Chapter 545

Chapter 545

"Squeak~"

The window was pushed open, and Chen Xiyuan rested her elbows on the windowsill, enjoying the fresh morning air.

She loves living in Nantong, where she has close friends, kindred spirits, delicious food, a little brother, and peach blossoms that bloom all year round.

Sister Hua, carrying a basket, passed by below, stopped, and looked up at the girl in the painting in the window.

The early winter wind carried a sense of desolation, ruffling the girl's hair and adding a touch of chill to her already beautiful face.

If you disregard her usual bouncy walk with her flute and her carefree, cheerful chatter, she truly seems to have stepped out of an ancient scholar's painting.

Of course, even with all of the above, it's even more irresistible to many men; Xiaoyu herself couldn't resist such cheerful enthusiasm. The most painful part is also this, because she's not deliberately treating you differently, but like this with everyone.

Chen Xiyuan's gaze shifted downwards and fell upon the offering table set up on the dam.

Well!
When it comes to food, Ms. Chen has always been exceptionally astute.

The one in the peach grove always drinks heavily, and it's almost always related to her little brother. The fact that her little brother got up so early today means that breakfast at her sister's place might also be served earlier.

Chen Xiyuan quickly washed up, not even having time to comb her hair, and rushed downstairs and out.

Sure enough, breakfast was served earlier than usual.

There were obvious signs that breakfast had been eaten on the small table on the dam.

Normally, Li Sanjiang's family has three meals a day at a fixed time, but sometimes they will make slight adjustments based on some changes. For example, when Li Zhuiyuan is busy and it is past mealtime, as soon as he leaves the temple, Aunt Liu's call to start the meal will be heard.

"Sister~"

"There's plenty in the kitchen, but your Uncle Li isn't up yet."

"hey-hey."

Chen Xiyuan sat down at the round table. Aunt Liu carried two large trays and filled the table with all kinds of breakfast. This was just the limit of the round table, far from the limit of Chen Xiyuan's breakfast.

Aunt Liu walked behind Chen Xiyuan and helped her fix her hair.

Her neck was as white and smooth as jade, her hair was soft and flowing, and Aunt Liu had a smile on her lips.

Only when people see "youth" do they suddenly realize that they are already old.

"You don't need to rush over so much next time. No matter what, we'll always have enough to eat for you."

"Hmm."

Chen Xiyuan nodded in response as she ate.

After combing her hair, Aunt Liu went into the kitchen to prepare the next meal.

Chen Xiyuan picked up a small steamed bun, dipped it in chili oil mixed with balsamic vinegar, and chewed it, feeling completely satisfied and happy.

She noticed Lin Shuyou sitting by the well. When she first came up to the dam, she thought he was sharpening a knife, since he used a knife instead of a mace now. But she didn't see his Meishan double knives, so she assumed he was sharpening a kitchen knife for Aunt Liu. But after she turned her body to the side and moved away from the well to avoid blocking her view, she was surprised to find that although he was making the action of sharpening a knife and the sound of sharpening was constantly coming from it, he wasn't sharpening a knife, but rather sharpening a whetstone.

Lin Shuyou rinsed the whetstone with water, picked it up, and examined it carefully.

Chen Xiyuan: "Ayou, what are you doing?"

Lin Shuyou: "Get some skincare."

Chen Xiyuan: "Maintaining a whetstone?"

Lin Shuyou: "Yes, Brother Bin said that the preparations should be as meticulous as possible."

There are many people to kill next, and the knife will become dull from all the cutting. This time, Ayou plans to put a whetstone in his backpack and carry it with him so he can sharpen it whenever he has a spare moment.

But how exactly should this whetstone be maintained?

Lin Shuyou looked at it from left to right, but still wasn't quite satisfied.

Yayoi took a broom and swept from the back of the house to the front, stopping when she passed the well.

Lin Shuyou glanced at the monk but said nothing.

Yayoi squatted down.

Lin Shuyou glanced at Yayoi again, but still didn't say anything.

Yayoi reached out and grabbed the whetstone.

Ayou glanced at him again and let go of his hand.

Yayoi picked up the whetstone and sharpened it on her bald head.

After sharpening, he returned the whetstone to Ayou.

Ah-you looked down at the whetstone, which looked as if it had been coated with a layer of wax.

Yayoi smiled and stood up.

Chen Xiyuan: "That little monk."

Yayoi: "Donor Chen."

Chen Xiyuan picked up her flute: "Could you help me take care of my flute too?"

Yayoi put her hands together, walked to the small round table, and bowed her head.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony?"

"Please make yourself at home, benefactor."

Chen Xiyuan placed the jade flute on Yayoi's bald head and rubbed it for a while. With a "hum", the jade flute caught fire, like a torch.

"boom."

Chen Xiyuan threw the jade flute into the mud below the dam to put out the fire, then stood up and looked at Miyo: "Little monk, are you alright?"

Several black marks appeared on Yayoi's head. He walked back to the well, scooped up a handful of water and wiped his head. The black marks were washed away, and his bald head was shiny and new.

“I am fine, but Benefactor Chen, you should check if your flute is damaged.”

Chen Xiyuan walked to the edge of the dam, bent down, pulled out the flute, and rinsed it in the bucket of water by the well. The flute was fine.

Yayoi said apologetically, "Benefactor, I am unable to help maintain your flute."

Chen Xiyuan reached out and touched Yayoi's bald head, then picked up her chopsticks and placed a steamed bun on his plate.
"I'm sorry, you should eat something quickly."

“Benefactor Chen, this humble monk is a vegetarian.”

"Ok."

Chen Xiyuan put the steamed bun into her mouth. She remembered that during the meal, Grandpa Li asked Yasheng to mix the rice with braised pork sauce, and Yasheng happily did so and finished the whole plate.

Li Zhuiyuan and A Li walked out of the room on the second floor and went downstairs.

Ah Li entered the east room, carrying a porcelain bottle filled with blood, and headed towards the Taoist altar behind the house.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down at Chen Xiyuan's round table, looking at the wet flute placed in front of him.

Li Zhuiyuan had noticed the torch earlier. He could only say that one was indeed a high-ranking official who rose from humble beginnings, while the other was incredibly carefree and dared to maintain his position.

Buddhism and demons are inherently incompatible. Injecting a whetstone can enhance the sharpening effect, but Chen Xiyuan's emerald flute was made from bamboo from the Dragon King's tomb. After it broke, it was repaired by Qing An using a secret method. Therefore, the aura of Buddhism and demons cannot be infused into this flute, and it will naturally suffer a backlash.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Let me throw this flute into the furnace for you and reforge it."

Chen Xiyuan asked, "What effects can it enhance?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "It won't improve the effect at all, but it can add some patterns to make it look better."

Chen Xiyuan exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "You can draw a few designs you like, and I'll heat them up for you."

"I paint..." Chen Xiyuan looked towards the back of the house, "I might be able to paint..."

"Then let Ah Li give you a few designs, and you can choose one."

"Okay, okay." Chen Xiyuan then thought of something and asked somewhat embarrassedly, "But, isn't it too wasteful to open the kiln just to add some patterns?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I plan to clear out all the remaining items on hand recently."

Ah You's whetstone was leftover from the last time Zhenjun's weapon was melted down. In the past, such scraps would have been valuable and would have been carefully preserved; such extravagance would not have been possible.

Chen Xiyuan: "Little brother, are you trying to kill yourself?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Life will be much more comfortable from now on, at least for a while."

Chen Xiyuan lowered her voice and asked, "Has someone had a change of heart again and is returning the item to its rightful owner?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Chen Xiyuan: "How many are there?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Not only that."

Chen Xiyuan: "A group?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "One square."

Ms. Chen had an idea in mind. She raised her hand, indicating that she needed time to think about it again, but she didn't stop putting the pie into her mouth.

The word "square" has a special meaning for Chen Xiyuan, as she first met her younger brother at Wangjianglou Square.

If it were the square in front of Wangjiang Tower, there would be a huge crowd...

Chen Xiyuan's eyes turned cold, and the flute on the table emitted a chilling sound.

"They... dare!"

Chen Xiyuan looked at Li Zhuiyuan: "Little brother, what should we do?"

Li Zhuiyuan said calmly, "There's no other way. I plan to kill them all."

Chen Xiyuan reached out and grabbed the flute: "I'll help you."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded: "Okay."

Chen Xiyuan: "But what if this time..."

The last class was over, but they forcibly changed the exam paper before the exam started. Chen Xiyuan didn't want to experience that again this time.

Li Zhuiyuan: "This time, such an accident should not happen."

Previously, Li Zhuiyuan had only speculated that multiple teams traveling across the river would easily run into trouble, but now it is almost certain that this is a wave pushed by those top forces together, so the restrictions are much lower.

To put it bluntly, what Li Zhuiyuan really needs to worry about and contend with is the targeted pressure from the Heavenly Dao.

In Li Zhuiyuan's eyes now, this unexpected "crisis" has actually reduced the difficulty.

Moreover, the exam rules were designed so perfectly to suit his needs that if Zhao Yi was truly behind it, Li Zhuiyuan would think he was being far too reckless and obvious, and wasn't afraid of exposing his identity as a traitor afterward.

Chen Xiyuan: "Okay, then let's kill them together!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Chen Xiyuan continued eating with her head down.

Li Zhuiyuan got up and left the table.

Other teams need to undergo political vetting, but Sister Chen doesn't. You only need to tell her when you're eating.

Yayoi followed Li Zhuiyuan to the back of the house. Li Zhuiyuan stopped and asked:

"What, you want to come into the dojo with me?"

A dojo created by a formation master is essentially a permanent formation representing their highest level of skill; entering it is tantamount to walking into a trap.

"If the senior allows me to enter, I am willing to enter as well."

"So what do you want to say?"

"This humble monk only wants to remind you, senior, that if you want to avoid this wave, you must hurry."

What might seem like a pipe dream to others, I know, sir, possesses such an ability.

"Can't you see what I'm preparing?"

“This humble monk saw it.”

"So you still think I'll choose to avoid it?"

"How the senior chooses is the senior's business, and what this humble monk says is this humble monk's business."

"The bait has its own reel-in path, right?"

"Yes."

"Yayoi, not only will I not ask you to change anything, I will also cooperate with you as much as possible, do you understand?"

“I understand. After the big fish takes the bait, it is still unknown whose fishing rod it is.”

Li Sanjiang went downstairs to have breakfast.

He ate a bowl of porridge with a plate of stir-fried pickled vegetables and edamame, enjoying it immensely.

Halfway through the meal, after slurping a mouthful of food with his chopsticks, Li Sanjiang said to Aunt Liu, who was clearing away the dishes:

"An expert from the agricultural technology station came down yesterday and said that greenhouses could be built in our village. The village chief contacted me."

The main reason is that Li Sanjiang has contracted too much land in the village. This can be considered a task assigned by the higher authorities, and as the village's "big landlord," Li Sanjiang really can't refuse.

Aunt Liu: "Then let's do it. It's more profitable than growing grain, right?"

Li Sanjiang: "It just takes some effort, like setting up the scaffold and stuff."

Aunt Liu: "We have quite a lot of family members."

Li Sanjiang: "The main problem is that the experts don't stay long. If there were more people, it would be better to finish the job in one day and save trouble later. But it's close to the New Year, so it's not easy to hire people."

Inside the dojo, Ah Li was practicing her swordsmanship.

The girl's sword dance was slow, but the artistic conception was very strong.

This is the advantage of high software configuration; you only need to refine the hardware step by step, and you don't have to worry about compatibility issues at each stage.

That's what genius is all about. What others struggle to reach the top is just a smooth road for her to walk.

If Ah Li hadn't been so talented, her childhood would have been much happier.

Suddenly, Ah Li thrust out her sword, the Blood Porcelain Sword in her hand flipping and transforming into a half-body Dream Ghost. The Dream Ghost opened its eyes, drawing the enemy into the dream. At the same time, the Dream Ghost's mouth opened, and Ah Li's figure swept past, pulling a new Blood Porcelain Sword from the Dream Ghost's mouth and thrusting it in.

This combo is smooth and seamless, executed in one go.

Ah Li sheathed her sword.

Li Zhuiyuan opened a can of Jianlibao, inserted a straw, and handed it to the girl.

The girl took it and took a sip.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, and a dent appeared in an area, the platform rose, and the golden body of the Bodhisattva was revealed.

Last time, in order to deduce cause and effect, Li Zhuiyuan consumed half of the golden body of a Bodhisattva.

The boy didn't intend to keep the remaining half either. He formed hand seals, and golden threads flowed into it.

Ah Li's Blood Porcelain Sword transformed into a vase.

A bloody hand reached out from the vase, hesitant and timid, as if it couldn't believe that it had been fed such a good thing.
With a single pull, Li Zhuiyuan caused the golden statue of the Bodhisattva to float up, radiating golden light, and then vanish into thin air.

Without further hesitation, Bloodhand grabbed upwards and pulled the dense golden light into the vase.

The cracks on the blood-stained porcelain bottle were covered with gold, the sinister aura subsided, and it appeared even more dignified.

After Li Zhuiyuan successfully became a Bodhisattva, this golden statue lost its original value, since the chanting of scriptures by many eminent monks could not compare to the Bodhisattva's personal recitation.

But using it to feed the blood vial is like feeding Little Black with Ganoderma lucidum.

This is a purely consumable item used to counteract the backlash from Ah Li's use of the Blood Porcelain Bottle; once it's used up, it's gone.

But just as Li Zhuiyuan told Chen Xiyuan, he planned to clear out his inventory this time, so early in the morning, he and the girl went to the herb garden to "drain the pond to catch all the fish".

A protracted war will inevitably consume far more medicine than in the past when crossing rivers. This time, we must bring enough supplies; even doubling them would not be enough.

Li Zhuiyuan told A Li about the flute pattern, and A Li nodded.

As he left the temple, the boy glanced again at the White Crane Boy and the Two Generals of Increase and Decrease on the offering table.

"We still have some of the beast hides that Zhao Yi gave us last time. Let's make some new clothes for them, and also change the portrait of the Great Emperor. Hmm, change it to one made of snakeskin."

This can be considered a small token of appreciation from the apprentice to the master.

Li Zhuiyuan inserted three incense sticks into the Emperor's incense burner.

The bodhisattva images that originally stood on either side of the emperor had long been removed, as the young man had no interest in worshipping himself.

"Master, Fengdu must still be short of talent, right?"

Kiln.

The formation stopped functioning, and the furnace was activated.

Chen Xiyuan activated her domain, jumped into the formation, and took out the jade flute.

The material of the jade flute speaks for itself, but Grandpa's aesthetic sense is debatable.

Now, the last regret has been made up for. Chen Xiyuan happily held the jade flute and waved it a few times. Throwing pretty things at people makes her feel beautiful.

Luo Xiaoyu was mesmerized.

After a brief moment of dazedness, he glanced at the materials consumed in this furnace operation in the corner.

He was the one who implemented the plan, the one who started the furnace, so he knew that the result of this high-cost effort was only to make the flute look better.

This didn't fit his understanding of the boy. After all, the boy had already moved all his wealth here, yet he couldn't withstand such extravagant decorations several times.

"Thanks, you've worked hard!"

Chen Xiyuan waved to Luo Xiaoyu and left.

Once the girl's figure was out of sight, Luo Xiaoyu raised his hand and waved, muttering to himself:
"It's worth it."

"Brother Luo..."

"what!"

Luo Xiaoyu screamed in fright as the chessboard behind him opened, with chess pieces surrounding his entire body.

As a formation master, the worst thing is being approached by someone, especially someone who gets close silently.

Tan Wenbin revealed his figure.

Luo Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief and put away the chessboard.

"Brother Tan, you almost scared me to death."

"Brother Luo, there are plenty of fish in the sea."

Miss Chen simply doesn't have that in mind. If you talk to her about romance and poetry, she'd much rather have sesame dumplings.

"Brother Tan, you are overthinking it. It's just that the flowers are in full bloom, and I couldn't help but take a few more glances at them."

"There's something I'd like to ask Brother Luo for his opinion on."

"Brother Tan, please speak." Luo Xiaoyu pointed to the warehouse where his family's wealth was stored. "I think there's no need for us to be so polite between us."

“My brother Xiaoyuan predicts that the next wave will be multiple teams going to the river. I hope Brother Luo can join us and lend us a hand.”

"Luo has no reason to disagree."

"Thank you, Brother Luo."

"You're still being polite."

Tan Wenbin shrugged. Whether it was just politeness or not, it was too early to tell.

In this world, the most dangerous thing is to trust someone, and the most enjoyable thing is to have someone you can trust.

After tidying up the furnace, Luo Xiaoyu left the kiln and returned to Taolin.

Beside the peach grove, Benben lay on Xiao Hei's back, the child and the dog basking in the sun together.

Luo Xiaoyu taught the morning class, and he took some time to help Chen Xiyuan with her carving.

Seeing Benben slacking off, Luo Xiaoyu coughed, adopting a strict teacher's expression, and said:
"Have you finished your homework?"

Benben opened his eyes, got up, took a chessboard from Xiao Hei's saddle, and spread it out. The squares on it were already filled in.

It's all correct, because if there's any mistake, that part will burn.

This was Luo Xiaoyu's homework for after-school care. He had deliberately increased the amount of work, worried that Benben would finish too early, hoping he could have another lesson later. This child's talent in array formations was in no way inferior to his own, and more importantly, he wouldn't just focus on array formations like he did.

The person who asked him to teach the child along with Master Sun wasn't planning to train the child into a simple array master; it was more like sending the child to preschool.

After some time, the child can freely learn the unique skills of the Qin and Liu families, not to mention that the other child has many other profound inheritances that can be passed on.

"Xiaoyu".

"Sister Hua?"

"This is a letter from my master."

"Grandmaster?"

Sitting down next to Benben and Xiaohei, Luo Xiaoyu opened the envelope and looked at it with a serious expression.

Sister Hua asked curiously, "Xiaoyu, did Grandmaster send you back to the sect?"

Luo Xiaoyu shook his head: "My master gave me two paths to choose from."

Sister Hua squatted down, looked at the contents of the letter, and immediately turned pale.

Chen Xiyuan walked out of the peach grove.

Upon receiving her new flute, she immediately went to show it off to her confidante and they even happily played a duet together.

Seeing everyone sitting there, she came over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing..." Sister Hua wanted to take the letter back and hide it.

Unexpectedly, Luo Xiaoyu handed the letter to Chen Xiyuan and said, "Take a look."

Sister Hua thought Xiaoyu had gone mad. How could the contents of this letter be exposed here?
Chen Xiyuan took the letter, read its contents, and then winked at Luo Xiaoyu:
"What's your choice?"

In the letter, Luo Xiaoyu's grandmaster did not order him to do anything, but instead told Luo Xiaoyu about the benefits he could gain from doing something, and then let Luo Xiaoyu choose for himself whether or not to do it.

"I accept losing to him, but if it were someone else who eventually became the Dragon King, I might not accept it."

"so?"

"So, I'll choose one that I can accept, so that I can at least live a more comfortable life. Miss Chen, please help me pass this letter on to that person."

"it is good."

After Chen Xiyuan left, Sister Hua wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said to Luo Xiaoyu:

"Xiaoyu, won't you reconsider?"

"Does Sister Hua disagree with me doing this?"

“It’s not that I disagree, it’s just that I feel you made this decision too quickly. Shouldn’t you reconsider? Besides, how could you just hand over the Master’s letter like that? Doesn’t that put the sect in an unjust position? The sect might even be implicated because of this…”

"As you can see, the Grandmaster listed the benefits offered by the other party in great detail."

"It's very detailed and extensive..."

"Yes, Grandmaster deliberately wrote it in more detail for that person to see."

Luo Xiaoyu reached out and touched Benben's face. Benben smiled at his teacher and turned to continue dozing off.

"What benefit could I possibly gain compared to a future Dragon King calling me 'Teacher'?"

Chen Xiyuan returned quickly.

Hua Jie looked puzzled when she saw that Chen Xiyuan was still holding the letter. Did the person who refused to accept the letter not trust her Xiaoyu?

Chen Xiyuan folded the letter and put it in Xiao Hei's saddle, then smiled at Luo Xiaoyu and said:
"The little brother said that this letter is for Benben; the little brother also said that after the New Year, he will ask Grandpa Li to calculate an auspicious day so that Benben can perform the apprenticeship ceremony for you."

Luo Xiaoyu's lips curled up, and the chess pieces on the chessboard behind him jumped rapidly.

The teacher has become a mentor.

"Heh, we should kill a few more guys to liven things up!"

……

"Mo Fan, think this over carefully. This is not only beneficial to the Xu family, but also to you personally!"

The middle-aged man had been rambling on for a long time.

As Xu Mofan listened, he sat there cleaning the gun. He cleaned it very carefully, leaving not a speck of dirt.

Behind them, the maid Xia He was packing her luggage. The young master lived a simple life and didn't own much. Most of his belongings were hers, half of which were array equipment and the other half were cosmetics and various snacks.

"Mofan, only when he dies will you have a chance. Do you really want this gun in your hand to never have a chance to shine in this generation?"

Xu Mofan cleaned the gun, held the muzzle in his hand, and stroked the white tassel.

"Third Uncle, have you made up your mind?"

"What Uncle wants to ask is, Mo Fan, did you listen to me?"

"Has Uncle San said these things to Grandpa and Father?"

"of course."

"They agreed too?"

"Of course we agree. At this price, who in the martial arts world could refuse?"

"I do not believe."

"Mo Fan, what don't you believe?"

"I don't believe that my third uncle can still stand in front of me alive after saying these things to my grandfather and father."

"you……"

The third uncle sensed the murderous aura emanating from his nephew.

The middle-aged man flicked his right sleeve, releasing a long spear close to his body, but before he could draw it, he froze.

Xu Mofan appeared beside him, holding the spear tip in his left hand, piercing his own chest, his third uncle's blood staining the spear tassel red.

"Your gun...why...is so fast?"

"Because you have too many distracting thoughts in your head, Third Uncle."

"I never expected... that you would be completely... utterly subdued by him..."

“I cannot stand such despicable means to compete for the Dragon King, nor can I stand my gun.”

Xu Mofan's palm trembled, and his third uncle's heart meridian was severed, causing him to die instantly.

With a flick of the spear, Uncle Three's body was sent flying and hung on the roof of the thatched hut.

Xia He looked up for a moment, then continued to pack her things.

She was not surprised by the young master's choice at all. The moment the third master uttered his first words, Xia He knew that he was going to be sacrificed to the gun.

"Xia He, are you done packing?"

"Almost done, almost done, young master. When the letter came from over there, you said you weren't going, so I didn't pack."

“When Tan Wenbin invited me before, I didn’t want to go, but as his nephew, I couldn’t refuse his request.”

"Young Master still wants to help him?"

"I'm not going to help him, I just feel that if I don't kill a few people, these arrogant and powerful families will really think that this martial arts world belongs to them!"

……

Lake Heart Pavilion.

Tao Zhuming walked over, yawning as he went, muttering complaints under his breath:

"Grandpa, if I had known that when we divided the family property, I should have chosen a cave dwelling that was far away from our ancestral home, so that I wouldn't have to be summoned by you at any time. It's like I'm still being fed by you."

Tao Yunhe glanced at his grandson and cursed, "Don't you know how much trouble it saves to live close by? You little brat, you're getting the benefits and you're still acting innocent."

Tao Zhuming: "Let me tell you, you can insult me, but if you dare call my grandfather an old beast, I'll fight you!"

Tao Yunhe chuckled and habitually reached up to pick his nose.

Tao Zhuming: "Grandpa, you should change this habit. You are the head of the Dragon King's family, after all. It's not very elegant."

Tao Yunhe withdrew his hand, rubbing his fingertips together as he said:

"You don't know anything! This is called 'shaping a seal'!"

Tao Zhuming: "Those with thin nasal walls really don't have the talent to learn your secret technique; they'd probably bleed to death just from nosebleeds."

Tao Yunhe: "Hey, why are you still sleeping?"

Tao Zhuming: "It's not time for me to go out yet."

Tao Yunhe: "Didn't you receive the notification?"

Tao Zhuming: "Whose notification was this?"

Tao Yunhe looked at his grandson with disdain: "Zhuming, are you doing that badly on the river?"

Tao Zhuming: "Hey, that won't do. Even if you get a nosebleed a few times today, you still have to explain yourself clearly."

Tao Yunhe: "Isn't it obvious? Even if you act like a dog, people won't call you anything."

Tao Zhuming: "Last time with the Yu family, I narrowly escaped death, and even the elders of the family were killed..."

Tao Yunhe's nose started bleeding, and he immediately interrupted his grandson: "You little beast, can't you speak more clearly!"

Tao Zhuming asked seriously, "Grandpa, what exactly do you want to say to me?"

Tao Yunhe: "The same thing that happened to that Qin family member back then is going to happen again."

Tao Zhuming: "This is a setup..."

Tao Yunhe: "Hmm."

Tao Zhuming: "I'm not going. I can't afford to lose face like that!"

Tao Yunhe: "I didn't ask you to bite him, I asked you to help him bite someone."

Tao Zhuming: "Then I definitely can't go, I'd die."

Tao Yunhe: "Grandson, you have to go. It would be best if you died there."

Tao Zhuming: "You found out about my grandmother's affair. No, that shouldn't be my fault. Could it be that my mother wronged my father?"

Tao Yunhe: "You little beast, don't make such ethical jokes."

Tao Zhuming: "But I don't understand, Grandpa, if you want me to go and die, at least give me a reason, right?"

Tao Yunhe:
"The last time they did that, they didn't contact me; I only found out afterward."

They still didn't contact me this time, but I managed to pick out some clues.

Grandpa knows it's a near-certain death sentence, but Grandpa still hopes you'll go.

"Even though the Dragon King is the Dragon King, and the Dragon King's family is the Dragon King's family, at the very least, besides Qin Liu, shouldn't there be at least one other clean place in this martial world?"

……

A pavilion at the entrance of Siyuan Village.

At dusk, Zhang Li sat at the stone table, flipping through the Yangtze Evening Post.

To the villagers who occasionally pass by, it is just a tattered newspaper lying there, turning in the cold wind.

In fact, the newspaper was new; Zhang Li deliberately made it look old to prevent someone from stealing it.

He loved this kind of life. He had escaped the scheming and backstabbing of the lowly ghost officials in Fengdu Underworld and come here, under the feet of the young lord. He could drink tea and read newspapers, and he had both a life and a future. It was incredibly leisurely.

Just then, a donkey cart came from the south side of the road, and on the cart lay a refined scholar holding a folding fan.

In the dead of winter, they were still fanning themselves, as if they had just escaped from a mental hospital.

On the north side of the road, a bald man walked by, followed by a man and a woman pushing a cart with two coffins on it.

Some impatient drivers turned on their headlights early on, causing the light to reflect off their bald heads, making them think that they were about to pass another car.

Bald Feng Xionglin and Zhang Li know each other. They had brought their families here before, and it seems they've brought relatives to visit again this time.

As for that scholar, Zhang Li immediately flipped through the roster and found him: Zhu Yiwen. The thoughtful Steward Tan had even marked it, saying that he should inform Lord Runsheng first when he arrived.

Zhang Li straightened his official robes, gracefully stepped out of the pavilion, and prepared to greet them.

Zhu Yiwen didn't rush into the village. Instead, he jumped off the donkey cart, walked towards Feng Xionglin, looked at the coffin behind him, and said in surprise:

"Seriously, you bald guy, is it really necessary to bring a gift this time you come all the way here?"

Feng Xionglin: "I didn't intend to be this distant, but there was no other way."

Zhu Yiwen: "No, I have to take a look."

Feng Xionglin: "Look, there aren't any coffin nails."

Zhu Yiwen reached out and lifted the coffin lid, revealing a middle-aged corpse inside. It looked like he had only been dead for a short time.

Feng Xionglin: "I had only heard about how terrifying the resources of those top powers were before, but after being personally offered a bribe this time, I realized just how outrageous it really is."

Two good-for-nothing relatives in my family want me to take their side.

I said that won't do; that's not how business is done. How can you only listen to one side's price? So I brought these two relatives and elders over to hear their prices.

Hehe, I'm sorry you had to see that.

Zhu Yiwen shook his head: "Don't laugh. Someone from my family also came to persuade me, and I just dry-aged them."

Feng Xionglin: "Why didn't you bring it?"

Zhu Yiwen: "The time was too short, and it didn't have enough time to develop its flavor."

Seeing that they had finished their conversation, Zhang Li stepped forward and bowed:
"Lord Feng, Lord Zhu, please follow me."

The two teams merged and entered along the village road.

Feng Xionglin pointed into the distance and asked, "Brother Zhu, do you see that peach grove?"

Zhu Yiwen: "I saw it."

Feng Xionglin: "Why aren't you hurrying to send your visiting card?"

As Zhang Li floated forward, he turned around and laughed, "Lord Feng is witty; even his reminder about the forbidden area is humorous."

Zhu Yiwen: "Forbidden area? The feng shui of this village is really something. I thought I just found a secluded place to live. When I came here, I saw that this village has not been demolished for decades."

Feng Xionglin: "At least it's the Shuanglongwang family."

In the distance, on the ridge of the field, Uncle Qin was carrying a hoe and walking.

Zhang Li introduced, "Lord Feng, Lord Zhu, and that is Lord Qin Li."

Feng Xionglin swallowed hard. The Feng family, known for their indestructible bodies, were most afraid of the orthodox Qin family in the martial arts world.

Zhu Yiwen: "It's a bit inappropriate for you to put 'both of us' together in one sentence with 'sir' after them."

Zhang Li: "Steward Tan said that Lord Qin is an elder, and you two are guest elders, of equal rank."

As soon as I stepped onto the path, I saw Tan Wenbin come to greet me.

After exchanging greetings, Tan Wenbin pointed to the coffin and asked, "You came all this way, why bring any gifts?"

Feng Xionglin: "There was no way to refuse the hospitality of my two elders. They always said that it's never wrong to be too polite."

Zhu Yiwen suddenly realized that he had made a mistake. He should have brought the dry-type aging machine from home. It was for making a statement of his position and attitude. Otherwise, how would anyone know if he was really on the same page?

Tan Wenbin said to Zhu Yiwen, "As long as the people come, that's enough. Who would willingly hide themselves in a wolf's den for the sake of profit and harbor evil intentions?"

Zhu Yiwen felt relieved.

If you really want to stand on the opposite side, then just hide behind the crowd. What kind of profit would make someone risk their life to come here as an inside agent and self-destruct?
Of course, those who have this kind of self-sacrificing courage will not stand on the opposite side.

Tan Wenbin: "While my master is not home right now, let's move the coffin in first. You two should also tell your men to act like ordinary people in front of my master."

As for your lodgings, I have already cleaned the kiln and prepared sleeping bags. Although the conditions are a bit simple, the three of us will sleep there tonight.

Aunt Liu stood on the dam, watching the two groups of people arrive, and said to Liu Yumei, who was sitting there drinking tea:

"Uncle Sanjiang said this morning that he wanted to gather some people to set up the greenhouse, and now people are starting to come."

Liu Yumei took a sip of tea and glanced at Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu: "What...did I miss?"

Liu Yumei: "When you were little, I told you to learn more about feng shui, but you insisted on playing with insects."

The fact that Ali was sent by Xiao Yuan to deliver a message that night shows that Ali was already aware of what was going on, but this woman surnamed Liu was the most oblivious one in the family.

Liu Yumei sighed. Fortunately, A Li and Xiao Yuan were both extremely skilled in feng shui, otherwise the Liu family lineage might have been cut off because she chose Liu Ting.

Although Aunt Liu's intuition was poor, she was quick-witted. Combining this with the content of Ali's nightmare that night, she immediately realized something, and her eyes revealed intense anger.

"They want to do it again?"

Liu Yumei put down her teacup with a crisp "bang," like an invisible bucket of cold water poured over Aunt Liu, causing her breath to dissipate.

“You scared those two kids so much that they dared not go any further. They were afraid that if they went up this dam, you would throw them into the insect den.”

Aunt Liu: "Madam, could we leave?"

Liu Yumei: "What's there to avoid? Our Xiaoyuan... our head of the family has no intention of avoiding anything."

Aunt Liu: "But... are you really that at ease?"

Liu Yumei: "I was worried, but after Xiao Yuan comforted me through Ali's words, I figured things out and didn't feel anything was wrong. There are records of this period on the river from my ancestors, and I even saw the old dog walk by with my own eyes."

Ali fell into the fierce competition period; this is only the early stage. The most outstanding one is still our Xiao Yuan.

Ali said that Runsheng is close to becoming an elder.

According to Xiaoyuan's habit, he either doesn't mention them at all, or he mentions them in a comprehensive way. Binbin and Ayou are probably not the same as before. Our Xiaoyuan has become a bodhisattva now, and Ali has also practiced martial arts.

See those two kids? They're definitely among the best in Jiangnan today. In my eyes, they're only on par with the middle-aged elders in their families. The merits of traveling the river and gaining blessings are truly mysterious; they've shrunk by so many years.

But our Xiaoyuan and his family are almost at the age of their grandfathers.

"This is a father beating his son, what's there to be afraid of?"

Aunt Liu's eyes flickered, her thoughts shifting rapidly, and then her face lit up with excitement as she realized what Xiao Yuan was planning to do.

Just then, two insects began to hiss from inside Aunt Liu's sleeve.

"Madam, there has been unusual activity at both ancestral homes."

In the past, there had been disturbances at both families' ancestral homes, and Aunt Liu, Uncle Qin, and even Liu Yumei had all personally gone to appease them.

But this sudden change is too coincidental.

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the house and onto the terrace. He was there to greet Zhu Yiwen and Feng Xionglin. In addition, he had good hearing and had overheard the conversation below. Since his grandfather was not home, there was no need to hide anything from anyone.

"Please ask Aunt Liu and Uncle Qin to go to the Qin family ancestral home to appease them. Uncle Qin should face the white tiger directly at the Qin family ancestral home; it knows what to do."

It's the Liu family's ancestral home..."

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu are no longer able to suppress the evil spirits in their ancestral homes. I've been to the Qin family's house before, but I haven't been to the Liu family's.

Liu Yumei said to Aunt Liu, "Go ahead and tell them that I, Mei'er, am begging them one last time to be quiet. The head of the family is busy killing people outside. Once this revenge is taken, I will have the head of the family visit them at the Liu family."

Aunt Liu: "Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Grandma, they're still worried. They insist on sending the three of you away."

Liu Yumei: "Because they know that what can restrain them may not be able to restrain me, Grandma. If something happens to you, Grandma will not only give up her own life, but she can also burn down both of these families!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Since Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu are going to their respective ancestral homes, let's put their minds at ease. Grandma, you shouldn't stay at home either. I'll keep my word. The invitation from Qinglong Temple arrived home a while ago. Grandma, you can take the invitation and go to Qinglong Temple to attend the ceremony."

Liu Yumei smiled and said, "Xiao Yuan, Grandma is really lucky. She was pampered by her elders when she was young, and she is pampered by her younger relatives when she gets old."

You're out there fighting and bleeding, but I, your grandma, get to enjoy the limelight.

Li Zhuiyuan: "You are a young lady, so it is only right that you do this."

"Hehehe..."

Liu Yumei smiled through her tears:
"Alright, Grandma will go to the ceremony and see for herself what they're really like back then!"

(End of this chapter)