At night.
As the two sect leaders still needed time to recover, the delegation that was supposed to return the same day had to temporarily stay at the West Lake Folk Customs Research Association.
In fact, the two old sect leaders were still worried about any accidents, but only after Lin Zhitong's repeated assurances did they reluctantly agree.
The reason for trying hard to persuade everyone to stay overnight was actually that Lin Zhitong wanted to seize a final opportunity.
If the delegation left just like that, all eight sects would likely lean towards Lu Xin.
If that were the case, Lin Zhitong would lose all her advantages in the competition for sect leadership, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she would be utterly defeated.
The reason the delegation risked "life and death" to stay overnight was mainly for the sake of the Feng Shui treasure land of West Lake.
They had to admit that this complex of buildings, built on the West Lake of Rongcheng, was a Feng Shui treasure land their sects could only dream of. Even if they could stay here for one more night, what was wrong with being a little unlucky?
After sunset, a gentle breeze blew from West Lake, stirring the surface of the water and making the reflections of the willows on the shore sway from side to side.
The wind brushing over the lake carried no fishy smell at all. This was thanks to Yan Chou's choice of location; the principles of Feng Shui had completely dispelled the fishy smell, leaving only the clear breeze.
Sun Liuying's guest room faced West Lake. From the small balcony outside the room, one could directly admire the lake water and the bustling night view of the tall buildings opposite.
She wore a bathrobe, revealing some of her shoulders and fair legs, and took a few photos with her phone on the balcony.
Even as the daughter of the sect leader of the Tianhai Association, her conditions were only slightly better than ordinary people. One must know that hotels by West Lake in Rongcheng cost at least a thousand yuan per night, let alone this kind of first-tier lake view.
So, Sun Liuying planned to take more photos, fine-tune them, and post them on her Moments to make her girlfriends envious.
After taking photos for half an hour, she carefully selected three pictures, and after an hour of beauty editing, she happily clicked send.
By the time she finished everything, it was already past eleven o'clock at night.
Sun Liuying put down her phone and finally began to appreciate the beautiful scenery of West Lake. She was engrossed, and a sense of sourness suddenly welled up in her heart.
Why did Lin Zhitong get to enjoy such good scenery every day?
Jealousy made Sun Liuying wish she could drive Lin Zhitong away and have West Lake all to herself, because she still looked down on Lin Zhitong.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Sun Liuying's mind.
"If... I use the news of Lin Zhitong's pregnancy to ask Sect Leader Lu Xin for favors, could I also have this scenery all to myself?"
Once Lin Zhitong lost the competition for sect leadership, there might be no place for Lin Zhitong in Rongcheng in the future.
At that time, Rongcheng West Lake would definitely belong to Lu Xin.
Therefore, Sun Liuying boldly assumed that if she curried favor with Lu Xin now, she might secure a place in West Lake in the future...
This was entirely possible!
"But wouldn't it be bad to do this?"
Although Sun Liuying said this, her body had already picked up her phone.
The good thought only flashed in her mind for a moment before being suppressed by greedy desire.
She directly dialed a number. After the call was connected, there was no hesitation in Sun Liuying's eyes, and her face was full of a greedy smile.
"Hello? I am Sun Liuying from the Tianhai Association. I have something I want to tell Sect Leader Lu Xin... it's about Lin Zhitong, she will definitely be interested!"
Lu Xin hung up the phone expressionlessly.
Her confidant stood by, waiting for Lu Xin to speak. He knew Lu Xin would definitely take some action.
"Lin Zhitong is pregnant," Lu Xin said indifferently.
The confidant was shocked: "This is not good news for her."
"Yes, to compete for sect leadership, one must have an unyielding spirit. But now that she is pregnant, she will inevitably consider her unborn child everywhere."
Lu Xin sneered and said to her confidant, "Why don't we help Lin Zhitong?"
The confidant asked, confused: "What does the Sect Leader mean..."
"Get rid of her unborn child, so she has no worries and can compete with me for sect leadership!" Lu Xin showed a morbid smile.
From Sun Liuying, Lu Xin learned that the impression of the eight sects towards Lin Zhitong today was very low.
If nothing unexpected happened, the eight sects would completely pledge their allegiance to Lu Xin when dawn broke tomorrow.
This way, Lin Zhitong would have no leverage.
Lu Xin felt that things would be too boring.
So she wanted to help Lin Zhitong, but not by helping Lin Zhitong increase her leverage, but by helping Lin Zhitong increase her hatred!
Killing her child, Lin Zhitong would inevitably lose her temper and come to trouble Lu Xin!
And this was exactly what Lu Xin wanted to see. She felt that the process of controlling the Lushan Sect was too smooth and lacked challenge, hence too boring.
"Life is long, isn't it always good to find some fun for oneself?"
As Lu Xin spoke, she took out a pair of embroidered shoes from the sleeve of her wide Taoist robe.
The embroidered shoes exuded a chilling aura, causing even her confidant beside her to shiver involuntarily.
"Go, find Lin Zhitong and kill the child in her belly."
Lu Xin threw the embroidered shoes. After landing on the ground, the embroidered shoes began to walk on their own, one to the left and one to the right, as if an invisible woman were wearing them, advancing with a strange posture.
West Lake Folk Customs Research Association.
Lin Zhitong sat on a swing in the courtyard, swaying without a sound.
Today had been terrible, but Lin Zhitong did not blame her companions; instead, she blamed herself.
She blamed herself for not arranging everything properly, causing the entire Folk Customs Research Association to lose face in front of the delegation.
Yan Shouyi brought a cup of hot milk and slowly walked towards Lin Zhitong, sitting beside her.
"I have already given Xiaolong and the others a serious lecture," Yan Shouyi said.
"What did you do to them?" Lin Zhitong asked with concern. "Please don't scold them. This is ultimately the matter of the Lushan Sect, and it cannot affect the feelings between everyone."
Lin Zhitong was responsible for hosting the delegation, with Yan Shouyi as the only addition.
Strictly speaking, the other companions had no vested interest with Lin Zhitong, so they were not obligated to indulge Lin Zhitong or the delegation.
Yan Shouyi replied, "Xiaolong is impulsive in his actions. It's one thing when he's young, but does he want to be unreliable for his entire life? I told him that if he continues to be so unreliable, I will tell Lu Caiwei about him calling girls to play cards at the hotel."