Chapter Ten: A Meeting of Minds

Two days had passed.

Beside an artificial mountain in the eastern courtyard of the Lei residence, Bai Yu scattered fish feed into the pond below, listening to Lei Fu’s report.

“He’s not dead?” Bai Yu frowned. She knew the effects of the Soul-Chasing Incense better than anyone, yet it had not killed Lei Yan. A trace of irritation flickered in her heart.

“Could it be that he didn’t use the Soul-Chasing Incense?” Bai Yu pondered, then asked Lei Fu, “Are you certain he’s using the incense I sent?”

“Yes, Second Madam. When I walked past the door, I truly smelled the unique aroma of that incense. I’m sure he’s using it!” Lei Fu answered truthfully.

“All right, you may leave.” Bai Yu waved her hand dismissively.

“Coincidence! It must be coincidence!” Bai Yu murmured to herself. She refused to believe that a child of only a few years could understand the intricacies of the Soul-Chasing Incense.

Day by day passed...

Repeated failures had stolen Bai Yu’s composure. Once was coincidence, twice as well—but the third and fourth times? Could she still call it coincidence? She had tried poisoning Lei Yan more than once during this time, and now she realized one thing: Lei Yan was not simple, at least not in his knowledge of medicine and poison.

Grinding her teeth, Bai Yu muttered as if locked in a contest with Lei Yan, “This useless wretch must die! He must...”

“Useless?” Bai Yu seemed thoughtful. She immediately summoned Lei Fu and asked, “I heard that wretch is said to possess the Nine Suns constitution, is that correct?”

“Yes, Second Madam. The young master indeed has the Nine Suns constitution, if not for what happened at birth…” Lei Fu began.

“Enough, that’s enough!” Bai Yu cut him off. She only wanted to confirm Lei Yan’s constitution; the rest was irrelevant.

“If he truly has the Nine Suns constitution, things will be easy!” A strange smile curled at Bai Yu’s lips. She instructed Lei Fu, “Spread the word about this, and arrange for that wretch to go out once…”

As the daughter of the White Horse Gang’s leader, Bai Yu was certainly not ignorant about the Nine Suns constitution. It not only allowed its bearer to cultivate with half the effort but also served as a treasure in itself. Though eating such a body would not grant immortality, it was stronger than ordinary spiritual medicine; used as a catalyst, it could elevate the quality of medicine several levels. If Lei Yan were not Lei Tiechuan’s son, she would have considered using him as a medicinal ingredient herself.

“This scheme is truly ruthless!” Lei Fu thought privately. He knew Bai Yu’s intentions well—once the news of Lei Yan’s constitution leaked, the major sects and gangs would compete to seize him, leading to inevitable casualties. This would be an opportunity for both the White Horse Gang and the Lei family to expand externally. Even without casualties, their families would lose nothing; and once those powers realized they had taken a cripple with atrophied meridians, they would surely kill Lei Yan for her. It was a plan that killed two birds with one stone.

“I’ll see to it right away!” Lei Fu said, turning to leave the eastern courtyard.

While Bai Yu and Lei Fu were scheming Lei Yan’s death, Lei Yan himself sat cross-legged on his bed, cultivating.

Lei Yan knew he could not engage in strenuous activity nor cultivate internal energy; only the supernatural ability carried over from his previous life was left for him to train.

With eyes half-closed, Lei Yan’s body emitted a faint blue glow, like a tight-fitting shield around him—barely visible unless one looked closely, not even Lei Yan himself was aware of it. All he could sense was a blue dot at his brow, slowly rotating.

Time flew by. When one is focused, hours slip away unnoticed, and soon it was noon.

Suddenly, Lei Yan’s eyes snapped open, his expression growing darker. He realized that no matter how hard he tried, his ability seemed to have reached its limit, showing no sign of progress—a blow to his spirits.

“Why? Why is this happening?”

Lei Yan could now clearly sense his supernatural power and use it at will—though at the moment, only to lock onto targets. Yet compared to his previous life, the ability was vastly diminished: if he once had a basin of water, now he barely had a bowl.

“Could it be that my ability is fundamentally untrainable, and I’ve been deceiving myself?”

“No!” The thought of being unable to cultivate had just formed, only to be rejected. He had experienced growth in his ability firsthand; if it could not be trained, how had it increased?

“Could it be… could it be…” Suddenly, Lei Yan recalled something: in his previous life, when pushing physical limits, he would always encounter a bottleneck after reaching a certain stage. Perseverance would eventually break through it, raising him to a new level.

“Yes! Yes! It’s a bottleneck. It seems I’ve reached one!” Excitement stirred in Lei Yan’s heart. A breakthrough would mean his ability entered a new realm—perhaps one day it could rival the martial artists who cultivated internal force. Lei Yan couldn’t help but look forward to that possibility.

“Persevere, persevere…” Lei Yan chanted to clear his mind.

“Knock, knock… knock, knock…” Just then, a rhythmic knocking sounded from outside the door.

“Come in!” Lei Yan called.

Lei Fu pushed open the door and entered slowly. He saw Lei Yan lying on the bed and scoffed inwardly, “This useless child is truly useless, sleeping in broad daylight!” Though he thought so, his face was smiling. “Young master, the patriarch asked me to tell you that he’s going to Qingzhou and wants to take you along.”

“The patriarch wants to take me to Qingzhou?” Lei Yan asked in surprise. He couldn’t understand why the patriarch suddenly wanted to go to Qingzhou, or why he was to be brought along. Was this another of Bai Yu’s plots?

“Yes, young master!” Lei Fu replied calmly. He was also surprised—the patriarch rarely left the Moonwatch Pavilion to cultivate, and even long-serving retainers like himself seldom saw him step outside. Yet this time, the patriarch had specifically named Lei Yan to accompany him. It suited his own plans, sparing him the trouble of finding an excuse for Lei Yan to go out. He had already spread the news of Lei Yan’s Nine Suns constitution; perhaps the patriarch had taken an interest in it as well.

“We’re leaving now?” Lei Yan confirmed.

“Yes, young master!” Lei Fu nodded.

“All right. I’ll get ready and come over.” Lei Yan agreed, beginning to prepare.