Lin Wan’er appraised An Chengxi, and An Chengxi looked at Lin Wan’er. In this gaze across centuries, their nearly identical fates stirred a sense of mutual admiration in both their hearts.
Lin Wan’er broke the silence first, looking at An Chengxi with a smile as she said: “This little woman has long admired Madam Ye’s great name. To see you today is truly a fortune of three lifetimes!”
An Chengxi replied humbly yet respectfully: “Senior Lin, you are too kind. In truth, this junior has heard of you long ago and has always admired you greatly. It is just that even Wu Feiyan could not find you, so this junior dared not hope to meet you one day.”
Lin Wan’er smiled and said: “This little woman’s identity and background are known to very few even within the Po Qing Society. It seems Madam Ye has done excellent work in infiltrating the Po Qing Society over these years.”
An Chengxi smiled faintly: “In fact, advancing the infiltration work is very difficult. In the core layer, the three great elders and four counts are bound by both cultivation and antidotes. This junior cannot penetrate to their level and has always dared not attempt it, fearing one misstep would ruin everything;”
“However, over these years, this junior has found several righteous individuals among the Wu family who wish to break free from Wu Feiyan’s control. They have provided some help.”
Lin Wan’er raised her brows in surprise, asking with keen interest: “Madam Ye’s courage and insight are truly remarkable! To choose to break through directly from the Wu family members! This unconventional approach genuinely earns this little woman’s admiration!”
An Chengxi said humbly: “In truth, this junior approached it from the perspective of human nature. From discerning a principle in many years of past history: when people exist as individuals, there is pure good and pure evil; but as people form groups, and the groups grow larger in number, it becomes hard to ensure the group remains purely good or purely evil.”
“In other words, this junior believes that as long as the group base is large enough, even the best group will have black sheep; even the worst group will have righteous souls.”
“Just as in the fascist camp of the Second World War, filled with demons and countless killings, yet among them were those who turned from darkness to light;”
“In America during the racial segregation era, with so many whites discriminating against people of colour, there were still whites who became true friends with people of colour.”
“This proves that no matter how powerful the influence and control of the environment, it cannot one hundred percent master everyone’s thoughts and values. Probability theory says that probability is the norm and foundation of this world, so this junior feels that the Wu family, flourishing for four hundred years under Wu Feiyan’s protection, with descendants so numerous they must be enfeoffed like the ancient fiefdom system into five military commanderies, in such a vast entity, even if the vast majority are Wu Feiyan’s unwavering loyal dogs, there must certainly be a few who harbour dissatisfaction with Wu Feiyan and the Wu family’s actions. As long as this junior finds these people, it equals infiltrating the enemy’s interior.”
Lin Wan’er’s eyes widened greatly, exclaiming: “Madam Ye’s thinking is indeed beyond the ordinary, truly enlightening!”
An Chengxi said with self-deprecation: “This junior hid for twenty years without being detected by anyone outside her subordinates, yet several operations exposed flaws before you. Compared to your wisdom, Senior, this junior has only petty cleverness.”
Lin Wan’er shook her head, sighing with some regret: “This little woman’s so-called wisdom has always been used for evasion. Madam Ye is different; Madam Ye uses her wisdom for counterattack. On this point alone, she surpasses this little woman by far!”
