After the toilet trip, Li Guanqi followed the other youth back to their quarters. Once he lay down, he waited a while, then quietly lit a stick of sleeping incense.
Soon, the sound of breathing in the room evened out.
He changed into a set of dark clothes he’d prepared in advance and slipped out without a sound. Outside, he leaped onto the corridor roof, evading two patrolling guards. These people weren’t strong. After Li Guanqi suppressed his aura, even cultivators of the same realm would struggle to detect him, let alone guards who were weaker than him.
When he reached the outer wall of the courtyard, he stuck close to the shadows and crept along like a lizard. With a swift leap, he landed in the next yard. There were no guards in the yard, but two patrol squads stood at the entrance.
Li Guanqi leaped up onto the roof and lay on his stomach without making a sound.
The darkness of night offered him perfect cover. He avoided moving any roof tiles while up there, as they were so tightly fitted that moving even one would create a significant noise.
Fang Zhongnan’s residence wasn’t far from Fang Yishan’s. If Li Guanqi were discovered, escape would be difficult.
He inched to the roof’s edge and pressed an ear to the tiles. After a moment, he blushed.
Judging by the woman’s voice, she was very young. But as far as he knew, Fang Zhongnan’s wife was already in her forties. Even if she were still lively and passionate, she wouldn’t sound like that.
Ripples stirred in his sea of consciousness. His divine sense flowed like the a beneath the tiles. He took out a projection stone and began recording.
Before long, the scene inside came into view. Two figures were tangled behind the divider in the bedroom.
The man was Fang Yishan’s younger cousin and the estate’s Second Lord, Fang Zhongnan.
There had been five Golden Core Realm cultivators before, but Li Guanqi had killed Fang Hao’s servant, leaving only four. Two of them were Fang Zhongnan and his father. There was also Fang Yishan, though his true strength remained a mystery.
A woman’s silhouette could be faintly seen through the chiffon curtains around the bed. She clearly wasn’t Fang Zhongnan’s wife.
But as he speculated about their relationship, Fang Zhongnan’s voice echoed from within the room.
“Hahahaha! What’s his is mine! Between Yishan and me, who’s better? Tell me!”
The young woman’s gentle voice followed quickly. “Second Master, of course!”
Li Guanqi’s eyes widened. Something was not right. What was her relationship with Fang Yishan?
He glanced at the projection stone in his hand and regretted that it couldn’t record sound. While he recorded and pondered, a sharp sound tore through the air.
He didn’t even have time to think, ducking instinctively. A blade of sword qi grazed his ear and tore his cloth mask.
What?! How is his perception this sharp?!
Li Guanqi was stunned. Three more blades of sword qi came slashing toward him.
He twisted midair, tumbling and moving to avoid all three. He flew sideways as fast as he could manage. Below, he caught a glimpse of Fang Zhongnan hurriedly throwing on clothes and charging out of the room.
With no time to spare, Li Guanqi pulled out a Random Teleportation Talisman he’d taken from Yu Heng. Light flared around his body as vital force surged through him, and in the next instant, he vanished.
The roof exploded outward. Fang Zhongnan shot into the air with a stern expression, wearing only his inner robes, sword in hand. His killing intent was almost tangible.
But when he reached the sky above the courtyard, only a faint ripple remained—no trace of the intruder’s aura.
Shouts rang throughout the whole residence.
The pitch-dark residence lit up in an instant as countless patrol teams rushed toward Fang Zhongnan’s yard.
However, he stopped them at the entrance. There was still someone inside.
Fang Zhongnan scanned the area, eyes narrowing. After a long pause, he barked, “Search the entire grounds! Report anyone suspicious!”
The commotion startled Fang Yishan as well. Despite the late hour, he remained alert and energetic, his luxurious robes pristine. His sharp gaze lent him an aggressive presence.
Hovering in midair, he looked at his disheveled cousin, and his eyes slowly wandered to his now-damaged courtyard. He cocked his head and smiled. “You’re in high spirits, Cousin. Still in the mood for these things at a time ?”
Fang Zhongnan didn’t reply. He instinctively stepped between Fang Yishan and his own courtyard. Although his face remained composed, there was a hint of unease in his eyes.
Fang Yishan attributed this to his younger cousin’s usual prodigal son behavior, so he didn’t press the issue. He looked at Fang Zhongnan and said, “Tell me, what happened?”
As they spoke, Fang Zhongnan’s father, Fang Jin, and another old man in luxurious robes flew over. Fang Jin was the old man who had previously advised Fang Yishan to calm down back at the main pavilion. His eyes darted at Fang Zhongnan, but he did not say anything.
As they spoke, Fang Zhongnan’s father—Fang Jin—and another elderly man in luxurious robes arrived. Fang Jin was the same elder who had urged calm back in the main pavilion. He glanced at Fang Zhongnan but said nothing.
Fang Zhongnan recounted the events, omitting only what was already common knowledge.
Fang Yishan’s brows tightened. A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. He muttered, “Could the Daxia Sword Sect be here? But that doesn’t make sense… If they were sending someone, it’d be a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator at least. With their power, they wouldn’t need to sneak around. And the aura was only from the Golden Core Realm…”
Then he looked to Fang Zhongnan. “You said the aura was unstable and you couldn’t pin down the intruder’s cultivation level?”
Fang Zhongnan nodded. All he wanted was for them to leave.
Seeing he couldn’t glean any further information, Fang Yishan instructed his subordinates to tighten their patrols and then quickly departed.
In another bedroom barely a hundred zhang away, Li Guanqi lay beneath a pink blanket, his hand clamped over a woman’s mouth as he tensely watched for any sign of movement outside the room.
The woman’s face flushed crimson. Li Guanqi’s other hand had landed… somewhere it shouldn’t have.
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