One of the men appeared much older than the other, with distinguished, silvering hair and the dignified, steady aura of a seasoned martial arts expert. A man who had clearly weathered and survived countless life-threatening storms throughout his long life. The other man looked considerably younger and possessed a sharp, disciplined physique that suggested a lifetime of rigorous training, though even he was still clearly many years older than Yu Qi.

"Miss Chang." Yu Qi greeted Chang Shuchun with a polite and graceful nod, her expression unreadable.

"Oh... Allow me to introduce them to you properly. This is my esteemed master, Lou Liwei, and this is my senior brother, Lou Weizhe." Chang Shuchun quickly introduced the two men standing beside her, her voice filled with deep-seated respect and unmistakable admiration for their standing within their sect.

"Hello... I am Tang Yu Qi. It is truly a pleasure to meet both of you in person." Yu Qi said, offering a small but perfectly polite smile toward the two men, acknowledging their presence with the poise of someone who was their equal.

"Let us head to the private room first. The restaurant lobby is far too crowded and loud for the sensitive nature of our discussion. We can continue speaking freely once we are properly settled inside." Lou Liwei suggested calmly, his deep voice carrying a natural weight and a refined sense of authority that seemed to command the space around him.

Lou Weizhe nodded in silent agreement before stepping toward the head waiter and informing him that the reservation had been made under his own personal name. The waiter quickly checked the reservation list on his digital tablet, found the booking, and respectfully guided the group through the opulent, gold-trimmed restaurant toward their reserved private room.

Once inside the soundproofed room, everyone took their designated seats around the large, polished circular table. The waiter politely handed each of them the menus, took their orders after a brief and efficient discussion, and then quietly retreated, carefully closing the heavy wooden door behind him to ensure their absolute privacy.

"Miss Tang, before we begin, I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude for saving my disciple’s life earlier. Without your timely intervention, I fear the consequences would have been truly dire and irreversible." Lou Liwei said sincerely, his gaze honest and deeply appreciative as he looked at the young woman across from him.

"It was nothing worth mentioning. I simply acted as any physician or person with a functional conscience would have done in that situation." Yu Qi replied calmly, maintaining her elegant, upright posture without showing even a hint of pride.

"Did you save her because you genuinely wanted to help her, or was it because you wanted to establish a strategic connection with our Heavenly Crane Pavilion for your own benefit?" Lou Weizhe suddenly asked directly, his sharp and narrow eyes carefully studying every subtle micro-expression on Yu Qi’s face as if searching for a lie.

"Senior Brother Lou! Please! Have some respect!" Chang Shuchun exclaimed in genuine shock, her face flushing crimson as she felt embarrassed by such a blunt and suspicious question directed toward the woman who had saved her life.

"A connection with your Heavenly Crane Pavilion?" Yu Qi chuckled softly. The sound was light and pleasant, yet it carried a faint, unmistakable edge of cold steel beneath the surface. She met Lou Weizhe’s suspicious gaze directly before calmly asking, "And why exactly would you think I had such an ulterior motive for doing a good deed?"

"You are a successful businesswoman, after all. In your world, everything is a transaction. It would not be strange or even unexpected if you wished to use our sect’s hidden influence to protect your assets or further expand your various business interests into our territory." Lou Weizhe said coldly, his voice dripping with scepticism, while he continued to observe her reaction with hawk-like intensity.

"I mean no offence to your sect, but I do not think I need your influence for anything I wish to achieve in this life." Yu Qi replied smoothly, staring directly into Lou Weizhe’s eyes without even the slightest trace of hesitation, fear, or intimidation.

"Then why were you at that specific forest location at that exact time? It feels far too convenient to simply be a random coincidence." Lou Weizhe pressed further, his suspicion still lingering like a thick fog in the room.

"Well, if you must know the truth, I simply happened to go there because I wanted to personally meet the person who had been foolish enough to try and steal my luck." Yu Qi answered truthfully, her tone shifting to one that was calm and conversational.

"Steal your luck? What sort of spiritual nonsense is that?" Lou Liwei asked, his brow furrowing deeply as he looked at her with a confused expression.

"It is quite literal, I assure you. That man... Hmm... What was his name again? Ah, Chunwei. He sent a practitioner to steal my fortune using forbidden, dark methods. I went to that location because I wanted to personally see what exactly he intended to use my stolen luck for and what kind of person he truly was." Yu Qi explained casually, as though she were discussing the ordinary weather rather than a dangerous spiritual assassination attempt.

The moment Yu Qi mentioned the name, she immediately noticed subtle, tell-tale changes in both Lou Liwei’s and Lou Weizhe’s expressions. The slight shift in their eyes and the sudden, heavy tension in the atmosphere made it glaringly obvious that both of them recognised the man in question.

"You said he stole your luck?" Lou Liwei asked again, his tone becoming much more serious and guarded.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***