Black iron mine.
Li Molin emerged from the stone house, looking refreshed. He stretched lazily in the morning sun and let out a languid sigh. Last night's sleep was the best he'd had since Liuli left him a few days ago to find Shi Chan; he had slept soundly without any dreams or disturbances.
He turned his head and glanced at the stone house where Liuli and Lingxi lived. He saw that there was no movement in the stone house, so the two lazybones were still fast asleep and had not gotten up.
He couldn't help but shake his head and smile.
At this moment, Yu Ke came out of the stone house after washing up and called out softly, "Young Master."
"Mm." Li Molin nodded with a smile.
Yu Ke carefully examined his expression, then glanced discreetly at the stone house where Liuli and Lingxi lived.
"Yu Ke," Li Molin calmly instructed, "Go and wake up all the clansmen and have them start mining the Xuan Iron as soon as possible. These days, those annoying righteous dogs have been constantly attacking, trying to seize the mine. We'd better mine all the Xuan Iron as soon as possible."
"Yes." Yu Ke glanced once more at the stone house where Liu Li and Ling Xi lived, then turned and walked towards the mine.
Li Molin paused for a moment, then walked to the stone house where Liuli and Lingxi lived. He reached out to push open the wooden door, but after thinking for a moment, he withdrew his hand, smiled faintly, and shook his head, saying, "Never mind, let her sleep a little longer."
He turned to leave, but suddenly heard Lingxi's startled cry from inside the house: "Sister?"
Li Molin frowned, turned around abruptly, opened the wooden door and rushed in. He saw Lingxi on the stone bed inside, looking around in panic.
"Where's Liuli?!" Li Molin exclaimed in shock.
Lingxi slowly looked at Li Molin, her eyes filled with panic, and shook her head, her voice trembling, "No, I don't know..."
Li Molin was furious. He shouted angrily, "Everyone says that spirit cats are very clever, but how come you couldn't even keep an eye on Liuli?!"
Seeing Li Molin's angry expression, Lingxi couldn't help but take two steps back in fright. She pouted and said aggrievedly, "Young Master, I..."
"Young Master!" Lang Yuan's voice came from behind Li Molin, asking, "What's going on?"
Li Molin turned around and walked past Lang Yuan, his face icy cold as he said in a chilling voice, "Lang Yuan, go and call Yu Ke and Ji Jue. We must set off for Bodhi Temple immediately!"
Lang Yuan glanced at Li Molin's angry back, then at Lingxi's aggrieved expression on the stone bed, and shook his head, asking, "Did Miss Liuli run away secretly?"
“Hmm…” Lingxi nodded, looking aggrieved, “I really didn’t hear it.”
Lang Yuan shook his head and smiled gently, saying, "It's not your fault, let's go."
Lingxi nodded, then nimbly leaped onto Langyuan's shoulder, and Langyuan turned and walked away.
--
When Liuli arrived at Pure Land Mountain, Shichan had already descended the mountain and gone far away, but she was completely unaware of this. Standing at the foot of the mountain, she looked up at the Bodhi Temple, hesitating for a long time before daring not to climb it. Thinking of the hostility the Bodhi Temple disciples harbored towards her, a chill ran through her heart; how could she dare to walk into their trap?
From the early morning when the sun first rose until the morning, Liuli hid behind a big tree at the foot of the mountain, watching as more and more pilgrims came up the mountain, and Pure Land Mountain gradually became noisy.
While secretly observing the situation, she racked her brains trying to figure out how to find Shi Chan, but to her great dismay, she found that she had no way to do it.
Just then, a young monk who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old came down the mountain carrying a basket on his back.
Liuli was overjoyed. After thinking for a moment, she transformed herself into a woman's dress, mimicking the attire of a peasant woman, and secretly followed the little monk.
Liuli followed the young monk as they left the Bodhi Temple and came to an ancient road. She peered out and saw that the ancient road led directly to a city. It seemed that the young monk was going to that city to purchase the temple's daily necessities.
During wartime, the ancient road was sparsely populated, and most of the people who were there appeared to be heading to Bodhi Temple to offer incense. In times of chaos, people could only place their hopes on offering incense at temples and praying for peace.
Having walked more than halfway along an ancient path, a dense forest appeared beside the road ahead. Liuli stared at the forest for a moment, then her gaze settled. She quickly ran forward a few steps, and when she was only about ten feet away from the little monk, she suddenly sprinted forward, her speed so great that she left a trail of afterimages behind her.
The young monk finally realized something was wrong. He turned around in horror, but after turning only halfway, he felt himself being tightly bound all over. Then, the world spun before his eyes, and he couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
Liuli used the Binding God Rope to bind the little monk tightly, then she turned and rushed into the dense forest, dragging the little monk into the forest with the Binding God Rope.
After entering the forest, Liuli quickly turned around and faced the terrified little monk who was tightly bound by the Binding God Rope. She said, "Little monk, I'm going to ask you a question. If you answer me obediently, I'll let you go. If you don't answer me, I'll kill you! Do you understand?"
This young monk was an outer disciple with little aptitude for cultivation. He didn't recognize Liuli as a nine-tailed fox, and his understanding of the rumors surrounding nine-tailed foxes was only superficial. At this moment, he looked at Liuli with a face full of panic, and upon hearing her words, he hurriedly nodded, saying, "Yes, yes..."
Liuli nodded in satisfaction and asked, "You know about Shi Chan, right?"
The young monk pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand."
To be honest, this young monk had been a disciple for less than ten years and was an outer disciple. During those ten years, Shi Chan had spent his days traveling around the mountains. If Liu Li had asked him this a few days ago, he might not have known who Shi Chan was. It was only this morning that he overheard several senior disciples who had been disciples for a long time discussing this. He stopped to listen for a few moments and learned that last night, a disciple of the Great Master Ming had broken the precepts and been expelled from the Bodhi Temple. They said that his name was Shi Chan.
Liuli pressed on, "Then let me ask you, where is the room where Shichan stayed in your Bodhi Temple?"
The young monk was taken aback for a moment, then said with difficulty, "Please forgive me, young lady. My master, Master Shi Chan, is not usually in the mountains, and I am just an outer disciple. I really don't know where he lives."
"Hmm?" Liuli's face darkened, and the Binding God Rope on the little monk immediately coiled around him like a snake, making it hard for him to breathe.
"Girl, spare me!" The little monk, his face filled with fear, hurriedly begged for mercy, "This humble monk truly does not know where Master Shi Chan resides!"
Looking at the young monk's expression, he seemed genuinely unaware of where Shi Chan lived. Liu Li's heart sank. She paused, about to retract the Binding Rope and think of another way. Before she could move her hand, the young monk exclaimed in alarm, "Miss, are you looking for Uncle-Master Shi Chan?"
Liuli withdrew her hand and nodded, saying, "Yes, you know where he is?"
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