Li Jian had no time to overthink. Grasping the chopsticks on the table, he hurled them forward. They grazed past the extremely thin silver threads and embedded themselves deeply into the opposite wall.
The chopsticks brushed right past the silver wire, their tips sheared apart by the razor-sharp filaments, which shaved away more than half of the wood.
The dense network of silver threads instantly pulled taut, and the wires pinned down by the chopsticks abruptly cast visible shadows. Pulling Xuan Lang out of the way, Li Jian watched as countless silver threads shimmering with light suddenly materialized across the room, nearly wrapping around the two of them entirely!
The candlelight inside the room extinguished instantly, leaving only wisps of blue smoke drifting away as their visibility dimmed, allowing them to barely make out the dense web of silver radiance through the moonlight filtering in from the window.
“Careful!”
A long sword swiftly drew from Li Jian’s sleeve. The sharp edge of the blade shielded Xuan Lang, instantly becoming entangled by countless abruptly taut silver filaments.
Xuan Lang ducked down, narrowly managing to extricate himself from the attack of the silver threads.
As the sword blade flashed faintly with light, Li Jian saw that the entire front courtyard was now pierced through by silver threads, leaving virtually no place to set foot.
The silver wires were sharp enough to draw blood at the slightest touch; this was clearly an attempt to leave them no way out alive!
Turning back, Li Jian pressed Xuan Lang down onto the dining table. Their breaths mingled as they ducked to evade the incoming strikes, a strand of hair being sliced off by a silver thread and drifting into the air.
“Wait here for me,” Li Jian said.
Though he wasn’t certain whether he could handle this entity, he had to ensure Xuan Lang remained completely unharmed.
Without waiting for Xuan Lang’s reply, Li Jian pushed himself up from the table, swinging his long sword with a crisp clang as it met the silver threads, entangling himself within the dense web.
As if deliberately controlled, the silver wires moved with uncanny flexibility, wrapping around Li Jian and pulling him step by step away from his original spot, binding him tightly.
Unbeknownst to Li Jian, a single silver thread so thin it was almost invisible to the naked eye broke free from the net and shot directly toward Xuan Lang.
Reflecting the moonlight, the cold glint of the silver wire flashed as it darted swiftly toward Xuan Lang, stopping a mere fraction of an inch from his neck before embedding itself firmly into the wall behind him.
Oh no, Xuan Lang!
Li Jian raised the flash of his sword to hack toward the mass of densely packed silver threads. Whether it was his imagination or because the person controlling them outside lacked the strength to sustain it, Li Jian distinctly felt the rapidly moving silver wires slow down abruptly, as if restrained by something.
Without pausing to think, the sword blade crossed back and forth across the spacious room. In the blink of an eye, all the silver threads snapped simultaneously with crisp, ringing sounds.
The air seemed to stall as countless silver wires instantly retracted and dissipated from all directions.
A fierce wind rustled outside the window. Just as Li Jian intended to draw his sword and give chase—determined to find out who dared to take his life and even target Xuan Lang—
Xuan Lang poked his head out from the corner and pointed behind the landscape screen, calling out, “Immortal Elder, the divine statue is back.”
Distracted by those words, Li Jian glanced toward the direction where the silver threads had fled, then silently turned back.
In the dim, pitch-black night, a dark figure flickered across the rooftop of the Qi family residence. That person looked down at the listless silver thread in their palm, its sharpness shaved away until it was nothing more than an ordinary piece of silver wire.
The person’s sharp gaze fell upon the front courtyard, and they let out a chuckle. “To actually make a move for the sake of a stranger—truly a rare sight to behold.”
With a sudden brush of the lingering wind, that dark figure dimmed and gradually vanished into the night sky.
Standing behind the landscape screen, Li Jian looked around for a moment. There sat the statue of Immortal Lord Shiyuan that Patriarch Qi had displayed, not a flawed replacement, and even sitting in its exact original position. Why, then, had it vanished previously?
On the wall behind the screen, Li Jian’s chopsticks were still embedded alongside the severed half of the silver thread. Li Jian reached out and pulled down the dangling wire it was extremely thin, virtually invisible unless examined closely.
Xuan Lang lit a candle, instantly brightening the entire room. Holding the candlestick, he stepped forward and asked, “Did the Immortal Elder discover anything?”
Facing the bright light, Li Jian twirled the silver wire between his fingertips and said, “It wasn’t any sort of evil specter at work just an illusion.”
“An illusion?”
Li Jian nodded. “Someone manipulated this silver thread to hide the divine statue, tricking us into thinking they could transfer it away in an instant. However, being able to forge such silver threads implies that person’s cultivation level is quite high.”
At the very least, it had consumed a great deal of effort, and the opponent’s cultivation ought to be above his own.
This silver thread was used precisely to conceal the divine statue, remaining invisible until Li Jian pinned it down with his strike. The hidden threads wrapped around the statue so that it couldn’t be seen by the eye, creating the illusion that it had vanished.
If Li Jian guessed correctly, the person controlling the silver threads today had intended to take advantage of the opportunity to spirit the divine statue away.
Following yesterday, Li Jian’s behavior of freeloading and doing nothing made it obvious he was a half-baked phony. Observing that, the culprit likely lowered their guard against him.
Had it not been for this, Li Jian couldn’t have guaranteed he would flush that person out; if they truly hadn’t appeared, to be frank, Li Jian would have been helpless.
Furthermore, since the silver threads were manually controlled, the distance couldn’t possibly be too far—they had to be somewhere nearby in the Qi family estate. Who could it be? So many people had drifted in and out of the Qi family these past few days that he didn’t know most of them and had no way of guessing the culprit.
Never mind. As long as the item was found, Li Jian didn’t care to investigate further; that wasn’t his business to manage.
On the third morning, before dawn had even broken, Li Jian packed his belongings and opened the door.
After last night’s battle that stretched late into the night, Li Jian still felt lingering dread once the silver threads completely vanished. Though he didn’t know why that person had suddenly called off the attack, if they were to make a comeback, Li Jian dared not guarantee he could win again.
He knew very well how limited his own abilities were, whereas he knew nothing about the extent of the opponent’s cultivation.
Consequently, Li Jian had kept his eyes wide open through the second half of the night, staring fixedly at the divine statue behind the screen for fear that it might disappear again, leaving him with no explanation today.
Outside the window, birds chirped noisily among the branches. The moment Li Jian opened the door, he came face-to-face with Patriarch Qi’s peeking, probing expression.
As their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze.
“Ah, Patriarch Qi arrived at a truly fortuitous time,” Li Jian raised an eyebrow and swung the door wide open for him to see.
Patriarch Qi had originally only intended to check whether Li Jian had really snuck away in the middle of the night, as everyone was whispering.
He hadn’t expected to bump straight into Li Jian like this, which proved rather awkward.
Patriarch Qi stretched his loose skin into a smile. “Fortuitous, truly fortuitous.”
The front courtyard doors stood wide open. Li Jian and Xuan Lang walked out slowly, leaving a moderate gap for Patriarch Qi to peer inside. The ink-wash landscape screen directly faced the main entrance, and the moment Patriarch Qi raised his eyes, he spotted the faint silhouette of the divine statue behind it.
Pointing straight toward it, he cried out in shock, “The… the divine statue? Did the Immortal Elder really manage to find it back?”
The hour was still early, and only Patriarch Qi was present in the front courtyard. Li Jian spread his hands, stepping aside to make way. Patriarch Qi immediately rushed forward like a child who had stumbled upon a treasure, eager to verify it in person lest his eyes deceive him.
Crossing his arms, Li Jian watched him. “See for yourself, Patriarch Qi. Is this the divine statue you were looking for?”
The divine statue stood as tall as a man, custom-crafted to match Immortal Lord Shiyuan’s physique, though since no one had actually laid eyes on Shiyuan, it wasn’t entirely precise. Carved from rare and precious jade, it was exceptionally valuable; crafting an identical replica in such a short timeframe was simply impossible.
Patriarch Qi reached out to stroke the edges of the statue, treating it with such reverence as if he feared offending the immortal lord. Examining it closely, he repeatedly exclaimed, “It is, it is! This is the exact material I personally selected, not a single fraction differs.”
“I wonder where the Immortal Elder managed to find it?”
Turning around, he found both individuals from the doorway staring straight at him. Realizing his loss of composure, Patriarch Qi immediately restrained his expression and straightened up slightly.
Xuan Lang kept close behind Li Jian, his gaze never leaving him for an instant. When Li Jian turned around unawares and glanced back at him, Xuan Lang hurriedly averted his eyes, not daring to look any further.
Unaware of the youth’s unusual behavior behind him, Li Jian swaggered over to sit on a chair, speaking indifferently, “That must have been Immortal Lord Shiyuan showing his divine grace and taking special care of Patriarch Qi.”
Patriarch Qi repeatedly agreed.
“Immortal Lord Shiyuan is benevolent and cares for all under heaven; he must have known the hardships of us common mortals and specially dispatched the Immortal Elder down to the mortal realm to help.”
Li Jian wanted to tell him that wasn’t necessary at all—while he did come here for Immortal Lord Shiyuan, he certainly wasn’t here to help him. On second thought, however, he might as well go along with the misunderstanding and offer Patriarch Qi a slight hint.
Straightening his posture with a solemn and dignified expression, Li Jian said, “Seeing as Patriarch Qi is so devout, this humble person will offer you one more piece of guidance—revealing a bit of a celestial secret that cannot normally be divulged.”
Patriarch Qi immediately responded, “Please speak freely, Immortal Elder.”
With a mysterious air, Li Jian declared, “Your estate overflows with spiritual energy, Patriarch Qi. It must be a place specially favored by Immortal Lord Shiyuan; who knows, perhaps the immortal lord is watching from somewhere right now. Through my prolonged observation, there is someone in your estate whose destiny aligns harmoniously with Immortal Lord Shiyuan’s they are the root reason for the immortal lord’s favor. Therefore, Patriarch Qi must take good care of them.”
As he spoke, Li Jian cast an accidental, subtle glance toward his side a brief, fleeting look full of profound meaning, acting simultaneously as a hint to Patriarch Qi and a seemingly casual glance.
Having spent years maneuvering through Xunyang, how could Patriarch Qi fail to grasp the implication behind Li Jian’s gaze? He followed suit by looking at Xuan Lang, though his expression carried a hint of hesitation.
Cupping his hands, Patriarch Qi saluted. “Thank you for the guidance, Immortal Elder. Qi is endlessly grateful.”
Li Jian waved a hand. “No need for thanks; the due compensation shouldn’t be lacking either.”
His meaning was utterly direct: now that the work was done, it was time to pay up, and nobody better think of welching on the debt.
Patriarch Qi strode briskly toward the entrance of the front courtyard and raised his voice to shout, “Someone come.”
The very next second, a cluster of servants hurried over from outside, lining up by the doorway as if they had been waiting there all along just for Patriarch Qi’s command.
He instructed, “Tell the steward to bring out a hundred taels of gold.”
Hearing this, Li Jian eagerly rubbed his palms together, as though the glittering gold pieces were already resting in his hands.
He hadn’t expected money to be so easy to make around here; it was far simpler than his past life as an overworked corporate drone, and even the client-overlord was this agreeable. Truly wonderful.
When Li Jian finally departed with his gold, the person who had trailed behind him the entire time had already vanished without a trace. Scanning the courtyard circle, he saw no sign of them.
He had originally figured this move would serve two purposes: not only would he secure his payment, but he would also help solidify Xuan Lang’s standing within the Qi family. As long as Patriarch Qi kept hoping for the Mount Donglu immortal lord’s continued blessing upon his household, he wouldn’t dare mistreat Xuan Lang again. At that point, Xuan Lang would surely express his gratitude, allowing Li Jian to draw closer to him naturally without worrying about failing the mission.
Li Jian had plotted it all out prettily, only to find that before he even had a chance to seize the opportunity, the person had vanished.
Declining Patriarch Qi’s offer to stay and stating he had further trials to complete, Li Jian stepped outside and promptly bumped into the very same Xuan Lang he had just been unable to find.
Dressed in a pure white outer robe, the youth stood beneath the parasol tree outside the door, his back turned to Li Jian, his figure slender and delicate.
Gazing at him, Li Jian felt an inexplicable urge prompt him to take two steps closer, before speaking aloud with deliberate casualness: “How unfortunate. Having just arrived, I haven’t finished my training trials, and now I have nowhere else to go. What ever shall I do?”
His words were intentional, meaning the listener would naturally take the hint.
Xuan Lang turned around, spotting Li Jian standing close behind. Hearing those words, he offered, “If the Immortal Elder doesn’t mind, you may stay at my home for a while. It’s just that my place is rather remote, I wonder if…”
This was precisely the cue he was waiting for.
Taking a wide stride forward as if prepared all along, Li Jian marched ahead and took the lead.
“I don’t mind. Let’s go.”