I watched Aisnam leave the palace with her puppet, still decisively maintaining the illusion that she was a mere servant of the Queen.

I was tempted to follow her, particularly since the being locked in the tomb was still sleeping after its earlier exertion and the observation was unnecessary. Unfortunately, she was also a cultivator of the Eight Stage of Qi Gathering, and I wasn't entirely confident I could stay hidden. I was confident doing so if she treated the outing casually, but not when she was on high alert.

I still went out, but it was a shorter trip, toward the outer palace, taking in the changes. The first thing I noticed was the guards around the Spring Palace were gone. At first, I found that surprising, but then, I discovered the reason.

All available guards had been transferred to the outer walls, waiting in alert. The reason was easy to see. The Tiger Fist army had surrounded the palace, led by five Connate Realm martial artists, leading an army of a thousand as they surrounded the palace, waiting for something. At a distance, I could see the Royal Auction house in ruins.

"Interesting," I muttered as I returned to the Spring Palace. I had expected the Tiger Fist army to act recklessly after seeing them effectively rob people of the capital, but actually putting the palace under siege had surpassed my expectations.

I didn't do anything to break the siege. After her recovery and her breakthrough, she was capable enough to intervene if she had a problem. Instead, once I returned to the palace, I dug the jade stones around the Palace, and I now realized that they were not merely talismans that were crafted into jades, but formation stones.

At this point, I was skilled enough to easily read and analyze the formation. Interestingly, it was actually laid down using Nabata formation art, which was easy to see with my expertise.

Even more interestingly, it was the work of a professional, someone who had reached Major Familiarity — which was significant for people who weren't casually cheating. Alas, the formation stones had been crafted well. Together, they were supposed to protect both the Spring Palace and the garden from cursed Qi. The formation expert was capable enough to do so.

Yet, the layout had several problems that significantly limited the performance, and they were clearly not accidents. However, someone had gone to enough trouble to make them look accidental, in a way that would erode slowly until it had collapsed.

Deliberate sabotage.

I didn't know why the Nabata sect tried to sabotage Aisnam's formation secretly, nor did I care. The Nabata sect had been destroyed by that crazy swordsman, burying any political machinations they had planned with their sect.

What scared me was how such a fault might have interacted with the imprisoned being. I shivered. What would have happened if the containment had failed when Aisnam was still weak and caught her without a protection charm.

I shivered. It would have been a disaster.

"Why every little corner of this fucking world is filled with landmines," I muttered in frustration even as I started repairing the formation, but in a limited capacity.

Once I finished repairing it, its function stayed the same. I could have fixed its main function of containing cursed Qi completely, but someone might take notice of the sudden change in the garden and act.

However, while its surface stayed the same, its infrastructure had changed completely. I had not only removed the deliberately engineered fault, but also added several contingencies that would be triggered once the density of cursed Qi spiked. It would be enough to prevent any possession attempt on the surface.

Hopefully.

"I have done all I could," I muttered as I went back inside, and started preparing the bath and other requirements. Everything needed to be ready for her return.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I was in the kitchen, preparing desserts when Aisnam returned, carrying a large bag along with her puppet. And, even from a distance, I could feel Qi radiating from the bag, signaling her success.

I quickened the preparations while she went upstairs, and returned with a small box. "Welcome back. Nice trip?" I said as I turned toward her, the mixing dish still on hand as I stirred the cream — one underrated advantage of cultivation, making whipped cream by hand was much easier.

A domestic scene.

"It was productive. The Queen was satisfied," she said.

"Good. Then come here and we can work on letting you catch up with her," I replied as she approached, and I hugged her. "So, that's the trade stuff?" I asked.

"No, they are still with Her Highness," she answered as she gave the box to me. "This is for you." She didn't need to say the last part, as the notifications that had popped were a sufficient answer.

[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 50; Pampering Bonus - 75 (Capped)]

[125x Return - Recovery Pill, Black Medium-Grade]

[125x Return - Great Blade of Verdant Domain, Black Medium-Grade]

[125x Return - 125 Spirit Stones, Low-Grade]

"For me?" I asked, my eyes widening as I did my best to act like I was impacted by the thought behind the gift rather than the gift itself. Another skill I had cultivated before my summoning. It was a good way to keep the gifts flowing. "Thank you," I said as I hugged her, not even opening the box before kissing her.

She was smiling when I pulled back. "Are you sure you want to thank me before opening the box? Maybe you'll not like the rewards."

I barely held back a chuckle. I already knew that the box held a Profound Peak-Grade sword and Profound Peak-Grade Recovery pill, as at this point, I had already discovered that a hundred and twenty-five-time return corresponded to six minor ranks. The System's ability to reveal the content of the box was nothing compared to its other benefits, but it was still an amusing gimmick.

The only thing that surprised me was the spirit stones. The return implied that there was only one spirit stone there. Still a treasure for a mortal, so I wasn't complaining, but a curious choice indeed.

"It doesn't matter what you have brought to me. The fact that you thought giving me a gift is all I need."

"Very well," she said, then gestured to the box. "Open it."

"If you wish," I said, and opened the box, though my eyes widened as I checked the contents. I didn't need to fake my surprise, though the target was different. A sword, a small jade bottle that held the pill … and a pouch holding a hundred spirit stones.

"It's a Verdant sword, a Qi-forged artifact designed for martial artists," she said, thinking that my surprise was about the sword. "You can wield it without a problem, grab it," she said.

I did so, acting fascinated as I grabbed the sword, once again very careful acting, as it was the second step of keeping the gifts coming. The claims about not caring about the gifts' price were just a basis, followed by a fascinated gaze.

But, it was important to have a good reason for such a thing. A sports car was not about its price, but its speed to support my fascination with racing; an expensive watch was about my fascination with mechanical clocks; a nice condo at the city center because it was closer to her.

In the world of cultivation, where expensive often meant significantly better, it was an easier fiction to maintain. "Fascinating," I said as I grabbed the sword, which was green and inlaid with leaves, clearly belonging to the Verdant family.

I tested its balance as I swung it back and forth gently, testing its balance. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was the best weapon I had ever held. The dagger I had received from the System was stronger as it was made for cultivators, but it was also damaged, which damaged its balance and its functions.

The Verdant Sword felt perfect in my hand. "Is there a special way to use it," I asked as I caressed its razor-sharp edge.

"It can use spirit stones to compensate for a lack of Qi," she said as she opened the pouch holding the stones. The spirit stones were much better than the ones I had received from the cultivation market. They were small, misshapen rocks with no uniformity of shape or energy.

Meanwhile, the pouch she presented me had a hundred identical stones, each carefully chipped to fit perfectly to the small gap at the hilt of the sword.

She went through the steps to use it. "Can we try?" I asked.

"Yes, let me show," she said as she put the spirit stone in place, and a thin layer of Qi covered the sword immediately. "Once the spirit stone is in place, it can cut through the natural resistance of the Connate realm artists and weaker cultivators," she said.

"It looks expensive."

"Yes, it was a part of the Queen's dowry," she commented, her tone suddenly dark. It wasn't a surprising reaction considering how both her husband and her family betrayed her after she arrived here.

Still, it was a dangerous topic, so I decided to change it. "Is there a way to discharge the Qi directly as some kind of slash?" I asked, and she continued going through the functions.

No need to ruin her mood by making her think about unproductive things when there were far more productive things we might have been doing.