18. Case number 2!

When Lan dismissed Situ Kulu, he turned his attention to the next case. He hoped to understand the story about the crippled father and son. As he walked outside, Situ Rin hurriedly arrived, clearly having been waiting for him to come out. Lan observed her small face, which was scheming something.

Situ Rin was very upset today. Great Ancestor had not involved her in the conversation with Situ Kulu. Despite her talent surpassing the drunkard's, Ancestor seemed to favor the drunkard slightly. She had been planning to start drinking to regain Ancestor's favor, but remembering how Ancestor had swatted the drunkard during their first meeting made her shiver.

However, when Situ Rin saw Situ Kulu suspiciously hiding something while leaving Ancestor's room through the crack in her window, she became jittery. That seems to be one of Ancestor's special artifacts, she thought, feeling her own importance diminish.

Conflicted, she decided to ask Ancestor directly before making any decisions. So, she kept a strict watch on his door.

Lan, having found nothing useful from his free servant, stroked his beard and said, "Lad Rin, fetch the second person whose picture I showed you yesterday."

Situ Rin quickly bowed and responded while pounding her flat chest, "Great Ancestor, this little one will go through fire and water for you. I don't even need the gift you gave to Situ Kulu. I am just happy that I can help you."

Even with such a magnificent speech, she was still dragging her feet and stealing glances at Lan, hoping for something while walking away.

Lan sighed mentally at the hopelessness of his sole gang member. He had just bought a few cultivation dramas from the system store and tossed the data drive to Rin. "Lad, stop being jealous. This is what I planned to give you afterwards. It contains the history of a few cultivators from my time. You can watch it on your phone. Now hurry up, or I will confiscate it."

When Rin heard about the potential confiscation of her phone, she started sprinting madly. Her phone was her lifeline; she felt she would die without it.

Lan watched her sprint away with a feeling of smug satisfaction. It was like having a foolish little sister. Though he couldn't hit her or use his Ancestor powers on her much, he now had her lifeline in his hands.

While thinking about trivial matters, Lan noticed someone suspiciously loitering outside. A boy around 16-17 years old was checking stones outside his courtyard fence while glancing furtively at him. Lan recognized the kid from the crippled father-son case. He was determined to find gold beneath the stones.

Lan waited a few minutes, enjoying the discomfort the boy felt under his gaze. When the boy became flustered, Lan stroked his beard sagely and said, "Kid, come here."

Without thinking, the boy walked over to him. In his flustered state, he forgot to greet his Ancestor. Lan stared at the boy with a deep, unfathomable gaze that made him feel exposed, as if standing naked in a snowstorm. Rooted to the spot, the boy felt vulnerable.

Lan raised his pinky finger and touched the boy's forehead, making it glow with his Qi. After completing this party trick, he spoke enthusiastically, "Kid, wonderful! Ha Ha! I never thought there would be another genius in the Situ family besides me."

Seeing the boy still dazed, Lan shook his shoulder to wake him and continued, "My boy, you are a once-in-a-millennia genius. Ha Ha! Once in a millennia."

Lan's boisterous laughter echoed everywhere. Though nobody dared to approach, many glanced and went on to gossip, spreading rumors about the once-in-a-billion genius. Lan was sure this would aid his plan.

He ruffled the boy's hair and asked gently, "Kid, who is your father? What is your name?"

The boy, now calming down, bowed deeply and replied, "Great Ancestor, this little one is Situ Ken, the 9th generation member of the main family line. My father is Situ Fu of the 8th generation."

Situ Ken's mind was in turmoil. For his whole life, he had been told by his father that his cultivation was crippled. Growing up, he lived like a mortal child, but he faced no discrimination. As a member of the main family line, his status was high, and no one dared to mess with him despite his lack of cultivation. His sole dream was always to cultivate and accumulate personal strength.

He had heard how his mother was forced to separate from him and his father because his father was weak at the time. His mother's powerful family had spared them only because of her insistence. The helpless look on his father's face when telling this story pained him. When he saw Ancestor thrashing rival family heads, he understood what real strength was. He wanted to be strong, like Ancestor.

Despite his spiritual roots being destroyed and his inability to cultivate, he found hope in the rumors of his powerful, possibly immortal Ancestor. Today, he had planned to accidentally meet Ancestor to earn some sympathy. Situ Ken was more mature for his age, or so he believed, having grown up listening to his father's life lessons.

When Ancestor called him, he feared that Ancestor had seen through his scheme. Flustered, he approached. The penetrating gaze from Ancestor made him feel exposed and scared. He regretted not heeding his father's advice and working at the shop.

Just as he was about to flee, Ancestor's mysterious martial skill and laughter made him feel a mix of relief and disbelief. Ancestor's proclamation of him being a genius made him very happy, though his emotions were too conflicted for his face to express it properly. He hurriedly gave Ancestor his and his father's names and finally calmed down enough to ask, "Great Ancestor, m… me a genius? But I have crippled spiritual roots."

He dared not be happy without confirmation. Seeing Ancestor laugh again and stroke his magnificent beard, Lan replied, "My child, crippled my foot. Your path of cultivation is just different. Every genius at your level has to go through such a tribulation, even I did."

Lan's face grew a bit sad as he continued, "In my time, it was very tough, but now you have me. If you follow my guidance, you will reach the summit of this world in a few years, just like me."

Listening to Ancestor's words, Situ Ken felt rejuvenated. He had always believed he was different, and now he realized he was destined to become a genius who would reach the peak of the world.

Lan watched as Situ Ken bowed again, touching his head to the ground. "Great Ancestor, please guide me. I am ready to walk through fire if you instruct me."

Lan was confident that everything was nearly ready. The kid was ready to take the bait. He put on a mysterious expression and took out a ready-made Spiritual Diagram from the system store:

Small Shield – FP 500. Defensive Diagram for a smaller area. Restriction: Blocks only 8 attacks below the user's Cultivation Rank. Single Use.

He infused his Qi into the Small Shield spiritual diagram card, a square-shaped item measuring 4x4 cm, and handed it to Situ Ken. "Kid, your talent in spiritual diagrams is supreme. If you follow this path, even Gods will bow before you. This is a small but famous Spiritual Diagram on the continent. It can block attacks from King-level martial artists effortlessly."

Situ Ken's face turned to astonishment as he examined the Spiritual Diagram in his hand. He had heard of Spiritual Diagrams before but knew they were difficult to learn and used infrequently due to scarce resources. Now that he was told he had talent in this area, he felt a sense of smugness. As expected of me, my talent is very unusual and unheard of.

"Kid, you don't need to follow the normal path of cultivation. The knowledge of Spiritual Diagrams is currently scarce, but you are fortunate. Your ancestor possesses top-tier knowledge and resources." Lan handed over previously bought books about Spirit Arts. "These are ancient scriptures on Spirit Arts. Study them and try to learn. If you encounter any problems, you can consult with me."

Lan felt a twinge of guilt for tricking the kid, so he added, "From now on, you are under my protection. Be proud and study hard."

Situ Ken hurriedly bowed and happily headed home, eager to explore the ancient scriptures. Lan nodded to himself, thinking, If this kid learns Spiritual Arts quickly, I won't have to wake up so early every day. Let's hope he's smart enough to solve the Spiritual Diagrams on my roof.

Lan hoped the kid would study diligently. From what he knew, learning Spiritual Arts required resources more than talent, and he had plenty of resources now, with a willing kid to work for him.

Lan did not lie entirely. If the kid mastered Spiritual Arts, he could become strong enough to subdue Gods. And if he cannot, I will subdue them for him. Same thing. Lan chuckled.

Giving hope to someone in need was Lan's driving force. He assured himself he was not merely tricking the boy to sleep well. As Lan mentally reassured himself, he saw his new target approaching with his first gang member.