Chapter 596
Chapter 596
Chapter 596 (End of this volume)
Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the Ming family's forbidden area.
The array used to support the table may look sophisticated, but in essence it's no different from the shed my great-grandfather used to build when he held a vegetarian feast in the village.
At this moment, the area around the vegetarian feast was shrouded in a thin layer of resentful mist.
The guests and attendants who came to the banquet, as well as the Ming family members who organized the banquet, were all sacrificed to the flesh and blood that grew on Zhao Yijiao's skin through the main body's methods.
They deliberately didn't finish eating it.
First, he was afraid that there would be too much of it and Zhao Yi wouldn't be able to control it; second, he needed to leave some traces so that later arrivals would be misled.
They died tragically inside, their resentment spreading like uncollected kitchen waste, decaying and rotting.
Li Zhuiyuan stood outside for quite a while.
He wasn't sympathizing with their plight; the little bit of affection they had painstakingly built up couldn't withstand being squandered.
Furthermore, those invited to the "Zhao Division Conference" were Qin Liu's enemies, and also the behind-the-scenes forces who had ambushed him at Wangjiang Tower. Even if they decided to back down, Li Zhuiyuan hadn't personally agreed to it.
A game that's headed for the complete annihilation of an entire family can't be started and stopped just like that.
Li Zhuiyuan's connection to this led to a new explanation for why there was no trace of Wei Zhengdao during his time traveling across the river: was what Wei Zhengdao ate really just evil spirits?
In other words, is it possible to erase an era and make it impossible to know who the Dragon King of that era was, simply by consuming evil spirits?
Qing'an, Ming Ningshuang, Shudaizi, and Xiangu are contemporary prodigies personally selected and collected by Wei Zhengdao. There is a problem here: if they have already lit the lamp, they cannot worship someone else as the Dragon King.
Taking himself as an example, Li Zhuiyuan compared and selected people from the perspective of talent and development. Those who could be compared with Wei Zhengdao's people of that generation were at least in the same league as Zhao Yi, Chen Xiyuan, and Yasheng.
Only Zhao Yi was someone Li Zhuiyuan encountered before he lit his lamp, so theoretically there was a possibility that Li Zhuiyuan could use various means to suppress Zhao Yi's Dragon King mentality and force him to worship him as the Dragon King.
As for Chen Xiyuan and Yasheng, they were already on the river when they came into contact with them, so they couldn't change their course.
Therefore, Wei Zhengdao had already screened the new generation of people before the competition on the river began, and brought them to his side in advance to accompany him on his journey along the river.
Doesn't this resemble a pre-screening process to prevent being mistakenly targeted?
Of course, it's impossible to screen everyone perfectly. Some people will grow, some will transform, some won't stand out in the early stages, and some will achieve great things later in life...
Therefore, only interesting individuals like Chen Yunhai were given the opportunity to light the lamp a second time and return to refine the Chen family's original techniques; the rest of the lamp-lighters were...
On the river, the strong advance and the weak perish, each relying on their own abilities. The difference is that in the past, the losers sank to the bottom of the river, while in that era, they sank to the stomach.
Putting Wei Zhengdao's image behind you is fine, but putting him on the other side is really... terrifying.
A good straight man can always awaken the worm hidden in the leader's stomach when the leader is silent. The sarcastic general carrying the stone coffin witnessed a sophisticated and impressive workplace competition.
Zhao Yi: "Hey Li, to paraphrase what the old lady of the Ming family said before she passed away, don't be like a crow that thinks a pig is black; putting you on the opposite side is quite frightening, isn't it?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "What if I were able to practice martial arts when I was an adult, and I had ten years to prepare before the lamp was lit?"
Zhao Yi: "..."
The boy's enlightenment came earlier than Benben's; by analogy with his illness, Wei Zhengdao should be the same.
However, Li Zhuiyuan came into contact with the other side of the world and entered the Xuanmen too late. Before he was ten years old, he wasted too much time in the gifted youth program.
However, the young man also had his own advantages. Wei Zhengdao needed to copy books to accumulate initial capital, but he didn't need to, because his great-grandfather's basement had enough.
Li Zhuiyuan withdrew his gaze, walked to a sedan chair parked outside, reached out and patted the sedan chair poles. The puppet on the ground stood up and lifted the sedan chair.
The sedan chair provided by the Ming family was spacious enough to fit a stone coffin.
After Li Zhuiyuan entered the sedan chair, General Sun laid Zhao Yi out on the opposite seat cushion, then disassembled him into armor plates, which flew back into the boy's backpack pocket.
Once, He and General Zeng's three sets of talismanic armor were kept in the pockets of the boy's clothes. Now that General Zeng has progressed and He has regressed, He no longer even has the chance to keep the awl in the bag.
The sedan chair turned, drove out of the group of sedan chairs, and returned alone.
Zhao Yi: "We have an amusement park in Jiujiang. There is an amusement project in it where people ride in sedan chairs like Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong. Not long ago, something happened and the whole amusement park lost power, but the sedan chair area was still able to operate."
The boss overreacted, not paying attention to this incident. Realizing he'd attracted attention, he panicked and packed his bags, fleeing the scene that very night.
Possessing a treasure is a crime. When you reveal your family's skills but lack the strength to protect yourself, you will attract the attention of those at a corresponding level in the martial arts world.
Li Zhuiyuan: "My great-grandfather is really lucky that he couldn't learn those secret techniques in the basement."
Even a few items from the collection in the basement, if thrown out casually, could spark a fierce battle among the Dragon King's faction.
If the old man had seriously learned and practiced, he would have shown it to others; eventually, the truth would have come out.
Zhao Yi: "Do you have any clues about the things in your basement now?"
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.
Siyuan Village, where the great-grandfather lived, where Qing'an was buried, and where Zhengdao was laid to rest...
What's even more bizarre is that besides Li Lan, there's also someone named himself, and they both share the surname Li.
Without a doubt, Wei Zhengdao is the source of all this.
Li Zhuiyuan's gaze fell on the stone coffin in front of him.
Wei Zhengdao's past power was beyond doubt. During the wave of the Dream Ghost, a clone of Wei Zhengdao that remained in the world was brought out. It was in the state when Wei Zhengdao had just sought death, yet it was able to form a tripartite balance with the Great Emperor and the Great Turtle in terms of causal status.
But when the glory days faded, in the end, he couldn't even move his beloved back himself, and had to rely on himself to fulfill the promise of being buried together with her.
It was witnessing his regret firsthand that shattered his god-like aura, allowing Li Zhuiyuan to face fate for the first time across the threshold.
He played, had fun, made a ruckus, ate... got tired, regretted, felt remorse, and died.
Because he is dead, all of this is no longer valid as part of his plan; if someone like him still wanted to leave behind even the slightest plan, he wouldn't have died.
In that case, the other hand is the one that left the books in the basement of the great-grandfather's house and drew this circle.
Since that bookworm showed up at the wedding in advance, will he also show up at the funeral?
There's no way around it, the nickname "bookworm" is just too fitting for someone with a huge collection of books...
Li Zhuiyuan: "Zhao Yi."
"uh-huh?"
"If you were given the chance to live for 1,500 years, what do you think you would be like 1,500 years from now?"
"Fifteen hundred years from now, if I see a little guy who looks like you, I'll flick his little bird hard."
"Runsheng, Lin Shuyou, Tan Wenbin..."
"Ayou and Daban should just die sooner rather than later. After 1,500 years, I'm afraid I won't recognize them."
No, I don't dare to see them anymore, like Ayou. I'd rather he were still the Ayou I remember.
Silence fell inside the sedan chair.
The barely perceptible swaying, and the occasional glimpse of the roadside scenery peeking through when the curtains were lifted, indicated that it was still moving.
Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, the sedan chair turned, and drove into a guesthouse.
Returning the way they came would lead to the Ming family's villa, which Li Zhuiyuan did not intend to go to.
The boy put his hand down, and the sedan chair was alighted in the courtyard of the guesthouse.
Li Zhuiyuan: "When will A-Jing be able to return?"
Zhao Yi: "A Jing is straightforward. He will probably send Liang Yan and the others back to Lushan to settle them down, and then turn back to find us, risking his life, and die with us."
At this moment, Chen Jing should be in the middle of a fast-moving vehicle and unable to be contacted or respond.
Li Zhuiyuan would not travel long distances without a sufficiently powerful bodyguard by his side.
The foundation of the formation within the guesthouse remained intact, allowing Li Zhuiyuan to easily restore it.
It's often safer to be in the dark, and with this protective formation, the boy felt secure. Next, the contact person would come to pick him up.
Since his companions might not have finished their journey across the river yet, and it wasn't convenient to contact them directly, Li Zhuiyuan picked up the phone at Jiang Mo's desk and called Aunt Zhang's convenience store in the village.
If any of your companions have already crossed the river and returned, then let them come and pick you up. If none of them have returned, then let Uncle Qin make the trip.
Before Li Zhuiyuan could press the last button on the phone, he heard a conversation coming from outside the guesthouse door—or rather, a crosstalk performance.
“Brother, it seems we’ve arrived too late. The procession from the Ming family villa that went to attend the memorial service for the deceased’s birthday has already set off.”
"It's also possible that we arrived too early."
"Alright, let's find a compromise then, that's just what we need."
"Squeak..."
As soon as Tao Zhuming finished speaking, the door of the guesthouse was pushed open from the inside, revealing the figure of a young man.
Upon seeing this, Ling Wuxing swallowed hard.
Tao Zhuming said excitedly, "Brother, doesn't my mouth seem to have been blessed?"
Ling Wuxing said, "To be on the safe side, you can ask this guy to slap you a few times."
The two men each took half a step back, preparing to bow.
Li Zhuiyuan turned around: "Come in."
The two exchanged a glance, entered the guesthouse, and closed the door.
Everyone's wave was brought forward. The two of them hadn't been far from here before. After finishing their respective tasks, they received the news that the Ming family was going to hold a memorial service for the former patriarch.
The inheritor, who came from the Dragon King's lineage, sniffed out something unusual.
Neither they nor their household received an invitation; the Tao family was too clean, making the Ling family seem unclean.
Whether from a personal or family standpoint, they all felt it necessary to come and find out what Dragon King Ming was capable of.
This wasn't the first time they'd stumbled upon Li Zhuiyuan's array. Back in Yujia Village, the two of them were taking a nighttime stroll when they came across the wooden building where Li Zhuiyuan had set up an array.
Tao Zhuming's seals can reveal the overall structure of a building; they also allow the element of thunder in the Five Elements to resonate with celestial phenomena.
When the two of them are good friends and walk side by side, the celestial patterns resonate.
However, given the boy's current mastery of formations, he wouldn't have been detected by them in such a way. They weren't sensing the formations here, but rather the traces left by the sedan chair. If Li Zhuiyuan hadn't come out, the two of them would have continued following the "traces" after passing the inn's entrance, eventually being led to some obscure corner, because the boy had already "released" the sedan chair.
Once inside the courtyard, the two stopped adhering to formalities and got straight to the point.
Tao Zhuming: "I knew it. That old lady of the Ming family is not dead."
Li Zhuiyuan: "He's dead."
Tao Zhuming: "Uh... she got off easy. She's really ungrateful, not even giving you a chance to take revenge yourself."
Li Zhuiyuan: "Just died."
Tao Zhuming's lips twitched upon hearing this: "At least they have some manners."
As he spoke, Tao Zhuming reached out and gently nudged Ling Wuxing's arm, gesturing for him to look at the stone coffin placed in the courtyard.
The carvings on the stone coffin clearly show the style of the Ming family crest, and they are old-fashioned, usually only appearing in traditional funeral rites.
Ling Wuxing: "We're late."
After a brief conversation, the two realized that the Ming family's memorial service for the deceased had ended, and that the old lady who had faked her death had truly died because of this person's presence here.
Moreover, from their perspective, simply being truly dead wasn't enough. This person even put the body in a coffin and brought it out, intending to take it back to Nantong to have Old Madam Liu whip the corpse for amusement.
The logic was sound, but emotionally, both of them felt that neither this person nor that old lady Liu would be so bored.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Lying in the stone coffin is the 'great-aunt' in the history of the Ming family."
Tao Zhuming mischievously continued to secretly poke Ling Wuxing's arm.
See that? This guy's revenge involved not only killing people, but also digging up his ancestral graves.
Li Zhuiyuan reached out and plucked a few fallen leaves from the stone coffin.
Upon seeing this, Tao Zhuming realized he had guessed wrong.
Ling Wuxing: "This person in the Ming family's history, do you have a past connection with him?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "Yes, I will follow the deceased's last wishes and move her remains back to Nantong."
The Five Elements Commander asked, "What is there that we can do?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "I have no one to protect me. I need the two of you to escort me and this coffin back to Nantong."
Upon hearing this, Ling Wuxing couldn't help but open his mouth.
Inside the room, Zhao Yi, who was lying paralyzed on the bed, couldn't help but laugh: "Heh, that guy surnamed Li is feeding the mule hay again."
Let alone the fact that Ling Wuxing had already been subdued by the man surnamed Li, even if we put all that aside and look at it purely from the perspective of interests, would Ling Wuxing dare to make a move at this time?
Just like back in Guizhou, when he faced a team led by someone surnamed Li who was severely injured and bedridden, he hesitated and didn't dare to make a move.
Does he really mean he has no one to protect him when he says he has no one to protect him?
What if they're deliberately trolling you? Trying to lure you into making a move so they don't have to worry about your reputation anymore and can easily wipe out your entire family.
Zhao Yi looked at the light on the ceiling and remembered that there were two people from the Corpse Gu Sect in the Tulou. He didn't dare to make a move and hoped that the two of them would step in to clear the way. But the two idiots were fooled by Xue Liangliang.
Later, because the one surnamed Li had completed that wave first and taken away the copper coin sword left by his ancestor, he was forced to rush to the next wave, almost causing him to die in the Gu worm nest.
But because of this, she gained another Miao holy maiden who worshipped her as she walked the river. Her potential was truly remarkable, and her adaptability was also very strong. It's a pity that her intentions towards her were not pure enough, and she died in Lijiang.
In the courtyard outside, Tao Zhuming suddenly spoke up: "Brother, what are you still hesitating for? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
The Five Elements glared at Tao Zhuming.
Tao Zhuming took a few steps forward, turned around, held a mudra in his left hand, and made a hand gesture with his right:
"Although we are brothers, when it comes to the greater good of the martial world, I, Tao, will not allow your brother to succeed!"
Ling Wuxing: "After you returned from recuperating in Nantong last time, did your grandfather say anything to you?"
Tao Zhuming: "My grandfather has been nagging me to flatter him so much that my ears are calloused."
Ling Wuxing: "No wonder."
Tao Zhuming: "Brother, we're brothers, please give me a chance to prove myself!"
Ling Wuxing: "Do you still need to perform?"
Tao Zhuming: "Being too clean is not good either. If you don't have any stains on your body, even if you do the same thing, you can't show your ability to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens. In this respect, your brother has the advantage."
Ling Wuxing said, "When we return to Nantong, we'll set up a challenge at the kiln and sign a life-or-death contract."
Tao Zhuming: "It's a deal. If I can't outdrink you at peach blossom wine, I'll call you grandpa!"
The event has ended.
Tao Zhuming stood back beside Ling Wuxing, and the two asked in unison, "May I ask, when will we depart for the return journey?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "Your brother, go find a truck. Brother Tao, dismantle the formation here. Some parts need to be preserved and modified. Go inside and get the blueprints."
"understand!"
"understand!"
Previously, Zhao Yi had left the foundation of the formation, creating a place where Jiang Mo could enjoy spring-like weather and blooming flowers all year round. With the money he would use for Jiang Mo's second stay, he planned to cultivate a garden for him.
Tao Zhuming entered the room and, quite unexpectedly, picked up the blueprints from beside Zhao Yi: "Brother Zhao, you..."
Zhao Yi: "Compared to your brother being able to serve as a bodyguard, it's very unreasonable for me to be here."
"Brother Zhao, you've misunderstood. I was just curious, Brother Zhao, what is this all about...?"
"I've caught a cold."
"Then Brother Zhao, you should rest well." Tao Zhuming turned around, preparing to go out and dismantle the formation, but was stopped by Zhao Yi just as he reached the door:
"Brother Tao, you..."
"Is there anything else, Brother Zhao?"
"Well, I'm a little short on cash lately..."
Ling Wuxing quickly found a truck. Since there was no driver, he drove it himself. After driving the truck into the guesthouse, he placed the stone coffin on it, tied the ropes, and covered it with a waterproof tarpaulin.
Tao Zhuming also finished modifying the formation here. No trace of the formation could be seen, only the effect remained. After pruning, the flowers and plants spread out, creating a quiet and elegant atmosphere.
Before leaving, Li Zhuiyuan put the room fee in his desk drawer and took the calming talisman off Jiang Mo's forehead. Lately, the boss had been sleeping very well.
On the return trip, everything went smoothly. Ling Wuxing drove, and Tao Zhuming sat in the passenger seat. They were not lonely or bored along the way.
Estimated Chen Jing's pace, and when they were almost in Nantong, Zhao Yi took out his mobile phone and called the small shop at the foot of Mount Lu.
A while later, the phone called back.
"Hey, it's me."
On the other end of the phone, the low growls and howls of a wolf cub could be heard:
"Brother Yi, I've settled Sister Liang and the others, as well as Brother Xu. You and Brother Yuan, hold on, I'm coming to rescue you!"
Zhao Yi looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was holding up the mobile phone for him, and said:
"Did you hear that? If Ah You comes to my team, he can be Tan Da Ban's assistant."
"Brother Yi, how are you and Brother Yuan doing?"
“That’s good. Your brother Yuan and I have already reported to the underworld. We’re drinking tea at the Young Master’s residence and enjoying the dancing of the ghost maidens.”
"Then...should I go to Fengdu now?"
“Our Jing is so smart, she even knows that the underworld is in Fengdu.”
"I... Brother Yi, are you and Brother Yuan alright?"
"Okay, now bring them to Nantong."
"Um, Yi-ge, could you give me a couple of days? I drove too fast on the way back, it was really bumpy. Sister Yan and Sister Li are getting old, and Brother Xu is almost gone..."
"can."
Li Zhuiyuan took back the mobile phone.
Zhao Yi looked at Tao Zhuming: "Brother Tao, let's wait two more days."
Tao Zhuming laughed and said, "Brother Zhao, you love beauty more than the martial arts world."
Zhao Yi asked Tao Zhuming to borrow some merit points, and Tao Zhuming agreed. However, Zhao Yi didn't want the merit points for himself; instead, he planned to give them to his subordinates.
"Brother Tao, you misunderstand. I'm in huge debts. Rather than filling this bottomless pit, I'd rather divorce my wives and protect my assets."
Ling Wuxing: "Brother Xiaoyuan, we're almost in Nantong."
The boundary marker came into view ahead.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Slow down. The person we're taking home this time is a bit special."
Because of the existence of the peach grove, ordinary evil spirits cannot enter Nantong. The unclean things that Li Zhuiyuan and others brought back in the past were exceptions and were not subject to this restriction.
In fact, the gatehouse of Li Zhuiyuan's house was not located at the pavilion at the entrance of the village road. The gate was not that close, and the guests who came to visit were screened as soon as they entered Nantong.
But this time, there was a concern that Qing'an might be distracted and unable to react in time, and if he didn't open the door in time, he might destroy the truck that Ling Wuxing had rented.
The five elements shifted gears, and the wheels slowly turned past the boundary marker.
At the same moment, the entire peach orchard in front of Big Beard's house fell silent. Whether it was the peach blossoms on the branches, on the ground, or even in the air, they all seemed to freeze in place.
A voice filled with contemplation and reminiscence echoed from the depths of the peach grove:
"Frost?"
-
This volume is finished.
(End of this chapter)