Chapter 9: An Ingenious Expert

‘This proves that when it comes to delicious food, women, too, can be irrational and selfish.’ Li Nianfan smirked, amused as he watched the mother and daughter fighting for food.

‘So what if they’re cultivators? They’re conquered by my food anyway! Seems like even cultivators wish they could live my life!’

He slowly picked up a piece of meat and put it into his mouth.

‘Hmph, the texture’s soft and chewy.’ He closed his eyes to indulge in the juicy meat dancing in his mouth. Meanwhile, Xiao Bai served a portion of the leopard thigh to Blackie who happily indulged himself as well.

The meal was eye-opening to the two ladies, completely shattering their world-views as they discovered the existence of such delicious food in this realm! It was not until they could no longer fit any more food into their stomachs that they finally stopped eating, rubbing their tummies, and looking satisfied as they recalled the entire experience.

“Mr. Li, thank you for the meal.” Zhong Xiu wiped her lips as she regained her composure, switching back from a foodie to the elegant lady she was when she first entered. 

Li Nianfan waved his hand. “It’s just roasted meat, nothing too special.”

“Mr. Li, this meat is only available to the Immortals from heaven, right?” Luo Shiyu could not help asking.

Li Nianfan’s lips curled up a little as he shook his head.

The two ladies exchanged glances with a hint of horror.

‘Was that…a look of disdain?’

‘Does he look down on the Immortals?’

‘Or does that mean that even the Immortals have no right to eat his roasted meat…?’

In an instant, their imaginations ran wild as as they looked at Li Nianfan with newfound respect and terror. 

‘This expert seems to be way beyond anyone’s imagination.’

Luo Shiyu looked at Li Nianfan hesitantly, as if there was something on her mind. Not long after, she finally asked in an intimidated yet excited tone, “Mr. Li, you’re an ingenious man. May I ask for a favor from you?”

‘Huh? You—a cultivator—need a favor from me? An ordinary man?’ he thought.

Of course, he would reject it instinctively. He did not want to get involved with the cultivators. After all, he had no idea how powerful they were. What if they killed him without him knowing?

However, he did have a good impression of Luo Shiyu, and it might seem rather rude to reject her right away. Perhaps he could reject her euphemistically?

Luo Shiyu did not catch the change in his expression. She continued cautiously, “Mr. Li, I didn’t mean to lie to you the other day. Actually… I’m the Princess of the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty. My father just became the Emperor, so his throne and reign aren’t as secure. In light of that, he wanted to match me with the son of the Nation Master, a treacherous court officer…”

As she spoke, she kept close track of Li Nianfan’s expression. He did not seem surprised at all, in which she rejoiced secretly for telling the truth. She wanted to conceal her identity, but knowing how ingenious he was, she had no choice but to tell him the truth. 

‘Hmm… It seems that my decision to tell him the truth is right, after all. He must’ve figured it out a long time ago.’

The only reason Li Nianfan appeared calm was that these things happened too often in the drama series he used to watch back in the Mortal Realm. In those 

...dramas, the Princess or the Emperor would dress down as ordinary people to visit the others. He knew Luo Shiyu was not an ordinary woman since their first meeting....

It did not take long for him to put two and two together. In summary, the Holy Emperor had just ascended not long ago. He had no power and the Dynasty was controlled by most of the court officers. One of them, the Nation Master, proposed to match his son with the Princess, but the Holy Emperor had no power nor authority to reject this proposal.

It was the typical boring plot of many drama series of the Mortal Realm. What surprised Li Nianfan was that this was also happening in this Immortal Realm. Indeed, wars were everywhere! 

In the Immortal Realm, the main forces were divided into the Immortal Dynasty and the Cultivating Sect. The Immortal Dynasty was a dynasty led by cultivators who controlled all the cultivating resources in this realm. Even their armies were made up of cultivators. 

While the Cultivating Sect resided in their temples up in the mountains and along rivers with strong Spiritual Qi, the Immortal Dynasty took up vast territories, including towns and cities with mostly ordinary men. In the Immortal Dynasty’s territories, the cultivators coexisted with the ordinary men. 

The ordinary men made up most of the population in this Immortal Realm. There was only one cultivator among a hundred ordinary men and only one ingenious cultivator among a hundred other cultivators. To find the most ingenious of the ingenious was extremely rare.

In other words, the Immortal Dynasty was led by the cultivators who also ruled over the ordinary men in this realm. When one was faced with monsters or evil spirits, the cultivators from the Dynasty would resolve the danger. 

The territory Li Nianfan resided in was under the territory of the Xianlong Immortal Dynasty. 

Luo Shiyu noticed that Li Nianfan had been silent for a while. She begged anxiously, “Please, Mr. Li. You have to help me.”

“And here I was, wondering what could be so serious. Turns out, it’s just a small matter.” Li Nianfan smiled. If her problem concerned fighting and killing, he would have turned her away. However, in these kinds of situations, he could come up with a hundred and eight solutions without even trying.

“Do you really have a solution?” Luo Shiyu’s eyes sparkled as she said excitedly. “Thank you so much!”

Even Zhong Xiu shivered a little as she stared at him in awe. 

Watching their reactions, Li Nianfan could not help but smile to himself. In this Immortal Realm, it seemed like the cultivators only knew how to cultivate. Behind all that, they had such simple and innocent thinking. He said while smiling, “I’ve heard that in the Immortal Dynasty, the Prime Minister’s quite a powerful and arrogant man, too. You could use the Prime Minister to go against the Nation Master.”

The scenario here in the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty was quite similar to a dynasty back in the Mortal Realm he transmigrated from—the Qin Dynasty. When Emperor Qin Shihuang first ascended to his throne, he had no power nor authority as he was held back by his mother and Lu Buwei. In the end, Emperor Qin made the two of them fight against one another while he waited for the right opportunity to take back his authority. 

Zhong Xiu frowned a little. “Mr. Li, although the Prime Minister is slightly inferior to the Nation Master, he is as ill-intentioned as him. He was ready to attack the dynasty anytime. The Holy Emperor did try to get him on our side, but it was little to no help.” 

Zhong Xiu was disappointed hearing this as they had come up with this idea before and it did not work out.

“Well, then it’s up to you,” Li Nianfan said as he turned to look at Luo Shiyu.

“Me?” Luo Shiyu was caught off guard.

Li Nianfan smiled and continued, “Exactly, think about this. Since the Holly Emperor had already announced that he would match the Princess with the son of the Nation Master, what would happen if the Princess seems to get along better with the son of the Prime Minister? What do you think will happen then?”

Luo Shiyu and Zhong Xiu heard a loud buzzing in their ears as they stared at him in awe. They were wise people as they understood his intention not long after.

Brilliant! That was a brilliant idea!

‘Should the Prime Minister, being as ambitious as he is, sense that his son stands a chance with the Princess, he’d definitely want to match his son with the Princess to increase his power and authority. However, this would upset the Nation Master, and thus, the two of them would fight against one another!’

‘As the two of them fight, their power will reduce greatly which allows the Holy Emperor to develop his authority.’

The ladies reasoned in their minds as they stared at Li Nianfan with the utmost awe and respect.

He was indeed an ingenious expert!

Not only were his ‘small tricks’ advanced and other-worldly, and his strength and Qi untraceable, even a casual strategy coming from him could turn a seemingly impossible situation into a winning situation!

It was often said that the experts liked to use the world as their chessboard. As expected, this problem was indeed a small matter to him. 

Impressive, terrifyingly impressive! 

Luo Shiyu flushed red with excitement. She stood up instantly and bowed to Li Nianfan. “Mr. Li, thank you so much!” Her eyes teared with gratitude. She could not believe that the problem that had been giving her sleepless nights and loss of appetite would be solved so easily! 

Zhong Xiu stood up with her, too. “Mr. Li is indeed a wise man. You have my utmost respect. Your words have enlightened us greatly and we will never forget your favor to us. Sorry for taking up your time today.”

“I’m just giving a simple suggestion. You’re being too polite!” Li Nianfan smiled humbly. He was glad that he could help out the Princess of the Ganlong Immortal Dynasty. It was as if he had gained a little more security in this Immortal Realm. 

Soon after, Luo Shiyu and Zhong Xiu left the house. They were excited to return home and start planning their strategy. On their way back, Zhong Xiu could not help feeling impressed and awestruck. Li Nianfan gave her a dreamy feeling. His attitude was calm and humble, and he gave off an aura of a wise man who was able to solve any problem given to him. On top of that was the delicious meal that even the Immortals could not resist. 

She looked at Luo Shiyu sternly and said with a serious tone, “Shiyu, it’s fate that we had the pleasure to come across an expert like Mr. Li. We must do anything to befriend him. When we get back to the palace later, we should pick a precious treasure from the treasure house. Although Mr. Li would not be impressed by any of it, we still have to show him our sincerity.”

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