Whoosh!
A streak of golden light shot straight into the clouds from Changxing Town!
Li Guanqi jerked his head up. In the distance, he could vaguely make out a white-robed figure soaring through the empty air atop a flying sword!
His expression shifted drastically.
"Flying on a sword... a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator!"
Seeing this, Zhao Yuanlin hurriedly took out two more talismans and slapped them onto himself.
The talismans transformed into a golden barrier that enveloped him.
Relaxing at last, Zhao Yuanlin lay sprawled on the ground and burst into wild laughter. "Hahahahaha! You mongrel! You worthless cur! You can't kill me!
"The next time we cross paths, I'll definitely flay you alive!"
Li Guanqi took a deep breath. Weighing his options, he decided to retreat...
If he tried to break through that barrier, he could certainly do it, but it would waste too much time.
Right now, he had not even achieved Qi Refinement. Facing a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator would mean certain death!
Stowing the copper coins, Li Guanqi helped Meng Wanshu up and swept an arm around her waist.
Amid Meng Wanshu's startled gasp, he leapt onto the horse with her in his arms and galloped off toward home!
The descending cultivator's face darkened when he saw the severely wounded Zhao Yuanlin.
Zhao Yuanlin, crying out as if clutching at a life-saving straw, pleaded, "Immortal Master Zhao... save... save me first...
"That... that mongrel... you can hunt him down later."
The short-statured man grabbed Zhao Yuanlin and flew off on his sword.
As for the dead guards... whether they lived or died had nothing to do with him.
***
Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu galloped across the open plain. Feeling the broad chest pressed against her back, Meng Wanshu felt an inexplicable sense of security.
Though it was her very first time riding a horse, being shielded in his embrace brought her an extraordinary peace of mind.
She stole a glance upward at him, murmuring inwardly, *How did I never notice before that he's so handsome...*
While the young maiden's heart fluttered, Li Guanqi gritted his teeth, his eyes churning with complex emotions.
He knew how rare today's opportunity had been, but... with Wanshu by his side, he could not afford to take that risk.
Sighing, he gathered his scattered thoughts and suddenly noticed Meng Wanshu's pale face and drowsy demeanor.
Only then did he realize that blood had been steadily seeping from her wrist the entire time!
Night had already fallen; heading up the mountain now was out of the question.
Left with no choice, Li Guanqi brought Meng Wanshu to his secret cave to take shelter for the night.
Crack!
The sound of burning firewood echoed within the cramped cavern. This was a quiet sanctuary where Li Guanqi occasionally came to calm his mind.
It was his own little world, though conditions were meager. At home they barely owned two quilts, so there were certainly no luxuries to be had here.
He spread a straw mat over Meng Wanshu. Outside, rain began to fall, growing heavier by the second.
From a light drizzle, it turned into a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator had not come looking for them, which allowed the tension in Li Guanqi's chest to ease slightly.
In the flickering firelight, Li Guanqi's face shifted between light and shadow. His gaze was distant; he wished nothing more than to end Zhao Yuanlin's life.
Yet more than that, he refused to let the girl before him come to any harm.
*If the opportunity comes in the future... I will kill him without fail!*
Just as his thoughts wandered, a soft moan came from behind him.
"Mmh..."
Li Guanqi hurried to her side, asking softly, "You're awake?"
Meng Wanshu looked down at her bandaged wrist, her cheeks flushing slightly.
The swelling on her cheek had mostly receded, though a faint redness remained.
The chilly night wind whistling into the cave made her shiver involuntarily.
Seeing her wrap her arms around her shoulders and shuffle closer to him, Li Guanqi could not help but smile.
Cold and hungry, Meng Wanshu pouted and muttered petulantly, "Those rotten thugs! If not for them, I'd have been home long ago!"
Li Guanqi chuckled. "Now you know the difference between a real scoundrel and a pretend one, don't you?"
Her face reddened further, and she rolled her eyes at him.
The Li Guanqi of today gave her a feeling she had never experienced before, and the words he had spoken earlier continued to echo in her mind:
*"She's my future wife."*
Meng Wanshu buried her head between her knees, her cheeks burning hot—whether from the fire or something else, she couldn't tell.
Seeing how cold she was, Li Guanqi brought out the wine and handed it to her, speaking gently.
"Drink a little to warm yourself up."
Taking the wine jug, she could not resist teasing, "You're not trying to get me drunk so you can... do something to me, are you?"
Li Guanqi coughed awkwardly. "Ahem... what are you thinking?"
"I practice martial arts, so my body can handle the chill. But if you don't drink something to warm up, you won't last the night without catching a cold."
Meng Wanshu stiffened her neck and retorted, "Then... then you have to drink too."
Helpless, Li Guanqi had to drink with her. Neither of them usually touched alcohol, so they drank while coughing between sips.
Before long, both of their faces were flushed rosy red. Under the influence of the alcohol, the two drifted closer and closer...
Their lips brushed together almost instinctively, hot breath and tender tension filling the narrow cave.
"Mmh..."
***
Meanwhile, up on the mountain, Li Guilan and Meng Jiangchu were nearly frantic with worry. The only exception was an old man who had returned from the mountains, happily smoking his pipe and sipping wine.
"Come on, Old Meng, it's nothing. The two kids are just stranded by the rain. They'll be back first thing in the morning."
Yet beneath his flustered facade, Meng Jiangchu sent an icy voice transmission straight across the distance!
*"If that brat dares lay a finger on her, I'll slaughter him!"*
*"And another thing—why did you stop me from stepping in? A mere Foundation Establishment junior... crushing him is easier than squashing an ant!"*
Su Xuan smiled faintly. He had not expected Meng Jiangchu to take the initiative to transmit his voice; it seemed the old fellow was genuinely panicked.
Tapping his pipe, Su Xuan replied softly, "I'm going to play a game of chess with Old Man Lu. Come see me in a bit."
At the eastern edge of Fulong Village stood a locust tree centuries old.
Clad in a gray robe and carrying a folding stool in hand, Su Xuan ambled unhurriedly beneath its boughs.
Strangely, not a single drop of the pouring rain fell upon him!
A kindly-faced old man was already sitting beneath the tree, playing chess against himself.
Seeing Su Xuan approach, he greeted him familiarly. "Just finished eating?"
Su Xuan did not reply directly. His expression remained serene as he said softly, "Old Man Lu, today I'll accompany you for one final game."
With that, he picked up a white stone and placed it onto the board. Then he looked up at the old man and said in a calm voice, "Old Meng, and Old Man Zhang at the west end of the village—I know who they both are.
"Yet you alone... I've racked my brains for eight years and still haven't figured it out.
"Who exactly are you? What is your name?"
The old man smiled faintly, placing a black stone beside the white one. "Me? I'm just a lonely, solitary old man.
"As for my name... Lu Tiancheng."
Su Xuan furrowed his brows, muttering under his breath, "Lu Tiancheng... never heard of it. That means you aren't anyone significant."
Arrogant! Incomparably arrogant!
At this moment, where was there any trace of the village freeloader who sponged meals off others?
Crack!
Su Xuan casually crushed the black stone to dust with the tip of his scabbard, his voice utterly placid. "Regardless of who you are, and regardless of how much your name defies the Heavenly Dao...
"As long as I am here, you cannot touch my grandson! Nor do you possess the ability to!"
Hum!
In the very next breath, the shattered fragments of the black stone gathered back together, restoring it whole as before.
As though completely unfazed by Su Xuan's threat, the old man remarked mildly, "Whether I can touch him or not... I have to try to know, don't I?"
Su Xuan smiled faintly. Scratching his head with the scabbard, he rose to his feet. "Then let's do it right now. I'm afraid I'll be too busy tomorrow, and there won't be time."
In an instant, both figures vanished from the spot.
Not long after, two figures from the village arrived at the chess table beneath the locust tree, one after the other.
A gaunt old man puffing on a dry pipe lifted his head slightly and addressed the newcomer behind him. "Old Meng, I suggest you take a look at this board!"
Meng Jiangchu, Meng Wanshu's father, flickered forward to stand before the chessboard. A single glance left him with a solemn expression.
"It seems Old Man Su intends to lay his cards on the table with us today..."
Just as the two stood in mutual silence, the space before them rippled slightly.
Su Xuan stepped slowly out of a spatial rift. His robe was slightly frayed, yet his face retained its nonchalant ease.
Meng Jiangchu narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint passing through them as he stared at the pitch-black scabbard in the old man's hand. "Where is that old fellow Lu?"
Su Xuan merely pointed at the board. "Have you both looked?"
Meng Jiangchu nodded. Zhang Qixuan, his back hunched, tapped his pipe against his palm and said with a smile, "So what if we looked, and so what if we didn't?"
Su Xuan offered no answer. He simply settled the black scabbard against his waist. Instantly, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth seemed to boil, surging into violent turmoil!
As the old man curled his fingers into an empty grip, a red-gold saber hilt began to coalesce.
The gaunt old man felt as though bound by an invisible force, unable to move an inch!
Cold sweat immediately poured down his forehead.
When Su Xuan's right hand closed around the hilt, a terrifying might blasted straight into the heavens!
Across ten thousand fathoms of empty sky, clouds churned violently, and thunder erupted in all directions!
"You old fossils are truly an annoyance...
"Speaking nicely to you doesn't work, does it?
"Must I travel to the Xuanmen Domain in person to pay you a visit?
"Isn't it nice to keep an Avatar realm clone alive?"
Zhang Qixuan dropped to his knees, his throat working hard as he swallowed, his eyes flooded with sheer terror.
With his head pressed firmly against the dirt, he didn't dare entertain even the slightest thought of resistance!
"I beg... your magnanimity! I will leave the Great Xia Domain immediately!"
The radiant saber within the scabbard gradually dissipated. A smile broke across Su Xuan's face. "Now that's more like it.
"I'm a reasonable man. I prefer winning people over with virtue, and I hate resorting to violence most of all."
Meng Jiangchu spoke up from the side, "And Lu Tiancheng?"
The old man shrugged, fastening the scabbard back to his waist as he mumbled, "Killed him.
"Couldn't be helped—he wouldn't listen to reason."
Hearing this, Meng Jiangchu's breath hitched.
Su Xuan turned to look at Meng Jiangchu, asking softly, "You... exhausted immense effort deducing the heavenly secrets, waiting here for me fifteen full years in advance.
"What is your choice?"
Meng Jiangchu's heart skipped a beat. Even now, he had not deduced the old man's true identity.
Exhaling a long breath of turbid air, he said softly, "I give up. After all, Wanshu is here.
"Besides, I rather like that boy Guanqi. I won't interfere.
"However, I wish to ask—what exactly is that object?"
Su Xuan gave Meng Jiangchu a profound look, remaining silent.
Meng Jiangchu's brow furrowed in confusion, but ultimately he sighed, clasping his hands behind his back. "Forget it. I won't contest it. My family will leave this place in a day or two."
Su Xuan nodded, then chuckled. "You aren't worried my grandson will run off with your daughter, are you?"
The corner of Meng Jiangchu's mouth twitched. He neither confirmed nor denied it, stating bluntly, "In any case, it will be hard for the two of them to ever meet again in this lifetime. I won't pursue matters today; I'll swallow the loss."
Once both men had departed, Su Xuan sat alone beneath the tree, picking up the two black stones from the chessboard.
With a wave of his sleeve, heaven and earth cleared, returning to calm as if nothing had ever transpired.
Standing beneath the tree with his hands clasped behind him, the old man muttered, "Virtue truly is the best way to win people over!
"As expected of two Domain Lords who have cultivated to this day—both know when to yield."
At that thought, he sat back down and tucked his hands into his sleeves, murmuring, "Is there anyone else I missed?
"Tsk, Xuanmen Domain Lord Zhang Qixuan, Shenbao Domain Lord Meng Jiangchu... both quite sensible..."
Looking up at the sky, the old man pinched his fingers in calculation before murmuring softly, "Soon... as for the rest of the path, that brat will have to walk it on his own."
***
The next morning.
Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu returned home, walking three paces apart, one following the other.
Naturally, Li Guilan could not help scolding them, but the moment she saw the wound on her daughter's wrist, her heart ached with worry.
Losing a few belongings was a trivial matter. Meng Jiangchu, meanwhile, merely sipped the wine Li Guanqi had brought, finding that no matter how he drank, it tasted thoroughly off.
Slap!
Li Guilan smacked Meng Jiangchu's back. "If you're not going to drink it, don't drink it! Why spill it everywhere? You wasteful thing!"
Sitting on the doorsill, Meng Jiangchu snapped sourly, "Hmph! This wine tastes awful!"
Hearing this, Meng Wanshu blushed furiously and didn't dare say a word. Last night, they had come so close...
Back at his own house, Li Guanqi confessed frankly, "Grandfather, on my trip down the mountain... I killed people."
Su Xuan had not expected Li Guanqi to confess so directly, but having known everything from the start, he merely nodded.
"Very good. Throw punches when you should, and kill when you must.
"However... your actions must be justified. When you take a life, you must have a reason that satisfies your own conscience.
"If you ever slaughter the innocent, I will cripple you with my own hands! Do you hear me?!"
Hearing the old man's stern reprimand, Li Guanqi nodded solemnly.
Looking at him, Su Xuan said softly, "Come along, to the backyard!"
Cultivating the Dao was a quest for longevity. There were many paths the boy had to walk by himself; an elder could not shelter him forever.
Yet if he could not even do that, how could he be worthy of being Su Xuan's grandson?
Chapter 7