yao Race members.

The enemy then used the old emperor's name to force the Duke Zhenguo's frontline army to retreat.

The Duke Zhenguo devised a plan to feign surrender and rescued the old emperor. Unexpectedly, the old emperor courted death again, actually trying to counterattack, and was captured once more.

Being captured twice was a huge humiliation, and this time, rescue was not so easy.

The old emperor showed some backbone, choosing to commit suicide during his second capture.

“I am familiar with this history, so please get to the main point.”

This time, before Boss Mei could speak, Song Ling spoke first.

“The main point is that the current history is fake.”

“My Imperial Grandfather was indeed captured during his royal expedition back then, but he committed suicide the first time he was captured.”

“The so-called second capture and the vast amount of unofficial history were all fabricated by Chen Jingyuan.”

“Even my Imperial Grandfather's capture was orchestrated by him behind the scenes!”

“If he hadn't deliberately delayed the war and failed to defeat the enemy forces quickly on the front line, causing Great Yu to exhaust its national strength and resources, my Imperial Grandfather wouldn't have gone on a royal expedition!”

Seeing her spitting everywhere, Zhou Yan naturally controlled the flying droplets away from himself and turned toward Boss Mei.

Boss Mei glared at Zhou Yan, used her magical power to deflect the droplets, and continued Song Ling's story.

“Not only that, the death of the previous emperor was also somewhat related to Chen Jingyuan. As a result, he only reigned for two hundred years before dying of illness.”

“When he passed away, the current emperor—who was a prince at the time—was only a few years old and required Prince Kang to act as regent.”

“As soon as the emperor turned twelve, the Duke forced him to ascend the throne and drove Prince Kang out of power.”

“Furthermore, he suppressed Prince Kang, forcing him to spend his days drinking, merrymaking, and associating with riff-raff.”

“This was done for no other reason than that Prince Kang, during his years as regent, had vigorously pushed for reforms and attempted to rectify the atmosphere.”

“This was also what the previous emperor had wanted to do but failed to achieve.”

“Therefore, we have reason to believe that all of this is Chen Jingyuan's scheme.”

“Thus, we hope to cooperate with you. If you join the Grand Princess's banner, your trip to the capital will be smoother, and you will be able to obtain what you desire amidst the great conspiracy that is likely to erupt in the capital.”

Zhou Yan had originally been somewhat interested, but after hearing it, he found it dull.

He had overestimated their intelligence gathering capabilities.

Sure enough, investigation is just investigation; it's faster to ask the original person directly.

Zhou Yan already knew the opponent intended to transform into a Dragon, yet they were still stuck at the stage of knowing the opponent was planning something big but not knowing the specifics.

However, on second thought, the other party had only been tricked into coming to Great Yu a few months ago.

As outsiders, knowing this much and managing to connect with the Grand Princess was decent, but it was still too far from what he had anticipated.

“If you suck, practice more.”

Zhou Yan left only this one sentence, deciding not to cooperate with them, and stood up, ready to leave.