Zhao Lin stood up quickly and saw a tall, elegant middle-aged monk walking in with square steps.
Behind him was a stout young man in white clothes.
Both men's robes were embroidered with family emblems, but the shapes and styles were different.
Observing with the Qi Watching Technique, one cannot see the realm of the middle-aged monk, indicating that he is a master of the Foundation Establishment Realm. It is clear at a glance that the young man in white is at the eighth level of Qi Refining.
"Junior Zhao Lin, I have met my senior."
Zhao Lin gave a salute.
The appearance of the middle-aged monk was similar to that of Li Yuan, so he should be Li Chenglin. However, in order to avoid calling the wrong person, Zhao Linkou called him senior instead of master.
"No gift."
Li Chenglin gave him some help and looked at Zhao Lin. He saw at a glance that he was a martial arts cultivator, and his expression straightened.
Although it is difficult for martial arts practitioners to break through, they are still relatively valued by the sect. Certain small worlds can only be entered by Qi Refining Realm monks, and powerful martial arts practitioners can often play a big role in such places.
"I am the master of this palace. This is Tao Huang, a young talent from the Tao family in this county."
Li Chenglin nodded slightly and introduced the young man in white.
"Nice to meet you."
Tao Huang raised his hand towards Zhao Lin.
"Nice to meet you."
The Tao family is also a family that cultivates immortality. Zhao Lin has heard about it slightly.
"Everyone, take a seat."
Li Chenglin sat down casually, smiled slightly, and said, "Looking at my little friend's clothes, he must not be from this state, right?"
"The senior has a keen eye, and the junior is a disciple of the Nanhezhou Spiritual Dao Academy. This trip is to practice and carry out the sect's tasks."
Zhao Lin replied seriously.
"Coming out so early to carry out the sect's mission, the martial arts cultivators are indeed courageous."
Li Chenglin twirled his long beard and praised.
"Senior Miaozan, it's just a task of picking spiritual herbs."
Zhao Lin said modestly.
"You came to see me, what's the matter?"
After exchanging a few words, Li Chenglin brought the conversation to the main topic.
"This junior was entrusted by someone to deliver a message."
Zhao Lin also wanted to settle the matter as soon as possible and directly state his intention.
"My friend, please tell me."
Li Chenglin leaned forward slightly, looking very interested.
"It's news about your master Li Yuanyou."
Zhao Lin said in a deep voice.
"oh."
Li Chenglin chuckled, leaned back in his chair, and his expression became cold.
Tao Huang snorted coldly: "Another swindler! Brother Li has been missing for twenty years. The sect and the Li family have sent people to search many times without success. Where did you, a small disciple of the Spiritual Dao Academy, hear this? information?"
Zhao Lin felt slightly strange. Judging from Li Chenglin's expression, he obviously didn't believe this matter. This is understandable, but how could Tao Huang, an outsider, be so excited?
"Li Yuanyou is not actually dead, but is trapped in the Yinfeng Realm. He is accompanied by a man named Hu Hongxing..."
"Hu Hongxing wanted to turn to ghost cultivation. He found out that Li Yuanyou was born with a body of Shen Yin, so he deliberately made friends with him and tricked him into entering the small world..."
Zhao Lin finished the story in one breath, watching the expressions of Li Chenglin and Tao Huang change from initial disapproval, to surprise, to dumbfounded.
Finally, he added: "Qiuyang County has sent patrols to verify that it is correct. I believe there will be news in the near future."
"What you said...is all true? Is Yuan You dead?"
Li Chenglin was stunned for a while before saying.
"This junior is neither seeking wealth nor fame. He only came to inform you after agreeing to Fellow Daoist Li. Besides, there will be news coming from Qiuyang County soon. You will know the truth and falsehood at a glance."
When Zhao Lin was talking, he noticed Tao Huang staring at him with an unkind expression.
He has the ability of echolocation. He can know the other person's expression even without using his eyes, which makes him feel confused.
How could he become an enemy when he was just reporting a piece of news?
"That's... great!"
Li Chenglin laughed and said this, but there was no joy on his face.
Zhao Lin sighed in his heart, it seemed that this matter was not good news for Palace Master Li.
Li Yuanyou has been away from home for twenty years. It is estimated that the original family relationship has faded long ago, and his survival has become a trouble for the family, but this is beyond his control.
Thinking of this, an inexplicable sense of crisis suddenly arose in my heart.
Foundation-building monks can easily kill themselves. Although the other party will definitely not do this, this feeling is really bad. This idea is entirely out of a sense of self-protection.
"The news has reached that this junior will take his leave now."
Zhao Lin stood up and cupped his fists.
"Little friend, wait a minute, it's getting late. Let's stay in a humble house today."
Li Chenglin stretched out his hand to stop him, called the housekeeper, and ordered: "Take this little friend to the wing to rest."
Zhao Lin insisted: "Senior, you're welcome. Junior has been out for a long time and wants to rush back to Lingdao Academy as soon as possible."
"That's inappropriate. My little friend has traveled thousands of miles to deliver a letter. If I let you out so late, and others find out, they will definitely say that my Li family is not polite enough."
Li Chenglin waved his hand and said in a tone that could not be refused: "There are few spiritual boats going out in Zhouyi at night. Even if you go, you can't leave. Besides, it's not safe on the road, so you'd better stay at the house for one night."
"This...then I'm sorry to bother you."
Zhao Lin knew that what Li Chenglin said was true. He pondered for a while and decided to stay for one night without saying anything else.
Following the housekeeper into the private room, he was not in the mood to practice. He lay on the bed with his clothes on and couldn't fall asleep.
Looking back on Li Chenglin's performance just now, I always felt that the other party's smile was a bit fake, and the young man in white named Tao Huang was also very strange and seemed to be full of hostility towards him.
Years of martial arts experience gave Zhao Lin an instinct similar to that of a beast. He rarely made mistakes. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became and decided to leave early tomorrow morning.
In the inner hall, the lights were still on.
Li Chenglin sat on the chair with a tea cup in hand, taking a sip from time to time. His expression was calm, but the slightly downward corners of his mouth revealed his inner uneasiness.
Tao Huang also frowned and said nothing.
After a long while, Tao Huang suddenly said: "Uncle, do you believe what that person said? Many people have come to the house over the years to say that Brother Li is still alive. It turns out that they all have ulterior motives and are just eating and drinking. .”
Li Chenglin didn't say anything. He raised his hand and put up a transparent barrier around the two of them.
Then he slowly said: "I'm very good at judging people. This person is here just to deliver news, and he is from outside the state. What can he want?"
After speaking, he narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Tao Huang, "My nephew seems to be very concerned about this matter?"
Tao Huang was at a loss for words. He hesitated and said, "Uncle, let me tell you directly. Do you remember the oath that my true sister made back then?"
"What oath?"
Li Chenglin was startled, pinched his beard and recalled for a while, and suddenly said: "Are you saying that Zhen'er made a vow that she would give her life to whoever helps her find her brother?"
Tao Huang nodded heavily, "That's exactly what happened."
Li Chenglin chuckled, "Zhen'er was just a teenage girl at that time. She had a deep love between brother and sister, and her words were a bit ignorant."
"Twenty years have passed since the incident. I'm afraid she has forgotten about it. You won't take it seriously, right?"
Tao Huang smiled bitterly and said, "My nephew doesn't take it seriously, but my real sister always remembers it!"
"Every time I mention marriage to her, she always refuses using this reason, fearing that she really thinks so."
Li Chenglin's face darkened, "It's impossible. Even if she wants to, I won't agree."
Tao Huang was silent for a while and said slowly: "Uncle Master, I heard that people who practice Taoism should not make oaths easily, otherwise once they disobey, they will have inner demons and it will be difficult to achieve the Purple Mansion realm."
"A true sister who is devoted to cultivating Taoism should understand this truth."
Li Chenglin's face changed slightly, he stroked the teacup and stopped talking.
"Master, there is news."
At this moment, the butler walked in, holding a dark red messenger talisman in his hand.
"Okay, Lao Jin, go down."
Li Chenglin gently grabbed it, and the messenger talisman was in his hand.
Tao Huang pretended to avoid suspicion and took two steps away. He quickly glanced at the messenger talisman and saw a red stamp on the talisman with the words "Qiuyang County" written on it.
Li Chenglin injected a spiritual power into the messenger talisman, unlocked the restrictions on it, unfolded the talisman paper, and read it carefully.
After a moment, he said in a low tone: "Yuan You is indeed still alive."
There was no joy in his tone, but instead seemed to be very regretful.
"You should also take a look."
Li Chenglin casually handed the messenger talisman to Tao Huang.
Tao Huang took the talisman and glanced at it, his face darkened, he raised his head and said, "Uncle Master, what should I do?"
Li Chenglin sighed softly, "This really poses a problem for me. If you don't save me, you will be criticized and said that my Li family is ruthless. How can I save you?"
"Yuan You only has a trace of his soul left. If he wants to move to the outside world, he must use a soul-nurturing stone. But the soul-nurturing stone is so precious. Where can I, the Li family, get it?"
"To take a step back, even if you buy the soul-nurturing stone, you still have to find a soulless body to give the soul a place to stay..."
"Sigh... Wouldn't it be better to use these resources on living people? Maybe we can even cultivate a foundation-building monk."
Tao Huang's heart was moved, and he deliberately added jealousy: "If a mortal woman knows how to commit suicide to prove her innocence when she is humiliated, Brother Li should also know how to preserve the family."
Li Chenglin's face became even more ugly when he heard this.
Tao Huang felt that the time was almost here and said, "Uncle Master, there is actually another way."
Li Chenglin's eyes lit up, "What can we do?"
Tao Huang glanced outside the door and lowered his voice, "Actually, not many people know about this matter. Whether it is the governor or deacon of Qiuyang County, it is their duty to not reveal Brother Li's family background to others."
"Uncle Master will send a few more reliable disciples to visit and explain the situation to relevant people, so the news will not spread."
Li Chenglin frowned: "What kind of method is this? Everyone in Sanshan County knows about Yuan You's disappearance."
"But they don't know that Brother Li is still alive."
Tao Huang's eyes flashed and he said word by word: "As long as we don't publicize this matter, who in Sanshan County will know about it?"
"The people in Qiuyang County know that Brother Li is alive, but they don't know that he is from our Li family. There are so many people named Li in the world, and there are more than one immortal cultivating family named Li."
Li Chenglin pondered for a long time and glanced towards the side room, "Isn't there anyone else who knows?"
Tao Huang knew that the other party was tempted, so he gritted his teeth and made a beheading gesture.
The expression on Li Chenglin's face changed, and he hesitated: "Isn't this bad? They have good intentions after all."
Why are you pretending to be a kind person?
Tao Huang secretly sarcastically said in his heart: "What kind of intentions? I think he clearly heard about the vows made by Zhenmei and came to climb the high branches. Uncle Master can't be merciful and let the villain succeed."
When Li Chenglin heard this, his eyes gradually hardened, and he finally nodded, "For the sake of the reputation of the Li family, this is the only way. But now I am in the house, so I can't do anything."
Tao Huang was overjoyed and immediately said: "Uncle Master will send him away tomorrow and leave Sanshan County. If he dies, it will have nothing to do with us."
"good."
Li Chenglin nodded in agreement and looked at Tao Huang, "My nephew has an outstanding mind and wisdom. No one in my Li family can compare with me. It's up to you to handle this matter."
Tao Huang secretly cursed the old fox in his heart. It's not okay to not think about such a big thing at all. He quickly said: "This matter was proposed by my nephew, so naturally I will do my part. However, the family has sent out their manpower recently. I would like to ask my uncle to transfer two people." With help, you will be more confident.”
Li Chenglin secretly cursed the little fox, and had no choice but to say: "Okay, I'll send Yuan Zhi and Yuan Lie to go with you. They are both good players in the late stage of Qi refining."
"I am sitting in charge of the house, no one can doubt me anymore."
"This person is a martial artist after all. If he dares to go out alone, he must be exceptional. You must not be careless."
Tao Huang patted his chest and said: "Uncle, don't worry. He is an outsider and he acted alone. He will definitely leave no trace."
I thought that as long as this was done and each other had a handle on the other, the marriage between the two families would be settled.
Li Chenglin stared at the messenger talisman in his hand, suddenly remembered something, and said: "He said that this trip was to perform a sect mission. He must have a life-saving talisman such as the Hongyan Talisman on him."
"It's easy for you to kill him, but it's hard to stop him from spreading the news. How to do that?"
Tao Huang was stunned for a moment and said: "It's the junior's negligence, but it doesn't matter. My grandpa loves me the most. I asked him to take action and use the spirit cage technique to capture the talisman lock that conveyed the message. It will be safe!"
Li Chenglin nodded, "I'll be relieved if the foundation-building monks take action."
Tao Huang thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Master, where do you think it's safe to start?"
Li Chenglin pondered for a moment and said: "It's only about twenty miles from Shanmen to Zhouyi. There is only one place suitable for action: Fengjinpu."
Tao Huang asked doubtfully: "Fengjinpu? I remember that there are mountains there, and it seems easy to hide."
Li Chenglin nodded, "Logically speaking, Fengjinpu's terrain is undulating, so it's not a place to kill enemies, but because of this, even if it's one mile away, you can't see the movement inside."
"As long as you act quickly enough, the news will not leak out. Otherwise, if people see it, they will inevitably doubt us."
Tao Huang understood and praised: "Uncle Master has thought carefully, so let's go to Fengjinpu. Uncle Master, don't worry, my nephew will definitely get things done."
The two of them planned for a while and felt that everything was safe, so Tao Huang said goodbye and left.
Li Chenglin summoned his two nephews to the inner hall.
"I've met the clan leader."
Not long after, two young men with extraordinary bearing walked into the hall and saluted together.
One of them is at the seventh level of Qi refining, and the other is at the eighth level of Qi refining. They specialize in offensive spells. Although they are not very old, they are extremely capable in fighting spells.
"Yuanzhi, Yuanlie."
A smile appeared on Li Chenglin's face, "I called you two here because I have something important to do..." (End of Chapter)
