LAVW – Chapter 6 A Fateful Bond

Shi Qian was mentally bleeding.

The words weren’t particularly hurtful, but the insult was extreme.

Was being weak his choice?

This Totoro-like beast body was born at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

By the time it reached five years old, its appearance had only become more complete, but its strength hadn’t changed at all.

Even more ridiculously, its cultivation hadn’t advanced in the slightest.

With a mother who was ruthless enough to throw her child out for training, it was natural that she would enforce cultivation. She wasn’t an unambitious beast. But the problem was that whenever Shi Qian’s original little brother body absorbed spiritual energy, his meridians would ache due to the intense concentration of energy.

Already frail, suffering extreme pain while cultivating, he dared not recklessly push forward, leaving his cultivation stagnant.

But 1958 had once told him—this beast body possessed an extremely pure royal bloodline.

So Shi Qian’s problem might be the same as Long Ye’s—his bloodline was too powerful, while his physical aptitude couldn’t keep up, causing his meridians to become blocked and making cultivation painful.

How could a true Long Aotian (overpowered protagonist) have poor talent?

Long Ye, a man with dragon blood, was a real Long Aotian. He had simply encountered an obstacle he hadn’t realized yet. Once he overcame it, he would undoubtedly rise to greatness.

Shi Qian reassured himself in the same way—one day, he too would become an awe-inspiring powerhouse.

Then, he silently made a vow in his heart:

Once Aotian grows stronger, he’s definitely going to beat this guy up!

But ironically, because of this bizarre “weakness,” the Golden Core cultivator lost interest in probing further. He decided to let them go, retracting his spiritual energy.

Feeling the pressure withdraw, Long Ye lowered his head and said, “Thank you, Senior.”

His tone was extremely respectful and sincere.

Shi Qian was surprised.

Aotian… actually knew how to endure humiliation when necessary?

But it was a smart choice.

What’s the harm in lying low? Staying alive was the most important thing.

The Golden Core cultivator glanced at him, a flicker of emotion crossing his eyes before he dismissed the thought. Looking at this kid’s pathetic cultivation level, he lost all interest.

He reached into his robes, pulled out a pill bottle, and casually tossed it to Long Ye.

Then, he rode his sword and flew away, his distant voice lingering in the air:

“Leave quickly. Do not linger here for too long.”

Long Ye held the pill bottle and turned to leave in another direction.

Once they had traveled a safe distance, Shi Qian finally opened his eyes, sat up, and exhaled a long breath.

Long Ye reached out and patted his head. “Scared? You better remember what I told you —otherwise, you’ll face something even scarier than this.”

As soon as they met, Long Ye reminded Shi Qian twice—first, to avoid getting too close to people, and second, to always keep his storage space hidden. Truly a worrisome young man.

But every word was useful, spoken for his own good.

Shi Qian sensibly nodded in agreement.

After taking a short rest, he resumed using his escape technique to carry Long Ye farther away, ensuring they distanced themselves completely from those pursuers.

Long Ye took the opportunity to ask about the Five Elements Escape Technique. Shi Qian gestured for a long time, explaining that it could only be learned after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Hearing this, the same young man who had remained calm when facing a Golden Core cultivator now looked utterly dejected.

“I’m seventeen this year. They say I started at five, but in reality, I began cultivating at three…”

As they walked along a deserted path, Long Ye spoke softly about his past, sighing. “Even now, I’m only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. By the time I reach Foundation Establishment, I’ll probably be in my thirties or forties.”

Shi Qian felt a pang of sympathy.

Starting cultivation at three years old? The competition in the cultivation world was brutal.

People only ever talk about those who soar to success and amaze the world, but who really knows what struggles they endured before that moment?

Just like Shi Qian himself—before, his impression of Long Aotian (the typical overpowered protagonist) was nothing more than showing off and slapping faces, with ridiculously powerful allies. A shallow, one-dimensional idea.

But now, hearing the quiet frustration in Long Ye’s voice, Shi Qian realized—this was a real person in front of him.

Not a clichéd, arrogant protagonist, but Long Ye.

Shi Qian climbed onto Long Ye’s shoulder and patted him reassuringly. “Squeak squeak!”

Great talents always face hardships; spoiled heirs rarely accomplish great things.

Don’t be discouraged, brother! We’re about to take off!

Long Ye still couldn’t understand mouse chatter, but he could feel Shi Qian climbing up and down, patting him solemnly on the shoulder in comfort.

The young man’s tone suddenly changed. “Well, there’s no need to worry now. After all, I have you, Xiao Qian.”

The setting sun cast a golden glow, making the figure of the boy carrying a medicine basket appear even more upright and determined.

Long Ye asked curiously, “Xiao Qian, are you a Treasure-Seeking Mouse? I’ve read about them in books, but they didn’t look as good as you do.”

Of course!

Shi Qian thought to himself—he was a specially customized super-cute version from the Transmigration Bureau!

Originally, he had planned to be both adorable and powerful, combining two advantages in one. Unfortunately, only half of that grand plan had come to fruition so far.

“And as far as I know, other Treasure-Seeking Mice find treasures by sniffing them out,” Long Ye continued earnestly, assuming that he, coming from a small place, simply lacked knowledge. “I’ve never heard of one like you before.”

Shi Qian nearly tripped.

He wanted to apologize in advance—future descriptions and explanations about Treasure-Seeking Mice were probably going to get a lot… weirder.

But in the grand scheme of saving the world, what was this little issue? Wasn’t he just playing the long game, staying by Long Ye’s side to complete his mission? Surely, Long Ye—a great guy—wouldn’t hold it against him.

Shi Qian took a deep breath and philosophically pointed toward a nearby tree.

Long Ye curiously walked over.

He watched as Shi Qian plucked a leaf and handed it to him.

Long Ye took it, looking puzzled.

Shi Qian plucked another leaf and gestured for him to compare the two.

Long Ye said, “This one’s bigger.”

Shi Qian glared at him.

Long Ye had no choice but to think harder. “The first one was picked from a lower branch, the second one from a higher branch. So, in life, one must—”

Plop.

Shi Qian plucked a handful of leaves, threw them all at Long Ye, then picked up a single leaf and pressed it against his chest.

He swept a disdainful, aloof gaze over the other leaves.

“Oh! Xiao Qian is special! Different from other Treasure-Seeking Mice!” Long Ye felt like he finally understood.

Shi Qian had a headache.

What he was trying to say was: No two leaves in the world are exactly the same.

This kind of timeless philosophical truth clearly wasn’t something just anyone could grasp.

With his head still aching, Shi Qian lifted it again.

He changed tactics—holding onto a single leaf in his paw, he then asked Long Ye for another one.

But every time Long Ye picked a leaf, it was never the one Shi Qian wanted.

Because in this world, there were no two identical leaves.

Now it was Long Ye’s turn to have a headache.

“This one doesn’t look very nice.”

“This one’s from the top of the tree—it’s red.”

“This one looks almost the same as yours.”

“…”

“Xiao Qian, what exactly are you looking for? How about we come back and pick another next time?” Seeing that it was getting late, Long Ye tried to brush the matter aside.

Shi Qian shook his head frantically and prepared to cling to the tree.

There was no next time. A fundamental question like this had to be settled now.

After nearly stripping the tree bare, the boy finally came to a painful realization: “You’re trying to say that no two leaves are the same, right? Just like you and other Treasure-Seeking Mice —you’re all unique.”

Shi Qian finally nodded in satisfaction.

Long Ye let out a long sigh of relief, though he was left with a slight psychological shadow regarding philosophical discussions.

Shi Qian, on the other hand, nestled into Long Ye’s clothes, lying down for a nap.

Philosophy was, after all, understood through suffering—the more painful, the deeper the lesson.

He was confident that this time, not only had he explained it thoroughly, but Long Ye would never ask that dumb question again: Why are you different from other Treasure-Seeking Mice?

Shi Qian might not be able to explain why he was different from the others, but he could certainly stop people from asking.

Drowsily, Shi Qian suddenly had a Totoro shock face moment.

He had completely forgotten—when the Golden Core cultivator arrived earlier, he had hidden inside Long Ye’s sleeve and never smelled that deadly fragrance again.

Long Ye’s luck was seriously off the charts. He could actually block even minor dangers like that.

And despite being just a young boy, his way of handling situations was incredibly mature.

If it had been Shi Qian, well… he was still sassing his boss in his twenties.

Thinking back to that idiot boss, Shi Qian actually felt a little nostalgic. Arguing and fighting were so civilized—unlike the cultivation world, where people solved everything with bloodshed.

As he drifted off to sleep, Shi Qian seemed to have a dream.

In the dream, he was back in the modern world, buried as a national hero in the Martyrs’ Cemetery.

When spring came, children lined up to place flowers on his grave and whispered little secrets to him.

——”Big brother hero, thank you!”

Thanks, but big brother would rather hear you call him handsome—though “hero” works too.

Heroes must all be handsome, right?

In the dream, the mischievous Shi Qian reached out from the photo on his tombstone and pinched the little kid’s cheek.

The child wasn’t scared into crying. Instead, they bragged about it at kindergarten, making that spring in the cemetery particularly lively.

The big guy buried next to him complained about the noise, but every time, he was the most eager to watch the kids.

Tsk, men.

Gradually, the dream faded, replaced by the real voices around him.

“Half a pound of soy sauce.”

“Cheap spiritual rice for sale!”

“Swindler! Refund! Refund!”

Shi Qian opened his eyes, poked his head out from the clothes, and saw a new world—one that was even more fantastical than the ancient-styled scenes before, yet bustling with life.

That person holding up a sign demanding a refund… looked kind of familiar.

“Squeak?” Shi Qian let out a confused sound.

Where were they?

Long Ye, as if understanding him, replied, “We’ve arrived in town. This is the East Market—it’s more lively, with street stalls and shops.”

East Market? The place where Long Ye’s fiancée’s family lived.

Shi Qian’s eyes shifted, and with a lazy yawn, he curled back up inside the clothes.

After desperately escaping from Nine Heavens Peak and then running around with Long Ye, his small body couldn’t handle it anymore.

Tired.

Long Ye didn’t disturb him and continued walking. He bypassed a spiritual herb store and arrived at the grand entrance of a residence.

Majestic stone lions stood guard on either side of a large, red, iron-studded gate. Above it, a plaque bore the name “Li Residence.” High walls surrounded the estate, concealing the white-walled, black-tiled courtyards and elegant pavilions within. The grandeur was undeniable.

The cultivation world was vast, and this town was thriving. If a family controlled enough resources, their wealth could surpass countless noble mansions in the mortal world.

Long Ye stepped forward with a polite smile. “Uncle Li, I’m here to see Qingxi. Could you please call her for me?”

As the future son-in-law of the Li family—even if he was only engaged to a daughter from a branch family—this Uncle Li usually wouldn’t give him trouble.

But today, Uncle Li merely glanced at Long Ye and said, “Miss Qingxi is not home.”

“Where did she go?”

Uncle Li shook his head. “How would an old man like me know that?”

“Then I’ll come back another day. Could you please pass on a message? Tell her I have something good for her. She can come to my house to find me if she wants.” Long Ye thought of the spiritual ginseng radiating with aura, his expression brimming with excitement.

The spiritual ginseng would be excellent for Uncle Li’s health. If he recovered, Qingxi wouldn’t have to endure disdain and exclusion from her clan anymore.

After speaking, Long Ye sensibly handed Uncle Li a few spiritual pearls.

Uncle Li accepted them and nodded. “Alright, I’ll make sure to pass the message.”

As a gatekeeper, he had enough integrity to do that. But what happened afterward was none of his concern.

Watching the cheerful young man before him, Uncle Li sighed inwardly.

Shi Qian, the mouse of wisdom inside Long Ye’s clothes, did the same.

But Shi Qian knew even more—Long Aotian’s engagement annulment meant his rise to greatness.

This engagement had to be called off!

Completely oblivious, Long Ye happily left the entrance of the Li Residence.

Outside the nearby spiritual herb shop, a person’s ears twitched. Upon spotting Long Ye, they hurriedly turned away and slipped into the store.

As Long Ye passed by, the person’s gaze subtly followed him, muttering, “Something even the ancestor couldn’t detect?”

Not far from this person stood Long Ming, who had also been watching Long Ye. Upon hearing those words, he traced the person’s gaze and was surprised to find they were also staring at Long Ye.

The ancestor? That must mean a Golden Core ancestor.

Something even a Golden Core ancestor couldn’t detect… Did Long Ye really have that kind of fortune?

Why?

A surge of unwillingness and jealousy swelled in Long Ming’s heart, turning into silent resentment.