"Miss, you don't need to worry about my meridians. Look, isn't the sword I'm practicing now just fine? When my swordsmanship reaches a certain level, I'll be able to protect you even without mystical power."
"How could it be that simple?" Ye Lanshan said. "Have you considered that if you don't use mystical power, this continent will treat you as an outcast? Then, if you make even the slightest mistake, they'll all cry out to destroy you as a demon."
At this, Ye Yu gave her a strange look, finding it hard to believe such words could come from her mouth.
Seeing his skeptical expression, Ye Lanshan quickly added, "Earlier, in the forest, I also had a dream. I dreamed I was living in another world, filled with the scent of technology, and there I was a cultivator."
"Once, I showed my abilities there, and because of that, I was painted as an alien trying to seize Earth's resources. Though that matter was eventually resolved, I'll never forget that lesson."
"Ye Yu!" Ye Lanshan said earnestly. "I don't want you to repeat my mistakes."
Ye Yu fell silent, thinking seriously for a long while before finally asking, "What are technology, cultivators, and aliens?"
Ye Lanshan didn't want to explain, but couldn't resist his dazed look, so she clarified it for him while also giving herself a little praise.
This time, afraid Liu Jing might grow suspicious, she didn't stay long.
In a simple, clear room, Yun Di sat on a stool with a grim face, the cup in his hand nearly crushed to pieces.
"Young master," the attendant kneeling on the ground looked up at him cautiously, eyes pleading, as if begging for the return of the young master he once was.
Yun Di said impatiently, "Speak."
The attendant closed his eyes as if facing death and said, "This servant begs the young master to stop practicing the Li Chen Art."
"Hmm?" Yun Di, contrary to his usual demeanor, smiled and asked, "Why? Do you also think practicing this technique makes me a heretic?"
The attendant trembled, lowering his head further, and replied, "This servant wouldn't dare. I only wish the young master I once knew would come back." As soon as he said this, he was pulled by a suction force into Yun Di's grip.
Yun Di grabbed his neck and asked, "How many heads do you have? Do you really think I wouldn't kill you?"
The attendant didn't struggle, only said with difficulty, "The young master wasn't like this before. He was kind and lively." Before he could finish, Yun Di snapped his neck and threw him out.
Then he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, as if trying to cleanse the sin.
The old steward sighed at Yun Di's current state, said nothing, and simply had someone take the attendant's body out to bury it.
As Ye Lanshan stepped out, she heard someone knocking urgently. She immediately became alert, pulled out a dagger, and crept toward the door. The moment she opened it, she put the dagger away—it was Liu Jing knocking.
Ye Lanshan looked at Liu Jing, still catching her breath, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"They've found me. I have to leave now. Here, this is for your eyes. Oh, right." Liu Jing seemed to remember something, searched herself for a moment, pulled out a jade token, and pressed it into Ye Lanshan's palm.
"Take this. If you ever need anything, come find me at the Spirit Sect." With that, Liu Jing hurried off.
Before Ye Lanshan could call her back, she had already vanished. In her blurry vision, she thought she saw others chasing her.
But she had no time to worry about that now. She was still mulling over what Ye Yu had just said: "In this world, you don't have to rely solely on mystical power. Even if you use some strange techniques, it doesn't really matter."
If that's the case, then why should I cultivate in secret? Realizing this, Ye Lanshan felt a wave of relief. She shook her head, thinking she had been stuck in a dead end.
That evening, Ye Lanshan went downstairs to order some black chicken soup, along with a few dishes good for the eyes. But just as she finished eating, someone came kicking at her door arrogantly.
Ye Lanshan was instantly annoyed, but to maintain her calm, ethereal demeanor, she sat still on the stool, sipping tea without moving.
When the door was kicked open and Yun Di strode in, Ye Lanshan raised an eyebrow and said, "Looks like you didn't get enough of a beating last time. What, want another round?"
Yun Di let out a dark laugh and said slowly, "Today, I'll teach you the lesson that it's better to provoke the King of Hell than to provoke me."
Ye Lanshan found it amusing; she had never met anyone so narcissistic. "Fine, I'm waiting for you to teach me."
Seeing that she didn't take him seriously at all, Yun Di roared, "Blazing Dust!"
A burst of fire erupted around Ye Lanshan, surrounding her, but his move didn't even singe a single strand of her hair.
Before Yun Di could react, Ye Lanshan slapped a talisman onto his shoulder. "Tsk, you actually dared to come back. Looks like I went too easy on you last time."
Yun Di struggled to break free from the talisman's binding but couldn't escape.
Panic surged within him—such a sinister technique! He didn't know how to counter it.
However, the Li Chen Art's greatest strength was creating illusions. Though he had only reached the second level, he could already use his eyes to weave illusions. So, after a brief moment of panic, he steadied himself.
"To maintain my facade as a spoiled brat, I had no choice but to act this way," Yun Di said, trying to stall for time while using his eyes to activate the illusion.
"That's your problem, not mine." For now, Ye Lanshan wasn't in a hurry to kill him. Her eyes hadn't fully recovered, and she wasn't in the mood for murder, so she chatted with him instead.
Because of this, Yun Di failed to lure her into the illusion he had set.
They talked for a full half hour, and Ye Lanshan managed to extract plenty of useful information from Yun Di—like how the Hundred Fragrance Honey was a specialty of the Yun family, and how the Yun family had ties to the Medicine Valley.
Meanwhile, Yun Di was sweating profusely, frustrated that she hadn't fallen into his illusion.
Ye Lanshan pondered briefly. The connection between the Yun family and the Medicine Valley meant she could use Yun Di to find out news about Sikong Kuang. So she said to him, "I think we can cooperate."
Yun Di was stunned by this sudden proposal. "Cooperate? I don't see anything we could cooperate on."
"I'll help you become the head of the family, and you help me find Sikong Kuang's whereabouts. How about that?" Ye Lanshan sat on the stool, squinting at him.