Conditioning

"How are you doing, Elder Cu? I am sure you remember me, the Clan leader's here. Of course, you might have already realized that if I sent you a letter, there must be something I want you to do. Well, it's simple, I want you to kill Jil Lu in two days: otherwise, I might reveal everything about you and Yue Emi to everyone. Then, you know what will happen, right?" The letter ended with this. 

"That scoundrel, Yang Zhai." Elder Cu Gil muttered with an enraged tone. He burned the letter to ashes. 

He already realized who the letter belonged to. If the Clan leader really knew about Cu Gil and Yue Emi Relationship, then he wouldn't be sending a letter like this and would have come by himself here to deal with Cu Gil. And besides, only Yang Zhai knew about his and Yue Emi's relationship. Thus, it could only be Yang Zhai who sent the letter. 

"Now, he wants me to kill Jil Lu. Of course, I want to kill Jil Lu myself, but still, how can he get the courage to ask me something like this? I don't even know where he is." Elder Cu Gil was losing his temper because of Yang Zhai.

First, he lost his daughter, then, second elder Shu Ti saved Jil Lu, and now, someone orders him like this. How could he not lose his temper? 

"Why does he want to kill Jil Lu, anyway? Could he also have some revenge against him or something like this?" He was lost in thoughts.

He knew that if Yang Zhai could even go to the point of ordering him to kill Jil Lu, then he could do anything. 

"What to do now? Should I listen to him, or not? If I don't, then he might reveal everything to the clan leader, but if I do listen to him, I will also be able to get my revenge." 

…..

Meanwhile,

"So, what will you do now, Cu Gil?" Yang Zhai muttered to himself.

He had struck Cu Gil's heart. Killing Jil Lu was also Cu Gil's wish. Now, it was up to Cu Gil to decide. 

If Cu Gil kills Jil Lu, then it was good for Yang Zhai, but if he does not, then Yang Zhai would simply keep on hiding and would think of another way to deal with Jil Lu. 

As for why he used the name of the clan leader instead of his own, it was to conceal his identity from the others if by any chance the letter was obtained by someone else.

"Brother Fen, I have delivered the letter to elder Cu's residence and did everything as you had instructed. Also, I made sure nobody was following me while returning back." Li Na informed Yang Zhai of everything that she did and what happened on the way. Although, nothing big happened on her way back.

"Good, now go and cultivate." Yang Zhai sent Li Na back to her room and started to cultivate himself.

…..

Two days later,

"Here, make sure that the letter reaches the clan leader's residence. But, before that, make sure to not be suspicious, I think there will be some commotion going on in secrets that we are unaware of." 

Yang Zhai handed another letter to Li Na. However, this time the letter was for the clan leader Tai Qi instead. 

"Okay, brother Fen, I will do as you said." Li Na left the house after that.

"Huh, brother Fen, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

Si Yu had an anxious look on his face, he wanted to say something, but hesitated.

"No, and don't worry, she will be alright. You should focus more on cultivating than worrying about her." Yang Zhai came back to his room after saying this.

"Uh," Si Yu looked to the side with an awkward expression. He was just going to ask the same question that he asked two days ago as to whether it was a good idea to send Li Na instead of him, but Yang Zhai understood his feelings even before he could say anything.

On the other hand,

Li Na came in front of a residence. She looked at the gate and saw guards standing around. She went to one of them and asked,

"Is it the residence of the clan leader, Tai Qi?"

"Yes, it is, do you need something?" The guard asked in return.

"No, nothing, but here, this is given by the second elder Shu Ti. He also said that the letter must only be delivered to the clan leader and nobody else. And also, nobody besides him is allowed to read this. Tell the clan leader that his daughter came personally to deliver the letter." She handed the letter to the guard and left after that. She did not look behind whilst leaving.

She knew the directions of the clan leader's residence because Yang Zhai had taught them to her in the previous two days. He had also drawn the ways leading to the clan leader's residence on a piece of paper for her better understanding.

This letter was going to turn many things upside down. So, he made sure that the name of the personality that sent the letter must be high enough that nobody besides the clan leader could reject his orders, and no one was better than the second elder Shu Ti.

Li Na came back to the house.

"You are fine, Li Na. Did anything happen on the way back or did you suspect something wrong?"Si Yu was waiting for her impatiently. Now that he saw her with his own eyes, he relaxed.

"No, nothing happened, everything is fine. It is better that brother Yang sent me instead of you, nobody in this village recognizes me. So, nobody suspected anything. Also, is brother Yang in his room?" Li Na looked around and didn't see Yang Zhai.

"Yes, he is in his room. He is waiting for you in his room, you should inform him first."

Li Na came outside Yang Zhai's room and knocked. 

"Come in."

Li Na went inside when Yang Zhai allowed her. 

"So, what's the news?"

"Brother, I did everything as you instructed me to, the letter was delivered to the clan leader's residence and as I introduced myself as the second elder's daughter, nobody questioned me as well." Li Na spoke excitedly. She was excited that she completed her task successfully and was helpful in some way.

When a person who believes in no one believes in someone, then that trust cannot be considered normal. She hated cultivators to the brim, but she didn't hate Yang Zhai. He had saved them, then he took them to his house, made them cultivators, and also taught them. They began to trust and rely on Yang Zhai without even realizing it, they were getting used to him unconsciously.

They could not remember when they started to rely on him without any quarrels.

It seems that the environment created by me is working properly: Yang Zhai thought.

He had killed their uncle and then he left them to starve and endure hardships. Then made the man who killed Li Na's mother attack them. He then saved them when they were almost close to their deaths. After that, he took them in and made them slowly become dependent on him. 

It was like he starved them to the point where they were about to die of hunger, then suddenly he gave them a lot of food. Not just that, besides him, they hated every cultivator. 

Just like how kids were only used to their caretakers and were scared of others. Or how an angry dog only cared for their owner and nobody else. From the earth's point of view, this was environment conditioning psychology.

"Very well, you did well. Now, for the next coming days, stay in the house and don't leave. Remember this, I don't want any of you to leave the house without informing me." Yang Zhai strictly instructed Li Na.

Now, nobody knew what would happen in the next coming days, so he had to make sure that these two weren't discovered by someone.

!*****!*****!