Chapter 10

"What on earth is going on!"

The sharp, young voice that had spoken earlier rang out, and Lou Yue then noticed a portly man standing at the back.

The man squinted his tiny, slit-like eyes to size her up, then flipped over the jade tablet he was holding up to reveal its back.

Where the star pattern was supposed to be, two bold, sweeping characters had appeared out of nowhere: Chengfeng.

The carving was so imposing that just looking at it made one's eyes sting.

He suddenly broke into a grin. "Well, if it isn't our Young Master Yue! It's been years, and Young Master Yue's airs are even grander than they used to be."

Lou Yue confirmed that the man was not in the Lou family character album Little Qiu had given her, so she asked, "Who are you?"

The chubby man's smile froze on his face for a moment, then he forced it back, his voice shrill as he said, "Young Master Yue, you have a lot on your mind and a bad memory. I'm Lou Haina, I work under the First Young Master."

In the Lou family, the only one addressed as First Young Master is Lou Weixiao, the eldest grandson of Lou Mo. He is known as the genius most likely to inherit the position of clan head, and a ruthless character who sees the male lead Xiao Rangchen as his sworn enemy.

Normally, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and the subordinate of a friend is my own subordinate. But unfortunately, Lou Haina's words just now didn't sit right with her, so there was no way she could take him on as her subordinate.

Lou Yue lifted her eyelids to glance down at him haughtily, her tone lazy. "Oh, no impression. But your name really fits your build."

Lou Haina had hated nothing more in his life than having people tease his figure by making jokes about his name. But Lou Yue's father Lou Chengfeng, even though he was exiled to guard the mountain, still held the jade tablet personally carved by the clan head, which had never been taken back. Lou Haina didn't dare to turn on her for real, so he could only swallow his resentment and hand the jade tablet back. "Young Master Yue still loves to crack jokes... Shall I lead you to the resting spot?"

Lou Yue put the jade tablet away without answering, instead glancing around casually as she said, "Say, Haina, you're not doing your job well for the First Young Master, are you? You only assigned two people to the busy lanes on both sides, while the middle is so idle that people are just sitting around eating for nothing. Those who know might understand you were trying to arrange proper receptions for the noble families, but those who don't would think you can't even handle the trivial task of city entry checks. Makes it sound like everyone under the First Young Master is a good-for-nothing."

Lou Haina ground his back teeth. He had been sent to the city gate to reflect on his mistakes precisely because he had botched a task earlier, so he couldn't afford to get into any more trouble now.

He couldn't lash out at Lou Yue, so he could only take his anger out on others. He lifted his foot and kicked a kneeling man away, yelling in a shrill voice, "Are you all blind? Can't you see the queue is so long? You, you, and all of you, get over there right now, speed things up, stop dawdling!"

None of those people dared to utter a word of complaint. They didn't even bother to brush the shoe prints off their clothes before hurrying over to work on both sides.

Lou Yue curled her fingers slightly, but a satisfied smile spread across her face. "Let's go then. Where's the resting spot?"

Lou Haina couldn't wait to get this difficult guest off his hands, so he turned around and led the way. He had only taken two steps when the young master stopped again.

"Oh, I almost forgot something."

Lou Haina forced a strained smile. "Forgot what?"

Lou Yue pointed at the lake-blue clad group whose check was almost finished. "Just now, I was standing right behind them, and I kept sensing this eerie, wicked aura of a Ghost Wraith. The clan head's birthday celebration is coming up soon. If something unclean sneaks into the city, that would be a huge problem."

"Ghost Wraith?!" Lou Haina stiffened. The matter of Ghost Wraiths was too serious to trifle with. No matter if Lou Yue was telling the truth or not, he couldn't afford to be the slightest bit negligent right now. If something went wrong during the birthday celebration, even ten of his lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it. He immediately raised his voice sharply. "Do a thorough recheck! Bring the probing needles over!"

Cang Youshan at the front of the queue was so furious that his face was twisted. He pointed at Lou Yue and shouted, "What Ghost Wraith! You're spouting nonsense and slandering us!"

Lou Yue shrugged innocently.

"You're going too far! Let go of me! How dare your Lou clan treat our Cangya people like this? Aren't you afraid—ah—!" Before Cang Youshan could finish his sentence, Lou Haina's men had pinned him down and stripped off his outer clothes. The icy probing needle was jabbed straight into his back, and a shrill scream echoed across the city gate.

Lou Yue looked at Cang Youshan's pain-twisted face and sighed with feigned regret. "Didn't you just say 'I'm the one using my power to bully you, what can you do about it? If you want to blame someone, blame the fact that I have more power than you'? I really thought what you said made perfect sense. Sigh, I thought we were kindred spirits, but it seems we're not."

Cang Youshan's face alternated between green and white, no one could tell if it was from rage or pain. But Lou Yue was feeling perfectly cheerful. She had made the whole Ghost Wraith thing up. She just wanted to make that guy suffer a little.

The probing needle looked terrifying, but it wouldn't do any real permanent harm. The only thing was the sharp, intense pain the moment it pierced the skin, leaving the person weak for just a day afterward. But for someone like Cang Youshan, the humiliation of being stripped and jabbed with a probing needle in full public view would be enough for him to remember for a lifetime.

Lou Yue had achieved her goal. She was just about to ask a random person to lead her away when the black probing needle was pulled out, half of it stained bright red.

Lou Yue: "..."

This was a totally unexpected turn of events.

Cang Youshan was also stunned. He stared fixedly at the red-stained half of the needle, his face as pale as paper. "Impossible... This can't be true! You all conspired against me! I want to see the Young Lord of Cangya!"

Lou Haina wouldn't give him any chance to explain. He raised his hand and chopped at the back of Cang Youshan's neck. Cang Youshan's eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the ground.

"Take him away and keep him under strict guard!" he ordered, then turned to look at Lou Yue. There was a hint of inquisitiveness in his slit-like eyes. Only highly cultivated great powers could sense the aura of a Ghost Wraith. How could Lou Yue have such an ability? Was it just a coincidence, or had she come across some extraordinary adventure? No matter which it was, he had to remind the First Young Master to keep an eye on the returned Lou Yue.

While his mind was racing with thoughts, he still wore a smile on his face. "Young Master Yue, I'm really swamped with work right now. Let me assign someone else to take you there, okay?"

Lou Yue nodded, her gaze sweeping over the Cangya disciples pinned to the side. "What about them?"

Lou Haina followed her line of sight, thinking to himself that she really had too many trivial demands. But he still answered politely, "If none of them have been possessed, their lives won't be in danger. But they still have to be kept under guard, and they'll be released once the whole matter is investigated clearly."

Lou Yue didn't ask any more questions. She turned and followed the guiding guard away. The huge crowd of people at the city gate gradually dispersed.

People by the gate started whispering and discussing. A soft, childish voice mixed in with the chatter. "Mom, that big sister is so cool! I want to be just like her when I grow up!"

The little girl's mother was so scared that she quickly covered her mouth. After making sure no one was paying attention to them, she whispered in a shaky, reproaching tone, "That's a young master of the Lou family, not a big sister. Qin'er, how many times have I told you? Don't ever talk about the noble clans out in public. We can't afford to offend them. Do you want to get taken away, and never see mom again?"

The little girl named Qin'er blinked her big round eyes and mumbled, "You all keep saying that all the noble clan people are... but there are good ones too, right?"

Her mother looked at her innocent, wide-eyed face and sighed. "Stand still properly. It took us half a year to get here. When the spirit rain falls later, you have to absorb as much of it as you can."

Qin'er broke into a sweet smile. "I know, mom!"

**

The city of Xuanba was bustling. Rows of shops lined both sides of the streets, filled with a dazzling array of magic tools and rare treasures. Lou Yue looked around at the surroundings, full of curiosity.

"I... I'm thanking you on their behalf," Xiao Aiai suddenly said, her voice soft as a mosquito's hum, sounding a little flustered.

Lou Yue turned around and looked at her, realizing the girl was talking to her. "Out of nowhere? What are you thanking me for?"

Xiao Aiai glanced at Lou Yue, who looked completely oblivious and even rather nonchalant, and pouted. "Forget I even mentioned it."

Lou Yue was still grinning. She lifted a hand and pointed at the shops nearby. "The birthday banquet is still a few days away. Don't mope cooped up in your room all day. If you see anything you like, just tell the shopkeeper to send the bill over to Little Qiu to pay. A young lady like you shouldn't dress so plainly, you know?"

Xiao Aiai looked down at her own pink dress, wondering where on earth she could be considered plain. But when she lifted her head again and caught sight of the glittering, dazzling ornament tucked behind Lou Yue's ear, she rolled her eyes silently. Fine, compared to Lou Yue, she really did come off as underdressed.

The so-called lodging area was a specially designated district built to host visiting guests, with countless courtyards arranged in a neat, scattered layout. Most of the courtyards had a faint soft glow hovering above them.

Lou Yue and her party were led to the front of a courtyard marked with the two characters "Mianyun". The moment they stepped across the threshold, the sign lit up, and a faint glow began to emanate from above the entire courtyard too.

From the outside, this looked like nothing more than an ordinary small courtyard, but once inside, it turned out to hold a whole other world. It was big enough to house not just a few dozen people, but hundreds at a stretch.

Lou Yue told Little Qiu to arrange accommodations for everyone, then took Xuanba and headed into the uppermost room.

The second the door closed behind her, Lou Yue leaned in eagerly. "You said you'd tell me how to speed up my cultivation once we reached Xuandu. We're here now, so spill! What's the plan?"

The grand birthday banquet was only three days away, and the day after that would be the Ancient Tree Enlightenment trial. From what she'd learned of her own aptitude during this period, she stood zero chance of beating Xiao Rangchen fairly. She needed a cheat code.

"Have your people search the city of Xuandi for a place that holds the combined power of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth," Xuanba's voice was as icy as ever.

Lou Yue's eyes lit up. "Once we find that place, my cultivation will shoot up like a rocket?!"

"Once you find the place, clear out a hundred meters in all directions. No one is allowed to step inside that area."

"Got it, got it! And then? What happens next?" Lou Yue stared at him, full of anticipation.

"Then you've already found the place?" Xuanba glanced at her faintly.

Lou Yue hissed in frustration, turned around, plopped Xuanba down on the table, and stormed out to find Little Qiu. "Just you wait," she tossed over her shoulder as she left.

It was hard to tell if Little Qiu was just exceptionally efficient or if Xuandi City was so rich in spiritual energies that such places were common, but the five-element gathering spot Xuanba had asked for was found in less than half a day.

It was a clear, circular lake, right in the middle of which grew a towering ancient tree so thick that ten people stretching their arms out still couldn't wrap their hands around its trunk. Its branches were thick and sturdy, heavy with lush foliage. On the lower mid-level branches twined vines bright as burning fire, while the outermost boughs were covered in pale white blossoms that looked like drifted snow.

"Young Master, Lord Xuan, what do you both think of this spot?" Little Qiu noticed Lou Yue staring at the tree, and sighed in admiration. "The Karmic Fire Vine is aligned with the fire element, and the Zhangluan Tree with the wood element. Normally they would repel each other, but Xuandi City is so brimming with spiritual energy, and nourished by the city's grand barrier formation, that the two ended up growing together in harmony instead."

Lou Yue reached out to touch the tree trunk, and felt a distinct, unique ripple of energy. "It's a spirit-gathering spot?"

Little Qiu smiled and nodded. "Exactly, Young Master. I checked thoroughly. This tree is the center of a natural small-scale spirit-gathering formation. Anywhere else, a place like this would be fought over by everyone, but here in Xuandi City, it's nothing out of the ordinary."

Xuanba confirmed the positions of the five elements at the site, and nodded. "This will do. Post guards at every direction, and make sure no one comes within a hundred meters for twelve full hours."

Little Qiu agreed immediately and rushed off to arrange the manpower. If both Lord Xuan and his young master were taking this so seriously, he knew without a doubt this was a matter of the utmost importance, and he couldn't afford to be the slightest bit careless.

The moment Little Qiu left, Xuanba expanded his form to its full size. Vast, surging spiritual energy spread out to cover a hundred miles in all directions, even sealing off the sky above. Then his massive body slithered across the surface of the lake and around the great tree, as golden, ancient runes kept appearing and condensing beneath his feet.

After what felt like ages, Lou Yue finally realized he was drawing a gigantic, mind-bogglingly intricate pattern, layered over and over with formations so complex she couldn't make heads or tails of them. It was just endlessly, impossibly complicated.

Lou Yue got so bored watching that she started dozing off. By the time Xuanba called her over, she'd already eaten two Chunhua fruits and curled up against the tree for a quick nap.

Lou Yue rubbed her bleary eyes, glanced around at the seemingly unchanged surroundings. "It's done?"

Xuanba had shrunk back down to his palm-sized form, his head hanging limply like he was completely worn out. He let out a faint hum. "Go lie down in the middle of the lake. And keep sleeping."

Lou Yue stepped into the water, fully expecting her feet to get wet, but she found she could walk on its surface as easily as on dry land. She raised an eyebrow, amused, and made her way to the center of the lake. "I really don't have to do anything else?"

"This is way too easy," she said happily as she laid down. But she suddenly shot back up into a sitting position. "Wait a second, this feels exactly like lying down on an operating table! Is there some kind of risk to this method?!"

Xuanba stared at her, his tone low and grim. "Don't you think it's a little late to be asking that?"

Lou Yue jolted in alarm. "There really are risks?! Am I going to kick the bucket? Is there a chance I'll never wake up again?!"

She couldn't stay still any longer, and immediately tried to scramble off her "operating table".

Xuanba was already completely drained of spiritual energy, too tired to even move a muscle, but seeing Lou Yue refusing to cooperate made him snap. He suddenly leaped up and gave her a sharp kick right to the head, knocking her right back down flat.

"You are not going to die, and you are not going to fail to wake up! Now stay there and lie still!" Xuanba snapped, thoroughly annoyed.

Lou Yue rubbed the sore spot on her head, muttering in a wronged, pouty tone. "But—"

"There are no risks! Unless some random person pops out of thin air!"

Lou Yue pressed on cautiously. "What would happen if someone really did pop out of nowhere?"

"The grand formation would treat that person as a part of you. After it's done, there'd only be a little bit of residual connection between the two of you, that's all."

"What kind of connection?"

"Are you going to lie down or not?! If you're not, we're going home right now!" Xuanba was completely out of patience from her pestering.

Seeing that her "lead surgeon" was on the verge of losing his temper, Lou Yue quickly tried to calm him down. "Alright, alright, don't get mad. C'mon, take a deep breath, stay calm and steady."

Xuanba was speechless.

Lou Yue actually thought she was overthinking it anyway. There were guards posted outside, and Xuanba's barrier sealed the inside of the area too.

Short of a person materializing out of thin air, how could anyone possibly get in?

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All that build-up was for the satisfying payback.

The next chapter is the one you've all been looking forward to.