Li Guanqi raised his hand and drew the scattered jade slips into his palm. With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked upstairs toward Yuan Hongyi’s study.

After only two steps, he stopped. He turned around and looked at Yuan Hongyi with a smile. “Tower Master Yuan must be busy with official duties. I’ll just take these back and read them myself.”

Yuan Hongyi let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried Li Guanqi would insist on reading the jade slips immediately, so he was pleased that Li Guanqi opted to take them away instead. “Haha, good, good! If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me.”

Li Guanqi was a walking disaster. All Yuan Hongyi wanted was to send him on his way before he could stir up trouble in his territory.

A strange smile appeared at the corner of Li Guanqi’s lips. To Yuan Hongyi, it was deeply unsettling. “Don’t worry. If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll definitely ask you.”

Li Guanqi flashed out of the Yellow Tower. Naturally, his departure drew watchful eyes from every direction. He had been inside only briefly before leaving, sparking a flurry of speculation.

But more importantly, there were hundreds of jade slips floating behind him. It looked as if Yuan Hongyi had prepared a massive amount of information for him. In reality, Yuan Hongyi had only given him three. The rest were blank jade slips, map records, and communication jade slips belonging to Lu Kangnian, Ye Feng, and others. Li Guanqi had gathered them all to create the appearance of bulk.

He even muttered with exaggerated frustration, “Sigh... when am I supposed to finish reading all of this? I’ll have to call Old Yuan over later for a proper discussion...”

His voice was neither loud nor quiet, just clear enough for those nearby to hear. With that, Li Guanqi flickered and vanished.

By the time he returned to his courtyard, everything he had said and done had reached the others.

Afraid of being spied on, Yuan Hongyi sealed the entire Yellow Tower within a barrier. Ironically, this prevented anyone inside from sending messages out, and any outside information from getting in.

He sat in his study, gulping spirit tea, brow furrowed. Who told Li Guanqi my aura had disappeared inside the Yellow Tower? Who else knew about it?

While Yuan Hongyi racked his brain, the jade communication slips Jiang Yi had sent him were nearly bursting with messages.

Outside the Yellow Tower, the barrier shimmered repeatedly. Ever since Li Guanqi’s departure, Jiang Yi had been unable to contact Yuan Hongyi. Furious, Jiang Yi crushed Yuan Hongyi’s communication jade slip and cursed.

Back in his courtyard, Li Guanqi picked up the Pavilion Master jade token and smiled. “Tower Master Yuan, the contents of these jade slips are a bit too obscure. Why don’t you come over and explain them to me?”

Buzz!

The Pavilion Master jade token ignored the Yellow Tower’s barrier entirely. Li Guanqi’s voice rang directly in Yuan Hongyi’s ears. Yuan Hongyi’s heart pounded. Just moments ago, he had told Li Guanqi to ask if anything was unclear. He almost wanted to slap himself. Left with no other choice, he stood up and vanished from the study. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He arrived outside Li Guanqi’s courtyard and bowed respectfully. “Yuan Hongyi greets the Pavilion Master.”

Buzz!

The courtyard barrier opened.

Li Guanqi smiled warmly. “Brother Yuan, come in.”

He was already at Yuan Hongyi’s side as he spoke, personally ushering him inside.

The moment the barrier closed, Li Guanqi’s divine consciousness rippled outward. A cold smile flashed across his face. “Continue monitoring the others. Also, find information on these few people for me.”

Whoosh.

A faint ripple passed by.

Li Guanqi walked into the courtyard with an unchanged expression. Yuan Hongyi stared nervously at the jade slips on the table. He knew very well what was inside those three jade slips: a rough overview of the Yellow Tower. Almost nothing substantial.

“Uh... Pavilion Master, if you have any questions, just ask. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Li Guanqi smiled. Instead of asking anything, he put the three jade slips away and pulled out a jar of strong liquor, setting it on the table. “Eh! Questions? What questions? I’m new here and I’ll be relying on you from now on, so I just wanted to share a drink and get to know each other.”

Yuan Hongyi looked at Li Guanqi skeptically. When he saw that Li Guanqi really was just drinking, he relaxed. Though still perplexed, he joined in and drank freely. He had made up his mind: if he drank himself unconscious, Li Guanqi wouldn’t be able to ask him anything.

What Yuan Hongyi didn’t know was that the moment he left the Yellow Tower and entered Li Guanqi’s courtyard, the other three tower masters had exploded in outrage.

Jiang Han slammed his fist onto the table, sending the teacups rattling. “Hmph! So the first traitor turns out to be that old fox Yuan Hongyi! I didn’t expect that from him!”

“Hundreds of jade slips, Father! He’s practically handing over the Yellow Tower’s entire foundation! And now he’s openly meeting with Li Guanqi in private! It’s already been an hour, and he still hasn’t come out!”

Jiang Yi’s expression was grim. He tucked his hands into his sleeves and calculated in silence, his eyes gleaming faintly as he stared blankly at the white jade floor tiles. He didn’t believe Yuan Hongyi was stupid enough to openly take Li Guanqi’s side, but Jiang Yi had been unable to contact him from the very beginning.

“I thought Tu Yongsi was the one the old Pavilion Master left behind to guard the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. But Li Guanqi appeared out of nowhere and ‌joined Ji Yuchuan for drinks. And now he’s mixed up with Yuan Hongyi!”

The old man’s voice dropped low. “Li Guanqi... That kid may be far smarter than any of us expected.”

He clasped his sleeves, shoulders slightly raised, his face turning cold. “If that’s the case... I’ll play along. Let’s see whether you, the outsider, or I, on my own ground, come out on top.”

With that, he pulled out a silver scroll and wrote several orders on it.

On the top floor of the Red Tower, Tu Yongsi sat at his desk, reading a jade slip. A faint smile appeared on his lips. His head was lowered, hiding his expression. Only soft murmurs escaped his lips.

Elsewhere, Ji Yuchuan sat cross-legged in the center of a formation array. A slight smile curved his lips.

Everyone has stepped onto the chessboard. In that case, I’ll play as well. Old Yuan, Old Yuan... He’s not just for show. He’s not nearly as easy to deal with as people think.”