Volume One, Chapter 11: The Fiery Old Man
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After returning to Cloud Lake Elegant Garden, Li Ya began strolling around the residential compound.
As Luo City’s most prestigious villa district for the wealthy, Cloud Lake Elegant Garden had a low population density. Most of the surrounding area was covered in untouched vegetation.
The air within the compound was exceptionally fresh. Walking along the tree-lined paths, Li Ya felt his mood grow calm as well.
As he walked, Li Ya observed the flow of energy throughout the community. After mastering the Nine Dragons Imperial Spirit Art, his eyes had acquired a strange ability: he could vaguely see the direction in which spiritual energy moved.
Although he had never practiced any form of feng shui over the years, the Nine Dragons Imperial Spirit Art was so extraordinary that even worldly feng shui techniques could not compare with what his eyes could perceive.
A feng shui master had to observe the stars at night, study various mountain ranges and rivers, and examine the arrangements of buildings before making a judgment.
Li Ya, however, needed none of that. With nothing more than his own eyes, he could directly observe the qi around him.
The concentration of spiritual energy alone was enough to determine whether the feng shui of a place was auspicious.
Li Ya discovered that Villa Number One, where he lived, truly deserved its reputation as the finest residence in Cloud Lake Elegant Garden.
With a lake in front, mountains behind, and a river flowing nearby, it was a blessed land where wind gathered and qi converged. It was also the place with the densest spiritual energy.
“Hmm? Such heavy blood qi?”
Li Ya suddenly sensed a mass of blood qi approaching him.
He turned his head and saw an elderly man not far away, streaks of blood-colored radiance rising from above his head.
The dense blood qi made Li Ya’s pupils contract. Such overwhelming blood qi could only belong to a master of slaughter who had emerged from a sea of corpses.
Li Ya had never expected Cloud Lake Elegant Garden to conceal so many formidable figures. He had merely come out for a daytime stroll, yet he had already encountered someone of such importance.
Following the blood qi with his gaze, Li Ya discovered that its owner was an elderly man with graying hair.
The old man wore a gray traditional tunic. His complexion was ruddy, and his expression benevolent. No matter how one looked at him, he did not resemble someone whose hands had been stained with blood.
But Li Ya knew that his eyes could not deceive him.
He had only just reached the third level of Qi Refinement, and the Heavenly Dragon Eye was not yet entirely accurate in observing various forms of qi. Even so, he could still see blood qi surging into the heavens from this old man. That alone revealed how terrifying the man truly was.
“Young man, you look unfamiliar. Have you just moved in?”
The old man seemed to notice Li Ya looking in his direction and took the initiative to greet him, his smile warm and amiable.
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“Hello, sir. I did move here recently, but how did you know?”
Li Ya was somewhat puzzled. Although Cloud Lake Elegant Garden did not have many residents, the compound covered a vast area, and most of the residents rarely crossed paths.
At least, he had only seen lights glowing in the houses and had yet to meet any of the residents. This old man, with the blood-colored radiance above his head, was the first.
“To tell you the truth, young man, I served in a reconnaissance unit when I was young. I remember every resident here without fail. You are the only unfamiliar face.”
Li Ya immediately understood. So the old man had come from a military background. No wonder the blood qi surrounding him was so intense.
Looking at the blood qi above the old man’s head, Li Ya felt a profound respect well up within him.
Since its founding, the Dragon Kingdom had endured countless battles. It was precisely through the sacrifices of these men who had fought amid bloodshed that the peaceful society of today had been won.
But then Li Ya’s brow furrowed. He noticed a small mass of black qi not far behind the old man.
“Young man, is something wrong?”
Seeing Li Ya’s expression change, the old man was momentarily taken aback.
Li Ya thought for a moment before walking over. With a solemn expression, he asked, “Sir, have you felt that something has been wrong in your life lately?”
The old man before him was one of the founders of the Dragon Kingdom. Since they had met by chance, Li Ya considered it fate and did not mind helping him once.
However, the black qi left him somewhat perplexed. After all, he knew nothing about feng shui, and for the moment he could not determine exactly what it was.
A flicker of surprise crossed the old man’s eyes at Li Ya’s words. Before he could reply, however, a young woman in a white tracksuit suddenly came running over from not far away.
She wore a loose athletic outfit, and her long black hair was tied into a simple high ponytail at the back of her head, giving her a crisp, capable appearance.
Her fair, smooth face was free of makeup. Even without cosmetics, she was breathtakingly beautiful, while the few beads of sweat on her forehead gave her an especially spirited air.
Yet the way she looked at Li Ya was filled with wariness, along with a trace of distaste.
“Grandfather, be careful. I heard that quite a few swindlers claiming to understand feng shui have appeared in Luo City lately.”
“These people make their stories sound so convincing that they can leave anyone completely bewildered. You must not let yourself be deceived!”
Although the young woman did not say so directly, Li Ya could tell that she was criticizing him by indirection and calling him a fraud.
The old man said sternly, “Mei, do not be rude.”
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As he spoke, the old man cupped his hands toward Li Ya.
“My name is Ruan Yunlong, and this is my granddaughter, Ruan Mei.”
“She has grown rather headstrong over the years and often speaks without thinking. I hope you will not take offense, sir.”
Li Ya was stunned when he heard the name Ruan Yunlong. It was a name he had heard countless times before. Ruan Yunlong had once been one of the three great War Gods of the Dragon Kingdom’s northern forces.
He was known as the Cloud Dragon of the Northern Frontier and had participated in more than a hundred battles, large and small.
Not only were the veteran soldiers under his command invincible on the battlefield, but he himself possessed martial cultivation at the peak Grandmaster realm.
Many people who had attempted to assassinate Ruan Yunlong in secret had instead been killed by him.
Li Ya had never imagined that such a legendary figure of the Dragon Kingdom’s military would live in the same residential compound as him.
He hurriedly bowed respectfully to the old man before him.
“War God Ruan, I never expected to meet you here.”
“I thought you were enjoying your retirement in the Imperial Capital. I never imagined you were in Luo City.”
With a smile, Ruan Yunlong waved his hand at Li Ya.
“Young man, forget about titles like War God. That was all in the past.”
“Now I am merely an ordinary old man enjoying my retirement. Luo City is my hometown, so of course I would return here in my old age.”
Li Ya’s eyes widened. He had never expected such a small place as Luo City to conceal so many remarkable people. The famed Cloud Dragon of the Northern Frontier was actually from Luo City, yet he had never heard of it before.
“All right, Grandfather. Why are you wasting so many words on someone like him? I really do not know what the security guards at Cloud Lake Elegant Garden are thinking. They let just anyone in!”
Ruan Mei glared at Li Ya in deep displeasure, then pulled Ruan Yunlong by the arm and tried to leave.
Li Ya was speechless. He had only intended to do a good deed, yet they had mistaken him for a wandering fraud.
“Sir, do you often wake up for no reason in the middle of the night? Does your body, which is normally burning hot, suddenly break out in cold sweat?”
“And has your household been plagued by one misfortune after another lately? Do the servants frequently break cups and dishes, and all seem listless and dispirited?”
“Has someone in your household already fallen ill?”
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