"You bunch of scoundrels want the antidote? Dream on!" Lucian Vane's voice dripped with contempt.
"Young Master!" Suddenly, Lightning appeared behind him out of nowhere.
Hearing the voice, Lucian turned to look at him. This guy's martial arts seemed to be a notch above even his own—truly the type to hide his true strength. Who exactly was he? Lucian had no idea. Clearly, Ivy's circle of experts was just as mysterious as she was.
"Young Master Lucian!" Lightning called out again.
"You took care of all of them?" Lucian glanced at Lightning, but he already knew asking was pointless—Lightning's efficiency was legendary, and he almost never messed up.
"Yeah, just like you ordered. I gave them the knockout drug, so when they wake up, Young Master will still be at the inn, and they'll just think they nodded off for a bit. They won't have a clue you already slipped out and finished your business," Lightning explained.
After the last incident, he'd lost contact with Ivy Shen. Hearing she was in trouble, the group was seriously worried, so they split up to search. By pure coincidence, he’d run into Lucian Vane, saw him looking for Ivy, and noticed a bunch of Silver Consort’s henchmen tailing him. Knowing how much Ivy cared about Lucian, Lightning decided to stick close and protect him—and it was also convenient for searching for Ivy.
"That old woman is way too cunning. She really thought sending a few mysterious people to tail me would fool me? Please, I’m not that dumb!" Just thinking about how that woman had put Ivy in mortal danger made Lucian’s fist clench tighter and tighter.
"Young Master Lucian, you keep collecting these secret memorials—what exactly are you planning to do with them?" Lightning asked, eyeing the folded documents in Lucian’s hand.
"These people are all Cao Wan’er’s lackeys. They’ve got loads of dirt on Ivy’s mom—stuff that proves Ivy’s real identity and status. See, back at a banquet, Emperor Song got drunk and told the recordkeeper that Ivy’s mother was his most important woman, and that their child would be emperor someday. Sure, maybe it was just drunk talk, but you know what they say—drunk words are true words. The recordkeeper didn’t dare slack off, so he wrote it all down and hid the record in a secret chamber. But some other folks overheard and wrote up these deadly memorials to Cao Wan’er, and even kept backup copies—clearly they don’t trust her one bit!"
"So sneaky!" Lightning grumbled, clearly ticked off.
"Exactly! That's why I'm gonna wipe out these corrupt dog officials and hunt down every last memorial. When we finally find Ivy, all this dirt will be our leverage!" Lucian glanced out the window, his chest aching at just the thought of Ivy Shen.
Ivy, don't worry. I swear I'll find you. But first, let me finish all the things you couldn't—after this, I'll handle everything. I, Lucian Vane, never want to go through this kind of life-and-death heartbreak again!
"Master Lucian, Master Lucian..." Lightning called softly, seeing Lucian's eyes getting misty.
Lucian took a deep breath and gave an awkward smile. "Sorry!" Then, turning to Lightning, he said, "Killing off these dog officials will definitely catch Cao Wan'er's attention. I might have to slow down for a bit, but every debt they owe Ivy—I swear I'll collect them all, one by one!"
"Lightning is ready to follow you anywhere, Master Lucian. I'll serve you loyally, no matter what!"
"Thank you." Lucian looked at Lightning, genuinely moved. "Don't worry—once I've cleaned up a few more of these dog officials, we'll set out to find Ivy. No matter how far, I won't give up!"
"Mm!" Ivy is my master—no matter how far, we'll never give up on her!
*********
"Sage Liam! Sage Liam..."
"Huh? What's up?" Liam Willow snapped out of his daze at the sudden shout.
"Our whole village would love to invite you to give a speech!" A plainly dressed middle-aged man beamed at him.
Liam smiled back. "How many households do you have in your village?"
"Oh, we've got two hundred families! Everyone really admires you, you know? We're all waiting for your speech. Didn't you visit Cloud Virtue Monastery last time? Even the abbot called you a 'guiding star from heaven' sent just for us!" The man's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Alright, let me tidy up and I'll come by this afternoon."
"Great! I'll go tell everyone to get ready!" The honest man grinned and hurried off.
As soon as he left, Colin Kerr strolled out. "You're more popular than those silent bodhisattvas these days."
Liam kept a straight face. "I can't fight, so I can't help her that way. The only thing I can do is make myself stronger. Once I have enough supporters, then I can help her—help her take down Song Zhijue!" His expression was dead serious as he spoke.
No one knew how much he'd suffered these past three months. Adrian and Lucian told him to wait here patiently while they searched for Ivy. Nobody asked if he wanted to go. He wanted to say, 'I want to help too! I'd walk through fire or climb a mountain if it meant finding Ivy!' But he knew, without martial arts or skills, he'd only drag them down.
Thinking that, he forced himself to stay behind. But then it hit him—he might not be able to fight, but he could help Ivy with his brains! When Ivy came back, she'd need support, right? So if he rallied everyone to her side, wouldn't that be helping too?!
Thinking about it, he decided to keep up the act and pretended he'd 'seen through it all' by joining the Buddhist path. Not that he ever said he'd become a monk—Cloud Virtue's abbot just took a shine to him, made him a disciple without shaving his head, and even told him he could go back to secular life and get married later if he wanted. Honestly, the abbot could tell Liam Willow still had a soft spot for worldly things, but that didn't stop him from liking him.
Sometimes, fate's just weird like that. If the abbot vibes with you, that's destiny! He even said Liam Willow had crazy spiritual potential—didn't need to be a monk to help the world, might be Buddha's avatar or something. Of course, to an outsider like Liam, that meant squat. If he really was Buddha's avatar, he wouldn't have been so useless he couldn't even protect Ivy.
No matter what he thought, Cloud Virtue Monastery was famous all over Soaring Phoenix Realm. Getting advice from the abbot was pure luck. Not only did the abbot pick Liam Willow, he even told everyone Liam was a 'guiding star from heaven' sent to save them all.
With that, Liam Willow's popularity shot past Song Zhijue's. In these feudal ancient brains, nothing beats worshipping a living god.
Faced with all this sudden fame, Liam just rolled with it. This was the help he'd been desperate to find for Ivy. Sure, handing out books and teaching kids before was nice, but only a handful really benefited. Now, as everyone's 'Guiding Star,' he basically represented Buddhism—and when he spoke, people felt like they'd been spiritually scrubbed clean.
After Liam Willow got all this random fame, the court freaked out and tried to make the abbot take back his words, threatening to tear down Cloud Virtue Monastery. The abbot just told everyone, then went traveling to preach elsewhere. Somehow, word got out to the common folk, and all the Buddhists started protesting. The Empress had no choice but to send someone to say the court never said anything like that—it was all just rumors.
So, things settled down—at least on the surface. Liam Willow knew Empress Cao would never really let him go, but he wasn't scared. If it was for Ivy, dying was no big deal!
Because of all this, people kept inviting him to give speeches, and he never turned them down.
"You're going again? You just got back at noon! Are you trying to work yourself to death?" Colin Kerr couldn't help but protest.
"It's fine, I'm not tired!" Liam Willow replied, determined.
"Not tired? Then why are you drinking tea to stay awake? Why are your eyes so dark? How long are you planning to torture yourself like this? That woman is dead—she fell into a bottomless abyss!" Colin Kerr just couldn't stand seeing him suffer for her sake.
"She isn't." Not wanting to argue, Liam quietly packed his bag.
"Isn't? How do you know? Have you thought this through? Just think about it—even now, the Crown Prince has definitely noticed you. Normally, would they really let you off? Wouldn't they be afraid of you getting too much attention? But now, they're leaving you alone. And you know why? Because they think she's dead. That's the only reason they're not scared!" Colin rattled off his logic, one reason after another.
Colin's words made Liam's hands shake as he packed, but after a deep breath, he forced back his tears, grabbed his bag, and headed for the door.
"Liam Willow!" Colin's voice was thick with anger.
Liam looked up and gave a sincere smile. "She told us—as long as we don't find her body, we can't give up. If one day, it's really as you say, then I'll follow after her." With that, he tightened his grip on his bag and walked out.
"You..." Watching Liam be so stubborn, Colin was shaking with anger. "Idiot, you're such an idiot—a total fool—" But no matter how much he yelled, this 'idiot' was still ready to throw everything away for her!
****