Chapter 25: The Suppression Plan and Ye Xiaozi’s Awakening

A sense of calm washed over Luo Bingli’s features as she considered this. She promptly instructed Wang Qiu’er, “Qiu’er, I need you to thoroughly gather intelligence on this girl named Ye Qingzi. Summarize your findings and devise a plan to suppress her.”

“A suppression plan?” Wang Qiu’er echoed, a hint of confusion in her tone.

After a moment of contemplation, she resolved to inquire further with the Saintess, seeking to understand the precise reasons for suppressing the other party.

“Saintess, how exactly should we go about suppressing her? Or rather, what level of suppression should we aim for?”

It was crucial to clarify, as the intensity of suppression varied greatly depending on the circumstances.

For instance, if the Saintess merely found someone unpleasant, they might be assigned arduous tasks with meager rewards during missions. Or, if the person was only in the Qi Refinement stage and couldn’t yet fast, needing to eat at the mess hall daily, they could bribe the kitchen aunties.

These aunties could then feign severe Parkinson’s when serving Ye Xiaozi, shaking a generous spoonful of braised pork until only two or three pieces remained, leaving Ye Xiaozi heartbroken.

These methods were for cases where one simply found someone distasteful and wished to make their life a little less comfortable.

Beyond that, the next level of suppression would involve significant harm, such as intentionally sabotaging their missions. If things grew more severe, it could involve conspiring with their companions to isolate the individual.

Even further, it could escalate to bullying, like cornering them in a dim alley and engaging in various unspeakable acts.

In extreme cases, it could even mean ruining someone’s cultivation path. For example, disciples of the Hundred Flowers Palace automatically received a common-grade Foundation Establishment Pill upon reaching a certain cultivation level.

One could then find a Nascent Soul stage disciple to secretly steal the Foundation Establishment Pill. The victim would never discover it, and even if they did, facing a senior sister at the Nascent Soul stage, no amount of courage would allow them to report it to the sect.

After all, to a Qi Refinement stage cultivator, the cultivation of a Nascent Soul stage senior sister represented the sect’s rules themselves.

It wasn’t a matter of whether they could win; a Nascent Soul stage senior sister wouldn’t even have a motive. Their storage pouch would contain a dozen or so Foundation Establishment Pills, meant as welfare for juniors during holidays. Why would they covet a common-grade pill like that?

Thus, the victim would be trapped in a vicious cycle. To establish their foundation, they needed a Foundation Establishment Pill. Yet, every time they spent time accumulating spirit stones to buy one, it would be stolen by a Nascent Soul stage senior sister. Prolonged exposure to this would leave them with only the instinct to gather spirit stones, long forgetting aspirations of longevity or immortality.

Therefore, Wang Qiu’er sought to ask her mistress exactly what “package” of suppression she desired.

“Level of suppression? This…” Luo Bingli honestly didn’t know. The system simply instructed her to suppress the target and awarded her based on the degree of suppression. However, to what extent she should suppress them, Luo Bingli truly had no idea.

“Never mind. Just investigate thoroughly first. Once you have the information, determine the suppression level based on the actual circumstances. Go on, begin your investigation!” Luo Bingli waved her sleeve, leaving without a trace, like a celestial maiden untouched by mortal dust.

Evidently, this was a common practice among many modern leaders: ideas that never truly materialized, simply delegated to subordinates. If the subordinate executed it perfectly due to good fortune, then it was attributed to the Saintess’s masterful guidance.

Conversely, if the subordinate slightly misunderstood or failed to complete the task properly, the blame would naturally fall upon them.

Wang Qiu’er felt as though she could already see a colossal black pot of incompetence about to land squarely on her shoulders.

Shaking her head, she watched the ethereal, graceful departure of the Saintess. Given her relationship with the Saintess, even if a pot of blame did fall, it would surely be a clean one.

However, the Saintess had been so focused on Ye Xiaozi lately. Could there be something unique about Ye Xiaozi? Wang Qiu’er’s expression tightened at the thought. Could it be… the Saintess wanted a second devoted subordinate?

Surely, Ye Xiaozi couldn’t also be hiding her peerless beauty, willing to be the Saintess’s little sister or something? Ha, she herself was a successor of the Heavenly Dao Palace, and had calculated that following the Saintess meant no life-threatening danger in this lifetime. Surely, that girl couldn’t also have such foresight!

Although the calculations suggested she might become a plaything for a group of celestial maidens, that was insignificant compared to the future turmoil.

Thus, Wang Qiu’er placed her hands on her hips and began to prepare, intending to spend three days investigating Ye Xiaozi.

However, just as Wang Qiu’er was deep in thought, Luo Bingli suddenly executed a surprising turn. Observing Wang Qiu’er’s incredulous expression, Luo Bingli smiled faintly and set a deadline for her. “Qiu’er, I’m only giving you a day and a half. You must unearth all the information for me.”

“As you command, Saintess!”

“Good, this time I’m really leaving.” With that, Luo Bingli truly departed. Moments before, she had merely glanced at Ye Qingzi’s residence.

The reason for this was simple: Luo Bingli had discovered that the system would provide a prompt once conditions were met. Previously, when she and Bai Ruxue appeared before Ye Xiaozi, the system’s notification sound immediately triggered.

Luo Bingli was apprehensive about the blunder of investigating for two days only to find she had the wrong person. So, she went directly to the vicinity of Ye Qingzi’s residence. Sure enough, the moment Luo Bingli’s ‘gaze’ fell upon the other party, the system’s voice immediately rang out:

[Ding-dong! A wild Ye Xiaozi has been detected. Ye Xiaozi’s bloodline has begun to awaken, and her inner ambition is gradually burgeoning. Host, please complete the suppression as soon as possible.]

This confirmed it. Ye Xiaozi was indeed the girl she had saved that day. Now that her identity was certain, it paved a clear path for Luo Bingli. That was why Luo Bingli returned to remind Wang Qiu’er to expedite her information gathering, so they could determine the direction of the suppression.

However, as she left, Luo Bingli couldn’t help but feel a touch of confusion. She had a persistent feeling that Ye Xiaozi looked more beautiful now compared to last night.

But it must be an illusion! How could her appearance change so significantly right after her bloodline awakened?

Shaking her head, Luo Bingli returned directly to her residence, intending to be a diligent, studious girl who always strived for improvement. This way, when the celestial maidens passed by, they might develop a greater fondness for her, saving her from those insatiable old women—ahem—celestial maidens, who, failing to find validation from their own masters, might try to seek it from her instead.