Stirring Up Trouble

Coiling Dragon World.

"Already Level 5? That was fast."

Qi Fei checked his cultivation with a look of amazement.

He'd just recovered to Level 4, and after one trip inside, he'd reached Level 5. His rate of improvement was terrifying.

No wonder Clone Cultivation was considered one of the most ridiculously overpowered cheats around.

"I'll cultivate first and get a basic handle on this power. Then I'll talk to them."

Qi Fei stretched and continued practicing according to the manual.

Five days passed in cultivation.

The secret chamber was fully equipped, and there were already supplies of food and water, so Qi Fei didn't leave for the entire five days.

Just like the original owner, he stayed in seclusion as usual.

"I can finally control it."

Qi Fei flexed his completely renewed body.

Now, he could easily beat up the version of himself who'd just gained this power.

He controlled every movement of his muscles and every flow of Dou Qi followed his will.

He no longer had to worry about crushing the floor just by squatting, like he had before.

"Time to come out of seclusion."

If he stayed in there any longer, the others in the castle would start to suspect something.

Qi Fei began to adjust his mood.

He didn't need to work himself into a bad mood, but he couldn't walk out looking cheerful, either.

He thought through all the sad things he could remember, finally managing to suppress his joy at becoming stronger.

Then he adjusted his expression in front of the mirror.

Only after confirming that he looked no different than before did Qi Fei leave the secret chamber.

He hadn't gone far when he spotted a silver-haired figure.

It was Aisha, one of the three maids.

She was a little younger than the others, so the original owner had always treated her like a younger sister and doted on her.

As a result, Aisha had the closest relationship with the original owner of the three.

At that moment, she seemed bored as she leaned against the windowsill, gazing up at the sky.

When she heard Qi Fei deliberately slowing his footsteps, she turned to look.

"My lord."

The moment Aisha saw Qi Fei, her eyes lit up, and she threw herself into his arms.

Qi Fei caught her instinctively.

"My lord, you're finally out of seclusion. I missed you so much."

The girl looked up at him.

The overflowing joy and affection in her eyes made Qi Fei's heart tremble.

And her petite yet curvaceous figure struck him just as hard.

There was only one thought in Qi Fei's mind.

This was tough to resist.

No wonder the original owner had gotten himself killed.

Qi Fei felt that if Eternal Life and his cheat hadn't been dangling in front of him, he might have ended up the same way.

"Mm, I missed you too."

Qi Fei replied as the memories suggested.

Aisha gave him a sweet smile.

She rose onto her tiptoes and looped her arms around his neck.

Then she pressed herself against him, almost melding their bodies together.

"My lord, just saying it isn't enough."

Aisha leaned close to his face as she spoke.

They were so close that their noses nearly touched.

Qi Fei didn't answer. He kissed her cherry-red lips.

Aisha was delighted by his response.

After a long while, they finally parted.

"My lord, let's go back to your room."

Aisha said, her face flushed.

"All right."

Qi Fei picked her up and carried her toward his bedroom.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten the other two.

"Have Nancy and Elena come to my bedroom."

He also instructed a servant nearby.

Aisha, curled up in his arms, seemed a little displeased.

But she only traced her fingers lightly across Qi Fei's chest and said nothing.

Before long, Qi Fei brought Aisha back to his room.

After settling her on the bed, he sat down beside it.

"My lord?"

Aisha seemed puzzled that he hadn't made another move.

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

Qi Fei said with a smile.

He hadn't forgotten the real reason he'd come out.

"My lord~"

Aisha climbed off the bed and leaned against his back.

"The two older sisters were cultivating earlier, so they'll probably take a while. Why don't we..."

She didn't finish, but her meaning was obvious.

"Aisha, I said we're waiting for them."

Qi Fei's tone turned more serious.

Even someone slow on the uptake would have noticed something was wrong by now.

That was especially true of Aisha, who knew the original owner so well.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. She could only slump back onto the bed.

Qi Fei silently apologized to her.

But he had to handle things this way.

As the two fell silent, the air grew increasingly tense.

After an unknown length of time, the door opened.

Nancy and Elena walked in.

The unexpected sight in the room made them freeze for a moment.

"You're finally here. Come in."

Qi Fei got up to greet them.

Elena seemed confused that Qi Fei and Aisha were still fully dressed, but she followed his instructions.

Nancy seemed suspicious, but she couldn't stop Elena, so she had no choice but to follow her inside.

Once they were in, Qi Fei casually locked the door.

Then he took the decorative sword from the wall and turned to the three maids.

"Tell me. Who's the person behind you?"

The sword's cold edge reflected Qi Fei's icy expression.

All three maids shuddered.

"My lord, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

Though Elena didn't know what was going on, she realized they were in danger.

She gently pulled Nancy behind her and glanced at Aisha on the bed, signaling for her to come over.

But Aisha seemed stunned by Qi Fei's actions and didn't notice Elena's signal.

"One of you poisoned me five nights ago."

Qi Fei raised the sword and advanced on them.

"If my cultivation hadn't only appeared to have fallen, I'd already be dead."

That was, of course, a lie.

The original owner hadn't suffered the pain of being poisoned before he died. He'd simply overdone things and gotten himself killed.

And if the three of them had really poisoned him, they would have fled long ago.

But that didn't stop Qi Fei from using the excuse to lash out at the maids.

Besides, it was the only reasonable excuse he could use to do so.

"My lord, it wasn't us. We would never do that."

Elena said in a panic.

Nancy, standing behind her, didn't speak, but she also looked frightened.

As for Aisha, Qi Fei's accusation had left her dazed and at a loss, sitting motionless on the bed.

Qi Fei was especially grateful for the mental strength he'd shared from Shen San Qi Fei.

The mental strength enhanced his ability to think, allowing him to easily read the subtle expressions on the three maids' faces.

Along with the panic of being falsely accused, all three showed fear, worry, and other emotions.

Qi Fei couldn't detect any sign that they were acting.

Still, he needed to push them a little further.

"Who else could it be? You're the only ones who could have made me eat something without suspicion."

Qi Fei's face showed anger and the faintest hint of fear.

As if he really had been the target of an assassination attempt.

"Tell me. Who's the one behind you who wants me dead?"

He thrust out the sword, its tip stopping right at Elena's throat.

Aisha screamed in fright from the bed.

Luckily, the original owner had specially modified the room for privacy. Otherwise, the scream would have carried outside.

Nancy, behind Elena, was so frightened that her legs gave way, and she fell to the floor.

"My lord, you've never mistreated us. I could never betray you."

Elena's voice trembled, but she still managed to finish speaking.

"So you do know that I've never mistreated you?"

Qi Fei said furiously.

"You're supposed to be my maids, but I've treated you like wives and concubines. And yet you still betrayed me."

His voice was so agitated that he sounded almost hysterical.

"We didn't."

Tears welled in Elena's eyes.

"My lord, if it had been us, we would have run away five days ago."

Nancy had finally calmed down and said exactly what Qi Fei had been waiting to hear.

Qi Fei acted as though her words had jolted him awake and turned to look at Nancy.

Her words hadn't just jolted Qi Fei. Elena and Aisha also looked at Nancy.

Nancy struggled to her feet and approached Qi Fei, her legs trembling.

Elena quickly reached out to support her.

Qi Fei reacted quickly and pulled the sword back just in time. Otherwise, Nancy would have been cut across the throat.

"We're your personal maids. If you suddenly died, we'd be questioned, and might even be tortured."

Nancy leaned against Elena as she spoke, pausing now and then to take a deep breath.

The other servants might not need to run, but the three of them did.

Their relationship with Qi Fei was too close. If anything happened to him, they'd be the prime suspects.

"Besides, if it had been us, we would've made preparations once we realized you hadn't died."

They would have arranged another assassination or fled the castle.

They certainly wouldn't have stayed in the castle and carried on as usual.

"It really wasn't you?"

Qi Fei furrowed his brows, as if weighing Nancy's words.

"It really wasn't us. Our worth means we wouldn't live long anyway."

Nancy gave him another reason.

Among the maids who were sold, the most expensive were those with cultivation talent, especially those with even a little aptitude for magic.

Next came those with some talent for cultivating Dou Qi.

Maids like Nancy and the others, who had only reached Level 2 Warriors after practicing the Battle Qi Secret Manual, were the cheapest kind.

To most nobles, maids like them were so cheap they were practically disposable.

(Children in Linley's town could become Level 1 Warriors through basic exercise alone, without practicing Dou Qi.)

This was something his predecessor had deliberately chosen.

Back then, he still had some ambition and didn't want to spend much money on this.

At the same time, he'd worried that well-trained maids might be spies placed by someone else.

"So they wouldn't, and couldn't, expect us to do something like that."

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 assassinate him, they wouldn't send them either.

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

From the intelligence Nancy had heard over the years, most maids didn't live longer than three years. Some had their lifespans measured in days.

Qi Fei released his tightly gripped sword and stepped forward to embrace the two women.

"I'm sorry. It seems I was wrong to suspect you."

He spoke with an apologetic expression.

Hearing this, Nancy relaxed and sank completely into Qi Fei's arms.

Elena's anger dissipated too, and she leaned into his embrace.

Qi Fei held the two women as they sat on the bed. He also pulled the silently weeping Aisha into his arms, comforting all three of them.

For the three maids, the matter was finally over.

But for Qi Fei, it wasn't.

With his mental cultivation to support him, Qi Fei could certainly read people's expressions.

But he didn't believe that this ability he'd just acquired could easily see through techniques others had spent years honing.

So what the three women did next was the key.

If they really were spies for another faction, then once they learned that Qi Fei's claim of having lost his cultivation was false, they would naturally try to report it as soon as possible.

The only ways they could send word were through someone carrying a message or by using a Message Eagle.

Considering the cost of setting up an intelligence network specifically for Cadmus House, they would most likely use a Message Eagle.

But whichever method they chose, the three of them would certainly take some action.

So Qi Fei only needed to keep an eye on them.

I hope it isn't them.

Qi Fei could only hope.

After all, he was indebted to his predecessor, and he wasn't eager to harm the three women.

A long while later,

the three women finally calmed down.

"My lord, have you arranged for anyone to investigate the poisoning?"

Elena asked.

"No. I was in a hurry to recover my strength, and I didn't know whom I could trust."

Qi Fei lied.

Five days ago, he'd been completely immersed in the joy of having crossed into another world and his longing for supernatural power. He hadn't even considered that something like this might happen.

And although he'd drawn up a preliminary plan for dealing with the three maids after discussing the matter with the other Qi Feis,

he hadn't been able to control the power in his body, and going out rashly would have exposed his strength.

So he hadn't made any preparations in advance.

"You could check the records of people entering and leaving the castle. That might lead to something."

Nancy suggested.

"I'll look into it."

Qi Fei accepted her suggestion.

Although he knew it would probably lead nowhere.

"Improving your strength is very important too."

In Qi Fei's arms, Aisha touched his face with a worried expression.

"The culprit failed this time. They'll definitely come up with another plan."

"I know that. But after all these years, you should understand what happened to my father back then."

Qi Fei deliberately put on a troubled expression.

"I'm all alone, so I had no choice but to let my cultivation lapse and make myself seem less threatening."

Right, he'd been forced into it. It couldn't possibly have been because he'd been having so much fun that he'd forgotten all about it.

The strength he now possessed was the best proof of that.

"Now you're no longer alone."

Hearing Qi Fei's words, Nancy stood up and hugged him from behind.

That allowed Qi Fei to recline in her arms.

"Let us help you keep up appearances, my lord."

Elena beside them took the opportunity to say exactly what Qi Fei had been hoping to hear.

"In other people's eyes, it's perfectly normal for you to fool around with us."

Aisha added.

"Good. I'll be counting on you, then."

Qi Fei accepted their kindness.