Volume Two: Anbei Group Chapter Twenty-Seven: Should I Go Up and Add Him as a Friend?

The days passed uneventfully, and Li Yu had reverted to his reclusive habits, spending most of his time in the other world. Few people bothered him anymore. Most within the Qing clan now knew that an outsider held a coveted seed position in the family; though a handful grumbled, none could confront Li Yu directly.

A section by the lakeshore had been cordoned off, strictly off-limits to most. Li Yu rarely ventured out, for martial cultivation frowned upon greed for too many techniques; after mastering one or two forms each of hand-to-hand combat, lightness skill, and weapons, he abstained from learning more. Thus, most of his days were spent near the lake—fishing when weary, his life leisurely and content.

"Young master, your cultivation grows ever deeper! Your progress in martial arts is astonishing!" Xiao Cui's lips parted in awe, her gaze fixed on the water’s surface.

At that moment, Li Yu stood atop an emergent aquatic plant. The plant, no larger than a palm and with stems as slender as fingers, trembled beneath his weight yet held firm. It was not the strength of the plant, but Li Yu’s mastery of weightlessness that made this possible.

"This feeling is wonderful!" Li Yu exclaimed, and with a thought, his body drifted forward. Then he dashed straight across the water’s surface—an act reminiscent of the lightness skills seen on television, yet this time, Li Yu himself performed it with his own body.

He alighted on a long corridor built over the lake, strolling toward the pavilion. Xiao Cui, trailing behind, stared at the path—her lips parted in astonishment. Despite his passage, not a single drop of water marred the wooden planks.

Elsewhere, in a palace ringed by other buildings, Qing Heng—lord of the prefecture—was buried in official business, spending most of the year working here.

"Excellent. Anqi has broken through to the seventh rank, and is not far from the sixth!" Qing Heng put away his documents with a satisfied nod.

In his estimation, Qing Anqi was all but certain to reach the third rank—a tremendous boon to the Qing clan. Another report detailed Li Yu's recent actions and evaluations from various personnel.

"Seventh rank already?" Qing Heng was taken aback. If memory served, Li Yu had never left the premises, a fact corroborated by the report. Relying solely on the clan's resources, he had reached such heights.

"What an extraordinary spirit energy conversion rate!" Qing Heng quickly calculated the absorption efficiency based on the resources provided, his eyes narrowing at the near-perfect figures. After a long pause, he sighed, "If only he were a true son of our clan."

"Qing Yi, if I recall correctly, the martial contest to select candidates for the upcoming Hundred Families Assembly is about to begin?" Qing Heng tapped his fingers. "Replace one of the participants with Li Yu. Better yet, have all seed candidates take part."

"Understood," came the reply from Qing Yi, hidden in the shadows.

...

Setting his puppet to absorb spirit power, Li Yu, at leisure, shifted his consciousness back to Blue Star.

He had barely sat down when his phone lit up.

"Hey Yu, could you buy me some stuff? I need it, but it’s fine if you’re busy," came a message from Huang Xiu, accompanied by a densely packed screenshot of two or three dozen items.

"Got it, I’m on my way!" Li Yu replied, fingers tapping rapidly on the screen. He considered that the clothes provided by the Qing clan closely resembled ancient garments from Blue Star, and since Hanfu was currently popular in Hua Xia, he decided not to change—he would simply go out dressed as he was.

He hailed a cab to the general store.

The items on Huang Xiu’s list were varied, and Li Yu spent considerable effort, visiting several shops to gather most of them, but a few proved elusive.

"You could try the shopping mall—lots of stores there!" suggested the helpful taxi driver.

"Let’s go there, then," Li Yu mused, finding the idea reasonable. He resolved to try the mall one last time; if he still couldn’t find the remaining items, he’d let Huang Xiu sort it out herself, perhaps by having her classmates buy extra for her.

With a plan in mind, Li Yu closed his eyes for a brief rest.

When they arrived, he paid and got out, only to be momentarily stunned. The place was teeming with men and women in Hanfu; were it not for the modern architecture, he would have suspected he’d traveled back to an ancient dynasty.

"Quick and efficient—get the items and get out," Li Yu muttered to himself, then melted into the crowd, heading into the mall.

"Look, Ling, a handsome guy!" A girl in fiery red sleeves tugged her friend’s hand in delight, pointing at Li Yu’s retreating figure.

Li Yu was oblivious, but behind him was a man in armor who, feeling the gaze, turned and smiled at the two girls.

"Are you kidding me?" Ling frowned—not because the man was unattractive, but because of the vast age gap; she reckoned their combined ages didn’t match his.

"When did you start liking older men?" she teased suspiciously.

"I meant the one in front of him—the guy was just blocking my view!" The girl in red blushed, hastily clarifying.

"The one in front is a woman—where’s this handsome guy you’re talking about?"

"...He was just there..."

Li Yu, unaware of the commotion behind him, employed his lightness skill to slip easily through the crowd. His movements were so deft and unobtrusive that few noticed someone had passed before them.

"Excuse me, do you have this?" Li Yu compiled the remaining unpurchased items into a document and inquired at each store.

"Sorry, we don’t carry that."

"We have this one item, though."

"I’ll take a few, thank you."

After visiting many shops, Li Yu finally gathered everything. Ironically, the last store had every item from Huang Xiu’s list.

"At least it’s all done," Li Yu sighed, shaking his head. It had not been easy.

"Ling, look! There’s the handsome guy I mentioned!" The girl in red sleeves squealed, spotting Li Yu upstairs. She was ecstatic—finally, her reputation was vindicated. Downstairs, Ling had searched through the crowd twice and failed to see Li Yu, nearly giving up. When she went upstairs due to the packed restrooms, she happened upon him by chance.

Ling was astonished. "There really is a handsome guy!"

From her vantage, she caught a clear glimpse of Li Yu’s profile.

Thanks to three rounds of cleansing elixir acquired from daily check-ins, Li Yu’s physical attributes had been greatly enhanced, and more importantly, he had become noticeably more handsome. His Qing clan attire, tailored to fit, not only aided his martial practice but also complemented his appearance.

"Should we go up and ask for his contact?" her friend suggested, waggling her eyebrows.