novelSusiti Chapter 534 A person with too many distracting thoughts can never become a good chess player.
Chapter 534 A person with too many distracting thoughts can never become a good chess player.
Qin Mu stood on the threshold, hands behind his back, a familiar, ambiguous smile playing on his lips.
There was another person standing behind him.
Yun Suxin stood in the shadows behind Qin Mu with her head down, like a lifeless statue.
Chen Ruoyao's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
She stood up, walked quickly to Qin Mu, and then knelt down with a thud.
His knee slammed into the cold gold brick with a dull thud.
Her forehead touched the ground, her long hair slipped from her shoulders and spread out on the ground, her voice was hoarse but clear.
"This humble servant... greets Your Majesty."
Her shoulders trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement—excitement that had been suppressed for too long.
She had waited so long, and finally he was there.
Chen Ruoyao knelt on the ground, her forehead touching the cold gold bricks, her shoulders still trembling slightly.
Her voice was muffled, carrying a suppressed joy that had finally been released, like a bird that had been caged for too long finally seeing the cage door open a crack.
"Your Majesty...you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you for so many days, hoping for your arrival every single day."
Qin Mu stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at her, a smile still playing on his lips.
He didn't call her to get up immediately; instead, he shifted his gaze from her to the silent figure behind him.
Yun Suxin stood in the shadows, her head bowed, her expression unreadable.
Her hands hung at her sides, her fingertips slightly curled, and she looked like a cold, forgotten statue.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze, his voice very soft.
Get up.
Chen Ruoyao then straightened up, knelt on her own heels, raised her head, her eyes slightly red and glistening with tears.
She looked at Qin Mu, then at Yun Suxin standing behind him, her eyes flickering slightly.
She recognized it as the Moon Goddess, the one who had once been high above her and held the power of life and death over her.
The person who brainwashed her, trained her, poured resources into her, and transformed her from a peasant girl in a mountain village into a first-grade expert at the Profound Realm.
That person—the one she betrayed.
A complex feeling welled up in Chen Ruoyao's heart.
But that complexity lasted only a moment before it was replaced by a deeper sense of reverence and worship.
She didn't look at Yun Suxin; her gaze remained fixed on Qin Mu's face, and the gentle smile returned to her lips.
"Your Majesty, everything is going smoothly in the North. Xu Longxiang trusts me completely, and the martial arts tournament is proceeding as planned. I have already investigated his troop deployment, food supplies, and the list of his generals."
She spoke slowly, each word seemingly carefully considered before being uttered, carrying a deliberate attempt to please and curry favor.
Qin Mu nodded, walked to the rosewood armchair by the window, sat down, leaned back, and rested his chin on one hand.
His gaze fell on Chen Ruoyao's face, and the smile on his lips deepened.
"Thanks a lot."
Chen Ruoyao's face flushed slightly, the blush spreading from her cheekbones to her ears, making her look exceptionally beautiful in the candlelight.
She lowered her head, her voice even softer.
"It's not hard work. It's my honor to serve Your Majesty."
Yun Suxin stood in the shadows, watching this scene, a self-deprecating smile slowly curving her lips.
She once told Chen Ruoyao that it was "not hard work." At that time, she thought that Chen Ruoyao was truly loyal to her, that the brainwashing and training over the years were effective, and that she would never betray her.
But at this moment, seeing Chen Ruoyao kneeling in front of Qin Mu, speaking in that familiar, humble and ingratiating tone, her heart felt like it had been turned upside down.
She didn't know whether she should hate Chen Ruoyao or admire her.
He hated her betrayal, hated her climbing over his dead body to get ahead, hated her using that face that looked exactly like his to please another man.
But she also knew that Chen Ruoyao had simply made the same decision as her—to choose a stronger backer, to survive, and to live well.
Qin Mu shifted his gaze from Chen Ruoyao's face to Yun Suxin.
His voice remained soft, with a hint of nonchalant amusement.
"Moon Goddess, what do you think?"
Yun Suxin's body moved slightly.
She looked up and met Qin Mu's gaze.
There was no fear or anger in those eyes, only a deep, weary calm.
Like a frozen lake, the wind passing over its surface cannot stir up a single ripple.
"What does Your Majesty mean by 'how to look at it'?"
Her voice was very soft, as soft as a withered leaf falling from a branch, without even making a sound when it hit the ground.
But beneath that nonchalance lies a stubbornness that comes from the very core of him, a stubbornness that he deliberately maintains.
Qin Mu smiled and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest.
"Look at Xu Longxiang. Look at the Northern Border. Look at this martial arts tournament. Do you think he will succeed?"
Yun Suxin remained silent for a moment.
Her gaze fell on the deep night outside the window, on the lights of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion in the distance, and on those things she once thought she could borrow but could now only look at from afar.
He won't succeed.
Her voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable certainty.
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? So sure?"
Yun Suxin withdrew her gaze and fixed it on Qin Mu's face.
A faint smile played at the corners of her lips, a smile that carried an indescribable sarcasm and sorrow.
"Because his opponent is you. From the moment he opposed His Majesty, he had already lost. He just doesn't know it yet."
Chen Ruoyao knelt to the side, listening to Yun Suxin's words, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
She didn't expect Yun Suxin to say that, and she certainly didn't expect her to speak to Qin Mu in such a tone—not begging for mercy, not trying to please him, and not even resigning herself to her fate.
Rather, it is a kind of composure that comes from recognizing reality.
Qin Mu looked at Yun Suxin for a long time, and then smiled.
That smile was genuine, carrying a heartfelt appreciation.
"Moon Goddess, you are more clear-headed than I imagined."
Yun Suxin lowered her eyes and remained silent.
But her heart felt like a pot of boiling oil.
Sober? Of course she was sober.
She has nothing left now—no power, no influence, no substitute, and even her last shred of dignity has been crushed.
Clarity was all she had left.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and landed on Chen Ruoyao's face.
"How many troops does Xu Longxiang have exactly?"
Chen Ruoyao was slightly taken aback, then quickly spoke, her voice clear and steady.
"The Northern Frontier has a standing army of about 300,000, including about 150,000 elite cavalry, about 50,000 garrison troops stationed at various passes, and the rest are reserves and logistics personnel. Xu Longxiang is also secretly recruiting martial arts masters. He has already recruited seven first-rank martial artists, and countless others below the second rank. These martial arts masters have been incorporated into a 'Dark Vanguard Battalion' which is specifically responsible for raids, assassinations, and intelligence gathering."
She spoke slowly, each word clear and precise, like a general reporting a battle report.
Qin Mu nodded and tapped his fingers twice on the armrest.
"What about a martial arts tournament?"
Chen Ruoyao continued, "The martial arts tournament is scheduled for the day after tomorrow at the training ground. The prizes have already been announced, attracting a large number of martial arts practitioners. Xu Longxiang plans to select a group of experts from among them after the tournament to be incorporated into the Dark Vanguard Battalion, thereby making up for his lack of manpower."
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the deep night outside the window.
"Dark Edge Camp... well, a good name. Unfortunately, even the sharpest blade is just scrap metal in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use it."
Yun Suxin stood in the shadows, listening to these words, a complex feeling welling up inside her.
She recalled that she had been the same way, thinking that she could overthrow the Qin Dynasty with a large army and skilled warriors, and that she could succeed as long as she joined forces with Xu Longxiang.
But the result?
Her power vanished overnight, her 100,000-strong army was buried underground, her double betrayed her, and she herself now stands behind the man she once wanted to kill, like a prisoner, listening to him casually discuss the fall of the North.
A self-deprecating smile returned to the corners of her lips.
She suddenly realized that the worst thing she had ever done in her life was to cooperate with Xu Longxiang.
If she hadn't chosen the alliance, if she hadn't trusted that Northern prince who was obsessed with her ideal man, perhaps she wouldn't be in this situation now.
But there are no "what ifs" in this world.
Qin Mu turned his head and looked at Yun Suxin, the smile on his lips deepening.
"Moon Goddess, what are you thinking about?"
Yun Suxin raised her eyes and met his gaze.
She didn't dodge or flinch; she simply looked at him calmly.
"I'm thinking about why I chose to cooperate with Xu Longxiang in the first place."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Why?"
Yun Suxin's gaze fell on Chen Ruoyao, then shifted to the night outside the window.
"Because I misjudged him. I thought he was a ruthless and ambitious man, that he had enough resources and methods, and that he could help me accomplish what I had failed to do. But later I realized that he was just a pitiful person trapped by his obsession. His heart was filled with too many things that shouldn't be there, and he was unable to truly concentrate on doing anything."
She paused, her voice becoming even softer, almost as if she were talking to herself.
"A person with too many distracting thoughts in their mind can never become a good chess player."