Was I Truly Overthinking It?

Looking around the cavernous study, Li Guanqi found none of the scholarly air he had expected; instead, it was lined with all manner of weapons. Yet Li Guanqi had little interest in these arms—after all, he had his sword coffin. Still, on second thought, it made sense: He Yuanting and He Yuning were entirely different types of people. For some reason, He Yuanting felt more like a decisive, battle-hardened general of the mortal dynasties below. He Yuanting pointed to a chair before him and smiled. "Take a seat, wherever you like. That sword intent of yours still requires several grand array masters to engrave a few arrays." "Still... this time, I truly owe you a favor, kid." Li Guanqi scratched his head in slight embarrassment. He had not anticipated resonating with the Severed Cliff sword intent within the Sword Abyss either. He Yuanting had explained many intricacies of the path of the sword to him. This had illuminated the way forward on his own path of the sword, neatly resolving points of confusion that had lingered in his heart before. Just then, Li Guanqi noticed a small square seal He Yuning was toying with. Only the size of a thumb, the golden seal radiated a soft, glistening light. Curious, Li Guanqi asked, "What is that?" He Yuning looked down at the seal in his hand and smiled. "You mean this?" "The people from Qingyang Palace just gave it to me. Just a little trinket. Do you want it?" Li Guanqi waved his hand with a chuckle. "You really take treasures for granted, don't you? Giving away a seal just like that?" "Given by the people from Qingyang Palace? Why did they give it to you?" A sharp glint flashed across He Yuanting's eyes, and he said softly, "Guanqi, you probably know I arranged a blind date for Yuning." "The Qingyang Palace folks caught wind of it too, so they gifted him this little thing. Is something amiss?" The man's tone was not interrogative, merely puzzled. Ever since the Sword Abyss, Li Guanqi had seemed unusually attentive to the people of Qingyang Palace. Li Guanqi said nothing more, only holding out his hand. "May I have a look?" Puzzled, He Yuning handed it over. "It's just a defensive magic treasure, nothing special." Li Guanqi took the seal in silence, his divine sense surging forth like ocean waves! The man sat up slightly straighter, sensing a powerful divine sense no weaker than that of the Void Refining Realm. The invisible divine sense enveloped the seal. The delicate golden square seal floated gently into midair, radiating a faint golden light. After a moment, the seal drifted back into Li Guanqi's hand, his brow furrowed tightly. "Was I truly overthinking it?" He Yuanting smiled slightly as well. Raising his hand, he drew the seal toward himself and said softly, "I have already examined this item. There is nothing unusual about it." Li Guanqi gave a wry smile and explained, "Senior likely knows about the clash I had in Yuntian City." "That Cang Lu is exceptionally adept at hiding himself, and his scheming runs exceedingly deep." "So whenever something feels off, I tend to second-guess it several times. I suppose I'm jumping at shadows." Hearing this, He Yuanting nodded slightly and remarked with a gentle sigh, "The cultivation world is vast; wonders and perils abound." "There is nothing wrong with being cautious in how one conducts oneself." Perhaps reminded of something, He Yuanting stood up and smiled. "You two chat. I'll take my leave; I still have matters to handle." With that, the man vanished from the spot in an instant. He Yuning put the seal away, glanced back toward the doorway, and murmured, "Don't think too much of it. My father... must be remembering the past again." "Ah... let's not talk about that." "Why am I suddenly feeling nervous now?" Li Guanqi smiled faintly and asked softly, "What is there to fear? Is that lady arriving in a few days?" He Yuning curled his lip, nodded, and leaned back in his chair with a grin. "Yeah, three days." "Oh, right, the person you asked about wasn't found. He left no trace of his identity or aura in Yuntian City." Li Guanqi was not surprised in the least by this outcome. If Cang Lu could be found so easily, he would never have evaded Tianji Pavilion's surveillance. Li Guanqi nodded and said softly, "Mm, thank you for your trouble." Rising to his feet, Li Guanqi said quietly, "In that case, I plan to depart as well." "Let me wish you success on your blind date in advance." He Yuning nodded with a smile, knowing all good things must come to an end. Li Guanqi went to the summit of a solitary mountain in the Taixuan Sword Sect to meditate in peace. His mind replayed everything that had transpired in Yuntian City. Gradually, he realized that he seemed to have been led by the nose by Cang Lu from the very beginning. "Was his appearance in Yuntian City truly just a coincidence?" "No... If he could slip past Tianji Pavilion's eyes and ears, how could I have run into him by mere chance so easily?" He had consistently felt something was wrong with that elder from Qingyang Palace, yet he had examined the seal and found no issue—even He Yuanting had inspected it. Furthermore, the seal had been presented by Shen Bing, having nothing to do with that elder. But as his thoughts churned... a terrifying possibility suddenly struck Li Guanqi! Li Guanqi's eyes snapped open, his throat bobbing slightly as a sharp light gleamed in his gaze. "If it is truly as I suspect... then everything makes sense!" "Who is the woman coming here? Why did Cang Lu suddenly appear? Could it be related to her?" He had originally intended to leave tomorrow, but now it seemed he had to wait a few more days. Regardless, he felt this matter was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface. Slowly closing his eyes, Li Guanqi entered a state of cultivation. Yet just as Li Guanqi settled into his cultivation, the elder who had returned to Qingyang Palace closed the stone doors of his cultivation chamber. After activating the spirit-gathering array, his face twisted slightly, shifting from that of an aged man into that of a youth! And this person was none other than Cang Lu, who had been in hiding for so long! Cang Lu sat in the center of the array with an inscrutable gaze, muttering under his breath: "His cultivation realm has advanced so swiftly. I'm afraid even I have no certainty of defeating him right now!" "Heh, since that's the case... don't blame me." With that, Cang Lu looked down at a hair-thin arc of lightning in his hand, a sinister smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Flipping his hand to stow the lightning away, he felt somewhat at a loss before Li Guanqi's sharp perception. He had hidden himself so thoroughly; a mere glance of curiosity had still managed to arouse Li Guanqi's suspicion. The reason he had managed to extract this wisp of lightning without alerting Li Guanqi was that he hadn't used a single shred of primal energy from his body! Instead, he had reeled it out using a technique akin to unraveling a silkworm cocoon, and the sliver of lightning was so minuscule that Li Guanqi would never imagine what use it could possibly have. A cold light glinted in Cang Lu's eyes as an intricate, step-by-step scheme took shape in his mind. Meanwhile, Zhongzhou was already buzzing with excitement over the mysterious faction due to arrive in two days. Li Guanqi had no inkling that danger was closing in on him, step by step.