[Year 94]
The three Li children emerged from their secluded cultivation.
Their cultivation levels had all increased by one level, and their aptitude had also improved.
Just as they emerged, they saw their Eldest Great-uncle, his back straight as he stood with his sword case on his back, having just finished greeting someone.
Li Yaozu looked at them and said, "Let's go."
"Where are we going, Eldest Great-uncle?" Li Kuangren asked in a daze. He had grown up in the Han family in Lantier Town, and the Han family had treated him well. Back then, his life had been carefree. But for some reason, after returning to his own family, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders.
The family elders rarely returned home. When they did, they came and went in a hurry.
There was a longing in the eyes of each of them, just like the longing he felt to see Mi'er.
Li Kuangren swore that he had never seen anyone outside like his elders. Each of them seemed to be carrying a heavy burden, making them reticent and reserved, except for Uncle Tianming.
The family was clearly so powerful, yet everyone was striving so desperately, working so hard that he felt he could never catch up.
"Go where you need to be."
Li Yaozu had his longest conversation with them since their meeting. "Kuangren," he said, "I don't know if you feel any urgency about that twenty-year agreement. But I want to tell you this: you have become a father, and you are fortunate. I heard from your Fourth Aunt that your beloved is willing to sacrifice her life for you."
Li Kuangren fell silent. Over the past two years, he had also questioned himself whether he had truly made a mistake back then.
Poor Mi'er, having a child out of wedlock, he wondered if she was facing scorn from others. His child should be babbling by now, yet he couldn't even see the woman he loved, couldn't even hold his child. That day at the Jun Prince's Mansion, in front of Feng Qingyang, he hadn't even dared to mention them.
"I don't want you to end up like me."
Li Yaozu's gaze was deep and somber.
He then looked at Li Kuangtu and Li Kuanghua. "You two grew up without your parents by your side, raised by others, which deprived you of a proper childhood.
I apologize that we, as your elders, have to interact with you in this way. We don't expect you to understand, but now there's an opportunity, a chance to avoid entering our world. Perhaps this way, you can live a more carefree life."
The three children looked at Li Yaozu with a heavy heart. Ever since their great-grandfather had returned, they had sensed that they were living in a dangerous place, but they didn't know where the danger came from.
Now, hearing these words, Li Kuangtu's eyes reddened, and his voice choked with emotion. "Eldest Great-uncle," he asked, "are... are you going to die? Eldest Great-uncle, please don't go to that dangerous place! When I was at the Cloudsea Pavilion, an uncle spoke like this before going on a dangerous mission!"
"...."
Li Yaozu's brow furrowed in frustration. He shook his head and turned away, choosing to ignore the three children. Under their bewildered gazes, he leaped into the sky.
After a long while, a crisp sound, like a long sword being snapped, echoed from the sky.
Li Kuangren and Li Kuanghua both narrowed their eyes, staring intently at Li Kuangtu.
"Did... did I say something wrong?"
Just as they were about to speak, they felt their minds go blank.
A person in black caught the three children as they collapsed one after another, tied them together, and soared away on the clouds.
...
"You brat have such a temper."
In front of the screen, Li Wei covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
[Your descendant, Li Yaozu, has damaged a low-grade spirit artifact. He has decided to find a bandit hideout or an evil cult today to eradicate for the good of the people.]
"Cough, cough."
After finally calming down, Li Wei looked at the screen again. The three children had already appeared in a new location.
[Demon Subduing Alliance]
Waking up from their unconscious state, they smelled a fragrant scent. Their bodies felt sticky. As their vision gradually cleared...
"Ah!!!"
They jumped up simultaneously. They were inside the mouth of a man-eating flower!
"Damn it, where's Eldest Great-uncle? And where are we?"
"Eldest Great-uncle flew away!"
"What a huge flower! It even has teeth. Ah? And eyes? I'm scared."
After recovering from their initial panic, they noticed a young woman watching them with amusement.
She was sitting on a branch of a withered tree, wearing a tattered Daoist robe.
The faded blue-green robe was worn loosely open. As she sat there swinging her legs, her white inner garment was visible, revealing her curvy figure.
She wore loose white pants that revealed a section of her legs, the cleanest part of her body. Her worn, blue-green cloth shoes were paired with yellowed and dirty white socks that reached just two inches above her ankles.
If not for the messy charcoal stains on her body, she would certainly have a very gentle and refined appearance.
At this moment, she grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. "What a great catch this is!" she exclaimed. "You little Li family bastards, you've been hiding for so long, but now I've finally caught you."
"Just wait here," she continued. "I'm sure your Li family's enemies will pay a hefty price for your lives."
"...."
"...."
The three children remained silent. After a long while, as the girl's smile gradually faded, Li Kuangtu spoke up. "Greetings, Second Great-grandmother," he said.
"Ahaha."
Li Yaoqing forced a laugh. "As expected of my Li family descendants," she said. "I knew you weren't fools like Third Brother and Yunlin."
Jumping down from the tree branch, Li Yaoqing said calmly, "Your Eldest Great-uncle should have asked you whether you want to accept the upcoming training, right?"
Li Kuangren nodded seriously.
"Eldest Great-uncle asked," he confirmed. "He asked if we truly wanted to enter the world of our family or choose to live an ordinary life."
Li Yaoqing raised her eyebrows. "You have another chance," she said.
"I want to marry Mi'er with honor and dignity!"
"I am not a coward."
"I... after returning from the Heaven-Piercing Coffin, I'm no longer afraid of pain. Yes! Truly not afraid!"
Li Yaoqing turned away with a pleasant smile.
Ten minutes later, in a pool of bubbling, boiling green viscous liquid.
The screams of the three children echoed like discordant suona music within the Demon Subduing Alliance.
[Your three descendants are soaking in a body-tempering liquid concocted by Li Yaoqing from three hundred and sixty different Ninth-Grade poisons...]
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