Chapter 366: The thousand dao city 35.

That means they are confident the political fallout will be worth it. They expect the Golden Mountain Sect to react emotionally, and they already have enough prepared evidence to make that reaction useful."

Ji Ruyan frowned. "Then the evidence must be false."

"Of course it is."

"We cannot simply say that."

"No."

Mo Yuxin tapped the paper. "You need proof."

Su Yubing walked closer. "And you already know where to look."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"The convoy."

Everyone looked at her.

"The attack on the Golden Mountain shipment happened in a controlled part of the city. If they wanted to create evidence, they needed a witness chain. Someone saw the attackers. Someone recorded the aftermath. Someone recovered the Battle Maiden insignia. Someone delivered the report to the Golden Mountain elders. Too many people are involved."

Mu Qingru crossed her arms. "And what does that tell us?"

"They need the story to spread quickly. That means the fake evidence was prepared before the attack."

Ye Qinglan looked thoughtful.

Su Yubing continued for her. "Which means the identity of the attackers matters less than who prepared the conclusion."

Ye Qinglan nodded slowly.

The room became quiet again.

The Battle Maiden Sect had been reacting to each new incident as it happened. For the first time, they had begun to see the shape of the entire plan. It was not a collection of random attacks. It was a machine. One group damaged the supplies. Another controlled the records. Another manufactured the public explanation. Another supplied fighters. Every part of the machine existed so that the Battle Maiden Sect would be forced to react in a way that looked guilty.

And whoever was running it had probably assumed nobody would stop to examine the whole mechanism.

Mo Yuxin looked at Ji Ruyan. "How many outer disciples are still missing?"

"Eight."

"And how many routes are still safe?"

Ji Ruyan hesitated. "Three that we can confirm."

"Good."

Ji Ruyan blinked. "Good?"

"Three is enough to work with."

Su Yubing smiled faintly. "She means you still have options."

Mo Yuxin nodded. "Exactly."

This was something Mo Yuxin had learned long ago, though she had no intention of explaining where. When a large force wanted to make someone feel helpless, it was rarely enough simply to remove resources. They also had to make the target believe that every route had been closed. The easiest way to resist was to identify even one route that remained open.

Three was not one.

Three was plenty.

Ye Qinglan began reorganizing the sect before breakfast.

The first order was simple. Nobody traveled alone. The second order required every remaining communication talisman to be tested personally by Mu Qingru and Su Lian before being used. The third separated the sect’s remaining spirit stones into several hidden reserves rather than leaving everything in the main vault. The fourth ordered Ji Ruyan to stop sending disciples outside the city unless the route had already been checked.

Ji Ruyan did not like that order.

"If we stop moving supplies, the outer disciples will run out of food."

Ye Qinglan met her eyes. "I know."

"Then we cannot do that."

"I did not say stop. I said stop doing it carelessly."

Ji Ruyan looked down at the map.

Su Lian came to stand beside her.

"We can use smaller groups," she said. "And we can change routes every time."

Ji Ruyan shook her head. "That means more work."

"Yes."

"You are volunteering?"

"I am your partner."

Ji Ruyan looked at her.

Su Lian smiled. "Also, if I do not help, you will try to do everything yourself again."

"I can handle it."

"I know. That is the problem."

Ji Ruyan stared at her for a moment before looking away.

"Fine."

Su Lian reached over and quietly took her hand beneath the table.

Nobody commented.

Nobody needed to.

The Battle Maiden Sect had hundreds of years of history. Its disciples had learned how to fight beside one another without wasting words, and the younger generation had learned from them. Their problems were severe, but they still possessed one thing their enemies had underestimated.

They trusted one another.

That afternoon, Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing returned to White River Treasury.

Bai Ruxue was sitting at the counter with three account books spread around her. Tang Yuer was lying on the sofa behind the counter, one ankle resting over the other, eating spirit fruit and watching her wife work.

When the bell above the door rang, Tang Yuer immediately sat up.

"You came back."

Su Yubing smiled. "We said we would."

Bai Ruxue looked up from her accounts. "Did something happen?"

Mo Yuxin walked over to the counter. "The Golden Mountain Sect was attacked."

Bai Ruxue’s fingers stopped.

"Again?"

"Yes."

Tang Yuer sat straighter. "And they blamed Battle Maiden Sect?"

Su Yubing nodded.

Bai Ruxue closed the account book.

"Then this is worse than I thought."

Mo Yuxin looked at her. "Why?"

"Because Golden Mountain Sect has been angry for months about the Battle Maiden Sect’s influence over several mining areas. They are not going to investigate quietly. Their elders have too much pride and too many resources. If they decide they were attacked by Battle Maiden Sect, they can pressure half the city to agree with them before anyone checks the evidence."

Su Yubing asked, "Have they already done that?"

Bai Ruxue pointed toward a stack of sealed letters.

"These arrived this morning. Three major merchant houses say they are suspending trade with us. Two more want to renegotiate prices. One has asked us to choose between supplying Battle Maiden Sect and keeping our contract."

Tang Yuer frowned. "And they call this competition."

Bai Ruxue picked up one letter and tossed it aside.

"It is not competition. It is pressure."

Mo Yuxin looked at Tang Yuer. "You are all right?"

Tang Yuer smiled. "We are fine."

Bai Ruxue immediately said, "We are not fine."

Tang Yuer glanced at her.

"I know."

"You were supposed to stay out of this."

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TO BE CONTINUED.