Lin Chuanqing looked at Lin Wujiu in surprise.
It was hard to imagine such words coming from his mouth.
Pondering for a long while, Lin Chuanqing turned to Li Guanqi and said softly, "All right! I'll look into finding those two items for you soon. Of course, don't forget what we agreed upon earlier. Although I trust you, bringing this fellow back cost me quite a hefty price. If he can't deliver..."
Lin Chuanqing paused, merely watching Li Guanqi with a sly smile.
"You'll probably have to work off the debt for me. And as for leaving whenever you please, as we discussed before—that won't be an option anymore."
Li Guanqi's mouth twitched. Why did he feel like he had walked right into this old fox's trap?
Yet things had come this far, and Li Guanqi could only nod in agreement. "Castellan Lin, may I go see him?"
Lin Chuanqing nodded, then summoned a guard to lead Li Guanqi away.
Once Li Guanqi departed, only Lin Chuanqing and Lin Wujiu remained in the grand hall. The doors swung shut, and Lin Chuanqing took a sip of tea before speaking softly. "You think that highly of him?"
Gazing toward the doors, Lin Wujiu murmured, "He is worth it. I have never seen such a monstrous genius... Even those fellows who came down from the Eight Desolations... compared to him, they're nothing but trash!"
The man's brow furrowed tightly. "If you broke your seals, he wouldn't be able to hold a candle to you."
Lin Chuanqing continued quietly, "I admit his cultivation speed is astonishing, but that could just be due to some unique circumstance. If you say he can compare to you, or stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those from the Eight Desolations, I still don't believe it. The difference between them is like heaven and earth. You should know very well how terrifying the strength of those from the Eight Desolations truly is."
Lin Wujiu's eyes flickered. He did not refute his uncle's words, merely rising slowly to his feet. The slender youth's lips curved slightly, and with an unreadable look at the man in the head seat, he spoke softly: "From our interactions over this time, I can assure you with absolute certainty, Uncle. In a fight to the death, if I unseal... With four rings unsealed, I would win. With three... I would die!"
Hearing this, Lin Chuanqing finally took Li Guanqi's strength seriously! "You would die even with three ancient rings unsealed?"
Lin Wujiu nodded heavily without the slightest hesitation. Then, clasping his hands behind his back, he walked toward the door with a smile. "Li Congxin is without a doubt an Asura god of slaughter who crawled his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the lower realm! Compared to him, my title of 'Jade-Faced Asura' seems rather presumptuous."
Lin Wujiu pushed open the heavy doors, looked back, and chuckled. "Treat him with sincerity, and forge a good bond."
After Lin Wujiu left, the man sat in the hall, lost in thought for a long time.
***
Following the black-armored guard, Li Guanqi soon arrived at a heavily guarded area in the backyard of the Castellan Manor.
Pushing open the stone door of the secret chamber, Li Guanqi immediately saw Qi Mobai submerged in a medicinal pool, his face twisted in agony.
Flicking over to the edge of the pool, he saw a gray-haired elder continuously crushing immortal herbs and tossing them into the water.
Qian Ronghe stepped up beside Li Guanqi and whispered, "His injuries are severe, and he even set a seal in his sea of consciousness to self-destruct his divine sense... He was brutally tortured for a long time, and his sea of consciousness is covered in cracks... I'm afraid it will take a few days of rest before he can wake up."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi's eye twitched. His fists clenched tightly as he took a deep breath. "I've troubled you, Elder Qian. Please do everything you can to treat him."
Qian Ronghe nodded slightly and whispered a few words to the gray-haired elder, who nodded back.
Qian Ronghe was also deeply astonished. Qi Mobai's miserable state made it clear he had endured long, grueling torture. Yet he had adamantly sealed his sea of consciousness with all his might, refusing to let anyone search his soul.
After a while, the elder stood up and spoke. "His condition has stabilized considerably. I shall return tomorrow."
Qian Ronghe looked at Li Guanqi and said softly, "Then I shall wait outside for you, Young Master Li."
Li Guanqi cupped his hands. Once the two had departed, he retrieved a thumb-sized piece of dried radish from his storage ring and slipped it into Qi Mobai's mouth.
Although Qi Mobai's bones had been set back in place, they had not fully healed, leaving his entire body limp.
Looking at Qi Mobai, Li Guanqi couldn't help muttering softly under his breath, "Why put yourself through this... If he wanted to know, you could have just told him. Why let them torture you to this state..."
***
Three days flew by, during which Li Guanqi remained vigilant inside the secret chamber the entire time. Lin Chuanqing was in no hurry to press Li Guanqi into taking up his post. Only Lin Wujiu seemed rather bored over those two days; without Li Guanqi to spar with, he could only stay in his courtyard in seclusion.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Li Guanqi reached down and hauled Qi Mobai out of the medicinal pool.
His mind still hazy, Qi Mobai felt a tremendous force dragging him upward and roared instinctively, "I told you... I don't know!!!"
Bloodshot eyes looked up, only to see Li Guanqi.
Qi Mobai froze for a moment. Sensing the immortal essence flowing through his body, he rubbed his eyes and realized it wasn't an illusion. "Brother Li... I... I'm back?"
Looking at Qi Mobai's reddened eyes, Li Guanqi held back the surge of emotion within him and said gently, "All right, rest easy. You're back. It's over now. You don't have to be afraid anymore."
Qi Mobai looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly, his eyes turned red and tears began streaming down his face. Slumping beside the medicinal pool, he wept bitterly, snot and tears flowing together. "I've never fucking felt that much pain in my life!! Damn it! It hurt so bad!! I almost couldn't hold it in..."
Covering his eyes, Qi Mobai wailed aloud, and it took half an incense stick's time before he finally pulled himself together.
His nose twitched. Lowering his hands, he saw a purple-gold jade jar resting before him. Qi Mobai sniffled, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and clutched the wine jar to his chest as he looked up at Li Guanqi. "For me? Thousand-year vintage?"
Li Guanqi gave a firm nod and said softly, "Drink as much as you like. There's plenty more where that came from."
Qi Mobai didn't stand on ceremony. He slapped open the mud seal, but gazing at the crystal-clear brew within, he suddenly felt reluctant to drink it all. He lifted the jar and took a sip, closing his eyes in sheer bliss. A flush rose to his cheeks, and thoroughly satisfied, he resealed the jar, intending to tuck it away.
Li Guanqi chided in exasperation, "Drink it! You have to finish this entire jar!"
As he spoke, he produced three more jars of thousand-year Red Dust Brew and placed them in front of him.
Qi Mobai's eyes lit up. He licked his lips, pulled out a white jade flagon, and carefully poured the vintage into it, terrified of spilling a single drop. Sipping from the spout mouthful by mouthful, his face was the picture of contentment.
Right then, however, Li Guanqi spoke up from the side.
"It was the Castellan of Yuxu City who stepped in to save you."
"Huh? Such a prominent figure went all the way to the Tianshu Ascension Hall to rescue me?"
Li Guanqi shrugged and said bluntly, "I told him you could become an alchemist, and only then did he agree to save you."
Pfft—!
Qi Mobai sprayed a mouthful of wine right into Li Guanqi's face, staring at him in utter shock. He pointed a finger at his own nose. "Me! An alchemist?"
Wiping his face, Li Guanqi set aside the waist tablet, jade pendant, and armor Lin Chuanqing had given him. "If you can't pull it off, I'll have to work for him for the rest of my life. And of course... you won't be escaping either."
Qi Mobai shoved the flagon into Li Guanqi's hand. He stuck a finger down his throat, but seeing that he couldn't vomit it back up, he gave up.
Looking left and right, he trudged over to the corner on his own, crouched down, pried up a floor tile, and held it out to Li Guanqi, pointing at his own head.
"Go on, do it. Bash my head in. Smashing me to death would be so much more merciful. If I had known this was coming, I might as well have died over there..."
Chapter 1587