Chapter 1038 - Human Nature Is So Interesting

The five of them took their seats, but Yu Hua remained behind Li Guanqi, silent and still as his shadow.

Li Guanqi scratched his head and said softly, “Yu Hua, sit down.”

Only then did she reveal her true appearance and sit beside him.

Li Guanqi turned to Nangong Qianyan and Tu Zhongqiu. “I’m sure you both know what’s happening at the Guanyun Pavilion. I asked you to come because I’d like you to stay for a while and help us.”

Tu Zhongqiu and Nangong Qianyan exchanged a glance. Tu Zhongqiu looked at Yu Hua and said softly, “That won’t be a problem. Though neither of us is even as strong as this young lady...”

“Yu Hua has other work to do,” Li Guanqi said with a smile. “What I need your help with is just as important. For now, it’s enough to know you’re willing. Old Xi will go over the details with you.”

Xi Yunhuai smiled and nodded, then left the room with the two of them and Qian Qiusui.

Li Guanqi leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead.

“With those two helping us deal with the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s interference, we should have enough people,” Yu Hua said. “What do you need me to do next?”

Li Guanqi opened his eyes and looked at her. She was remarkably perceptive.

“I think you made the right decision today, Pavilion Master,” Yu Hua added.

He waved away the praise and picked up a brush. As he wrote on the white paper before him, Yu Hua found herself following his words with growing alarm.

The page was packed with plans to counter the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion, each step connected to the next. She was impressed by Li Guanqi’s foresight. If the Guanyun Pavilion could carry out every step, it might gradually absorb the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion.

Then Yu Hua noticed a crucial gap. Pointing to the blank space, she asked, “Aren’t you missing someone here?”

Li Guanqi set down his brush and let out a long breath. “Yes. One person. But don’t worry about that. Focus on carrying out the plan. You have three days to take charge of everyone in the intelligence division.”

Li Guanqi had deliberately allowed both sides those three days as a buffer.

Once everyone had left, Li Guanqi secured the room’s doors and windows. He unhooked his wine gourd and tilted his head back, taking several deep swigs of the potent liquor.

To outsiders, he had appeared forceful and composed. Yet now, behind closed doors, he slumped onto the floor as scene after scene from his encounter with Ye Feng flashed through his mind.

A deep sense of helplessness washed over him. The severed arm, the Ghost Arm, and those icy eyes remained etched in his memory. No matter how he had called out to Ye Feng, Ye Feng’s gaze had remained cold throughout, as though he no longer recognized him. Almost as though... if Lu Tian ordered Ye Feng to kill him, he would draw his sword without hesitation.

And then there was Song Zhi’ang.

Li Guanqi’s gaze hardened, and killing intent surged within him. “If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have just expelled her from the sect. I would have killed her!”

His body trembled as he stared at the empty floor. The memory of Lu Tian’s cold, contemptuous gaze still unsettled him. Yet, he couldn’t dismiss the man’s strength. Even with everything he had, Li Guanqi could not have injured him. Lu Tian had crushed his full-power sword light as though it were nothing. The gulf between them left him feeling powerless.

And whenever Li Guanqi thought of Ye Feng’s condition, his mind raced through one possibility after another. “Haa...”

Li Guanqi pressed a talisman to his brow. It began to burn, sending a cool current through his body until his restless energy and turbulent thoughts settled.

He narrowed his eyes and thought back over everything Ye Feng had done. In Ye Feng’s place, he too would have obeyed whatever Lu Tian said. He would not have revealed anything to Ye Feng then, either.

Suddenly, Li Guanqi remembered Ye Feng’s sleeve fluttering in the air. His arm had not seemed completely black.

He took out Ye Feng’s life jade slip. Only thirty percent of it was shrouded in demonic qi, remaining nearly unchanged from over two years ago.

Li Guanqi’s expression changed. He sprang to his feet, and his divine consciousness surged outward like a tide.

Thud!

He slumped back in his chair. The jade slip shattered in his hand without emitting any trace of aura.

“The jade slip... stopped working a long time ago,” he murmured, his expression numb.

During Li Guanqi’s two-year seclusion, Lu Tian had used a secret technique to disrupt Ye Feng’s life jade slip. Li Guanqi checked the slip upon emerging from seclusion, but he had sensed nothing amiss. Only the changes in Ye Feng made him question it. Now, Lu Tian had sensed him probing it and shattered it.

Seated on his throne, Lu Tian swirled the wine in his cup. An excited smile spread across his face. “Heh. So he finally noticed. Interesting. This is fascinating! Hahaha! Human nature is so interesting! I can’t wait to see the look on Li Guanqi’s face later!”

Li Guanqi sat slumped in his chair, staring blankly ahead. “I should have realized sooner. At least forty percent of Ye Feng’s divine soul has been corrupted by now. Maybe more.”

The wine gourd creaked in his grip.

Gradually, Li Guanqi’s gaze hardened with resolve. Looking down at the wine gourd in his hand, Li Guanqi murmured softly, “Ye Feng, wait for me! Once I’ve settled everything here, I’ll cultivate even harder and strive to reach the Mahayana Realm as soon as possible! Lu Tian... this time, I won’t give you another chance to turn the tables! I swear! I swear I won’t!”

Li Guanqi closed his eyes and began to cultivate. At the same time, he tried to sense Peng Luo through their contract. If he could find Peng Luo, he could find whoever had taken the sword coffin.

He could wait for an opportunity to confront that person, but knowing such a powerful enemy was lurking unseen kept him on edge. At the very least, he needed to know who he was dealing with. Everything that had happened had made the importance of strength painfully clear.

Still, he had noticed a few clues.