When Yue Qingqian returned with the Thousand Illusion Orchid, Lin Fan's reaction was a complex mixture of relief, admiration, and escalating anxiety.
"Excellent," he said after she recounted the entire performance, his voice a low murmur. He took the jade box and immediately sealed it within three more layers of restrictive containers. "Your control of the 'eccentric genius' persona is becoming more natural. But you must understand, Junior Sister, every success we have in this... also adds another layer of paint to the target on our backs."
The plan was working, almost too well. Yue Qingqian was becoming a legend within Bai Cao Peak—the reclusive, Dao-obsessed prodigy whose insights were so profound they were almost incomprehensible. This reputation gave her incredible freedom, but it also made her impossible to ignore.
For the next two months, life on Xiao Xiao Peak entered a new rhythm.
Yue Qingqian continued her "lessons," each time returning with some priceless material that she had acquired through some bizarre, inspiration-fueled request. One time, she "procured" a piece of Sunken Mystic Iron by explaining to Liu Changqing that she needed to feel its "weight" to understand the "silence" at the bottom of the ocean. Another time, she obtained a rare Spirit-Calming Grass by claiming its "gentle voice" was needed to soothe the "angry screams" of a volcano she saw in a dream.
Meanwhile, Lin Fan became the busiest home-improver in the entire sect.
He used the Seven Star Iron Vine to begin weaving a complex foundational web of energy lines beneath the entire peak. He then integrated the essence of the Thousand Illusion Orchid into the main concealment array. The effect was immediate and profound. The entire Xiao Xiao Peak now seemed to shimmer subtly at the very edge of perception, not just hiding its presence, but subtly distorting the space around it. To any outside observer, it now looked even more barren and insignificant than before.
Their safety was increasing, their resources were accumulating, and their ultimate "relocation" plan seemed, for the first time, like a tangible future rather than a distant dream. Lin Fan even allowed himself a few rare afternoons of genuine, uninterrupted tea-sipping.
He was starting to feel that perhaps, just perhaps, they had found a way to manage their gilded cage.
He was wrong.
The trouble, when it came, arrived in the form of a formal, sect-wide announcement delivered by a shimmering paper crane. It wasn't a summons, but something far, far worse.
The crane landed in their courtyard, and the voice of a sect deacon echoed through the air:
"By order of Elder Liu Changqing of Bai Cao Peak, a public seminar on the 'Fundamental Principles of the Dao of Harmony in Alchemy' will be held in one week's time at the main lecture hall. All disciples of the alchemy division are required to attend."
Lin Fan's blood ran cold.
The announcement continued: "Elder Liu wishes to share the revolutionary insights that have dramatically advanced his own understanding of the Dao. To assist in this profound demonstration, he has invited his personal disciple, the inspiration behind these theories, Quasi-Saintess Yue Qingqian, to join him on the stage."
The paper crane dissolved into motes of light, leaving behind a silence more deafening than any explosion.
Yue Qingqian stood frozen, her face ashen. A public lecture? On stage? In front of hundreds of people?
Lin Fan slowly sank into his rocking chair, his face a thunderous mask of despair.
He understood instantly. This wasn't an act of malice. This was an act of genuine, unadulterated, catastrophic admiration. Liu Changqing, in his fanatical belief, had decided that his disciple's "genius" was too great to be kept hidden. He wanted to share her "wisdom" with the world.
He had taken their carefully crafted, private performance and turned it into a blockbuster public spectacle.
Lin Fan looked at his terrified Junior Sister, then up at the clear, blue sky. He could almost feel the cold, calculating smile of the Heavenly Dao looking down on him.
Just when he thought he had learned the rules of the game, the game master had flipped the entire board over.