After receiving the satisfying answer, Mu Qinglan closed her eyes and secretly sighed with relief.
Finally...
She had finally, temporarily, pulled this future boss to her side.
It wasn't easy at all.
Shen Yao might not have felt it, but from their first meeting until now, the situation had always been within Mu Qinglan's calculations, and it was all for this moment.
Due to her childhood experiences, Shen Yao had always maintained a high level of vigilance towards others. Coupled with the special nature of her Six Bureaus profession, this made her exude an unapproachable aura.
Thanks to the plot, Mu Qinglan clearly understood Shen Yao's personality.
Even though she wasn't yet the [Ice Calamity] of the late game who would silently and coldly hunt down Great Xia's generals, her overall personality didn't differ much.
At most, she was more childish and innocent now.
So for this, Mu Qinglan had made many preparations in advance.
Going straight to the point and striking at her pain points during their first meeting could indeed disturb her state of mind, but that wasn't enough if she wanted to use her.
Not to mention taming her.
—After all, she was a world boss carrying a blood feud.
So from their first meeting until now, Mu Qinglan had been deliberately showing weakness on a certain level.
Yes, showing weakness.
Mu Qinglan's fragile and pitiful demeanor when meeting her in the morning was, based on understanding the other's backstory, a carefully prepared appearance most likely to move her.
She knew very well how appealing her current appearance was.
So, after deciding to manipulate Shen Yao, she had her maids apply makeup that would further emphasize her current weak state.
Coupled with incense, candlelight, and a wheelchair—all these symbols of "weakness and powerlessness" stacked together—she could perfectly eliminate Shen Yao's aggression towards her.
It could also soothe her, preventing her from immediately attacking when her identity was revealed.
After all, who would have such strong aggression towards a frail girl sitting in a wheelchair? Unless they had been deceived once before and learned a harsh lesson.
And as long as nothing went wrong at the beginning.
Everything afterward would naturally fall into place.
From their meeting to going out, even today's schedule, the advance preparations, Shen Yao's reactions—from beginning to end, nothing had exceeded Mu Qinglan's calculations—
She had been completely played.
But Mu Qinglan knew very clearly that showing weakness alone could never truly tame this future BOSS who harbored deep hatred. What Shen Yao needed was never consolation, but a driving force that could help her seek revenge and give her strength.
In other words—
She needed Mu Qinglan to demonstrate capability.
Capability came in many forms, such as the most direct transcendent rank, social status, or strategic planning.
And the capability Mu Qinglan prepared to show Shen Yao was foreknowledge cloaked in strategic brilliance.
She was very self-aware.
She was indeed clever, but that was compared to ordinary people. Her small cleverness in the transcendent world would probably still be considered naive in front of those old beings who had lived for who knows how long.
However, she also had her own unique advantage.
That was her understanding of the game's plot, her foreknowledge of the future.
Today's scheme was not only to resolve the hidden assassin but also to demonstrate capability in front of Shen Yao, dispel doubts, and show her worth following.
And the best way to achieve all this was revenge.
A perfect revenge.
Just as she had done earlier.
But in the end, these were all minor skirmishes. The assassin had been eliminated, but the real masterminds still lurked behind, watching Prince Qi's mansion vigilantly, waiting for the moment she revealed a weakness.
That was the real show.
It was also the biggest chip for her to completely tame Shen Yao.
The carriage was filled with pleasant fragrance.
Looking at Shen Yao's slightly blushing cheeks, Mu Qinglan's expression remained calm.
Shen Yao's power alone wasn't enough. Even though her future was promising, she was currently only a fifth-rank martial artist, and her status as the personal disciple of the Chief Constable of the Six Bureaus was more important.
So she needed to expand her power.
Enhancing her own strength was important, but it would certainly have little effect in the short term, so her short-term focus would definitely be on enhancing the strength of her subordinates.
How to enhance it?
Naturally by subduing subordinates and making them wholeheartedly loyal.
Although she had the help of the game's plot, Mu Qinglan knew that those main NPCs loyal to Great Xia, loyal to the royal family, loyal to their respective factions, definitely couldn't be gathered—even if they could be subdued, it would cost enormously.
So who could she subdue?
Mu Qinglan withdrew her gaze from the girl opposite and lowered her eyes.
Wasn't the answer very clear?
The white-haired girl's lips curled slightly.
In this game "Destiny," weren't there so many solitary villain bosses? Their strength was ridiculously powerful, much stronger than the righteous NPCs, not just by a little.
For ordinary people, subduing them would certainly be as difficult as climbing to heaven.
But for someone who understood the game's plot like herself, achieving this wasn't impossible—at most, it would require a bit of planning.
Yes, just a bit.
Thinking this, Mu Qinglan's blood-red eyes darkened.
Since the Crown Prince wanted to kill her, she would climb out of this muddy water by stepping on his corpse and those of the demons behind him.
A girl's revenge, from dawn till dusk.
○
Heyang City, Prince Qi's mansion.
"Miss, we're home."
The maid lifted the carriage curtain to see Shen Yao sitting stiffly to one side, eyes straight ahead, posture rigid, while Mu Qinglan leaned against her, taking a nap.
A slight coolness brushed their faces.
After a moment, Mu Qinglan slightly opened her eyes, her voice somewhat hoarse: "We're here?"
"We're here."
Hearing this, the white-haired girl finally came to her senses in a daze, then saw the beauty she was leaning against, who didn't dare move at all, and couldn't help but smile: "Miss Shen is really nervous."
Shen Yao remained silent, thinking to herself that if you called me master, I'd be nervous even if I were lying on top of you.
Yawning slightly, Mu Qinglan said:
"Miss Shen doesn't need to be so vigilant. After all, in my condition, I can't eat you, can I? You are a powerful fifth-rank expert."
Shen Yao glanced away, speaking insincerely: "I just think I should go back and report to my master. If I'm any later, my master will be angry. He never likes people being late."
Mu Qinglan raised her eyebrows. When the topic returned to business, she no longer teased this ice-cold girl who had no romantic experience, but asked:
"Are you confident?"
"No problem." Shen Yao shook her head.
This operation was perfect: the traitor was brought to justice, the demon was killed. No matter from which angle, there was no flaw to pick.
The only questionable point about the information could be pushed onto Prince Qi's mansion. After all, as meritorious officials and nobles, no one would dare to interrogate them.
"Miss, let me help you out of the carriage."
In the westward-slanting sunlight, a wheelchair slowly moved toward the depths of the courtyard.
Behind them, the heavy gates of the prince's mansion closed.
Refusing any visitors.
Mu Qinglan returned to her room, lay on the bed, and smelling the comfortable fragrance, feeling the weariness and fatigue in her body, she couldn't help but gently sigh with relief.
Her mind had been tense all day, and now she could finally rest for a while.
This body was truly delicate.
"I'll deal with it after I wake up."
The girl muttered, falling into a deep sleep.
○
That night.
After a simple dinner, Mu Qinglan returned to her room and contemplated her future situation against the night sky.
Today was tiring, but she had accomplished a lot.
First, she had subdued Shen Yao, temporarily bringing this late-game world boss under her command; then she had killed the assassin, thoroughly resolving the imminent crisis before her.
It could be considered perfect.
But even so, she still couldn't relax.
Because of the butterfly effect of her not dying, the conflict between the royal family and her father, the Prince of the West, wouldn't intensify in the short term. But for such an important plot, she didn't believe that those instigators of hatred didn't have any backup plans.
In fact, they might already be preparing a backup plan.
If she remembered correctly, that vicious assassination case should happen about half a month later.
Seven officials close to Prince Qi would be killed.
In the game's plot, this was the last straw that completely broke the relationship between Prince Qi and the court, and it was also the first major event of version 1.0, the cause of Prince Qi's rebellion.
It was in this event that the game players on Great Xia's side began to stand out, gradually catching the attention of various factions, and then rapidly growing by riding the waves.
But Mu Qinglan had already sent people to inquire.
In the events that had already occurred, which should have involved the protagonist, there was no sign of that person.
So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, in this timeline where Mu Qinglan had transmigrated, there was no protagonist.
To be honest, after learning this news, Mu Qinglan felt somewhat complex.
Although the game protagonist and Prince Qi's mansion were opposing factions, one undeniable fact was that in the plot of this game "Destiny," many disastrous major events were saved by the protagonist, a savior-like figure.
She had little interest in being involved in certain disasters.
But for some disasters, she felt she might need to intervene a bit.
Otherwise, she couldn't escape either.
But before discussing these, what she needed to resolve now were the crises directly related to her.
For example, the masterminds watching her vigilantly, and the major assassination case that would erupt in a month.
And in that future assassination case, a fifth-rank assassin under the Crown Prince and her disciple, a super genius with the innate destiny trait [Death Extinguishes the Lamp], played crucial roles.
Ordinary fifth-rank assassins couldn't possibly rush around the entire city in one night and assassinate so many people.
The night patrol guards weren't a joke.
But with the help of that little assassin, everything became possible.
Because the true identity of that assassin was none other than the final boss of a certain main side quest in version 3.0 of "Destiny"!
The super wanted criminal who killed all of the Crown Prince's subordinates in one night, leaving him a homeless dog—
[Dessert Candle]
But to be honest, even knowing all this, Mu Qinglan previously didn't have a good solution for that incident. Because even if she notified these officials in advance, all they could do was strengthen their defenses—
Even Prince Qi's mansion couldn't simultaneously protect all officials of Prince Qi's faction in the capital.
But now with Shen Yao's loyalty, she had gained much more confidence.
"Less than a month."
Mu Qinglan's fingertips lightly tapped the armrest, her eyes dim: "Need to achieve Transcendent Awakening, need to conquer Shen Yao, need to stop the Crown Prince's conspiracy."
"Fortunately, the latter two can be done together, otherwise I'd really be stretched too thin."
"I'll discuss it with Shen Yao tomorrow."
"No matter what, I can't let the Crown Prince's faction go. It's already a life-or-death enmity. Now let's see if I can give him a heavy blow during this time gap while he still doesn't know I've discovered he's the mastermind. Conveniently, he's also a war hawk, so Shen Yao will definitely be willing to help."
"So now only the matter of Transcendent Awakening remains."
"Transcendent..."
Mu Qinglan's eyes flickered a few times, and she suddenly spoke, saying indifferently: "Shadow One."
"Present."
A female voice abruptly sounded in the room.
As the voice fell, a certain shadow in the corner of the room slowly wriggled, a human-shaped darkness emerged, and finally, a curvaceous black-clad maid walked out from it.
This was a shadow servant sent by her father to protect her safety, a sixth-rank martial artist specializing in shadows.
There were two shadow servants, Shadow One and Shadow Two.
She had called Shadow One.
"How are the various levels of the transcendence divided?"
As a game player, Mu Qinglan certainly knew how the levels were divided in the game, but now that she had transmigrated, she wanted to confirm once more.
"The transcendence has nine ranks in total. Every three ranks form one boundary, divided into Heaven, Earth, and Human three major boundaries from strongest to weakest. There's a vast difference between each major boundary."
Speaking to this point, Shadow One's voice couldn't help but become somewhat ashamed:
"There are twelve paths of the transcendence in total, each specializing in different areas but all reaching the same goal. I am a sixth-rank martial artist, a profession chosen by ninety percent of transcendents in Great Xia. The assassin last night was a fifth-rank demon. Please punish me, Miss! I failed to detect the assassin's presence!"
Shadow One, halfway through her explanation, suddenly knelt on the ground.
Mu Qinglan glanced at her, unconcerned.
She knew that last night's incident couldn't be entirely blamed on her shadow servant. After all, the assassin's rank was one higher than hers, and the other party hadn't entered the room, merely using the Demon Saint's blood essence in the backyard to harm people secretly.
The evaporating Demon Saint's blood essence had an extremely subtle effect.
It was impossible to guard against.
Although she didn't blame her, the necessary reprimand had to be given—how could she, as a master, not have any deterrence?
Dereliction of duty was dereliction of duty; it's just that the punishment could be reduced a bit.
The death penalty could be waived, but punishment for the living offense couldn't be avoided.
"Don't let it happen again. You're fined half a year's salary," Mu Qinglan said indifferently.
"Thank you, Miss."
Shadow One suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy stone hanging in her heart finally falling.
Compared to the severity of the Miss being assassinated, being fined only half a year's salary was undoubtedly the Miss's mercy in Shadow One's view.
If someone else were to punish her, her death wouldn't be enough.
She couldn't help but feel gratitude welling up in her heart, and then respectfully continued to explain:
"Rank breakthroughs generally happen naturally when conditions are ripe, but breaking through major boundaries requires a ceremony called 'Knocking on the Heavenly Gate.' Only by passing through the ceremony and achieving victory in it can one successfully break through to the next boundary. And after successfully passing through the gate, one can awaken a destiny trait, as a supplement to one's professional power."
A breakthrough dungeon, she understood, something similar to a job change.
And exclusive traits, she understood too.
In her previous life, she had farmed them countless times.
Mu Qinglan nodded lightly. So far, what Shadow One had said didn't differ from what she had learned in the game.
"If I want to awaken transcendent powers, are there any preparations already made in the mansion?"
After the question fell, the room was quiet for a moment.
Shadow One seemed to have never considered that she would think about awakening transcendent powers, and was suddenly at a loss for words.
After all, this young mistress's body was truly too fragile, fragile to the point that it would break at a touch. Probably no one in the entire mansion had ever thought that this princess would want to try transcendent awakening.
After hesitating for several seconds, she carefully answered:
"Steward Yuan will return tomorrow. For such a major matter, why not ask them?"
"Tomorrow?"
Mu Qinglan's eyes flickered, and she nodded: "Then tomorrow it is."