“Then it’s settled. Ying’er will come with me later. By the way, is my father at home?”
“He’s here. Recently, the second elder of the Lin family passed away. With things changing rapidly, he’s probably worried about you. You should report your safety if you’re going to the main house.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Li Tan put down his teacup and stood up to leave the kitchen when suddenly a commotion came from the main hall.
“You can’t go in, Daddy is busy!”
“Step aside, little girl! Don’t get in my way!”
Li Tan frowned and looked ahead. In front of the cabinet in the main hall, Li Jiaying stood with her arms spread wide, blocking the path of a richly dressed youth. The youth appeared impatient, his eyes filled with disdain.
“Who is this?” Li Tan vaguely remembered this person was someone from his family, though he couldn’t recall exactly who. Thinking carefully, he finally remembered that the youth was the grandson of the eldest elder.
So he strode forward, pulling Li Jiaying behind him protectively and said coldly, “If you have something to say, say it like a civilized person, not barking like an animal.”
Noticing Li Tan, the youth’s expression turned contemptuous as he sneered, “You’re not off seducing people at the Lin family, so what are you doing coming to my Li family?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Hmph, with the Frost Festival approaching, who knows if you’re here to spy?”
Li Tan recalled the guy he met on the street who wanted to challenge him to a beast fight. He speculated that these two probably spoke in the same manner; they might be brothers again?
He wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but thought such behavior too childish and dropped the idea, ending the boring argument instead.
At this moment, Li Yang also came out after hearing the commotion.
“Youde, I suppose the eldest elder sent you here. If you have something to say, just say it. Tan’er is no outsider.”
He also gave the youth a way to save face, but Li Youde apparently did not appreciate it.
“A family matter?
Sorry, this guy is already married out and belongs to the Lin family now.” He emphasized the word “married,” the mockery evident in his tone.
“Youde, watch your language!”
Li Yang’s expression immediately darkened.
Li Youde turned his nose up and shouted, “Don’t try to act superior to me, who the hell do you think you are?”
Li Tan looked at him in displeasure.
Li Youde glared at Li Tan and ranted, “What are you looking at?
Not satisfied?
Then I’ll beat you until you are. A dog of the Lin family dares to run around my Li family? You’ve got a death wish, daring to stare?
Do you think you’re invincible just because you suddenly can cultivate and caused a little stir in the Alchemist Pavilion?”
Most of what Li Tan had done at the Lin family had been kept secret, but the gambling challenge during the alchemy contest at the Alchemist Pavilion had spread widely.
“…” Li Tan.
Seeing Li Tan’s silence, Li Youde thought he had hit the nail on the head and became even more arrogant.
Just as he was about to say more, Li Jiaying suddenly said, “Brother Li Tan, this stingy guy’s younger brother was taught a lesson by you last time, so he’s holding a grudge now. He always speaks ill of Daddy. You should teach him a lesson too.”
“Little girl, you’ve got quite a bold mouth on you?”
Li Youde’s smile was instantly erased, and he became angry.
Seeing his anger, Li Jiaying trembled slightly and hid behind Li Tan.
Li Tan chuckled and said, “I wondered why you barked like a mad dog at first sight of me. So that’s the reason.”
Li Quande snorted and said, “You publicly humiliated my younger brother. Did you expect me to treat you nicely?”
“Your brother brought it upon himself. I was actually lenient. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to walk back. You should be grateful instead of speaking ill of me. You’re ungrateful.”
“Stop talking nonsense. The Li family doesn’t welcome you. Leave immediately!”
“What if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll destroy the dantian you just healed.”
“Then come and try. I won’t run away, but let me warn you, I won’t be responsible for the consequences.”
A fierce glint flashed in Li Quande’s eyes.
Go ahead, this is a good opportunity to avenge Xiao Fu.
Li Quande looked at Li Tan and felt a chill in his heart.
Why is he so calm? Could it be that his cultivation is higher than mine?
Impossible. Even if his dantian is healed, he could have only cultivated for a few days, at most reaching the early stage of the Houtian level.
Li Quan clenched his fists and met Li Tan’s gaze again.
Why isn’t he nervous at all? Could there be a trick here?
After struggling internally for a while, Li Youde angrily said, “Remember this!”
Then he turned and left.
Li Tan took Li Jiaying away from Li Yang’s shop. Along the way, Li Jiaying was hopping with joy, full of curiosity, looking around at everything with great interest. However, she never asked Li Tan to buy anything.
The two slowly advanced, and the sun had moved quite far westward when they finally arrived at the Li family’s main residence. As before, Li Tan skillfully jumped into the courtyard from the branches of a pagoda tree and, without drawing attention, found the study where Li Zhen was working.
The window was open, and they could see Li Zhen occasionally frowning and pausing in his writing, seemingly troubled by something. Li Tan guessed it was probably related to the Frost Festival and the Liu family. His purpose in coming was actually to relieve some of the pressure Li Zhen was facing.
If possible, he was willing to personally train the ten candidates from the Lin family who would be participating in the martial arts competition.
Knock knock knock. “Come in.”
Li Zhen’s voice rang out. Li Tan opened the door and smiled, saying, “Dad, it’s me.”
Li Jiaying greeted sweetly, “Uncle.” Li Zhen was clearly surprised, and it took him a moment to react before he became overjoyed and excitedly stood up.
“Dantian, Ying’er, hahaha, quickly come in.”
After entering the study and exchanging greetings, Li Zhen finally got to the main question, “Dantian, I heard you can cultivate now. Is that true?”
“It’s true. I can cultivate now.”
Li Tan had no intention of hiding it and admitted directly.
Li Zhen smiled even more happily, his hand trembling with excitement as he held the teacup, “Then what stage are you at now? A lot must have happened at the Lin family, like defeating a Houtian-level guard. What’s your current stage?”
Li Tan hesitated.
If he told the truth, Li Zhen would inevitably ask for the reasons, which he couldn’t explain. But if he lied, it seemed he couldn’t hide it for long. With the Black Robe figure starting to act, his strength would inevitably be exposed.
In the end, he decided to improvise.
“Late Houtian.”
Li Zhen spat out his tea onto the table, his face immediately darkening. It seemed he had soaked some important official documents, but at this moment, he had no mind to think about rewriting them. He asked in disbelief, “Wha… What?”
Li Tan smiled lightly and repeated, “You heard right, late Houtian.”
“Big brother is telling the truth. Yesterday, big brother was amazing. He gave a really harsh lesson to the bad guy who bullied me and Daddy, hmpf.”
Li Jiaying happily described with small punches.
Li Zhen’s expression changed suddenly, and he anxiously asked, “Dantian, what happened yesterday? What does Jiaying mean by that?”
“Just some clueless ruffians causing trouble, nothing serious. Although there were some unexpected incidents, everything turned out fine. No need to worry.”
Li Tan answered casually. He wouldn’t mention the details of the horse racing event yesterday, as it would only make Li Zhen more worried.
Li Zhen relaxed slightly, his eyes flickered, and he steered the topic back.
“Dantian, how did your cultivation level improve so much?”
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