Chapter 73

Chi You was somewhat distracted.

He propped up his head. The agony churned inside him, but tangled within that agony was a tiny flame of desire.

It was a curious feeling. Like ants gnawing at the heart at the sight of a piece of candy—before tasting it, simply looking only made the itch worse.

Chi You closed the book in his hand and shut his eyes.

The taste of blood welled up in his throat. His fingers tapped a rhythm against the book, and a high, sharp smile curved across his face.

If only it weren't so inconvenient for him right now.

He really did want to go and look at Jiang Luo again, in person.

*

Liao Si truly couldn't make sense of the games his master played with his lover.

He gave two sheepish laughs. “Is that so?”

But after he spoke and waited a while with no reply from his master, he understood: the master had no wish to keep discussing it.

Liao Si sighed and turned his head to grumble to Teng Bi. “The master always vanishes for days at a time, without warning. No one knows where he goes.”

He seemed to be talking to himself. “Even Huali, who's followed the master the longest, knows nothing about it.”

Teng Bi warned, “Don't pry into the master's affairs.”

Liao Si shrugged and changed the subject. “When they went to The Study, did you get a clear look at the formation set before the door?”

“I saw it clearly,” Teng Bi said, his face grave. “Hard to break. The formation before that door doesn't only target dead things—it targets the living too. The Qi Family is well versed in Qimen Dunjia. Without a member of the Qi Family to lead you in, you'd only blunder into an empty gate and be trapped inside the formation.”

Families of the mystic arts generally don't install modern technology like surveillance cameras in their homes. To the older generation, such things only disrupt the magnetic field of the feng shui. But while they have no cameras, they possess means far more useful than any camera.

Without Qi Ye, Jiang Luo and the others would never have gotten into The Study. And even if they had, they'd only have stepped into an illusory study.

Liao Si fretted. “I've stayed here quite a few days now, and I still can't think of a way to retrieve the Yuantian Pearl and get out clean. Why not just have the master control a member of the Qi Family to take it out for us?”

Teng Bi shot him a glance and said coldly, “If you dare.”

“I certainly wouldn't dare,” Liao Si said thoughtfully. “Though—we could play a little game of striking east to attack west…”

*

By the dining table.

Qi Ye, on the receiving end of Jiang Luo's strange looks, stalked off in flustered indignation.

Jiang Luo watched his retreating back, chin propped in his hand, then went to find Wenren Lian, baffled. “Is there something wrong with Qi Ye?”

Wenren Lian asked patiently, “Why do you ask?”

Jiang Luo thought it over. “Never mind. Let's not talk about him.”

After all, he'd just stolen a Yuantian Pearl from the man—badmouthing Qi Ye behind his back would be rather unethical.

Jiang Luo, who prided himself on being a civilized man, moved on to other topics. In the meantime he put his jacket back on, restoring himself to his usual state without leaving a trace.

He did want to leave the Qi Family now, but having come this far, there was no need to rush.

Rushing would only give him away.

The purpose of this banquet was for young people to get acquainted—a matchmaking affair of an unconventional kind. Jiang Luo met a great many people at the banquet. At two in the afternoon, Zhuo Zhongqiu arrived with her father.

Zhuo Zhongqiu was surrounded by several girls who clung intimately to her arms.

Lu You said wistfully, “How enviable.”

Jiang Luo waved the stack of phone-number cards that men and women alike had pressed into his hands in front of him. “Even more envious now?”

Lu You shot him a plaintive look.

Zhuo Zhongqiu spotted them, extricated herself from the cluster of girls with some effort, and came over trailing a cloud of perfume. “When did you all get here?”

Wenren Lian asked, “Two hours ago. Why are you so late?”

“My cousins are here,” Zhuo Zhongqiu said helplessly, pointing behind her. “There—those few in the back. They hadn't seen me in ages and pestered me to take them shopping. I didn't want to go and nearly made one of them cry. Only just got them settled, so I only now had time to come over.”

At that, her eyes suddenly lit up and she waved toward a corner. “Lian Xue.”

Jiang Luo turned to look. A girl in a white dress came over quietly, stood beside Zhuo Zhongqiu, and gave them a gentle, gracious smile.

The words 'lady of a distinguished house' were written all over this girl—gentle and demure in bearing, graceful and lovely.

Zhuo Zhongqiu said, “Let me introduce her. This is a good friend of mine. The head disciple of the Wuyi school among the Six Great Families.”

Lian Xue smiled softly. “Hello, everyone.”

By now, Jiang Luo had more or less met everyone from the Six Great Families.

The Tianshi Manor Feng Family; the Chi Clan of the puppetry-and-soul-refining school; the Miscellaneous Studies Qi Family; the Ge Family of the Buddhist Sect; the Zhuo Clan of the body-and-soul dual cultivation; and now the Lian family of the Wuyi school.

Once introductions were done, Zhuo Zhongqiu smiled. “A-Xue and I are going to chat about girls' things. We'll come find you again later.”

At eight that evening, sure enough, the Qi Family was set to display the Yuantian Pearl. Jiang Luo took a sip of wine without a flicker of expression—then a tremendous crash sounded from upstairs.

The Qi Family members at the banquet abruptly went pale and strode toward the upper floor.

The scene fell into chaos. Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow—something seemed to have happened to the Qi Family.

But right now he rather liked this kind of accident.

Something had indeed happened.

The Qi Family members coming down from upstairs wore grim faces. They summoned the butler and gave a few orders. Soon the servants in the hall hurried to seal the villa's doors and windows.

Qi Fu walked before the crowd, his face dark. “Everyone—someone broke into my study intending to steal the Yuantian Pearl and tripped the formation. The culprit didn't succeed, but he got away. And when we opened the safe to check on the Yuantian Pearl, we found it already gone.”

His gaze swept across the crowd, lingering a few seconds on Jiang Luo, whose face had taken on a look of surprise. “My apologies. I must trouble everyone to wait a while, and I hope you'll understand how we feel. We'll let you leave the villa once we've conducted a search and confirmed there's no mistake.”

Qi Fu's words were firm, but with a treasure like the Yuantian Pearl missing, everyone could understand. Xu Yuxiang leaned on his cane and turned to his students. “Then we'll wait. We'll leave once they've finished their checks.”

Jiang Luo answered with a smile. “All right.”

From the outside, no one could possibly have guessed that the lost Yuantian Pearl was at that very moment tucked inside his inner pocket.

The Qi Family moved quickly. The guests lined up at the front door and could only leave once it was confirmed no Yuantian Pearl was hidden on them. Jiang Luo observed their methods: the men had to remove their jackets, roll up their shirtsleeves, and have every pocket checked. The women had their handbags and jewelry inspected, and beyond that, everyone had to have the insides of their shoes checked. The banquet guests were all people of standing, so the Qi Family didn't dare overdo it—yet the procedure was already thorough.

Jiang Luo watched for a while and knew he couldn't keep the Yuantian Pearl on his person.

But entrusting it to the Twelve Zodiacs of the Yin-Yang Ring was equally impossible.

There were so many gifted, uncanny figures here that not even a mosquito could fly out. Hiding it in the Yin-Yang Ring would only be more dangerous.

Out of the corner of his eye Jiang Luo caught a server coming up from behind with a tray of drinks. Just as the server reached their group, he pretended to step back carelessly—right into the drink the server was offering.

The wine spilled all over Jiang Luo. The server hurriedly bowed in apology. “I'm so sorry, sir, I really am.”

His companions quickly passed over napkins. Jiang Luo dabbed at himself and gave a helpless laugh. “It's fine. You all stay in line—I'll go to the restroom and tidy up.”

Jiang Luo headed for the restroom. Qi Fu, standing watch at the door, saw him move and frowned, sending someone to fetch Qi Ye.

“I hear you brought people into The Study earlier to view the Yuantian Pearl?”

Qi Ye was a little distracted. “Yes.”

“Was Jiang Luo among them?”

Qi Ye came back to himself and frowned. “He was. What's the problem?”

Qi Fu considered for a moment. “Do you think he might have stolen the Yuantian Pearl?”

“Impossible,” Qi Ye said firmly. “When they viewed the Yuantian Pearl, he stood the farthest away—he didn't so much as touch it. And I can say for certain that after they'd finished, I put the Yuantian Pearl back in the box and locked it with my own hands.”

His tone carried a faint impatience. “Dad, don't go suspecting people for no reason. Before me, others took the talents they'd taken a liking to in to see the Yuantian Pearl too… And Jiang Luo was at my side the entire day. There's no way it was him who took the Yuantian Pearl. Half the families of Tiandu were here.”

Qi Fu coaxed Qi Ye. “All right, all right, your dad understands. Go on back.”

His son had a bad temper, but he wouldn't lie about a matter like this. Qi Fu mulled it over privately—could it really not have been Jiang Luo who stole it?

The restroom.

Jiang Luo went through the stalls one by one. Once he'd confirmed the restroom was empty, he quirked his lips, stepped forward, and locked the door.

Before the Mirror, the black-haired young man's manner was relaxed. He slowly took off his Tuxedo jacket, folded it neatly and set it aside, then began undoing the cuff buttons.

Jiang Luo lowered his eyes, black hair falling loosely over his shoulders, and rolled up his shirtsleeves to bare his upper arms.

Not a single mark marred the smooth skin. Jiang Luo lifted his eyelids, took out the little knife on his keychain, laid his arm above the washbasin, and without changing expression sliced open a wound the size of a knuckle on the inner side of his upper arm.

Blood welled out at once, running down his forearm and dripping into the basin.

Jiang Luo tossed the keychain into the basin, took out the Yuantian Pearl, and pushed it into the wound.

A faint sheen of sweat rose at the tip of the black-haired young man's nose, but the corner of his mouth stayed calmly pressed shut. Jiang Luo pulled out a Spirit Papers to stop the bleeding; flame leapt up and seared the wound, and after a moment the bleeding had stopped.

The Yuantian Pearl was hidden beneath skin and flesh.

Jiang Luo pressed at the wound. Luckily the Yuantian Pearl was small—hidden this way, it was completely undetectable.

Jiang Luo turned on the tap and let the water flush the blood from the basin. He grabbed a hand towel nearby, wiped away every trace, then leisurely washed his hands.

Suddenly he snatched up the keychain and threw it at the ceiling. “Seen enough?”

On the ceiling, at some unknown point, a pair of ghostly eyes had abruptly appeared.

The ghost eyes were set into the ceiling, and the instant Jiang Luo noticed them, they vanished in a blink.

Jiang Luo gave a cold laugh, picked up his Tuxedo jacket to wipe his hands, and walked out the restroom door.

After being spied on so many times, Jiang Luo had grown ever more sensitive to it.

The only one capable of pulling such ghostly tricks again and again within the Qi Family was Chi You.

Jiang Luo didn't put the drink-stained jacket back on, returning to the line just as he was. His attire was plain, with no accessories on him—aside from the shirt and trousers, he carried almost nothing.

Qi Fu observed him in secret and had to admit the Yuantian Pearl did not seem to be on Jiang Luo.

Before long, the inspection line reached the people from Baihua University.

When it was Jiang Luo's turn, he tossed the jacket in his hand to the inspector, then rolled up both shirtsleeves and spread his arms open generously.

After a careful search, the two inspectors found nothing. They returned the jacket to him courteously. “Thank you for your cooperation, sir.”

Jiang Luo smiled. “It's fine.”

He straightened himself out and walked out the Qi Family's front door.

Soon the whole group of them was out.

It was late, no time to linger. On the way back, Jiang Luo took the front passenger seat, with Wenren Lian in the driver's seat.

Jiang Luo propped his arm on the window and his chin on his hand, watching the Qi Family Villa recede into the distance—then suddenly laughed under his breath.

Wenren Lian put on a song and asked with a smile, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Jiang Luo said, suppressing his laughter, his brows and the corners of his eyes brimming with a sumptuous mirth. “I just suddenly remembered a—mm, a funny joke.”

Like the joke of the Qi Family losing the Yuantian Pearl on their own turf—or the joke of the Qi Family being broken into by Chi You time and time again.