The Imperial Capital, Back to the Land of Origin

The group boarded the warplane still mid-conversation.

Li Qinghe settled into one of the plush reclining seats, crossed her legs, and called up the plane's built-in Light-Brain. A tile-matching puzzle game blinked to life across the holographic display.

Franming and the others filed into seats toward the rear.

When Lu Yuan moved to sit beside Li Qinghe, Xue Wang slung an arm around his shoulder and smoothly redirected him to the back of the plane.

Lu Yuan: *…*

"Why are you all sitting so far away?" Li Qinghe called out, glancing back with mild puzzlement.

Franming and the others exchanged a look. Franming, with perfect gravity, spoke on behalf of the group.

"You're not scared of Sister Qinghe, are you?" Lu Yuan eyed them with suspicion.

"How could we be?!" Franming said, entirely serious. "We respect her. We admire My Lord! Respect — you do understand the concept, don't you? We simply thought it best to give My Lord and the reading materials a peaceful, undisturbed environment."

He decided to take that at face value.

"At the Night Owl Type-5's speed, it's a three-hour flight from Xili City to the capital," Li Qinghe said, settling back. "Rest up."

She paused. "Actually — three hours is a long time to just sit here. Cards? Xiao Xiu, go grab something to eat."

A lean young man nearby rose with a smile and headed off to find drinks and snacks.

Lu Yuan joined in on the card game and later took a turn with the plane's built-in VR headset.

As for Li Qinghe's tile-matching skills — the only word Lu Yuan could honestly find for them was: *abysmal.*

He laughed out loud at one point. That turned out to be a mistake. An extremely aggravated Li Qinghe grabbed his cheeks and pulled sideways. After that, he quietly sat beside her and watched her play instead.

Just then, Xue Wang spun toward the window, voice jumping up a pitch.

"Look! Is that a Secret Blood Eagle?! That's a Lord Grade Feral Beast!"

Lu Yuan turned. Far off in the open sky, a blood-red bird of colossal size was cutting through the air. Its wingspan stretched over a hundred meters — larger than the warplane itself.

It was his first time seeing a Feral Beast out in the wild, let alone one this powerful. He stared, wide-eyed and unable to help himself.

Every so often, the creature turned its head toward the warplane — cold killing intent glinting in its eyes — but kept its distance.

"Even from this far, you can feel the pressure radiating off it. So this is a Lord Grade Feral Beast?"

Lin Hong nodded. "Lord Grade Feral Beasts have near-human intelligence. It knows exactly what this aircraft is — and it's not going to provoke it."

"It won't dare come close," Franming added. "If it tried, it would die. Lord Grade Feral Beasts have zero defense against airborne laser cannons."

Just as the two had said: after shadowing the warplane for some time, the Secret Blood Eagle finally let out one colossal, metal-splitting cry. Then, with a single powerful beat of its wings, it peeled away and vanished into the clouds.

The flight settled back into calm. The earlier exchange had been quietly sitting in the back of Lu Yuan's mind.

"Can't Aberrations just be destroyed outright? Wouldn't losing track of one cause a lot of problems?"

"You think we haven't tried?" Li Qinghe shook her head. "Aberrations — regardless of grade — can't be permanently eliminated. Destroy the physical form and they simply reconstitute."

"Why?"

"Nobody really knows. Even our family patriarch, going all-out, couldn't fully destroy the lowest D-class Aberration. Some powerful people theorize that Aberrations don't originate from this universe at all — which is supposedly why they can't be permanently destroyed."

Lu Yuan went still. "Not from this universe? You mean — other universes actually exist?"

Li Qinghe gave a small shrug. "Who knows?"

During the flight, Lu Yuan had quietly pieced together more about Li Qinghe's identity.

She was the direct-line prodigy of the Li family — the family of the Shadow Battle Emperor, whose name commanded respect not merely within the Red Maple Empire, but across all of Great Qi Star. One of the absolute pinnacles of power on the planet.

And Li Qinghe, already a Battle King at her age — her talent was clearly extraordinary, and her standing within the Li family must be immense.

*I'm going to be living with someone like that,* he thought, with a complicated mix of feelings he couldn't quite name. *…Though her tile-matching really is something else.*

The warplane touched down. Everyone disembarked.

Franming and the others said their goodbyes to Li Qinghe and went their separate ways. As Night Watchmen of the imperial capital, they held certain privileges — including the freedom to depart without formalities.

Li Qinghe and Lu Yuan left the airport together.

She hailed a car. They got in, and within minutes were cruising through the capital's northern district. Through the window, Lu Yuan watched a long procession of two- and three-story standalone houses pass by. The trees grew denser as they drove, the greenery noticeably richer than anything he'd seen elsewhere.

"Housing must be expensive around here."

"This is the White Willow District," Li Qinghe said. "Everyone who lives here has status. A small house runs about two to three billion."

*Two to three billion.* He didn't need to think very hard. This was the imperial capital — every square meter was worth a fortune.

The car pulled up before a three-story house with white-painted walls and a small garden out front.

Li Qinghe stepped out, turned to face the house in the sunlight, and broke into a wide, radiant smile.

"Yuan-didi, this is my home. From now on, it's yours too."

A flicker of anxiety crossed Lu Yuan's face. *Going to meet her parents already? Isn't that a bit… fast?*

"What parents?" Li Qinghe blinked at him. "I live alone here. I don't stay with the family."

The tension evaporated immediately.

They went inside. Two white intelligent robots stood at the entrance to greet them.

"Master, welcome home."

"These are No.1 and No.2," Li Qinghe said. "They handle everything — housekeeping, maintenance, the works. Same type as the Jerf unit from the room we rented before, just far better quality."

Lu Yuan looked them over. The craftsmanship was indeed a noticeable step above Jerf's level.

"First floor: living room, kitchen, bathroom. Second floor: four rooms. Third floor: pool and cultivation room. Your room is on the second floor — come on up."

The second floor was a corridor with two rooms on each side.

Li Qinghe pointed to the right. "You're in this one."

She pointed to the left, to the room on his same side. "That's my room. Across from mine is a close friend's — she stays here sometimes. Across from yours is another close friend's room."

She paused. A mischievous grin spread across her face. She reached out and poked his cheek.

"Don't go into any room except mine. If someone beats you up over it, I can't save you."

Lu Yuan: *…*

"Sister Qinghe — does that mean I can just walk into your room whenever I want?"

She tilted her head. "What do you think?"

"Sister Qinghe — so you really do have designs on me?! Even if you get my body, you'll never get my heart!"

Li Qinghe's smile thinned. She grabbed his cheeks and pulled sideways.

"I'll give you one chance to rephrase that."

Lu Yuan promptly caved.

"I'm sorry! I was wrong!"

She released him with a laugh, then gave his cheek one final gentle pinch.

His room was spacious, with its own private bathroom. The bed was already made up. He noticed a surprisingly generous assortment of snacks piled to one side.

*When did those get there?*

"I had No.1 get it ready before we arrived. You can move right in."

He settled onto the soft mattress and let out a slow, quiet breath.

"Hmm. Does this technically count as keeping me as a secret live-in treasure?"

Li Qinghe's smile went flat. She reached over and pinched his cheek.

"Alright." She stretched her arms above her head, yawning. "Rest up. I need to stop by Night Watchman HQ to get that Aberration secured. I'll be back for dinner."

"Thanks, Sister Qinghe."

"What's there to thank me for? We're not strangers."

She left. Lu Yuan returned to his room.

*New place, new life,* he thought, lying on the soft bed, staring at the ceiling. *I wonder when Sister Qinghe will take me to sit that talent camp assessment.*

He found, somewhat to his own surprise, that he was genuinely looking forward to everything ahead.

The Night Watchman headquarters stood at the heart of the imperial capital — a sleek jet-black high-rise that set itself apart from every building around it.

Every staff member who spotted Li Qinghe immediately dipped their head in respect.

"My Lord."

"Elder Li, please follow me."

Li Qinghe gave a small nod to each and stepped into the private elevator, riding it up to the very top floor.

The upper level held only a handful of rooms. She found the door marked *President's Office*, knocked, and entered.

The office was spacious. A sofa along one wall, a bookshelf along the other, a broad floor-to-ceiling window ahead — a polished wooden desk set before it.

Behind the desk sat a stern-faced, black-haired middle-aged man.

A lean young man in the corner rose cheerfully to fetch refreshments.

Night Watchman President Gu An raised an eyebrow, a slight smile crossing his face. "Qinghe, you're here. It's been a while. You did well on this mission — someone already submitted the report."

Li Qinghe set the black metal box on the desk.

"Uncle Gu, I'm here to hand over the Soul-Devouring Orb."

Gu An glanced at the box, mildly curious.

"Also — there's something else you should know."

"What is it?"

Her gaze sharpened slightly. "This Soul-Devouring Orb was deliberately planted on that host by someone."

A chill settled in the room. Gu An's eyes widened. "Do you know who?"

"No." She shook her head. "The host died before they could say anything more."

Gu An was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. "Understood. Let me take a look."

He leaned forward and opened the lid.

The black orb rose slowly from within the box. Tendrils of dark mist unfurled into the air, and a sharp, keening wail filled the office.

Gu An studied it in silence, fingers drumming against the wooden desk.

He waved a hand. The orb sank back inside. The lid closed with a soft click.

"Truly worthy of an S-grade Aberration," he said. "Remarkable." He looked up. "Thank you for your trouble, Qinghe."

Li Qinghe reached for a cigarette.

"Your father asked me to keep an eye on you," Gu An said. "A young woman — what are you doing with a smoking habit?"

Li Qinghe turned to glare at him. "Uncle Gu — a Battle Sovereign picking on a Battle King?"

"Fair point," Gu An said, smiling — and flicked his finger. The flame Li Qinghe had just struck went out.

Li Qinghe's expression darkened. She stared at him.

"Ha ha ha." He laughed, entirely unrepentant. "You, you. What doesn't the Li family have? And here you are still eyeing what little I've got."

"Fine, fine." He waved her off. "Take Old Tian down to the basement, get the Soul-Devouring Orb secured, then come collect your reward."

"Of course. Rewards can't be skipped."

Li Qinghe left with Tian Yuan.

The office fell quiet. Only Gu An remained.

He sat there, fingers drumming slowly against the wooden desk, gaze drifting somewhere distant.

"Xili City… the Brook family, the Jing family…"

He shook his head slowly and sighed.

Two days passed.

At ten in the evening, Lu Yuan entered the Land of Origin once more.

It had been exactly one week since he had last died coming out of it. The Light Gate had fully repaired in the intervening time.

His body materialized in the Mist Forest.

The instant he appeared — a flash of white light — and a purple-haired girl was standing right beside him.

*Hm?*

"Amy?! What are you doing?!"

Amy had just entered the Land of Origin herself. The sudden figure materializing directly in front of her sent a jolt of alarm through her. On pure reflex, she activated the Tianrao Purple Vine — purple tendrils shot toward Lu Yuan.

He was already moving, weaving through the vines with practiced ease.

"**Yah!!**"

The sound of his voice brought her back. Amy recognized him and hastily retracted the vines, laughing a little sheepishly.

"I thought someone was trying to ambush me! Heh heh heh!"

Lu Yuan stared at her, expression thoroughly baffled.

Amy turned her head, glanced around, and — quite obviously — changed the subject.

"The mist cleared."

"I checked Battle Net before coming in," she said. "The fog this time was short-lived — it dissipated two days ago."

The Mist Forest fogging over was never a small matter across White Cloud Continent, and for the surrounding cities especially it had been a significant concern. Battle Net discussion had naturally been lively.

Lin Hong was already looking ahead. "Let's move. At this rate we should reach Tianrao City in about two days."

Amy nodded. "Right. Let's go."

They set off together, running in the direction of Tianrao City.

The journey ahead was quiet — no incidents, no unexpected encounters.

Then, somewhere along the path, a voice rang out in sharp recognition.

"Lei Feng! Is that you?!"