Ming Li’s method was simple:

“Use the Mirage Sea formation to trap the Jiang family members stationed at Nan Que.”

Qian Li was momentarily stunned, then turned to look at Fang Hui. Fang Hui tapped his fingers on the table and quickly replied: “That’s feasible.”

Ming Li said, “This time we have ample time, so we can set it up more meticulously. We could trap them for ten days or half a month if needed.”

Qian Li hesitated: “Trapping them for ten days or half a month might not work, right?”

Ming Li looked at Fang Hui and said, “You’re underestimating Fang Hui’s Spiritual Court meridian.”

His Spiritual Court meridian was the most resilient among the three of them. For customizing high-level formations, he was indispensable.

Qian Li scratched his head and pointed at himself: “What about me?”

“Do you even need to ask?” Fang Hui sneered. “Of course you’re responsible for luring them over.”

Ming Li reminded: “Make sure it’s everyone.”

Qian Li said confidently: “Don’t worry, I guarantee I’ll lure all of them to you!”

The three reached an agreement and began to act after breakfast.

*

Standing at a high point in Zhu Que State, one could see the distant Nan Que mountain range meeting the sky using the Heavy Eyes meridian.

Nan Que’s mountain challenge was arranged at Ghost Dwelling Mountain, the closest to Zhu Que State. The bustling city lay at its foot, with students from all over the south converging on Ghost Dwelling Mountain at this time.

Ming Li and Fang Hui scouted the area around Ghost Dwelling Mountain before choosing a hidden spot to begin setting up the formation.

Fang Hui had enough time to modify and expand the Mirage Sea formation, increasing its range and power.

So they worked from morning until evening.

The last light sank into the horizon, a crescent moon rose in the night sky, and lights lit up throughout the city.

Ming Li said to Qian Li, “Your turn now.”

Qian Li picked up a black cloak from the ground, put it on, and then donned a hood. He turned and waved to the two before leaving.

Fang Hui watched his retreating figure and asked: “Can he outrun those people?”

“If he doesn’t want to be caught, he must run,” Ming Li adjusted the last star line in the formation, her face showing no sign of concern.

*

While on the way to Ghost Dwelling Mountain, Qian Li was thinking about where Jiang Wuyue might be waiting—perhaps in a tall building along the way, or at some alley entrance.

As he was pondering this, he noticed from the corner of his eye that someone was following him. It seemed the genius was right; there were indeed Jiang Clan people waiting for him at Nan Que.

He still needed to wander around more to ensure that everyone in the vicinity was lured away.

The Jiang Clan people immediately relayed the news of Qian Li’s discovery to Jiang Wuyue.

As a result, while Qian Li was still searching for Jiang Wuyue, she had already brought people and fiercely appeared before him.

Though they hadn’t seen each other for several days, the malice in Jiang Wuyue’s eyes had only increased. Standing on stone steps in a dim alley, holding a sword, she looked down at Qian Li and sneered: “You dog, I’ve finally caught you.”

“This time in Zhu Que State, let’s see where you can escape to!”

Qian Li looked up at her but couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Jiang Wuyue said ominously, “What are you laughing at? You can still laugh! Zhao Qianli, today I will cut you into a thousand pieces!”

It seemed she was still furious about what happened last time.

Before coming, Qian Li had told Ming Li and Fang Hui that even if he did nothing and said nothing, Jiang Wuyue would chase him all over Zhu Que State.

This proved him right.

On top of this hatred, he also mocked and provoked her, causing the veins on Jiang Wuyue’s forehead to pulse as she angrily summoned everyone in the area to capture Qian Li.

As Qian Li dodged, he shouted: “Go ahead and call! If you don’t call everyone, I’ll despise you! I see you’re just afraid. You brought so many people just to go out. Jiang Wuyue, if you’re not afraid, try fighting me one-on-one!”

Jiang Wuyue wished she could stab him several times and twist the blade. In her anger, she pursued Qian Li with all her might. Although she had the strongest killing intent, she wasn’t the most dangerous.

Qian Li was mainly avoiding Gray Scorpion. Having fooled him last time, Gray Scorpion was nursing a grudge. Though he appeared expressionless and cold, his attacks were vicious. He intercepted Qian Li several times, and while unsuccessful, he didn’t make things easy for Qian Li either.

Qian Li fell from a height and crashed onto someone’s rooftop, startling the dog in the courtyard into barking frantically.

Ignoring the pain in his back, Qian Li adjusted himself as quickly as possible and immediately left. Almost as soon as he flipped away with Shadow Flash, he was struck by a Word Circulation technique, nearly falling to the ground again. Fortunately, his reactions were extremely fast. He managed to disperse some of the force to stabilize himself, tumbling awkwardly onto another eave.

“Boy, you can’t run much farther.”

The Jiang Clan people stopped on the road and walls, forming a circle that trapped Qian Li in the deserted street.

Qian Li clutched his chest and looked up. His hood slipped off, revealing the young man’s handsome face.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and raised an eyebrow with a smile at Jiang Wuyue, who arrived a step too late.

“Zhao Qianli,” Jiang Wuyue swung her sword at him. “Run now if you can!”

Gray Scorpion and the others believed Qian Li had nowhere to escape, so they didn’t intervene, watching from the side as Jiang Wuyue vented her anger. But as the sword wind lifted Qian Li’s cloak, the young man said: “All right, I’ll run.”

Jiang Wuyue was momentarily stunned. Her sword didn’t stop, but her eyes reflected countless star lines appearing out of nowhere. Though they seemed chaotic, they had already formed a massive formation that instantly swallowed everyone within it.

The street, which had just been filled with killing intent and the pressure of high-level cultivators, suddenly returned to calm.

Qian Li sighed in relief, covered his mouth, and coughed twice. When he looked up again, he saw his two companions standing on the wall watching him.

Fang Hui reached out and pulled him up. After climbing up, Qian Li gave them a thumbs up, his smile brilliant: “My coordination was perfect, right?”

Ming Li nodded and asked: “How badly are you hurt?”

“Just minor injuries, nothing serious,” Qian Li said, his eyes and brows full of joy as he looked toward Nan Que’s Ghost Dwelling Mountain. “While no Jiang family members are watching, let’s hurry.”

*

Fearing unexpected events, Qian Li traveled to Nan Que’s Ghost Dwelling Mountain even faster than when he was escaping.

At the foot of Ghost Dwelling Mountain, lights stretched continuously, looking like a dragon of fire from above. There was a separate passage for the mountain challenge, and Nan Que had set up markers to prevent students from getting lost.

As they walked along this path, the three saw many young men and women lingering on both sides of the passage. They spoke quietly to each other, occasionally glancing up at the mountain. Some had even laid out bedrolls and were sleeping soundly.

“So many people,” Qian Li remarked softly.

He soon discovered why there were so many people.

Reaching the end of the passage, where the mountain was closed off, they saw a notice board at the entrance of a temporary compound that read:

【Today’s mountain challenge has ended. It will open again at Chen hour (7-9 am) tomorrow.

Everyone can register with the Martial Supervision Alliance first. When the time comes tomorrow, you may enter the mountain.】

After reading it, Fang Hui said, “We came too early.”

Qian Li scratched his head and took a deep breath to calm himself. They had already reached the gates of Nan Que Qi Zong; waiting a bit longer would be fine.

Fortunately, the Martial Supervision Alliance was right next door. Qian Li went to register with his Guo City examination certificate, and the process was quick.

The three emerged from the small courtyard of the Martial Supervision Alliance with identity tokens, watching people who continued to arrive for registration.

After a moment, Ming Li was the first to step away to find a place to rest for the night.

She found a spot far from the notice board, with fewer people around, but still quiet. The nearby level ground was already occupied, so her chosen position was closer to the mountain forest. Not far away, people had laid out bedrolls.

Qian Li sighed as he looked at the sleeping brothers: “Miscalculation. I didn’t expect this situation.”

Fang Hui sat on the ground, leaning against a tree, reading a book with an expressionless face: “Good timing. You just got injured, so you can have time to recover.”

Qian Li scratched his head and sat down beside him, then looked up at Ming Li, who remained standing.

Ming Li was looking at Ghost Dwelling Mountain.

She had activated her Heavy Eyes meridian and could vaguely see lights on the mountain.

Bored, Qian Li: “…”

“Hey,” Qian Li lay down with his hands folded behind his head, looking at the full moon in the sky. “Now that we’ve suddenly got free time, I don’t know what to do.”

Fang Hui: “Sleep.”

“How can I sleep in this situation?” Qian Li said with a wry smile. “I’m always worried the Jiang Clan will suddenly come and take me away. Now that I’m at the gate of Nan Que Mountain, if that happened, I’d be devastated.”

After a pause, he added: “And I’d let you both down.”

Fang Hui said with disgust: “Just speak normally, don’t be so mushy.”

Qian Li exclaimed in frustration: “How is that mushy! You just can’t stand hearing anything nice, can you!”

Fang Hui ignored him and turned a page in his book.

Qian Li stared at the sky for a moment, then suddenly said: “I wonder how my father is doing now.”

Both Ming Li and Fang Hui turned to look at him.

Qian Li opened his eyes, looking at the night sky with an unexpectedly serious expression: “Is he doing well or not? Living in luxury or poverty? Has he remarried and had more children? Does he teach other children to read and write? Can he sleep at night? I certainly can’t sleep now.”

At this moment, Qian Li wanted to say to that man: Father, are you asleep? I can’t sleep.

No matter how many times he recalled, he couldn’t understand his father’s actions.

In his memory, this man, though unable to cultivate or sense star power, was not without merit.

He seemed to know a little bit about everything.

From astronomy and geography to repairing tables, chairs, doors, and windows.

Though well-read, he was different from most scholars, lacking that scholarly air. He often smiled, appearing simple and honest—”naive,” as his mother would say.

Pure, beautiful naivety.

His mother loved him very much, even giving up her family inheritance rights for him, yielding to a branch family.

When Qian Li was young, his father often took him out to play, walking through all the streets and alleys of Zhu Que State. When he whined about being tired and asked to be carried, his father would laugh heartily and carry him in his arms until they reached home.

In Qian Li’s memory, what surprised him most was that his mother might make promises to pacify him, but would sometimes break them without a thought.

Only his father always kept his word and never broke a promise.

Once, Qian Li caused trouble and angered an elder in the clan while his mother was away. It was his father who took the punishment for him. The clan elders already disliked this scholar, so they were harsh with the punishment. Qian Li only knew how to cry then, and his injured father had to comfort him instead.

His father wiped away his tears and said with a gentle smile, “There, there, our Qian Li is a man. You can’t cry like this.”

“Father doesn’t hurt at all. Father is an adult, and adults can handle it, so it doesn’t hurt.”

Qian Li wailed: “I’m going to tell Mother they bullied you!”

His father held him in his arms and said with a smile, “We can’t tell your mother about this. If she knows, she’ll worry again. Qian Li, your mother has already given up many things. I can’t let her relationship with her family get worse. So promise your father, you absolutely cannot tell your mother.”

And so this became a secret between the two of them.

Those beautiful, gentle memories were hard to forget, just like that day when his father bent down amid blood to wipe the blood from his face, speaking in a tone no different from usual, only with an added sigh.

He said—

“Persimmons, apples, bananas! One fifty each, three for five!”

Qian Li: “…”

In the silence, Fang Hui stood up and shook his sleeves: “Continue. I’ll go buy some fruit.”

Ming Li turned to look at the young man hawking fruit and said with surprise: “Three for five?”

Qian Li wiped his face, lying on the ground with his arms spread, speechless as he stared at the sky.

What was the point of talking now? The mood was completely ruined!

At this moment, the young man’s hawking kept repeating in his ears: Persimmons, apples, bananas! One fifty each, three for five!

Qian Li suddenly sat up and shouted: “Fang Hui! If they’re one fifty each, three should cost four!”

Ming Li said,x “Four fifty.”

Qian Li pointed at her: “Honest person.”

Ming Li blinked.

Regardless of the price, the penniless Bei Dou pilgrim couldn’t afford it anyway.

She looked back at Qian Li and asked: “What did your father say?”

Qian Li blinked and said, imitating his father’s tone: “Our fate has ended.”