Dual Cultivation System: The Villainous Servant’s Rise

Chapter 245: Could the Big Fish Be Old Ghost Black Sha?

“It is the only explanation!”

Elder Zhu Xuan slammed his hand onto the table, his voice trembling with conviction. “There is no other way to rationalize the Sun Moon Sect’s movements. They dispatched an elite hit squad to abduct Han Zhentian and Li Susu—two mere Golden Core Stage cultivators. That level of force is absurd unless they knew exactly what resistance they would face.”

He swept his gaze across the room, eyes burning. “I said it before, and I will say it again: If someone did not sell my location in Qingzhou City to the Sun Moon Sect, then this Senior is blind, deaf, and willing to write his name backwards in the dust!”

Though there was no smoking gun, the stench of betrayal hung heavy in the air. Elder Zhu Xuan’s instincts were screaming, and everyone in the room felt the phantom chill of a knife at their backs.

The Heavenly Void Sect harbored a traitor. And not just a disciple—a ‘Big Fish’ with clearance high enough to track the movements of the Elder Council.

“Mm… that is precisely the agenda of today’s gathering.”

Chi Lian sat at the head of the table, her presence commanding yet languid. She nodded slightly, her gaze drifting over the eight Elders present. Her voice was smooth, carrying a weight that demanded absolute attention.

“Elder Zhu Xuan’s deployment to Qingzhou City was classified. Aside from the Sect Leader, only the people sitting in this room were privy to that information.”

The tension in the room spiked. Accusatory glances began to dart between the seats.

“However,” Chi Lian continued, raising a slender hand to forestall the panic, “there is no need for immediate paranoia. We are not a gathering of strangers.”

“Everyone here has earned their seat in the Elder Council through decades of bloodshed, contribution, and cultivation. You have all been vetted. You have all been observed in the shadows by the Sect for years before being granted this authority.”

She leaned forward slightly, her eyes softening into a look of calculated trust. “Simply put, you are the pillars of the Heavenly Void Sect. I am willing to believe that no one here would sever their own limbs to feed the wolves.”

The suffocating pressure in the conference chamber eased. Chi Lian’s words were a necessary balm. Admission to the Elder Council was not merely a matter of power; it was a rigorous audit of loyalty. To suspect a peer was to question the very foundation of the Sect.

“That said,” Chi Lian mused, tossing the question back to the floor, “we cannot ignore reality. So, I ask you: think divergently. Where else could the leak have sprung?”

Silence stretched for a moment before a hand went up.

“Grand Elder, Elder Han Lie.”

It was Elder Black Hawk, sitting in the third seat. He frowned thoughtfully. “Is it possible that the rot lies within City Lord Han Zhentian’s inner circle? Perhaps a trusted aide or a household guard was corrupted by the Sun Moon Sect?”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room.

“Elder Black Hawk’s perspective is sharp,” one Elder nodded. “We cannot rule out a lower-level breach.”

“Indeed. If the Council is clean, the source must be external.”

All eyes turned to Han Lie, waiting for his assessment.

Han Lie rested his chin on his hand, his expression unreadable. “It is a valid theory,” he said slowly, his voice cool. “But practically speaking, it is a dead end. I never paid much attention to my father’s staff—there was never a need. But even if there was a traitor in the City Lord’s Manor…”

He paused, his eyes hardening. “They are all dead.”

The brutality of the attack had been absolute. The Sun Moon Sect had slaughtered everyone in the manor.

“As I said,” Han Lie continued, “even if they turned a servant, the Sun Moon Sect does not leave loose ends. Once they had my parents, they would have silenced the informant immediately. The dead do not testify.”

“Ah… then that thread is severed,” Chi Lian sighed, tapping her finger against the armrest. “Does anyone else have a unique insight?”

Silence descended again. The Elders were warriors and administrators, not detectives. They knew too little about the specifics of the massacre in Qingzhou City, and Elder Zhu Xuan’s testimony, while passionate, offered few tangible leads.

“Very well. It seems we are at an impasse.”

After a long pause, Chi Lian spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “But one fact remains immutable: there is a Big Fish in our waters. Without high-level coordination from within, the Sun Moon Sect could not have moved with such surgical precision. They nearly caught me off guard, and the consequences… would have been catastrophic.”

A Big Fish.

The phrase triggered a spark in Han Lie’s mind. A bold, dark thought crystallized in his consciousness.

He opened his mouth, then hesitated. This was not the place.

Chi Lian, ever observant, caught the flicker in his eyes. “Elder Han Lie? You seem to have a thought. Speak freely.”

“Grand Elder… it is nothing,” Han Lie deflected with a dry, tactical smile. “Just a passing notion.”

Chi Lian’s eyes narrowed slightly, reading the subtext in his refusal. She didn’t press him.

…

The debriefing dragged on for another two hours. The conversation shifted from the hunt for the mole to defensive strategies against the Sun Moon Sect and the Myriad Sword Pavilion, as well as mundane disciple management protocols.

When the meeting finally adjourned and the other Elders dispersed, Han Lie lingered. He followed Chi Lian back to her private sanctum—the Moon Rain Pavilion.

The atmosphere shifted instantly. The austere formality of the council room was replaced by the scented, intimate air of Chi Lian’s quarters.

“So,” Chi Lian purred, settling onto a plush divan. She crossed her legs, the slit of her dress falling away to reveal a tantalizing stretch of porcelain skin—smooth, white, and deadly. She cradled a cup of steaming spirit tea, blowing softly on the surface.

“What did you really want to say back there?”

In the privacy of the pavilion, Han Lie dropped his guard. During the meeting, he had played it safe; he didn’t know the other Elders well enough to gamble on their loyalties. But Chi Lian? She was his ally.

“Sister Chi Lian,” Han Lie began, his voice low. “About this ‘Big Fish’ you mentioned… I believe we are casting our net in the wrong direction. We shouldn’t be looking at my father.”

“Oh?” Chi Lian took a slow sip of tea, her eyes dancing with interest over the rim of the cup. “You have a new angle? Do tell.”

She loved a sharp mind almost as much as she loved raw power.

Han Lie organized his thoughts, his expression turning cold and analytical. “Think about the objective. Yes, they took my parents, but the ultimate target was never them. It was me.”

He paced slowly across the room. “The Sun Moon Sect wanted leverage over me. So, is it possible that the traitor isn’t just a spy for profit? What if it is someone within the Sect who harbors a personal vendetta? Someone who hates me enough to burn the Sect down just to see me die?”

Han Lie didn’t utter the name. He didn’t have to. He practically laid the man’s identity card on the table between them.

The realization struck Chi Lian like a physical blow. Her languid posture vanished. She sat up straight, the teasing glint in her eyes replaced by a sharp, predatory focus.

“Old Ghost Black Sha?”

….