After discovering that she could not get into her own home, Chen Youjia's first reaction was to look around and make sure she had not gotten so absorbed in her thoughts while walking that she had taken a wrong turn—according to the teachings she had received since childhood, that was entirely possible.
Only after confirming that the surroundings were all familiar, that this was not some identical-looking alley, and, most importantly, that the house number was correct, did she begin considering other possibilities.
"A thief?"
Once that possibility occurred to her, two options appeared in Chen Youjia's mind: "Summon the Enforcement Officers," and "Throw the culprit into the Penal Law Division myself."
But she quickly dismissed the thought.
That did not make much sense. If someone merely wanted to steal, they could have snuck in. No thief would so openly alter the access-control talismans on the owner's door...
Chen Youjia touched the talisman and extended a thread of spiritual sense. That thread was swiftly scattered by an unknown force, but it was enough for her to notice a few things.
The spiritual restrictions throughout the house had been altered. Someone had added another, more powerful, unknown set of laws to the building.
The only person who would do that was the homeowner.
Which meant...
"So that guy finally came back." Chen Youjia stepped back two paces, a faint smile curling at her lips.
That guy had left a letter a year ago saying he was going somewhere to enter secluded cultivation. Had he finally returned now?
—I'll go in now and scare him half to death!
The door, the walls, and the spiritual restrictions laid out here were not truly enough to stop Chen Youjia. When Wang Qi had first arrived in the West Sea, he had merely been middle