Chapter 255

Zhao Yi lowered his hands, originally intending to reach for a hug from behind and rest his chin on the youth's shoulder, pretending to be an intimate older brother and younger brother to blend into the crowd of onlookers in the hospital corridor.

Yet, even for this performative act, he still had reservations when it came to actually doing it, not daring to appear too affectionate, so he could only rest his hands on the youth's shoulders and help him knead them with a smile.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan raised his right hand, placed it on the back of Zhao Yi's hand, and looked up at him with a smile, effectively playing along with Zhao Yi's performance.

The tug-of-war between the two Daoists was still continuing; the older one wanted to take the younger one away, while the younger one insisted on staying.

When the Daoist priest spoke, he carried a "sound of calming the spirit" that had a hypnotic effect; every change in his footsteps caused the rest of his body to move in coordination, seeking to maintain a certain alignment with the surrounding environment at all times.

Most importantly, this was not something the Daoist priest did intentionally, but an instinctive outpouring.

Because if he wanted to use force, the young Daoist had absolutely no room to refuse.

The hands of Zhao Yi and the youth, resting together, trembled slightly; each tremor was like one side saying a sentence, devoid of information, because both knew exactly what the other saw and what they wanted to say.

Zhao Yi: He's a tough nut to crack, the really tough kind.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: No concealment.

Zhao Yi: Indeed.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: Mismatched.

Zhao Yi: Correct, a severe imbalance between strength and experience.

Although both Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi had concealed their auras, this type of concealment had a major drawback: it could fool perception but was very difficult to deceive the eyes.

The eyes are the windows to the soul; the strong possess a certain keenness, and no matter how well you disguise yourself, they can sense that something is wrong with you—not based on flaws or evidence, but purely on intuition.

Of course, one could argue that Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi were not detected because they performed well, but what about Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng standing to the side?

At this moment, Liang Yan and Liang Li walked over from the terrace.

A pair of youthful and beautiful twins, no matter where they went, easily attracted attention.

Yet, the two Daoists remained immersed in their previous tug-of-war.

The conspicuous object was placed right there, making you notice it more, yet you still failed to pay close enough attention to discover the problem.

Zhao Yi: Is he fishing for us?

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: Doesn't look like it.

Zhao Yi: Inexplicable.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: It's because we haven't found the reason.

Finally, after taking a deep look at the situation inside the ward, the Daoist priest turned and left.

The young Daoist looked very happy on his Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face, thinking his master had agreed to let him stay and accompany his grandfather on his final journey.

Only Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi, from the Daoist priest's final glance, saw a kind of contempt for the lives of ordinary people.

It could even be understood that when that look appeared, the Daoist priest had already formed the intent to kill, but this intent was as shallow as could be, because in his eyes, it was no different from throwing a ball of waste paper into a fire to burn.

The dispute ended, there was no more excitement to watch, and everyone returned to their respective wards.

"Let's go."

Zhao Yi led Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng into the ward where Xu Ming was staying.

Xu Ming, covered in bandages and plaster, saw the youth enter, and his eyes immediately widened.

There was no hostility, but he instinctively raised his guard.

Sun Yan, who was sitting nearby as a caregiver, also stood up immediately, and the python that had been lying under the hospital bed darted out directly, raised its head, and flicked its tongue.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng stood in front of the youth, looking at the python, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

No matter how much breakfast he had eaten, it was time to be hungry by now.

Zhao Yi picked up an apple from the bedside table and asked, "Shall I peel an apple for you?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Not eating."

Zhao Yi took a bite and said while chewing, "You should eat more fruit; it's good for your health."

Xu Ming stopped being on guard, Sun Yan sat back down, and the python retreated under the bed.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan looked at Sun Yan.

Zhao Yi: "Stop sitting, come with me."

As he spoke, Zhao Yi led Sun Yan to the ward window, and when they looked down, they happened to see the Daoist priest walking out from below.

"Go and keep an eye on him, choose the most useless little animal."

"Yes."

Although she didn't understand, Sun Yan chose to follow orders and quickly left the ward.

Zhao Yi took another bite of the apple: "This guy is too strange, both strong and dull."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "That means the way he acquired his power is impure."

Zhao Yi: "That's what I think too, can you be more specific?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan reached out and poked his own forehead: "I suspect it's because of this."

Zhao Yi: "Consciousness?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Memory."

Zhao Yi: "A very interesting theory."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "He should be coming back."

Zhao Yi: "He values that young Daoist highly, and their brows look very similar; are they father and son?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Judging by their physiognomy, the probability of a blood relationship is very high."

Zhao Yi: "Then he intends to come back, naturally resolve the burden in the ward, and then logically take the young Daoist away. Quite good, better than most parents nowadays; at least he knows how to care for a child's psychological feelings."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "You are responsible for protecting him."

Zhao Yi: "What's the point of just protecting him? I want to do something big. Since he's coming back, bring your people over too, and let's have a 'catching a turtle in a jar' scenario. Let's give this Old Old Old Jiang Shui a fierce acceleration!"

Both sides had come by way of the river, were entangled in the karma of the river water, and coincidentally appeared in this hospital, witnessing the two Daoists who were inevitably problematic.

The directionality was already as obvious as it could be.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Too aggressive."

Zhao Yi: "I think it should be like this. I've had some new insights into river-walking recently. Do you know how many waves I've walked since the end of that time in Lijiang?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Twice."

Zhao Yi held up three fingers.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "You have great energy."

Zhao Yi: "So I've discovered that sometimes grasping the main key point to cut in can achieve the same effect. There's no need to be obsessed with completing the entire process. For example, this 'Demon-Sealing Assembly'—we can prevent it from happening, or solve the problem before the assembly begins."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "I have to consider it."

Zhao Yi understood, pointed at Liang Yan and Liang Li, and then pointed at Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng.

The two sisters' eyes narrowed simultaneously, and they stepped forward together, throwing a single punch at Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng.

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng caught their fists with both palms, and then, both sides fell into a brief stalemate.

There was no aura release, and the ward floor tiles didn't crack; it was just a simple test of strength, a probing between experts.

The two sisters retracted their fists; their originally fair fists were now red, as if they had just been polished by sandpaper, breaking the skin.

In their eyes looking at Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, the previous arrogance had faded, replaced by deep wariness.

White smoke also rose from Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng's palms; he shook his hands and nodded at the youth, which could be considered an acknowledgment of the twins' strength.

Zhao Yi: "Strength is their weakest link; their background, however, is not low at all."

The first half of the sentence was to make up for the evenly matched two-on-one, while the second half indicated they possessed stronger methods.

The results of such probing would not be accurate and could even be vastly different from the direction of a life-and-death struggle, but Zhao Yi just wanted to use this to prove that his team now possessed impressive strength.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Don't choose to do it in the hospital. Since we want to be proactive, let's be more thorough about it."

Zhao Yi: "Agreed."

At this moment, both sides not only reached a de facto alliance, but even the first round of the cooperation plan had been preliminarily finalized.

That it could progress so smoothly was also because Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Lin Shu You had beaten Xu Ming severely last night.

Zhao Yi knew about this, but he didn't even mention it because it was meaningless.

If it weren't for last night's events, he would have asked himself, Zhao Yi would certainly have thought about bargaining and striving for some initiative, even if it were just for some Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face-saving advantages. After all, he had worked so hard to walk the river, which had brought a huge improvement to his team's strength.

Now, he was very clear-headed.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan looked at Xu Ming; under the quilt, there was a special vitality flowing within Xu Ming's body, which remained active even under severe injury.

The youth asked: "How many days until recovery?"

Zhao Yi: "Originally it would take five days; sending him to the hospital can shorten it to three, and it can also save a few pills."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "You are thoughtful."

Zhao Yi was so angry he laughed: "Damn it, the savings aren't for your people to use!"

He had been walking the river too diligently and too extremely, causing the old man at home to guard the medicine garden and desperately refine pills, and these pills were in short supply.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "I'm hungry."

Zhao Yi: "There's a noodle shop at the hospital entrance; I've been obsessed with pea and minced meat noodles recently."

"Hmm." Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan looked at Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng and the twins, "Brother Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng, you guys solve your own meals."

Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Lu Runsheng: "Okay."

Liang Yan and Liang Li looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately didn't respond.

But they could feel that the "you guys" here included the two of them.

A very strange feeling; why, so inexplicably, were the two of them going to listen to that youth's commands?

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi walked out of the hospital and entered the noodle shop, where Zhao Yi ordered two bowls of noodles.

There were some things that couldn't be disclosed to subordinates or partners, but at the beginning, the two of them had to talk about it first.

Zhao Yi took out two pairs of chopsticks, wiping them with a tissue as he said, "Don't you think that little Daoist priest is strange? He's a demon, yet he has no demon aura."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Your take?"

Zhao Yi: "Only demons specifically cultivated can achieve this effect, but this method is far too inhumane.

It requires swapping the mother's fresh blood with a demon's fresh blood while she is pregnant, using the mother's body to nurture the infant with demon blood.

This method is extremely difficult and has high requirements, but once successful, it can cultivate a human-bodied demon spirit; as long as one doesn't trigger the demon nature, even the person themselves wouldn't know they are a demon."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "I know of this method."

The *Records of Jianghu Strange Tales* once recorded that an evil cultivator tried to use this method to cultivate the infant he wanted, but he failed.

Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao first sent that evil cultivator to be "exterminated for the sake of the righteous path."

Then, Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao spent quite a lot of space analyzing why the evil cultivator failed to cultivate it successfully, explaining how to increase the success rate, and finally sighed: this method harms human harmony.

Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao loved doing this kind of thing, catching whatever interested him to study and ponder; his books were full of criticism and warnings, but if a true evil cultivator got hold of his books, they would likely be so excited they'd shed tears, treating it as a precious manual.

The noodles were served, and the two picked up their chopsticks to start mixing them.

Zhao Yi: "Tell me, how did I run into you again this time? Why are you always like a lingering ghost?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "There is a way to solve this problem, and once and for all. Do you need me to do it?"

Zhao Yi: "That's not what I meant. Think about it, since we've been arranged to walk the same wave together, there must be a reason for it, right?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Zhao Yi: "When I saw you, I was already thinking about it. After seeing that little Daoist priest, I had a guess in my heart: this wave is very likely tied to..."

Zhao Yi paused deliberately, and then, the two said in unison:

"The Yu family."

Long Wang Yu is famous for beast taming; in the Jianghu, whenever demon cultivation and spirit nurturing are mentioned, as long as you keep extrapolating, you can always link it to the Yu family's heritage.

No choice, who let them be the genuine titans of this trade? Historically, every generation of Long Wang from the Yu family had a demon acting as an attendant when walking the river.

Zhao Yi: "In Lijiang, we had contact with the Yu family's river-walker Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao, and through her, we learned about the Yu family's current situation.

If this wave is also related to the Yu family, then it makes sense for the Heavenly Dao to arrange for both of us to be together again.

I suspect that the one at the very depths of this wave, the one we will ultimately Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face, might be surnamed Yu."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "You can think even further ahead, and be even bolder."

Zhao Yi pushed his mixed noodles in front of Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and pulled the unmixed noodles in front of the youth toward himself to continue mixing.

"Speak, I'm listening."

Last time in Lijiang, the two spent a relatively long period recovering from injuries, and Zhao Yi chatted with the youth quite a bit. Although he knew the youth was deliberately holding back, even just the theoretical insights and observations revealed on the surface gave him a deeper understanding of the river water and the Heavenly Dao.

He was a smart man by nature, understanding things at a hint; give him a direction, and he could ponder it himself.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "That time in Guizhou, one could say it was because of your ancestors, so let's set that aside. But that time in Lijiang, before the struggle for the three jade fragments began, Yu Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Zeng Miaomiao and I each already had one."

Can this be understood as the Heavenly Dao's layout having already begun at that time?

Zhao Yi licked his lips.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan continued: "The Yu family's change of fortune is already a confirmed fact. Could the Heavenly Dao allow a Long Wang family that has changed its nature to continue existing?"

Zhao Yi: "So, the Heavenly Dao is already laying out a plan to deal with the Yu family?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "The existence of demon spirits is inherently rejected by the Heavenly Dao. Whenever someone in the Profound Sect strikes at a demon, they don't need to find a reason to explain it; it directly possesses natural righteousness. It's normal for the Heavenly Dao to arrange it this way; it would be strange if it did nothing."

Zhao Yi: "Is the Yu family going to be destroyed?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "If they survive, they can continue to exist; if they don't, they will vanish into smoke. In other words, this is a tribulation, and also a realistic side of the Heavenly Dao."

If the Heavenly Dao were truly manifest and omnipotent, then the Emperor Emperor Fengdu Emperor and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could not possibly still exist, but the fact is, all the Heavenly Dao can do is suppress them.

The Yu family is likely facing such a situation now.

Zhao Yi: "In that case, this isn't the end, just a transit point. If we survive this wave safely, then next, we'll likely be pushed by the river water toward the Yu family?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Zhao Yi: "Are you crazy?"

The Qin and Liu families have fallen into such a situation that even he, Zhao of Jiujiang, doesn't dare to provoke them, and now you're telling me that in the future we have to Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face Long Wang Yu?

Zhao Yi: "That's a Long Wang family! Even if it has major problems, it's still a Long Wang family. No, I mean, why are you so calm? You kid should know better than me how terrifying the foundation of a Long Wang family is."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "I'm used to it."

Zhao Yi widened his eyes: "Used to it?"

In the previous wave, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan knew that Pudu Guarding Guarding Guarding Guarding Guarding Guarding Guarding Guarding Zhenjun was an avatar of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, yet he still slapped him.

Now, it's nothing more than knowing in advance that he might have to slap Long Wang Yu in the future.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Do you have any room for choice, or are you saying you want to bargain?"

Zhao Yi: "I..."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Accepting it calmly early on and letting the Heavenly Dao see your attitude will actually gain you more benefits."

Zhao Yi suddenly realized: "You kid are setting me up! I said you were always hiding things before; today you're telling me so much all at once—you're deliberately binding me to you!"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan grabbed the garlic on the table and asked: "Do you eat garlic?"

Zhao Yi lowered his head and pleaded: "Can we forget it?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "You were listening quite enthusiastically just now, and even said you wanted to grasp the key to the problem and fiercely accelerate the river water."

Zhao Yi: "I didn't think it was this kind of acceleration."

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "I speculated beforehand that the difficulty of this wave would decrease. Now, if we treat this wave as a rehearsal conducted in advance, indeed, the difficulty has been lowered."

Zhao Yi: "If I separate from you now, you do your thing and I do mine, or even if I deliberately sabotage you and fight you, wouldn't I be free of it?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm, yes."

Zhao Yi: "Hahaha!"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head to eat his noodles.

Zhao Yi put the unpeeled garlic directly into his mouth and crunched on it.

After they both finished their noodles, Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan called out to the owner: "Boss, how much?"

The owner walked over and asked: "Together?"

Zhao Yi: "Together."

Then, he pointed at the youth, stood up from his seat, and walked out of the noodle shop.

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan took the money from his pocket to pay the bill, and when he walked out, he saw Zhao Yi squatting by the side of the road smoking.

"Your eyes are red."

"Just accidentally wiped some eye discharge, the garlic was spicy."

"There's no need to be so nervous; at most, we are just a tiny tributary in the raging waves of the Heavenly Dao targeting the Yu family."

"Great rivers and waves can recede, but tributaries are the easiest to dry up and break off." Zhao Yi stood up, "But, it doesn't matter. If you want to increase the difficulty, then increase it. Anyway, you're in front bearing the brunt. It's agreed: if you die, I'm running."

"Mm."

Zhao Yi: "Is the one who injured Xu Ming your newly recruited subordinate?"

Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan: "It's A You."

Zhao Yi: "Damn, this kid is settling a personal vendetta!"

Immediately, Zhao Yi added: "He won't be without a price, right?"

"He needs two days to recover his state."

"Xu Ming needs three. Then let's change the plan. Find a way to stall that Daoist priest for three days. After three days, when both our sides are fully prepared, we'll act together.

Since we're treating this wave as a future rehearsal, let's carry out this exercise perfectly, and with the best posture, execute a thunderous move to crush this wave directly!

There must be other teams in this wave, so let's just let them witness what true river-walking is!"

"Fine, I'll listen to you."

(End of chapter)