"If you know she's a White Night Walker, why not just arrest her on the spot?"
The Ice Blood quietly flowed through his veins. Leyu pressed his fingers lightly, and Qian Yuya's file slipped back in front of Bai Yu. From the moment he saw that name, his expression hadn't changed at all, posing his loyal-minister-like question.
"Is this your way of testing the Ritual Guard's approach, Hongle?" Bai Yu interlaced his fingers and smiled, "Allies aren't always allies, and enemies aren't always enemies, especially when we need to remain dormant."
"Before the four Glorious Guards rectify the chaos, White Night can be quite useful in restraining the Imperial Court for us. Both the Righteous Guard and the Intelligence Guard have greatly benefitted because of White Night. Until they've bled out their last drop of strength, there's no need for us to wipe them out entirely—at times, we even need to support them—just like you assisting Zhengwei in Dongyang."
"You could say you've set a perfect example for the Ritual Guard, erecting a ruthless and formidable enemy, clearing out the remnants of the old era, inciting a grand betrayal, and harvesting the fruits of victory."
"Killing with a borrowed knife—staying clean, accumulating no karma, basking in honor."
"Your operational plans from the past few months have already been compiled and preserved. Once you retire with honor, this file will doubtless become essential reference for the Ritual Guard."
Intelligence Officer's History Course (Etiquette Guard Edition), Lesson Five: How to Properly Backstab an Ally—Case Study, 'Dongyang Xuan Candle Silver Blood Campaign,' Guide Author: Qin Leyin, Preface: Fate is hard to defy ...
Leyu imagined the scene and actually felt a bit of pride.
"Even though in this particular story, he's the ally being stabbed in the back."
Leyu had long foreseen the consensus between the four Glorious Guards and White Night, so this question only served as prelude for what he was about to say, "Just as you said, White Night is simply a pawn we can use. But the reason they're a pawn is because they can't be tamed."
"We both know White Night is nothing but a bunch of stubborn, foolish idealists. If Qian Yuya really wanted to join us, odds are she's a double agent for White Night, not for us—I don't believe you doubt White Night's notorious 'Spirit contamination' powers."
"Or do you actually have a way to ensure Qian Yuya won't betray us?"
Leyu's voice sank, sounding almost like some creep looking to traffic pretty girls, "What, did we recently get a Divine Weapon that lets us control people? Or did we develop a new Combat Technique for brainwashing girls?"
Bai Yu smiled, "Hongle, I never knew you were such a fan of Lanling Publishing."
Leyu was briefly caught off guard, "What's Lanling Publishing?"
"That house prints the sort of works you can't sell at any proper bookstore ... never mind, I think it sounds pretty foolish to explain a joke. Hongle, we've never underestimated White Night, but we've never overestimated human nature either," Bai Yu said, dropping the smile.
"This candidate is clever, and anyone clever enough is liable to see the light and change sides."
Leyu blurted out, "Why?"
"There are two kinds of people who join White Night: idiots, and idealists—people who believe in honor and the future and the people, who get so touched by their own crap they think they're the bravest heroes who ever lived."
Bai Yu shrugged, "Sure, granted, White Night's brainwashing assimilation is impressive. Whenever we catch a White Night Walker, that means there are still dozens more of their idiot followers hiding out there."
"But then there are the clever ones. Maybe they even believe in some White Night ideals, but the only reason they attach themselves to White Night is they haven't found anywhere better to realize their ambitions."
"Like someone who looks around and sees nothing but ugly, stupid partners, then finally finds a half-decent one and jumps into marriage. But then, suddenly, someone even prettier and smarter starts flirting—don't you think they'll drop the old for the new?"
Leyu kept silent, calmly watching Bai Yu, who quickly realized the flaw in his example, "Of course, of course, with marriage, if your ability is high enough, you can have multiple partners, but rival factions can't do that. And honestly, once people have a new favorite, who cares about the old one?"
"New clothes can't beat the old, but new people are never as good as the ones you knew." Leyu said softly, "That's just me—don't speak for me."
"That just means you have noble character, or maybe you just found your true love at the very start," Bai Yu shook his head, "We never overestimate human nature."
Leyu said, "So your point is, as long as we show them the four Glorious Guards offer a brighter future than White Night, they'll switch sides?"
"Exactly."
"I seriously doubt a 'Venerate King' organization like us will ever win the approval of the Backlight Particle."
Bai Yu suddenly looked at Leyu with a very odd expression.
"Do you really think the Backlight Organization stands against the Glorious Imperial Family or the Emperor?"
"What else is there?" Leyu was taken aback, "Maybe I can't speak for the other Backlight Organizations, but I know a bit about White Night—their political platform specifically opposes imperial rule and the monarchy."
"That's their official rhetoric, sure ... well, how should I put this ..."
Bai Yu suddenly pulled a newspaper from his drawer. Leyu glanced down and saw the 'Youth Daily' headline; for some reason, he no longer felt like cracking wise.
He'd gotten used to others using his own magic against him.
"There's a line from this Mr. Xun's column that nails it, 'People always like compromising. For example, if you say this room is too dark, a window must be opened here, everyone will object. But if you propose tearing off the whole roof, they'll compromise, and be willing to open that window.' White Night is just the same. From day one, they start by denouncing imperial rule, so all their other radical measures start to make sense."
"But in reality, true anti-imperial Backlight Particles in White Night are maybe one in ten. The vast majority are moderates. At most, they want to oppose the court, purge corrupt advisors, weaken royal power, and reform civil service ..."
Bai Yu spread his hands, "Which pretty much lines up with our own goals."
Leyu couldn't offer any rebuttal—Qian Yuliu didn't care either way, that cold-blooded siscon only rebelled for his sister; Yin Yinyin never accepted the White Night ideology in the first place, just wanted to be White Night's lapdog; as for Zhengwei and Qin Leyin, don't even mention it.
Bai Yu, noticing Hongle was still confused, pointed outside at the sun.
"The Glorious Dynasty has lasted two thousand years already."
"The history before Glorious means nothing; the future after Glorious is beyond question."
"To the people of Glorious, it was the sun overhead—the daily light, as constant as the moon, as rising as the sun itself. Can you picture a day when the sun doesn't rise? Can you imagine the heavens upended?"
Leyu didn't agree, "Wanting to drag down the high and mighty, to burn away those grins in the sky—that's human nature at work."
"But Glorious is more than just the high and mighty nobility and royalty—it's millions of ordinary people, too. Glorious is not just the sun in the sky but the blue over the lake, the gold on the wheat, the ten thousand lights in the homes of the people."
Seeing Leyu about to retort, Bai Yu raised his hand, "Let's agree to disagree—but at least with this candidate, she's probably not one of those extremist Backlight Particles."
"So long as she's not totally anti-monarchy, her interests align just fine with ours."
"Whatever White Night can offer her, so can we—and better:
We're the true heirs to the Glorious legacy, with rightful standing;
We'd seize the court without blowing up everything and starting from scratch like White Night—instead, we'd reform it, carving out the rot;
We can grant her a 'Naiser Heart,' letting her reach her true potential even faster;
Most important, we're on the side of the winners."
Bai Yu said blandly, "Even the most optimistic White Night extremist doesn't really believe they can topple the royal house and change the world in twenty years. And in twenty years, the Glorious Holy Sword will once again hang above Yanjing, putting an end to all strife, with power restored to the Imperial Family."
"I can't imagine a smart person turning down a spot with the four Glorious Guards."
That was true.
At least in the intelligence world, the four Glorious Guards held top-dog status: amazing perks, great benefits, highly selective, very few staff, no midlife crises—every ambitious youth would bust their head to get in.
Which was exactly why—
Leyu kept looking for excuses not to recruit Qian Yuya.
"What if she lost relatives in the revolution—"
"Every debt has an owner. If it's the system's fault, bring her in and have her help reform it. If it's a specific person, all the better—once she's gotten herself a Naiser Heart replica, she can train up fast and take her revenge. If she wants to limit royal power, even better—we want that too."
There wasn't a single flaw, Leyu couldn't find any reason for Qian Yuya to say no. The four Glorious Guards were basically taxpayer-funded rebels—hell, everyone here was a two-faced schemer. He almost wanted to recommend Qing Lan himself just to milk a few perks; husband and wife duo, gaming the system for all it was worth.
"Hongle, do you know her well?" Bai Yu had also noticed Leyu acting strange, "You don't seem very keen on bringing her into the Ritual Guard?"
Leyu, of course, wasn't willing.
Whether you joined White Night as a revolutionary, or the four Glorious Guards as anti-court, either way, you were signing up for the guillotine.
"He didn't even feel that deeply about Qian Yuya."
Still—
On the day they parted at the train station—
"Leyu genuinely hoped she could live her life in peace and happiness."
"Let her celebrate youth, enjoy campus days, fall in love, chase some hobby, get an easy but lucrative job, settle into an ordinary, happy family, and, with any luck, forget about that cold-blooded siscon. Live a smooth, undramatic life never beaten down by reality, so at the end, she could honestly say, 'To be human was a blessing for me'—that was all he wished for."
Not to wind up some SSR on the Royal Academy recruitment shortlist, coveted by the four Glorious Guards.