Lei Sisters

Although the second of the two, a five-star Spirit Scholar, had also been knocked unconscious by one of Sanbao's moves, Sanbao unlocked the cuffs, changed into one man's clothes, and quickly disappeared into the back gardens of Lei Mansion.

Lei Mansion covered a vast area and was guarded by many experts. With the surroundings unfamiliar, Sanbao didn't dare act recklessly. He only made his way through the gardens under cover of darkness, hoping to find an exit as soon as possible.

"Let's check over there."

A few guards hurried past on patrol. Sanbao quickly ducked out of sight, held his breath, and waited until they had passed before sneaking away.

The vast back gardens of Lei Mansion were like a maze. Sanbao weaved left and right for ages, yet still couldn't find a way out.

Before he knew it, he had wandered into a beautiful courtyard ringed with green trees.

"Xiaohong, that bellyband I bought on the street yesterday is so pretty. I'll wear it for you tonight."

"What do I care? You should wear it for your sweetheart!"

"You little hussy, do you want to get me killed? If the mistress finds out, she'll skin me alive..."

"Fine, I won't tell. We'd better hurry and attend to the mistress!"

Two young maids hurried past the corridor in front of Sanbao. He silently cursed his bad luck. Lei Mansion had far too many people. How come there were people everywhere, even in the middle of the night?

He crept forward cautiously. Just as he reached the courtyard wall, a ghostly voice suddenly came from the other side.

"Who's skulking over there?"

Sanbao was horrified. In his panic, he charged into a side room. He had barely shut the door when he heard a soft footfall outside.

"Huh, that's strange. I could've sworn someone passed by. Was I mistaken?" The newcomer leaped into the air and quickly vaulted back over the high wall.

Lei Mansion certainly had no shortage of experts.

Only then did Sanbao let out the breath he'd been holding. He was just about to leave when a cold presence, carrying a faint, delicate fragrance, appeared behind him. In the darkness, a silver-glinting long sword pressed firmly against his neck.

"Tell me, what are you skulking around for?" Sanbao slowly turned around and saw that the sword's owner was a tall woman.

She was full-figured and wore only a white undergarment. Her long black hair fell loose around her, slightly disheveled. Clearly, she had just gotten out of bed.

Looking closer, Sanbao saw that she bore a striking resemblance to Lei Mansion's second young lady, Lei Yun—though she looked more mature, with a pair of bright, piercing eyes now glaring at him in open hostility.

A thought struck Sanbao, and he guessed who she was. She had to be Lei Yun's older sister.

He couldn't believe he'd blundered into the boudoir of Lei Mansion's eldest young lady. What surprised him even more was how bold she was: after subduing him, she hadn't called for help. She must have been very confident in her own strength.

"I deserve to die. I came to the wrong place. Please forgive me, eldest young lady." Sanbao hurriedly lowered his head in apology, hoping to ease his neck away from the woman's sword. Having a blade pointed at his throat felt awful.

"Don't move. Move again and I'll kill you. I know you're not one of the servants here. Tell me who you are, where you came from, and what you're after." The woman was utterly clear-headed, leaving Sanbao helpless.

"I'm just a Rogue Cultivator from the city. Everyone says the Lei Sisters are as beautiful as celestial maidens. I've seen the second young lady many times, but never had the chance to meet her elder sister. Blinded by lust, I dared to sneak in, but I... I never thought..."

Sanbao hadn't even finished speaking before the woman burst into laughter. She knew he was spouting nonsense, but flattery could slip through a thousand defenses—women always liked being praised.

"Tell me the truth. If you don't come clean, I really will strike." After laughing, the woman quickly regained her composure. The long sword in her hand pressed a little deeper.

A thin trickle of blood immediately ran down Sanbao's neck.

Sanbao inwardly groaned. He'd only just escaped the dragon's pool, and now he'd fallen into the tiger's den.

"I came because I'd heard of you. I heard the eldest young lady was a Treasure Refiner, and I'm a Treasure Refiner too..." Sanbao's thoughts raced. Suddenly, he seized on an idea and hurriedly continued.

Before the woman could question him, Sanbao spread his hands and circulated his fire-element spirit power. His palms immediately glowed red. With a thought, a faint golden light burst forth, and at the same time, his powerful soul force pressed down hard on the woman.

"Ah!"

The woman was shocked. She hadn't expected someone so young to possess such powerful soul force. His talent was truly rare.

Soul force was a Treasure Refiner's right hand and left. Besides greatly increasing the efficiency of refining treasures, it also played a crucial role in whether a Spirit Treasure—including a Spirit Weapon or Spirit Pill—could be successfully brought to completion.

Once she understood that Sanbao was a Treasure Refiner, the woman's hostility eased considerably. She shifted her sword a few inches away and asked, "If you're one of us, you could've sent a calling card and paid a visit. Why sneak around in the middle of the night?"

"You're right, eldest young lady. That was exactly what I intended to do. But on my way here, I had a misunderstanding with your younger sister, and then..."

Sanbao quickly gave her a brief account of what had happened with Lei Yun. His face was full of indignation and wounded innocence; he naturally pinned all the blame on Lei Yun. In truth, that was more or less what had happened.

Just then, a chorus of shouts rose from the back gardens.

"Catch the escapee! Catch the escapee!"

"Yun'er was being so reckless. Please don't take offense, young master. I'll see that you get justice..."

After hearing Sanbao's explanation, Lei Mansion's eldest young lady, Lei Fang, quickly lowered her sword. She called for someone to light the lamps, then led Sanbao to a small reception room outside the side chamber and made him comfortable. Lei Fang herself went to get dressed, then returned to the room.

Sanbao had no idea what she was planning. But now that he'd been discovered, escaping would be impossible. All he could do was wait and see.

Still, judging by how she was acting, she didn't seem hostile. His identity as a "Treasure Refiner" had probably helped. Sanbao knew that perfectly well.

Sure enough, once they had taken their seats as host and guest, Lei Fang asked, "How old are you, young master, and what rank have you reached?"

The ranking system for Treasure Refiners was quite simple: it depended on the grade of Spirit Treasure they could refine. Those who could refine low-grade Spirit Treasures were low-grade Treasure Refiners; those who could refine high-grade Spirit Treasures were high-grade Treasure Refiners. Above them were true-grade Treasure Refiners.

Whether one was an Artifact Refiner or an Alchemist, reaching the high-grade level required at least Spirit Commander cultivation. Below the Spirit Commander level, one could control only a limited amount of spirit fire, making it take far too long to refine a Spirit Weapon or Spirit Pill, with a very low chance of success. At most, one could reach the middle grade; of course, most Treasure Refiners were only low grade.

So Lei Fang's question was actually quite simple: was Sanbao a low-grade or middle-grade Treasure Refiner?

With Sanbao's Spirit General cultivation, he could theoretically reach the middle-grade level. But ever since becoming an apprentice, he had never refined a Spirit Weapon on his own, so he couldn't even count as a low-grade Treasure Refiner.

"I'm sixteen this year, and I haven't reached any grade yet," Sanbao answered honestly.

"What?"

The woman in black hadn't expected him to be so frank. Though he was only a Spirit General, Sanbao had an exceptional soul talent. He could have claimed to be a middle-grade Treasure Refiner and made it sound plausible, but instead he'd admitted he had no rank at all.

Having no rank meant he had never successfully refined a Spirit Treasure on his own. Naturally, that made him far less useful.

But considering Sanbao was only sixteen and had already reached Spirit General cultivation, and that his soul force was so powerful, it was easy to foresee that he could become a high-level Treasure Refiner given enough time.

There was another point: nearly all Treasure Refiners had an established lineage. Since Sanbao had trained as a Treasure Refiner, he surely had a master. Building a good relationship with a master-and-apprentice pair of Artifact Refiners could only benefit Lei Mansion.

Lei Mansion was in urgent need of capable people. Better to "kill by mistake" than let an opportunity slip away.

Lei Fang's mind raced through countless possibilities. Once she had sorted them out, she stood and nodded to Sanbao. "I'm Lei Fang. On behalf of my father, Lei Li, I'd like to offer my greetings to you and your honored master. If your master has time, please invite him to visit Lei Mansion. We could exchange ideas."

Sanbao hurriedly returned the courtesy, straightening up as he replied, "You're too kind, Miss Lei. I'm Luo Sanbao. My master is still living in seclusion in the mountains and rarely ventures into the world. If he ever does, he'll certainly visit Lei Mansion!"

The two of them had their own thoughts, but soon they were chatting away. They were both Treasure Refiners, and their polite flattery went back and forth. Before long, they were getting along quite pleasantly.

Half an hour later, several servants from Lei Mansion escorted Sanbao to a guest building. They treated him to food and drink for most of the night, and only then did he retire to a guest room and fall into a deep sleep.

At the same time, in a small courtyard in Lei Mansion, Lei Fang was reporting to a middle-aged man.

"If we can recruit him, that would be best. But can we find out where he came from?" the man asked, nodding.

"I've already sent people to investigate. For now, all we know is that he came from east of Cloud Mountain and seems to have some connection to a small local force called the Hunting Hall. His exact background is unclear, but one thing is certain: he has absolutely no connection to the three great families, the Ye, Liu, and Lin Families," Lei Fang answered gravely.