Hearing this, Li Guanqi's eyes lit up as he looked toward Meng Jiangchu, who was brooding over his liquor on the gunwale.
"Then your father... er, no... *our* father?"
A trace of pride surfaced on Meng Wanshu's face, and she murmured softly, "The one and only eighth-tier Saint-grade armorer in the Shenbao Domain!"
Upon hearing this, Li Guanqi grinned so broadly his mouth nearly reached his ears. The man looked more and more agreeable the longer he stared.
"Our father is truly incredible."
Meng Jiangchu's drinking speed on the gunwale picked up even more.
He muttered under his breath, "Damn it all... I guarded against everything under the sun, yet in the end I still couldn't guard against him! The moment Long Hou made his move to wipe out Mingchuan, I knew I should steer clear of this brat. But... how the hell did they still manage to run into each other in a place as vast as the Taiqing Domain?!"
With that, the man lowered his head and pinched his fingers to run a Liu Ren divination.
Tying his brows into tight knots, he muttered, "No one interfered! Could it really just be destined to happen?!"
Even so, now that his precious daughter had already been taken, he still felt profoundly disgruntled inside.
As for Su Xuan's true identity, he had only come to understand it gradually later on.
So... that illusory, ethereal Seventh Domain really did exist!
And that old man was none other than the master of the Seventh Domain!
Yet as for where the Seventh Domain lay and who dwelled within it, even he remained completely in the dark.
If Li Guanqi had known all this, he might have been astounded by Gu Yong, the former Pavilion Master of the Tianji Pavilion.
Because Gu Yong... seemed intimately aware of the Seventh Domain's existence!
The cloud boat traveled at breakneck speed, coming to a halt before long.
Immediately after, Li Guanqi saw a massive square of golden light materialize several hundred zhang ahead!
The golden light resembled a gate, which then stretched out over several hundred zhang to connect with the cloud boat.
It formed a corridor akin to polished metal, engraved with countless intricate patterns.
The group leapt down from the cloud boat and strode slowly inward.
Li Guanqi couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement. "Good grief. An entire berthing platform for a cloud boat is this extravagant?"
Meng Wanshu smiled faintly and stepped up to stand shoulder to shoulder beside Li Guanqi, as if doing so might offer him some sense of security.
Li Guanqi felt her intentions and let the corners of his mouth curve upward.
Just as the group emerged, a woman's shout rang out.
"Xiao Li! Where is Xiao Li?!"
"Hahahaha, come quick and let your auntie get a look at you!"
Everyone saw a woman clad in magnificent finery, yet clutching the voluminous hem of her skirts with both hands as she hurried over in a bustling flurry.
Though perfectly capable of soaring through the void, the slightly plump woman ran as if she were racing across flat ground.
Whenever she glanced at the space beneath her feet, she shrank back in slight fright, her face betraying extreme caution and a dread of heights.
The moment Li Guanqi caught sight of her, a warm and genial smile instantly spread across his face.
He waved his hand and shouted, "Aunt Li, over here! Over here!"
Calling out, Li Guanqi flew over through the void to meet her.
Looking at the woman he hadn't seen in so long, Li Guanqi felt a deep wave of peace wash over his heart.
It would be no exaggeration to say Aunt Li had been like a second mother to him.
When he was young, his grandfather didn't know how to mend clothes and couldn't cook to save his life.
Back then, Aunt Li had helped him out endlessly.
Aunt Li's birth name was Li Guilan. She was a village woman through and through, possessing an honest simplicity and down-to-earth warmth rarely found among ordinary people.
The slightly plump woman wore a face full of smiles, her eyes crinkling into narrow slits.
Watching the handsome youth flying toward her from the distance, she realized that without noticing, he had already grown quite a bit taller than her.
Stopping before Li Guanqi, Li Guilan tilted her head back to look at the beaming young man, unable to resist swatting at him with an upturned palm.
Li Guanqi didn't dodge. Seeing the woman's eyes redden, a lump rose in his throat.
She thumped Li Guanqi on the shoulder, chiding him affectionately, "You wretched brat... growing up so big all of a sudden. Look at you, skinny as a hemp stalk. You must have suffered plenty out there, haven't you? Seeing how steadily you glide through the air, you must be at least at late Foundation Establishment, right? Don't you worry. What does cultivation realm matter anyway? Later on, I'll have Old Meng whip up some pills for you, and your cultivation will shoot right up in no time. No, at the very least we've got to get you to the Nascent Soul realm or something. As for cultivation methods and dharma artifacts, Auntie will go fetch them for you later. I've got heaps of good treasures over here."
The moment they met, she hooked Li Guanqi's arm and held him steady, terrified that his realm might be too low to fly stably and that he might plummet.
That overflowing warmth made even Meng Wanshu wonder for a second whether she was truly her mother's biological daughter.
As for Meng Jiangchu, he stood frozen in place, his face twitching, yet he dared not utter a single word.
The others around them were having an even harder time stifling their laughter.
Across the entire Shenbao Domain, who didn't know that the Domain Lord was terrified of his wife?
Yet this very woman, possessing only a Core Formation cultivation, was the Shenbao Domain Lord's sole wife, enjoying supreme status, prestige, and authority.
Li Guilan pulled Li Guanqi close and whispered, "Xiao Li, you have no idea. When I first learned your Uncle Meng was so formidable, I was in a daze for days! But don't you worry about your auntie getting pushed around. Once we got back, I gave him a good clobbering. Hmph, what of it if he's a Domain Lord?"
Seeing that Li Guanqi stayed silent, she assumed he was intimidated by Meng Jiangchu's status and imposing pressure.
Resting her hands on her hips, she pointed straight at Meng Jiangchu and scolded, "Can you pull back that overbearing pressure of yours?! How many times do I have to tell you? Shameless day in and day out, aren't you! I told you to wear that bracelet that suppresses your aura, so why'd you take it off again?!"
Meng Jiangchu was just about to tell her about their daughter when he saw Li Guilan glaring at him with blazing eyes.
Helpless, Meng Jiangchu could only let out a soft sigh, turning his wrist over to slide a golden jade bangle onto his hand.
Li Guilan rolled her eyes, turned back, and grumbled, "Think I can't put you in your place after all these years?"
Even Xiao Chen was stunned by the sight...
Li Guanqi simply stood to the side, grinning foolishly. The scene looked just like sunset back home, with Meng Jiangchu sitting gloomily on the threshold smoking his pipe while Aunt Li stood by the door brandishing a water ladle, berating him for being unable to do a single chore.
It was so utterly familiar; even the reprimands were identical.
Li Guanqi hurriedly caught the woman's arm and said with a smile, "Aunt Li, Aunt Li, don't scold him anymore, don't scold him. I'm fine. Uncle Meng took great care of me the entire way. Besides, this brat is plenty capable nowadays."
The woman arched an eyebrow, leaned in close to his ear, and whispered, "Tsk, no matter how capable you are, how strong could you possibly be? You just keep quiet. I'll definitely find a way to dig up some good treasures for you to pocket when the time comes. This Meng family is filthy rich—rolling in mountains of dough! Ah... your life was so bitter growing up, and after all these years who knows what hardships you've endured. Your auntie even thought she might never see you again in this lifetime."
Standing nearby, Meng Jiangchu could truly stomach no more. He snapped in exasperation, "You silly woman, still fussing about giving him treasures! He's already rooted up and devoured the finest cabbage in our garden! And you're still handing him good things? He'd love nothing more than to strip away everything I own!"
With that, Meng Jiangchu pinched his philtrum in sheer exasperation and violently swept his sleeve, storming off.
Li Guilan froze for a moment. She looked at Meng Wanshu, whose face was flushed with embarrassment and possessed a subtle touch of womanly grace, then turned to look at Li Guanqi's sheepish expression... Clearly, she realized what had happened.
Lowering her head, Li Guilan mulled it over for a long while before clicking her tongue in wonder. "Now that's fate!"
"Hahaha! Doesn't that mean from now on you're my son-in-law? Hahahahaha! Aiya, aiya, that's wonderful!"
Watching the woman bob her head and murmur how wonderful it was, Li Guanqi grinned broadly as well.
Turning back to glance at Meng Wanshu, the faces of all three were brimming with joyful, radiant smiles.
Chapter 538