Cold sweat poured down Dai Ziyao's forehead in torrents.
Almost by instinct, he withdrew his right hand and stepped back, forcing a smile onto his face.
"This, this… Miss Xue, it's all a misunderstanding. Hahaha… yes, yes—a misunderstanding."
The pawnshop manager's fat cheeks trembled slightly.
Miss Xue's gaze remained gentle and refined as she spoke calmly,
"According to the rules of the pawn trade, if an item hasn't been paid for, hasn't yet left the premises, and the original owner returns with the redemption fee and interest, it rightfully belongs to them."
"Does the shopkeeper still recognize this rule?"
The shopkeeper forced out a few dry laughs, then didn't hesitate to turn to Dai Ziyao and say,
"Ah, Young Master Dai… she's right. You're out of luck today. This gentleman here—" he almost said "brother," but swallowed the word mid-sentence. His tone grew far more respectful.
"Mr. Li arrived first. The item must be returned to him."
Only then did Dai Ziyao seem to wake from a dream.
"R-right. You're right."
With that, he stepped forward, holding the jade pendant in both hands as if it were something precious.
"Here, Mr. Li… please…"
Gone was the easy confidence he'd shown earlier at Huichun Hall. Now, he was utterly humbled, holding out the pendant like a servant.
Li Guanyi accepted the jade pendant without even glancing at him. He took out eleven taels of silver and placed them on the table.
"Bring me the original pawn slip."
"Yes, yes!"
The shopkeeper, all rolls of fat, bustled about frantically, searching through drawers until he finally retrieved the old document. Li Guanyi unfolded it.
[A woman and child have pawned one white jade pendant as a live pawn, valued at ten taels of silver.]
At the bottom was his aunt's fingerprint.
Li Guanyi folded the document carefully and tucked it into his clothes.
As he and Miss Xue prepared to leave, Dai Ziyao snapped out of his daze. Resentment swelled in his chest—this boy used to be nothing more than a servant begging for food at Huichun Hall, and now, he had somehow become an honored guest of the Xue family's young lady. Jealousy burned in his heart. But at the same time, seeing how easily Miss Xue was seemingly taken in by appearances, he also felt she might be easy to manipulate.
Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward, adopting a polished, elegant demeanor.
"Miss Xue, I was rude just now."
"It's been some time since I last saw you, but your beauty is undiminished."
Xue Shuangtao tilted her head slightly, looking at him in confusion.
"And you are…?"
Dai Ziyao's smile stiffened instantly.
Awkwardly, he stammered,
"I—I'm the son of the Dai family from Huichun Hall, in the southern part of the city. We met briefly at a banquet held by the Xue family some time ago."
Xue Shuangtao thought for a moment and said calmly,
"Huichun Hall… I recall my family does buy a portion of our medicinal herbs from your shop every year."
A trace of pride surfaced on Dai Ziyao's face.
But just then, Xue Shuangtao recalled the details she'd just heard from Li Guanyi about his past while riding in the carriage. She had noticed how Li Guanyi had been deliberately humiliated here just moments ago—that was why she had come down to intervene. Remembering Dai Ziyao's earlier arrogance, her gaze lowered slightly, her voice still gentle:
"Well then… from this day forward, we'll stop doing business with you."
The smile froze on Dai Ziyao's face.
In an instant, all the color drained from his complexion.
Xue Shuangtao turned gracefully, her gaze falling upon the dressed young man.
"Mr. Li, shall we?"
Only after the two of them had left did the pawnshop manager finally produce a cloth to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
With his thinning hair now plastered to his scalp by sweat, his bald, shiny pate resembled a freshly peeled boiled egg.
"Almost brought real trouble on me just now…"
He glanced at the dumbfounded Dai Ziyao and shook his head, amusement flickering in his eyes.
There were plenty of pharmacies in the city, not just Huichun Hall. Who knew how that Dai brat had managed to offend the Xue family's young lady so thoroughly? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Huichun Hall's business wouldn't be affected too much—they catered mainly to ordinary townsfolk, not wealthy clans. But the Dai family? They had just lost a valuable connection to real wealth.
He's probably going to catch hell when he gets home…
…
Seated in the carriage, Li Guanyi gently caressed the recovered jade pendant, his expression calm and composed. Besides this pendant, he now had nineteen taels of silver left—enough to rent a far better place to live. He could hardly wait to return and share the good news with his aunt.
But first, they still had to visit the Xue family to finalize things and collect his new clothes.
Li Guanyi inquired whether the Xue family could assist in converting their household status from scattered to officially registered. The coachman asked where he was originally from, and Li Guanyi smoothly recited the explanation his aunt had prepared years ago:
"I originally come from the Eighteen Prefectures of Jiangnan. My father was a scholar who traveled for his studies, my uncle a merchant who traded between towns."
"Sadly, my father died of illness two years ago, and my uncle was killed by bandits on the road. My father's final wish was for me to return to our ancestral home, so my aunt has been bringing me toward Jiangzhou ever since, hoping we might one day visit our old hometown."
"We settled in Guan Yi City, but have only managed to register as scattered households."
Having spent ten years on the run, spinning tales like this came as easily to Li Guanyi as breathing.
The coachman chuckled,
"Being a scattered household is troublesome in many ways, but no matter—now that you've been hired as a teacher by the Xue family, naturally we can get your registration sorted properly."
Li Guanyi asked curiously,
"Doesn't that usually take three years?"
The coachman burst into hearty laughter.
"Sir, don't forget—you're with the Xue family now."
"I've seen plenty of cases like this before. Don't worry, don't worry."
"Within three months, we'll have it all sorted for you."
A glimmer of light flickered in Li Guanyi's eyes.
Three months… a hundred days. Enough time to gather a hundred taels of silver, enough time to bring his martial skills to the threshold of mastery.
With an official household registration in Guan Yi City, along with the prestigious credential of having served as a teacher for the Xue family, securing a travel pass wouldn't be hard. Then he could finally leave the Chen Kingdom for good.
Excellent.
Only… breaking through to the first stage of martial cultivation was proving to be the hardest hurdle of all.
After Yue Qianfeng left, Li Guanyi's cultivation of the twelve layers of "Broken Formation Melody" was nearly complete. He was close to the threshold—but couldn't yet breakthrough.
He gazed thoughtfully out the carriage window.
The Xue family is one of the great clans of Guan Yi City. Could they perhaps have the key to this breakthrough…?
The carriage continued forward along the main thoroughfare, eventually arriving at the imposing gates of the Xue estate. The front entrance was grand, flanked by two fierce stone lions baring their fangs. The carriage veered off toward a side entrance, where the polished wooden gates swung open. The road ahead was paved with blue stone slabs, with deep ruts forming tracks perfectly suited for carriage wheels.
The carriage rumbled forward smoothly and steadily.
Walls within walls, courtyards within courtyards.
Li Guanyi's eyes lowered slightly.
Within him, the inner energy of "Broken Formation Melody" circulated slowly. A better life was now within reach.
With every revolution of the technique, he could feel his body growing stronger, little by little. Yue Qianfeng said that both inner energy and physical strength had to reach a certain level before they could combine into true qi, which marked the first true step in cultivation.
Once he reached that stage, he could finally take his aunt and leave this place safely.
But… his physical constitution was undeniably poor. The flow of inner energy through his body was frustratingly slow, and he could faintly sense that whenever the energy passed through his chest, its speed would drastically decrease. His meridians would contract, causing the flow to slow more and more with each cycle.
This sensation had become more pronounced as "Broken Formation Melody" neared perfection.
It was as if that cold, poisonous mass lodged near his heart was suppressing the circulation of his inner energy, dragging everything down. With every completed cycle, the flow weakened further.
Li Guanyi pressed his hand lightly against his chest, his eyes dimming slightly.
Night Riders, that poison…
He couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.
This blocked circulation felt exactly like having a lightning-fast internet connection suddenly slow to a crawl at 99% download completion—utterly maddening.
What the hell did those bastards poison me with?
They didn't just ruin my talent—they damn near broke my entire foundation.
Not only had they nearly killed him, they'd crippled his natural aptitude as well.
Someday, when he found out who had orchestrated it, he'd return that favor tenfold.
Gritting his teeth, Li Guanyi mentally made another mark in his private ledger of grudges, adding the Night Riders to the growing list of debts that needed settling.
Unable to make progress with his inner energy for the moment, he opened his eyes and surveyed the massive estate around him.
It wasn't just a residence—it was practically a city within a city, divided into numerous large and small courtyards.
The walls were high, at least ten meters, completely sealing off the inner world of the Xue family from the outside.
Scholars with refined bearing mingled with muscular men of formidable physique.
Everyone wore healthy, vibrant expressions—bright eyes, confident smiles. Even the household servants were dressed better than Li Guanyi.
So this is the Xue family…
Li Guanyi recalled that the Xue family was known as one of Guan Yi City's oldest clans, famous for their business dealings but never deeply involved in politics. As he pondered this, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.
A subtle tremor passed through Li Guanyi's body.
The bronze cauldron within his chest let out a faint hum.
Suddenly, the crystalline liquid began gathering within it.
Li Guanyi's pupils constricted. His gaze pierced through the estate walls as if seeing beyond the physical realm. The air before him twisted and distorted, and then—white fur materialized out of the void.
Cold, piercing blue eyes. Black markings like the ink of night upon white fur. A long tail coiled behind it like a whip in the air.
A colossal tiger, easily three stories tall, prowled silently forward, lowering its massive head.
Beside the tiger, an elderly man of ordinary stature leaned on a cane, his hair and beard snow-white.
His presence was suffocating, like a prison wrought with sheer will.
The white tiger followed behind him.
"Grandfather!!"
A crisp, joyful cry rang out.
Xue Shuangtao lifted the carriage curtain and leaped gracefully down, rushing toward the old man like a butterfly in flight. She took his arm affectionately, her face beaming with youthful delight. At this moment, she looked like a cheerful fourteen-year-old girl—not the composed, elegant young lady she had been moments ago.
The coachman pulled Li Guanyi down from the carriage, whispering,
"This is the patriarch of the Xue family."
"He's a direct descendant of General Xue—the one who, five hundred years ago, ended the wars with three arrows and topped the list of divine generals."
The old man's gaze fell peacefully upon them.
Behind him, the massive white tiger lowered its head.
Inside Li Guanyi's body, the bronze cauldron surged, wildly accumulating crystalline liquid.
(End of Chapter)