Chapter 45

Li Miao's words were both playful and frivolous, and even carried memes from his past life, clearly out of place in the Great Shuo.

But as the saying goes, "At thirty, one stands; at forty, one has no doubts... at sixty, one's ears are attuned; at seventy, one follows one's heart's desires, without transgressing the rules."

If you have thirty years of cultivation, you can stand and speak in the Jianghu; with forty years of cultivation, there will be few problems in the Jianghu that confuse you; with sixty years of cultivation, even words that sound unpleasant to your ears will no longer appear.

Once you have seventy years of cultivation, you can do whatever you want, and no one will dare to question you for breaking the rules. Because in the Jianghu, you are the rules.

When Li Miao first arrived in the Great Shuo, he was naturally cautious and didn't dare to reveal his strangeness.

But since he turned thirty, he no longer cared about these things. He said what he thought and did what he wanted. No one would dare to argue with him about these things; they would only flatter him by saying, "Battalion Commander Li, true temperament, a strange person indeed."

Just like office workers call themselves "corporate slaves," Li Miao didn't feel that "running dog" was an insult to him. He didn't have the deep-rooted official-centered thinking of the Great Shuo, so he naturally said this self-deprecating term.

Now, hearing Li Miao's words, Liu Baiyun first felt it was vulgar and harsh, but was then stunned by the meaning within, having no heart to care about anything else.

Zuo Lishan is going to die? The Taishan Sect is going to perish?

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is going to incorporate the Huashan Sect?

A string of news hit Liu Baiyun's heart, and she didn't know how to answer.

Li Miao smiled: "I spoke too fast, and Sect Leader Liu finds it hard to believe."

"Elder Gao, tell Sect Leader Liu the situation, and let Sect Leader Liu take this time to think about an answer."

Gao Ling nodded, stepped forward to salute Liu Baiyun, and explained the situation.

There were old people with sufficient Jianghu experience who came with the Huashan Sect. Hearing Li Miao's words, they were shocked and had long since stood up to take their swords, scaring and coaxing the guests in the restaurant out, so they weren't afraid of being heard at this time.

After some conversation, Gao Ling retreated to her original position, leaving Liu Baiyun to ponder in silence, not speaking for a long while.

After waiting for a while, Li Miao said: "Sect Leader Liu, have you decided?"

Liu Baiyun squeezed the sword hilt in her hand.

She was no longer an impulsive young person and knew that Li Miao's words didn't actually leave her any room for choice.

Death or life—these were the only two options.

Indecision leads to chaos. Liu Baiyun knew that at a critical moment of life and death, making a decisive choice is often more important than weighing things back and forth.

She no longer hesitated and made her decision.

"Lord Li, what does the Huashan Sect need to do at this Five Mountains Alliance meeting?"

Liu Baiyun said: "We are a party of thirteen, just here to pay respects, and most of our manpower is left in the sect. Right now, counting Qinghe, there are two first-rate and three second-rate experts; the rest are of no use."

"If needed, the Huashan Sect also has some manpower in Beizhili. If we send a message now, twenty or thirty people can come, with two or three second-rate experts."

"According to Elder Gao, Zuo Lishan's Wu Gong now exceeds the top-tier level. With only the Huashan Sect's manpower, I'm afraid it will be difficult to support your mission, my lord."

Li Miao smiled: "Sect Leader Liu is indeed an old hand in the Jianghu, straightforward!"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is naturally not just me alone. The rest of the manpower will arrive before the Five Mountains Alliance meeting."

"As for Zuo Lishan..." Li Miao said lightly: "In my hands, he won't be able to make any waves."

Li Miao's frivolous attitude made it hard for Liu Baiyun to believe his words.

Zuo Lishan was already one of the strongest people in the Jianghu, and now he had gone further. She was afraid she couldn't even take one sword strike from him. What confidence do you have that you can "make him unable to make any waves"?

But seeing Mei Qinghe's look of taking it for granted, Liu Baiyun's heart moved, and she didn't speak.

"Alright, Sect Leader Liu, go and rest first. If you have anything to say to your disciple, you may go ahead."

"Tomorrow, we will go to the Taishan Sect together to pay a visit."

"And by the way, see how Sect Leader Zuo's body has recovered."

Having said that, Li Miao stood up and walked back to the private room to eat, Gao Ling followed closely, leaving Mei Qinghe and Liu Baiyun speechless.

"Master..."

Mei Qinghe was silent for a long while, then spoke in a low voice, lowering her head, not looking at Liu Baiyun.

"Sigh..."

Liu Baiyun let out a long sigh, stood up with her sword, and said to the Huashan Sect members: "Eat yourselves, rest separately, and go to the Taishan Sect together tomorrow to pay a visit. I have something to say to Qinghe."

Having said that, she turned to Mei Qinghe and said: "Go to your room... we master and disciple should still clear things up."

The two walked silently to Mei Qinghe's room. Liu Baiyun closed the door, turned back, and sat at the table: "Qinghe, sit down."

Mei Qinghe sat beside her.

"That Lord Li... what is his Wu Gong realm?"

Liu Baiyun asked.

Mei Qinghe replied: "A legendary figure, hard to see the full picture."

"The sword you gave me, he can crush it into iron sand with his bare hands. He can also use no moves, just casually whip it to make Zuo Lishan seriously injured and flee."

"Disciple hasn't traveled much and has little knowledge, but at least I've seen Zuo Lishan's Wu Gong. If the top-tier experts in the Jianghu are not worlds apart from Zuo Lishan..."

"Disciple feels that Senior Li will have no opponents in the Jianghu."

Liu Baiyun keenly noticed Mei Qinghe's address for Li Miao—not 'my lord', but 'Senior'.

Mei Qinghe couldn't hide her thoughts. If she hadn't been completely convinced by Li Miao, she wouldn't have called him 'Senior'.

Mei Qinghe was naturally threatened by Li Miao at first and had to do things. But after all, the revenge was only possible because of Li Miao, and the flaws in her Wu Gong were compensated by Li Miao.

After more than a month of getting along, she no longer resisted Li Miao—after all, Li Miao had an easygoing temperament and was very good to those around him, plus his Wu Gong was like a dragon showing its claws, high and unreachable, which naturally aroused the admiration of Mei Qinghe, who had practiced Wu Gong since she was a child.

Liu Baiyun let out a long breath: "Is that so..."

"I didn't expect that there would be such a person hidden in the imperial court... no wonder he could see the tricks done in your cultivation method."

"Youthful appearance, seeing the divine without damage... I wonder which senior expert this is..."

A genius can make rapid progress in moves, and force can move with the heart, but only the internal energy realm must rely on the accumulation of time.

Liu Baiyun's own talent was not top-notch, but she knew what level top geniuses could reach.

She naturally wouldn't think Li Miao was in his early thirties as he appeared, only thinking he was a senior expert with a youthful appearance.

Mei Qinghe heard Liu Baiyun admit that there was a problem with her cultivation method and asked urgently: "Master... why!?"

Liu Baiyun sighed and said: "You are only in your early twenties, and you can already stand shoulder to shoulder with me. Your potential has not yet been fully realized."

"I originally wanted to wait until you were thirty. If you could reach the top tier, I would tell you about this... who knew that by a twist of fate, you would find out..."

"Your cultivation method is indeed not the original, but one that has been modified."

"The person who modified this cultivation method is called—the Plum Blossom Thief."

(End of chapter)