"When I met your teacher Qin Xiao, he was already a Ritual Guard Agent."

In the dark bedroom, Bai Yu lit a cigarette, and the flickering candlelight momentarily illuminated his rock-like, imposing face.

He looked at Le Yu, turned his back on him, and without any hesitation, faced away from Le Yu. He took a deep drag, exhaling a smoke ring that was still faintly visible in the darkness.

"At that time, I was just an apprentice, and my contact was dead, which means my father had just died, so I was assigned under Qin Xiao. I've seen you before, but you surely wouldn't remember me."

Within the Ritual Guard, there are three levels: apprentice, agent, and overseer. Apprentices are all in direct contact with agents, equivalent to their subordinates, like Shi Huai Feng is a subordinate of Qin Le Yin.

However, agents are not equal among themselves. An agent like Bai Yu who could contact the overseer naturally had a higher status than Qin Le Yin.

Nonetheless, the vast majority of people in the Ritual Guard do not recognize each other upon meeting. This is also the best way of concealing companions within the Radiant Ode's Four Guards—the best way to protect a secret is not to let you know it.

This way, even if someone is captured, it would at most implicate their contact person, while higher-ups would have enough time to take countermeasures.

Le Yu thought for a moment and said, "Courier?"

Bai Yu paused slightly, then smiled, "That was one of my identities."

When Qin Le Yin was young, he followed Qin Xiao to Yanjing alone to receive the Nesher's Heart replica and learn espionage knowledge. At that time, he could already threaten his father not to harm his younger siblings, so he felt confident to come to Yanjing for further study, revealing his deep scheming mind without need for further elaboration.

In a fleeting memory, Le Yu realized that Qin Le Yin had impressions of a young Bai Yu.

"My father was somewhat influential in Yanjing; otherwise, he wouldn't have risen in the Ritual Guard. Our family's business on the surface was all supported by hired relatives. As soon as he died, those relatives united to forge IOUs and the like to divide our family's property."

Bai Yu looked around and flicked the ash into his palm, continuing, "I didn't care about the old man's estate, but my father had just died, and those relative scoundrels turned into greedy pigs, which naturally made me furious."

"The first time we met, Qin Xiao noticed my unpleasant demeanor and asked me what had happened."

"And then he resolved it for you with the Ritual Guard's power?"

Le Yu envisioned the classic scene in his mind where Bai Yu was ostracized by relatives who then suffered an instant reversal when the Ritual Guard showed up saying, 'You will regret this later'.

"No, the Ritual Guard wouldn't help you settle family affairs," Bai Yu laughed, "He inquired about my family situation and then suggested that I fund the poorest relatives in the family, hinting to them that I was willing to prosper with them, but I could not tolerate those ingrates taking advantage of my home any longer."

"Following his advice, the next day, those impoverished relatives whom I had helped guarded the door for me, driving away all the ingrates trying to split the inheritance. The ingrates couldn't win a verbal fight, nor did they dare to fight physically—they already had a bit of savings and naturally didn't want to risk everything against those poorer relatives."

"Then I drove those ingrates away and did my best to support these impoverished relatives living a decent life in my family. They were deeply grateful to me. Although part of the family estate was lost to those ingrates' machinations, I successfully inherited my father's wealth, and the family became more stable."

Le Yu nodded, "The wealthy upper class united with the impoverished lower class to attack the scheming middle class—a very cunning but effective open conspiracy."

His plans in Xuanzhu County were actually similar to Bai Yu's approach—the Silver Blood Association's chairman united with the lower-class White Night to destroy the Silver Blood Association, working in and out together, naturally leading to success.

But the premise for this is the upper class's willingness to give up certain benefits and trust the lower class. It's just that often, people are unwilling to forgo benefits, let alone trust others.

"A cunning open conspiracy, huh?" Bai Yu smiled, "When I told Qin Xiao the result, he said it was called 'good deeds beget good rewards.'"

Le Yu blinked, and Bai Yu shrugged, "I don't know if Qin Xiao ever taught you this theory, but in the Ritual Guard, it once became quite popular—because he used his success to provide the most beautiful annotation for his theory."

"I don't know much about Qin Xiao; I learned most of it from other old agents."

"Qin Xiao had no guide; he initially was only an orphan in Skyrim. It happened that the Four Guards' branch in Skyrim was uprooted, and he encountered a fallen and dying agent."

"The agent entrusted him with delivering information, and thus he traveled thousands of miles to Yanjing, working odd jobs, begging, and almost being abducted by human traffickers, but he ultimately succeeded in delivering the information to the Four Guards."

"Although the information had long lost its value over time, his hard work still won the Four Guards' recognition—at least Ritual Guard overseer's recognition. The overseer asked Qin Xiao why he was willing to help a stranger to deliver information over thousands of miles. Can you guess how he responded?"

Le Yu said, "Because it's a man's promise?"

Bai Yu shook his head, "He said, 'Because that person seemed very important, helping him would surely be rewarding, and at worst, I'll just beg in Yanjing.'"

"Sounds very realistic."

"After all, he was just an orphan."

The tip of Bai Yu's cigarette extinguished, and Le Yu opened the bedside table drawer, took out a mug he had never used, and Bai Yu thanked him, flicked off the cigarette ash and butt, and began smoking a second one:

"Then the overseer made him an apprentice."

"He studied and grew in Yanjing, even entering the Royal Academy. At that time, the older folks believed that a beggar with a Skyrim accent would surely be ostracized by Yanjing people, but unexpectedly, he had a great reputation among his classmates, even becoming the chief of the Guard Division—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that back then, he was a rising star in Yanjing."

"After he became an Imperial Court agent, he successfully completed many secret missions for the Ritual Guard, becoming a Yanjing agent at the fastest speed—you know, Yanjing agents and Outer District agents are not the same, just like how I can contact the overseer, but you cannot."

Le Yu acknowledged, "You're amazing, I'm so envious, I really hope to one day achieve great accomplishments like the Fire Prison agent, sending love."

"Thank you." Bai Yu received Le Yin's exaggerated compliments with calm composure, "At that time, among the four guards, Qin Xiao was a special figure. You know, the officials of the Imperial Court were divided into factions, with deeply rooted intertwining interests. Sometimes choosing a side could last a lifetime, and Qin Xiao joined one of these factions through the path of the four guards."

"Generally, minor officials in Yanjing either keep a low profile to accumulate credentials or act high-profile to claim credit and request opportunities to battle, but Qin Xiao was neither, or rather, he was both."

Le Yin was somewhat puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"He made friends widely in a high-profile manner but never interfered in the major affairs of the Imperial Court," Bai Yu laughed. "Do you remember your first stop at Tongchuan Ferry when you came to Yanjing? More than ten years ago, it was just a fishing village at a ferry, but the surroundings were desolate, full of mud flats, quite unlike the fishery rain scenery you see now."

"What Qin Xiao liked to do most was to bring up some trivial livelihood issues and then investigate the hobbies of the officials in charge, deliberately catering to make it happen."

"For example, if he wanted to develop the Tongchuan Ferry, the first thing he needed was roads, and this had to be done by the Transportation Department. So he deliberately got close to and made friends with the Director of the Transportation Department, and when the Director was pleased, he brought up this little issue. It was already on the schedule, so the Director naturally agreed."

"When the road was completed, Qin Xiao encouraged the villagers to spontaneously make a silk banner and carve a road stele to praise the achievements of the Director of the Transportation Department. Qin Xiao even took the Director to visit Tongchuan, where all the people they met were full of gratitude, kneeling and thanking."

"The Director of the Transportation Department had face, so his relationship with Qin Xiao naturally improved."

"Just like that, while the officials of the Imperial Court were attacking each other over the Skyrim issue, Qin Xiao quietly made friends with the officials of the working departments. He had a good appearance, was tactful in handling affairs, and had connections from his classmates in the four guards. The matters he asked to be done were within the scope of people's livelihood, only delayed because of poor cooperation with other departments. With Qin Xiao as the 'lubricant,' the old rusted machine that was Yanjing began to operate smoothly again."

"In the meantime, Qin Xiao also wove a vast network of relations for himself. Many difficult tasks, when they reached him, only required him to have a drink with friends to get the information he wanted. And he gradually came into the view of the ministers of the Imperial Court, qualifying to participate in the highest-level political games."

Although Bai Yu spoke simply, Le Yin seemed able to see through these few words a vibrant and diplomatic young official—investigating hobbies, catering to others, coordinating the overall situation. It sounded simple, but how much grievance and how many condescending looks had he faced, which we outsiders could never know?

For someone like Le Yin, who can't stand any dirt in his eyes, when seeing someone he dislikes, would either avoid or fight, how could he possibly 'investigate and cater to his hobbies'?

So did Qin Xiao not have people he disliked?

How could that be possible?

Therefore, being able to turn people he dislikes into friends is truly an exceptional skill.

"The regent was amazed by Qin Xiao's work ability, because among the four guards, fame, efficiency, and popularity can at most coexist in twos."

"Great fame, high efficiency, and good popularity don't coexist; great fame and good rapport will definitely not result in high efficiency; high efficiency and good rapport will never lead to great fame. But Qin Xiao broke this conventional wisdom, and the upper ranks of the four guards were naturally curious if he had some spy secret."

"Qin Xiao didn't keep it to himself; he wrote a small booklet, simply describing his methodological theory. Hongle, do you know what his theory's core point is?"

Le Yin calmly stated, "Good deeds bring good rewards."

Bai Yu nodded, "Like everyone else, when I read the first sentence, I wondered if Qin Xiao was mocking us. But after reading Qin Xiao's explanation, many people—at least I—were swayed."

"He said, people crave recognition and kindness."

"He said, the highest form of selfishness is making others think you are selfless."

"He said that officials of the Imperial Court, well-fed and well-dressed, with tender wives in their arms, have no survival pressure, so they crave recognition and worship even more. Thus, officials chase power. But besides that, achievements also reflect their abilities, so he encouraged collaboration with officials to accomplish good deeds and provide real-time appreciative feedback, allowing officials to achieve moral satisfaction, thereby strengthening relations."

"He said people speak of benevolence and morality, not because they don't believe in it but because they believe but don't dare to pursue it. Because everyone knows how despicable they are, while benevolence and morality appear so noble, and what he did was to make everyone realize that benevolence and morality are not so ethereal; as long as everyone exerts a little effort, they'll find that they too can be good people and receive 'ample rewards.'"

"He said, when people read the 'Radiant Ode' or listen to the 'Heroic Legend,' passion stirred within, dreaming of becoming unparalleled national heroes, achieving meritorious feats that resound through eternity. Yet, this touch of fervor is ground away bit by bit by fame and wealth, worn down by fleeting years, and further eroded by the unpredictable world, until all passionate blood has turned cold. But even cold blood can rekindle."

"He said, the human heart inclines toward good, hence good deeds bring good rewards."

"As long as we can utilize the goodness of human nature wisely, we can harvest all benefits, and perhaps one day ascend to the grand stage of elegance."

After a moment of silence, Le Yin asked, "Do you believe it?"

The second cigarette burned to its end, and Bai Yu lit another:

"Some people believe it, and some people don't, but Qin Xiao's example stands before us. The four guards judge heroes by their achievements, and whether we believe it or not, we will try to do as he did."

"It's hard to imagine the atmosphere back then… Not only in the four guards but the entirety of Yanjing seemed to feel like a gentle spring breeze, even though many contradictions remained unresolved and many interest disputes continued, but everyone seemed a bit less rancorous, and conflicts eased."

"It was also around this time that the late emperor began assembling his own team and started tentative small-scale reforms."

"For a while, everyone thought Qin Xiao's theory was correct, even calling him 'the most selfless selfish person.'

Le Yin raised an eyebrow slightly, "All beautiful stories are most afraid of a 'but' at the end."

"However," Bai Yu's voice seemed to echo from over a decade ago, heavy and ethereal, "something happened fifteen years ago."

"A rebellion broke out in Skyrim, killing officials and making a revolt."

"When the news reached Yanjing, the late emperor summoned the Cabinet for an emergency session to discuss whether to…"

"Annihilate Skyrim."