Charming Leopard Gu Yan

 "Senior," Spider Lily greeted Xi Yun and Red Monkey. They were both seated on what could only be Li Sihan's bed. The Grand Chief really had some taste. This could pass as an emperor's bed! The interior of the room was also top-notch. Paintings, calligraphy, ornate vases and furniture...

 "You're here-- quick, come take a look at Brother Gu Yan!" Xi Yun said. Spider Lily moved closer. Charming Leopard's eyes were still rolled back in his head, and he appeared limp.

 "Senior Red Monkey-- can you take off the restrictive matrix on him?" Spider Lily asked. 

 "I don't think that's a good idea," Xi Yun interrupted at once, "I put it on him because he seemed to have lost his mind,"

 "Well, we have the Grand Chief here with us, don't we?" Jun Ru pointed out.

 "Hm? Me? Hey-- I want to return home to Little Bun as fast as I can! I don't know how to deal with crazy people," Li Sihan commented lightly, "what am I still even doing here? Alright, I'll leave you guys to it,"

 "Grand Chief!" Xi Yun rushed in front of her and knelt on the floor with a thud. "Grand Chief, please! Don't abandon us!"

 Li Sihan frowned.

 "I knew it. I set foot on this soil; you won't let me leave again. I'm sure once I'm done with Gu Yan, you and your juniors will cook up something else to keep me occupied again. Before I know it, ten years have gone by and my Little Bun is all grown up!"

 "Grand Chief, we dare not! Just-- please, help Brother Gu Yan!" Xi Yun started to kowtow.

 "Alright. Alright!" Li Sihan pinched her forehead in frustration, "fine! Fei Ning, remove the matrix,"

 "At your order, Grand Chief," Red Monkey took at deep breath, and then flew back, terminating the matrix. The rest of them (except Li Sihan) subconsciously also took a few steps back.

 "Aaaaarrrrgggg!" Charming Leopard let out a hoarse scream, startling them. He bolted up like a spring that had been repressed for too long, and charged straight at Xi Yun.

 Flick! A set of magical shackles immediately restrained him from moving further. He roared as he struggled against them, his eyes almost popping out from the strain.

 "Restrain him back!" Spider Lily frantically shouted as Charming Leopard started frothing at the mouth, "Senior-- Grand Chief, stop, he's going to die!"

 Li Sihan frowned, and with a flick of her hand, changed the shackles to a restraining matrix without looking spent. Even Xi Yun and Red Monkey looked at her with awe. Their Grand Chief was powerful! First of all, using a single shackle to hold back Charming Leopard, who was at the rank of Martial Overlord, was no small feat! But the singular act of swapping between matrices was the deal breaker!! That took like a second! And she didn't break a sweat! It wasn't for nothing that she was their Grand Chief!

 "Yes?" Li Sihan asked, not at all understanding why five pairs of awe struck eyes were shining back at her, "so what are you going to do now, Spider Lily?"

 Spider Lily was quite worried at the moment, as a matter of fact. 

 "As far as I've seen and heard, Senior Charming Leopard was injured by a weapon called the Deranged Sickle?" He glanced at Jun Ru for affirmation, "and seems to have lost his mind. I have to really look into what kind of poison might have been on the weapon--"

 "Herb Oracle," Li Sihan called into the air. Spider Lily's face contracted slightly. Was the Grand Chief looking down on him? He knew all about herbs and poisons and plants, alright! He, he was the Supreme Head of the Central Alchemists Alliance, the organisation that served all alchemists of the mainland! He--

 "Herb Oracle greets the Grand Chief," Herb Oracle had teleported from wherever he was to the East Hall. Spider Lily was still incenced. What, what could this spindly lad know about herbs and poisons and plants that he, Spider Lily, did not?!?!?

 "Take a look at your Senior," Li Sihan said, "what poison was he struck with?"

 Herb Oracle marched over to Charming Leopard. He bent by him and examined him at length, pulling down his eyelids and checking the colour of his fingernails.

 "Seems to be the Mind Bane," Herb Oracle stood up, "but it's actually a poison made from the core of a crazy mystic creature and a thornseed plant," he said. Spider Lily frowned.

 "Since when have you been researching poisons?"

 Herb Oracle gave him a side-eye and refused to respond. 

 "So," Li Sihan drew out her words, "what exactly will make him right again?"

 "It's a pill that has to be refined,"

 "I'll do it," said Spider Lily at once, refusing to lose relevance.

 "Okay," said Herb Oracle, and he crossed his arms.

 "Don't be an ass," Jun Ru frowned at Spider Lily at once, "go on," he gestured to Herb Oracle.

 "I'll be needing permission to enter the storage house of the Alchemy Guild," 

 "Go ahead," said Li Sihan. Herb Oracle bowed and exited at once. Spider Lily immediately found some excuse to follow him, and dragged his disciple out as well. 

 Li Sihan walked around the room and sat down on an armchair. She then fished out the shiny rock she had cut earlier as well as a chiseling tool and started chipping away at it.

 "Are you making something for the Young Miss, Grand Chief?" Xi Yun asked. She was still slightly dumbstruck at the fact that the Grand Chief was holding a restrictive matrix with her mind, and could still do other things! Was the difference between a Martial Sovereign and a Martial Saint so great?!!

 That's right, Flaming Spear Xi Yun was at the second to the highest cultivation rank of Martial Sovereign. How she had achieved that at twenty five years old was anyone's guess. Well, first of all, she learnt from the best, so...

 We might want to use this opportunity to actually state in layman's terms how exactly powerful the cultivation ranks of the mainland were. An initial stage cultivator, which had six sub-stages, was just a little more strong than the average non-cultivator warrior in terms of agility and speed, but not strength. A Martial Practitioner, on the other hand, could take on five strong warriors in a fight, as well as being able to project an aura quite suffocating to normal people. A Martial Skill could take on two Martial Practitioners, and also had a much more broader spectrum of abilities than the latter. A Martial Master was almost equal to three Martial Skill cultivators, while a Martial Grandmaster was double that figure. Now most cultivators of the mainland got stuck at this stage, having immense trouble breaking through to upper cultivation levels due to a variety of reasons. However, there were still those few privileged or lucky folks who were able to breakthrough to Martial Lord, which was almost an insurmountable persona. High ranking generals, or top-tier alchemists, skilled matrix practitioners, bounty hunters or adventurers, were usually the ones that managed to reach this highly coveted level. Much prestige and power came with this breakthrough, for the strength of a Martial Lord more or less equalled those of five Material Grandmasters.

 Martial Sage was the next cultivation rank. In all of Phoenix Empire, perhaps only Sword Saint Tao He and a couple other unknown prodigies were able to reach this cultivation rank. In an unbiased fight, a Martial Sage could easily overpower ten Martial Lords! The boost! It was unprecedented! However, in the eyes of a Martial Overlord, a Martial Sage was nothing, just as a Martial Lord was nothing in the eyes of the latter. But the difference shrunk suddenly when it came to a Martial Sovereign, who could only take on two Martial Overlords.

 However, how powerful was a Martial Saint??!?!! Even Flaming Spear Xi Yun did not know! Li Sihan was overthrowing the norms like a bowl of spoilt beans at every interval! What to do?

 "Yes, I'm making a toy for my Little Bun," Li Sihan said with a small smile, "hmm, I'm wondering what shape to carve this thing into?"

 "Maybe a star?" Red Monkey suggested.

 "Right," and Li Sihan fell to working with gusto. 

 Groan. Charming Leopard rolled around on the floor where Li Sihan had left him restricted. 

 "Gr-- Grand Chief, are you sure he can breathe and all?" Xi Yun asked anxiously.

 "Check," Li Sihan said unconcernedly. Xi Yun bent down next to Charming Leopard and examined him. His eyes opened a bit.

 "Brother Yan?"

 His face was contracting; he seemed to be in extreme pain. Xi Yun's heart ached. She wished she had been the one to kill that bastard.

 "Grand Chief!" A boorish voice sounded. Storm Sword lumbered into the room. He went down on one knee.

 "You may rise," Li Sihan said without looking up. Storm Sword got up. He was carrying a food box. He approached Red Monkey and held it out.

 "Big Sis Red Monkey, here," and he grinned.

 "Is this for me?" Red Monkey asked.

 "Yes! I asked Old Lin to make it for you, seeing you haven't eaten all day,"

 "And what did you give Old Lin for him to do that?" Xi Yun asked, a little pissed. The four Seniors actually had their own little domestic affairs among themselves. It was a given that Storm Sword had a very serious crush on Red Monkey, and was fond of giving her (everything he set his hands upon) more attention than anyone else. Xi Yun was often irritated by this. To even things out Charming Leopard became more friendly with her. 

 "Never you mind, Big Sis Xi Yun," Storm Sword chuckled in his loud boorish way. He stared at his hand which had been outstretched for a while now, "go on, Big Sis Red Monkey, take it!"

 Reluctantly, Red Monkey accepted the food box.

 "We can share, Big Sis Xi Yun--"

 "No, thank you," Xi Yun snapped. Red Monkey shrunk into herself. Storm Sword sat down beside her.

 "Don't be upset, Big Sis Red Monkey-- Big Sis Xi Yun is only worried about Big Bro Charming Leopard, that's all," he made to put his arm around her but at that moment Li Sihan looked up.

 "Get up from my bed!"

 As if scalded, Storm Sword and Red Monkey shot up. Xi Yun smirked and turned away.

*

By evening, Xi Yun was on her knees again in front of Li Sihan, who was clamouring to leave.

 "Grand Chief, please!"

 "Have the Weapons Guild make a restraining matrix-- I am going home to my Little Bun! Why, she must be crying right now!"

 Jun Ru privately thought that as long as the Young Miss was well fed she wouldn't really miss her sister all that much. But, hey, he might be wrong!

 "Grand Chief--"

 Li Sihan extricated herself from Xi Yun's grasp. She drew a formation in the air.

 "Phoenix Empire!"

 With a bright flash, she was gone.

 "See you," Jun Ru disappeared the next second as well. Xi Yun burst into tears. Yes, the ace assassin Flaming Spear, she actually started crying.