After Cultivating the Wrong Strong, Pitiful, and Beautiful Demonic Lord - Chapter 2

Aside from that pristine white outfit, Li Jian was truly struck dumbfounded by the man’s stunning appearance.

He looked young, around sixteen or seventeen years old. His lowered gaze and pale, thin lips were slightly pressed together in hesitation, as if he were debating whether or not he should go inside.

His dark hair was simply tied up, and a few strands blew loose in the breeze, brushing across his face and making his skin look all the fairer.

The youth was still holding something handed to him by someone else presumably a gift brought for the visit. While he was hesitating, a hand reached out from ahead, and he automatically followed along, disappearing from sight in an instant.

Li Jian thought to himself: a white-clad gentleman, ethereal as an immortal, with a breathtaking face. Every single detail matched perfectly! Wasn’t this precisely the person he was looking for?

There was no mistake; this was definitely him.

Li Jian hadn’t expected to find his target so smoothly. That useless system had dared to look down on him, so he was determined to put in some effort this time and completely slap the system across the face.

Following the direction where the youth had vanished, Li Jian quickened his pace. Qi Hong, the head of the Qi family, was standing before the courtyard entrance, smiling and welcoming guests from all directions. Seeing Li Jian approach alone, Old Master Qi casually asked:

“Young master, where might you be coming from?”

Li Jian felt a slight jolt in his chest, thinking to himself: Could it be that they won’t let me in?

If he really wasn’t allowed entry, then he wouldn’t even be able to complete a single task, completely blowing his chance to prove himself.

Despite feeling nervous inside, Li Jian maintained a smile and cupped his hands in greeting toward Old Master Qi: “Greetings, Old Master Qi. I am Li Jian, merely a wandering rogue cultivator passing through this area. Hearing that Old Master Qi has newly acquired an immortal sect’s divine statue, I felt deeply curious, and thus came specifically to pay a visit.”

Upon hearing that he was a cultivator, Old Master Qi immediately beamed and returned the courtesy.

“All who arrive are guests, and since Your Excellency is a cultivator, you are naturally an honored guest of the Qi family.”

Nowadays, immortal sects flourished, and there was even the legendary Immortal Lord Shiyuan of Mount Donglu reigning supreme above the nine heavens. Mortals universally regarded practitioners of the Dao as role models, viewing the Immortal Lord of Mount Donglu as a deity.

The descending immortal Li Jian was searching for was none other than Immortal Lord Shiyuan, one of the twin immortals of Mount Donglu.

Li Jian’s claim of being a rogue cultivator wasn’t entirely false; the original owner of this body had indeed been a disciple of a mortal sect, boasting a fairly high level of cultivation. Judging by his demeanor, he held a high status and was a person of refined breeding. However, since he had descended the mountain alone, he naturally couldn’t just blurt out his sect’s name—that was a rule of the sects.

“Speaking of which, since you are a follower of the Dao, you should certainly recognize this divine statue I have recently acquired,” Old Master Qi said mysteriously, further piquing Li Jian’s curiosity.

If even he recognized it, then it must surely belong to someone from the immortal sects.

Li Jian slanted his gaze and asked, “May I ask which ascended Immortal Lord of the immortal sects it is?”

Hearing him phrase it like that, Old Master Qi figured this person was clever and had already guessed seven or eight parts of it, though the exact title wasn’t so easily guessed.

“Your Excellency will know shortly.”

With a vague, noncommittal reply, Old Master Qi instructed someone to lead Li Jian inside, specifically giving orders to arrange a premium seat for him and telling them not to show any disrespect to the immortal elder.

After Li Jian left, a servant behind him loudly announced: “Master, Young Master Song Zhiyuan of the Song family has come to pay a visit.”

“Hurry and invite him in.”

The guiding servant led Li Jian to his seat and was just about to have someone pour him tea when Li Jian, still preoccupied with the white-clad youth he had glimpsed earlier and intending to search for him, waved his hand in polite refusal.

The courtyard seats were bustling with activity. Every young master looked high-spirited, adorned in gold and jade, putting on quite an impressive display. Hearing the polite pleasantries exchanged among them, Li Jian wove through the crowd, intending to track down that unique white-clad gentleman.

Walking past the corridor behind the courtyard, the surroundings grew quiet with very few people passing by, save for an approaching chill of autumn. Li Jian figured he must have taken a wrong turn and accidentally wandered into the Qi family’s back courtyard.

Based on what he had seen at the entrance, that white-clad youth ought to be a guest, and since he was carrying a congratulatory gift, he should naturally still be in the front courtyard.

With this thought in mind, Li Jian turned to retrace his steps along the corridor when he heard a haughty, arrogant youth’s voice drifting up from beneath the eaves.

“Don’t let your head swell just because I called you plump—who do you think you are, daring to strut around the front courtyard in that outfit? What, are you dying to announce to the entire world that you’re a member of the Qi family?”

“I am not.”

“You’re not? I know you better than that… You must have seen today’s grand occasion and purposely changed into this new outfit so people would look at you, hoping you might stumble into some stroke of fortune or opportunity. But trash is trash after all; even if you dress in a dragon robe, you still won’t look like a crown prince!”

Li Jian half-concealed himself behind a clump of bushes, sticking his head out to look. Under the corridor, two young men stood facing each other.

The speaker looked younger, with a childish face and an exceptionally arrogant tone, as if every word he uttered implied the entire world should belong to his family.

As for the person standing opposite him, it was precisely the white-clad youth Li Jian had spotted at the front gate.

The youth was quite tall, easily half a head taller than the other person. His white robes fluttered in the wind, giving him a remarkably graceful silhouette. However, his gaze remained lowered, his expression tense, forming a stark contrast with the golden-robed young master whose nose was pointed up at the sky.

The youth was still clutching a gift box in his hands. His knuckles were clenched so tightly around it that his fingertips had turned white, yet he didn’t utter a single word in rebuttal.

Li Jian recognized him now: that nose-in-the-air, golden-robed young master was none other than Qi Jingyao, the only son of the Qi family. When he was being escorted in earlier, he had heard people whispering about him.

Word had it that this young master of the Qi family possessed an unbridled temperament and was a notoriously pampered spendthrift in Yangyang City. While he wasn’t so detestable that everyone avoided him, most people preferred not to cross paths with him.

Yet Old Master Qi himself was known as a kind and benevolent man; heaven only knew how he had managed to raise such an insufferable son.

The white-clad youth refused to speak, but Qi Jingyao refused to let him off. He simply couldn’t stand this person’s look of endurance and haughty detachment, as if everyone owed him something.

Especially that white robe his father had specifically had it made for Xuan朗 for today’s grand banquet. Even though he had one too, he simply didn’t want Xuan Lang wearing it outside and drawing attention, as it was an eyesore to him.

Qi Jingyao sneered, “Hurry up and take that outfit off for me, and change back into what you’re supposed to wear. Don’t think that just because my father is slightly nice to you, you’re actually the Qi family’s esteemed cousin.”

Seeing that Xuan Lang didn’t move, Qi Jingyao strolled leisurely forward until he was standing face-to-face with him.

“Xuan Lang, let me tell you this: you will never share the Qi family name, and don’t ever dream of riding on the Qi family’s coattails to become some damn cultivator like your good-for-nothing parents. Even if someone gets an opportunity like that, it will definitely be me, and never you—understand?”

Hearing mention of his parents, the youth called Xuan Lang took a deep breath, his palms clenching even tighter.

“I said, I have no such intentions.”

His voice was low, sounding as though he were speaking to Qi Jingyao, yet equally as if he were reassuring himself that he didn’t, and never would.

Qi Jingyao let out a scoff. “I don’t care whether you do or not. Either way, y-o-u, a-r-e, u-n-w-o-r-t-h-y.”

He pronounced every single word with deliberate slowness, his posture arrogant and entirely dismissive of Xuan Lang. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time he had bullied him like this.

Watching the fellow’s overbearing attitude, Li Jian clenched his fists. Unable to hold back any longer, he stepped right out from under the corridor, strode forward, and pulled Xuan Lang behind him, speaking with his hands clasped behind his back:

“Yet I happen to think your aptitude isn’t even half as good as his.”

“What did you say?”

Qi Jingyao glared at him in disbelief, clearly furious at Li Jian for suddenly cutting in.

Li Jian repeated with a smile: “I said, I refuse to believe any blind immortal sect would ever accept you as a disciple. That would truly be the misfortune of eight lifetimes.”

They were, after all, a sect of immortal cultivators whose duty was to bless the common people and embrace the world in their hearts—how could just anyone enter? In the mortal world, there were tens of thousands of talented youths, and those who successfully entered an immortal sect possessed far more than just good natural aptitude.

But this fellow before him was fundamentally unqualified.

Refusing to believe someone would dare speak to him this way, Qi Jingyao pointed a finger at him: “And who the hell are you, sticking your nose into other people’s business in the Qi family manor? Do you even know what the consequences are?”

“I’m merely a wandering rogue cultivator who cannot stand to watch someone throw their weight around to bully others.”

Li Jian’s features were naturally cool and refined, with narrow, upturned eyes and a pale gaze. As he smiled slightly, the expression didn’t quite reach his eyes, carrying instead a casual, effortless profundity.

His voice was clear and resonant, sounding like bubbling mountain springs or rumbling thunder, striking the ears like an indisputable axiom.

Hearing this, Xuan Lang subconsciously lifted his gaze to look at him. Standing right beside him, he could only see the man’s clean, slender jawline, with the daylight casting a soft shadow of long eyelashes over his cheek.

Xuan Lang merely glanced at him once before hurriedly lowering his gaze, not daring to look a second time.

But Qi Jingyao had been spoiled rotten all his life. Failing to catch the underlying threat in Li Jian’s words, he thrust his chin out and angrily demanded: “What did you say? Are you calling me a dog?!”

Only dogs relied on other people’s power to bully others; wasn’t this fellow blatantly insulting him?

Young Master Qi took great exception to this! In all his years, no one had ever dared to hurl insults right to his face!

“I certainly didn’t say that.”

At that, Li Jian suddenly turned amiable, shrugging his shoulders. “However, if Young Master insists on thinking so, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“You…”

Blazing with fury, Qi Jingyao looked ready to summon guards to deal with Li Jian on the spot.

Seeing that the man hadn’t moved an inch and wondering if he could handle Qi Jingyao, Xuan Lang stepped out from the side.

“Young Master Qi, the banquet is about to begin, and Old Master Qi is still waiting for you in the front courtyard.”

Hearing this, Qi Jingyao actually halted his movements. Still seething with unresolved anger, he flicked his long sleeve and pointed at Li Jian. “Since you dare speak to me like this, state your name! I’m going straight to my father, and I promise I won’t let you off easily!”

Li Jian nodded. “I don’t change my name when I sit or walk; I am Li Jian. I await Young Master Qi’s honorable arrival.”

It was the notorious spendthrift of Yangyang City, yet for the first time, someone had talked back to him like this. Qi Jingyao couldn’t swallow his anger, but today was the Qi family’s grand banquet, and Old Master Qi had explicitly warned him beforehand that there would be many distinguished guests present, forbidding anyone from acting recklessly or causing trouble lest they become a laughingstock.

Remembering his father’s words, Qi Jingyao glared viciously at the two of them. “You two, just you wait.”

A servant stood waiting at a distance behind them. Catching a glance from Qi Jingyao, the servant immediately trotted over, snatched the gift box right out of Xuan Lang’s hands, and then turned to swagger off in the wake of Qi Jingyao.

“Just wait!”

The servant parroted the sentiment like a trained lackey, swaggering away just as arrogantly. Li Jian couldn’t help laughing out loud at the unexpected sight truly a case of a dog acting fierce on its master’s authority.

Xuan Lang stood frozen in place, utterly at a loss. With his gift box snatched away, his hands could only grip his sleeves in bewilderment as he kept his head lowered, still not daring to look at Li Jian.

“Thank you, Young Master, for your righteous words. But he was right, I did overstep my boundaries. There was no need for Young Master to offend Young Master Qi on my account.”

The youth’s lowered head carried a touch of desolation. That simple white robe fluttered in the wind, making his frame look all the more fragile. Clearly, it was just a plain, ordinary garment, yet to him, even wearing it felt like an unforgivable act of overreaching.

Xuan Lang nodded and turned to leave, intending to go back and change out of these clothes into the ones he was actually supposed to wear.

Behind him, that clear, bright voice rang out once more: “You don’t need to pay attention to what other people say. Besides, you look great whatever you wear looks good on you.”