The woman, perhaps rusty from not painting for years, started off a bit shaky. But soon her brush moved faster, and in less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, a lifelike portrait of a woman appeared on the paper.
The woman’s eyes were strikingly beautiful, though a scar marred her face. Lan Xiaobu couldn’t tell if it was Su Cen—he felt a hint of her in it, especially those eyes. If he focused only on them, he could almost believe Su Cen stood before him.
“How’d she get that scar?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
The woman replied nervously, “Su Cen had it since she was in her mother’s arms—no one knows how.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded. “From now on, Lan Qing handles the outer courtyard, you take the inner. Any issues, go straight to Young Master Lan Pei.”
“Thank you, Young Master. I’m Qi Xie,” she bowed.
Lan Xiaobu sighed inwardly. His adoptive father in this life was truly kind—most of the servants here were strays he’d taken in.
“Big Brother Xiaobu,” Lan Pei called as he rolled up the portrait to leave.
Lan Xiaobu said, “Lan Pei, this place is yours to run from now on. I’m not leaving yet—if anything’s too tough, come to me. Also, help me look into Su Cen’s whereabouts. I’m heading to my room to rest for a bit—don’t disturb me.”
Seeing Lan Xiaobu’s resolve, Lan Pei relented. “Alright, but I’ll manage the estate and household for you for now. Whenever you’re ready, you can take over.”
Lan Xiaobu knew what he meant but waved it off, too drained to argue. He returned to his room and shut the door.
Inside, he tried reaching the Cosmic Dimension Model. Still in the midst of proving the Reincarnation Dao, he couldn’t access his own world. Soon, he found the Model wrapped in the charm of the Reincarnation Dao—uncontrollable until he fully proved it.
This was expected, and he didn’t mind. The thin spiritual energy here, paired with his understanding of the Dao, was enough for self-preservation, even without the Model or his world.
Proving the Reincarnation Dao or not, his goal was the same: find Su Cen. If she was willing, he’d spend this life with her here.
He ran the Longevity Art briefly, and a faint spiritual vortex formed around him. The energy was too weak—elsewhere, he could’ve birthed divine sense in days.
Even with divine sense, though, his Model and Longevity Realm were locked by the Six Paths rules of his Reincarnation Dao. He couldn’t open them until he proved it. If he’d known, he’d have kept a ring handy.
Thin as the energy was, in half a day, he raised his cultivation to the Meridian-Opening Realm of Refining Essence to Qi.
He wasn’t aiming high—truth be told, he didn’t need to cultivate to protect himself. He couldn’t wield the world’s rules, but who could match his grasp of space? Without any cultivation, a Void God Realm fighter still couldn’t kill him. Even without touching rules, he could sense and use them.
He’d feel a Void God’s killing intent a breath before it struck and predict their every move.
He boosted his cultivation just to find Su Cen faster—and because, while he could survive strong foes, counterattacking was tricky. Only with more strength, paired with his rule-sense, could he ensure safety.
“Big Brother Xiaobu…” Lan Pei’s urgent voice came from outside.
Lan Xiaobu opened the door, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Trouble—Lan Qing’s been beaten and locked up in Tianyuan County’s jail,” Lan Pei said, anxious and shaky. He’d never faced anything like this.
Lan Xiaobu’s brow furrowed. “Li’s family has ties to the county office?”
Lan Pei shook his head. “No, Lan Qing actually finished the job. In under two hours, he got all of Li’s family into jail and brought back everything Li took. When he returned, I thought he’d done it fast and well, so I made him steward like you said. Maybe he was too eager—right after, he went to the slave market to buy some help for the house. Then he saw Su Cen…”
“Su Cen’s at the slave market?” Lan Xiaobu jolted, pressing him.
Lan Pei nodded. “Yeah, Lan Qing tried to buy her back, but some guy named Tie Ran spotted her too and paid ten times the price to snatch her. Lan Qing argued he’d bid first, got beaten for it, and was thrown in jail for ‘disrupting market freedom.’”
“Where’s Su Cen now?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
Lan Qing could wait in jail—Su Cen was his worry.
“Tie Ran’s not from Tianyuan City. He’s left with Su Cen—not far out yet, I’d guess…” Before Lan Pei finished, a faint breeze brushed past, and Lan Xiaobu was gone.
Lan Pei’s mouth hung open—he hadn’t even seen him leave.
Now he wondered if Lan Xiaobu had been secretly training in martial arts. How else could he vanish so silently?
Stepping out of the Lan estate, Lan Xiaobu keenly felt the subtle shifts in surrounding space—space rules. He couldn’t grasp them but could use them instinctively.
Though his cultivation was weak, his subconscious tracked every spatial flow. One step took him over ten meters.
Half an incense stick later, he passed the city gate guards like a breeze—they didn’t notice. He might be this world’s only “mortal” dodging with wind attributes sans high cultivation.
Luckily, Tianyuan City had one main road out—twenty li long, ending at a pavilion rest stop with branching paths beyond.
Rushing at top speed, he reached the stop and saw plenty of resting travelers. He didn’t know Tie Ran, but Su Cen—he spotted her instantly. Scar on her face, sitting numbly. One look, and he knew: this was his wife, the reason he’d reincarnated.
Lan Xiaobu exhaled in relief and sat in a corner.
Originally, he’d planned to scour the world for Su Cen after leaving the Lans, searching until he found her.
The size of this realm, its mighty empires—none of that mattered. A near-Fourth-Turn Saint like him wouldn’t struggle to find someone in a mortal cultivation world.
Now, he reconsidered. Living out a life with Su Cen in Tianyuan City wasn’t a bad idea.
No, not a full life. Once he found her, he’d prove the Reincarnation Dao, hit Fourth-Turn Saint, and take her back to the Great Desolate Divine Realm anytime.
From his corner, he studied the group that took her. He didn’t know Tie Ran, but a black-faced youth surrounded by guards stood out—likely him. By Lan Xiaobu’s measure, the strongest here was at the Energy Condensation Realm. In a backwater like this, that was impressive.
After watching them for an incense stick’s time, Tie Ran stood. They took the rightmost path—two carts, over thirty people.
Tie Ran’s background seemed hefty. Lan Xiaobu couldn’t fathom why he’d risk death to take Su Cen—she didn’t stand out in any way.
Whatever his reason, in Lan Xiaobu’s eyes, this crew wouldn’t survive the night.
They moved fast. Judging the weather, Lan Xiaobu figured they’d reach another rest stop by dusk to stay overnight.
The smart move was to wait until then, but he wasn’t in the mood. When their caravan passed a low hill, he decided to act.
