Tie Ran sat in the beast-drawn carriage, eyes closed, one hand incessantly groping the woman beside him. The slight jolting of the carriage made him feel quite at ease. When traveling, he usually walked the stretch just outside the city himself, resting afterward, then spent the remainder of the journey lounging in the carriage.
But at that moment, the carriage stopped.
“What’s going on?” Tie Ran’s face darkened as he opened his eyes. He had strict rules—unless he ordered a halt, the carriage stopping meant someone was asking for death.
“Young Master, someone’s blocking the road,” a panicked voice called from outside.
Tie Ran lifted the curtain and saw a young man standing in the middle of the path.
“Are you dead? Someone’s in the way—don’t you know to kill them and move on?” Tie Ran snapped, kicking the guard beside the carriage. The guard flew out from the force.
Realizing their mistake, two guards grabbed their long blades and charged at the obstructing Lan Xiaobu.
But before they could even raise their weapons, Lan Xiaobu took a small step to the side. To their shock, with just that tiny move, he was suddenly behind them.
*Crack, crack!* Before they could turn, Lan Xiaobu’s fists slammed into their necks.
With the sound of snapping bones, both collapsed into the dust, lifeless.
Lan Xiaobu casually picked up a long blade from the ground and strode toward Tie Ran’s carriage.
“Protector Gu! Protector Gu…” Seeing Lan Xiaobu dispatch two guards with one move, Tie Ran shouted in terror.
Even a fool could tell Lan Xiaobu was a formidable martial artist. His guards, no matter how many, likely wouldn’t stand a chance—only Protector Gu, a Core Condensation expert, could handle this.
“Young Master…” Su Cen, standing numbly in the caravan, instinctively called out upon seeing Lan Xiaobu, her mind going blank.
Wasn’t the young master bedridden, muddled for over twenty years? How was he here?
Tie Ran’s frantic cries for Protector Gu snapped her out of it. Staring at Lan Xiaobu, despite knowing he’d been bedridden and incoherent for decades, she was certain this young man was him. Her mouth opened, but no words came.
“No need to shout—he’s not coming,” Lan Xiaobu said calmly.
Tie Ran stopped yelling. He noticed blood seeping from Protector Gu’s sedan, pooling on the ground in a large red stain. Even an idiot could see the protector was already dead, killed by this youth.
Lan Xiaobu had come from the rear of the caravan, taking out the strongest, Protector Gu, along the way. Though his cultivation was only at the Meridian Opening stage, his subconscious grasp of spatial laws let him slip past anyone unnoticed—even someone a hundred times stronger wouldn’t sense him. Limited by his strength, after silently killing Protector Gu, he’d rested before stopping the caravan.
“Brother, if I’ve offended you in any way, I’m willing to apologize…” Tie Ran tried to keep his voice steady, but it trembled despite his efforts.
Lan Xiaobu approached, swinging the long blade.
The guards saw it coming—some tried to dodge, others to counter—but whether evading or resisting, they all ended up doing the same thing: offering their necks to his blade.
Watching twenty or thirty guards fall one by one, even the woman beside him slain with a single slash, Tie Ran’s face turned deathly pale.
“Su Cen, I’m here,” Lan Xiaobu said, looking at Su Cen, who still stared at him in a daze, his eyes slightly red. With her talent to reach the Void God Realm on Earth, she shouldn’t have needed another reincarnation—or lost her memories—unless she hadn’t regained her past life’s recollection.
“Young Master…” Su Cen was now sure—this youth was Lan Xiaobu, the one her mother had told her to care for her whole life.
Lan Xiaobu flung the blade aside and walked toward her.
Tie Ran’s lips quivered. He finally understood why Lan Xiaobu had blocked the road—it was because he’d forcibly bought this maid.
Before regret could settle in, the blade Lan Xiaobu tossed pierced his neck, pinning him to the carriage.
Su Cen watched Lan Xiaobu approach, felt a wave of dizziness, and collapsed backward.
…
After bringing Su Cen back to the Lan residence, Lan Xiaobu found Lan Pi wasn’t home.
“Where’s Lan Pi?” he asked, summoning Qi Xing.
“Young Master went out, didn’t say where. Is Su Cen okay?” Qi Xing replied, eyeing Su Cen on the bed, puzzled. Wasn’t she sold off? How was she back?
“When she wakes, take good care of her. I’m going to find Lan Pi,” Lan Xiaobu instructed.
“Yes,” Qi Xing quickly agreed.
Though the young master had only been lucid for a day—and carried a heavy killing aura, even offing Steward Li upon waking—for Qi Xing and the other servants, it was like going from hell to heaven.
Without Steward Li’s tyranny, they just had to do their jobs and enjoyed far more freedom.
Lan Xiaobu left Su Cen with Qi Xing and was about to search for Lan Pi to ask about the county office when Lan Pi walked in with Su Qing. Su Qing had bloodstains on him but seemed in decent spirits.
“Big Bro Xiaobu, you’re back!” Lan Pi called out, overjoyed.
Lan Xiaobu nodded, glancing at Su Qing with confusion. “Wasn’t Su Qing taken by the county office? How’s he out?”
Lan Pi explained, “After you left, I went to Qian Dianzhang at the county office—he’s on good terms with Uncle. I brought some gold coins, and that got Su Qing out of jail. Uncle’s connections helped a lot, or it wouldn’t have been so easy.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded. “Su Qing, get people to stock up on food immediately. No one from the Lan family leaves for the time being.”
“Yes,” Su Qing replied quickly, guilt gnawing at him. He hadn’t saved Su Cen and had needed Lan Pi to bail him out.
“Big Bro Xiaobu, why can’t we go out?” Lan Pi asked, puzzled.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t answer directly, instead asking, “Do you know who Tie Ran is?”
Lan Pi replied, “I wasn’t sure before, but Qian Dianzhang told me. Tie Ran’s no small fry. He’s officially a minor county marquis in the Changying Domain Kingdom, but he struts around there like he owns it. Word is, he’s always got a Core Condensation expert by his side. Core Condensation! Even in our entire Qiyuan Domain Kingdom, there’s only one—the State Preceptor.”
Lan Xiaobu paused. One Core Condensation in a whole domain kingdom, and he’d just killed one. With such a guard, Tie Ran’s status wasn’t just a petty marquis—marquises didn’t swagger like that in a domain kingdom.
Lan Pi lowered his voice, “Qian Dianzhang said Tie Ran’s real identity is Tie Qi’s illegitimate son…”
“Who’s Tie Qi?” Lan Xiaobu asked, though he barely cared. Still, since he and Su Cen were staying in Tianyuan City, he needed some clarity.
Lan Pi wasn’t surprised he didn’t know—knowing would’ve been odd. He whispered even quieter, “Our Qiyuan Domain Kingdom is just one tiny speck among the hundred-plus domains of the Dakwang Empire. And Tie Qi? He’s the Emperor of Dakwang. Now you see how big Tie Ran’s background is. He keeps a low profile in Tianyuan City on purpose. If he wanted to show off, meeting Qiyuan’s king would be a breeze.
“So getting Su Qing back was a big deal. The county office head’s fair, and Tie Ran happened to leave Tianyuan City…”
Lan Pi’s subtext was clear: forget saving Su Cen—her captor was too powerful.
Lan Xiaobu sighed inwardly. He’d poked a hornet’s nest. Once Tie Ran’s death reached Tianyuan City, Qiyuan Domain Kingdom would flip upside down.
He patted Lan Pi’s shoulder. “Settle things here, then I’ll teach you something.”
“What?” Lan Pi asked, curious.
“Something like martial arts, but I think it’s got more potential,” Lan Xiaobu said vaguely. Lan Pi knew of Core Condensation because it was a mythical level to ordinary folks. What came before or after? He might not even know.
