Li Qingxiao walked toward the Eight Scenic Residences, his mind racing with thoughts.
He needed to carefully plan his entry into the Eight Scenic Residences. Since this was reconnaissance, the key was not to expose himself.
The outsiders would also be heading toward the Eight Scenic Residences. With them as cover, his approach wouldn't be suspicious. Even if caught, he could claim he was just there for the spectacle.
Just as he was thinking, Li Qingxiao suddenly bumped into a female Daoist.
The female Daoist remained perfectly still while Li Qingxiao stumbled back several steps.
Li Qingxiao looked closely: This female Daoist was a head shorter than him, appearing rather petite; she wore no crown, only a jade hairpin; her Daoist attire revealed no obvious rank; she wore a pair of black crystal glasses called "aidei" (commonly known as sunglasses) that covered half her face; she appeared to be in her mid-thirties, casual and laid-back, even a bit unruly, holding a plum branch.
Li Qingxiao found it strange. He was certain no one had been there just moments ago. This female Daoist seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
Before Li Qingxiao could think further, the female Daoist grabbed his collar like a martial artist, yanking him back several steps, nearly making him fall.
Then she shouted: "Hey! Kid, you hurt me! Pay up!"
Li Qingxiao was straightforward, asking directly: "How much?"
It wasn't that Li Qingxiao was so honest he'd accept a loss. Rather, he realized a harsh reality - in front of this female Daoist, he was like a child, completely powerless.
He hadn't seen how she appeared, nor how she grabbed his collar. After bumping into her, she remained still while his chest ached and felt stuffy.
In every way, they were not on the same level.
Better to take a loss now than fight a losing battle. Pay up first, then plan later.
The female Daoist wasn't shy, holding up five fingers: "Fifty, then."
Li Qingxiao reached into his pocket, carefully counting out fifty Great Peace coins.
Looking at the neatly stacked coins, Li Qingxiao couldn't help but feel a pang of pain - this was more than half his savings.
But circumstances forced his hand, so he endured the pain and presented the money to the female Daoist.
The female Daoist's face darkened, as if she wanted to slap the coins away, but restrained herself, shouting: "Great Peace coins? I said Great Peace coins!"
Both were official Daoist Sect currencies, but Great Peace coins were silver while Great Peace coins were gold. There was also a copper coin called "Ruyi coins."
When Li Qingxiao heard "Great Peace coins," he completely gave up. He couldn't even afford fifty Great Peace coins if he sold himself.
Or rather, the female Daoist wasn't after money, just using it as an excuse.
The female Daoist narrowed her eyes: "You planning to be a deadbeat? I advise you not to try that with me. When I was borrowing money, your parents weren't even born yet."
Li Qingxiao held up his hands: "No money."
The female Daoist sneered, grabbed Li Qingxiao, and tossed him into the air.
With a "whoosh," Li Qingxiao flew up, getting smaller and smaller until he became a tiny black dot.
Strangely, the surrounding passersby ignored everything, as if they hadn't noticed anything at all.
Li Qingxiao felt dizzy, floating and swaying, hearing nothing but the whistling wind, completely disoriented.
When he finally landed, he found himself in a huge garden with pavilions, terraces, lakes, and artificial hills, all arranged tastefully. Even in winter, winter plum blossoms bloomed proudly.
What shocked Li Qingxiao even more was that the fifty Great Peace coins were still in his hand, as if glued there.
Li Qingxiao had been to the Jade Capital and seen the world, so he didn't ask stupid questions. Instead, he immediately realized he had encountered a true master today.
This female Daoist was probably no ordinary person, perhaps a genuine Daoist Sect True Person.
It was hard to tell if it was good or bad.
Was it a transcendent master playing with the world, just having a harmless joke?
Or had he accidentally become a pawn in a game between powerful figures?
Before Li Qingxiao could think further, he heard voices approaching. He quickly pocketed the Great Peace coins and hid behind a rockery.
A man and woman approached along a winding corridor, both handsome and graceful, though their faces were somewhat similar, suggesting they were siblings rather than lovers.
They talked as they walked.
"Who knows what he's thinking, having so many True Persons available but sending us two?"
"Just keep quiet. This is Grandfather's trust in us. Many people would love to come but don't have the chance."
"Of course I know this is his trust. If we do well, we'll get great credit, and Grandfather and Father will be happy. But we need to think about failure first. What if we mess up? So many people are waiting to laugh at us! Do you know that Uncle's Li Qingxuan and his people are trying to sabotage us? They sent quite a few people this time to trip us up. If things go wrong, who will suffer? Me and you."
"Then we should do our best to succeed and give those people a good beating!"
"Easier said than done. How? Kill them all?"
"While we don't have many people this time, we're not fish on a chopping board. We definitely can't kill them ourselves, but we can use others to do it. I heard Great True Person Qi will be coming to Penglai Island soon."
"Great True Person Qi is coming? Is that true?"
"Absolutely. True Person Zhou of the Beichen Hall told me. Great True Person Qi is eccentric and doesn't care about rules. If we plan well and make these people offend Great True Person Qi…"
"Then it will be easier for us."
The voices grew closer, and Li Qingxiao tensed up.
If he was right, these two were likely the Great Master's grandson Li Qinglan and granddaughter Li Qingping, and he was undoubtedly in the Li family's Eight Scenic Residences.
He never expected to enter the Eight Scenic Residences this way.
From their conversation, Li Qingxiao's "adventure" was likely the second possibility - accidentally becoming a pawn in a game between powerful figures.
While he still didn't know his role as a pawn, one urgent problem loomed: he had no way to hide his presence, and Li Qinglan and Li Qingping were clearly powerful. It was only a matter of time before they noticed him, and a mere rockery wouldn't block their senses.
Just then, a voice came from above Li Qingxiao: "What are you afraid of? They can't see you."
Li Qingxiao looked up to see the female Daoist who had thrown him here standing on the rockery, looking down at him.
At the same time, Li Qinglan and Li Qingping passed by the rockery without seeing either of them.
The female Daoist glanced at the young couple with a mocking smile, clearly not taking these imperial descendants seriously.
After the Li siblings walked away, Li Qingxiao finally spoke: "You, Senior… Who are you?"
The female Daoist replied: "I'm surnamed Qi."
Li Qingxiao was startled, blurting out: "Senior is Supreme… Great True Person Qi?"
The female Daoist jumped down from the rockery: "You guessed right. I'm the Great True Person Qi those two brats were talking about."
Li Qingxiao didn't know what to say.
He had imagined this master to be two stories tall, but now he realized she must be nine stories tall.
The title "Great True Person" meant her status was above that of True Person.
In the Daoist Sect hierarchy, a True Person was Second Rank Taiyi Daoist, while a Great True Person was First Rank Tianzhen Daoist, second only to the Supreme Rank Great Master.
This legendary Great True Person Qi was even higher than ordinary Great True Persons.
Great True Person Qi waved her hand in front of Li Qingxiao's face.
Li Qingxiao came to his senses, instinctively asking: "Why me?"
He meant why Great True Person Qi chose him as a pawn.
Great True Person Qi countered: "Why not you?"
Li Qingxiao had no answer.
Great True Person Qi continued: "If you must have a reason, how about I just don't like you? What a terrible name, Qingxiao! Why not call yourself something else?"