“Something was stolen? How could that be!” Shen Fu exclaimed in shock upon hearing the message delivered by the immortal attendant.
“Our disciples are all subject to restrictions when entering and leaving the sect. There is no way anyone could have taken Lord Wuya’s belongings.”
Could it be… that Lord Wuya was using this incident as a pretext to make trouble for the Shen Clan? Although Wentian City was powerful and influential, it was not known for being unreasonable.
Yet despite the Shen Clan’s many attempts to curry favor, they had never received any response. Shen Fu had long suspected that Wentian City harbored some hostility toward the Shen Clan.
As for the source of that hostility? Who could possibly fathom what was on Lord Wuya’s mind?
Mount Jia did not dare neglect such a distinguished guest. The mountain gates were thrown wide open, and the Rainbow Light Flying Vessel descended from the sky. Shen Fu personally stepped out of the main hall to welcome the visitors.
Six golden luan birds came to a halt upon the white jade plaza, and two young cultivators were the first to step down.
Just as Shen Fu was about to go forward, he saw the two cultivators begin casting spells.
They summoned clouds from the heavens, spreading them out to pave the path from the Rainbow Light Flying Vessel all the way to the Shen Clan’s guest residence. Such exquisite cloud-manipulating techniques could only be performed by Golden Core cultivators.
Making Golden Core cultivators expend their spiritual energy just to summon clouds… what exactly was this for?
Shen Fu froze for a moment before he saw Lu Wei step down.
He wore a white robe embroidered with gold, his aura cold and awe-inspiring. His beauty was like frost and snow, and a strip of white silk covered his eyes.
Everyone in the Immortal Realm knew that after Lord Wuya emerged from the Wilderness of Eternal Night, his blindness had already been cured.
Yet for some unknown reason, his eyes were still covered with a strip of white silk. Countless theories circulated. Some claimed he had simply grown accustomed to darkness, while others said it was part of a unique cultivation method. But no one knew the truth.
Shen Fu watched with his own eyes as Lu Wei walked forward. With every step he took, the clouds beneath his feet extended ahead of him. It was as though he had no intention of setting foot on the Shen Clan’s land even once.
The guests from the cultivation clans who had attended the Shen Clan’s hunting banquet the previous evening had not yet departed. Upon hearing that Lu Wei had arrived, they all gathered outside the main hall to catch a glimpse of Lord Wuya’s bearing.
Seeing Lu Wei’s actions, a young cultivator could not help laughing.
“Does Lord Wuya really refuse to step on the Shen Clan’s land? I’ve heard he dislikes certain clans of the Eastern Region. It seems the rumors are true.”
Hearing the murmurs, Shen Fu’s anger slowly rose. Every step Lu Wei took felt like it was trampling directly on his dignity.
“What is the meaning of this, Lord Wuya?”
“My subordinates’ cultivation is still lacking. I simply have them practice their spellcasting whenever the opportunity arises.” Walking upon the clouds, Lu Wei made his way into the main hall of the Shen Clan’s guest residence.
“Does Lord Wuya find the Shen Clan’s land beneath his feet?”
“I have never said such a thing.” Lu Wei held a candle whose flame had already gone out, his thin lips pressed into a straight line.
“Even if you did lose something in Mount Jia, this is still the Shen Clan’s guest residence. Lord Wuya, you have no right to intrude without permission.” Seeing that the visitor had come with ill intent, Shen Fu’s attitude also became unyielding.
Lu Wei took the seat of honor. Sensing the auras of many juniors from other sects and factions within the hall, he realized that the Shen Clan must have been hosting some sort of banquet to have invited so many outsiders.
With so many people present, loose lips were inevitable. Lu Xuan’s heart condition was a secret, and they certainly could not announce that Wentian City’s heir might have encountered danger…
A thought crossed Lu Wei’s mind. He lightly tapped the life candle with his fingertip, and the extinguished candle instantly split into nine.
Although the life candle had gone out, it still retained a faint trace of energy. Once it drew near that mechanical heart, it would reignite.
“My apologies for the trouble, Shen Clan.” He lifted his chin slightly, and the Wentian City cultivators waiting outside carried in a large chest filled with spirit stones, every single one of them top-grade.
Everyone knew that Wentian City was unimaginably wealthy, but no one had expected Lu Wei to be this generous.
“Wherever a life candle reignites is where my missing item can be found. If you locate it, simply summon me.” Lu Wei raised a hand, and the nine life candles floated down before Shen Fu.
His actions appeared casual, yet they revealed quite a bit.
For example…
The Lord Wuya before them was far from ignorant about the Shen Clan. He even knew that the Shen Clan had exactly nine direct descendants, including those born of concubines.
Lu Wei had arrived and publicly humiliated the Shen Clan, yet now he was offering ten thousand spirit stones as a reward to their younger generation. Even if the Shen Clan burned with anger, they dared not neglect the matter.
After all, he was offering far too much.
“Where’s Ming’er?” All of the Shen Clan’s children had accompanied Shen Fu to receive Lu Wei. Looking around now, one of them was still missing.
“I don’t know. At this hour, she should still be… sleeping…?” Shen Ji replied.
Shen Ming was slow by nature. She never seemed particularly bright, and she was obsessed with food. In Shen Fu’s eyes, she was the child least fit to be presented to others, so he had never intended to summon her today.
The moment the name “Ming’er” was mentioned, Shen Fu suddenly felt a chill behind his ears. Turning around, he discovered that Lord Wuya had imperceptibly turned his face slightly in their direction.
Shen Fu assumed the man was displeased that one fewer member of the Shen Clan would be searching for his “lost treasure,” so he promptly said, “Mo Ying, you go.”
The woman in gray who had been standing quietly in the corner of the hall stepped forward with her head lowered and accepted the last life candle with both hands.
“Very well, let the younger generation conduct the search.” After giving his instructions, Shen Fu nodded ingratiatingly toward Lu Wei. Although the Shen Clan was by no means poor, taking out so many spirit stones at once was still astonishing.
Lu Wei remained silent. He did not touch the tea on the table, merely sitting quietly in the center of the hall.
“By the way, where is the Young Lord of Wentian City? I heard he claimed first place in the East Sea Trial three years ago. With such extraordinary talent, entering the Changxiao Palace to cultivate should be effortless for him,” Shen Fu said flatteringly.
Lu Wei lifted his chin slightly. The frost-like chill on his face deepened, startling Shen Fu into not daring to speak another word.
“Mo Ying, you’re really lucky. It just so happens that Second Sister isn’t here, so this opportunity fell into your lap,” Shen Ji said as she carefully cradled the life candle in her arms.
“If you manage to find the treasure Lord Wuya lost, you might even earn his favor. And then there are all those spirit stones he offered… There are so many!” She skipped around Mo Ying twice with an intimate smile.
Mo Ying smiled gently at her, tightening her grip on the life candle. Determination shone in her eyes. She had to seize this opportunity.
“But I won’t go easy on you,” Shen Ji said, taking Mo Ying’s hand and giving it a playful shake.
“All right.” Mo Ying looked toward the depths of Mount Jia. Searching the entire mountain range in such a short time would be no easy task.
“Speaking of which, I really wish you were my second sister.” Shen Ji recalled the conflict she had had with Mingming the night before.
“Shen Ming is so strange, just like her mother. They’re both crazy. Do you know what she caught during the hunt last night? A snake! I can’t believe someone would dare touch a snake!”
“She even said she was going to eat it. She’ll try even something that terrifying.”
Just thinking about those snake scales so close to her the previous night made Shen Ji break out in a cold sweat.
“Her mother?” Mo Ying laughed. “I heard she went mad because she failed to win Godfather’s affection. How pitiful.”
“Shh! Don’t let Second Sister hear you say that…” Shen Ji covered Mo Ying’s mouth with a laugh.
The nine extinguished life candles scattered to every corner of Mount Jia. Every one of the Shen Clan’s younger generation searched with complete focus, hoping to find the “treasure” that would resonate with the candle in their hands.
Meanwhile, Mingming had only just awakened.
She found herself still fully dressed, lying on the couch. She had slept peacefully through the night without a single dream.
Mingming rolled over, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and lifted the bed curtains, about to get up. But beyond the gauzy drapes, she saw a pair of dim eyes fixed upon her.
Cool peach blossom eyes. An indifferent gaze. And that detached, faint presence…
It was Lu Xuan.
Mingming’s memories came flooding back.
Oh, right. Last night she’d picked up her target of conquest.
Despite everything that had happened the night before, once she woke up, Mingming went about washing up in the room as if nothing were out of the ordinary, completely unbothered by anyone else’s presence.
Lu Xuan simply watched her.
Even beneath his icy gaze, she showed not the slightest hint of discomfort.
It was as though he did not exist at all.
Mingming had always been the sort of person who paid no attention to those around her. She simply focused on doing what she needed to do.
She sat before the mirror and combed her hair. Just as she finished putting it up into a simple bun, Lu Xuan finally spoke.
“Aren’t you going to resolve this?”
“I don’t know how to,” Mingming replied smoothly without even turning her head.
She considered herself fairly knowledgeable about spells, yet she had found no way to cure Lu Xuan’s heart condition. For the moment, she simply could not stray far from him.
Mingming did not think much of it, but Lu Xuan was distinctly uncomfortable. It was the first time he had ever spent an entire night in the same room as a woman.
It was utterly absurd.
“You’ll have to stay with me.”
After a long silence, that was all Lu Xuan managed to say.
“Okay.” That was exactly what Mingming had wanted. She was still planning to build a relationship with this conquest target of hers.
“But this is the Shen Clan estate. You’ll have to stay hidden for now, or the Family Head will punish me.” Mingming was still mindful of maintaining her human disguise.
“The mere Shen Clan.” Lu Xuan rose to his feet and moved toward the door. If Wentian City wished, it could wipe out the Shen Clan even at the risk of starting a war.
He had moved, but Mingming had not. She was still sitting before the mirror, carefully adjusting the jeweled flower ornament beside her temple.
Although her goal was to make Lu Xuan develop feelings for her, she had always done as she pleased. She was never the type to accommodate someone else’s temperament.
As a result, the moment he put some distance between himself and Mingming, Lu Xuan felt an agonizing pain erupt in his chest when he reached the doorway.
“Come here,” he said.
“Wait until I’ve finished putting my hair ornament on.” Mingming blinked at her reflection in the mirror, repeatedly checking that the jeweled flower was positioned perfectly.
“Shen Ming.”
Lu Xuan’s voice was icy.
The tone should have been overwhelmingly intimidating, yet Mingming felt nothing at all. She was not afraid of him in the slightest.
By the time she reached the doorway, she noticed that Lu Xuan’s face had gone pale. He had endured the pain for quite some time while maintaining that distance, silently bearing it the entire time.
“Lu Xuan, stay a little closer to me. Don’t make yourself suffer,” Mingming kindly reminded him.
Lu Xuan was utterly helpless against her. He stared fixedly at Mingming, yet their gazes never met because she had quietly pushed the door open a crack to check on the situation outside.
Lingsong was dozing off in the courtyard.
It was already nearly noon.
Mingming closed the door behind her and said to Lu Xuan, “Transform yourself. Hide.”
Lu Xuan did not move.
“The snake from last night.” Mingming held out her sleeve toward him. “Make yourself smaller and crawl in here. I’ll hide you.”
Lu Xuan asked, “You’re not afraid of snakes?”
The snake demon herself tilted her head in confusion. Why would she be afraid of herself?
“I’m not.”
Lu Xuan did not transform into a snake again. Instead, his figure rippled like water before shrinking into a tiny jeweled flower ornament that landed atop Mingming’s head.
His transformation technique was exquisitely refined, yet it did not surprise Mingming in the slightest.
She merely adjusted Lu Xuan to a suitable position in her hair before calmly walking outside.
Lingsong was startled awake by her arrival.
“Second Miss, where’s the snake from last night?”
“I ate it all.” Mingming spread her hands. “There wasn’t much left.”
Mingming’s appetite was astonishing, and Lingsong did not suspect a thing. She simply stood on tiptoe in the courtyard and said, “It seems an important person came to Mount Jia today. The light was so dazzling.”
“Really? What’s for lunch?” The only thing Mingming cared about was lunch.
“The ingredients are all prepared. Will you be cooking for yourself again, Second Miss?” Lingsong asked.
“I’ll do it myself…” Mingming was just about to answer when she sensed the communication formation in the courtyard calling for her.
She activated the communication formation. Points of light gathered together, forming the illusory figure of a tall woman. She had delicate features, though the corners of her eyes bore traces of hardship.
“Ming’er!”
The woman’s sharp shout startled Mingming enough that her half-lidded sleepy eyes opened a little wider.
“Madam Lan.” Wearing the jeweled flower ornament that Lu Xuan had transformed into atop her head, Mingming greeted the woman on the other end of the formation.
“Your father refuses to acknowledge me, and now you won’t acknowledge me either… I… Is this truly the meaning of my life?” Madam Lan threw herself toward the center of the formation, her face filled with despair.
The Shen Clan’s rules were indeed rather outdated. Madam Lan was Shen Fu’s concubine. Even though Shen Ming was her daughter, she could only address Shen Fu’s principal wife as “Mother.”
Rules were rigid, but people were not. The Shen Clan’s other children born of concubines privately called their own mothers “Mother” as well.
Only Mingming addressed her distantly as “Madam Lan.”
She had never been Madam Lan’s child.
Back then, Madam Lan had suffered from madness and could no longer distinguish reality from illusion. Believing herself to be pregnant, she had unknowingly given Mingming the opportunity to infiltrate the Shen Clan.
“That’s enough, Madam Lan. Calm yourself.” Mingming’s expression remained as tranquil as ever. With a single sentence, she soothed the woman’s turbulent emotions.
“Ming’er, when are you returning from Mount Jia?”
“I’ll come back with the others.”
“Good, good… Once you’re back, I’ll introduce you to some young cultivators.”
Mingming tilted her head.
“?”
“I’ve seen your cultivation. There’s no way you’ll be able to enter Changxiao Palace to cultivate. Staying in the Shen Clan won’t give you many opportunities to improve either. You might as well go out into the world. If you can become cultivation partners with a cultivator from one of the great clans, then I’ll finally be able to stop worrying about you.”
Mingming tilted her head even farther.
“??”
She truly did not understand humans very well, so Madam Lan’s string of remarks left her utterly bewildered.
“Madam Lan…” Mingming blinked. She had no intention of arguing with her.
She reluctantly indulged the temperament of this woman who was her mother in name. In the entire Shen Clan, she was the only one who did not treat Madam Lan as a madwoman.
“I’ll talk to you after I return from Mount Jia,” Mingming replied.
All of a sudden, she felt the jeweled flower ornament on her head weighing heavily against it, so she reached up and scratched the jeweled flower that Lu Xuan had transformed into.
Just as Madam Lan was about to say something more, a commotion suddenly arose outside the courtyard. Mingming could only disconnect the communication formation first before waiting for Qingsong to answer the door.
The courtyard gate slowly opened.
Standing outside was Mo Ying, dressed in gray robes. In her hand was a life candle that had begun to burn with tiny sparks, and she stared at Mingming in astonishment.
“When Ninth Sister told me you brought back a snake last night, I already thought you were acting strangely…”
Mo Ying rushed into the courtyard, unable to conceal the delight in her eyes. Out of the nine candles, hers had actually found the target!
“So it really was you who stole Lord Wuya’s belongings. You even tried to hide them with some sort of illusion, but you can’t fool this candle!”