Chapter 346

Guarding Zhenjun Bai He stretched a great, long stretch; just a moment ago, he had been like a gourmet who had opened three incredibly fresh oysters in one go, and at this moment, his face was filled with satisfaction.

This kind of treatment could only be enjoyed by him; the Generals of Increase and Decrease did not have this kind of good fortune.

It was just that he didn't dare to be mischievous in front of that person; otherwise, he would have liked to borrow those three sets of cards, summon the Generals of Increase and Decrease, and have them stand on the sidelines watching him eat—the taste would surely be even better.

The problem with the souls was solved, and next, it was time for the physical bodies.

After all, they were righteous people; if the corpses were too clean, it wouldn't be to Runsheng's taste.

After Guarding Zhenjun Bai He went down to rest and the vertical pupils dissipated, Lin Shu You followed Tan Wenbin's instructions and transferred the three corpses to a nearby waste station.

The small concrete pier, estimated to have a volume of less than three cubic meters, seemed to have served as a marker; a large amount of trash had already covered and extended over it, piling up into a small hill.

Although Seeing Yin Meng was no longer there, the corpse-dissolving liquid that Seeing Yin Meng had originally concocted could still continue to play a role for the time being; this was also one of the few formulas that Seeing Yin Meng had been able to stabilize.

"Sizzle... sizzle... sizzle..."

The corpses, their clothes, and even the circle of trash nearby were all melted away completely, startling a swarm of rats and cockroaches in the vicinity to flee.

Lin Shu You found a plastic rod and raked back and forth inside, erasing the human-shaped marks left on the ground by the three corpses.

After finishing this, Lin Shu You found a broom and a bucket to clean up the "good brothers" who had been beaten all over the ground by the Three-Eyed One.

On the other side, Runsheng went to a nearby construction site, used a cart to bring over construction waste, and began to backfill the pit he had smashed into the road.

Lu Xuan was dead, Brother Xiaoyuan was gone, and there was no one left to maintain the miasma here.

Worried that a car might drive over in the early morning and accidentally fall into the unlevelled pit, Tan Wenbin deliberately set up a basic formation along the pit.

People driving by would see a row of courtyard walls in the style of Jiangnan villas appear on one side of the road.

Although it looked very eerie at this hour, Tan Wenbin was currently only at the level of following the book, and it was impossible for him to modify the internal structure of the formation.

Zhao Yi passed by Runsheng, watching Runsheng dump a cart of waste into the pit.

Even though it had already been filled three times, the pit still looked very deep.

This showed that when Runsheng had smashed this shovel down towards himself earlier, he really hadn't been holding back at all.

Sigh, the one surnamed Li didn't even say anything to him.

Of course, if he put himself in his shoes, Zhao Yi wouldn't say anything either.

Passing through the quiet alley, the rolling shutters of the small massage parlors on both sides had already been pulled down, most of the signboard lights were in an extinguished state, and the parts that were still lit were either forgotten to be turned off or had poor contact.

Looking up, Zhao Yi saw the teenager's figure; he was on the roof of the Yao Ji Hotel.

Just as he was preparing to kick off the wall to go up, he saw the teenager make a tea-drinking gesture to him.

Zhao Yi stuck both hands into his pockets and walked up the stairs.

When he appeared on the roof, he was carrying a thermos in his left hand and two teacups plus a bag of tea leaves in his right.

"This tea is not bad, the scent is familiar; this hotel is run by the Liu family."

The tea leaves were "self-collected" from under Yao Nian'en's counter.

When Zhao Yi was in Nantong, the tea that the old lady of the Liu family drank had this exact taste.

"It was split off decades ago; it hasn't been for a long time."

"Emphasizing it specifically?" Zhao Yi smiled. "Did you ask someone for a favor?"

"Mm."

Zhao Yi brewed two cups of tea, handed one to the teenager, and picked up the other himself.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Are you not going back yet?"

Zhao Yi: "No matter. Lu Xuan came out with me secretly; besides, I had already made arrangements there long ago. Going back too early would instead arouse suspicion."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Did you have fun there?"

"That was, of course, quite fun."

As Zhao Yi said this, he rolled up his sleeves to reveal his arm; he tilted his head slightly, and the skin on his arm turned black, then slowly peeled and floated up.

The black skin did not completely detach from the body, with flesh and blood adhering in the middle, but the next moment, accompanied by a crisp "sizzle" sound, the black skin flipped to the side, presenting the inner side.

On it were all kinds of marks—not caused by abuse, but colorful markers used for sensing, observing, probing, and so on; one of them was even Lu Xuan's Dharma pattern.

Zhao Yi: "We are all people walking on the river; at this stage, naive and innocent ones are few, especially that bunch of guys—even if it's just dogmatically following the experience summarized by their ancestors, they aren't so easy to deal with."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Flipping the dragon skin inside out to suppress these sensing marks—your inspiration is truly sufficient."

When studying techniques, most of the time is spent sitting and deducing; for someone like Zhao Yi, most of the time is spent peeling his own skin to play with.

Zhao Yi: "It wasn't easy to get a piece of dragon skin; if I didn't study it thoroughly, wouldn't that be a waste of the item?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Zhao Yi: "Want to hear about the situation over there?"

"Speak."

"First, everyone is hiding something."

"I saw that."

A normal opponent should have died cleanly when Li Zhuiyuan created the first opportunity, but Lu Xuan and the others were able to hold on for another round while in a completely passive state.

If Li Zhuiyuan hadn't added pressure in time, then the situation tonight would have likely been overturned.

The people of the Four Profound Sects certainly have rich methods, but they have innate deficiencies; those other people will only be harder to deal with.

Their subordinates will be more loyal, and their own strength will be sharper.

In extreme situations, a crazed martial artist is harder to deal with than a mad formation master.

"Some people only hid one layer, some hid two layers; it cannot be ruled out that some people hid even more."

Zhao Yi meant that the concealment that could be detected was very likely a disguise deliberately made by the person themselves.

"Second, their understanding of the river water is generally very deep; of course, it can't keep up with you. At most, they have reached the level of observing hydrology, while you are a major in water conservancy."

"Is there a third?"

"Third, they have a tacit understanding with their families and sects in this wave.

This is what you need to pay attention to; their elders will inevitably leave some traces when attacking the Yu family.

They won't deliberately help their own river-walkers—that would suffer karmic backlash—but... they can completely use excessive force."

"As expected."

"My family has no one left; even if there were, they wouldn't be qualified to send people to participate in this hunt against the Long Wang court.

I still feel that your old lady should have actually sent someone over, even if just to take a look."

"Not sending anyone is correct."

"Do you have a new clue?"

"No."

"Then just now?"

"Sixth sense."

"You actually believe in this?"

"Occasionally, an exception can be made."

"Then I choose to believe in your sixth sense. When it's time to truly enter the Yu family, whoever's elders leave traces first, I will deliberately distance myself from that person and not crowd around."

By the time they finished chatting, the tea had warmed to a suitable temperature for drinking.

Zhao Yi turned to the side, his back leaning against the iron railing:

"That Chen family woman, why do I feel she is a bit... unusual?"

"In the same situation yesterday, if it had been anyone else, even if I wanted to save her, it would have been too late.

You feel she is unusual because she is injured now; when her injuries heal and her strength recovers, this feeling will fade."

"Hehe, when injured, she seems a bit stupid, and when powerful, she is true-hearted and unrestrained?"

Li Zhuiyuan did not deny it, because that was the truth.

If a fully recovered Chen Xiyuan stood in front of him, she would truly have the ability to make him unable to move while reaching out to touch his face and calling him "little brother."

Zhao Yi: "Is my impression in her eyes very bad?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "It's not very good."

Zhao Yi: "Sigh, can it be remedied?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "When her injuries are healed, you can find another opportunity to explain it to her face-to-face."

Zhao Yi: "When her injuries are healed, I won't even dare to stand in front of her."

Li Zhuiyuan looked up at the faint light gradually rising on the distant horizon; it was the morning of a new day.

Zhao Yi: "It's getting late; I should go back. See you next time when we close the net."

"I won't see you off."

"You're too polite."

Zhao Yi leaned forward and fell off the building.

After flipping twice in mid-air, his feet landed steadily on the ground, not even making a sound.

After he walked away, Li Zhuiyuan picked up the teacup and thermos and walked downstairs.

Yao Nian'en hadn't woken up yet and was sleeping very soundly; however, the snoring had stopped, and her entire face had become much more rosy and delicate, with thick liquid overflowing from the corners of her mouth, and black mud appearing on her body, making her smell foul.

This should be the tea fee Zhao Yi gave; he had fed Yao Nian'en a pill to regulate her body, and she was currently detoxifying.

After putting the things in his hand back on the counter, Li Zhuiyuan walked to the entrance of the workroom.

The door wasn't locked and opened easily; Li Zhuiyuan walked in.

Chen Xiyuan was lying back on the tailor's large table; the night-luminescent pearl had already been ground into powder by her, and since her injuries were very severe, she had applied it almost evenly over her entire body.

At this moment, she was not wearing any clothes, and her whole body was glowing.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Why didn't you lock the door?"

"Why would I lock the door?" Chen Xiyuan sat up and looked at the teenager. "Is it because I'm not wearing clothes? But my concealment effect right now is countless times better than wearing clothes; even I find it blinding."

Li Zhuiyuan: "How do you feel?"

"Give me three days; although I can't fully recover, at least I can fight."

"There is plenty of time; focus on healing your injuries."

"Is your relationship with that Zhao Yi from Jiujiang very good?"

"As you can see."

"He is not a good person."

"Most of the rumors about him in the Jianghu were made by me; he just took the name."

"Little brother, do you protect every friend like this?"

"You sleep; I'm going back to sleep too."

"Little brother, wait a moment." Chen Xiyuan took out a talisman paper; it was the sealing talisman Li Zhuiyuan had previously stuck on her forehead. "I am very familiar with the level and material of this talisman paper. When we first met, you were also drinking soup in the soup shop at the hospital entrance. So, the people who were poisoned by mushrooms in those three hospital rooms were all treated by you, right?"

"The doctors were the ones who performed the rescue and treatment; I just helped them reduce the sequelae."

Chen Xiyuan smiled:

"Little brother, you are truly kind—kind enough to make people find you cute."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't pay any more attention to her and walked toward the door.

Chen Xiyuan spoke again:

"I have always had a feeling that it seems we met before that soup shop; do you have the same feeling?"

"Dreaming."

The teenager walked out and closed the door; at the same time, he flicked his fingertips, and the silk thread behind the door rose, binding the internal handle and completing the locking of the door.

Li Zhuiyuan returned to his room, took a shower, washed up, and lay on the bed, closing his eyes; he now needed rest to restore his state.

Outside, the three of Tan Wenbin, after dealing with the scene, were still the same as before, scattered around the hotel to maintain vigilance.

There were two people inside the hotel who were healing their injuries, so there was no room for slack.

However, halfway through, Tan Wenbin went out once and, according to Brother Xiaoyuan's instructions, bought a lot of chocolate from a large store.

For this sleep, the teenager slept for a full day and night.

After waking up, he ate something and drank some water, then went back to sleep, and then it was another day and night.

Sleep is the cheapest and also the most effective way to replenish energy.

When Li Zhuiyuan woke up again, he sat by the bed for a while, confirming that his state had returned to full.

In the past, if his eyes bled, it would have taken a long time to recuperate, but after taking classes in the Daoist field, his mental consciousness had been newly tempered and expanded, and his endurance and repair capabilities had been greatly enhanced.

Comparatively, if his partners suffered injuries of the same level, it would be more troublesome, and might even lead to them being marginalized in advance in this wave.

Therefore, from the perspective of the team, Li Zhuiyuan was more willing to bear this price himself.

The teenager took out the two compasses and placed them on the bed.

The purple-gold compass was exquisite and grand; comparatively, his own small compass appeared much rougher.

However, that copper coin was embedded in the small compass.

When checking the spoils that night, the teenager had played with the purple-gold compass in his hand for a long while; this action further confirmed the teenager's poverty in Chen Xiyuan's eyes.

Actually, the teenager wanted to find a place in this purple-gold compass suitable for embedding the copper coin.

There really was a groove, which should have been used to insert talisman paper to amplify the compass's effect.

But how many talisman papers in this world could compare to the strange copper coin in his hand?

Not to mention, the copper coin also had a very long battery life.

Li Zhuiyuan waved his hand, setting up a simple isolation formation in his small guest room.

He didn't want to dirty this place because of the copper coin; if that happened, the Yao Ji Hotel might become famous for being haunted.

He placed the small compass face down, unbuckled the clasp, and then slapped the back of the compass.

A crisp sound rang out, and the copper coin fell off from inside the small compass.

Li Zhuiyuan spread his right palm, releasing the spirit of the black dragon, which wrapped around the copper coin.

Even though the spirit of the black dragon was an existence that brought its own fierce evil, after coming into contact with this copper coin, it also showed an alienation reaction; on the originally pure black spirit body, small yellow and green pimples appeared.

Li Zhuiyuan released karmic fire from his palm, controlling the amount well, and burned it onto the spirit of the black dragon, ensuring that while not burning the spirit of the black dragon to death, it could also purify the special mutation on its body.

The spirit of the black dragon still had to return to his body later, and Li Zhuiyuan didn't want to grow small flesh-ganoderma on his body because of this.

The dragon spirit was in great pain, but it didn't dare to disobey the teenager's wishes and still held the copper coin steadily.

Li Zhuiyuan stood the purple-gold compass upright with the groove facing up, and the spirit of the black dragon pushed the copper coin into it.

Upon contact, the purple-gold compass began to tremble, and a large amount of black and white gas gushed out.

After Li Zhuiyuan took back the dragon spirit, he watched all of this intently.

Whether the two special artifacts could be successfully combined would soon be revealed.

Before long, the black and white gases dissipated completely and no longer overflowed; the overall color of the purple-gold compass became deeper and darker.

It had the feeling of a Daoist priest who originally had the bearing of an immortal suddenly turning into an evil cultivator.

But regardless, the combination was successful, or rather, the copper coin had unilaterally completed the assimilation of the purple-gold compass.

The teenager held the purple-gold compass in his hand, his fingertips moved slightly, and soon, the compass began to rotate rapidly; black gas constantly overflowed and was quickly wrapped up, and the entire cross-section became pitch black.

If it were slapped onto a person's body, the feeling would surely be quite soul-stirring.

Even Li Zhuiyuan himself currently couldn't be sure what specific negative effects it would have.

After tidying up the things and finishing washing up, Li Zhuiyuan came to the workroom again.

The silk thread on the internal handle of the door was still there, and the teenager reached out to knock on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Enter."

Li Zhuiyuan pushed the door and entered.

Inside the room, Chen Xiyuan was still lying on the table, but at this moment she had put on clothes.

After a large amount of the pearl powder was absorbed, her brightness also went down, and even the skin outside her clothes had become much smoother and whiter than before.

Chen Xiyuan: "I originally wanted to save some for you."

Li Zhuiyuan: "There's no need for that."

Chen Xiyuan: "I thought you could take it and give it to your little sister."

Li Zhuiyuan: "She doesn't need it."

Chen Xiyuan: "The conditions are truly good; it's worthy of being a wealthy family that can make you marry into it."

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at her.

Chen Xiyuan rolled over and jumped off the table, very curiously saying: "The relationship between the two of you is actually so good; did you live with their family a long time ago? Then wouldn't you be..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "How is your recovery?"

Chen Xiyuan: "I can only say that the item is indeed good; it's even faster than my most optimistic estimate before."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Chen Xiyuan: "You can make arrangements for how to utilize me next."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I will."

Chen Xiyuan: "Don't be polite."

Li Zhuiyuan: "You're overthinking."

Chen Xiyuan touched her stomach: "I've been busy healing for the past two days and haven't eaten anything; how about I return that bowl of meat soup to you now?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "There is still some pearl powder residue on your body; you won't be hungry."

The night-luminescent pearl contained the sacrifices of the Four Profound Sect members through the ages; absorbing it was a great tonic.

Chen Xiyuan: "It's not like you can only eat when you're hungry; eating itself is a kind of happiness."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I've had breakfast."

Chen Xiyuan: "Then forget it."

Li Zhuiyuan turned and walked out; he had come over just to check on the progress.

However, when the teenager reached the door, he stopped his steps:

"You are very interested in this kind of thing."

"Yeah, because this itself is very interesting."

"Then why haven't you asked me which family it is?"

"If I asked, it might not be interesting anymore."

"You saw it."

"Mm, that night, I saw the Feng Shui."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Oh."

Chen Xiyuan: "My Chen family's main technique requires watching the sea and listening to the tides; it already has a certain relationship with Feng Shui and meteorology, and when it comes to the path of Feng Shui in the Jianghu, the first one to be recommended is naturally that family.

At first, I wasn't sure, but these past two days while I was healing, I had nothing else to do, so I kept re-enacting and deducing it in my head, and then I found that the taste became more and more intense.

Little brother, you really scared me; although you are young, your ability to marry into a family is truly amazing—you are too good at choosing which door to enter."

That night when dealing with Lu Xuan and the four others, Li Zhuiyuan used the "Liu Family Qi-Watching Technique."

Actually, he used it very unobtrusively, even deliberately carrying a bit of freehand style.

But the people of the Long Wang family truly have sharp insight and knowledge, which also proves from the side that the girl is definitely not a mediocre person; she was actually able to replicate Li Zhuiyuan's Feng Shui techniques to ponder them.

Chen Xiyuan asked tentatively again:

"My guess, it's correct, right?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Correct."

Hearing this, the relaxed expression on Chen Xiyuan's face faded, becoming serious.

"Since I was little, every time the family mentioned that family, they would wring their hands and sigh. My grandfather even once told me that that family would inevitably rise again in the future.

Now, I have seen it."

When things weren't said openly, one could play the fool with laughter, but once things were said openly, everything had to be done according to the rules.

Chen Xiyuan began to perform the Chen family door etiquette for Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan first turned to face her, then turned half of his body to the side.

After Chen Xiyuan finished the etiquette, Li Zhuiyuan performed the Liu family door etiquette for her.

Competition and cannibalism among the Long Wang courts are not rare.

Every generation of Long Wang might be able to achieve a broad mind and a grand pattern, but a Long Wang is a Long Wang, and a family is a family.

Expansion and continuation are inherently the instinct of a force.

But the Qiongya Chen clan seems to be an exception.

Due to the special screening nature of their main technique, their desire for expansion is very low.

Without desire, one is strong, and naturally, one can look at things more objectively and fairly.

After both sides finished the etiquette, the sweet smile on Chen Xiyuan's face returned; she leaned forward, her eyes shining, as if she were very eager to ask another question.

But her action was quickly stopped.

Because after the teenager finished the Liu family door etiquette, he began to perform etiquette again.

Chen Xiyuan had no choice but to become serious again, tightening her face, turning half to the side; when she recognized that this was the Qin family door etiquette, Chen Xiyuan's eyes began to widen, revealing shock.

Li Zhuiyuan finished the etiquette.

Chen Xiyuan subconsciously wanted to return the etiquette again.

Li Zhuiyuan spoke to stop her: "You have already performed it."

Chen Xiyuan: "What does this mean? Could it be..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It is exactly what you think it means."

Chen Xiyuan: "You told me before that your in-laws are not just one, that you have entered more than one door; so that's what it meant."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I didn't say that."

"But, entering a door is entering a door, no, no..."

Chen Xiyuan stretched out her finger and rubbed her own brow; her brain was a bit messy, and she had to sort out the relationship properly.

"If you married into the Liu family, then you are indeed a Liu family member and should perform the Liu family door etiquette, but if you are even qualified to perform the Qin family door etiquette, then legally..."

"Little brother, it turns out you have been lying to me all along; you didn't marry into the family."

Li Zhuiyuan: "The one who has been saying I married into the family is you."

Chen Xiyuan knew that those two Long Wang courts were now decided by that old lady, and her own grandfather had a very high evaluation of that Liu family old lady.

He once said that she didn't go to walk the river for love back then, causing the river surface of that generation to lose its luster.

When he said this, her grandmother happened to come to the courtyard and heard it.

Then her grandfather was grabbed by the ear by her grandmother and forcibly dragged into the house; from inside the house came her grandmother's spitting scolding:

"Pah, old thing, how many years has it been, and you still haven't given up, still a toad wanting to eat swan meat!"

The Liu family old lady who could make her grandfather unable to forget and make her grandmother compare her to that must definitely not be a muddled person.

A woman who has supported the last dignity of the two Long Wang courts for decades must definitely be a quite formidable character.

The teenager in front of her could be a live-in son-in-law, pre-selected as a child husband.

But it was absolutely impossible for him to touch another family with this identity; at most, he could choose one between the Qin and Liu families, otherwise, it would be a great insult to the other Long Wang court.

Therefore, the answer could only be that one.

"Little brother..."

Suddenly, Chen Xiyuan felt that this form of address was inappropriate, because the other party's legal status... should be higher than her own.

Chen Xiyuan: "That, what was your name again?"

After asking this question, even Chen Xiyuan herself felt that she was a bit outrageous; the teenager in front of her had saved her twice, but she had actually forgotten to ask the other party's name all along.

"Li Zhuiyuan."

"Surname Li..." Chen Xiyuan took a deep breath and said slowly, "So, it's not that you entered whose door, but that old lady entrusted the inheritance of both families to you?"

"Mm."

Chen Xiyuan: "You alone shoulder two Long Wang courts?"

"Mm."

In Chen Xiyuan's mind, she quickly recalled the collapse of the great formation in the museum at the critical moment, and how he solved her predicament last night in three or two strokes.

"The old lady of the Liu family truly has amazing courage, and little brother... Brother Zhuiyuan... Worthy Brother Zhuiyuan, you are truly worthy of it."

From birth, the Chen family members clearly knew the importance of talent.

Regarding the talent of the teenager in front of her, Chen Xiyuan no longer knew how to describe it with words; the most important thing was that what the other party was showing now was still his ability before he started practicing martial arts.

Chen Xiyuan: "If you were to withdraw by lighting the lamp a second time now, even if you couldn't achieve the Long Wang, you would still be able to shoulder these two courts again."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It is impossible for me to light the lamp a second time."

Chen Xiyuan: "Why must you be so stubborn?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Heaven knows."

Chen Xiyuan suddenly raised her hand, surprised and suspicious: "No, why is there almost no wind in the Jianghu about such a big matter? You have also been walking the river for so long, and I have never heard of your deeds? This shouldn't be."

Li Zhuiyuan: "You have heard of all my deeds."

Chen Xiyuan: "Do you never expose your identity when you are outside? This time, you made an exception and made it public in front of me, only telling me, right?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I have told many people."

Chen Xiyuan: "Then they are truly all tight-lipped."

Li Zhuiyuan: "They are indeed very good at keeping secrets."

Chen Xiyuan: "Then do you need me to help you keep it secret? I mean, is it that even my family members cannot be told?"

"You said you owe me two lives."

"Yes, that's right."

"Then I will take one of your lives in exchange for you keeping the secret for me."

"This is one of my lives, sigh, and you are taking it to exchange for this?"

"What is the difference between letting you die once and letting you die twice?"

Chen Xiyuan nodded with a smile: "Indeed."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Alright, continue to seize the time to heal your injuries."

Chen Xiyuan showed expectation again, and the light in her eyes reappeared: "Worthy Brother Zhuiyuan, since that night, there is one thing I really want to ask; it has been held in my heart for a long time."

"Ask."

Li Zhuiyuan originally thought that Chen Xiyuan would ask about other methods he used that night, such as the Ghost Gate that had once appeared behind him, or the Nuo Opera Puppet Technique.

But what Chen Xiyuan asked was: