Leaving the ruined temple, Fu Yan swung onto her Wind Steed and rushed toward Blackspring Town.
This Wind Steed was a fine horse personally bred by the Shui Ling Sect. It could travel a thousand li in a day, one or even two times faster than an ordinary steed—an excellent companion for long journeys.
As for sword flight, only those who had successfully opened their Qi Sea and reached the Kaiguang stage could use it. For Fu Yan right now, riding a horse was her only option.
Before she transmigrated into this book, Fu Yan had never ridden a horse. Fortunately, this body retained its memories. After taking a short while to adapt, she soon rode as if she had done so her whole life.
By afternoon, Fu Yan had already reached Blackspring Town. At this point she was starving, her stomach practically glued to her spine.
Her current cultivation hadn’t reached the fasting stage, so she still needed to take in a fixed amount of food and calories every day like ordinary people. She had been on the road all day and hadn’t eaten anything since last night. By now, she really couldn’t hold out any longer.
The Shui Ling Sect naturally had its own post station in Blackspring Town. Fu Yan quickly found it from memory, left her Wind Steed there, and then went alone to look for an inn in town.
Perhaps because it was not yet evening, there were only a few occupied tables in the inn, so Fu Yan’s dishes were served very quickly.
While she ate, she didn’t forget the task on her shoulders. When she saw the waiter idle and unoccupied, she called him over.
“Waiter, I heard there’s been a notorious flower thief around here lately. Is that true?”
Fu Yan ate unhurriedly, raising her eyes to fix them on the waiter as she asked.
At her words, the waiter’s face immediately turned ugly. He sighed lightly and looked at Fu Yan.
“Ah, things really haven’t been peaceful lately. That flower thief is a cultivator—how could us mortals possibly resist him? You don’t know, miss—ever since he appeared, several madams in town have already suffered.”
Fu Yan nodded, thinking quietly to herself.
Only now did the waiter seem to properly notice that Fu Yan was also a beautiful young woman. He couldn’t help but advise her:
“Miss, I suggest that once you finish eating, you go straight home. It’s about to get dark. You mustn’t wander around outside. That flower thief’s favorite targets are young, pretty girls like you.”
Fu Yan gave an awkward little laugh. She was more worried the man wouldn’t dare show himself in front of her. But she still needed more clues, so she spoke honestly.
“It’s fine. I’m a cultivator too. I’m not afraid of that flower thief.”
“You’re a cultivator as well, miss?”
The waiter was a bit surprised, though he didn’t actually doubt her; after all, there was indeed a sword lying on Fu Yan’s table.
Then something seemed to occur to him. His eyes widened.
“Could it be that you’re a disciple of the Shui Ling Sect, miss?”
A while ago, that flower thief had apparently set his sights on the young lady of the Lin family in town. Master Lin had hurriedly sent people to the Shui Ling Sect to seek help. Everyone in Blackspring Town knew about this. So now that he heard Fu Yan was a cultivator, the waiter naturally had to ask.
Fu Yan almost choked on her food and quickly poured herself a cup of tea. Only after finishing it did she give the waiter a quick nod.
“That’s wonderful! Fairy, you must catch that flower thief!”
The waiter was just an ordinary mortal. Toward disciples of the great sects, he naturally felt a deep awe. His expression grew noticeably more solemn when he looked at Fu Yan.
Being called “Fairy” made Fu Yan feel quite embarrassed, but she didn’t dwell on it. She hurriedly pressed on.
“Do you know if there’s been any news about that flower thief recently?”
The waiter frowned in thought, then explained doubtfully,
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, Fairy, I might not have noticed. But now that I think about it, that flower thief really hasn’t shown himself for quite a few days.”
Fu Yan’s brows faintly knit at the table.
She didn’t believe the man had run off in fear just because the Shui Ling Sect might send someone. The Shui Ling Sect’s missions rarely went awry.
She could only hope nothing unexpected had happened.
After finishing her meal and paying the bill, Fu Yan headed straight toward the Lin Manor.
When he heard someone from the Shui Ling Sect had arrived, Master Lin personally came out to greet them. But when he saw Fu Yan standing there alone, the joy on his face faltered.
“How is it that you came alone, Immortal? Are your fellow disciples still on the way?”
He hesitated for a moment, but still voiced his concern.
Fu Yan understood. He was afraid she couldn’t handle this by herself. She didn’t take it as an insult and answered honestly.
“It’s just me.”
Even though he had mentally prepared himself for this, the disappointment still showed clearly on Master Lin’s face.
“This…”
“Master Lin, there’s no need to worry. Since I’ve accepted the mission, I will naturally ensure Miss Lin’s safety.”
Fu Yan gave him a small nod, offering at least a bit of reassurance.
“In that case, I can only thank you, Immortal.”
Master Lin had no other choice. He could only pin all his hopes on Fu Yan.
Fu Yan followed Master Lin into the manor. After listening to his explanation, she finally had a clear picture of the situation.
The flower thief really had set his sights on the Lin family’s young lady, and he had already tried to sneak in once. Fortunately, Master Lin had managed to stop him.
“Immortal, you may not know. Some years ago, I accidentally saved a cultivator. To repay me, he laid down a formation in my manor. It was precisely because of this formation that the flower thief failed that night.”
Thinking back to that night, Master Lin still seemed rattled.
A formation?
“May I take a look at it?” Fu Yan asked him.
Master Lin naturally did not refuse and soon personally led Fu Yan to a pavilion building.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, Fu Yan could feel the spiritual fluctuations of the formation. She paused for a beat, then circled the pavilion once. The answer formed in her heart.
Though she wasn’t well-versed in formations, the one before her was just a very basic defensive array. For someone at her own level—Foundation Establishment—it would indeed be troublesome to break.
If she were at the Kaiguang stage, she could have wiped it away with a wave of her hand.
From that alone, she could infer that the flower thief’s cultivation was indeed no higher than Foundation Establishment.
“This formation has gone without maintenance for many years. It was enough to block that flower thief once, but I’m afraid it won’t hold if he comes a second time.”
Fu Yan shook her head as she spoke.
Master Lin sighed.
“You are absolutely right, Immortal. That is exactly why I went to the Shui Ling Sect for help. I must ask that you capture that flower thief.”
Fu Yan found the place where the formation had been attacked and examined it carefully. She quickly came to a conclusion: the flower thief’s cultivation was roughly at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.
For her, that posed no major problem.
“How many days has it been since the flower thief last appeared?” Fu Yan asked again.
Master Lin counted on his fingers, carefully recalling.
“It seems… ever since he was blocked by the formation that night, it has been five days since he last showed himself.”
Five days…
That was rather odd. By rights, if he failed once, he should have quickly tried again. Why would he disappear as if he’d given up?
Though suspicious, Fu Yan didn’t dwell on it too much. She had her own means of self-preservation.
From the original owner’s memories, she knew the girl she had replaced was not an arrogant person. After accepting the mission, she had spent all her sect contribution points to exchange for an explosion talisman.
An explosion talisman was a charm condensed from true essence by a Kaiguang-stage expert in the sect. Once thrown, it was equivalent to a full strike from such an expert. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator would have no chance to fight back.
“Starting today, I’ll disguise myself as Miss Lin’s maid and stay in this pavilion. We’ll just wait for the flower thief to show himself again.”
Having made up her mind, Fu Yan stated her plan plainly.
The flower thief came and went like a ghost. No one knew where his lair was. They could only wait for him to appear.
Hearing that Fu Yan would stay in the manor, Master Lin felt much more at ease.
“Then I must trouble you, Immortal.”
And so, Fu Yan temporarily took up residence in the pavilion.
That night, all was calm. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. The flower thief still did not appear.
“Do you think he might have given up?”
Miss Lin, a bit too naive, couldn’t help asking Fu Yan curiously after several peaceful days.
Fu Yan shook her head.
Not only did she think the flower thief wouldn’t give up, she felt he might be plotting something bigger.
As if to prove her right, the next night, after Miss Lin had already fallen into a deep sleep in the pavilion, Fu Yan, hiding in the dark, suddenly opened her eyes.
The outer formation shook violently.
In an instant, the formation’s spiritual fluctuations vanished completely.
Fu Yan’s heart lurched. True, the flower thief could break the formation, but this was far too fast.
In practically the blink of an eye, the array was shattered.
She had no time to think. The next moment, a man in black silently appeared inside the pavilion.
His target was clear: the sleeping Miss Lin on the bed.
A faint breeze sounded beyond the window. Tonight’s moon was especially bright; scattered moonlight slipped through the lattice and spilled quietly into the room.
The flower thief was dressed all in black, his face concealed by some secret technique. Even with her cultivation, Fu Yan couldn’t make out his features.
He walked toward the bed step by step.
Time was tight.
Fu Yan sprang out from the shadows. Gripping her refined iron sword, she thrust straight at the flower thief.
But the man made no move to dodge. He took her strike head-on.
Only…
Just as Fu Yan’s blade was a hair’s breadth from his body, it froze in midair, locked in place by a tremendous force. She couldn’t push it forward another fraction of an inch.
This was… true essence.
Realizing what was restraining her sword, Fu Yan felt as if she’d been struck in the head. Her eyes flew wide in disbelief.
It’s over.
This man was actually at the Kaiguang stage!
