Under the gaze of Lu Xin's almost tangible eyes, Li Fengyun and Wang Jiu continued their conversation that was making Lu Xin itch all over.
Li Fengyun asked, "Li Qingming, are you also here to sweep the tomb for Yue'e?"
Wang Jiu wrote, "Yeah, you too?"
"Of course, today is Yue'e's death anniversary... Ah, damn, I came in a hurry and it seems I didn't bring any joss paper. Do you have any extra?"
Wang Jiu wrote, "I do, do you want to borrow some?"
"Sure, thanks."
Seeing Li Fengyun about to walk over to borrow some joss paper, Lu Xin couldn't bear it any longer, grabbed Li Fengyun, and glared at him with eyes almost spitting Golden Crow True Flame.
"Li, Feng, Yun!"
Li Fengyun was startled: "Sorry, I really didn't forget on purpose, and I've already borrowed some joss paper, haven't I?"
"You!?" Lu Xin was about to faint, "Have you practiced so much that your Sword Qi has entered your brain?! That's Li Qingming!"
Li Fengyun was puzzled: "I know, she wrote it down, 'Qing' as in 'light', and 'Ming' as in 'fragrant', the same name as my daughter. Isn't it wonderful?"
"... Wonderful, my foot! That's your daughter! What's wrong with your brain?!"
Li Fengyun was shocked, quickly fixed his gaze on Wang Jiu, looked for a while, then wrinkled his nose, and said perplexed, "Is it really Qingming? Why is she dressed like this, and why is she writing with her left pinky and thumb?"
Lu Xin gritted his teeth and said, "Go ask her!"
Li Fengyun honestly asked, "Qingming, why are you dressed like this?"
Wang Jiu was stumped by the question; after a while, he thought of an answer: "Because of fashion."
"I see." Li Fengyun suddenly understood and told Lu Xin, "Qingming says it's because of fashion."
"I can see that! And what kind of ghostly fashion is this?"
Li Fengyun then said to Wang Jiu, "Your mom says this isn't fashion."
Finally unable to bear it any longer, Lu Xin stomped on Li Fengyun's foot and said word by word, "From now on, shut up!"
Then turned to Wang Jiu: "Li Qingming, it's fine if you're disrespectful to me, but pretending to be crazy in front of your dad, don't you think it's too much!? You're still a member of the Li Family, and your dad is still the Patriarch of the Li Family!"
Wang Jiu hesitated for a while, then wrote a note: "Greetings."
"That's just a change to a formal greeting!"
Wang Jiu, helpless, had no choice but to draw a smiling face of Li Qingming on the edge of the note.
"How about now?"
"You're still messing with me!?"
Facing Lu Xin's aggressive approach, Wang Jiu was at a loss and started to regret agreeing to do such a difficult job for Li Qingming. Li Fengyun and Lu Xin, this couple, were even harder to communicate with than the Demon Race back in the day... Wang Jiu weighed his options and thought that ignoring was the best choice, so he simply turned around and continued with his proper business — lighting the letter Li Qingming wrote to her mother with Spiritual Incense.
He had already read the content of the letter when Li Qingming wrote it. It was mostly about her cultivation insights over the past year, including the struggles from the latter half of '16 to the first half of '17 and the frustrations of trying to change without success. Of course, there were complaints about the pressure from within the family. However, negative words were ultimately in the minority; the letter mainly expressed excitement and joy since meeting Wang Jiu on May 10.
She had cultivated a mysterious inheritance with extraordinary effects, the Immovable Tyrant Body, successfully broke through the Wind Barrier, and made a lot of money, even bought back the Shen Garden her mother left behind. For a fourteen-year-old girl, this was a dreamlike month. And for the Sword Spirit who brought all this to her, the girl's words were very subtle.
She said, Wang Jiu is...
——
Meanwhile, the completely ignored Li Fengyun and Lu Xin couple also fell into a long silence. After a while, Lu Xin used the Secret Transmission Method and said, "This child has changed so much."
"Yeah, I can hardly see through her. True Essence Fluctuation perfectly restrained, no flaws when she moves, if it weren't for Qingming's unique scent still there, I wouldn't believe she was Qingming." Li Fengyun furrowed his brows and asked Lu Xin, "Xin'Er, you know I'm not good at understanding women, but is this what's called a girl's change over eighteen transformations?"
"No!" Lu Xin rolled his eyes at him, "Can't you see she has cultivated another technique?"
"Of course, just relying on the Windchasing Sword and the Inner Sect's Breathing Technique, how could anyone achieve such feats?" Li Fengyun looked at Lu Xin strangely, as if not understanding why such a simple question needed special emphasis.
"Not to mention where she got the cultivation technique from, don't you think it's inappropriate? She's your daughter, the future heir of the Li Family..."
Li Fengyun asked in surprise, "Isn't Wushuang the future heir?"
"Come on, with that fool who inherited your personality and my aptitude, it would be a miracle for him to become the heir!"
Li Fengyun was even more puzzled, "I know your aptitude does have some shortcomings, but what's wrong with my personality? Oh, I see, there definitely is a problem. Don't look at me with those murderous eyes."
Lu Xin said, "Li Qingming is the future of the Li Family. I hope she becomes a talent, but a talent of the Li Family! Yet look at her now, she doesn't even acknowledge you as her father!"
"What should we do then?"
Lu Xin was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know either, I didn't expect her to hate us so much."
Hearing this, Li Fengyun also became anxious, "Really? I find Qingming quite easy to talk to. While her handwriting is a bit peculiar, it doesn't have the slightest hint of resentment. She even drew a smiley face for me!"
Lu Xin looked at her husband seriously and said, "If a woman hates a man, she wouldn't let him know."
"Women truly are enigmatic puzzles..."
The couple remained silent for a while, then Lu Xin stomped her foot and said, "You're spacing out at a time like this?!"
"Sorry, I was just thinking about how to make our daughter stop hating us."
Lu Xin sighed, "Thinking of Shen Yue'e? It makes sense, since she's her daughter. Although their personalities are different, perhaps aesthetics are hereditary. How did you manage to win over Shen Yue'e back then?"
Li Fengyun said, "Practicing swordplay, discussing theories, things like that."
"...Do you want to show your Wind and Cloud Divinity Transformation Technique to your daughter and see if she'll fall for you just like her mother did?"
"Sure." Li Fengyun nodded, his figure instantly transformed into a dazzling sword light, soaring into the sky.
Lu Xin was already in despair on the ground, "Hey! I was being sarcastic!"
However, once Li Fengyun started wielding the sword, he was completely focused. As the Wind and Cloud Divinity Transformation Technique ran its course, the true essence within him, condensed and solid like iron, quickly disassembled and refined, integrating into the grand force of wind and cloud. For a moment, centered around him, the sky and earth in the suburbs of Cyan Cloud City changed color, and spirit winds danced fiercely.
At the same time, two sword intents were extracted from his surging primordial spirit: Gale and Cloudburst, the two Divine Sword Intents Li Fengyun was most adept at. They merged with the peak level true essence of the Mountain-Overturning Realm, exploding with world-destructive power.
Li Fengyun didn't need to draw a sword, just pointed with his bare hand towards the sky. Instantly, the clear sky was swept up with pitch-black clouds, blocking out the sunlight. In the blink of an eye, the entire city of Cyan Cloud, from east to west, was shrouded in darkness. Children playing in the streets and cultivators observing the clouds from high towers were puzzled by the sudden descent of the gloomy clouds.
Yet, in the next moment, the clouds split from the middle, revealing a brilliant beam of light descending upon the middle of Cyan Cloud City, right on the gates of the Li Family Mansion, dividing the sky and earth into two halves. Following that, the light within the clouds ignited like wildfire on a vast prairie, exploding and spreading, consuming the darkness on both sides. Soon, the light melted the dark clouds, and in the blink of an eye, the sky returned to its clear state, the bright sunlight once again covering Cyan Cloud City.
From clear skies to dark clouds and back to clear skies, the heavens changed color as if played with by Li Fengyun's hand, his strength as one of the top-tier experts of Xiangzhou Continent was undeniably displayed.
Below, Lu Xin stared dazedly at Li Fengyun descending slowly from the sky, love overflowing from her eyes.
"I must be foolish; seeing such a divine sword, what woman wouldn't be moved?"
In those days, even though Li Fengyun didn't possess such earth-shattering cultivation, his divine sword surpassed his peers, his genius radiant, and his heroic spirit indeed made him the dream lover of countless young girls.
Lost in thought for a while, Lu Xin suddenly snapped back, looking at "Li Qingming." Although she didn't hold much expectation in her heart, she vaguely felt that any cultivator witnessing such a divine sword couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions, impossible to restrain.
Indeed, after Li Fengyun descended gracefully, "Li Qingming" clapped softly inside the cloak, producing a crisp sound, and then a note flew over: "Not bad, good swordsmanship."
Li Fengyun frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with the astounding two sword moves just now, instinctively receiving the note without looking at it much.
Lu Xin beside him saw it clearly, and was left dumbfounded, incredulously staring at "Li Qingming," deeply shocked by those calm words of "not bad, good swordsmanship."
That's it? Witnessing such a divine sword, only these five words of evaluation? How could there be such a wooden person in the world?!
Lu Xin certainly couldn't understand that being commended with even a "not bad" by the once Supreme of Jiuzhou's divine sword was an immense honor for any swordsman. She only found it unbelievable that the little girl hiding in the cloak in front of her was insufferably stubborn.
The couple didn't speak, and after waiting for a while, Wang Jiu grew impatient. Having been out on his own for too long, he still needed to conceal his spiritual qi in front of a top-notch expert like Li Fengyun and radiate Li Qingming's aura. The Wind Gathering Array had already started operating under a heavy load. Moreover, the task Li Qingming entrusted him with before setting off was already completed, and there was no need to stay here any longer playing the "I write, you get mad" game.
"Sorry, I have something else to do. I'll take my leave, we can chat if there's an opportunity in the future."
After writing the final note, Wang Jiu stepped away, leaving Lu Xin and Li Fengyun standing there, dumbfounded.