Chapter 15: Shadows of the Lingying Sect

‘Spirit Infant Statue?’

Li Che’s gaze was ice-cold. As expected…

Even after moving into Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop and enjoying Xu Ji’s protection, it still couldn’t entirely shield XiXi from the Lingying Sect’s covetous eyes!

No sooner had the first birthday celebration wrapped up than the Lingying Sect reared its head!

‘Haunting shadows…’

Li Che clenched his fists, his eyes brimming with lethal intent.

But as he recalled the fading figure, his brow furrowed.

‘Since our family moved into Xu Ji Courtyard, the Spirit Infant Statue had never appeared—until today. The only outsiders were the workers and cooks hired from Spring Breeze Tower.’

‘Moreover, those helpers and cooks had long been sent out by Butler Sun and weren’t allowed to linger. That leaves the experienced masters in the courtyard, with formidable strength and sharp senses—yet they failed to detect the Spirit Infant Statue placed right outside my yard…’

Li Che took a deep breath, feeling as though even the wind and snow had grown a few degrees colder.

Within his dark, jet-black eyes, a fierceness flared.

‘In other words… this Lingying Sect follower is most likely a familiar face from Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop!’

There are Lingying Sect members inside Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop!

A chill crept in, seeping through his pores and chilling him to the bone.

‘That possibility… is very high indeed!’

‘I must admit, I was a bit careless… There’s no such thing as absolute safety.’

Shaking his head, Li Che fixed his gaze on the glaring Spirit Infant Wooden Carving on the ground, his expression icy. ‘There are Lingying Sect members in the Wood Carving Shop… Who could it be?’

Faces flashed through his mind, but none could be definitively identified.

After another shake of his head, Li Che scooped up the wooden carving, its furious eyes glaring. Power rushed beneath his skin, and golden light erupted from his fingers. With a resounding ‘crack,’ the carving splintered apart instantly.

‘I’ll get you…’

‘Don’t underestimate a father’s fierce protective streak.’

……

……

‘The Spirit Infant Statue… appeared outside your backyard?’

The next day, after a full night’s sleep, Chen Daba’s eyes suddenly hardened upon hearing Li Che’s words.

‘You suspect there might be Lingying Sect believers within the Wood Carving Shop?’

Chen Daba squinted and said gravely.

Li Che nodded, though he couldn’t pinpoint who it might be.

‘It’s quite possible—something that can occur even outside Xu Ji Courtyard, maybe even in Outer City—is no trivial matter…’

‘Lingying Sect followers have already spread throughout Feilei City. If someone in the shop has become one of them, it’s hard to say for sure.’

‘It’s not that they must be here, but the Lingying Sect… if they want to undermine the rule of Feilei City’s noble families, they need to plant their own. Corrupting beliefs is indeed the most effective method.’

Old Chen said in a low voice, ‘Don’t worry—I’ll look into it. It’s not hard to find a Lingying Sect believer since such affiliations aren’t easily hidden. If I catch them, you’ll be the first to know. You need to watch yourself as well.’

‘With the Third Shopkeeper dispatched out of town to stamp out weird, heretical cultists, the shop has been leaderless—an opportune moment for them to act.’

‘But even if I identify them, I won’t make a move until they lay a finger on little XiXi…’

Old Chen said, frowning.

Li Che acknowledged his words in understanding.

The Lingying Sect had spread throughout Feilei City, and while various factions might detest their followers, they wouldn’t go out of their way to eliminate them.

After all, until trouble erupts, it’s just a matter of religious freedom.

‘But at least if I know who they are, I can sleep easier and keep an eye out.’

Li Che said sincerely.

Old Chen found his reasoning sensible.

……

……

Old Chen said his investigation would take three days.

During those three days, Li Che managed to train more, buoyed by the practice feedback from the Dao Fruit 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】, which invigorated his cultivation.

After three grueling days, his 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 maturity reached 5%. By unleashing the Dao Fruit’s power to full effect, his strength eclipsed even that of perfected Skin Polishing, stacking up to a thousand pounds of force.

But in the end, it was still merely perfected Skin Polishing.

In the Training Ground, Li Che worked up a sweat, his skin glowing red as heat waves and hazy air swirled around him.

He set down the stone lock and lowered his eyelids.

‘I now aim to breakthrough to Meridian Opening, but that requires a specific cultivation method. I can’t seek Xu Beihu, since what I’ve shown him so far is only perfected Skin Polishing…’

A couple of days ago, when Xu Beihu came to inspect his cultivation, Li Che had only displayed his perfected Skin Polishing.

He hadn’t fully revealed the power of his perfected Skin Polishing.

Nevertheless, Xu Beihu was quite astonished—within a year, achieving perfected Skin Polishing with such natural talent was impressive.

Unfortunately, Xu Beihu insisted that both the Meridian Opening Technique and the Inner Strength Technique required fully perfected Skin Polishing.

Li Che, unwilling to reveal the full extent of his perfected Skin Polishing, justified his one-year achievement as exceptional talent—after all, Xu Beihu was only at that level back then.

But to have achieved perfected Skin Polishing in just one year would be utterly outrageous…

‘So I’ll have to search for that Meridian Opening and Inner Strength cultivation method on my own.’

Li Che changed into a fresh set of clothes, his eyes flickering as he pondered.

‘I’ve saved up enough now to check out the market in Outer City. Perhaps they have cultivation manuals for sale, though I’ll need to hide my identity when I go.’

After finishing his training, Li Che returned to his workshop at the Wood Carving Shop.

A few days ago, he had accepted a wood carving commission—to carve a ‘Eight Treasures Exquisite Maitreya Statue’ with profound meaning, and the price? A single Gold Leaf, equivalent to one hundred taels!

This was the highest-paying carving job Li Che had ever received!

Grasping his carving knife, he gently let it glide into the wood, splitting its fibers as sawdust fluttered like petals.

The 【Xiangong】 Dao Fruit pulsed subtly as Li Che focused intently. Everything around him seemed to vanish, replaced by a flood of carving techniques for the Maitreya statue.

Old Chen, with a wine gourd at his waist, solemnly knocked on the intricately carved wooden door of Li Che’s workshop.

‘Old Chen?’

Li Che, holding a file while carving the wood, asked softly.

‘I’ve found something.’ Old Chen grabbed a chair, plopped down, unfastened the gourd’s stopper, took a swig of wine, and said gravely.

‘Who is it?’ Li Che’s gaze turned cold, and his carving halted abruptly.

‘Over at Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop in Outer City, there has been no shortage of wood carvers and their families embracing the Lingying Sect this past year—I was genuinely startled by what I found.’

‘But on little XiXi’s first birthday, among those who attended the celebration, there was only one person secretly aligned with the Lingying Sect.’

Old Chen shook his head, a trace of horror flashing in his eyes.

The expansion of the Lingying Sect… was faster and more terrifying than he had imagined.

Li Che paid little mind to that; his concern was on who was targeting XiXi.

‘Who is it?’

Li Che repeated the question.

Old Chen sighed, ‘But it’s none other than Butler Sun’s second son, Sun Changbiao. Married for four years without a son, desperate for an heir, his wife—bewitched by the Lingying Sect—claimed that worshiping them would bring a child, so Sun Changbiao did just that.’

‘Sun Changbiao?’

Li Che was taken aback, recalling how Butler Sun had once cheerfully shown their family around the courtyard.

Sun Changbiao, his second son and wood carver at Xu Ji’s Wood Carving Shop—a renowned three-blade carver known for his gentle nature—had, shockingly, joined the Lingying Sect.

Moreover, he had set his sights on XiXi.

Li Che took a deep breath.

‘Just what strength does Sun Changbiao have?’ Li Che asked expressionlessly.

Old Chen raised an eyebrow, ‘His talent is average. Three years of Skin Polishing—he only recently completed the Tendon Burst in the first two years and started Inner Strength Technique…’

‘Thanks, Old Chen. I understand.’

A smile broke on Li Che’s face as he thanked Chen Daba.

‘Don’t be impulsive. With your current perfected Skin Polishing, you can’t defeat Sun Changbiao. Besides, without evidence, any action might backfire, and Old Sun’s reputation would suffer.’

Chen Daba reminded him, then took another swig of wine, ‘Now that we know who it is, let’s just keep an eye on him.’

‘As long as XiXi is under my watch, Sun Changbiao doesn’t stand a chance.’

Li Che nodded silently.

Chen Daba said nothing further, got up humming a little tune, and strolled off—not to his own workshop but to Li Che’s courtyard, where he went to play with XiXi.

‘Little stinky XiXi, Chen Grandpa is here!’

Meanwhile…

Li Che methodically continued carving the Eight Treasures Exquisite Maitreya Statue.

After finishing his work for the day.

Li Che rose, donned a conical hat and a black, billowing coat, and glanced at the snowflakes falling from the sky above the courtyard.

‘I told you… never underestimate a father’s unwavering determination to protect his own.’

‘Even after having so many daughters, because she didn’t bear a son, are you planning to trade my daughter for one?’

‘That’s just… beyond reason.’

He reached out and plucked a snowflake.

Li Che’s expression grew increasingly cold. Old Chen had said… just keep an eye on them.

But to Li Che…

Watching and guarding are no match for…

killing them.