"You're General Su, the Northern Suppression General! No wonder I found you so familiar. It's truly General Su!"
Everyone looked at Su Dinglie with excitement, their faces filled with respect.
General Su Dinglie had rendered meritorious service to Yan Country, guarding its northern border for many years and blocking countless enemy invasions.
Having contributed greatly through arduous service, the old man was deeply loved and respected by the people of Yan Country.
Although Li Daofeng had been cut off from the outside world for eight years, he had long since heard of this illustrious general.
Facing such an elder who had dedicated himself to the country and its people, he naturally did not dare to put on airs and hastily replied, "You flatter me, General! You have fought for Yan Country for many years, rendering monumental service. It is my honor to treat you!"
Li Daofeng's poised and confident reply greatly pleased the old general. These days, there weren't many young men like this around.
After taking a few more looks, he took a liking to the young man and couldn't help smiling: "Little brother, you are my lucky star. We must keep in touch! If you don't care to chat much with an old codger like me, you can look for my granddaughter!"
"You young people should have plenty of topics to discuss, right?"
"Oh, that's right! My granddaughter is named Su Yunlan! You must look her up often, little brother. Here is her contact information!"
Su Dinglie was extremely enthusiastic as he introduced his granddaughter, managing to shove her business card right into Li Daofeng's hand.
This made Li Daofeng feel that the old man didn't look much like a general at all, but rather like a matchmaker.
It was as if he had ulterior motives regarding him.
He was eyeing his body!
Chapter 19: The Pursuit Catches Up
"Uh... Well... You should sit down first! Your illness has just cleared up; you shouldn't get too excited!" Li Daofeng was terribly awkward, completely at a loss for what to say.
True to the saying, if the other person isn't embarrassed, then you are the one who is.
"Grandpa! What are you talking about?" Su Yunlan also realized that she was basically being sold off.
Just as everyone was feeling awkward, Zhang Simin, the proprietor of the Shennong Pavilion, walked out carrying several packages of medicine and said respectfully, "Master! The medicinal ingredients you requested have all been packed up!"
Seeing the herbs, Li Daofeng couldn't help nodding in approval. He had to admit that this old fellow knew how to handle things.
With these herbs, Huang Wenyin's necrotic heart condition could be cured effortlessly.
Picking up the medicine and not lingering any longer, Li Daofeng bid farewell to Su Dinglie and hurried away, vanishing into the crowd.
He didn't dare stay any longer, lest he get entangled with them!
These days, a man out and about still needed to protect himself.
Afterward, Li Daofeng went to the old Li family residence.
By now, the corpses left over from the previous night's fierce battle were gone, and the bloodstains on the ground had been washed clean, but the scars of the great battle still remained on the ruined walls.
Li Daofeng paid no mind to this. He gathered up his family's memorial tablets and left.
During the process, he sensed several pairs of eyes watching him from the surrounding area, tailing him closely ever since he left.
At this, Li Daofeng merely sneered and paid them no heed, letting them follow along. He didn't even need to guess who these people were.
Since certain matters could no longer be avoided, he might as well let them happen sooner.
Upon returning to the villa, he discovered that several young and beautiful women had arrived, all dressed as maids, looking at Li Daofeng with rather suggestive intentions.
Without a doubt, these beautiful maids were servants found for him by his Eighth Senior Sister, Shang Wanqiu.
Only, this attire made Li Daofeng somewhat unable to accept it; he always felt that this senior sister of his had a rather wild imagination!
"Junior Brother! How is it? Are you satisfied with the servants Senior Sister found for you?" Seeing Li Daofeng return, Shang Wanqiu immediately stepped forward.
Li Daofeng smiled bitterly and said, "Senior Sister! They are just a bunch of young girls. Making them work as servants like this—won't it ruin their bright futures?"
"Pfft! What do you know about a bright future? A bright future is making more money! The salary I'm giving them is several times what they'd make at any other job. Where else are they going to find a salary of hundreds of thousands a year?"
"If you don't believe me, ask them! Are they scrambling to come here or not? Besides, they only qualify because they're pretty; if they were even slightly uglier, they wouldn't even make the cut!" Shang Wanqiu said very pragmatically.
"Fine! Senior Sister, just handle it however you see fit! I have no objections!" Li Daofeng felt that he was too naive and out of touch with the modern world.
"That's more like it! You aren't up on the mountain anymore; you need to adapt to modern social life!"
"Remember one thing Senior Sister tells you: in this society, people with wealth and power are always the bosses! All resources are tilted toward that class. They talk about an egalitarian society, but in reality, it's still divided into ranks!"
"You need to slowly learn to adapt to your own status!" Shang Wanqiu said, then called out to the busy beautiful maids: "All of you come over here and pay your respects to the young master!"
Five or six beautiful maids dressed in maid outfits walked over, standing in a neat row like blooming flowers, and bowed respectfully to Li Daofeng: "Greetings, Young Master!"
"Hello to you all! You can get back to work now! Just call me 'Sir' from now on; don't call me 'Young Master'!"
Li Daofeng felt a chill run through him. With these beauties dressed like this and shouting "Young Master," he somehow felt like he wasn't doing an honest line of work.
These days, the title "Young Master" seemed to be exclusively used by handsome men in certain kinds of clubs.
That didn't belong to him!
"Hee hee hee! Look at you!" Shang Wanqiu watched the embarrassed Li Daofeng and covered her mouth in endless laughter!
"Come on! Lunch is ready! Let's go eat!"
"What are you holding in your hand?" Only then did Shang Wanqiu notice the items Li Daofeng was carrying.
"It's nothing! Just the medicine to treat Miss Huang." Li Daofeng casually placed the herbs on the table.
"Well, well! I couldn't tell you cared so much about your little wife! Not bad! Knowing how to cherish a woman, you're finally growing up!" Shang Wanqiu teased.
Li Daofeng was speechless. He had never met a woman so brazenly suggestive.
"Senior Sister, stop that! I have something to discuss with you!"
"What is it?" Shang Wanqiu put away her smile and turned serious.
Chapter 20: The Forbidden Taixu Mountain
"I want to enshrine my parents' and sister's memorial tablets in this villa for three years, as a way to fulfill my filial duty to them," Li Daofeng said, taking out the tablets.
"Is that all? You don't need to discuss this with Senior Sister. I've said before, this villa was bought for you—it's your own home, you can do as you please with it!" Shang Wanqiu smiled faintly.
Hearing this, Li Daofeng returned the smile and said no more! He chose a relatively small room, placed the tablets on a table inside, burned incense, set out offerings, and after kowtowing, he walked back out.
By the time he came out, the dining table was already laden with dishes, and Shang Wanqiu was waiting for him.
Huang Wenyin and Li Xuemei had both left in the morning and hadn't returned, so the two of them would be eating alone.
"Junior Brother! Come eat!" Shang Wanqiu called out.
Afterward, the two of them ate together while chatting about various topics, though for the most part, Shang Wanqiu asked questions and Li Daofeng answered.
What they talked about most was Li Daofeng's life on Taixu Mountain, along with topics concerning Daoist Taixu.
Normally, Li Daofeng was quite articulate, but facing his Eighth Senior Sister, whose conversational speed was fast and furious, he truly didn't dare to take the bait. He feared that if he said one extra word, he would crash the car in the next second.
Just as the two of them were laughing and chatting, hurried knocking suddenly came from outside the room.
"Go see what's going on!" Shang Wanqiu said with a displeased expression.
A maid quickly returned.
"Miss, the security guards outside say that a man has arrived at the gates of the villa, demanding by name to see you. He said if you don't go out, he will raze this villa to the ground!"
Hearing this, it was clear that troublemakers had arrived.
Shang Wanqiu's expression darkened, as she already guessed that it might be the backers of the Northwest Marquis coming after them.
"Senior Sister! I'll go with you!" Li Daofeng said, standing up.
In fact, the moment he returned and sensed someone tailing him, Li Daofeng had known someone would eventually come looking for trouble, though he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
"No need! You eat your meal first! Senior Sister will go take a look!"
Shang Wanqiu smiled faintly with a nonchalant expression, then walked out the door.
Watching Shang Wanqiu's retreating back, Li Daofeng felt a surge of warmth in his heart!
This senior sister regarded him like a younger brother to be protected, wishing to intercept every danger in his place.
Yet Li Daofeng was a man after all; how could he survive by hiding behind a woman?
A cold smirk flashed across the corner of his mouth as he put down his chopsticks and slowly followed after her.
When Shang Wanqiu walked down to the entrance of the villa, she saw a young man standing with his hands behind his back.
Seeing Shang Wanqiu, the man smiled and said, "Little Enchantress! Long time no see!"
"Wang Yingyang! Little Eagle! You're still alive—are you the one looking for me?" Shang Wanqiu said softly, her eyes filled with vigilance.
"Don't play dumb! I'm here because the Northwest Marquis was killed! Hand over that brat, and for the sake of our acquaintance, I'll spare your life!" Wang Yingyang smiled.
"Impossible!" Shang Wanqiu replied resolutely.
She could never bring herself to hand over her junior brother just to save her own skin, let alone surrender Li Daofeng. Anyone who dared to harbor ill intentions toward Li Daofeng would have to get past her first.
"That's not up to you, Little Enchantress! I didn't come here to negotiate with you! This must be done; my master, the Sacred Sovereign, has given the order! Bring you and that brat back. I only disobeyed my master's command and spared you once because I didn't want you to get hurt! Don't be foolish!" Wang Yingyang's voice was cold, leaving no room for question.
"Hmph! Such a high and mighty attitude, Little Eagle! You people still aren't qualified to meddle in Taixu Mountain's affairs! That Northwest monkey courted death himself by provoking my junior brother, so he deserved to die!" Shang Wanqiu said coldly.
"Obstinate! Then don't blame me for being discourteous!" Wang Yingyang raged.
"Cangying! Laojiu! Take this woman down!" Wang Yingyang commanded, prompting two middle-aged elders behind him to step forward.
"Understood!" the two replied respectfully, and then walked toward Shang Wanqiu.
Upon seeing the two men, Shang Wanqiu's expression turned grave.
"Subordinates of the Divine Eagle Sacred Sovereign—the two masters Cangying and Laojiu?"
"Indeed," one of the middle-aged elders nodded expressionlessly.
"Kneel and surrender now! Maybe you'll be spared your life!" the other elder arrogantly declared.
Both men wore supremely arrogant expressions, looking down upon the world with a high-and-mighty disdain, as if they were divine beings looking upon mortals.
"Heh! Surrender? You're not even worthy! Though for that old bird to send two Grandmaster-grade Martial Artists... he really thinks highly of me!"
As she spoke, a powerful aura erupted from Shang Wanqiu's body.
"You've reached the Grandmaster tier too?"
Cangying, Laojiu, and Wang Yingyang all wore looks of shock.
Shang Wanqiu was only in her thirties. A Grandmaster in her thirties—what kind of concept was that?
"Little Enchantress, how could you possibly be a Grandmaster? You... how did you manage it?" Wang Yingyang said in disbelief.
Martial artists progressed through four tiers: Human, Earth, Heaven, and Grandmaster. Advancing even a single step was harder than ascending to the heavens. Reaching the Earth-grade by age thirty already made one a genius.
Reaching the Heaven-grade by age forty made one practically an peerless prodigy; there were only a handful of such figures across the entire world, and many spent their entire lives unable to reach the Heaven-grade.
Now, a Grandmaster-tier expert in her thirties was standing right before them, and a woman at that. How could he not be shocked?
"Surprised? Is being a Grandmaster supposed to be impressive? They're nothing but trash!" Shang Wanqiu said naturally, her eyes revealing deep contempt.
These words completely enraged the two masters Cangying and Laojiu, who took Shang Wanqiu's use of the word "trash" as an insult directed straight at them.
"Courting death!"
Cangying let out a cold snort, a powerful aura erupting from his entire body. Clenching his fist, he lunged to attack Shang Wanqiu in the next split second.
Chapter 21: I Will Kill Them
A dignified Grandmaster-tier Expert—recognized figures at the ceiling of this world, existences before whom anyone would kneel—had just been called trash.
He simply could not tolerate this!
Yet, when Cangying's tyrannical punch landed on Shang Wanqiu's body, it passed right through her empty image! He had struck completely at nothing.
"What?"
A flicker of shock crossed Cangying's eyes. Given his speed at such close range, what he had hit was merely an afterimage.
One could tell just how terrifyingly fast Shang Wanqiu's speed was.
However, before he could even react, he sensed a disturbance behind him! Instinctively, he whipped his head around—only to see Shang Wanqiu standing right at his back.
"Oh no!"
He cried out internally! There was no time to dodge as Shang Wanqiu's fist heavily slammed into his chest.
"Crack!"
A harsh sound rang out, and Cangying spat a mouthful of blood as he staggered backward.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Retreating several steps, Cangying barely managed to steady himself. With a pale face, he looked at Shang Wanqiu and said, "Your... your movement technique... how could it be so fast?"
"I'm not fast! My junior brother is fast!"
Whether Shang Wanqiu knew that Li Daofeng had followed them or not, she dropped a remark that deeply wounded Li Daofeng's pride.
This completely irrelevant reply left Li Daofeng, hiding in the back and watching the whole thing, with black lines all over his forehead.
Using the word "fast" to describe a man—do you know how impolite that is, more or less?
"You..." Wang Yingyang wasn't calm anymore either, staring at Shang Wanqiu with a frown! He too realized that he had underestimated this woman!
"Elder Cang, how are you?" He hadn't expected that a dignified Grandmaster-tier expert couldn't even survive a single move in the hands of this woman, Shang Wanqiu.
"Shang Wanqiu, are you really going to set yourself against my master? Have you thought about the consequences?" Wang Yingyang sternly demanded.
"Get lost!" Shang Wanqiu's reply was crisp and domineering.
"You... Shang Wanqiu, for the sake of our acquaintance, I'll give you a few days to think it over. You'd better think carefully—there's no good end to opposing my master! Let's go..."
Furious and grinding his teeth, yet warned by Cangying's subtle gesture, Wang Yingyang no longer dared to entangle with Shang Wanqiu!
Just like every defeated person, he dropped a harsh parting threat and hurried away.
"Elder Cang, the two of you joining forces still couldn't take down that wretched woman?" Once inside the car, Wang Yingyang said with extreme reluctance.
"No certainty of winning! That Little Enchantress's strength has exceeded our imagination. Her ghostly movement technique sends chills down my spine!"
"In a fight between masters, life and death are often decided in a single move. If that Little Enchantress had wanted to kill me just now, this old man would probably be a corpse already!" Cangying said with a bitter smile.
"That's right! Shang Wanqiu's movement technique is far too bizarre, and she mentioned Taixu Mountain earlier! Young Master, Taixu Mountain is a taboo place! When it comes to dealing with Shang Wanqiu and her junior brother Li Daofeng, we shouldn't act rashly; it's best to consult the Sacred Sovereign first!" Laojiu's expression turned grave!
"What's wrong with Taixu Mountain?" A trace of confusion flashed in Wang Yingyang's eyes.
Cangying and Laojiu exchanged glances, each seeing fear reflected in the other's eyes.
After a moment, Laojiu spoke: "Taixu Mountain is a forbidden zone in Yan Country, and a forbidden zone for martial artists across the entire world! Regardless of which country a martial artist belongs to, strong or weak, anyone who dares to approach that place is destined to find no burial ground!"
"Indeed! The existence of Taixu Mountain predates even Yan Country! Countless unfathomable legends are passed down from there. It is immensely mysterious, and anyone who emerges from that place strikes terror into the hearts of martial artists everywhere!"
"Yet none of that is the main reason Taixu Mountain became a forbidden zone. The reason is the legend that Taixu Mountain holds the power to rule the world! Whoever obtains it can become the master of the universe!"
"That's right! Once, a mighty expert who learned of this legend led an army of five hundred thousand to Taixu Mountain in search of fortune. Once they entered Taixu Mountain, they never came out again!"
"Those five hundred thousand people seemed to have vanished into thin air—no trace of them alive, no corpses found dead! Afterward, an expert walked out from Taixu Mountain and issued a stern warning: whoever dares lead an army to Taixu Mountain again will have their nation obliterated!"
"Ever since then, the taboo name of Taixu Mountain has spread far and wide! Very few people dare lead large-scale armies to Taixu Mountain anymore!"
"Gasp... Just what kind of people are they? So terrifying! Five hundred thousand troops, vanished into thin air!"
Wang Yingyang drew a sharp breath. Until now, he had considered himself, a Heaven-grade expert, to be like an immortal being—utterly unmatched and overbearing.
Yet upon hearing of such an existence, he felt like mere trash!
Five hundred thousand troops!
That was fifty thousand times ten! Even if you slaughtered them one by one, it would take days!
"I will report this matter to my Master as soon as possible! It's hard to say whether Shang Wanqiu is truly a person of Taixu Mountain or not. Everything will be left for Master to decide!"
Wang Yingyang said with unwillingness. He never expected that a single Shang Wanqiu would have such a massive background.
...
"Senior Sister is mighty! Senior Sister is domineering! With a single move from Senior Sister, the world trembles! Senior Sister rocks!"
Li Daofeng walked out, clapping his hands while showering her with flattery, and didn't forget to give a thumbs-up once he finished.
The cold expression and murderous intent on Shang Wanqiu's face instantly vanished, replaced by her usual carefree demeanor as she turned around with a smile: "Good to know! With Senior Sister covering you from now on, you can do whatever you want in this world!"
"Great! With such a powerful senior sister, starting today, I'll become a good-for-nothing second-generation heir, living off my family, waiting to die, and forcibly seizing maidens! I'll be a regular bandit!" Li Daofeng joked.
"Alright! Name it! Which family's daughter have you set your eyes on? Senior Sister will haul her back to you tonight, scrubbed clean and dumped right in your bed!" Shang Wanqiu was as fierce as ever.
Li Daofeng had thought these two lines would scare Shang Wanqiu, but he realized he had still underestimated his senior sister's brazenness.
"Forget it! My kidneys can't take it!" Li Daofeng said speechlessly.
"Hee hee hee! Little punk, you think you can out-talk me?"
"Senior Sister! The movement technique you used just now—shifting form and changing shadows—has reached the realm of perfection! It really is amazing!" Li Daofeng hastily changed the subject.
"Cut the crap! You think Senior Sister didn't know? I already asked that old lecher of a master, and he said your cultivation has surpassed his, making you even more formidable than that old codger!"
"You little bastard, and here Senior Sister was worried about you. When it all comes down to it, you're the most ungrateful one of all!" Shang Wanqiu said indignantly.