A Hair's Breadth Between Life and Death

The lantern festival was in full swing.

The market's busiest street was decked with lanterns and decorations. Stalls lined both sides, and pedestrians passed in an endless stream.

As the two great Foundation Establishment Lineages of Shangyu Market, the Lin Household and the Lu Household managed the market together. At first, many people had been pessimistic about the arrangement.

After all, when Lineages grew large, disputes over their interests were inevitable.

Now that the two Households were joining through marriage and becoming one family, everyone in the market was happy to see it happen.

Qin Fei and Lin Man walked down the long street, watching the lively scenes on either side and the smiles on people's faces, yet neither could feel a part of it, no matter how they tried.

Qin Fei's thoughts were entirely on the killer, leaving him no time to appreciate the sights around him.

As for Lin Man, for some reason, she too wore a forlorn expression.

Neither spoke. They walked quietly, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far apart.

From time to time, dragon and lion dancers passed by, with a group of children chasing after them, their faces alight with joy.

"Look how happy they are. Thinking about it now, childhood really was better, without a care in the world."

Lin Man was the first to break the silence.

"Yes, we didn't have so many worries as children, but I still prefer being grown up. I can make my own decisions about everything."

Qin Fei responded while keeping his guard up.

Lin Man, however, forced a faint smile, and her gaze grew even more forlorn.

"Sometimes I think it would be good to be a Rogue Cultivator, free and unrestrained like you, Brother Qin.

"Unlike us children of Aristocratic Clans, whose lives are carefully arranged from childhood. Even when we grow up, we can't escape that fate."

"Brother Qin, there's something I'd like to ask, though I don't know if I should."

"Go ahead."

Lin Man looked toward the lanterns by the roadside, countless thoughts running through her mind.

"Do you believe in obeying one's parents' orders and a matchmaker's arrangements?"

Qin Fei wondered why she would ask such a question. After thinking for a while, he shook his head slightly.

"I believe only in myself."

To someone from the twenty-first century, a matchmaker's arrangements often meant a hefty bride price.

A parent's orders were no more than an expectation that their children would carry on the family line.

Qin Fei disliked both, and so he did not believe in them.

"But what if many people wanted you to marry? What if your marriage involved enormous interests? Brother Qin, would you still stand by your belief?"

Hearing this, Qin Fei raised an eyebrow.

He had been wondering why Lin Man had invited him out. By now, even the dullest person would have realized what was going on.

The woman before him was the young lady of the Lin Household who was to marry into the Lu Household.

He had never imagined that Lin Man, who usually kept such a low profile, would have such a distinguished background.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, I know what you want to hear, but forgive me, I can't give you an answer."

He wanted no part in this affair. Had he known Lin Man's identity beforehand, he would not even have accepted her invitation.

Lin Man was somewhat disappointed. She understood that Qin Fei had realized who she was.

Even so, she could not accept it.

"Can't even you clear up my doubts, Brother Qin? You're the most different person I've ever met. I thought you would be different."

Qin Fei smiled frankly and said calmly:

"You're mistaken, Miss Lin. I'm just an ordinary person."

"You're asking me for an answer only because you want confirmation of what you already think. But since you've already made up your mind, why ask me?"

"I'm merely a Rogue Cultivator. All I seek in this life is Foundation Establishment."

"As for the affairs of the Lin and Lu Households, whether they're right or wrong, I don't want to get involved. If you have nothing else to discuss, Fellow Daoist, I'll take my leave."

Qin Fei cupped his hands and, paying no heed to Lin Man's reaction, walked alone toward the end of the festival.

Whether he was cold or heartless, it made no difference.

All Qin Fei wanted now was to cultivate in peace, in the hope that one day he might glimpse the splendor of Foundation Establishment.

After this, he was no longer in the mood to explore the festival, so he returned to the puppet scrapyard.

But when he reached the outskirts, Qin Fei suddenly halted and narrowed his eyes.

Just now, he had discovered that someone had crushed the recording spider hidden in the scrapyard. It had only recorded a little sound.

"We've checked all the puppet scrapyards. This is the last one."

The wooden kite that had been flying overhead had also gone still at some unknown point.

There was no one outside the scrapyard, and even the wind that blew past carried a murderous air.

"They actually found their way here."

Qin Fei did not understand what the person had meant, taking it to be someone targeting the merchant guild who was looking for him.

Without warning, he suddenly broke into a sprint.

As long as he reached the scrapyard, he would be safe under the protection of the Black Tortoise Breath-Concealing Array.

But there was still a long way to the scrapyard, and he did not know whether he could make it.

To be safe, he took out a voice transmission talisman and notified Senior Caiyi to come and close the net, while flinging out several puppets with both hands.

A powerful sense of danger welled up in Qin Fei's heart. He keenly realized that this enemy was not someone he could handle.

Sure enough, the sound of exploding puppets came from behind him.

Through the puppets' images, he saw what his pursuer looked like.

He was an old man who looked to be at death's door, the wrinkles on his face bunched together as though they could grip a finger.

What shocked Qin Fei most was that the old man's presence was far stronger than Tang Zhan's and Wang Hu's after their breakthroughs.

"Qi Refining Ninth Layer!"

He could not fight him head-on. That was the only thought in his mind.

The further one advanced in cultivation, the greater the gap between realms became.

Back then, he had relied on the Flame Martial Envoy and his many puppets to blast apart a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator. But against a Ninth Layer cultivator, he had no thought of resisting.

Yet the old man kept drawing closer, and the puppet soldiers Qin Fei threw out did nothing to slow him down.

The scrapyard was right before his eyes, yet now it was like an impassable chasm, impossible to cross.

Qin Fei knew this could not go on. Gritting his teeth, he released the Flame Martial Envoy.

At the same time, he threw out several Flame Martial Guards. This was already the limit of the number he could control.

A black-and-red puppet descended from the sky, endless flames bursting from its body as though they could burn everything to ash.

Eight Flame Martial Guards stood protectively to either side, gun barrels emerging from their arms as energy rapidly gathered.

The old man raised an eyebrow and gradually stopped.

"A Late Qi Refining puppet. Interesting. Who is your master?"

In his view, there was no way Qin Fei could control such a puppet with his strength.

It must have been a protective item left to him by his master's sect.

For a moment, he was unsure whether he should kill the young man before him, or whether he could, which was why he asked.

How could Qin Fei not know what the man was thinking? He answered:

"My master is High Person Spirit Puppet. Why have you attacked me, sir? Is there some misunderstanding?"

High Person Spirit Puppet was a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator, the most powerful Puppet Master he had heard of.

It would be best if the name could intimidate his opponent.

Even if it could not, it could buy him some time.

But when the old man heard the name, he burst into laughter and shot toward him without hesitation.

Qin Fei did not know what had gone wrong. He could only desperately command his puppets to hold the man back.

Puppet soldiers, Flame Martial Guards, the Flame Martial Envoy...

Whenever one puppet was smashed, another immediately took its place.

Seeing the puppet fragments scattered across the ground, Qin Fei's heart ached, but he could only grit his teeth and hold on.

Before long, however, an expression of wild joy suddenly appeared on his face, and he shouted toward the space behind the old man:

"Senior, save me!"

"A petty trick, and you think you can fool me?"

The old man assumed he was trying to stall for time, because his Divine Sense detected no one behind him.

But the next moment, an earth-shaking pressure surged toward him.

He turned his head with difficulty, only to see a woman in colorful robes standing behind him. He had no idea when she had arrived.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

The old man was horrified. No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand why a Foundation Establishment cultivator would appear here.

Fairy Caiyi gave him no chance to explain. Her five jade-like fingers descended, and she directly unleashed the Soul-Searching Technique.

Her gaze was icy. If she discovered who was targeting the merchant guild, she would certainly not let them off.

But as the memories flooded in, a puzzled look appeared on her face.

"Why is he from the Lu Household?"

The next moment, however, her pupils abruptly contracted.

"They're actually looking for the Heavenly Mystery Key. Could that secret realm be about to appear in the world?"