Before long, Xiahou Cang silently reappeared in the room.
In his hands, he held a green jade gourd the size of a washbasin and another, smaller gourd.
"This is a pair of mother-and-child gourds. They can transmit energy between them."
He handed them to Li Guanqi.
"Not bad. Have someone place the mother gourd right at the fissure opening for now."
"And take the child gourd away."
Xiahou Cang smiled. "No problem!"
Li Guanqi pondered for a moment, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the tabletop.
"This way, the cold chill will be genuinely cold, and its aura will carry the scent of the Cold Soul Jade Glaze."
"As for the location... place it inside Xialin City!"
Xiahou Cang's eyes lit up, assuming he had figured out Li Guanqi's plan. He blurted out, "What a brilliant ploy to repair the gallery roads openly while sneaking through Chencang in the dark!!
"This way, everyone's attention will be completely diverted!"
Li Guanqi nearly rolled his eyes. If it were truly that simple, why would he have painstakingly spent so long arranging the board?
Without bothering to elaborate, Li Guanqi said directly, "Castellan Xiahou, just see to this first.
"I need to make a trip out."
Xiahou Cang paid it little heed, thinking Li Guanqi was simply going out for a stroll.
"If you head outside, try to stay within the city. Things haven't been peaceful lately!"
Li Guanqi smiled and nodded. With a flash, the man vanished from the room.
Stepping out of the study, Li Guanqi stood with his back to the door, an enigmatic look in his eyes.
He could sense a faint, indistinct presence trailing behind him.
He did not know whether Xiahou Cang was doing this to protect him, keep watch over him, or... both.
Yu Su approached from ahead, offering him a faint smile from a distance.
In her hand, she carried a green jade pendant boldly inscribed with the character "Xia"!
"Young Master Li, this is an official pendant of the manor. It will make coming and going much more convenient."
Li Guanqi accepted it with a smile and a nod, casually fastening it to his waist.
"Thank you, Madam Yu. I shall take my leave now."
As the two brushed past each other, the woman's eyes flickered, and she lingered for another glance at Li Guanqi's retreating back.
Confidence.
Li Guanqi's gaze radiated total confidence in his absolute control over the whole board.
Walking out of the Castellan Manor, Li Guanqi casually toyed with the jade pendant at his waist, his backward glance casually sweeping over the woman's silhouette.
"Heh, quite the sharp mind."
The reason Yu Su had given him the pendant was to signal to everyone that Li Guanqi belonged to Xialin City!
If he removed the pendant to act, it would only breed suspicion.
Li Guanqi had no intention of taking it off anyway; instead, he hung it in the most conspicuous spot at his waist.
Glancing around, he took to the sky and flew straight toward Beizha City!
The moment Li Guanqi set off for Beizha City, word reached the ears of Xiahou Cang and Yu Su.
A flash of displeasure crossed Xiahou Cang's eyes.
"Hmph! That fellow acts entirely as a lone wolf. He didn't even bother telling me what he plans to do!"
With that, the man tossed the green jade gourd to a nearby cultivator and instructed, "Place this gourd next to the barrier deep inside the fissure."
With a flash, Xiahou Cang departed via the teleportation array.
When he reappeared, he arrived at the southern part of Xialin City.
This area was rather desolate, strewn with jagged rocks.
The earth was cracked open, revealing numerous natural fissures.
Inside a tent within the patrol camp, there happened to be a sizable fissure.
Xiahou Cang darted inside and cast the gourd into the chasm, then set to work constructing a formidable barrier to seal the mouth of the fissure.
Before long, the barrier took form, and an icy chill surged upward, casting the spiritual radiance of the fissure into an icy blue.
Once finished, the patrol formations of the entire camp underwent subtle shifts, though nothing overtly obvious.
Upon returning to the Castellan Manor, Xiahou Cang pushed open the study door with a dark scowl.
Seeing Yu Su brewing tea inside, the man finally could not hold back his anger. "He actually went straight to Beizha City without even telling me a word?
"What in the world is he trying to do?"
The woman beside him remained composed, gently adding spirit tea leaves as she said softly, "Do not be angry, husband. Have a sip of tea first."
Xiahou Cang took a deep breath, sat down, and accepted the teacup.
"Young Master Li is no ordinary person. He went to Beizha City wearing the Xialin City jade pendant precisely so that everyone would see it!
"As of now, Young Master Li represents your stance.
"Simply diverting everyone's attention is not enough.
"He must also mediate among the various factions—whether to stall for time or to ally with other cities, either outcome is beneficial to us.
"Do not be anxious, husband. Young Master Li is a remarkable man."
Hearing this, Xiahou Cang relaxed somewhat. After pondering with a frown for a long while, he came to understand.
"Hmph, I want to see what he has to say for himself when he returns!"
With his hands behind his back, Li Guanqi sped through the sky for dozens of li. Taking in the passing scenery, he found it rather dull and quickened his pace.
Soon, he arrived at Beizha City.
This city, the closest neighbor to Xialin City, exuded a savage, rugged air inside and out.
Its city walls were nothing more than black boulders piled together haphazardly.
No one had even bothered to chisel or trim the rocks; wherever the gaps were too wide, smaller stones had simply been wedged in.
Outside the city gate rested numerous demon beasts of colossal size, accompanied by carriages. There were also many giant elephant beasts hauling massive loads of cargo.
As Li Guanqi drew near, the pungent stench of demon beast dung wafted over, prompting him to frown slightly.
At the gate, the guard wore animal skins. Seeing the jade pendant at Li Guanqi's waist, he frowned slightly and did not even charge an entry fee.
Li Guanqi sauntered right through the gates in broad daylight.
His whereabouts quickly reached the ears of the masters of the five cities.
The castellans of the West and South cities were gathered together, sipping tea in a council hall.
One of them, a middle-aged man clad in a navy brocade robe, furrowed his brow.
Setting down a jade slip, he looked at the man beside him and said in a heavy voice, "Lao Zhao, what is Xiahou Cang playing at?
"A few days ago, Huyan Lie went out of his way to visit him, only to be driven away.
"Yet now he sends a newly recruited outsider to pay a call?"
The other middle-aged man had a goatee, a gaunt face, slightly sunken eye sockets, and high cheekbones.
Dressed in a dark-gold robe, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Xiahou Cang is likely desperate and looking for outside help at this point."
The man set down his teacup and lowered his voice, frowning. "By the way, have they still not located the source of that aura inside Xialin City?"
Meanwhile, in the Castellan Manor of Beizha City.
Huyan Lie had his brows tightly knitted. The bearded giant held a roasted leg of lamb in one hand and a wine jar in the other.
"What is Xiahou Cang playing at?
"Sending an underling to see me..."
Taking a bite of the lamb and a swig of wine, Huyan Lie decided he would meet Li Guanqi after all.
He wanted to see just what purpose the visitor had come for.
By this time, Li Guanqi had already arrived at the manor gates. However, the servants at the entrance refused to let him enter under any circumstances, refusing even to go inside to announce his arrival.
They had all heard that when their own castellan visited Xialin City, Xiahou Cang had not given him an ounce of courtesy.
Li Guanqi was amused to the point of laughter. Brandishing the jade pendant in his hand, he said with a playful smirk, "I have come on behalf of Castellan Xiahou to discuss important matters. If you refuse to let me in and spoil things, can you take the blame?"
The servant clad in animal skins sneered, crossing his arms with a mocking scoff. "Just with an unfamiliar face like yours, you think you can represent Castellan Xiahou? You're utterly shameless."
Li Guanqi did not indulge him in the slightest. Infusing his voice with immortal essence, he called out clearly, "Heh, I have arrived in person. Since Castellan Huyan has no wish to see me, do not blame Castellan Xiahou for lacking sincerity."
With that, Li Guanqi turned and walked away.
Hidden in the shadows all around, numerous spies were watching the scene intently.
Yet to everyone's astonishment, Li Guanqi halted right in front of the Beizha City Castellan Manor, turned around, and called out, "Anyone from East City around?"
Two breaths later, a middle-aged woman emerged from a street corner.
Bowing slightly, she said softly, "Young Master, this one is a steward of the East City manor."
Li Guanqi waved a hand, dangling the jade pendant in his grasp with a smile. "Very good. Come, I'll accompany you back to East City for a chat."
With that, he walked off with the woman without once looking back, heading straight for East City!
This move left everyone utterly baffled.
Even the agents from Xialin City trailing Li Guanqi were flabbergasted and hastily relayed the news back to Xiahou Cang.
Back in his hall, Huyan Lie was still sitting and waiting. When he learned of what had happened, he flew into a thunderous rage and beat the gate servant within an inch of his life!
Chapter 1737