34 The Valley of No Return (10)
◎Don’t you have the best heart◎
"Master Lu, we've found the thing," Qu Lingfei said with a smile, his hands behind his head, "I'm sorry I can't keep you company."
Lu Chengfeng's face was dark, his hair brimming with white, and he looked as if he had aged ten years. He turned his back, unwilling to look at them again, and waved his hand: "Let them go."
"I, Xie, have something I'd like to ask the manor master." Xie Changyan withdrew his gaze from the elixir, took a few steps closer, and bowed. "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Tian is the best in cultivation within the manor?"
It was obvious that he was a thief who would do anything to rob other people's property, and he had put many obstacles in their way along the way. However, he deliberately emphasized the word "fellow Taoist", and Tian Heng blushed when he heard it.
"The one with the highest cultivation level is naturally our manor master," Tian Heng took a deep breath, sizing up Lu Chengfeng's expression. "My cultivation level was all given to me by the manor master. If you really want to compare, I'm not even half as good as him."
"Fellow Daoist Tian has caused us a lot of trouble along the way. I admire his resourcefulness." Xie Changyan didn't even look at him, not wanting to waste time beating around the bush. He said directly, "Why not let him come along? It will also allow Fellow Daoist Tian to gain some experience."
"Brother Xie, why bring him along..." Qu Lingfei hadn't finished his words when he suddenly realized—the talk of "broadening his horizons" was all a lie. If he didn't keep this guy by his side, who could say if he would make a comeback? So he quickly changed his tone, "Master Lu, I see that Brother Xie really admires this fellow...Daoist Tian. Would you disagree?"
The elixir he had obtained was taken back before he could even keep it for a few days. Lu Chengfeng was already extremely angry, and now he felt even more dizzy after hearing such an unreasonable request. But when he saw Qu Lingfei's playful smile, he was afraid that if he refused, these people would immediately take action in the manor.
"Master, if you hadn't been so kind as to take me in, I would have been killed by the vicious dog years ago." Tian Heng thought he was embarrassed because he couldn't bear to leave him. He suddenly kowtowed to the ground, knocking his forehead until it bled. "I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life, but after leaving today, I don't know when we will see each other again." He stood up tremblingly and bowed deeply to Lu Chengfeng's back. "I hope you and the two young ladies will take good care of yourselves in the future."
Until Tian Heng was tied up with ropes and staggered away from Lu Zhuang with several people, Lu Chengfeng did not look back once.
A few people left Luzhuang and walked into Wugui Valley again. Fortunately, this place was not as dangerous as Wugui Valley. It took them a whole day to walk all the way to the exit. By chance, it was daybreak.
When we reached the end, we suddenly heard the sound of gurgling water. When we got closer, we saw that it was indeed a lake that stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Haha..." Tian Heng walked unsteadily, laughing with a gloating smile: "Without even a boat, let's see how you're going to cross the river."
Speaking of the word "crossing the river", the scene from last time immediately came to mind. Li Jintang's heart tightened for a moment, and he turned his head to secretly glance at Xie Changyan.
Wouldn't that leave a psychological shadow on him?
But he didn't react much after hearing this. He looked indifferently in one direction, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Why is it the lake again?" Qiuyan held up her chin in annoyance, then nodded resignedly: "How are we going to build the boat this time?"
"You are not needed this time."
Qu Lingfei was about to answer when suddenly a deep voice came from above, followed by a figure landing on the ground. It turned out to be Nangong Xiu who had arranged the treasures he had taken back from Lu Zhuang and was chasing after him.
"Brother Nangong, you're pretty fast."
Nangong Xiu didn't waste any words with him. He threw the silver in his hand and pointed to the left and front: "There is a boatman over there. Let's go and rent one."
"Fellow Daoist Nangong is so domineering." Upon hearing that there was no need to worry about crossing the river, Qiu Yan immediately perked up and gave him a thumbs up.
So a few people went to rent a larger boat. Once the ropes wrapped around the wooden piles were untied, the boat slowly moved forward under the cover of the lake.
Li Jintang stood by the railing, looking down at the ripples spreading out, when she suddenly heard someone beside her laugh softly. She turned her head in confusion, and saw Tian Heng, who seemed to be acting strangely despite being tied up, leaning against the railing and laughing so hard that he was staggering.
She felt strange, but didn't dare get too close to him. She didn't want to talk to him any more. As soon as she moved to the side, she heard Nangong Xiu scolding, "What are you laughing at? If you laugh again, I'll throw you down."
"Brother Nangong, don't be impulsive," Qu Lingfei said, fearing that this man might actually do something like this. While he was away from home, he still remembered his master's teachings: never kill innocent people—even if the other person didn't look so innocent. He raised his chin towards Tian Heng and said, "Tell me, what were you laughing at just now?"
Tian Heng laughed for a long time before straightening himself up, tears even streaming down his face. "I'm laughing at your naiveté. You are such 'upright gentlemen,' yet you actually associate with such an evil demon. I'm ashamed that the owner of the manor treated you so well before."
Qu Lingfei usually had a very good temper, but he hated to hear people associating him with the words "evil and crooked". He immediately resisted the urge to draw his sword and grabbed his collar with one hand: "Who are you calling evil and crooked?"
"Whoever is talking about it knows it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the person leaning on the railing suddenly turned around, and Tian Heng's smile froze - the other person seemed to smile at him.
That look seemed to be saying, do you think they believe you or me?
"It's him!" Tian Heng's face suddenly turned ferocious, and he stretched out his arms desperately. "I saw it all. He was the one who entered the cellar. He wanted to take the elixir for himself!"
After he finished shouting, there was silence for a few seconds.
"Brother Xie, if you ask me, your earlier worries were completely unnecessary. This guy doesn't look very smart either," Qu Lingfei said with a smile. "Didn't Brother Xie give us that elixir?"
"Humph, you're truly foolish," Tian Heng sneered, sarcastically saying, "Anyone who covets the elixir will surely bear the marks of its burning. If you don't believe me, just ask him to lift his clothes and take a look."
Several people paused for a moment and turned to look at the young man beside the railing.
Xie Changyan met their gaze calmly, not even wanting to defend himself - there was indeed such a mark on the lapel of his chest.
At the moment, even if all these people were added together, they might not be his opponents. Wouldn't it be easy to kill them? What a pity to waste such a good Spirit Gathering Pill.
Tian Heng grinned and added fuel to the fire, "Ask him if he dares."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Qu Lingfei loosened his grip on his collar, stood up, and looked behind him. "Brother Xie, take off one of your clothes and shut him up."
Xie Changyan raised the corner of his mouth, and glanced at the two girls, with a half-smile: "Are you sure?"
Here... taking off clothes? Li Jintang widened his eyes slightly, quickly lowered his head, and tugged at Qiuyan's sleeve in a panic.
"Brother, are you stupid?" Qiu Yan pinched his arm and said angrily, "What did you just say?"
Qu Lingfei suddenly realized what he had said without thinking, and quickly changed his tone: "You still want to sow discord? If you keep talking nonsense, I will sew your mouth shut."
Tian Heng leaned against the railing with his legs crossed, humming twice, and the expression on his face clearly showed that he was scolding them for being stupid.
The boat continued to move forward, and several people sat around in the cabin with a pot of wine on the table.
Li Jintang had never drunk alcohol before. She blinked with some curiosity, picked up a glass of wine that was almost overflowing, brought it to her mouth, and took a sip. A pungent smell immediately rushed into her nose. She couldn't help but turned her back and coughed several times.
"Atang, if you can't drink, then don't drink." Qiuyan raised her hand and patted her back gently a few times, signaling with her eyes: "There's some cold water over there. I'll get you some."
Li Jintang waved her hand, sat up straight, and felt a little relieved, but she didn't dare to touch the wine again.
"Brother Qu, that kid just mentioned 'evil ways', why did you react so strongly?" After a few drinks, Nangong Xiu put down his glass and asked in a gruff voice, "I'm considered a half-gatekeeper of the demon world, so am I considered 'evil ways'?"
Qu Lingfei immediately replied, "Of course not. Brother Nangong, you've been with us for many days, so you certainly have nothing to do with any 'evil ways'."
"Oh, then what is evil and crooked?"
Qu Lingfei was a bit tipsy by now, so he answered without hesitation, "This 'evil and crooked ways', as the name suggests, of course refers to those from the demonic realm." He suddenly threw his wine glass heavily, spilling some of the wine. "Especially that demon clan's so-called Lord. He loves to take advantage of others' misfortunes. He's so despicable—ah!"
The young man straightened his wine glass and chuckled, "I'm sorry, Fellow Daoist Qu, I didn't hold it steady just now. I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position."
"..." Qu Lingfei looked down at the hem of his clothes, which was soaked with wine, and waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's a small matter - Brother Nangong, where were we just now?"
"You cursed that Demon Lord—" Nangong Xiu paused, then thought of a random word: "Not a thing."
"Right, right, right, he's nothing!" Qu Lingfei was inexplicably agitated, his body tilted, and he raised his voice. "Back then, my immortal race made great contributions to maintaining peace in the Three Realms during the Immortal-Demon War, and suffered heavy losses. Yet, he took advantage of our misfortune, sneaked into our immortal realm, and murdered countless of my fellow disciples. He's truly despicable! If I were to meet him, I'd cut him into pieces even if it cost me my life..."
Qiuyan was shocked when she heard this and quickly tugged at his clothes: "Senior Brother..."
For many years, Master has regarded this as a disgrace to the Immortal Sect. How can such a family shame be made public?
"Brother Nangong is not an outsider, what are you afraid of?" Qu Lingfei waved his hand and said, "Besides, I believe Brother Nangong will not let anyone else know about this."
Nangong Xiu sneered: "I am not interested in the affairs of your fairy world."
"What do you mean, Fellow Daoist Qu?" Xie Changyan slowly poured a glass of wine, a hint of teasing in his eyes. "Including Miss Li and me, there are already a fourth and fifth person here. What you just said really puts Fellow Daoist Nangong in a difficult position."
Qu Lingfei choked, the alcohol slowly wearing off. He smiled awkwardly, "You all have lived and died with me, so you certainly can't be considered outsiders."
"Atang, where are you going?" When Qiuyan turned around, there was no one around.
Li Jintang guessed that what she had just said was not convenient for others to know, so she made an excuse and went out. The air outside the cabin immediately diluted the smell of alcohol on her body.
She looked out at the mirror-like surface of the lake, knowing that the tranquility would be broken once their boat passed.
She stood leaning against the railing for an unknown amount of time when she suddenly felt there was someone next to her. She turned her head and saw the young man leaning against the railing with a wine jug in one hand.
"Why did you come out too?"
Xie Changyan smiled and said, "Just like Miss Li, I think what they are saying is extremely boring."
"I didn't..." Li Jintang knew that he had misunderstood and was about to explain, but was interrupted by him.
Xie Changyan raised his hand slightly, shaking the half-filled wine jug between his fingers. "He hasn't had even a drop of water all morning. Miss Li is so kind-hearted, why don't you go and help him?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com