By the time Han Li heard this much, he had more or less pieced things together.
What these people were talking about was the fact that over the past several years, cultivators had been frequently disappearing in the Yue Kingdom's cultivation world.
It seemed that these people had once been captured by the masterminds behind it all, but were released after being threatened. Judging by the tone of their conversation, they were already under someone's control and forced to do harmful deeds in exchange.
Han Li's thoughts raced at lightning speed. In the span of a few moments, he concluded that this matter was best left untouched.
After all, whoever was behind the disappearances of so many cultivators had managed to remain free and unexposed to this day. That in itself spoke volumes about how cunning this shadowy hand was—no ordinary person could pull it off.
And if they could command Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was no telling whether a Nascent Soul cultivator might be hiding behind the whole operation!
He was just a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator himself. In these troubled times, it was best not to invite trouble.
Having made up his mind, Han Li immediately withdrew his spiritual sense and paid no further attention to that group of cultivators.
Though they were somewhat unfortunate and pitiable, they had no connection to him whatsoever. He wasn't about to take on enormous risks just to meddle in their affairs.
They could only pray for their own good fortune!
Moreover, as the dark-faced elder had analyzed, the current Seven Mysteries Sect was fully occupied fighting the devilish cultivators and had no attention to spare for anything else. Even if Han Li reported the matter, they would most likely ignore it.
Han Li could only think this with cold indifference.
Since he no longer needed to split his attention to eavesdrop on others' private conversations, Han Li relaxed and focused on his meal. He also pretended to be curious from time to time, pointing at various novel things outside the window and asking Qin Ping about them.
Qin Ping, of course, happily explained everything to Han Li without holding back. By the end of the meal, more than half the dishes on the table had ended up in Han Li's stomach, leaving Qin Ping clicking his tongue in amazement. He couldn't help but think to himself that this young master of his not only had extraordinary stamina, but quite the appetite as well!
At that point, the table of cultivators stood up and headed downstairs. Their appearance as they left was clear to Han Li—still dejected and crestfallen. It seemed they still hadn't come up with any good solution.
Seeing this, Han Li wolfed down a few more bites and then had Qin Ping settle the bill so they could leave.
But Qin Ping just chuckled and pulled out a Qin estate waist token from his person, then strutted downstairs with great confidence.
Before long, he returned upstairs and reported to Han Li: "Young Master, I've left the waist token with them. They can send the bill to our estate at the end of the month—there's no need for us to pay in silver. Young masters of the Qin estate have several hundred taels of silver in monthly expenses that can be reported back to the household. I've already charged the meal to your account, Young Master."
Han Li was somewhat surprised—he could feel just how extravagant the Qin household was!
But he put on a slightly blank expression and nodded vaguely several times before leading Qin Ping downstairs.
In the afternoon, Han Li didn't continue on foot. Instead, following Qin Ping's advice—having learned his lesson—he hired a two-wheeled carriage and rode through several important locations in the capital of Yue to get a general tour.
Though many places were still missed, he now had a rough impression of the city's layout and districts. At least when he stepped out of the Qin estate, he wouldn't be completely lost in the capital.
By evening, Han Li finally returned to the Qin estate after his enjoyable outing.
This time, Qin Gui, who was on gate duty, rushed out of the guardhouse before Han Li even had a chance to dismount, fawning over him with eager hospitality.
He was terrified that this newly arrived Young Master Han still held a grudge over yesterday's mistake of failing to recognize him. He had to improve this young master's impression of him!
How could Han Li possibly hold onto such a trivial matter from the previous day? He had long since forgotten about it.
Right now, all that filled his mind was how to ensure the safety of the Qin estate. At the very least, he had to keep Qin Yan alive—otherwise, it would be difficult to face Li Huayuan and give him an account.
With this thought, Han Li formed a plan and calmly entered the Qin estate.
That evening, Han Li made no effort to hide from anyone. He went straight to find his Uncle Qin.
After a lengthy private discussion with him in a secret room, he returned in high spirits.
Starting from the next day, some of the people who associated with Qin Yan suddenly noticed that a strange young man had appeared by Qin Yan's side, and his entire bearing reeked of the countryside—clearly not someone from the capital of Yue.
Qin Yan enthusiastically introduced this young man to everyone he knew, saying he was the descendant of an elder in the family, and asking his close friends to look after him and help him along, and so on!
The people Qin Yan associated with were either high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants!
Though they found it a bit odd that this young man never left Qin Yan's side even for a moment...