Chapter 250 – With a Flip of the Hand, Clouds Turn to Rain, The Fiendish Li Yuan - Part 1

Inside the carriage, Li Yuan held the letter for a long time, muttering, “If I can’t get out at midnight, what am I supposed to do?”

He hadn’t forgotten that there were seventh rank martial artists from the Holy Tree Temple keeping an eye on his neighborhood. As an average weaponsmith, how could he possibly slip away from their watch at midnight?

Up front, the driver, actually a disguised undying husk, had been eavesdropping and naturally heard Li Yuan’s murmurs. Cursing his partner’s poor planning, he thought,

What idiot arranges a midnight meeting when he knows his target is being watched?

After a bit of thought, Li Yuan said, “Driver, take me to the Ginger Tavern.”

The driver replied cheerily, “Yes, Master Li.”

Before long, Li Yuan arrived at the Ginger Tavern. The moment he walked in, he recognized the

manager

on duty. The portly, round-faced man with a constant smile was an old acquaintance—a manager surnamed Wu who had worked at the tavern for many years, back when Li Yuan was still a hunter. He had even once treated Manager Wu to a night of fun at the Heavenly Scent Pavilion.

Now, though, the man who appeared to be Manager Wu was actually another seventh rank infiltrator in disguise. Li Yuan guessed the real Wu was likely dead.

An undercurrent of anger flickered in Li Yuan’s eyes, but he wasn’t the type to lose his head. He maintained his usual friendly smile and greeted, “Old Wu, I need some paper and a brush.”

The imposter chuckled as he brought over the writing materials.

Li Yuan quickly wrote a letter, then handed it to him. “Old Wu, a guest may come at midnight. Please give him this letter.”

“Understood, Master,” the imposter said.

Li Yuan paused.

He’s not very good at this

, he thought. He didn’t even ask who this guest might be, something the real Manager Wu would have done. But this imposter assumes the

guest

was just himself and that servants didn’t ask questions.

To cover the slip, Li Yuan leaned in and lowered his voice. “Don’t worry about the guest’s identity. If someone shows up around midnight just waiting for someone, that’s him.”

“Got it,” the imposter said hastily.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

That night, Li Yuan stayed home. When Cui Huayin returned, they ate and washed up. Then Li Yuan hurried her into their room. She rolled her eyes, letting him pull her along, but when he started to help her out of her robes, she said coolly, “I’m at a critical stage in my cultivation right now. I’m not in the mood. Let Yao Jue come serve you.”

Li Yuan didn’t argue about how she’d been benefiting from him by gaining exclusive access to the Holy Tree Temple’s life chronicle. He simply grinned. “All right. If you don’t want to, then we won’t.”

Cui Huayin eyed him suspiciously. Then, with a huff, she slipped off her robe and lay on the bed. A moment later, she shifted uncomfortably. “Well, are we doing this or not?”

“Oh,” Li Yuan responded.

A little while later, Cui Huayin spoke again, exasperated. “Come on, let’s just do it. Hurry up!”

She flipped over, and the night proceeded as normal between husband and wife.

When it was over, Cui Huayin, long legs still resting against Li Yuan’s stomach, nudged him away and said, “All done, now sleep over there. I don’t feel like leaning against you.”

Suddenly, Li Yuan said, “Tomorrow, when you head to Holy Tree Temple, don’t come home right away. Wait for me to pick you up.”

Cui Huayin frowned. “What’s going on?”

“...” He fell silent, unsure how to explain.

She shrugged. “Tell me or don’t. Suit yourself.”

After some thought, Li Yuan said softly, “Fine, come back if you want. But make sure you bring one of the dogs with you when you go out tomorrow.”

“You mean the ebony marquises?” she said, rolling her eyes. “Those seventh rank demon dog of yours? Better to leave it at home.”

Li Yuan laughed. “All right, all right. If a seventh rank beast doesn’t suit Your Highness, I’ll get a sixth rank one for you.”

She shot him a glare. “Don’t call me

Your Highness

. And where are you going to get a sixth rank demonic beast?”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next day.

Li Yuan placed an ebony kinghound in Cui Huayin’s carriage. After discovering the enemy was also making use of human-skin manacles, he decided to reveal that he was a sixth rank beastmaster.

After all, that was still within the realm of sixth rank abilities. Everything was fine so long as no one learned his true strength of 2,600~3,350 was enough to slay certain fifth rank martial artists.

He was determined not to make any careless mistakes, always considering what the other side might do as he made each move.

Li Yuan was both an important weaponsmith and Zhu Ban’s son-in-law. It would be odd if the Lotus Cult didn’t do everything in their power to bring him back under their influence.

To make him truly obedient, there was a good chance they would use the human-skin manacles on Cui Huayin. After all, she was his wife and the daughter of Zhu Ban, so holding her hostage could effectively control two weaponsmiths at once.

Furthermore, Cui Huayin was the emperor’s beloved Yin Consort. If the emperor ever discovered that his famously exquisite consort had married someone else, the consequences would be dire.

And if someone within the Lotus Cult were utterly ruthless, they might use Cui Huayin for their ends and then send her back to the emperor to pacify him, strengthening their alliance in the process. A person who would do such a thing was precisely the type to make good use of the human-skin manacles.

As soon as the muscular black hound clambered into Cui Huayin’s carriage, the four wheels sank under its weight. Small as it looked, the ebony kinghound was anything but light. Its sleek, pitch-black muscles radiated raw power, and the sharp, seed-like teeth revealed when it bared its jaws hinted at terrifying bite strength.

Cui Huayin stared in stunned silence.

This dog is stronger than I am

, she realized.

She turned to Li Yuan, astonished. “How did you learn to do this?”

He smiled. “I have a wide range of interests. Before I took up weaponsmithing, I dabbled in beast taming.”

She lowered her head slightly. “Thank you...” Her voice held a trace of regret, regret that her husband possessed such uncanny talents yet seemed stuck at the sixth rank. If he could develop any further, who knew how extraordinary he might become?

“You’re close to a breakthrough, aren’t you? Keep at it.” Li Yuan grinned.

After Cui Huayin’s carriage departed, Li Yuan placed another ebony kinghound at home to guard Yao Jue and his daughter Sheng’er. If anyone was determined enough to use the human-skin manacles, they would most likely be an undying husk or sixth rank martial artist. Fifth rank martial artists, as proven by Elder Zhu of the Sacred Fire Palace back in Northriver Prefecture, couldn’t use such items at all.

Li Yuan suspected that it would be impossible for Yin and Yang to coexist within a martial artist’s body after reaching fifth rank. He himself could currently use the human-skin manacles at sixth rank, but who knew if that would still be possible at the fifth? Fortunately, Sheng'er could use them if needed, so it wasn’t a pressing concern.

Either way, one sixth rank ebony kinghound was enough to protect the household and guard Cui Huayin as well. Even if the other side sent a sixth rank spy, it was unlikely they could surpass such a fearsome beast. And if they couldn’t take Li Yuan or his family down in a single blow right here in the Holy Tree Temple’s city stronghold, they would never escape the temple’s counterattack.

Confident he had sealed off any immediate danger, Li Yuan took Sheng'er by the hand and ventured into the streets.

“Morning, Master Li!”

“Morning,” he replied with a smile.

“Out for breakfast at Culinary Delights with your daughter again?”

“Haha, yes indeed.”

Li Yuan made small talk as he walked, but every so often his gaze sharpened with a quiet chill. How many of these passersby were really undying husks? The Lotus Cult could mass-produce them by deliberately triggering low-level curses, then retrieve the undying husks through Apparel Atelier. No one could be sure how many undying husks roamed the streets now, each carrying who-knew-what sort of ghost items.

Clutching his daughter’s hand, Li Yuan hurried down the street. After breakfast, he brought Sheng'er home so Yao Jue could keep her company painting.

Then he went on to his smithy. It was his monthly

Yuan weapon

forging day. He would craft two top-tier seventh rank weapons, which would then be sent to auction. The proceeds would go toward funding porridge kitchens for the poor.

He spent the day hammering and quenching, sweat rolling off his reddened, furnace-blasted body.

By dusk, he threw on a cloth robe, climbed into his carriage for the trip home...and found another letter waiting on his seat.

“Driver,” Li Yuan called to the driver, who was actually a disguised undying husk. “Who delivered this letter?”

“Letter?” The puppet sounded genuinely confused. “I didn’t see anyone come near, Master Li... Could we have a ghost on our hands?”

“It’s fine,” Li Yuan said softly. “Just curious.”

He tossed the letter over. “Open it for me.”

The driver tore it open and handed it back. Li Yuan skimmed it. He had explained before why he couldn’t get away at midnight; now the new letter set a different rendezvous—tomorrow at noon, at the Ginger Tavern.

He stared at the letter in silence for a moment. Then, with a slight exertion of force, he crushed it between his fingers, letting the remnants drift to the carriage floor.

Leaning back against the dim interior wall, the youthful-looking man closed his eyes.

He was no dashing hero brimming with valiant passion, nor was he some inscrutable demon, and certainly not an unbound observer with nothing to lose. He was the creator of the Ruling Blade, Phantom Blade, and Final Blade but not the one who walked their paths to the end.

With each trial and error, he discarded countless facets of his personality, leaving only what truly defined him. He was a man with a spark of courage but not much more, someone who delighted in earthly pleasures yet hated being mired in complications. So If there was trouble coming, he preferred to snuff it out early. After all, it was better to plan ahead for disaster than to end up picking up the pieces afterward.