Stirring Up the Grass to Startle the Snake

Coiling Dragon World.

"Level five already? That really is fast."

Qi Fei checked his cultivation with a look of deep emotion.

He had only just recovered to level four, and after a quick trip inside, he was already level five; this speed of strength improvement was truly terrifying.

It was worthy of being ranked among the top cheats: the Clone Cultivation path.

"I'll cultivate first, get a basic grasp of this power, and then go talk to them."

Qi Fei stretched his body and continued to cultivate according to the secret manual.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye during this cultivation session.

Because the secret chamber was fully equipped and had a reserve of dry rations and water, Qi Fei hadn't stepped outside once in those five days.

He was in seclusion just as normally as his predecessor.

"Finally, I have it under control."

Qi Fei moved his brand-new body.

The current him could easily beat his former self—who had just obtained this power—to a pulp.

Every movement of his muscles was under his control, and every drop of Dou Qi flowed according to his will.

He was no longer in the awkward predicament of having to be careful not to crush the floor just by squatting down.

"It's time to come out of seclusion."

If he didn't come out now, the others in the castle would start to get suspicious.

Qi Fei began to adjust his emotions.

Although he didn't need to fill himself with negative emotions, he couldn't walk out looking overly joyous either.

Qi Fei went through all the sad things in his memories, finally managing to suppress the joy of his increased strength.

Afterward, he adjusted his expression in front of a mirror.

Only after confirming that everything looked no different from the past did Qi Fei leave the secret chamber.

He hadn't walked more than a few steps before he saw a silver-haired figure.

It was Aisha, one of the three maids.

This maid was slightly younger, so his predecessor had always pampered her like a little sister.

Because of this, Aisha had the best relationship with his predecessor among the three.

At this moment, Aisha seemed to be leaning against the window, gazing at the sky out of boredom.

Upon hearing the footsteps Qi Fei had intentionally slowed down, she turned her head to look.

"Master."

Aisha's eyes lit up the moment she saw Qi Fei, and she immediately flew into his arms.

Qi Fei instinctively caught her.

"Master, you've finally come out of seclusion. Aisha missed you so much."

The young girl looked up at Qi Fei.

The intense joy and attachment in her eyes, almost overflowing, made Qi Fei's heart tremble violently.

Not only that, but her petite yet shapely figure also gave Qi Fei a massive shock.

Qi Fei had only one thought.

This is hard to resist.

No wonder his predecessor had played himself to death.

Qi Fei felt that if he didn't have the goal of eternal life and his cheats dangling in front of him, he would have ended up just the same.

"Mm, I missed you too."

Qi Fei spoke, following his memories.

Receiving the answer, Aisha revealed a sweet smile.

She stood slightly on her tiptoes, hooking her arms around Qi Fei's neck.

Then, she leaned forward, almost merging her body with his.

"Master, just talking isn't enough, you know."

Aisha said, pressing close to Qi Fei's face.

The distance between them was so close that their noses were almost touching.

Qi Fei didn't answer, instead kissing those cherry-red lips.

Aisha was overjoyed by Qi Fei's reaction.

A long while later, the two finally pulled apart.

"Master, let's return to the room."

Aisha said, her face flushed crimson.

"Alright."

Qi Fei picked Aisha up and walked toward his bedroom.

Of course, Qi Fei did not forget that there were two others.

"Have Nancy and Elena go to my bedroom."

He instructed the servant nearby.

This made Aisha, who was curled up in his arms, feel slightly dissatisfied.

But Aisha only lightly traced her fingers across Qi Fei's chest, saying nothing more.

In no time at all, Qi Fei returned to the room with Aisha.

After placing Aisha on the bed, Qi Fei sat down at the bedside.

"Master?"

Aisha seemed to be wondering why there was no next step.

"Sorry, Aisha, let's wait for them."

Qi Fei said with a smile.

He had not forgotten the real purpose of this outing.

"Master~"

Aisha climbed up from the bed and draped herself over Qi Fei's back.

"The two sisters were cultivating earlier, so it will probably take a while; why don't we..."

She did not finish her sentence, but anyone could understand her meaning.

"Aisha, I said, wait for them to arrive."

Qi Fei switched to a more serious tone.

In this situation, even the most oblivious person would notice that something was wrong.

Not to mention Aisha, who was quite familiar with the original owner of the body.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she couldn't get it out and just slumped back onto the bed in resignation.

Qi Fei whispered an apology in his heart.

But he had to do this.

As the two fell silent, the air gradually grew heavy.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of the door being pushed open echoed.

Nancy and Elena pushed the door open and entered.

The scene in the room, which did not match their expectations, made the two freeze for a moment.

"You're finally here, come in."

Qi Fei stood up and beckoned them over.

Although Elena found it strange that both Qi Fei and Aisha were fully dressed, she still obeyed Qi Fei's order.

Nancy had some reservations, but she couldn't hold Elena back, so she had no choice but to follow her into the room.

After the two entered, Qi Fei locked the door behind them.

Then, he drew the sword hanging on the wall as a decoration, turned his head, and said to the three maids:

"Speak, who exactly is the person behind you?"

The cold blade of the sword reflected Qi Fei's icy expression.

The three maids shivered in unison.

"Master, what are you talking about? I don't quite understand."

Although Elena did not understand the current situation, she realized the danger at this moment.

So she gently pulled Nancy behind her, while simultaneously glancing at Aisha on the bed, signaling for her to come over.

But Aisha seemed stunned by Qi Fei's actions and did not notice Elena's gaze.

"Five days ago, that night, one of you poisoned me."

Qi Fei raised the sword and approached the three of them.

"If it weren't for the fact that my cultivation drop was a lie, I would already be a dead man."

This was, of course, nonsense.

The original owner did not experience the pain of being poisoned before he died; he had simply sent himself off by playing too hard.

Moreover, if these three had truly poisoned him, they would have long since vanished.

But this did not stop Shen San Qi Fei from using this reason to lash out at the three maids.

Moreover, this was the only reason he could use to lash out that would seem reasonable.

"Master, it wasn't us, we wouldn't do such a thing."

Elena said, looking somewhat panicked.

Although Nancy, who stood behind her, did not speak, her face also carried a trace of fear.

As for Aisha on the bed, she had already lost her composure due to the news from Shen San Qi Fei and sat there blankly, at a loss for what to do.

At this moment, Shen San Qi Fei was particularly grateful for the mental power shared by Shen San Qi Fei.

The mental power had strengthened his thinking ability, allowing him to easily discern the subtle expressions of the three maids.

Beyond the panic of being falsely accused, the three of them also displayed emotions of lingering fear and worry.

Shen San Qi Fei could not detect any traces of acting from them.

However, he still needed to provoke them further.

"If it wasn't you, then who could it be? Only you could have made me eat it without any defenses."

Shen San Qi Fei wore an expression of anger mixed with a hint of subtle terror.

It was as if he had truly been assassinated.

"Speak, who exactly is behind this, wanting my life?"

He thrust the longsword in his hand forward, the tip resting directly against Elena's throat.

Aisha on the bed was so frightened that she let out a scream.

Fortunately, the original owner had specially renovated this room for privacy, otherwise, the sound would have carried outside.

Nancy, standing behind Elena, was also so frightened that her legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the floor.

"Master, you have never treated us poorly; it is impossible for me to betray you."

Elena's voice trembled incessantly, but she still insisted on finishing her words.

"So you also know that I have never treated you poorly?"

Shen San Qi Fei said viciously.

"In name, you are my maids, but you enjoy the treatment of wives and concubines, yet you still choose to betray me."

His tone was exceptionally agitated, even appearing somewhat hysterical.

"We didn't."

Tears welled up in the corners of Elena's eyes.

"Master, if it were us, we would have run away five days ago."

Nancy finally calmed down and said the words that Shen San Qi Fei had been waiting to hear.

Immediately, Shen San Qi Fei seemed to be jolted awake by these words and turned his head to look at Nancy.

It was not just Shen San Qi Fei who was awakened by these words; Elena and Aisha were as well, both of them turning to look at Nancy.

Nancy struggled to climb up from the floor, her legs trembling as she approached Shen San Qi Fei.

Seeing this, Elena reached out to help support Nancy.

It was fortunate that Shen San Qi Fei reacted quickly and pulled back just enough distance, otherwise, she would have had her throat slit.

"We are your personal maids; if you were to die suddenly, we would definitely be interrogated, or even subjected to torture."

Nancy leaned against Elena, taking a deep breath every now and then as she spoke.

Other servants might not have to run, but the three of them could not.

Their relationship with Shen San Qi Fei was too intimate; the moment something happened to him, they would be the primary suspects.

"Furthermore, if it were us, we would certainly have made preparations upon discovering that you hadn't died."

Either by arranging a second assassination or by fleeing the castle.

In any case, it would be impossible to just stay in the castle and live normally.

"It really wasn't you?"

Shen San Qi Fei frowned deeply, appearing to ponder the validity of Nancy's words.

"It really wasn't us; our status dictates that we wouldn't live long."

Nancy provided yet another reason.

Among the maids sold, the most expensive ones were those with cultivation aptitude, especially those with a bit of magical talent.

Next were those with some talent in the cultivation of Battle Qi.

As for maids like Nancy and the others, who had only reached the level of a Level 2 Warrior after practicing the Battle Qi Secret Manual, they were the cheapest kind.

(The children in Linley's town, who didn't practice Battle Qi and relied solely on physical training, could basically all become Level 1 Warriors.)

For most nobles, this type of maid was quite cheap, making them almost equivalent to consumables.

This was something the original owner had chosen deliberately.

At the time, he still had some ambition and didn't want to spend too much money on this aspect.

At the same time, he was also worried that well-trained maids would be spies arranged by others.

"Therefore, they wouldn't and couldn't possibly expect us to do such things."

Nancy continued.

If they wanted to gather intelligence, they obviously wouldn't send people like them who could die at any moment.

If they wanted to carry out an assassination, it would be impossible to use them either.

After all, no one would have expected them to survive for six years.

According to the intelligence Nancy had heard in the past, most maids didn't live past three years, and the fastest ones were even counted in days.

Qi Fei loosened his grip on his longsword and stepped forward to embrace the two of them.

"I'm sorry, it seems I misunderstood you."

He said with an apologetic look on his face.

Upon hearing this, Nancy relaxed and slumped completely into Qi Fei's arms.

And the anger in Elena dissipated as well, as she leaned into Qi Fei's embrace.

Qi Fei held the two of them as he sat on the bed, while also pulling the silently weeping Aisha into his arms, comforting the three of them.

For the three maids, this matter was finally over.

But for Qi Fei, it had not yet ended.

Relying on the support of his mental cultivation, Qi Fei could certainly manage to read people's expressions.

However, he didn't believe that this ability he had just unlocked could easily see through the techniques others had spent years honing.

Therefore, the subsequent actions of the three would be the key.

If the three of them were truly spies for other factions, then upon learning that Qi Fei's cultivation being completely crippled was a lie, they would naturally have to find a way to send a message as soon as possible.

And the only methods of communication they could use were smuggling messages or using messenger hawks.

Considering the cost of specifically setting up an intelligence network for Cadmus House, it was likely they would mostly use messenger hawks.

But regardless of which method they used, there would definitely be some action on their part.

Therefore, Qi Fei only needed to keep an eye on the three of them.

I hope it won't be them.

Qi Fei hoped as much.

After all, he had inherited the original owner's favors, so he was not very willing to take action against the three of them.

A long while later.

The emotions of the three finally stabilized.

"Master, have you arranged for someone to investigate the poisoning?"

Elena asked.

"No, I was in a hurry to recover my strength at the time, and I didn't know who to trust."

Qi Fei spouted nonsense.

Five days ago, he was completely immersed in the joy of transmigrating and the desire for extraordinary power, and he hadn't thought about this at all.

And after talking to other versions of Qi Fei about this, although he had initially formulated a plan to deal with the three maids.

Because he couldn't control his own power, going out rashly would expose his strength.

Thus, he hadn't made any preparations in advance.

"You could keep an eye on the entry and exit records of the castle staff; perhaps you might find a result."

Nancy suggested.

"I will keep an eye on it."

Qi Fei accepted her suggestion.

Although he knew that this would certainly not yield any results.

"Improving your strength is also very important."

Aisha said, touching Qi Fei's face with a worried look while in his arms.

"The culprit didn't succeed this time, so they will definitely come up with other ideas."

"I naturally know that, but after all these years, you should also be clear about my father's affairs back then."

Qi Fei deliberately put on a troubled expression.

"I am alone and helpless, and I have to let my cultivation go to waste in order to lower my threat level."

Yes, forced, it was all forced; it couldn't possibly be that I was having too much fun and forgot all about these things.

His strength was the best proof of this.

"From now on, you are no longer alone."

Upon hearing Qi Fei's words, Nancy stood up and embraced him from behind.

She allowed Qi Fei to lean back into her arms.

"Let us be the ones to cover for you, Master."

Elena, standing nearby, took the opportunity to say the words Qi Fei had been waiting for.

"In the eyes of others, it is perfectly normal for you to be spending time with us."

Aisha added.

"Mm, then I'll leave it to you."

Qi Fei accepted their kindness.