Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 212: Chapter 136: The Demon Sect Branch in the Champion Scholar’s Mansion

He then turned and said, “Perfect timing. My people have found some information related to Cultivators. If you want to know the truth, Sect Leader Leng, come with me!”

He paused, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, and continued, “By the way, Sect Leader Leng, I have quite a few of your acquaintances working for me. I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting.”

Watching Li Chang’an’s departing back,

Leng Yanran bit her lip, her heart in turmoil.

She desperately wanted to convince herself that he was just a madman spouting nonsense, but her woman’s intuition—her sixth sense—compelled her to follow.

She knew she had likely fallen into Li Chang’an’s trap.

But just as Li Chang’an had said,

She couldn’t afford to lose.

…

「Chun’an County, Martial Champion’s Mansion.」

Thanks to Li Chang’an’s meteoric rise, the Martial Champion’s Mansion of today was several times more grand and imposing than it had been in the past.

When Li Chang’an and Leng Yanran arrived outside the Champion Scholar’s Mansion, Ran Qingqiu, one of the Demon Sect’s six Saintesses, was in the courtyard teaching Martial Arts.

When she saw Li Chang’an, a flash of delight appeared on Ran Qingqiu’s face.

However, she quickly concealed it.

Putting on an act, she walked up to Li Chang’an and whined, “You’ve got it good, don’t you? You disappear for years, playing the absentee boss, and now I hear you’ve even climbed onto Empress Liyang’s throne. But you leave poor me here to slave away for you every day. All these years of toiling and worrying, and not a single reward or word of thanks!”

Hearing her complain, Li Chang’an gave her a peculiar expression but still pulled out a book containing a Cultivation Technique. “This is one I developed this year. Take it.”

When she saw him produce the Cultivation Technique,

Ran Qingqiu immediately beamed, her eyes narrowing into crescents. She was just about to gleefully pocket it when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the figure standing beside Li Chang’an.

But that one glance was all it took.

When she saw clearly that it was Leng Yanran, Ran Qingqiu’s soul nearly leaped from her body. She stammered, “M-Ma… Ma… Master? W-what… what are… you doing here?”

Leng Yanran was equally bewildered.

She glanced from Ran Qingqiu to Li Chang’an, and after a long moment, her expression hardened. “I was about to ask you the same thing. What are *you* doing here?”

Ran Qingqiu was scared witless.

The Demon Sect’s internal management had always been lax. Aside from requiring disciples to complete a few mandatory missions and quotas each year, it rarely interfered in their personal lives.

Moreover, Leng Yanran had been elusive for years, coming and going like a phantom and paying little attention to her disciples. As a result, Ran Qingqiu had practically been living at the Champion Scholar’s Mansion without ever drawing notice.

She had never imagined that today she would run right into her master.

And be caught red-handed, no less…

For a moment, she was completely at a loss.

Other than the day years ago when Li Chang’an had held a blade to her neck, she had never felt so close to death.

She had no idea how to explain herself.

In the end, her primal survival instinct took over, and she stammered, “Um… well, Master, please, let me explain…”

Seeing her disciple’s reaction, Leng Yanran instantly put two and two together. She turned to Li Chang’an and said, “Is this the… ’acquaintance’ you mentioned before?”

Ran Qingqiu was her disciple.

And a highly favored one, at that.

Although she had been too busy searching for traces of Cultivators to keep a close watch on her disciples these past few years, that didn’t mean Leng Yanran didn’t care.

Li Chang’an waved a placating hand. “Sect Leader Leng, don’t be so hasty. There are plenty more acquaintances…”

As he spoke, another young woman nearby noticed the commotion at the gate. She came skipping over to Ran Qingqiu’s side, glanced at the Cultivation Technique in her hand, and exclaimed in delight, “Senior Sister, did that heartless man send you another Cultivation Technique? Quick, let me see! I’m stuck on opening my thirty-sixth acupoint, and I’ve been puzzling over it for half a month without getting anywhere!”

The young woman snatched the Cultivation Technique from Ran Qingqiu’s hand.

She was about to bolt, but when she realized Ran Qingqiu hadn’t moved an inch, she stopped after just two steps and shifted her gaze to Li Chang’an and Leng Yanran.

When she saw Li Chang’an, her eyes filled with confusion.

But when her eyes landed on Leng Yanran, she looked as if she’d been struck by lightning. She froze on the spot, not daring to move a muscle.

Leng Yanran’s eye twitched. Her exquisite face was now completely thunderous.

After a long silence, she took a deep breath and ground out through clenched teeth, “Chang Yu, what are *you* doing here?”

The young woman, Chang Yu, was another of the Demon Sect’s six Saintesses. She was Ran Qingqiu’s junior sister and the youngest of the six.

Because of her young age, Leng Yanran had always doted on Chang Yu.

Chang Yu was also one of the only disciples who had almost never seen Leng Yanran lose her temper.

Compared to Ran Qingqiu, and despite her own guilty conscience making her eyes dart about, she was at least able to stammer out an excuse. “M-Master, I was just accompanying Senior Sister Ran on a mission!”

Leng Yanran felt as if her lungs might explode from rage. “What mission?”

Chang Yu’s eyes darted around frantically, and her voice became a near whisper. “In… in… infiltrating the Li Yang official court to gather intelligence!”

Leng Yanran was speechless. Her eyes looked like they could kill.

Li Chang’an, who had been watching from the side, had to suppress a laugh. He chose this moment to chime in, “Sect Leader Leng, now do you see why we’re so connected by fate?”