Promised to Qinghe

A few days later, at an inn in Chizhou.

Having completed his mission preliminarily, Li Xingtian returned to the inn. Standing before the door, he hesitated for a moment, reluctant to push it open.

Indeed, undercover work was not something normal people could handle.

Especially when infiltrating a group of lunatics.

Those people were downright deranged.

Thanks to the blood aura he exuded, Li Xingtian had gained some trust, but this mission had taken more of a toll on his sanity than anything else.

Their ideas were even more outlandish than Senior Sister Li Yingling’s.

And speaking of which, their master was far too indulgent toward her.

Taking a deep breath, Li Xingtian finally pushed the door open.

Inside, his master, Chu Xingchen, was writing something with a brush, while Senior Sister Li Yingling studied a map she had drawn herself.

Li Yingling had sensed Li Xingtian’s presence earlier and knew he had lingered outside for a while—likely dissatisfied with the assigned mission.

Still, undercover work had its thrills.

If not for the fact that her cultivation method was too righteous and grand, Li Yingling would have gone herself.

With a smile, she used her spiritual power to float a teacup toward him.

"Second Junior Brother, have some water first. How did it go?"

"It went… alright," Li Xingtian replied, glancing at his enthusiastic senior sister. "They were cautious, so I didn’t get to their hideout, but I did gather some information."

"The setbacks in Bingzhou’s war have severely disrupted their original plans. It seems they’re preparing to gather strength and cause trouble in Chizhou instead."

"However, the Xuanwu Sect isn’t directly affiliated—it appears they were entrusted by some thieves, similar to the situation in Bingzhou."

Li Yingling’s eyes lit up. Her plan had worked after all.

They had uncovered quite a bit, hadn’t they?

Chu Xingchen nodded slightly. "Did they verify your identity?"

Li Xingtian answered reluctantly, "I demonstrated some unorthodox cultivation techniques… and that was enough."

Li Yingling clapped in admiration. "As expected of Second Junior Brother, truly impressive."

Li Xingtian gave her a sidelong glance—was she treating him like Qinghe now?

Chu Xingchen pressed further, "Did the Xuanwu Sect mention anything about Cangzhou? Any plans to act there?"

"Not that I heard, but something about them is off," Li Xingtian said seriously. "Most of them aren’t right in the head."

"Some are just intellectually lacking, but the majority exhibit an inexplicable fanaticism toward the Xuanwu."

"And if you show reverence or admiration for the Xuanwu, they’ll accept you immediately."

"It’s almost like they’re under some strange spell, but I couldn’t detect any abnormalities when I checked."

Li Yingling frowned, thinking for a moment before asking, "What does the Xuanwu Sect want from us?"

"Mostly to cause a distraction at a specific time, to draw attention away from them," Li Xingtian said, pulling a spatial ring from his robes and placing it on the table.

"This is the deposit they gave me."

Li Yingling took the ring and probed it with her spiritual sense, finding a considerable amount of spirit stones and materials. She couldn’t help but exclaim sincerely,

"As expected of Second Junior Brother, truly impressive."

Not only had he extracted information, but he’d also swindled spirit stones and supplies.

No wonder their master had said Li Xingtian was the right man for the job—he was practically a natural at undercover work, even bringing back spoils.

Chu Xingchen also looked at Li Xingtian with surprise.

Could it be that Li Xingtian was genuinely suited for infiltration? He seemed to thrive in it.

"They also assigned a contact person. For now, the Evil Spirit Sect can request any assistance they need," Li Xingtian added.

"Though once they receive intel from the Central Continent and realize I’m not actually from the Evil Spirit Sect, they’ll probably cut off support."

Chu Xingchen stood up. "Then what are we waiting for? Aren’t we still short on materials for the formation base? Let’s demand some from them."

"We can always return everything to their leader later."

Used to his master’s methods, Li Xingtian nodded and was about to leave to ask Li Zhong for supplies when the door was suddenly kicked open.

Qinghe’s furious voice rang out:

"What formation base materials?! Are you trying to exploit Qinghe again?!"

No sooner had Qinghe finished her angry outburst than a slender hand smacked her squarely on the head.

"Ow ow ow!" Qinghe clutched her head, turning teary-eyed to glare at Xie Lingyu behind her.

"How long have you known your old flame? Not even a fraction of the time you’ve known me!"

"And now, just because you’ve reunited with him, you’re bullying Qinghe for his sake, is that it?!"

Xie Lingyu instinctively raised her hand again at the remark, but seeing Qinghe’s pitiful expression, she hesitated.

She disliked being teased about "old flames," but Qinghe’s woeful puppy eyes made her lower her hand.

Instead, Xie Lingyu grabbed one of the little horns on Qinghe’s head and dragged her into the room.

"None of that nonsense. I hit you because you kicked the door—no manners at all."

Despite being hauled inside, Qinghe stubbornly retorted,

"Hmph! Qinghe isn’t stupid! I don’t believe you—you’ve been corrupted by this guy!"

Among those present, aside from Xie Lingyu, Li Xingtian had spent the most time with this unruly dragon.

Whether Qinghe was speaking the truth was debatable, but one thing was certain—Xie Lingyu wouldn’t appreciate it.

Sure enough, Xie Lingyu released Qinghe’s horn and said coldly,

"Then I don’t believe you’ll be eating tonight."

Qinghe shot Xie Lingyu a wounded look before defiantly striding over to stand beside Li Xingtian.

She used to dislike this guy.

After all, he was the one assigned to supervise her work, always using Xie Lingyu as leverage against her.

And he never stopped nagging her to be careful.

But he wasn’t all bad—he’d turn a blind eye when she slacked off moderately.

Plus, he’d treat her to meals now and then, and even indulged her sweet tooth.

Ever since he left, Xie Lingyu had taken over as her overseer.

And Xie Lingyu had learned all the worst habits from him!

No slacking off allowed! She might not lecture as much, but when annoyed, she wouldn’t hesitate to throw a punch!

Fewer explosions, but more fists to the head.

Not that it hurt much.

The real issue was that Xie Lingyu lacked his generosity—days of hard labor without even a meal, let alone desserts!

But everything paled in comparison.

Suddenly, Li Xingtian didn’t seem so bad anymore.

So what if Xie Lingyu withheld food? Plenty of others were willing to treat Qinghe!

Standing beside Li Xingtian, Qinghe transmitted her voice to him:

"Hey, kid! You remember you owe me meals and sweets, right? You promised Qinghe!"

Li Xingtian: "…"

After the things you just said, how could I dare treat you now?