Li Fan asked several bizarre questions in a row, leaving Yin Yuzhen somewhat bewildered, wondering what he was getting at.
A sudden possibility seemed to strike her, and her face went slightly pale as she stared at him. "Could you be our long-lost father?"
Yet just as quickly, she dismissed the notion. "No, that can't be right. You don't look like us at all."
"Merely curious, that is all," Li Fan replied faintly, ignoring the girl's somewhat scatterbrained leap of logic.
"I know, I know—curiosity about someone of your own kind. Perfectly natural." Yin Yuzhen nodded repeatedly with an air of complete understanding.
Li Fan did not bother to explain.
Yin Yuzhen sighed and spoke slowly. "We were originally from Yelan Island in the north. Our parents died in a disaster when we were little, leaving just my elder sister and me to rely on each other. As far back as I can remember, we had to beg every day just to get by, never knowing where our next meal would come from."
"Then, at some point, my sister began finding all sorts of valuable things in random places."
"From then on, our days grew better and better, and eventually she built Tianbao Pavilion entirely by herself," Yin Yuzhen recalled.
"Sadly, I haven't seen her in years." Her eyes were filled with yearning.
"Oh? Where did she go?" Li Fan frowned.
"Three years ago, a passing immortal master took an interest in her and took her away. At first, she would ask people to deliver letters to let us know she was safe. But later on, not a word ever came again." Yin Yuzhen rested her chin in her hands, looking pitiful.
"Taken away by an immortal master? Did they take her to cultivate immortality?" Li Fan could not help asking.
Yin Yuzhen sighed. "If only that were true. In one of her earlier letters, she used a code that only the two of us understood to tell me that she was in a very dangerous situation. If she stopped contacting me, it meant something terrible had likely happened to her, and she told me never to go looking for her."
Li Fan asked upon hearing this, "Could it be that her special constitution—the Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique—brought about this misfortune?"
"That is what puzzles me to this day. While the Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique is indeed remarkable, able to sense treasures within a certain range, its ability has limits."
"My sister was merely a mortal, and what she could sense was only valuable to mortals. In the eyes of immortal masters, such treasures are probably no better than scrap metal."
"Other immortal masters noticed her talent before, but none of them ever made much of it. I don't know why that one immortal master ended up taking her away." Yin Yuzhen sighed again, a trace of sorrow surfacing in her eyes.
"Even though things look grim for my sister, the foundation she left behind remains. Tianbao Pavilion is something she spent the better part of her life building with blood and sweat; I cannot let it be ruined in my hands." Yin Yuzhen looked intently at Li Fan with her large eyes.
"That is also why I asked you here today."
Li Fan raised an eyebrow and remained silent.
Yin Yuzhen explained on her own, "I don't have my sister's miraculous talent. After she vanished, Tianbao Pavilion's business worsened by the day. On top of that, my judgment slipped later on and I failed to spot several counterfeits, which cost us another fortune."
"The veteran elders gradually grew dissatisfied with me, even conspiring with outsiders to drive me out and carve up Tianbao Pavilion's assets."
"Fortunately, they were still wary of my sister who had been taken by an immortal master, so they hesitated to make a move."
"So, under the pretext of expanding our market, I came from Yelan Island to Liuli Island to lay low for a while."
"I originally thought I'd spend a few years here building up strength before going back to settle scores with them, but I never expected to encounter another Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique on Liuli Island."
Yin Yuzhen grew rather excited. "With your help, I will surely regain full control of Tianbao Pavilion."
"Why should I help you?" Li Fan remained unmoved. "I have no interest in Tianbao Pavilion's affairs. My only desire is to cultivate immortality."
"You previously promised that as long as I helped you secure the fleet, you would help me obtain a spot for the Purifying Spirit Pool. You haven't gone back on your word, have you?"
Yin Yuzhen seemed prepared for his response. She nodded and said, "We at Tianbao Pavilion have always put integrity first in business. What we promised you, we will certainly deliver. However..."
She paused, casting Li Fan a cunning look.
"However what?" Li Fan's expression darkened.
Yin Yuzhen smiled faintly. "Uncle, even if you can enter the Purifying Spirit Pool, so what? Purging the miasma from your body is no easy task. Of those who enter the pool each year, barely half succeed. And the older you are, the higher the failure rate."
"Uncle, you're not exactly young anymore. Do you have complete certainty you'll succeed? Everyone only gets one chance in their life to enter the pool. If you fail, I'm afraid you'll have to bid farewell to cultivation forever."
"I know the Purifying Spirit Pool isn't guaranteed to succeed. But an even chance is more than enough for me to try. However, judging from what you're saying..." Li Fan narrowed his eyes at her.
"Exactly." Yin Yuzhen looked smug, confident he would take the bait. "Sent along with my sister's final letter was an elixir pill called the Dust-Transcending Pill."
"According to her letter, taking this pill will greatly increase the chance of purging miasma. Combined with the Purifying Spirit Pool, even at your age, Uncle, the odds of success would be very high."
"With a pill of such miraculous effect, why haven't you taken it yourself?" Li Fan could not help asking.
"Uncle, not everyone is dead set on cultivating immortality like you. My only wish is to run a good business and protect the Tianbao Pavilion my sister left behind," Yin Yuzhen answered.
"To each their own aspirations..." Li Fan nodded slowly.
"So, Uncle, does that mean you agree?" Yin Yuzhen looked at Li Fan with eager eyes.
"Allow me to consider it. I will give you my answer in three days." Li Fan pondered for a moment, not agreeing immediately.
"All right, then I'll be waiting for your word, Uncle." Though a bit disappointed, Yin Yuzhen nodded nonetheless.
"Farewell!"
***
"I hope I haven't misjudged this time."
Watching Li Fan's receding figure, Yin Yuzhen's expression turned serious as she murmured under her breath.
In dealing with Li Fan, Yin Yuzhen had consistently played the role of a "junior" and a "young girl."
Her intuition told her that Li Fan did not mind her doing so.
Moreover, dealing with him as a junior made things far more likely to succeed.
Yin Yuzhen did not possess her sister's uncanny ability to sense treasures.
Yet she had her own special gift.
Apart from her elder sister, Yin Yueting, no one knew that since childhood, Yin Yuzhen had possessed a faint premonition of good and ill fortune.
It was precisely by relying on the elder sister's Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique and the younger sister's knack for pursuing good fortune while averting disaster that the two of them had managed to grow up safe and sound.
Chapter 33