Heading west… The Holy Son of the Celestial Sect’s expression changed slightly as he frowned and asked, “Why?”
Xu Qi’an didn’t answer and continued, “We’re going to Lei Province.”
“Absolutely not!” Li Lingsu shouted reflexively.
Xu Qi’an’s lips curled into a smirk. “You’re free to leave.”
What an unpleasant senior… Li Lingsu grumbled internally. He sighed and said, “Senior, the Eastern sisters are also heading to Lei Province. We’re bound to encounter them on this journey.”
Although the “Star-Shifting” power of the Heavenly Insect Tribe could conceal their fate, once they met, the Eastern sisters would surely recognize him. In front of a peak fourth-grade expert, any disguise would be futile and easily seen through.
At this moment, Xu Qi’an tugged on the reins, and the little mare obediently slowed down to a trot. Li Lingsu had no choice but to reduce his horse’s speed as well…
“What do you think of him?” Xu Qi’an pointed at a man by the roadside. He had a dull expression and plain features, wearing a thick cotton jacket and pulling a donkey cart.
“?” Li Lingsu was bewildered.
Fifteen minutes later, by a riverbank, Li Lingsu crouched at the water’s edge. The calm surface of the lake reflected his image – a dull expression with plain features. It was the exact appearance of the cart driver they had encountered earlier.
“Astonishing!” The Holy Son of the Celestial Sect turned back, looking at Xu Qian with both admiration and shock. “I never knew there existed a disguise technique that could alter facial flesh and bones!”
High-grade experts could achieve this level of transformation. For instance, after condensing his Yang Spirit, he could change his appearance at will, but that was more like a transformation technique. What Xu Qian demonstrated was a method that could achieve similar effects using only medicinal solutions, allowing even ordinary people to change their appearance at will.
Not bad… Xu Qi’an smiled and said nonchalantly, “When you’ve lived long enough, you pick up all sorts of odd skills and meet all kinds of strange people.”
Mu Nanzhi secretly pouted.
As expected of an old monster who’s lived for hundreds of years… I hope he’s not referring to me as one of those strange people… The Holy Son of the Celestial Sect said admiringly, “Senior is truly formidable.”
Xu Qi’an nodded slowly. “The drug’s effects will wear off after twelve hours, and your original appearance will return. Moreover, while it can change your face, it can’t alter your demeanor. You’ve shared a bed with the Eastern sisters for half a year, knowing each other inside out. If you want to conceal your identity at close range, you’ll need to be constantly vigilant.”
During lunch…
Li Lingsu leaped into the river and caught several plump fish. When he turned back, he found that Xu Qian had already set up two small pots – one for cooking rice and the other for preparing the fish dish.
Li Lingsu wasn’t surprised by this at all. For such an unfathomable senior to possess a storage artifact was perfectly normal. If he hadn’t been stripped of his belongings by the Eastern sisters, he would have had storage artifacts too – one was a storage bag bestowed by his master when he left the sect, and the other was a fragment of the Earth Book given by Daoist Jin Lian.
“Sigh, if my powers weren’t sealed, I should have reached peak fourth grade by now. That way, I could return to the sect after three years,” Li Lingsu lamented as he cleaned the fish innards.
Disciples of the Celestial Sect could return after three years of wandering. However, the Holy Sons and Daughters must reach peak fourth grade before they could return to the sect.
Fourth grade and third-grade formed a threshold. For Celestial Sect disciples to transcend and enter the realm of third grade, they must comprehend the state of Supreme Forgetting of Emotions.
Their lunch consisted of fish soup, stir-fried tofu with meat, braised duck, stir-fried sausages, and sautéed bamboo shoots with lamb… All were prepared by the culinarily mediocre Mu Nanzhi.
Ever since incorporating the Seven Absolute Insects, Xu Qi’an’s appetite has reached astonishing levels. He often woke up hungry at night, then heated water to eat plain steamed buns and pastries to satisfy his hunger.
Now he could truly understand Lina. If he were still in the capital, the Trio of Gluttons would have become a Quartet.
Li Lingsu ate with gusto, marveling, “This chicken essence is truly wondrous, capable of turning the mundane into the extraordinary.”
Turning the mundane into the extraordinary?! Mu Nanzhi gave him a cold look.
Li Lingsu hurriedly added, “When combined with Madam’s culinary skills, it’s like adding wings to a tiger. One bite makes you feel the beauty of the world.”
Mu Nanzhi nodded with satisfaction and glanced at Xu Qi’an.
See? There’s a reason why he can please women.
I no longer need to rely on sweet talk to please women. The Southern Borderland Love Insect takes care of that… Xu Qi’an swallowed his food and listened to Li Lingsu ramble on:
“The Diviners of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau are indeed capable. The Confucians educate and nurture talent, creating cultural brilliance. The Diviners heal the sick, craft magical artifacts, tools, and machinery, and even…” He held up the porcelain bottle. “Even this chicken essence. These are the things that truly benefit the common people.”
“This was invented by Xu Qi’an,” Mu Nanzhi frowned as she spoke.
“Xu Qi’an?” The Holy Son of the Celestial Sect was stunned as if confirming, “You’re saying this chicken essence was created by that Xu the Eighth Silver Medallist?”
The Princess Consort of Mu lifted her chin slightly.
What’s it to you? Look how proud you are… The Holy Son didn’t believe it and laughed, “Madam, that Xu Qi’an is a mere martial artist. The gap between a Diviner and a martial artist is as vast as the distance between the Western Regions and the Shaman God Sect. If a martial artist could delve into alchemy, would they still be called uncouth fighters?”
Anyway, this madam is an ordinary woman, and Xu Qian has great connections with the Insect Tribe, both unrelated to martial artists. The Holy Son freely disparaged martial artists.
At this moment, he noticed Xu Qian giving him a cold, emotionless look, saying, “The essence of alchemy is knowledge and research. Anyone who studies and understands alchemical knowledge can begin to research it.”
Li Lingsu was greatly surprised: “From Senior’s words, could it be that the chicken essence was truly invented by Xu Qi’an?”
“Xu Qian” lowered his head to eat and didn’t respond.
The Holy Son of the Celestial Sect clapped his hands and laughed, “Interesting, very interesting. That Xu the Eighth Silver Medallist is indeed a rare talent. Looking back at the history of Great Yong, perhaps only Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Wuzong could compare to him.”
“Well, Wei Yuan could be counted as one too, but unfortunately, he’s too low-key. Compared to Xu the Eighth Silver Medallist’s dazzling brilliance, Wei Yuan has hardly made a name for himself in the past twenty years. I’m increasingly eager to visit the capital.”
If you go to the capital, wouldn’t I suffer another social death? Well, I’m supposed to be hiding my identity anyway. No matter how much I boast, I can always forcefully twist it back… Xu Qi’an changed the subject, saying, “From here to Lei Province is tens of thousands of miles. To reach there as quickly as possible, we need to travel by water.”
“Are we taking a boat again?” Mu Nanzhi frowned. She was prone to seasickness, and during her last trip to the Northern Border with the diplomatic mission, she was nauseous every day.
Whether it was his imagination or not, Li Lingsu gradually felt that although this madam’s appearance was ordinary, her demeanor was exceptional, exuding feminine charm in every gesture.
Li Lingsu shook his head and said, “This season, the canal heading to Lei Province is blowing northwest winds, while the canal flows from west to east. This would undoubtedly slow down the boat’s speed. If we travel by boat, we might not be able to reach Lei Province by the time the Pagoda opens.”
Xu Qi’an turned his head to look at him. “Then what was your original plan?”
“Sister Rong has a magical treasure called the Wind-Riding Boat, which can travel three thousand miles a day. It would only take ten days to reach Lei Province. But after flying for a day, we need to rest for a day. The last time, we happened to land in Ping Prefecture, in the territory of Yong Province.”
This is like a low-budget version of an airplane. Even the Imperial Astronomical Bureau doesn’t seem to have such large-scale magical artifacts… Xu Qi’an was secretly amazed.
“It was given to Sister Rong by her master. The Wind-Riding Boat is one of the twelve magical artifacts of the Shaman God Sect.”
Xu Qi’an nodded slowly. If that was the case, then the plan to travel to Lei Province along the canal would have to change. He could directly call on Sun Xuanji to take them to Lei Province. However, this would inevitably arouse Li Lingsu’s suspicion about Sun Xuanji’s existence.
Of course, he wouldn’t immediately guess that he was Xu Qi’an, but in the future, with just a few more similar clues, this intelligent Holy Son would make the correct deduction and guess that Xu Qian was Xu Qi’an.
Li Lingsu smiled confidently and said, “I have a way for us to reach Lei Province within ten days.”
Xu Qi’an and Mu Nanzhi both looked at him.
“In Lei Province, there’s a fierce bird called the Red-Tailed Fierce Eagle. It stands at one zhang and three chi tall, with a wingspan of three zhang and seven chi. It’s a spirit beast. In Lei Province, the local government raises these fierce birds to form a flying beast army.”
“During the Battle of Shanhai Pass, the flying beast army composed of Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles performed brilliantly. But after the battle, as Great Yong’s national power gradually weakened, the Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles’ appetites were too large for the Lei Province government to afford the pampered flying beast army. They drastically reduced the army, selling half of the Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles to local merchant associations, noble families, and jianghu factions.”
“Among them, the Lei Province Merchant Association absorbed the most Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles, using them specifically to transport precious items. It’s both safe and fast. Coincidentally, Zhaug Prefecture, which borders Yong Province, has a branch of the Lei Province Merchant Association.”
“These Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles can’t be rented even with money. But I have a way to get a few Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles. We can ride these flying beasts to Lei Province.”
Xu Qi’an once again exchanged glances with Mu Nanzhi, the former asking in surprise, “Have you been to Zhang Prefecture before?”
“No.”
“Have you been to Lei Province?”
“No.”
“Then why are you so certain you can obtain these precious Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles?”
“Well, it’s a long story…” The Holy Son sighed, revealing a smile that seemed to have weathered many storms.
“During my wanderings in the jianghu, I once had a chance encounter with the young lady of the Lei Province Merchant Association, who was traveling with a merchant caravan to do business in Qing Province. She was a girl with skin like congealed cream and bright eyes, meticulous and possessing extraordinary business acumen.”
“Of course, that’s not the main point. The key is that we met by chance in the vast sea of people and developed feelings for each other, thus forming a romantic bond.”
… Xu Qi’an was stunned.
“When did this happen?”
“It was when I was being hunted by Sister Rong and Sister Qing. I met Rou’er while on the run.”
Well, I’ll be damned… Xu Qi’an nodded. “Then let’s go with your plan.”
Are you someone with girlfriends scattered across the Nine Provinces?
I finally understand why Li Miaozhen refused to save you.
…
Half a fortnight later, at the dock in Zhang Prefecture.
Xu Qi’an led the little mare down the sturdy gangplank, followed by Li Lingsu, who was also leading a horse, and the Princess Consort of Mu walking behind them.
As they walked, they asked for directions from local residents, and following their guidance, they arrived at the Lei Province branch.
It was a large estate with a vermilion gate adorned with a gilded plaque bearing large characters. Two stone lions, as tall as a person, stood guard outside the gate.
Guards in tight-fitting uniforms stood at the entrance.
Li Lingsu said, “When we parted that day, Rou’er gave me a token that could mobilize the forces of both the main association and its branches, allowing me to use up to 150,000 taels of silver. Unfortunately, I later lost it when I went to the Insect Tribe.”
“Even if I hadn’t lost it, it would have been confiscated by Sister Qing and Sister Rong in the end.”
Xu Qi’an coldly scrutinized him. “So?”
Li Lingsu grinned and said, “Just wait and see. I have my ways.”
With that, he led his horse towards the gate and said to the guard who stopped him, “I want to see the president of the branch.”