My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting

When a husband and wife met again after a long separation, naturally the first thing they did was relive old dreams. Yet Li Yuan's body was simply too powerful; for an ordinary woman like Xue Ning, it was more than she could endure. So he lay on the bed, moving with great care, never taking the initiative, letting his wife guide everything.

Only when sweat was streaming down her back did Li Yuan tug her gently into his arms and murmur, "That's enough."

"It's clearly not enough," she whispered, still trying to rally.

"No, it is." He pressed a broad palm to her shoulder and stopped her.

How could she resist his strength? Her shoulders twitched once, twice, then went still beneath his hand.

"I'm sorry," Xue Ning said quietly. She wrapped her long legs around him like a cicada clinging to a tree, determined to fulfil a wife's duty.

"Don't wriggle," Li Yuan whispered, tightening his embrace. Only then did Xue Ning settle.

Silence fell.

Li Yuan's eyes drifted to the gauzy dress hanging from a bamboo rod and then to the shimmering heat outside, cicadas shrilling in the trees. His thoughts wandered.

"Dearest, you should take a few more wives," Xue Ning said softly. "Seventh rank, even sixth rank if you can. More children will only help you."

Although she had taken rejuvenation pills, Li Yuan could feel the frail, illness-ridden soul inside the body in his arms. Tonics and rest kept her going, but only just.

Had she lived pampered behind mansion walls, she might have remained healthy. Instead she had travelled dusty roads, exhausted herself, and single-handedly run an enterprise of daunting size. Sickness was inevitable.

He stroked her hair as one might soothe a kitten, slipping the wooden hairpin from her hair bun.

Moments later her breathing turned long and even. She had been too tired for too long, and Li Yuan's arm was the only safe harbour where she could truly close her eyes.

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For the next month Li Yuan stayed by Xue Ning's side, forbidding any more midnight poring over case files.

He had come with a generous supply of human-skin manacles, and his way of solving problems for her was now brutally simple.

First, he'd find the person at the heart of the trouble. Then, he'd make sure they were worth keeping alive. Finally, he'd snap on the manacles and ensure their loyalty..

Issues that had plagued Xue Ning melted away. Skirting a problem and eliminating the person who caused it was inelegant, yes, and it did burn through the precious human-skin manacles. But it also gave her a tighter, longer-lasting grip on power.

Everything was proceeding smoothly until one day Li Yuan landed, as routine, in a certain courtyard, ready to put the manacles on that day's target.

The target was a senior executive of the Flying Nimbus Group. She was a trusted confidante of Ying Mei'er, who'd been brought over from the Windfall Group. Now, she was an indispensable agent for Xue Ning. Many of Xue Ning's affairs, some highly sensitive, passed through this woman's hands. So, Li Yuan deemed her too critical to leave unchecked.

The cuffing itself was effortless. The aftermath was anything but.

"Ahhhh!" The executive shrieked, a raw, hysterical sound. Her eyes rolled back, then spun wildly, then stared vacantly; drool spilled unchecked down her chin while incoherent babble poured from her mouth. It was the unmistakable madness the human-skin manacles could induce, but only under one condition.

Li Yuan remembered Yu Chaojin, who'd been driven insane because a second pair of human-skin manacles had been used on him. When two similar ghost items clashed, their Yin energies collided, and the human mind shattered in between.

It was clear. Someoneelse had already bound this executive.

Ever since Yan Yu left Gemhill County two years ago, new pairs of human-skin manacles were almost impossible to find. The Lotus Cult would never squander such a rare treasure on a mere guild executive...unless they possessed some other item that worked the same way, broadening the pool of people they could control.

A chill climbed up Li Yuan's spine.

The enemy had been beside his wife all this time, siphoning off her secrets.

In that instant, Li Yuan realized how desperately short of capable people he was. If he had even a single sixth rank martial artist under his command, items like this would've been useless. However, he had none.

Li Yuan ignored the executive's screams. Instead, he drifted onto a nearby rooftop, melted into the shadows, and used his Concealment and Hidden Breath skills. From that darkness he extended his senses, watching to seewhotook notice of the executive's sudden madness.

If one spy had wormed into the Flying Nimbus Group, there was almost certainly more than one.

It seems like they're trying to work up their way to Xue Ning. If I had come any later...Li Yuan gritted his teeth.

Fortunately, Xue Ning rarely left her residence. She was naturally cautious and always kept several copper pendants on her at all times. That alone kept her safe. But if she were ever caught alone, they'd seize the chance, and when they struck, they'd reveal themselves.

People soon arrived to investigate the commotion. Li Yuan memorized every face. None showed the tell-taleequipment listthat marked an undying husk, so for the moment he found nothing useful.

He slipped back to Xue Ning and reported what had happened. She went pale.

"Hide for now," Li Yuan said. "I'll go in your place."

She froze for half a heartbeat, then under his intentions. he meant tolurethe enemy out. The executive's outburst had drawn a crowd; ifXue Ningappeared alone and made herself an easy target, the real plotters would not be able to resist. But Li Yuan refused to put her at risk, so he would impersonate her instead.

"Be careful," she whispered.

Li Yuan opened a rouge compact, a ghostly cosmetic kit that could change even gender.

In a blink, the mirror reflected two Xue Nings.

The disguise felt...fragile. In theory, ever since he advanced to fifth rank, he should be unable to use such items any more. Only his uniqueequipment boxlet him sustain it for a while.

No time to dwell, Li Yuan headed for the scene and deliberately broke away from the crowd.

Almost at once, he sensed someone tailing him. A glance at the man showed eighth rank combat power and an equipment list glimmering beside it.

「Equipment 1: Bronze Deer-Pattern Mirror

Equipment 2: Hemp-Rope Sack

Equipment 3: Soup」

The mirror and sack were common ghost street marketplace trinkets; theSoup, though, was bizarre.

Li Yuan feigned panic, quickened his pace, and rounded a corner. The pursuer matched him step for step. They collided.

The man, dressed as a guard, bared his teeth. "Madam, you must be exhausted."

His hand shot out. Li Yuan reversed the grip, locked his wrist, and snapped on a pair of human-skin manacles. The guard convulsed like a sieve, tears, snot, and saliva spraying everywhere while meaningless babble spilled from his lips.

The guard had gone mad.

The man was an undying husk, but he'd already been enslaved by some other ghost item.

Li Yuan searched him, confiscated his three ghost items, and slid them into his own equipment box. He couldn't tell what these items did, but he was certain Yan Yu would know.

When Xue Ning heard the news her face drained of color.

"Even the guards? Do we have to give up? We don't even know how many spies are left."

"Give up what?" Li Yuan said calmly. "If they won't let us play, thenno onegets to play."

His logic was crystal-clear. Yes, with enemy agents everywhere, the Flying Nimbus Group could no longer conducttargetedinvestigations. Any specific inquiry would tip their hand to the Lotus Cult. So they would investigate everything. With no single focus, the enemy could learn nothing useful.

The other side had seeded spies here with ghost items. Fine, he would seed just as many among them.You want to see what I'm looking into? No problem. I just won't look into anything. Instead, I'll watch you and make trouble for you.

That, in a nutshell, was Li Yuan's way of turning the tables.