Chapter Twelve: You Wear That Hat So Well

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The night passed uneventfully, with nothing out of the ordinary. Yet some people couldn’t keep still even in their sleep, tossing their legs over him from time to time.

Su Jian let out a sigh; truly, he was a paragon of virtue, steadfast even in the most compromising situations. In eight hundred years, one such as he might not appear again.

…

The next morning.

With nothing pressing to do, he decided to spend some leisure time at a music house. Zhao Qianxue had insisted on accompanying him, but Su Jian had refused her in no uncertain terms.

Linzou was a crowded city, with many prying eyes. The two of them together would draw far too much attention—if the Alliance of the Righteous caught wind of their presence, wouldn’t that be the same as walking into a trap?

It was much easier for him to move alone.

Su Jian was highly skilled in the art of disguise. He had practiced these techniques extensively during his days at the Celestial Palace of Biyou—an essential skill for anyone wandering the martial world. Although he might not fool the truly powerful, it was more than enough to deal with most people.

Before long, Su Jian found himself standing before the Wangyue Pavilion. As for those places with names like Spring Beauty or Summer Grace Courtyard, they struck him as rather vulgar—hardly suited to his taste.

This was a place where all kinds gathered—a perfect spot to gather information. Besides that, he also wanted to quietly sell a few protective talismans, though he wasn’t sure where in the mortal world such things could be traded.

The Great Teleportation Talisman was far too conspicuous; for now, he had no intention of selling it.

New to the city, Su Jian knew almost nothing about Linzhou. At this moment, an idea for business crossed his mind: exchanging items from his system for other resources he needed. This, he thought, was the path to sustainability.

He couldn’t possibly keep relying on killing for treasure or looting sects. That might work a few times, but if done too often, it would surely attract the self-righteous crusaders of the world.

Yet he had no intention of managing business affairs himself, and at present, he lacked a suitable candidate to entrust with them.

Whoever he chose had to be someone he could trust implicitly—anything less would lead to endless trouble.

Su Jian sighed; it sounded simple, but in practice, it was extraordinarily difficult.

That old adage rang true: “An innocent man gets into trouble for carrying a jade.” He would never underestimate the darkness in people’s hearts. If his business grew to a certain scale but lacked the strength to protect itself, the consequences would be dire.

He put these thoughts aside and stepped into the Wangyue Pavilion.

...

An hour later, Su Jian emerged from the Wangyue Pavilion, unimpressed.

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Though the performances had been mediocre, he had nonetheless gleaned the information he sought.

While Linzhou was a city of mortals, it did have places for cultivator trades. The very one he knew well: the Myriad Treasure Pavilion. He had heard that branches of the Myriad Treasure Pavilion could be found in every corner of the world, but he had always assumed they were limited to immortal cities.

Clearly, his understanding had been too narrow.

As for the Alliance of the Righteous, Su Jian could find out nothing concrete. There were few discreet members in their ranks; most were haughty and arrogant. If a truly powerful figure had entered the city, they would hardly keep so low-profile.

Perhaps they had changed their ways for the sake of the Vajra Circlet.

More likely, as he’d previously suspected, the true experts of the Alliance had not yet arrived.

As for the remnants who had hunted him before, if they failed to keep their heads down now, the city outskirts littered with severed limbs would serve as a grim warning.

Walking through the streets, Su Jian noticed something strange: instead of prosperity, the city was shrouded in fear, and faint sobs could be heard.

Soon enough, he learned the reason. In recent years, many children had gone missing in Linzhou—disappearing without a trace, in a manner both silent and uncanny.

Rumor had it that ghosts were at work. Even the authorities had ended their investigations with that conclusion.

But just last night, even the few children who had previously escaped harm vanished without a trace.

Su Jian frowned. He recalled his cheap master mentioning that Su Henli had resided in Linzhou for three years.

A little investigation revealed that the timing of the children’s disappearances matched perfectly with Su Henli’s arrival.

This was no coincidence.

Moreover, he and his companions had arrived in Linzhou only yesterday, and that very night, this incident occurred.

And yesterday, Su Henli had behaved in a particularly urgent manner…

After piecing it together, the truth became clear.

Su Jian surmised that Su Henli was most likely doing this to advance her cultivation. As for the specifics of her technique, he could not say.

Just as he was lost in thought, a message from the system suddenly flashed through his mind.

[You have received cultivation sharing from your Dao Companion, He Hansu. Your cultivation has advanced to the mid-Golden Core stage.]

Stunned for a moment, Su Jian felt a warm current surging through his body, gathering in his Purple Mansion, making his whole being lighter and more at ease.

Happiness, it seemed, could arrive in the blink of an eye.

Just like that, his cultivation broke through, saving him several years of effort.

Su Jian couldn’t help but muse, “Forgive me, my dear, for now I can only offer you encouragement in spirit. But in the future, our combined strength as husband and wife will surely become a legend.”

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...

Unbeknownst to him, He Hansu, on the other side, was grinding her teeth in fury as she felt the sudden loss from her own cultivation.

She was so angry she trembled.

She could not endure such humiliation!

The more she thought about it, the more enraged she became; the world seemed to lose its color before her eyes, and her blood pressure soared uncontrollably.

“To hell with this path of immortality!”

“Shared cultivation? Dream on!”

“I’m going to infuriate you to death!”

Even if it meant harming herself more than her enemy, she did not care!

The next moment, He Hansu seethed, “Damn you, Su Jian! You’d better pray I don’t find you. An ant like you, whom I could kill with a single blow—you’re finished! I’ll beat you to death!!”

“And whoever is the wretch plotting against me behind the scenes, I’ll find them too!”

She didn’t believe Su Jian’s cultivation was high enough to orchestrate all this.

Though she did not know the identity of the mastermind, she was certain that if she found Su Jian, the one behind it couldn’t be far.

He Hansu suddenly smiled coldly. “I may not know where you are, but with the Dao Companion Locator, you won’t stay hidden for long!”

She had already tried out all those so-called features one by one.

...

Su Jian left the Myriad Treasure Pavilion with two hundred spirit stones newly added to his storage ring.

He had traded ten protective talismans for them.

For now, he could only acquire resources in such small quantities—a frustrating constraint.

Once he resolved the crisis at hand, business matters would take priority.

As for whom to put at the head of his enterprise, Su Jian already had someone in mind.

Upon careful consideration, no one could be more suitable than Zhao Qianxue.

...

Meanwhile, at the City Lord’s Manor.

By the lakeside pavilion, Su Henli listened to her subordinate’s report on Su Jian’s every move after leaving the manor, as well as Zhao Qianxue’s movements since last night.

She couldn’t help but sneer, her face full of mockery. “My dear master, you certainly wear your mask well…”