“Why can you be so casual?
Are you really stupid or just pretending? The Second Elder wanted to kill you all along, but he just didn’t have a proper reason. Now you’ve beaten Lin Ge like this, isn’t that exactly what he wanted?”
Lin Cui stamped her foot in anger, while Li Tan remained indifferent and retorted.
“If I didn’t fight back just now, he would have captured both me and Xue together and killed us. What else could I have done?”
Lin Cui clenched her teeth in frustration.
“Run.”
“Run where?”
“Find me!”
“Even if I find you, what then?”
Lin Cui couldn’t help but get angry and said furiously.
“I’ll help you fight against Lin Ge.”
Li Tan turned his head aside disdainfully and explained after a moment.
“That’s just a temporary fix. How long can you protect me?
The Second Elder has been harboring ill intentions for a long time, and now he has received outside help. To be honest, you’re barely safe yourself, right? Even if things go smoothly now, what about next time? Lin Ge will eventually come after me, and any excuse will do. If that’s the case, don’t you think it’s better to act decisively now rather than wait for him to make his move?”
“Hmm…” Lin Cui thought carefully and realized Li Tan made a lot of sense, but she still felt uneasy and inexplicably annoyed.
She, the eldest daughter of the Lin family, was a prodigy known to all, achieving the peak of the Later Heaven cultivation at sixteen. She had always been proud and never described with words like “barely safe myself.”
Unbearable! “Hmph, I have my own ways. Why do you care so much?”
Lin Cui stubbornly pouted, but her voice lacked conviction. Even Xiao Xue beside her tried to say something, nodding with a worried expression.
Li Tan knew that “prodigies” often cared about something as intangible as “face.” Although he personally thought it was often unnecessary, he didn’t want to keep arguing, so he humorously complied.
“Alright, alright. Next time, I’ll follow your lead.”
The awkwardness eased a little. After Lin Cui realized there was nothing more to say, she reminded Li Tan to be careful with the Second Elder tomorrow and reluctantly left with Xiao Xue.
Li Tan sighed lightly, patted the head of the young eagle pretending to be an owl while lying on the bed with its head tilted, and smiled as he scolded.
“You’ve got it easy, sleeping all day without training. I have to deal with all these troubles.”
Late at night, Li Tan playfully teased the young eagle for a while and then tried to cultivate. However, due to the influence of the Yellow-tier cultivation method, he was stuck at the peak of the Later Heaven and couldn’t make any progress.
Cultivation couldn’t be rushed; it required patience and persistence. Li Tan, who understood this principle well, stopped cultivating and instead spent the night studying the Primordial Star Manual without success, eventually falling asleep at his desk.
The next morning, the piercing chirping of birds echoed in the courtyard from the parasol tree. Li Tan, whose head was a little dizzy from the dry and difficult content of the Primordial Star Manual, exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes. His legs, crossed all night, were slightly sore.
He stood up, hopped off the bed, stretched to loosen his muscles, and then wanted to wash up, but an unexpected knock on the door sounded.
“Lin Cui?
Just come in.”
Li Tan glanced at the door and casually replied.
Creak—the door was pushed open slightly, but the person outside seemed a bit strange, shorter, and more petite.
Li Tan’s expression turned to surprise.
“Le Yin?”
“Uh, sorry to interrupt.”
The door fully opened, revealing Tang Leyin, wearing a blue dress, a bit timid but extremely cute, blinking her big, sparkling eyes as she walked in.
“Good morning, hehe. Sit here.”
Li Tan immediately lost all sleepiness and smiled as he welcomed her.
Tang Leyin nodded and sat at the tea table. Li Tan then brought over the tea set, and the fragrance of tea rose with the milky steam.
“I can serve!
This little guy is so cute!”
Tang Leyin had originally intended to get straight to the point and ask some questions, but suddenly she saw the young eagle flapping its wings and climbing onto Li Tan’s shoulder. Her beautiful eyes lit up, and she excitedly stood up and quickly extended her hands toward it, wearing a silly smile.
Unfortunately, the young eagle gave a “gu” sound, flapped its wings, and nimbly jumped to the other shoulder.
“Aww, don’t be scared. I’m not a bad person!”
Tang Leyin instantly stood up, happily running to Li Tan’s side to catch the young eagle, but the little one was smart and dodged every time with its nimble jumps.
However, after dodging for a while, it was suddenly caught by a big hand.
“You still love small animals so much, huh? Here, take it.”
Li Tan’s heart warmed as he handed the young eagle over.
“Don’t hurt it, okay!”
Tang Leyin hurriedly took the young eagle, then hugged it to her chest, showing a blissful expression.
“You…” Li Tan smiled affectionately, shaking his head helplessly.
After a while, the young eagle shamelessly indulged in Tang Leyin’s embrace. Tang Leyin regained her composure and asked curiously.
“That Young Master Li, why did you say ‘still’ just now?”
We don’t seem to know each other before, right?”
Li Tan was taken aback, then laughed and answered.
“Haven’t we met before? Don’t you remember?”
He said it casually, but she listened attentively.
Li Tan is indeed from Zhongzhou, so maybe we really did meet when we were little! “When was it! Sorry, I was too young back then and forgot.”
She actually believed it?
Li Tan immediately thought, “My wife is so cute,” and pretended to be mysterious as he deceived her.
“Really don’t remember?”
“Really! Tell me, please?”
“Hmm, okay then. Let me think…” Li Tan teased her for a while and explained without blushing.
It was during the Zhongyuan Festival. The residents of Xue City gathered to release lanterns, and as they all floated upward, the sky became filled with them—it was incredibly beautiful. At that time, I had just returned from outside, injured from a battle with the demon clan, and happened to meet you in front of the Yuelai Inn…” Li Tan’s expression softened, his thoughts drifting as he spoke at length.
This wasn’t made up; it was all real events he had experienced before his rebirth, though he altered some details.
Xue City, the Zhongyuan Festival, the demon race—each familiar term shocked Tang Leyin and further confirmed her guess about Li Tan’s identity.
“I really did go to Xue City with my mother when I was little, but why don’t I remember any of the things Li Tan mentioned?”
“That’s normal. After all, Tang Girl was still young back then.”
“Are you saying I’m stupid?”
“What are you thinking? Of course not.”
“You’re about my age and remember so clearly, while I’ve forgotten everything. If that’s not stupid, what is?”
Li Tan was taken aback and helplessly shook his head slightly.
“Tang Girl is clever and bright. How could you be stupid? Probably I was just too insignificant for you to remember.”
“Was it really like that?” Tang Leyin pouted doubtfully. Li Tan couldn’t help but secretly laugh beside her and muttered softly to himself, “This is too easy to fool.”
“Ah? What did you say, Li Tan?”
“Haha, nothing.”
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