Li Xian held his head high and thrust out his chest, refusing to retreat. Wei Qinghuang seethed without venting her anger, thinking, This wretch has eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall to dare stand against me like this. How can I let him swagger unchecked? Yet his life cannot compare with my Precious Lotus. Forging it was no easy task. I used a nation's Imperial Jade Seal as material, heavenly lightning as the hammer, and earthly fire for the furnace. It was forged by heaven and fashioned by earth, untouched by mortal hands. The effort and money it cost are beyond reckoning. How can I throw all that away in a fit of anger? But with things as they stand, he truly is difficult to deal with. She said, "Lock him in the Four Mountains Room first." With a flick of her sleeve, she turned away.
Qingyao, Huang Su, Hong Luo, and Lü Ya came forward together and surrounded Li Xian. He smiled. "No need to escort me under guard. I'll walk there myself." He patted his clothes, secretly employing the Garment-Brushing Dust-Flicking Technique to flick a fallen hair far away. It landed southwest of the chamber, and he strode casually out of the Quiet Heart Studio. Killing intent lurked in Wei Qinghuang's eyes. He still dares put on that carefree act. She snorted inwardly, never noticing the hair. Sitting back beside the table, she drank some tea and calmed her breathing, murmuring, "A mere boy like you truly thinks I cannot outplay you? I'll send men to search your residence from top to bottom. I refuse to believe they cannot find it. Once I do, you'll pay!" She summoned several experts skilled at tracking, examining objects, and unraveling mysteries, then assigned them their tasks.
"Yes!" the experts