Xiao Yuan was not, of course, rushing toward any "traces of witchcraft."
Those traces were not witchcraft at all, but a peculiar vortex formed by the circulation of the spirit butterfly's energy, as Grandpa Wu had described it.
This butterfly's full name was the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly. It was not merely a matter of "you can't detect it if your spiritual sense is too weak." Its illusions were so exquisite that even someone with immensely powerful divine sense might overlook it. Xiao Yuan's special formation was meant to find it.
Then, using "finding traces of witchcraft" as her excuse, she would steal the cocoon the instant she pounced.
Once the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly was gone, the Ye Clan's situation would naturally be resolved. They could simply claim it was because they had dispelled the witchcraft.
This would do the Ye Clan no harm whatsoever; on the contrary, it would solve their problem. Naturally, it did not conflict in the slightest with Qi Yan's original intention of helping the Ye Clan, which was why Yun Ranyi had said their goals happened to align.
As Qi Yan frowned, considering whether something was wrong here, the cocoon in Xiao Yuan's hand blazed with light. An illusory butterfly spread its wings, instantly filling the entire factory building.
Something stirred in Qi Yan's mind.
Wasn't this the thing that Grandpa Wu had mentioned? Had it happened to emerge from its cocoon right now?
The cocoon abruptly burst open in Xiao Yuan's hand, turning into myriad silver threads that shot toward her with a series of whistles. Startled, Xiao Yuan dodged at speed. Yet she seemed to fall into some illusory dream, her expression suddenly going blank as she watched the cocoon threads close around her.
The moment she froze, a little blue butterfly of ice crystal seized its chance, fluttering up from below and shooting straight toward the exit.
It really had happened to emerge from its cocoon. Even Yun Ranyi had not anticipated this development. By her calculations, it should not have happened so soon...
As a result, what should have been a simple snatch-the-egg-and-run had turned into Xiao Yuan sinking deep into an illusory dream, while the spirit butterfly moved so fast that it almost vanished in a flash.
Light suddenly flared at the entrance. A net that seemed woven entirely from spiritual energy descended over the Illusory Dream Spirit Butterfly, as though it had been waiting there for the butterfly to throw itself into the trap.
The spirit butterfly reacted alertly, braking sharply and swerving back around inside the factory. The guards outside swarmed in, some moving to catch the butterfly while others rushed to surround Qi Yan and Yun Ranyi.
But even before the net appeared, Qi Yan had abruptly moved, grabbing Yun Ranyi, who seemed to be standing there in a daze, and flying backward with her.
Boom! Flames erupted from the ground, instantly engulfing the spot where they had just stood.
Ye Jingshan was also pulling back. At the same time, he flicked his hand, sending a Fireball Technique straight at Qi Yan's face.
As though prepared for it, Qi Yan shielded Yun Ranyi behind him and spread his hands slightly, forming a barrier of ice crystal before him. The fireball struck the ice crystal. Fire died and ice shattered, evenly matched.
Yun Ranyi gazed absently at Qi Yan's straight-backed figure, once again shooting a look at the empty air beside her to signal that her guard should stay put.
The invisible guard: "..."
Twice now... Are you enjoying this?
When Qi Yan finds out later, will he be furious, or will he feel he did what he should have done, and nothing else matters?
Even the guard was starting to want to follow the next installment.
"As expected of an immortal from the Heavenly Evolution Sect. You were prepared all along." Ye Jingshan retreated several yards, his expression cold and stern. "May I ask when you began to suspect something?"
"Not that long ago... Before this, I simply couldn't imagine that a mere Qi Refining clan would dare attack a disciple of the Heavenly Evolution Sect." Qi Yan smiled. "But then I figured it out. I never told you who I was, so you took me for an outer disciple, didn't you? If an outer disciple died, no master would trace back what happened. You could cover it up with some lie about death by witchcraft. Compared with that little risk, making sure you got the spirit butterfly seemed more important."
Not an outer disciple?
Ye Jingshan was rather speechless. You're telling me an inner disciple is someone at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement with a mixed spiritual root?
But now that he was riding the tiger, he could hardly dismount. If he did not silence this man, he would be even more thoroughly finished.
Soon, a group of guards surrounded Qi Yan and Yun Ranyi. Ye Jingshan held his right hand behind his back, putting on a dignified bearing, while in fact secretly gathering another spell in his hand. "It seems you had already become suspicious before the net appeared. May I ask where I gave myself away?"
"The strength requirement you reported for the mission was strange to begin with... It's just that, at the time, I still couldn't imagine you were up to anything." As though unaware that Ye Jingshan was preparing a powerful move, and even less concerned about being surrounded, Qi Yan spoke at his leisure. "Now that I think about it, that strength requirement makes perfect sense."
"Why?" Ye Jingshan asked coldly.
"Nothing." Qi Yan smiled faintly, then suddenly raised his voice. "Get him!"
Whoosh! Xiao Yuan, who had been entangled in the illusory dream, suddenly came to her senses. She escaped just before the cocoon threads closed around her, sweeping a claw straight toward Ye Jingshan's throat.
Poor Ye Jingshan had not even had time to react before Xiao Yuan's slender hand clamped around his neck. The powerful move he had been preparing behind his back dissipated on the spot.
Ye Jingshan's eyes bulged under her grip. How could he possibly have imagined that this dull-looking, round-faced little maid, who had nearly been trapped to death by cocoon silk, was a Golden Core?
The little girl was about to tighten her grip, but hesitated and turned to ask Qi Yan, "Do you want him alive?"
Qi Yan looked very surprised. "You're actually willing to ask my opinion?"
Xiao Yuan grew a little awkward. "You saved me this time."
Yes, while Qi Yan had been talking all that nonsense with Ye Jingshan, Ye Jingshan had been secretly preparing a powerful move, but Qi Yan had also been silently reciting a witchcraft incantation. Neither of them was any good... The Calming Spell was not high-level, but it was the best solution for Xiao Yuan's situation. Xiao Yuan was no pushover herself; with just a little assistance, she broke out of the illusion.
At this moment, Xiao Yuan could somewhat understand how her young lady felt...
This man is so dependable... Mm, no wonder he has such good taste, liking tabby cats.
Seeing this little round face, usually so disdainful, behaving so meekly, Qi Yan was amused too. "Good. Then restrain him for now. There's another issue with this matter. I need to take him back to the sect and let my master decide."
Xiao Yuan obediently knocked Ye Jingshan unconscious, then turned to survey the guards around them.
A small clan like this was much like the Qi Clan had been back then. Its guards were mostly mortals; having a few leaders at Early Qi Refinement was already quite impressive. Once Xiao Yuan released her terrifying aura, who still dared move? They all fell to their knees and begged for mercy. "Spare us, immortal! We were only following orders. We never attacked you..."
"This has little to do with the guards," Qi Yan said. "Just collect the spirit butterfly and be done with it."
The guards scattered in a rush, running very fast.
Xiao Yuan flashed like lightning and snatched the spirit butterfly out of its erratic flight. Baring her teeth, she said, "So you wanted to smother me to death, did you! I'll-owww!"
Before she could finish, Yun Ranyi grabbed her by the back of her collar. "Just try eating it."
Xiao Yuan hung her head.
This young lady doesn't know the first thing about keeping a cat!
Strangely, after Xiao Yuan released it, the spirit butterfly did not fly away. Instead, it circled Yun Ranyi, like a butterfly enamored of a flower, unwilling to leave.
Yun Ranyi smiled faintly and opened her palm. The spirit butterfly landed in it and stayed there.
Qi Yan gazed at the scene in a trance, feeling that every frame of this Miss Yun looked like a painting.
He had to force himself to recall the embarrassing sight of Yun Ranyi tumbling around and banging her head on the boat to calm his racing heartbeat a little.
He finally spoke, his expression somewhat detached. "Congratulations on getting what you wanted, Miss Yun."
Yun Ranyi glanced at him. Her eyes seemed veiled in rippling water, their emotions unreadable. "Do you blame me for keeping it from you, young master?"
After a moment's silence, Qi Yan said slowly, "I invited you to help resolve the Ye Clan's problem. You didn't come to deceive me, so it hardly seems reasonable to blame you. In any case, I did achieve my goal, and without you here, I would have been in greater danger. But Miss Yun... I'd like to ask a question."
"Mm. Please go ahead, young master."
"Since you came for this spirit butterfly, that means you knew it was here. Did you not tell me because you feared I would covet the treasure and fight you for it, or because you feared I would side with the Ye Clan and think it rightfully belonged to them?"
Yun Ranyi paused. She had not considered the question in such detail. With something this important, her instinct was simply not to tell anyone. Was there any need to distinguish between those possibilities?
But thinking it over carefully, Yun Ranyi had to admit that there was nothing about the Ye Clan worth worrying about. The one she had been worried about was indeed Qi Yan himself. Though his strength was insufficient, he might secretly report it to his sect and have Mu Xunzhen come seize it. That would be serious trouble. She had to make sure she had it in hand first.
In other words, unconsciously, she had placed Qi Yan in the position of an "opponent."
After a moment's silence, she finally asked, "Then, knowing how wondrous this creature is, do you have no intention of laying claim to it, young master?"
"All I know is that if you'd told me beforehand, I would have taken it as something a teammate needed and wouldn't have fought you for it," Qi Yan said evenly. "By not telling me, you might instead have caused a dispute... Besides, that was also where this crisis came from. If you'd told me earlier and we'd discussed it, perhaps we wouldn't have ended up in danger."
Yun Ranyi thought for a moment, then bowed slightly. "You're right, young master. I failed to think it through."
Her willingness to say that eased much of Qi Yan's discomfort. "For that matter, I've kept something from you too, Miss Yun. My name is Qi Yan, not Yue Jinjiang. I was just fortunate enough to become a direct disciple of the Heavenly Evolution Sect's main peak... Now that I've told you honestly, let's call it even. I hope we won't need to keep guarding against each other like this. Again and again-this sort of association is exhausting... If you can't do that, miss, then we can simply part on good terms."
Yun Ranyi pressed her lips together, offering no answer for the moment.
Xiao Yuan glanced worriedly at her young lady.
That's not easy to answer... This is hardly the only thing Young Lady has kept from him. But can those things be told?
Normally, when something like this happened, Xiao Yuan would only scold her young lady with, "So what if you're on your guard?" This time, however, she felt some of the same difficulty. It really did leave a cat scratching her head.
In the end, Yun Ranyi chose to avoid the subject and changed it instead. "Young master, you only got halfway through what you were saying to Ye Jingshan. Could you finish and clear up our confusion? When did you realize Ye Jingshan had already prepared to deal with us?"
"I didn't. That was all hindsight. I didn't even believe there was a spirit butterfly here at first." Qi Yan pointed at Xiao Yuan. "It was only when this idiot pounced that I realized you'd come specifically for it."
Xiao Yuan: "?"
Qi Yan continued, "But the spirit butterfly emerged from its cocoon the moment Xiao Yuan pounced. That timing was far too convenient. If someone was manipulating it, who could it be? Ye Jingshan raises spirit pets as his clan's inheritance. When it comes to methods of hastening a spirit pet's maturation beneath his own ley lines, all of us put together couldn't compare with him. Most likely, it was him. At that moment, I knew something was wrong with this entire affair."