Nan Zhi's Beloved

He carefully leafed through the cultivation art again. Once he had confirmed that it was neither a demonic nor wicked art, he immediately sat cross-legged and began cultivating according to the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art.

Every line of the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art was profoundly obscure and difficult to understand. Each time, Li Ping'an had to ponder and study it for a long while before grasping its meaning.

He cultivated until the middle of the night before barely finishing a single page of the cultivation content.

Still, the effects were remarkably apparent. He could clearly feel his spiritual power growing stronger.

By the time dawn fully broke, Li Ping'an's spiritual power had strengthened a little more.

At the same time, he gained deeper insights into the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art and gradually began to understand how to use spiritual power to manipulate another person's line of sight.

However, he was still some distance away from truly being able to wield it.

Never mind, never mind. This cultivation art was clearly no ordinary thing; it could not be rushed.

As the saying went, without accumulating small steps, how could one travel a thousand miles? Without gathering tiny streams, how could one form rivers and seas?

In any case, I have all the time in the world to cultivate!

Li Ping'an muttered to himself. His temperament was steady, so he was not in a hurry to seek quick success.

He put away the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art and slowly rose to his feet, feeling refreshed and invigorated despite having cultivated all night.

Moreover, his Taiyi Qi-Guiding Art seemed to have improved somewhat as well.

It seemed that the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art and the Taiyi Qi-Guiding Art complemented one another. While cultivating the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art, he could also advance the Taiyi Qi-Guiding Art.

Very good. Excellent!

Li Ping'an was greatly excited. He went outside and began the day's work.

By the afternoon, the work at the Waste Hall was basically finished.

Li Ping'an inspected the rather meager amount of waste qi within his body and felt somewhat disappointed.

As his strength rose, the basic waste materials in the hall could no longer satisfy him. After absorbing them for an entire day, he had accumulated only a tiny amount.

Qingyue and Hong Ling, those two girls, had not come looking for him to refine pills lately either. It seemed it was time to make a trip down the mountain.

Li Ping'an muttered as he recalled Nan Zhi of Spring Beauty Pavilion, gentle as water.

The cold poison within her body was extremely dense and could provide him with quite a bit of nourishment.

At present, the Waste Hall had no steward, and its management was rather lax.

Li Ping'an did not ask anyone for leave. He merely informed Long Yun, then headed straight down the mountain.

Spring Beauty Pavilion.

Nan Zhi sat in her private chamber, staring blankly at a folding fan.

The maid who attended her closely poured her a cup of tea.

"Young Miss, what has been going on with you lately? Why have you been so absent-minded all the time?"

Nan Zhi snapped out of her daze and gave a soft laugh.

"Nothing. I was merely thinking about something and got lost in thought."

"Young Miss."

A crafty look appeared on the maid's face.

"You don't have someone you fancy, do you?"

"What nonsense!"

Nan Zhi's cheeks reddened.

"If you dare spout nonsense again, believe it or not, I'll tear that mouth of yours apart."

"Hehe."

Seeing her reaction, the maid immediately grew excited.

"Young Miss, the way you're acting means you really do have someone you fancy. You can't hide it from me. Hurry and tell me—which young master is it? Is he handsome?"

Hearing the maid's question, Nan Zhi found herself in a difficult position.

The maid had guessed correctly. There really was someone on her mind.

But calling it love felt rather absurd. Yet she could not help thinking of that person over and over again, and she herself did not understand what kind of feelings these were.

That person was naturally Li Ping'an.

Yes, that was right.

It was Li Ping'an, the man who could have been her great-grandfather.

For the past two days, she had kept thinking about that man.

No.

That old man, rather.

His aged face, his kind and gentle words, and his warm, rough palm—she did not know why, but they lingered in her mind and would not fade away, stirring an unusual feeling in the depths of her heart.

But he was an old man in his seventies or eighties. How could she possibly like such an old man?

Nan Zhi's feelings were exceedingly complicated. She resisted the thought of why she kept thinking about an old man in his seventies or eighties every day, yet from time to time she immersed herself in the sweet yearning she felt for Li Ping'an.

"Oh, Young Miss, why are you hiding something like this from me? Hurry and tell me. I'll help you come up with a plan."

Seeing that Nan Zhi remained silent, the maid continued egging her on from the side.

Nan Zhi wanted to speak, but stopped herself. Then she shook her head. If she said such a thing aloud, others would probably find it impossible to understand.

Better not say anything!

She thought again of how Li Ping'an had said that he would come every so often to clear the cold poison from her body. Why had he still not come after so long?

Could it be that he had only said it casually last time and would not come again?

Meanwhile, Li Ping'an, having descended the mountain, hurried along without pause, racing like wind and lightning until he arrived directly at Spring Beauty Pavilion.

"Oh my, sir, you've come again!"

The madam greeting guests at the entrance possessed extraordinary eyesight and memory. Amid the countless people passing by, she spotted the unusually handsome, stoop-backed Li Ping'an at a glance.

She hurried over as though she had seen her own father. Holding a fragrant fan, she fanned him again and again, wafting a scented breeze that made Li Ping'an sneeze.

"Sir, you've come again! What's wrong? Caught a cold? You must take care of yourself lately. Come, let one of the ladies of Spring Beauty Pavilion warm you up."

The madam greeted him enthusiastically. She knew that this patron had spent quite a lot during his last visit—nearly a hundred spirit stones. He was a major customer.

Sure enough, old, wealthy men were the most popular.

Li Ping'an did not refuse and followed the madam into Spring Beauty Pavilion.

A group of female cultivators immediately brightened, their eyes shining as they flocked over like swallows and orioles.

"Sir, you're here!"

"Come, sir, come. I'll feed you some wine."

"Sir, come have a piece of meat."

But Li Ping'an ignored them. His purpose in coming this time was very clear: he had come for Nan Zhi.

"I've come to see Nan Zhi."

Li Ping'an stated his purpose directly.

"Oh? You want to see Nan Zhi?"

The madam was slightly taken aback.

She had heard that the one person Nan Zhi had unprecedentedly allowed to stay overnight last time had seemed to be Li Ping'an. She did not know what charm Li Ping'an possessed that Nan Zhi had been willing to let him stay the night. It was truly a sight rarely seen in the world.

"It can be done. Nan Zhi happens to be in her room today. I can take you to see her."

"Good. Then lead the way."

Li Ping'an was eager to see Nan Zhi.

But the madam stopped him.

"Ah, sir, I can let you see her, but about this of yours..."

As she spoke, she could not help rubbing her hands together.

Li Ping'an was slightly startled. He had not expected there to be so many unspoken rules just to see Nan Zhi.

Still, he was not a stingy man. His purse was fuller now, and he had confidence when he spoke. He casually took out five spirit stones, tossed them to the madam, and said,

"These are for you. Hurry and take me to Nan Zhi."

"Right away!"

The madam's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the five spirit stones.

Five spirit stones—five spirit stones!

To those immortals who flew through the skies, five spirit stones might be nothing more than a drizzle, too insignificant to mention.

But for low-level cultivators like them, five spirit stones could equal one or two months, or even half a year's income.

This old man truly was extravagantly wealthy!

For a moment, the madam became even more warm and attentive. She led Li Ping'an upstairs and shouted loudly,

"Nan Zhi, come out and receive a guest!"