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The Aerial Escape
Whoosh!!!!
A golden stream of light shot straight up from Changxing Town into the clouds! Li Guanqi abruptly looked up, and vaguely saw a white-robed figure flying on a sword through the air! Li Guanqi's face changed drastically.
"Sword flight… a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator!"
Zhao Yuanlin, seeing this scene, once again took out two talismans and affixed them to himself. The talismans transformed into a golden barrier that enveloped him. Zhao Yuanlin's expression relaxed. He lay on the ground and laughed heartily.
"Hahahahahaha, you wretch!! You wretch!!!! You can't kill me!!"
"Next time we meet, I'll skin you alive!!"
Li Guanqi took a deep breath. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to leave immediately. He knew he could break through the barrier if he found a way, but it would waste too much time. At his current stage, he was merely a Qi Refinement realm cultivator. Facing a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator meant certain death!
Li Guanqi put away the copper coins, pulled Meng Wanshu up, and wrapped his arm around her waist. Amidst Meng Wanshu's surprised cries, Li Guanqi held Meng Wanshu and leaped onto a horse, galloping towards home!
The cultivator, seeing the heavily injured Zhao Yuanlin, also had a grim expression. Zhao Yuanlin, however, called out as if he had found a lifesaver: "Immortal Zhao... first... first save me..."
"That… that wretch… we can catch him later."
The short man grabbed Zhao Yuanlin and departed on his sword. As for the guards… their deaths had nothing to do with him.
Shelter from the Storm
Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu galloped across the plain. Meng Wanshu felt an inexplicable sense of security from the broad chest behind her. Despite it being her first time riding a horse, she felt unusually at ease, protected in Li Guanqi's embrace.
She secretly glanced at Li Guanqi twice, muttering to herself. "Why didn't I notice he was so handsome before…"
The young girl's heart fluttered with nascent affection, while Li Guanqi, on the other hand, gritted his teeth, his eyes clouded with an inexplicable emotion. He knew that an opportunity like today was too rare, but... with Wanshu present, he couldn't take that risk.
He sighed, his thoughts shifting, and suddenly noticed Meng Wanshu's heavy, sleepy appearance, and his face paled slightly. Only now did Li Guanqi notice that Meng Wanshu's wrist had been bleeding the entire time!
It was already dark. It was impossible to go up the mountain at this time. Helpless, Li Guanqi had no choice but to take Meng Wanshu to his secret cave for the night.
Crackling!
The sound of burning wood echoed in the small mountain cave. This was a place where Li Guanqi occasionally went to find peace. It was also his own little world, but the conditions were rudimentary. After all, his own home didn't even have two blankets, so this place naturally lacked such amenities.
A straw mat covered Meng Wanshu. At this moment, it started to rain outside the cave, and it grew heavier and heavier. From a drizzle, it turned into a downpour in the blink of an eye. The Foundation Establishment realm cultivator never came looking for them, which allowed Li Guanqi's tense expression to relax slightly.
Li Guanqi's face flickered in the firelight. His gaze was distant, contemplating Zhao Yuanlin, whom he desired to kill quickly. But he also didn't want the person in front of him to be harmed.
"If there's an opportunity in the future… I will definitely kill him!"
A Night in the Cave
Just as Li Guanqi was lost in thought, a woman's whimpering suddenly came from behind him.
"Mm…"
Li Guanqi quickly got up and came to Meng Wanshu's side, whispering, "Awake?"
Meng Wanshu looked at her bandaged wrist, her face slightly flushed. Her swollen cheek had subsided quite a bit, though her face was still a bit red. The cold wind blowing into the mountain cave at night was still very chilly. Meng Wanshu couldn't help but shiver.
Li Guanqi found it somewhat amusing to see Meng Wanshu huddle close to him, hugging her shoulders. At this moment, Meng Wanshu was both cold and hungry. She pouted her small lips and cursed in a low voice: "You stinking ruffian! If it weren't for them, I would have been home by now!"
Li Guanqi chuckled when he heard her words: "Now do you know the difference between a true ruffian and a fake one?"
Meng Wanshu's pretty face flushed, and she rolled her eyes at him. Today, Li Guanqi gave her a feeling she had never experienced before. Li Guanqi's words echoed in her mind.
"She is my future wife."
Meng Wanshu buried her head in her knees, her cheeks burning, not knowing if it was from the fire or something else. Li Guanqi, seeing her cold, couldn't help but take out some wine, handing it to her and whispering.
"Drink a little to warm yourself."
Meng Wanshu took the wine jar and couldn't help but say, "You're not planning to... do something to me after drinking, are you?"
Li Guanqi coughed awkwardly. "Cough cough… what are you thinking…"
"I usually box, so my constitution is better. If you don't drink some wine to warm yourself, you won't be able to handle it and might catch a cold."
Meng Wanshu stiffened her neck and said, "Then… then you drink too."
Helpless, Li Guanqi had no choice but to drink as well. However, Li Guanqi normally never drank alcohol. The two of them coughed as they drank. After a moment, their faces were flushed. Under the influence of alcohol, the two moved closer and closer…
Their lips unconsciously drew together. Hot breaths and an ambiguous atmosphere spread through the cramped cave.
"Mm…"
Parental Worry and a Mysterious Meeting
Meanwhile, Li Guilan and Meng Jiangchu on the mountain were going crazy with worry, while an old man who had returned from the mountain happily smoked and drank.
"Alright, Old Meng, it's nothing. The kids were held up by the rain. They'll be back first thing tomorrow morning."
But Meng Jiangchu, who appeared panicked on the surface, used a chilling, ethereal voice to transmit a message!
"If that brat dares to do anything, I'll slaughter him!"
"And why did you stop me from intervening? A mere Foundation Establishment… it's easier than crushing an ant!"
Su Xuan smiled. He hadn't expected Meng Jiangchu to actively send him a message. It seemed this old fellow was truly anxious. Su Xuan tapped his pipe lightly and whispered, "I'm going to play a game of chess with Old Lu. Come see me in a moment."
At the east end of Fulong Village, there stood an old locust tree, hundreds of years old. Beneath the tree, Su Xuan, dressed in a gray robe and carrying a small stool, slowly made his way. The pouring rain, strangely, did not fall on the old man at all!
A kind-faced old man was sitting under the tree, playing chess by himself. Seeing Su Xuan arrive, he greeted him familiarly.
"Just finished eating?"
Su Xuan didn't respond, but calmly and softly said. "Old Lu, I'll play one last game with you today." After speaking, he took a white chess piece and placed it on the board. Then he looked up at the old man and softly said.
"Old Meng and Old Man Zhang from the west end of the village, I know who they all are."
"But you, you alone, I've thought about it for eight years and still can't figure it out."
"Who exactly are you? What is your name?"
The old man smiled faintly, taking a black chess piece and placing it beside a white piece. "Me? I'm just a lonely old man."
"As for my name… Lu Tiancheng."
Su Xuan frowned, muttering under his breath: "Lu Tiancheng... never heard of him. So he shouldn't be anyone important then."
Arrogant! Extremely arrogant!
At this moment, Su Xuan was nothing like the old man who usually freeloaded meals in the village.
Bang!
A black chess piece was suddenly casually flicked and shattered by Su Xuan's sword scabbard. He said calmly. "No matter who you are, and no matter how much your name defies the Heavenly Dao."
"As long as I'm here, you cannot touch my grandson! And you won't be able to!"
Buzz!!
The next instant, the shattered black chess piece instantly reassembled, restoring itself to its original state. The old man, as if unaffected by Su Xuan's threat, softly said. "Whether I can or not, I have to try, don't I?"
Su Xuan smiled faintly, scratched his head with his sword scabbard, stood up and said. "Then now. I'm afraid tomorrow will be too busy; I won't have time."
The two figures instantly vanished from their spot.
A Display of Power
Not long after, two figures from the village, one after another, arrived by the locust tree and chess board. The scrawny old man, smoking his pipe, slightly raised his head and couldn't help but speak to the figure who had just arrived.
"Old Meng, I advise you to look at this game of chess!"
Meng Jiangchu was Meng Wanshu's father. Upon hearing this, he instantly flashed to the chessboard, swept a glance over it, and his expression grew solemn.
"It seems Old Man Su wants to lay his cards on the table with us today…"
Just as the two fell silent, the space in front of them suddenly distorted slightly. Su Xuan's figure slowly emerged from the spatial rift, his clothes slightly tattered, but his face still held an air of calm detachment.
Meng Jiangchu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he saw the black sword scabbard in the old man's hand, a glint flashing in his eyes!
"Where's that old man surnamed Lu?"
Su Xuan, however, pointed to the chessboard and said, "Did you see it all?"
Meng Jiangchu nodded, and Zhang Qixuan, hunched over, tapped his pipe and said with a smiling face. "What does it matter if I saw it, or if I didn't?"
Su Xuan did not answer, but slowly placed the black sword scabbard at his waist. Immediately, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth instantly surged like boiling water! Accompanied by the old man's palm lightly gripping, a crimson-gold sword hilt began to slowly condense.
The scrawny old man was restrained as if bound by an invisible force, unable to move! Cold sweat instantly flowed down the old man's forehead.
Su Xuan's right hand slowly ascended to the sword hilt, and immediately, a terrifying power shot straight into the sky! The void spanning ten thousand zhang instantly transformed with shifting winds and rising thunder!
"You old geezers are so annoying…"
"I spoke to you nicely, but it was useless, wasn't it?"
"You just had to make me come to the Xuanmen Domain to find you personally?"
"Isn't it good to keep a Nascent Soul realm clone?"
Zhang Qixuan knelt on the ground, his throat bobbing as he swallowed with difficulty, his eyes filled with terror. His head was firmly pressed to the ground, yet in his heart, there was no desire to resist!
"Please… Your Excellency, be magnanimous, I will leave the Great Xia Domain immediately!"
The spiritual light longsword within the scabbard slowly dissipated. Su Xuan's face showed a smile: "That's better, isn't it~"
"This old man is reasonable, I prefer to convince people with virtue, and I hate resorting to violence."
Meng Jiangchu asked from the side: "What about Lu Tiancheng?"
The old man shrugged, then hung the scabbard at his waist and muttered. "Killed him."
"No choice, he wouldn't listen to reason."
Meng Jiangchu's breathing hitched upon hearing this.
The Hidden Truth
Su Xuan turned to look at Meng Jiangchu, and said softly.
"You… spent great effort divining the heavenly secrets, and arrived here fifteen years early, waiting for me."
"What is your choice?"
Meng Jiangchu's heart leaped. He hadn't actually guessed the old man's identity. He exhaled a turbid breath and said softly.
"I give up, after all, Wanshu is here."
"I quite like that brat Guanqi too, so I won't get involved."
"But I want to ask, what exactly is that thing?"
Su Xuan looked deeply at Meng Jiangchu, saying nothing. Meng Jiangchu frowned slightly, showing a puzzled expression, then finally sighed and, with his hands clasped behind his back, softly said.
"Forget it, I won't contend. Our family will leave this place in a day or two."
Su Xuan nodded, and couldn't help but chuckle: "You're not afraid my grandson will kidnap her, are you?"
Meng Jiangchu's lips twitched slightly. He neither admitted nor denied it, saying directly. "Anyway, those two will hardly ever meet again in this lifetime. I won't concern myself with it today. I'll accept the loss."
After the two left, Su Xuan sat alone under the tree and took out the two black chess pieces from the chessboard. With a wave of his hand, heaven and earth returned to clarity, as if nothing had happened just now.
The old man, with his hands clasped behind his back, muttered under the tree: "As expected, this old man still convinces people with virtue!"
"As expected of the two Domain Lords who have cultivated until now, they are both quite compliant."
However, thinking of this, the old man sat under the tree, his hands clasped within his sleeves, muttering. "Is there anyone else I've missed?"
"Tsk tsk, Zhang Qixuan, the Domain Lord of the Xuanmen Domain, and Meng Jiangchu, the Domain Lord of the Divine Treasure Domain, are very sensible…"
After speaking, the old man looked up at the sky, and after a moment of divination with his fingers, he murmured.
"Soon… the rest of the journey, that brat will have to walk himself."
The Morning After
The next morning.
Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu returned home, three feet apart, one behind the other. Li Guilan naturally couldn't help but complain, but seeing her daughter's wrist injury, her heart ached. As for losing things, that was a minor matter. Meng Jiangchu just drank Li Guanqi's wine, and it felt off no matter how he drank it.
Splash.
Li Guilan slapped Meng Jiangchu on the back: "If you don't want to drink, don't spill it! You wastrel."
Meng Jiangchu sat on the doorstep, saying irritably, "Hmph! This wine is awful!"
Meng Wanshu heard this and blushed, not daring to speak. Last night, it was almost…
A Grandfather's Stern Guidance
Upon arriving home, Li Guanqi frankly said: "Grandpa, this time down the mountain… I killed someone."
Su Xuan didn't expect Li Guanqi to confess directly, but he already knew everything. He just nodded.
"Good. Strike when you should strike, kill when you should kill."
"However… you must have a justifiable reason for killing, and it must be something that convinces your own heart."
"If you indiscriminately kill the innocent, I will personally cripple you! Do you hear me?!"
Listening to the old man's stern scolding, Li Guanqi nodded seriously.
Su Xuan looked at Li Guanqi and softly said: "Let's go, to the backyard!"
Cultivating the Dao to achieve long life, there were many things he could only do himself. He couldn't protect the young man his whole life. But if it were just like that, how could he be worthy of being Su Xuan's grandson?