LAVW – Chapter 7 Long Ming’s Betrayal

Long Ye had not yet returned from the Li family in the eastern market of the town to the Long family in the west when the gatekeeper, Grandpa Li, turned around and went to deliver the message to Li Qingqian.

He didn’t even need to step out of the Li family’s residence.

Grandpa Li was highly professional, deliberately emphasizing the “good things” Long Ye had mentioned and relaying the message in full detail.

However, upon hearing this, Li Qingqian’s expression barely changed. She simply nodded lightly. “I understand.”

She was undoubtedly a beauty, as pure as a lotus blooming in clear water—the most exquisite flower amidst an endless sea of green lotus leaves.

Her demeanor was naturally cold, and when she showed no expression, her face carried an air of noble aloofness.

Li Qingqian often heard people praise her, saying she didn’t seem like a girl from a small town but more like a noble lady from a prestigious family in the capital—one with profound cultivation.

But in reality, she was merely the daughter of a declining branch of the Li family in Luofeng Town.

Years ago, her father had managed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, showing great potential, which allowed their family to move into the Li clan’s main residence. But later, her father was injured, an incurable wound that left him bedridden. And so, he had remained in recovery for ten years.

Her mother was frail, responding to hardships with nothing but tears. To maintain their small courtyard, afford her father’s medicine, and support her own cultivation, Li Qingqian had endured countless sufferings in silence.

A noble lady? She lived a life worse than the daughters of ordinary families on the street.

Yet, thinking about the young man who had just left, she still felt a trace of guilt in her heart.

At that moment, from inside the house, her mother, Guan Rouzhi, looked at her with eyes full of disapproval and reproach.

Li Qingqian glanced at her mother, and the guilt within her dissipated completely.

She instructed Grandpa Li, “Next time, just say I’m not home. Thank you, Ninth Grandpa. The clan will not treat you unfairly.”

Of course, the family hoped their daughters would marry well—higher and better. Compared to a poor boy in the same town with no talent, how much better was a young master from a prestigious family? The gifts he casually offered were the real treasures.

Li Qingqian thought, even if Long Ye risked his life, what could he possibly bring? At most, some medicinal herbs.

But Young Master Gongsun had given her spiritual medicine, and with it, her father’s wounds had improved significantly in an instant.

Seeing that Grandpa Li had left, Guan Rouzhi couldn’t help but speak. “Since you’ve already made up your mind, you should at least tell Long Ye directly! Why deceive him like this? That child is so kind—whenever he gets something good, he always thinks of bringing it to you.”

Li Qingqian replied impatiently, “Mother, if you have time to worry about this, go check on Father’s medicine. Spiritual medicine is precious; it must not be wasted.”

“But—”

“The clan will handle everything. The engagement will be annulled, and whatever we’ve taken from him will be returned in full. But I cannot see him again. It’s best if this matter is resolved quietly, without Young Master Gongsun finding out.”

“Mother, at least think about me. Those disgusting people have deliberately made things difficult for me several times, and he couldn’t protect me.”

Having made up her mind, Li Qingqian ignored her mother, who had once again begun to cry. With a cold expression, she turned and entered her quiet chamber to cultivate.

Guan Rouzhi was left standing there, filled with guilt and self-reproach, feeling that no matter what she did, she was in the wrong.

All she could do was silently curse those wretched people. Even the legitimate daughters of the main family coveted what was hers. But given her temperament, her curses were never truly harsh.

As Long Ye walked in the direction of the Long family estate, he passed by a tavern where red wine flags fluttered in the wind.

The rich aroma of wine and roasted meat drifted through the air, drawing out Shi Qian’s little head.

The tavern had an open design, allowing one to take in nearly all the patrons at a glance. Yet, strangely enough, there was no lively chatter or laughter—only an oppressive, murderous tension filled the air.

Shi Qian raised a hind paw and nudged Long Ye, warning him.

Long Ye also sensed that something was off. He pressed down on the little spirit beast’s head, his body tensing.

Just as Long Ye and Shi Qian reached the main road outside the tavern, a massive blade, brimming with murderous intent, suddenly cleaved through the air from within the establishment.

Inside the tavern, a group of people had surrounded three others and began a brutal fight.

With cultivators clashing, tables and chairs were sent flying, shattering into pieces upon impact. The originally frozen-in-fear patrons, who had dared not move, now scrambled away in panic.

As the crowd dispersed, a portion of the counter was revealed.

Behind it, the tavern owner and his wife lay in a pool of blood.

Blending into the fleeing crowd, Long Ye ran, but he could still catch snippets of conversation from afar—words like “Wang family” and “Li family” stood out.

Not until he rushed through the gates of the Long family estate did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Beyond the entrance, through a winding corridor, was the Long family’s Gathering Hall. A group of clan members had already assembled there, discussing the recent chaos in town.

“What’s going on with Fragrant Wine Tavern? That fight was intense! Why hasn’t anyone stepped in to stop it?”

Every town had a mayor, and these mayors usually had strong ties with the ruling city above them. They were often powerful individuals with great influence in the town.

“You just got back, so you don’t know—people have gone crazy fighting over those Secret Realm Rings!”

“Secret Realm Rings?” Long Ye followed the conversation and interjected.

Someone immediately explained, “Half of Nine Heavens Peak collapsed, revealing an unknown secret realm. The spiritual energy that leaked out was so potent that it instantly allowed a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to advance to Half-Core Formation. If he had been better prepared, he could’ve broken through to the Golden Core stage on the spot—another ancestor-level powerhouse in the making!”

“The secret realm hasn’t even opened yet, but dozens of streaks of light shot out from it. Those lights contained the Secret Realm Rings. Only those who possess a ring can enter.”

“These Secret Realm Rings scattered all over, some near, some far. Now, all the major families are scrambling to collect as many as possible so their disciples can seize this opportunity. With treasures on the line, over a dozen people have already died in town!”

“Our town is close to Nine Heavens Peak, and five of those streaks of light landed near Luofeng Town. But three of the Secret Realm Rings were snatched away by cultivators from the capital.”

“Our clan has also sent people out to search. Who knows if they’ll be able to get one?”

Right now, with people from the capital city continuously arriving, the families in town who had obtained treasures didn’t dare to reveal their findings openly.

Long Ye listened for a while, piecing together what had happened, before withdrawing from the crowd.

Even if the family obtained a Secret Realm Ring, it had nothing to do with him anyway.

As he walked away, the surroundings grew quieter.

Since this was a family of cultivators, everyone lived separately unless they were close relatives or married couples.

When his father was alive, because of his father’s peak Foundation Establishment cultivation, they had lived in one of the best courtyards in the main estate. But after his father passed away, Long Ye moved to a remote area.

With a heavy creak, the wooden gate at the entrance of the courtyard was pushed open.

Long Ye spoke as a reminder, “We’re home.”

The moment he said that, even before he saw the little spirit beast peek out, he could already feel something different in his heart.

Home. His home had been empty for far too long.

For three years, it had been just him, all alone.

As Long Ye was lost in his emotions, Shi Qian popped his head out, tilting it upward to scan the place.

Instead of elegant white walls and dark tiles, it was just simple earthen walls with plain clay tiles. But one thing was clear—the owner of this place didn’t like messes. Everything was tidy and well-maintained.

The most eye-catching feature in the courtyard was a set of wooden stakes for body training, along with various stone weights of different sizes.

Shi Qian stretched out his paw, pointing at the equipment with curiosity.

“Squeak?”

No way, no way… does the cultivation world actually require weightlifting?

Long Ye explained, “When I was a child, my body was weak. Absorbing spiritual energy through normal cultivation made me feel unwell, so my father found a method from ordinary martial artists—training the body first before cultivating.”

Shi Qian: ?

Was it really just discomfort from cultivation… or sheer agony?

For a moment, Shi Qian wasn’t sure if Long Ye was telling the truth.

Logically speaking, Long Ye’s bloodline should be much stronger than Shi Qian’s, which meant his meridians were probably even more obstructed. In other words, if a mere mouse like himself suffered from cultivation, it should be even worse for Long Ye—maybe even unbearable.

But Long Ye was the protagonist, so maybe he had some sort of destiny’s blessing?

Shi Qian didn’t dwell on it for too long. He jumped down to the ground and began inspecting his new territory.

Aside from the wooden training stakes and stone weights, there wasn’t much of interest in the courtyard. Curious, he made his way inside the house.

After stepping in, Shi Qian once again reassessed the legendary protagonist’s starting village-level poverty.

Apart from a table, chairs, and a few benches, the place was practically empty.

If this were in the modern world, this house wouldn’t even qualify as a rough-finished apartment—at least a rough-finished place would have cemented walls!

Long Ye followed behind Shi Qian, growing increasingly embarrassed with each step, his face turning redder and redder.

Was he… too poor?

This kind of poverty wasn’t something that could be summed up with a simple “I can’t afford to raise you.”

It was a deep, gut-wrenching helplessness, the kind that cut straight to the core. No matter how hard he had worked, he was still this poor.

After holding it in for a long time, Long Ye finally squeezed out a sentence:

“Actually, I have pretty good luck. I often find really good medicinal herbs, even high-grade spiritual herbs. But I always send them to Uncle Li, hoping his injuries will heal faster.”

“Uncle Li is Qing Qian’s father. Back then, my dad thought Qing Qian was cute, so he arranged our engagement.”

“Oh, right—I think I forgot to mention, Qing Qian is my fiancée.”

As he talked about his future wife, Long Ye’s embarrassment faded, replaced by a hint of pride.

“You didn’t see her today, but Qing Qian is really pretty. Next time she comes to see me, I’ll introduce you to her.”

Shi Qian could hardly stand to listen anymore.

He raised his head to look at this foolish boy, then pointed at his own chest and interrupted, “Squeak squeak!”

Bath!

After rolling around in the dirt twice, they were both covered in dust and looked absolutely filthy. Shi Qian had already used a cleaning spell to make them physically clean, but that wasn’t enough.

The satisfaction of Aotian personally giving him a bath? He would never pass that up.

This was a must.

A chinchilla, blessed with thousands of fine hairs per pore, had absolutely no fear of bathing.

Long Ye paused for a moment before realizing—oh, right. Bathing.

But… they had already used a cleaning spell. Was a bath really necessary?

Then, remembering the bald tree from before, Long Ye wisely suppressed his doubts and carried out his promise.

Bathing setup:

• One wooden basin
• One chinchilla to be bathed
• One designated bath servant, Long Ye

Shi Qian could actually swim inside the wooden basin. With a flick of his hind legs, he spun around in circles.

Amused, Long Ye plucked a flower from the wall next door, picked off the petals one by one, and tossed them into the basin.

“A little spirit beast… and it even knows how to take a flower petal bath.”

Shi Qian lay on his back, a small cloth draped over his belly and lower half. Seeing Long Ye laughing at him, he flicked his tail.

With a precise burst of spiritual energy, a stream of water shot toward Long Ye.

Long Ye reacted quickly, twisting his body to dodge—only for the water to split mid-air, half splashing directly onto his face, soaking two strands of his hair.

Shi Qian smirked smugly. “Squeak squeak.”

All’s fair in war!

Long Ye wiped his face, then reached out and pressed down on the tiny cloth on Shi Qian’s belly, pushing it downward.

Shi Qian was instantly submerged. His dense fur spread out in the water, making him look like a drenched fluffball.

But instead of floating, he started sinking.

Long Ye panicked and quickly reached in to fish him out. “Xiao Qian!”

Seeing his concern, Shi Qian spread all four paws, skillfully dodging Long Ye’s hand and swimming around the basin with ease.

After two laps, he finally floated to the surface, shook his head, and sent a spray of water all over Long Ye’s face and clothes.

Long Ye: …

Suddenly, he kind of understood why the neighbors were always trying to discipline their kids.

Even if their kids looked adorable, sometimes… they just really made you want to hit them.

At this level of mischief, no amount of cuteness could help.

So tempting to smack him a couple of times—preferably on the butt.

But hitting the kid on the first day of bringing him home? Not a good look. Long Ye let out a helpless laugh and patiently lathered up the little spirit beast with soap, scrubbing him clean.

Shi Qian had no idea about the dangerous thoughts lurking beneath Long Ye’s honest-looking face. He was still silently evaluating him.

This guy… would actually make a great poop-scooping servant.

Once his fur was thoroughly washed again, Shi Qian climbed out of the basin, feeling refreshed. With a small spell, he removed the water from his fur, then gave himself a shake—poof! He was back to being a fluffy, adorable ball of fur.

The perks of the cultivation world.

In the modern world, drying a pet’s fur was no easy task.

The whooshing of a hairdryer was pure torture for a pet’s sensitive ears.

Now all clean and fresh, Shi Qian started feeling lazy again. Just as he was about to doze off, Long Ye grabbed him.

“Xiao Qian, if you sleep now, you won’t be able to sleep at night.”

Long Ye pulled out the bottle of pills given by the Golden Core cultivator and poured out two.

“This is a Spirit Nourishing Pill. It helps increase the spiritual energy in your dantian. Let’s take one and meditate to cultivate.”

Long Ye planned to take one himself. He swallowed one pill directly and held the other near Shi Qian’s mouth.

Spiritual medicine was divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each grade had four ranks—Superior, Mid, Low, and Extreme. The Golden Core cultivator had been quite generous, providing a Yellow-grade Superior Spirit Nourishing Pill. A single bottle of these would cost tens of thousands of spirit pearls.

Spirit pearls were the lowest currency in the cultivation world.

1,000 spirit pearls = 1 low-grade spirit stone

100 low-grade spirit stones = 1 mid-grade spirit stone

100 mid-grade spirit stones = 1 high-grade spirit stone

Top-grade spirit stones were in a class of their own—extremely rare and nearly impossible to obtain.

Long Ye, after searching all over his body, barely had a few low-grade spirit stones—not even enough to buy half a bottle of these pills.

As for Shi Qian?

Never had one before.

Should he try it?

Not knowing how strong it was, Shi Qian opened his mouth wide and swallowed the pill like it was candy.

The medicinal power kicked in quickly.

Long Ye sat cross-legged on his cultivation mat, meditating to absorb the pill’s energy.

The spiritual energy surged through his body, flowing into every muscle. But each time it touched his most crucial meridians, a wave of searing pain spread from within.

Still, Long Ye was already used to this kind of pain.

Sweat dripped down his body, yet his mind remained sharply focused.

Shi Qian sat on the mat beside him.

With the memories of his past as Mouse Bro, he knew that absorbing spiritual energy through cultivation was painful. But since he had already eaten the pill, not absorbing it would be a complete waste.

And since his body was completely empty of spiritual energy, he began circulating his cultivation technique to absorb the medicinal power coursing through him.

Like an inflatable balloon—he filled up quickly.

Especially because Shi Qian was a particularly small balloon.

Which meant… he reached capacity much faster.

Compared to Long Ye, who had started first, Shi Qian was actually the first one to feel the pain.

At first, it was just mild discomfort.

Then it intensified.

And soon, every meridian in his body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside.

So much pain.

Shi Qian collapsed onto his meditation mat, limbs sprawled out, refusing to absorb any more of the medicinal energy.

Like a balloon with a slow leak, he instantly deflated.

His fur was damp and matted into a mess, looking like a quilt stuffing that hadn’t been washed in ten years.

Glancing over at Long Ye—who was still sitting on his mat, drenched in sweat but unwavering—Shi Qian could only say one thing in his heart:

Brother, I respect you. You are a true warrior.

He should have realized it earlier—for someone with such a restricted body to cultivate all the way to the fifth level of Qi Refining, he had to be an absolute madman.

Hardworking and powerful. If this kind of person wasn’t incredible, who was?

Shi Qian fully acknowledged Long Ye’s strength, but he was not that kind of person.

And he was definitely not that kind of mouse.

Out of all the departments in the Transmigration Bureau, Shi Qian had chosen the Animal Division not just because he liked small animals but because he wanted a relaxed, carefree life.

With a simple cleansing spell, he cleaned himself up and flopped onto his mat, lazily toying with the woven grass rope—fully embracing his “lie-flat” lifestyle.

A quarter of an hour later, Long Ye was gasping for breath, feeling the electric-like pain tearing through his veins. He knew he had reached his absorption limit and could take a short break.

But not too long.

If he delayed too much, the remaining medicinal energy in his body would start to dissipate—a complete waste.

Opening his eyes, his sharp, determined gaze fell on the little spirit beast next to him.

Seeing Shi Qian casually playing with the meditation mat, Long Ye’s expression instantly turned helpless.

Shi Qian had started later and finished sooner. Plus, he looked clean, relaxed, and completely at ease—so much so that Long Ye mistakenly assumed he hadn’t meditated at all and had just been playing the whole time.

Long Ye sighed internally.

How could this little spirit beast be so lazy? Even after taking a precious pill, he didn’t sit down and absorb its energy.

But… at least he’s obedient. He stayed by my side.

With that thought, Long Ye reached out and scooped up the lazy, chubby furball.

“I’m going to do some physical training. You come along and watch. Don’t just lie there doing nothing.”

Then, he put on a full demonstration—mercilessly pummeling a wooden stake, deep squatting while lifting a massive stone block—

Shi Qian, who got exhausted just from hanging upside down for ten seconds:

…I have never seen such a hardcore man before.

After two rounds of body training outside, Long Ye half-heartedly used a cleansing spell on himself and prepared to resume meditation.

Before starting, he looked at the lazy, listless little spirit beast and patiently encouraged him:

“Xiao Qian, you should cultivate too. I have experience. Once you break through a certain stage, you’ll feel incredibly comfortable afterward.”

Long Ye had never personally felt this “comfort,” but he knew that everyone else did.

Apparently, every breakthrough came with a distinct sensation of becoming stronger—a full-body refreshing feeling.

He had no idea what that actually felt like, but it sounded amazing.

Thinking about it, Long Ye’s face softened, showing a look of relaxed longing.

Shi Qian saw his expression and actually believed him.

After all, Long Ye mostly just sweated a lot and made exaggerated faces.

And considering that Long Ye probably had protagonist-level plot armor, Shi Qian completely overlooked the critical information gap and fell for the lie.

So, he sat down again.

And began meditation.

And started absorbing the medicinal energy.

Thirty seconds later—

Shi Qian collapsed again.

Shi Qian: …

Screw you and your “doesn’t hurt anymore.”

At best, it just hurts until you go numb.

“——Squeak squeak squeak!”

——LIAR!

Shi Qian let out an angry squeaking protest.

He had discovered the key issue—he and Long Ye both had excessively strong bloodlines, but their bodies weren’t strong enough to keep up.

But the problem was… Long Ye had no idea!

There was a clear information gap between them.

Long Ye only knew that Shi Qian was a weak newbie at the Foundation Establishment stage, so he probably just thought he was a lazy slacker.

Sure enough, when Long Ye saw Shi Qian collapse, he continued to encourage him:

“Xiao Qian, focus.”

“Squeak squeak.”

No.

Shi Qian shook his head frantically.

Long Ye tried to persuade the delicate little spirit beast, “Xiao Qian, if you don’t work hard, how will you ever become strong?”

Shi Qian turned away, stretched out his still-injured paw, and righteously pointed at Long Ye.

“Squeak Squeak.”

You becoming strong is good enough.

I’m just an adorable little chinchilla! How can you bear to make me suffer?

I’m so fragile!

Shi Qian squeaked in protest, feeling deeply aggrieved.

With a flick of his mind, he retrieved the small handkerchief that his mouse mother had given him from his spatial storage. Holding it in his tiny paws, he pretended to wipe away tears.

At the same time, he began to sing in sorrowful tones:

“Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak…”

Oh, poor little white mouse, what a tragic fate.

Only five or six years old, lost my mother and brother, now being forced to suffer…

To be honest, Long Ye still couldn’t understand a single word.

But the tearful, grief-stricken performance was so over-the-top that even an opera singer wouldn’t be this dramatic.

For the first time, Long Ye felt like he wasn’t helping Xiao Qian cultivate—he was straight-up torturing him.

His unyielding determination to cultivate clashed with his reluctance to push the little spirit beast too hard, leaving him looking extremely conflicted.

In the end, he let out a long sigh.

“Alright… Next time, we’ll do it together, okay?”

Shi Qian, just wanting Long Ye to let him off for now, obediently nodded.

This trick was familiar.

Give in once, and there would be a second time… then a third…

Lying flat for a moment felt great.

Lying flat forever? Even better.

There was no way he was going to suffer through painful cultivation. At most, he’d wait until he could soak in a spiritual spring in some secret realm, allowing his bloodline and body to fully match up before putting in any effort.

Having successfully achieved his goal of doing absolutely nothing, Shi Qian happily watched Long Ye continue his relentless training.

Just like that, three days passed.

Long Ye managed to absorb and refine three Spirit-Nurturing Pills.

At the same time, the results of the Secret Realm Ring dispute were becoming clearer.

The four major clans of the provincial capital had taken the majority of the rings.

Among the remaining ones:

• Five ended up in the hands of smaller families.
• Three were lost to unknown individuals, their whereabouts currently a mystery.

As for Long Ye’s clan, the Long family—they were considered one of the strongest families in Luofeng Town.

Yet, despite that…

Their long-time rival, the Li family, had managed to obtain one of the Secret Realm Rings, while the Long family got absolutely nothing.

No—that wasn’t entirely true.

What they did get were two severely injured Foundation Establishment cultivators… and the death of a late-stage Foundation Establishment elder.

The Golden Core ancestor of the Long family had been in seclusion for many years now.

Even within the family, there were whispers that he was probably dead.

But to prevent outsiders from coveting their wealth, the Long family had chosen not to announce it.

In this situation, if the Long family failed to produce another Golden Core cultivator, their foundation would be in danger.

That was why the Long family was acting so urgently this time.

However, this very urgency revealed their weakness, sparking suspicion in the Li family.

Long Family Council Hall

The heads of the various Long family branches had gathered to discuss their current predicament.

Among those present were:

• Long Xing, Long Ye’s grandfather.
• Long Chengyang, Long Ye’s grand-uncle.

Long Chengyang was one of the injured Foundation Establishment cultivators.

His cultivation had fallen from mid-stage Foundation Establishment to early-stage, and his face was now deathly pale, looking extremely unwell.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy, a voice from outside announced a visitor.

After hearing the explanation, the patriarch allowed Long Ming to enter.

“We went out to gather herbs that day. The location wasn’t far from Nine Heavens Peak.”

“Later, we split up, and I overheard someone mentioning that Long Ye had obtained something so valuable that even a Golden Core ancestor couldn’t find it.”

“He planned to **give it to Li Qingqian and told her to meet him alone to receive it.”

A sharp voice interrupted: “Why would a Golden Core ancestor be searching him?”

Long Ming hesitated, then added, “The elders can verify this with the person at the spiritual herb shop from that day. I investigated—he’s a half-human, half-demonic beast hybrid and lives in Rotten Nine Grounds.”