Chapter 150 - 108: Domineering (Part 2)
He didn’t see Shi Miao or Gui Shisan, however.
Jiang Ran led Ye Jingshuang over and sat down unceremoniously across from Li Tianxin.
Li Tianxin glanced up at him, then lowered his gaze.
"Got the silver?"
"Where are the others?"
Jiang Ran asked.
"Gone."
Li Tianxin didn’t beat around the bush.
"Gui Shisan said he had other urgent business. I’m guessing he’s gone to see that Prefecture Lord to report on what happened here."
"Shi Miao said she came down from the mountain to gain experience in the martial world and hone her swordsmanship."
"So, she couldn’t delay her training and left as well."
As he said this, he glanced at Ye Jingshuang.
"She left a letter for you in your room."
"Thank you for letting me know."
Ye Jingshuang nodded.
Jiang Ran gave Li Tianxin a strange look.
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Why didn’t you leave?"
"...Why should I leave?"
Li Tianxin looked up at Jiang Ran.
"That’s true... Forget it. You’re just lucky, I guess."
Jiang Ran rummaged through his pack for a moment, pulled out a stack of silver notes, and slapped them down in front of Li Tianxin.
Li Tianxin stared, stunned for a moment.
"What’s this?"
"Dividing the spoils."
As he spoke, Jiang Ran took out another stack of silver notes and handed them to Ye Jingshuang.
Ye Jingshuang quickly waved her hands, refusing.
"Brother Jiang, I don’t need this, do I?"
"You can’t get by in the martial world without money. Haven’t you heard that a lack of coin can stump even the greatest hero?"
"You did your part, so of course you get paid. I’m not a skinflint."
Li Tianxin nodded.
"That’s right. And while I don’t know who this skinflint you speak of is, at least he probably doesn’t go around poisoning people."
"Hm?"
Jiang Ran shot him a look. "So you’re not planning on drinking this wine?"
"..."
Stunned, Li Tianxin looked at the wine cup in his hand, then back at Jiang Ran.
"You didn’t... again..."
"Guess."
"Guess my ass!"
Li Tianxin huffed, scooped up the silver notes from the table, and stuffed them into his robes without counting them.
After a moment’s thought, Ye Jingshuang didn’t refuse either and put the silver notes away safely.
Then she said to Jiang Ran,
"I’ll go find my uncle and cousin, then. We need to discuss what to do next."
"Mm."
Jiang Ran nodded.
"There’s no rush. We can rest here for the night and leave first thing in the morning."
"Alright."
Ye Jingshuang agreed and went upstairs.
Li Tianxin watched Ye Jingshuang’s retreating back for a moment before his gaze returned to Jiang Ran.
"What are you going to do about that girl?"
"What do you mean, ’do about her’?"
"What do I mean? It’s obvious the girl has feelings for you. Aren’t you going to go with the flow and make her yours?"
Li Tianxin waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Jiang Ran.
The corner of Jiang Ran’s mouth twitched.
"Where’d that cool, aloof act from when we first met go? You’re already ugly, but you were at least tolerable to look at when you were acting all stoic. Now, with your face contorting like that, you’re a real eyesore."
"Whether I’m good-looking or not is none of your damn business!"
"Besides, I’m a man. Being a little ugly doesn’t matter."
"Unlike you, you pretty boy, womanizing everywhere you go..."
Li Tianxin rolled his eyes at Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran flared up in anger.
"When have I ever womanized everywhere?"
"I’m just afraid you do it without even realizing."
Li Tianxin sneered. "You’ll end up ruining that girl’s life, and then we’ll see if you feel any guilt."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Jiang Ran shook his head.
"I can’t be bothered to argue with you. I have real business to attend to."
With that, he got up and went upstairs as well.
Li Tianxin’s gaze lingered on his back for a long while, and he muttered a few words under his breath.
Finally, he stamped his foot lightly and huffed.
"Not a good one in the bunch."
The words had barely left his lips when Jiang Ran’s voice drifted down.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Ah?"
Li Tianxin jumped in fright. He looked up to see Jiang Ran had somehow come back downstairs.
"Didn’t you go upstairs?"
"I suddenly remembered something I wanted to ask you."
Jiang Ran didn’t press the matter of what he had just overheard.
"With your knowledge, have you ever heard of a martial art from the Demon Sect that allows someone to vanish right before your eyes, without a trace?"
"As if they’d turned invisible."
Hearing this, Li Tianxin was clearly stunned. He shot to his feet with a WHOOSH.
"The person you saw—where are they now?"
"Long gone."
Jiang Ran looked him over.
"You know of this person?"
Li Tianxin’s brows furrowed deeply. He studied Jiang Ran for another moment before speaking.
"The skill you’re describing is a supreme art from the Eighteen Celestial Demon Records."
"It’s called the [Great Freedom Celestial Demon Ten Thousand Thoughts Skill], one of the most profound techniques in the Eighteen Celestial Demon Records."
"It allows one to project their Inner Strength outward, using their will to create illusory forms."
"It’s said that at a high level of mastery, one can transform their single body into seven."
"Each phantom possesses a portion of the original’s power, while the caster’s own power remains undiminished."
"As one’s power deepens, the maximum distance between the phantoms and the caster also increases."
"Initially, the radius is three zhang. With each new level of Inner Energy, the distance increases by one zhang."
"To a maximum of eighteen zhang."
"The duration for which they can exist also increases with the depth of one’s power."
"At most, they can last for a full hour."
A chill crept into Jiang Ran’s heart as he listened.
’I saw that old man today and only thought his power was unfathomable. I never imagined it wasn’t even his real body.’
’His real body must have been hidden somewhere within that eighteen-zhang radius.’
’And yet, I didn’t sense him at all.’
"Who in the world is he?"
Jiang Ran asked in a low voice.
"If it really is the Great Freedom Celestial Demon Ten Thousand Thoughts Skill, then as far as I know, among the current remnants of the Demon Sect, only one person has mastered this art."
"He is the leader of those remnants, the current... Demon Sect Leader!"