Chapter 577
Chapter 577
Chapter 577
"This is your cave dwelling."
Looking at the quiet and elegant villa in front of her, Yin Meng found it hard to associate it with a "cave dwelling".
The girl turned to look at Yin Meng and asked in return:
"What, as an evil spirit, can't you live in a better place?"
"You've misunderstood, that's not what I meant."
The girl reached out to push the bamboo door and said:
“We regard the patriarch as the future Dragon King of this generation. As a follower of the patriarch, you don’t need to use honorifics to address me. It would make me seem arrogant and disrespectful.”
"okay, I get it."
"Come in, Xiaoliu Li, come in with me."
The girl took Ah Li's hand and led her inside.
Yin Meng followed behind, and as she entered, the bamboo door slowly closed with a crisp, rhythmic sound.
Looking back, each pillar has a unique pattern, so exquisite that it can be called a work of art.
This is also why Yin Meng was surprised by this villa. Even in a place like the Liu family's ancestral home, it stands out in terms of aesthetics and pursuit.
"Ok?"
Yin Meng noticed a pool of blood seeping out from the corner of the bamboo door.
But when Yin Meng subconsciously approached to check, the blood quickly receded and went back into the bamboo.
The girl stopped ahead, turned around, placed her index finger on her lower teeth, and said:
"Sorry, I've been really angry with those guys from the Qin family lately, and my gums are bleeding a bit."
"Then you need to take care of your health."
It turns out that this villa is the real Nannu, and this long row of bamboo doors are her teeth. In other words, I just walked into her open mouth with A Li.
"Hehehe... I am here to be ground down and await my demise, not to be worshipped."
Even if the Liu family were to risk karmic retribution to serve me, I wouldn't care; such a family is not worth my daughter staying in, not even for a moment longer. I... find it filthy."
Yin Meng was speechless.
Girl: "What, you think it's absurd that a big evil spirit says it likes cleanliness?"
Yin Meng: "No, I'm just bad with words and don't know how to respond. If Ayou were here, that would be great."
Girl: "The one who wields dual swords?"
Yin Meng: "Mm."
Girl: "He's very good at talking?"
Yin Meng: "No, but it's not so awkward when two people who are bad at talking stand together."
Girl: "You're in my mouth right now. Logically, your fear should be twitching on my tongue. It's normal that our little Liu Li isn't. You... aren't really that surprised?"
Yin Meng: "Maybe it's because I've gotten used to places like this."
Daughter: "Where?"
Yin Meng: "The Underworld."
The girl's eyes flickered slightly, and she said in a deep voice, "You can stay in Yin Changsheng's head?"
Clearly, the girl knew the true structure of the underworld. The so-called eighteen levels of hell were transformed from the Great Emperor's true form, and the Yellow Springs, which were extremely famous in mythology, were the pus that constantly flowed from the Great Emperor's enormous dead body.
Yin Meng: "My surname is Yin."
Nannu: "This has nothing to do with your surname. Yin Changsheng doesn't care about his own bloodline."
Yin Meng: "For a long time in the past, my ancestors detained me in the underworld in order to control Brother Xiao Yuan."
Girl: "But you're out now..."
Yin Meng: "Yeah, I just came out not long ago."
"Hahahahahaha!" The girl laughed heartily. "It seems that even Yin Changsheng has recognized my family head's status as a potential Dragon King. He is also afraid that after the Liu family is restored, future generations of Liu family Dragon Kings will challenge His Fengdu Underworld."
Yin Meng had memorized the latest version of the "Remembering Ancestors Secret Scroll" and knew that Brother Xiao Yuan compared himself to his ancestors as "comrades-in-arms".
However, what the girl said wasn't entirely wrong. If Xiao Yuan didn't have the ability and potential, the ancestor wouldn't have "given up" to him.
The girl then began to show the two of them around her house.
Inside, the scenery changes with every step, creating a rich and varied landscape. Every time you exit a corridor or even turn your head to look at any random window, you can appreciate a new and picturesque view.
Ah Li wasn't particularly interested in the gardens; what caught the girl's eye were the lifelike animals.
There are fish in the pond, monkeys on the artificial hill, birds on the branches, and deer under the plum tree...
They were all completely still.
Girl: "Little Liu Li, do you like it?"
Ah Li nodded.
The girl licked her lips, as if savoring the taste: "These guys all taste pretty good."
These are all powerful beings that the girl once devoured. It's like after she finished eating, there were bits of meat left between her teeth. She picked them off and made them into souvenirs, which she placed here to add "dynamics".
Nannu: "Although he is the head of the family, don't worry, Xiaoliuli. If he ever treats you badly or betrays you in the future, come and tell me, and I will devour him!"
Upon hearing this, Ah Li shook her head.
The girl said, "You are Mei's granddaughter. Mei has a different status in my eyes, and so do you."
Ah Li shook her head again.
Nannu: "Hehe, it seems that our young patriarch is indeed capable. Sigh, I can understand, just like how Mei Yatou treated that Qin family's little... Dragon King back then."
Ah Li walked to the stream and stared intently at the goldfish that were still in the water.
The girl walked up to the girl and stopped, sighed, and said:
“If you like it, then take a look. Mei is still biased towards outsiders. Before the patriarch lit the lamp, he only divided the contract at the Qin family's ancestral home and didn't come to my Liu family to get it.”
Yin Meng explained, "You misunderstood. There was an accident when our little brother Yuan lit the lamp. Madam, he didn't have time to complete the contract."
Upon hearing this, the girl glanced at the leather whip at Yin Meng's waist, then recalled the items on the other people's bodies, and a strange smile immediately appeared on her face:
"Please inform the head of the family that we will make room in the ancestral home in advance to relieve the head of the family's worries."
"Okay, I will."
The girl picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it into the stream.
Her lips trembled slightly.
The stream boiled and surged upwards, transforming into a terrifying black pillar of light, within which the goldfish turned into ferocious beasts with hideous appearances.
The girl gritted her teeth, deliberately releasing her spiritual power to share with the other evil spirits in the house:
"Haha, our patriarch is quite something, he's a... ruthless outlaw who's conquered the world!"
……
With a pipe dangling from his lips, Nan Weng's hands roamed over Runsheng's body, patting here and touching there, occasionally smacking his lips and exhaling a satisfied smoke ring, as if he had found his favorite at a mule and horse market, repeatedly praising him silently:
What a beast of the Qin family!
Runsheng was in a weakened state after his ventilators were fully open, so he couldn't escape and could only let the old man make fun of him.
Beside him, Lin Shuyou took out pills from his backpack and helped Runsheng take them.
Nan Weng noticed the colorful pills in Lin Shuyou's hand.
The medicine is very potent, but the manufacturing process is extremely crude.
Nan Weng: "I knew the Qin family was rough, but I never expected them to be this rough, treating elixirs and herbs like dough."
Lin Shuyou: "Uh, no, I made this."
They had obtained many miraculous medicines in the last wave, but the efficacy of medicine must be considered. Even for qi-tonifying medicines, there are specific requirements. After all, those lamplighters would tailor-make medicines according to their own conditions whenever they had the means.
Therefore, when using these spoils, one has to waste them, deliberately removing most of their medicinal properties and keeping only the useful ones, then kneading them together, which is indeed very similar to kneading dough.
At this moment, the old man seemed to hear something, and after a moment of surprise, he murmured:
"A reckless fellow? Mei girl, really! How could you be so careless, adding to the crisis and wasting the family head's time!"
Immediately afterwards, the old man shook his head and muttered to himself:
"Jade must be carved to become a useful object. In hindsight, being able to get through it is a valuable experience, and it will become a legend for future generations."
After Nanweng finished speaking, he picked up his pipe and tapped Runsheng's arm with it.
"It's a pity. I have been dedicated to honing my body until it is made of gold. I know that one day I will be taken away by the sky above me. I thought I would have a good fight with the Qin family warriors. Even if I lost in the end, it would not have been in vain for this lifetime of hard work."
Unexpectedly, the person they ended up facing was none other than the Dragon King of the Liu family from that generation.
Lin Shuyou chimed in, "Since it's the Dragon King, it should be a very exciting fight, right?"
Nan Weng: "Yes, it was a very exciting match, quite exciting indeed."
Lin Shuyou: "Then it's not really a regret."
Nanweng: "He hit me from a distance the whole time in various ways, and I couldn't even touch his clothes!"
Lin Shuyou: "Uh..."
Nan Weng was once a formidable villain, his golden bones crushing everything in their path. Righteous people were as fragile as paper in his presence.
Then, it encountered Liu Shangyang, the Dragon King of the Liu family of that generation, who became its lifelong nightmare.
Even now, when I think back on it, I can still taste the bitterness and despair of that time. Powerful sword strikes kept bringing down lightning from above, but I could never find Liu Shangyang. Every time I finally managed to get to that spot, he had already gone far away.
It was like a fool, being hacked at for three days and three nights until its bones shattered and its remains were buried. With his last sword stroke, Liu Shangyang carved a monument into the cliff face, which is the wordless tombstone on the mountaintop in the northwest corner.
Actually, there were words on it originally, but Nanweng personally erased them because Liu Shangyang had carved three characters: "Shouchubei" (手抽碑).
It means that the three days and three nights of fierce fighting left Liu Shangyang so exhausted that his hands cramped up.
Liu Shangyang was a high-ranking dragon king in the Liu family. After killing Nan Weng, he moved the bones and the grave back to the Liu family to suppress him.
Later, Nanweng became an important part of the Liu family's "martial arts inheritance".
The Liu family is skilled in feng shui and the art of observing qi, and since they can travel the world, they must know some martial arts.
The mountain in the northwest has steps, and every generation of the Liu family, from the time they come of age, needs to climb to the summit under the pressure of the mountain, and successfully climbing to the summit is regarded as the passing mark for physical training.
Mei Yatou is the youngest among those who successfully climbed the summit; she was so young that she succeeded when she was still a child.
This wasn't because she had trained her physique in advance, but because while playing in the ancestral hall, she heard the story from Liu Shangyang's Dragon King spirit, so she ran down the mountain, found a stone, and carved the three characters "Hand-drawn Stele" on it.
Finally, the old man had no choice but to "invite" the girl up to the grave on the mountaintop, and after saying all sorts of nice things, he finally got her to go down and erase the words on the stone.
Nan Weng said to Runsheng, "If only you could have grown up in my Liu family, then I could have properly disciplined you. Hmm, you Qin family members just need some discipline!"
Runsheng: "You can't teach me."
Nan Weng said angrily, "Do you know how much martial arts I have comprehended during these long years of grinding? Hmph, even if your Qin family is skilled in martial arts, you should know that you can learn from others' strengths!"
Runsheng: "I'm stupid, I can't learn it."
Nan Weng: "..."
Runsheng knew very well that Xiaoyuan had helped him up.
Nan Weng exhaled a smoke ring, nodded, and said with approval in his eyes:
"Such self-awareness, sigh, truly a genius of the Qin family!"
Runsheng could tell that the old man had misunderstood; when he said he was stupid, he meant it literally, not as a self-deprecating remark.
The old lady could only make such a joke about the Qin family opening their qi gates on their foreheads. In fact, Runsheng knew very well how smart Uncle Qin was. He had read those Qin family movement manuals, but they were like heavenly books, completely incomprehensible to him.
Lin Shuyou scratched his head and asked:
"Hey, where did Benben and Xiao Hei go?"
Nan Weng: "It's alright. Since the spiritual child was brought in by the head of the family, there will be no danger for him in this ancestral home."
After a pause, the old man added mischievously:
"But if you run around recklessly, you might get scared somewhere and have nightmares about wetting the bed when you get back~"
……
Hehe!
"Wang!"
Benben and Xiaohei slid down the smooth slope together at high speed, as if the wind was being left behind. This was much more fun than any slide.
At the end of the road is a sea of flowers.
Benben and Xiaohei, who had slipped and been thrown, landed on the flower field.
"Well……"
Benben got up, wanting to take Xiaohei back up and skate again.
"Crash..."
The flower bushes in front of him parted, revealing a rotten and hideous face with a creepy smile, looking at Benben.
"Jie Jie Jie Jie..."
"Wang Wang Wang!"
Little Black was so frightened that its legs trembled, but instead of running away, it stood in front of Benben to protect it.
Benben squatted down, grabbed Xiao Hei's tail and gently stroked it, and Xiao Hei calmed down.
Then, Benben moved closer to the terrifying face, leaned forward, and reached out his little hand to pluck the two blades of grass that remained on the rotting face.
The rotting face's smile widened, but it no longer emitted that shrill, frightening sound; instead, it softened.
The sea of flowers spread upwards, carrying Benben and Xiaohei upwards, and they were sent back to their previous high position.
"hey-hey!"
Benben jumped down again and slid.
As they approached the end again, the sea of flowers ahead rolled up into smaller and smaller arcs. Benben continued to rush forward using its momentum, spinning and sliding in these flower basket arcs, having a great time.
The rotting face stood up, looking at the children who were playing happily.
“This child is no ordinary spiritual child… He can sense danger, and he is not afraid of me.”
What the rotting-faced man didn't know was that the child before him had been raised by a great evil spirit residing in the peach grove.
In his eyes, the most terrifying thing in the world is not evil spirits, but his older brother.
When the children have had their fill of playing and are tired, colorful flowers bloom around Benben, their stamens rich and juicy, fragrant and enticing.
Benben leaned over, took a sip, and immediately opened his mouth in surprise.
It tastes great, much better than the soda that Mom forbids me from drinking!
Benben continued drinking, noting that the different colored flowers had different flavors. While drinking, he also made sure to cut off a few flowers for Xiao Hei so that the dog could quench its thirst as well.
Beneath the sea of flowers lie layers of piled-up corpses; the sap from these flower stamens is another form of vitality.
"Hiccup..."
Benben burped; he was quite drunk. Little Black next to him was even worse off, collapsing into the little boy's arms.
Many vines were already waiting nearby when Benben took his first sip, ready to detach him immediately if he drank too much.
This is a lifeline; in the martial arts world, even a single drop can be considered a miraculous medicine, causing a frenzy of competition.
The evil spirits of the Liu family are well aware of the rules: the patriarch and his ilk cannot use the Liu family's resources, but this child and this dog are definitely not included in this rule.
However, even the best things can become poison if consumed in excess.
The rotting-faced man stared intently, amazed by the child's incredible physical endurance, and puzzled as to how the black dog could drink so much.
A beam of light rippled from the deep pool.
The rotting face bowed, raised its hand, and the meadow stretched out, carrying Benben and Xiao Hei all the way forward.
Benben rubbed his eyes, looked around at his new surroundings, and then scooped up a handful of water from the pool in front of him to wash his face and calm himself down.
In the past, when I felt sleepy while studying at home in the evening, my mother would help me stay awake like this.
As a result, after delivering the person and dog to their destination from the meadow beneath him, he suddenly pulled away.
"Pfft!"
Completely drunk, Little Black was gently placed on the ground, and Benben, leaning forward, plunged headfirst into the deep pool.
The cold water in the pool instantly jolted Benben awake.
The little boy didn't panic. He started paddling upwards. There was a pond in his family's peach orchard where he often played.
As it floated upwards, Benben looked down and his eyes immediately widened.
The pool water was crystal clear, and there was a white light below, which made it possible to clearly see the seemingly endless python's body.
The python's body was still slowly writhing, bringing an unimaginable sense of fear from the sheer size of the creature.
Benben shook his head, collected his thoughts, looked up, and continued to rise.
But above his head, above the pool of water, was a huge white python head, looking down at him.
It felt as if if I swam up there, it would open its mouth and eat me.
Benben trembled, but when he met the python's eyes, he no longer hesitated and vigorously swung his little arms and legs upwards.
Just as it was about to surface, the giant python's head disappeared, replaced by a pair of slender, white hands that reached into the pool, grabbed it, and lifted it out.
Benben was carried to an attic and laid on the lap of a beautiful woman who held a steaming dry towel and dried the child's hair.
Bai Gu said softly:
"You stay here, and I'll teach you, okay?"
Her voice is beautiful, and combined with her gentle and graceful image, she exudes a natural and powerful sense of approachability. She doesn't need to be deliberately seductive; her charm is innate.
A hint of intoxication appeared in Benben's eyes, but soon, in his vision, the image of the beautiful woman in front of him overlapped with that of a woman lying on the bed with a sinister aura.
"Mom...home..."
Aunt Bai smiled and said, "It's alright. If your mother knew that you were staying here and being adopted by me, she would definitely be happy and agree."
In the past, only the most gifted children in each generation of the Liu family could be personally taken in and cared for by Aunt Bai.
She can not only teach the Liu family's feng shui methods, but also integrate the Liu family's resources to help the child grow in the best way.
Originally, Mei was supposed to be taken care of by her, but the other three refused to agree, so it became a rotation among the four of them.
That Liu Ting is an ignorant and good-for-nothing who plays with insects;
Qin Li, she can't handle her.
Having not taken care of children for some years, she was really itching to get involved with a suitable one.
Benben reached out and grabbed Bai Gu's hair that was hanging down in front of him, and gently squeezed it.
Bai Gu continued to treat him with tenderness.
Benben felt the warmth and softness of the hair in his hand, a completely different feeling from the cold and damp texture he used to grab when he slept.
The little boy loosened his grip on her hair and shook his head firmly.
"Go home...I want...Mom..."
Seeing this, Bai Gu was even more pleased with the child's resilient character.
She raised her head, her voice carrying with her auspicious energy, reaching the ears of all evil spirits in the ancestral home:
"I, Dragon King Liu, will rise from the ashes and produce outstanding talents in every generation!" Benben struggled to get out of Bai Gu's arms, stood up, looked at Bai Gu, and continued to shake his head firmly.
The little boy who dared to ride his dog alone through the city now finally understands the fear of being abducted.
Bai Gu:
"Child, rest assured, I will personally explain this to the head of the family."
“I’m sorry to disappoint Aunt Bai,” Tan Wenbin’s voice came first. “This child cannot be raised in the ancestral home for the time being.”
Li Zhuiyuan appeared downstairs, followed by Tan Wenbin and Changhe.
Benben felt like he had met his family who had come to rescue him, and immediately ran downstairs to join them.
After running behind Li Zhuiyuan, Benben grabbed Li Zhuiyuan's clothes, poked his head out, and looked at the woman who had also come up the stairs.
The little boy pouted and looked at her with annoyance.
With the most terrifying older brother in front of him, he wasn't afraid at all.
As Li Zhuiyuan was leaving, he reached out and patted Benben's head.
Benben obediently looked up and gave Li Zhuiyuan a shy smile.
Li Zhuiyuan's gaze turned cold.
Benben immediately lowered his head guiltily and reached out to tug at the corner of his mouth.
Li Zhuiyuan: "I'm sorry to disappoint Aunt Bai, but this child is not yet ready to be taught by you."
Bai Gu: "He is the next generation chosen by you, the head of the family..."
Li Zhuiyuan: "Yes."
Bai Gu: "Please rest assured, Master, I have extensive experience in educating and raising children..."
Li Zhuiyuan interrupted Bai Gu again: "Let's wait until later. Maybe when the child is older, or after a few years, he will be able to come to the ancestral home by himself to study with you, Bai Gu."
"Homeowner..."
"I think I've made myself quite clear, haven't I?"
Bai Gu knelt down: "It was Bai Gu who was too hasty in worrying about the next generation of the Liu family and lost her composure. Please forgive me, Patriarch."
Li Zhuiyuan: "You meant well."
They were simply thinking about the future of the Liu family.
Moreover, from the perspective of educating children, placing Benben here is indeed the most appropriate choice.
This place is rich in resources and has many renowned teachers. No matter what your path, you can find a demon that specializes in it.
But... if I take Benben out for a trip and then come back leaving Benben outside, the one in the peach grove will probably get angry.
Let's hope that Qing'an's last dance doesn't turn into a trip to the Liu family to snatch someone away.
Bai Gu: "I will obey the master's orders."
After speaking, Bai Gu reached into her sleeve and took out a crystal-clear snake scale, which resembled a bronze mirror.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Go pick him up politely."
Benben ran upstairs and took it from Aunt Bai.
Aunt Bai reached out and lovingly touched Benben's face.
Benben let her touch him, then stepped back two steps and bowed to her in gratitude.
Under the watchful eyes of the two great evil spirits of the Liu family:
Benben began to perform the Qin family ceremony.
There was nothing the little boy could do, so he greeted Li Zhuiyuan at the entrance of Yujia Village with a formal salute. Li Zhuiyuan, however, was entitled to either the salute of the Qin Liu family, as he carried the double dragon kings on his shoulders.
Even the smartest person wouldn't know that these are actually two sets of movements.
After Benben finished visiting the Qin family and then the Liu family, Bai Gu and Changhe's complexions finally recovered somewhat.
They could only console themselves, and the head of the family decided that the next generation, Qin Liu, would not separate from the family.
Indeed, with the current population size, it's not time to separate the family yet.
Li Zhuiyuan: "It was my oversight that I didn't teach these basics well."
“The master is very busy.” Changhe took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and handed it to Benben. “Child, I also have something to give you.”
Benben walked up to Changhe and took the bottle.
Changhe: "After you get back, pour the water from inside into the well at home."
Benben nodded, preparing to bow to Changhe.
With a flick of his finger, Changhe created ripples on the water, reflecting the light and shadow of Benben's earlier bow: "Child, begin here."
Benben performed the Liu family's traditional greeting.
Li Zhuiyuan led Benben down from the attic, while Tan Wenbin carried the drunk dog on his back.
The three people and the dog walked to the foot of the mountain in the northwest corner.
The mountain has collapsed, but the steps leading up to it remain intact.
Li Zhuiyuan noticed a color difference on a nearby stone.
Looking up at the mountain path, the pressure increases the higher you go.
Li Zhuiyuan couldn't get up there.
"Jingle bells... jingle bells..."
A golden finger rolled down from the top and landed right in front of Benben.
This is a gift from Nanweng to Benben.
When Runsheng unleashed his full power earlier, he smashed Nanweng's hand. This finger, which just came off, is perfect for giving as a gift.
Benben realized that she was there to collect the red envelopes on behalf of her older brother, so she bowed first and then went to collect them.
It's so heavy.
Benben squatted on the ground, his open-crotch pants split open, and with all his might, he held the finger firmly in place.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Get out of the way."
Benben, be good and move aside.
Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and struck the finger with eighteen seals in succession, completely removing the gold color from it. The shape that was revealed was no longer that of a human finger bone, but rather shriveled up like a chicken claw bone.
"Take it."
This time, Benben picked it up easily.
On the upper floor of the Deep Pool Pavilion, Bai Gu and Chang He, separated from their souls, conversed in close voices.
Changhe: "The head of the family is so young. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be so meticulous in preparing for the next generation."
Successors are certainly the foundation of a family, but who would consider successors when they are still minors?
Bai Gu: "When you went to the ancestral hall with the head of the family, did you see anything reflected in it?"
Changhe: "No need to go into details, just turn your pool red."
Bai Gu: "Then, Master, are you foreseeing a calamity that will befall you in the future, and are you making the worst-case scenario preparations?"
Changhe: "I have never seen the intensity of the waves generated by the patriarch in any other Liu family dragon king during the same period."
Bai Gu: "That girl Mei didn't have time to form a contract..."
Changhe and Baigu exchanged a glance. In their eyes, there was worry for the head of the family and apprehension about the future of the Liu family, but more than anything, there was an indescribable flame of excitement.
Li Zhuiyuan brought Benben to the outside of Nannu's villa.
The bamboo door slowly opened, and the girl's voice came from inside:
"Please come in, Master, and have some tea to rest."
It's not that the longer they live, the more profound their thoughts become. On the contrary, the longer they live, the less they like to hide their true feelings. In an environment like the Liu family's ancestral home, they have nothing to fear except waiting to die. This makes them seem quite naive in some of their attitudes.
For example, Changhe and Baigu cut off their ongoing soul communication, which was because they didn't want to "hear" each other whispering.
What I should be talking about is my attitude towards Benben.
Similarly, Li Zhuiyuan could also understand the unspoken meaning in Nannu's words.
Fine, if you want to warn me, then go ahead and warn me.
Considering that other evil spirits regard themselves as members of the Liu family, while you regard yourself as a member of Grandma Liu's family.
Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and entered through the bamboo gate.
Inside the courtyard, the girl spoke up: "No matter what, King Qin didn't betray my Mei girl. As for my Xiao Liuli..."
At this point, the girl shut her mouth.
The sky over the villa had darkened.
Standing next to the girl, A-Li was very familiar with this scene.
The only time I could remember interacting with my daughter was like this, like the pull-cord light bulb in my great-grandfather's house.
With a "click," the darkness fell; with a "click," the light shone.
This time, however, it stayed dark for quite a while and didn't light up again for a long time.
In the pitch-black void, Ah Li reached out to touch the girl.
Before arriving at the Liu family ancestral home, Grandma told her about the four poorest relatives in the ancestral home, and she described Nannu the most.
Bai Gu is composed, Chang He is refined, and Nan Weng is fond of fine things...
Only with a girl can you play with her as you please.
Ah Li's outstretched hand touched nothing.
On the periphery, Nanweng, Changhe, and Baigu all frowned as they looked at the villa.
They understand that the girl wants to put on airs like the bride's parents and go through the motions, but isn't your warning... a bit too long?
A normal elder's demeanor is something the head of the household wouldn't mind and would gladly accept. But you've been holding it in for so long, that's a provocation!
Nanweng: "Has she gone mad?"
Changhe: "Aren't you going to open your mouth?"
Bai Gu: "What exactly is she doing?"
Finally, dawn broke over the villa.
The three evil spirits breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. If the girl didn't open her mouth soon, they would all work together to pry it open.
Things were going well, and everyone was happy to be scolded by the head of the family. They were hoping to end their fantasies about the future in a perfect way, but the girl almost ruined it.
Because the villa is the girl's true form, even the three evil spirits can only see until dawn, but cannot know what is happening inside.
Ah Li couldn't touch the girl next to her because the girl, who was the same height as her, wasn't standing, but slumped on the ground.
The girl's body was trembling. She could cause a catastrophe if she were outside, but now her eyes were filled with terror.
As she presents herself to the public, she is now a genuinely terrified little girl.
Li Zhuiyuan walked towards her.
The girl was so frightened that she scrambled backward, crying out in a near-piercing scream:
"No, don't come any closer, please don't come any closer, ahhh!"
At this moment, the girl was not funny at all. After all, even the White Tiger, who has a place in mythology, was so frightened that he curled up at the foot of the table when he saw Li Zhuiyuan.
Having spent her entire life eating humans, demons, evil spirits, and everything else, she had just experienced the true horror of being eaten.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't scare her on purpose; rather, the moment she put him in her mouth, some kind of instinct revived within the boy.
Instinct doesn't appear out of thin air; it's something a young man develops through practice. He's always prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Li Zhuiyuan walked up to A Li and stopped.
She had promised to protect Ah Li's daughter, and she moved a long distance on the ground. It wasn't that she broke her promise, but rather that the fear deep in her bones was simply uncontrollable.
Li Zhuiyuan took the girl's hand and said to the girl on the ground in the distance:
"I promise you, I will protect Ah Li, although most of the time it's Ah Li who's protecting me now."
The girl was still trembling and did not respond to the elders.
Li Zhuiyuan spoke to her again:
"Swallow this secret, and never spit it out."
The girl continued to tremble.
Li Zhuiyuan's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Did you understand?"
"what!!!!"
After the screaming subsided, the girl finally regained some of her senses. She knelt down before Li Zhuiyuan and kowtowed repeatedly, saying:
"I obey the patriarch's orders! I obey the patriarch's orders!"
Li Zhuiyuan looked at A Li and pointed to Nannu.
Ah Li nodded.
Li Zhuiyuan turned around and walked out of the villa with Tan Wenbin, leaving Benben inside.
Ah Li walked over to Nan Nu and sat down with her.
Asking a girl to comfort someone is indeed asking too much of her.
However, this companionship also had a good effect, and the girl's mind gradually calmed down.
The girl grasped A-Li's hand, and A-Li could sense the intense fear in her heart.
"Qin Li... he... he's not human."
After enduring the terrifying experience of almost being eaten, he could still say those words to Ah Li. This shows he truly considers her family.
Ah Li smiled at the girl.
The girl "understood" what A-Li meant: You are not a person either, but Grandma still treats you as family.
Outside the villa.
Tan Wenbin patted the dog's head, but Xiao Hei showed no signs of waking up and was snoring drunk.
"Brother Xiaoyuan, it has eaten a lot of good food."
What ordinary monsters would risk their lives to seek, they could obtain by the vat in the Liu family's ancestral home.
The life force that Xiao Hei drank today is far greater than all the tonics it has taken since it was a cub.
This means that Xiao Hei is getting further and further away from the level of an ordinary "mongrel dog".
Li Zhuiyuan: "It was Benben who fed it the water, so Benben knew what was going on."
Tan Wenbin laughed and said, "If that's the case, I'm quite looking forward to it."
The pets we keep at home will one day look like humans.
Li Zhuiyuan: "When I get back, I'll take some time to modify the Yu family's cultivation technique to see if I can bind this companion beast to its master's life and death."
In this way, the master can avoid the moral guilt of ordering the death of his beast companion, and they can live and die together, leaving this world hand in hand.
Of course, all of this is predicated on the fact that Benben made the decision to execute him.
Otherwise, given Benben's talent, even if he had been given a modified cultivation method from the beginning, he would have had the opportunity to break through his own modifications.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Taking care of children is really troublesome."
Tan Wenbin scratched his chin, unsure how to respond to Xiao Yuan's words. If even a child like Benben is troublesome, what kind of life do ordinary parents in the world lead?
A-Li and Yin-Meng walked out of the bamboo gate, followed by Ben-Ben, who was holding a motionless black dog in his arms.
When he walked up to Li Zhuiyuan, Benben lowered his head first. Then, the little boy took a deep breath and bravely looked up to meet Li Zhuiyuan's gaze.
After just a brief eye contact, Benben immediately lowered his head again in fear.
A smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's lips.
Talent is important, but daring to make choices and bear the consequences of those choices is even more important.
After meeting up with Runsheng and Ayou, they prepared to leave.
Four towering shadows, along with a host of evil spirits from the ancestral home, watched them depart from inside the gate.
As the boy stepped one foot across the threshold, Changhe spoke:
"Please do not forget us, Patriarch. What the Qin family can do, my Liu family can also do!"
Clearly, the Qin family had informed this side about how the patriarch had taken them out of the ancestral home to Qiongya. The Liu family's evil spirits meant that they could be taken out again if needed.
Li Zhuiyuan nodded.
As the boy stepped completely out of the ancestral home's gate, a cacophony of spiritual thoughts and roars echoed from behind:
"We respectfully bid farewell to our patriarch and await his ascension to the Dragon King!"
"Squeak..."
Amidst the eerie sounds, the ancestral home gate slowly closed. The instant it closed completely, all movement ceased, and even the sea of clouds that had overflowed beyond the ancestral home was completely withdrawn, no longer leaking out at all.
The restless, poor relatives at home have finally been appeased.
Moreover, both the Qin and Liu families have someone they fear being "eaten up," which can be considered a form of equality and symmetry.
Li Zhuiyuan stepped onto the raft, waved the key, and the raft floated upstream and emerged from the lake, drifting back the way it had come.
After docking, the rest of the people got into the car, and Lin Shuyou used a gas can to refuel the yellow pickup truck.
Xiao Hei slowly woke up and saw a "black dog" squatting in the cargo truck in front of him. It was so frightened that its eyes widened, and it cried out in a pitiful voice, "Woof woof woof!"
Benben reached out and pushed the "black dog" over.
Xiao Hei then realized it was a fake dog and immediately jumped happily onto Benben, licking Benben's face with glee.
Immediately afterwards, as if it had smelled something, Xiao Hei turned to rummage through Benben's hiking backpack.
Benben opened the bag for it, took out a "bone" from inside, and handed it to Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei picked it up, lay down in the carriage, used its front legs to hold the bone in place, and tilted its head to the side, intently chewing and grinding its teeth.
After putting the gas cap back on, Ayou got into the driver's seat and started the car while asking:
"Brother Xiaoyuan, should we go back or..."
The original plan was to go to the Qilong King's dojo as well, depending on the situation, if the trip to the Liu family went smoothly. Even if they knew they wouldn't find any clues, they would still go through the process.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Back to Nantong."
Benben's belongings need to be put away, Runsheng also needs to rest and recover. In addition, Li Zhuiyuan obtained an important clue in the Liu family ancestral hall.
If Qi Longwang is still alive, then he is most likely connected to the Western Regions Secret Realm. If I go to his dojo now, I might get soaked by the waves before I even arrive.
Previously, I considered getting it a little wet first, so that I could glean more clues in advance and take a cautious but proactive approach.
For now, this "proactive" approach needs to be temporarily removed, and a conservative wait-and-see approach needs to be adopted, with the plan being revised.
because,
Wei Zhengdao likely died there.
(End of this chapter)