Xu Qi An had always been a steady person. While thoughts raced through his mind, his mouth didn’t waste time as he asked solemnly:

“Imperial Preceptor, do you love me?”

Luo Yuheng covered her mouth and laughed softly, speaking tenderly with deep affection:

“Dear Xu, we’ve been dual cultivating for days now, making us Dao companions. If I didn’t love you, how could I engage in dual cultivation with you?”

The Imperial Preceptor’s social death has grown even more severe… Xu Qi An’s heart felt heavy, though his face maintained a deeply affectionate expression as he said:

“Chu Yuanzhen and Master Hengyuan have arrived. They’re my friends—I’ll go greet them.”

Luo Yuheng said: “I’ll go with you.”

As she spoke, she lifted the blanket, inadvertently revealing her chest.

“No need. If you come, how can they maintain their composure?”

Hearing this, Luo Yuheng didn’t insist, merely giving him a smiling glance without speaking.

Xu Qi An felt inexplicably uneasy. He quickly dressed and left the room, arriving at the inn’s main hall…

It was past the Mao hour, and the sky was still gray and dim. Candles lit the inn’s main hall, and steam rose from the back courtyard where the cook was preparing breakfast.

“Knock knock!”

Xu Qi An rapped on the counter, waking the dozing attendant, and said:

“Open another room.”

The attendant asked in surprise: “Why is that?”

His memory was quite good—he recognized this blue-robed guest who had checked in near dusk today.

Why would one person need two rooms? Too much silver to spend?

Xu Qi An’s expression cooled: “Less talk.”

Seeing this, the attendant said no more, took the money, made the registration, and gave Xu Qi An the room key.

After pocketing the key, Xu Qi An finally replied to Li Miaozhen:

[Three: I’m at Tongfu Inn. After entering the city, follow the main road for one li, and you’ll see it.]

He tucked the Earth Book fragment into his chest and sat in the most conspicuous position, directly facing the inn’s entrance.

After waiting for about half an incense stick’s time, Li Miaozhen, Chu Yuanzhen, and Hengyuan appeared, crossing the threshold into the inn.

“Brother Chu, Master Hengyuan, it’s been a while. I trust all is well?” he smiled in greeting.

He looked at Li Miaozhen last, his mind flashing to Li Lingsu’s opening line—Haven’t seen you in days, missed you terribly. Though my person left, my heart remained with you.

“Flying Swallow Heroine is as graceful as ever. How’s my concubine Susu? Have you been taking good care of her?”

When the words reached his lips, they reverted to match Xu Qi An’s established character.

Li Miaozhen heard the familiar tone and naturally rolled her eyes, “Fine then, let the paper doll keep you company tonight.”

Though Susu had obtained a lotus seed, she still hadn’t restored her physical body. Xu Qi An roughly knew some reasons—the sun was one factor, but more importantly, after the beautiful ghost restored her human form, her corresponding spells and abilities would cease to exist.

This was the price that had to be paid for becoming human again.

Therefore, the female ghost hadn’t yet made up her mind.

The four exchanged smiles, and Xu Qi An rose at the appropriate moment, leading the three upstairs to his newly opened room.

He took out the key to unlock the door, lit the candles, and retrieved two jars of yellow wine and four large bowls from the Earth Book fragment.

“This is a wine I stored during my travels. Have a taste.”

“Good wine!”

Chu Yuanzhen was a wine connoisseur. After a small sip, his eyes brightened: “It would taste even better warmed.”

“A true expert.”

Xu Qi An smiled.

So they had the attendant bring a small stove, lit charcoal and warmed the wine while chatting.

Xu Qi An told them in detail about his experiences since leaving the capital, from Yong Province to Lei Province, and back to Yong Province again.

He spoke of whatever came to mind, big and small, along the journey.

“Your experiences remain as colorful as ever.”

Chu Yuanzhen held his large bowl, took a sip of wine, and said with a smile: “So, that Princess Consort is now your intimate friend?”

Li Miaozhen’s beautiful eyes narrowed instantly.

Don’t bring up what shouldn’t be brought up… Xu Qi An lowered his head to drink.

Chu Yuanzhen smiled:

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen the Princess Consort’s true appearance, but I know that even the Imperial Preceptor might not match her in pure beauty. Among the thousands of women in the capital, those truly stunning…

“The Northern Prince’s Consort, the Imperial Preceptor, and Princess Huaiqing—these three alone.

“To have won one of them is truly life’s fortune.”

People’s aesthetic standards differ. Chu Yuanzhen was a wandering knight, scholar, and swordsman, corresponding to beauty, talent, and the sword!

All perfectly match this woman.

Ah, excuse me, but they’re all fish in my pond… Xu Qi An, knowing the Imperial Preceptor was in the same inn, didn’t dare delve deeper into this topic.

“You speak too soon. Perhaps our Princess Huaiqing has also secretly given her heart to Silver Constable Xu.”

Li Miaozhen snorted with a strange tone. She didn’t elaborate on the topic of Huaiqing because, in the Holy Daughter’s view, someone as noble, aloof, and brilliantly talented as Huaiqing could never fall for the promiscuous Xu Qi An.

Even if she had some feelings, they would remain just that.

“Where are the others, and how have you dealt with them?” Chu Yuanzhen asked.

“I’ve collected them in the Pagoda of Buddha. Yesterday we fled here in haste, and the Imperial Preceptor and I focused only on healing.”

Dual cultivation is also healing… he added mentally.

“Is Li Lingsu also in the pagoda?” Li Miaozhen asked.

Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan looked over—they already knew that Number Seven was Li Lingsu, the figure who had been pursued by “enemies” and disappeared for over a year.

Xu Qi An nodded in confirmation, then after some consideration, said:

“To conceal my identity, I don’t go by Xu Qi An with him, but rather Xu Qian. My persona is that of a transcendent realm expert who has lived for hundreds of years, a fearsome figure who can easily defeat the Temple Master in chess—an unfathomable senior master.

“He believes it completely and shows me reverence and fear, only daring to grumble about me in his heart.”

At first, Chu Yuanzhen, Li Miaozhen, and Hengyuan thought this was normal—Xu Qi An’s movements through the jianghu were primarily secretive. But as they listened, the three Earth Book fragment holders looked at each other, then fell silent.

Lord Xu’s old habit is acting up again…

A leopard can’t change its spots…

Haha, wonder how Li Lingsu would feel if he knew the truth…

After finishing, Xu Qi An got straight to the point:

“Paper can’t wrap fire—the Holy Son will eventually discover my identity. I have no ideas yet on how to handle this. Do you have any suggestions?”

Li Miaozhen quickly raised her hand and suggested:

“Why let him know? Rather than both sides being embarrassed, better to keep hiding it—hide it as long as we can.”

Chu Yuanzhen recalled his two-room-and-living-room scratched out with his foot by the campfire in the northern wilderness and said seriously:

“Miaozhen speaks wisely.”

Not satisfied with the Holy Son’s social death, planning to have everyone witness it? You two troublemakers… Xu Qi An shook his head solemnly:

“No, that would be too unfair to the Holy Son. He’ll feel the whole world is bullying and deceiving him.”

Chu Yuanzhen’s expression was serious: “Nian Yan, that’s your one-sided view. First, you had cause to conceal your identity. Second, the Holy Son is an open-minded person—he won’t feel we’re bullying him over this.”

You don’t even know him…

Xu Qi An said no, no, this isn’t ethical.

Li Miaozhen said yes, yes, this is perfect.

Xu Qi An said he wasn’t the type to enjoy such cruel jokes.

Chu Yuanzhen said none of us are.

Finally, Xu Qi An reluctantly adopted his companions’ suggestion, saying:

“Let’s do it this way! Please cooperate and don’t reveal my identity.”

Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen nodded with satisfaction.

“Amitabha!”

Master Hengyuan, witnessing all this, felt his kind-heartedness made him incompatible with them.

“By the way, why is the Imperial Preceptor in Yong Province?”

Li Miaozhen asked the question that had been puzzling her deep down.

Ah, this… Xu Qi An’s heart suddenly sank as he realized the implications of this question.

The Human Sect’s cultivation method had the aftereffect of karmic fire backlash—this was understood by Li Miaozhen as the Heavenly Sect’s Holy Daughter and Chu Yuanzhen as the Human Sect’s honorary disciple.

Emperor Yuanjing’s fixation on dual cultivation with Luo Yuheng was because fortune could extinguish the karmic fire.

More fatally, the Earth Book fragment holders now knew he possessed fortune.

Xu Qi An held his large bowl, took a sip of wine, and through his lowered gaze quickly glanced at Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen.

Chu Yuanzhen played with his bowl, gently swirling the wine, appearing relaxed and carefree, but if he wasn’t mistaken, his back had quietly straightened.

Li Miaozhen leaned forward, her gaze burning as she stared at him.

They indeed had some suspicions…

Just as Xu Qi An was considering an excuse, a knock came at the door: “Knock knock.”

“I’ll get it!”

Xu Qi An seized the opportunity to stand and walk to the door, pulling back the bolt.

Not surprisingly, at the door stood a stunningly beautiful woman with a radiant smile—the Imperial Preceptor who had shared his bed last night.

What is she doing here? Please don’t keep calling me “Dear Xu”… Xu Qi An’s scalp tingled as he stepped aside, forcing a smile:

“Please come in, Imperial Preceptor.”

Luo Yuheng nodded slightly and crossed the threshold.

“Imperial Preceptor!”

The three—Li Miaozhen and companions—hurriedly stood and performed a Daoist bow.

Luo Yuheng smiled brilliantly, nodding slightly, and looked at Chu Yuanzhen: “Not bad, your cultivation has advanced again. Have you thought about how to progress after Fourth Grade?”

Chu Yuanzhen smiled bitterly and shook his head.

She then looked at Li Miaozhen: “Mid Fourth Grade already. You can reach peak Fourth Grade within a year. You’ve surpassed your senior brother Li Lingsu.”

Both Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen felt something different about the Imperial Preceptor today as if her usual icy demeanor had melted.

Luo Yuheng looked at Xu Qi An with a smile:

“My trip to Yong Province was to investigate the underground palace outside the city. Silver Constable Xu tells me its owner was a Human Sect ancestor from ancient times.”

So that’s it… Chu Yuanzhen, who had personally experienced the underground palace adventure, suddenly understood.

Recalling its dangers, he sighed:

“If Nian Yan hadn’t brought Miss Zhong into the tomb back then, we might have been able to bring Lina out directly from the outer area.”

Though Li Miaozhen hadn’t gone into the tomb herself, she was familiar with the matter and nodded: “Did you find anything?”

As it concerned the Dao sect, she was quite interested.

Luo Yuheng smiled: “Haven’t had the chance to go yet.”

Xu Qi An secretly sighed in relief, surprised by the Imperial Preceptor’s understanding. He thought, is this the legendary situation where when a woman falls in love, she considers everything from your perspective?

“Why are you hiding our relationship?”

Suddenly, Xu Qi An received a voice transmission from Luo Yuheng.

…He looked at the Imperial Preceptor without showing any reaction. She smiled meaningfully at him.

Isn’t it because you’re a shark? If you could get along with the other sisters, would I need to be so cautious… Xu Qi An didn’t know how to respond.

“Since you’re unwilling to speak of it, I won’t force you. But correspondingly, you shouldn’t put me in a difficult position, right?”

“What do you mean, Imperial Preceptor?”

“Dear Xu, I’ll give you one day to clear up your relationships with Mu Nanchi and Li Miaozhen. Tomorrow when we return to the capital, clear up your relationships with the other women. If you remain ambiguous with other women, I’ll be very troubled.”

“This, this…”

“Mm, I understand Dear Xu’s difficulty.”

Luo Yuheng’s transmitted voice was full of tenderness and love:

“If it’s inconvenient for you, I can step forward to clear up the relationships myself. Mu Nanchi can spend her remaining years in the Teaching坊司.”

Are you a devil… This personality is a yandere… Cold sweat suddenly broke out on Xu Qi An’s forehead.

At this moment, Luo Yuheng said: “I’ll return to meditate. This afternoon, let’s go to the underground palace in Yong Province city together.”

Li Miaozhen and the others performed a Daoist bow: “Yes!”

After Luo Yuheng left, Li Miaozhen said:

“Take out the Pagoda of Buddha… Xu Qi An, Xu Qi An? I’m talking to you.”

Xu Qi An suddenly came back to his senses with a confused “Ah.”

Li Miaozhen frowned: “What are you spacing out for? I want to see Li Lingsu.”

“Oh, oh…”

Yes, quickly ask the scoundrel how to handle this situation… Xu Qi An moved swiftly, almost urgently, taking out the Pagoda of Buddha.

The dark golden pagoda was only palm-sized, floating in mid-air. Its door suddenly opened, drawing in everyone in the room.

…

Inside the pagoda, first floor.

Li Miaozhen and the others looked around. Before them was a golden Buddha statue over ten zhang tall. On either side of the Buddha were nine bodhisattvas with indistinct faces, and behind the bodhisattvas were arhats.

These sculptures were tall and majestic, making humans seem as insignificant as ants in comparison.

Though Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen were Buddhist practitioners, they felt inexplicable awe.

“Amitabha!”

Hengyuan pressed his palms together, his expression devout.

On the path leading to the golden Buddha sat four people: Chan Master Jing Xin, the now-blind Jing Yuan, dragon qi host Miao Youfang, and Li Lingsu with his hands pressed together in devotion.

Li Miaozhen made a “heh” sound and called out:

“Li Lingsu, your mighty junior sister has come to save you.”

The Holy Son’s ear twitched at the familiar voice, showing slight emotion.

He immediately opened his eyes and stared straight at Li Miaozhen, exclaiming joyfully: “Junior Sister?”

Li Miaozhen examined him and teased: “After a year apart, you’re still so vigorous. I thought you’d have been drained dry by women.”

Li Lingsu snorted: “After a year, Junior Sister hasn’t improved at all, still so sparing with fabric.”

Xu Qi An suddenly understood why Li Miaozhen had chosen not to save him back then—there was a personal grudge involved.

Li Lingsu then looked at Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan, smiling:

“How should I address fellow Daoists?”

Li Miaozhen pointed at the blue-robed swordsman: “Number Four!”

Then pointed at Hengyuan: “Number Six!”

“Cough cough!”

Li Lingsu coughed forcefully, using his eyes to signal his junior sister not to reveal anything about the Earth Book fragments.

At the same time, he was incredibly surprised as he examined Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan, never expecting to meet two other Earth Book fragment holders here.

This wasn’t right—originally, the relationship between fragment holders had been one of mutual wariness and assistance.

How had the holders become friends in less than a year?

What exactly happened while I was away?

Well, just using code numbers, Xu Qian won’t understand.

While pondering this, Li Lingsu greeted Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan with cupped hands, then introduced:

“This is Senior Xu Qian, highly respected and righteous, possessing both the spirit of a great hero and the steadiness befitting a senior.

“That I can meet you all here is entirely thanks to Senior Xu’s help…”

After speaking, he noticed Chu Yuanzhen, Li Miaozhen, and Hengyuan looking at him as if he were an idiot.

No, more complex than looking at an idiot—especially his hateful junior sister Li Miaozhen, whose face had turned red with restraint, her snow-white neck also flushing, the muscles there twitching slightly.

“What are you laughing at?” Li Lingsu frowned.

“I’m not laughing.”

Li Miaozhen said flatly.

Chu Yuanzhen inserted timely, saying sincerely: “To be honest, we are old acquaintances of Senior Xu. His existence is known only to a select few in the capital.”

Indeed, as a transcendent realm expert who could play chess with the Temple Master, Xu Qian’s identity would be secret, but high-level individuals would naturally know him… Li Lingsu nodded, wearing an expression that said “As I expected, I had already guessed this.”

“Fellow Daoists, though I’ve spent considerable time with Senior Xu, I still don’t know his background.”

Li Lingsu secretly transmitted to his junior sister and the two Earth Book fragment holders: “Do you know who he is?”

Chu Yuanzhen pondered briefly, transmitting back: “This Xu Qian has some connection to the royal family. I cannot reveal his specific identity.”

Some connection to the royal family… Li Lingsu showed a look of realization, transmitting:

“Heh, I guessed correctly. He has deep ties with the Bureau of Astronomy, is responsible for collecting dragon qi, and with the Northern Prince’s Consort…”

Li Lingsu’s pupils shook as he transmitted:

“Could it be… could it be he’s the Northern Prince?! No, that’s wrong—didn’t the Northern Prince die in the northern borders?”

Though his information was limited, he knew about the Northern Prince’s fall.

Li Miaozhen’s facial muscles trembled, her lips tightly pressed together, barely containing herself.

“What are you laughing at?” Li Lingsu frowned.

“I’m not laughing,” Li Miaozhen denied.

“You are. I’ve been tolerating it for a while,” he said angrily.

While they were transmitting and muttering, Xu Qi An had already approached Miao Youfang, examining this dragon qi host.