The two Lan family cultivators also wore strange expressions. Earlier, Zhai Bairong had only mentioned that he had spent some time with Nie Shiyun; he hadn’t said he had a way to draw the man out. They felt he was being far too cautious, insisting on waiting until he was in front of Ao Fan to speak freely. Even if he had told them such a major piece of information, the two of them, unable to make the final call, would have brought him to Ao Fan immediately anyway.
"Is what you’re saying true? Let’s get one thing straight: don’t even think about making things up to fool me. I’m not that easy to deceive." Realizing he had lost his composure, Ao Fan steadied the table as if nothing had happened and sat back down.
Hearing him try so hard to cover his tracks, Nie Shiyun, tucked away in the space, couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.
"How could I? Please, allow me to explain from the beginning..."
Seeing Ao Fan nod without any intention of offering him a seat, Zhai Bairong remained standing and began his narration.
The story was one Nie Shiyun had prepared long ago: after being hunted by the Lan family, Nie Shiyun had fled to the wilderness and encountered a rogue cultivator who had just arrived from the upper realms due to the decline of his family's fortunes. This rogue cultivator had helped him. After hiding for a period, Nie Shiyun told the rogue cultivator during their conversations that he was traveling to find his Dao companion, but for certain reasons, he was temporarily unable to board the immortal ships. Nie Shiyun described his companion’s appearance and asked the rogue cultivator to contact him immediately if he ever heard news of his partner.
The role Zhai Bairong was currently playing was, naturally, that of this "rogue cultivator."
"Oh? And why did he think you might have news?" Ao Fan wasn't a complete fool. He interrupted Zhai Bairong, pointing out the part he found suspicious.
"Because he said his Dao companion was in the upper realms. I had just arrived from there myself, so he thought perhaps I had encountered them before," Zhai Bairong replied.
Ao Fan nodded thoughtfully, finding the explanation plausible. He had lived in the upper realms before and knew the social circles there were complex, but business opportunities weren't as plentiful as in the middle realms. Many small sects without deep foundations couldn't sustain themselves and simply dissolved. It wasn't uncommon for people who couldn't make it in the upper realms to come down here to try their luck.
"He left me a directional communication crystal. If I tell him I have news of his companion and want to talk in person, he should come to the meeting." Zhai Bairong produced the crystal, causing Ao Fan’s eyes to light up. He hurriedly gestured for Zhai Bairong to bring it over for him to inspect. However, one couldn't tell who the crystal was linked to just by looking at its exterior, so he could only fiddle with it and stare blankly.
Zhai Bairong raised a hand. "Young Master Ao Fan, this has a limited number of uses. Please don't use it up."
"Hmph. I know people like you can't afford many immortal crystals, so your communication crystals wouldn't be high-grade anyway." Ao Fan rolled his eyes and tossed the item back to Zhai Bairong.
"What does Young Master Ao Fan think...?"
Ao Fan looked at Zhai Bairong suspiciously for a few moments before waving him away, saying he needed a few days to consider. Ao Fan didn't agree immediately, appearing somewhat apprehensive instead. This was slightly unexpected, but it seemed he had at least learned some lessons during this period.
Zhai Bairong was "arranged" by the Lan family cultivators to stay at an inn. He didn't have to pay, but by the same token, he wasn't allowed to leave the city at will until Ao Fan reached a decision. Zhai Bairong was very cooperative with these demands, which relieved the two Lan family cultivators.
After settling the suddenly appeared rogue cultivator, the two returned to the restaurant later that evening to pick up Ao Fan. Seeing that he had dismissed the female cultivators early and was sitting there deep in thought, they couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Ao Fan, isn't this a great opportunity?"
"If I believe everything he says, wouldn't I be a fool? Go and investigate for me. Has Nie Shiyun ever mentioned a Dao companion to anyone else? And does he have plans to go to the upper realms?"
"Yes, sir."
While Ao Fan and the Lan family began secretly inquiring about Nie Shiyun’s Dao companion to verify the rogue cultivator's story, Zhai Bairong’s first act upon reaching the inn was to quickly enter the jade pendant to speak with Nie Shiyun.
"And you said you weren't good at lying! You acted quite well!" Nie Shiyun praised him profusely the moment he arrived.
Zhai Bairong let out a long breath, telling Nie Shiyun to stop teasing him.
"Speaking of which, there were actually times in the past when I needed you to act," Nie Shiyun said suddenly.
Zhai Bairong let out a questioning "Hm?"
Nie Shiyun continued, "During the Cultivation Grand Assembly, have you forgotten? Back when you clearly missed me but had to put on an act in front of Duan Mingyu and the others..."
"That really was a long time ago." Zhai Bairong hadn't expected him to bring that up and sighed helplessly. That name hadn't appeared before him—or even in the entire cultivation world—for a very long time. No matter how much of a stir someone caused while alive, once their soul lamp went out, their name quickly vanished into the torrent of time.
"Let’s not talk about that. Hurry up and look over the ancient texts again. If the plan goes smoothly, we’ll need them for the next step." Nie Shiyun pulled Zhai Bairong to sit at a small desk. On it were some basic texts on formations he had written.
Zhai Bairong asked him, "Are you so confident that things will proceed smoothly? I saw that Ao Fan seemed suspicious. He’s surely sent people to investigate whether what I said is true."
Nie Shiyun expressed that he wasn't worried. Before entering the town, they had already set up a convincing-looking cave dwelling. The communication crystal was also real. The only thing that would take time to verify was the matter of "Nie Shiyun looking for his Dao companion."
"It’s precisely because I’ve mentioned it to more than one person that I’m confident they’ll hear the same thing if they investigate!" Nie Shiyun counted on his fingers: the blacksmiths he had briefly worked with in the forge, the strange cultivators in the square during the preliminary rounds of the smithing competition, and he had even mentioned it once or twice to the owners of certain trading houses and smithing shops.
The content was always the same few lines: his Dao companion was exceptionally handsome, humble and polite, with a cultivation level equal to his own, and so on.
Zhai Bairong turned his face away slightly. "Why... why did you tell people those things everywhere?"
"When chatting occasionally, it just naturally came up. Don't worry, although everything I said is true, I wasn't overly detailed. Others won't recognize you just from that," Nie Shiyun laughed.
His descriptions were far too generalized; anyone hearing them would feel they could apply to almost anyone. Moreover, everyone understood that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so they hadn't taken Nie Shiyun’s various descriptions to heart. They only remembered that he had an outstanding male Dao companion whose current whereabouts were unknown.
"That's not the issue... forget it," Zhai Bairong said helplessly.
Nie Shiyun leaned in close to Zhai Bairong and asked, "Then is it that you’ve never mentioned me to others? That way, others would surely mistake you for being single and develop many unnecessary expectations..."
"How could that be? My attitude has always been proper, and I told them later on." Zhai Bairong didn't want to be misunderstood and immediately countered.
At his core, Zhai Bairong was still a traditional person who valued being humble and cautious in public. How could he be like Nie Shiyun, loudly proclaiming to outsiders how wonderful his partner was? Although he personally felt Nie Shiyun had no flaws, he would at most offer a few words of praise like "he is very good" to others.
Nie Shiyun knew this perfectly well, but it didn't stop him from feigning disappointment and demanding that Zhai Bairong correct himself by praising him directly before he would let it go.
Over the years, the time Nie Shiyun had spent in the cultivation world had already far exceeded the time he had spent in the so-called "modern society" before coming here. In the eyes of outsiders, he was a perfect example of a graceful and dignified face of a sect. But Zhai Bairong knew that in private, Nie Shiyun was much more relaxed than when they first met, occasionally revealing a hint of childishness—a side that only he was likely allowed to see.
When the two were close, it was inevitable they would get affectionate. Faced with Nie Shiyun, who kept being handsy while relentlessly teasing him to repeat his praises, Zhai Bairong had no choice but to let him have his way.
The result was that the formation texts sat on the desk for several hours without being flipped. Fortunately, time flowed slowly in the space, so this little bit of time wouldn't delay their business. By the time Zhai Bairong sensed someone knocking on the inn room door, five days had passed in the outside world.
Five days wasn't long, but the middle realm was vast. Gathering information required a lot of energy, showing that Ao Fan was taking this matter very seriously. When Zhai Bairong opened the door and saw the two Lan family cultivators inviting him to see Ao Fan again—their attitudes having improved significantly—he knew the plan was mostly a success.
This time, they didn't go to the restaurant but went directly to a courtyard Ao Fan had rented in the city. They saw no outsiders along the way, only a few servants cleaning the yard. It seemed Ao Fan was finally treating this with the importance it deserved.
As soon as he entered, Ao Fan asked, "I didn't ask last time, what's your name?"
"Ming Cheng," Zhai Bairong gave a fake name off the top of his head. He and Nie Shiyun had several backup aliases for when they traveled the cultivation world and didn't want to reveal their identities. However, considering the current situation, it was a bit ironic; what he was doing had nothing to do with the "integrity" implied by the name Ming Cheng.
But who told this guy to try and harm Nie Shiyun? Zhai Bairong gave Ao Fan a cool look, devoid of any sympathy, and sat down at the other's invitation.
Ao Fan had investigated over the past few days and found that the information Zhai Bairong provided was indeed flawless. They had sent people near his supposed cave dwelling; although they hadn't gone inside, the location matched the description. From the news gathered everywhere, they learned that Nie Shiyun had indeed mentioned his Dao companion to several people, though he had never given a name or a portrait. Everyone had just listened for amusement and hadn't taken it to heart.
This man had also come down from the upper realms, and the immortal ship had arrived right during the competition. Nie Shiyun had never been to the upper realms before that, so the two presumably didn't know each other.
Thinking of all this, Ao Fan’s trust in Zhai Bairong was already quite high.
Sitting in the high seat, Ao Fan sized up Zhai Bairong. Seeing him just keeping his head down, waiting for him to speak, Ao Fan gave the two Lan family members a look.
The two set up a restriction and closed the doors tightly.
"I’ve thought about it these past few days, and I’ve decided to cooperate with you. You call the man here. If you can successfully take his life, I’ll give you three hundred thousand immortal crystals," Ao Fan said in a low voice.
"Wasn't it agreed to be five hundred thousand?" Zhai Bairong insisted on his "greedy for wealth" persona, asking with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Ao Fan wagged a finger and continued, "Don't be in such a hurry, I haven't finished! There’s another two hundred thousand, but you must guarantee that you hand over all his storage spaces—rings, bracelets, bags—to me completely intact."
Zhai Bairong was stunned, not reacting for a moment to what kind of request this was.
"Is there something in there that Young Master Ao Fan wants? If it can be taken separately, wouldn't it be the same?"
Hearing Zhai Bairong ask this, Ao Fan instantly looked annoyed. "Just do your job and don't ask so many questions!"
"...Very well." Catching a glimpse of his irritation, Zhai Bairong guessed that the other party wanted to retrieve the dragon scale. According to Nie Shiyun, once that thing fell off, it was impossible for it to grow back on the body. He didn't know what use taking it back would serve.
From the corner of his eye, he looked at the two Lan family cultivators. He saw them looking confused, clearly also unaware that Ao Fan was fixated on the dragon scale. It seemed Ao Fan, concerned about his pride, hadn't told the Lan family about having his scale plucked at all.
"Have you ever sparred with Nie Shiyun?" Ao Fan continued to question Zhai Bairong.
Seeing him shake his head, Ao Fan said through gritted teeth, "Oh, then I suppose you wouldn't know. That fellow Nie Shiyun is incredibly cunning and seems to have some sort of wicked method—if you aren't careful, he can vanish into thin air! Could it be he knows invisibility...? Forget it, let's not talk about that! In short, even if you can call him here, you might not necessarily catch him. We still need to discuss this further."
Just as Zhai Bairong was about to speak, one of the Lan family cultivators standing behind him suddenly interrupted: "Young Master Ao Fan, please consider what we suggested before. Such an opportunity is precious; we should simply ask a Great Elder of our Lan family to step in! He is a Void Refinement cultivator, but no matter what tricks he has, they are no match for the fatal blow of a Great Vehicle cultivator."
Zhai Bairong’s heart tightened.
The two Great Vehicle cultivators the Lan family kept in the middle realm were in seclusion year-round, but if it meant doing the Dragon Race a favor, they would likely be willing to act. No matter how strong two Early Body Integration cultivators were, they were no match for a Great Vehicle cultivator. If the other side really mobilized one, this plan would have to be aborted no matter what.
"I said don't mention it again! Right now, I don't want to see you Lan family people at all! Besides, the grudge between Nie Shiyun and me is something I must settle with my own hands! He’s just a Void Refinement cultivator. Can the four of us not handle him?"
Ao Fan slapped the table, ordering the two not to interrupt and to just stay quietly to the side.
The Lan family cultivators: "..." They were also Lan family people. Could they please be allowed to go back to their cultivation instead of waiting on this "Great Buddha" Ao Fan?
To the side, Zhai Bairong remained silent, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, just as Nie Shiyun had said, this Ao Fan was a fool. Zhai Bairong felt much more at ease.
***
