Chapter 51

Li Miao stood up and walked out of the room, followed closely by the Huashan Sect group.

Gao Ling hesitated, didn't speak, and followed Li Miao away under Zuo Lishan's cold gaze.

Outside the door, there were Taishan Sect disciples waiting, leading Li Miao's group toward the private residence in the back mountain.

Zuo Lishan's gaze was fixed on Li Miao, and it was only after Li Miao and the others had disappeared from his sight for a long time that he turned back to greet and chat with the people in the room.

"Sect Leader Deng, long time no see..."

"Sect Leader Zuo, long time no see..."

How Zuo Lishan explained the situation to the people in the room is not mentioned.

Li Miao's group followed the Taishan Sect disciples to the private residence.

Zuo Lishan wouldn't use the method of arranging a wilderness to disgust people; this private residence was indeed quite good, with flying eaves and upturned corners, very quiet. There were no neighbors nearby, so it was probably an old residence where a veteran of the Taishan Sect liked peace and lived alone.

If ten or twenty people died here, it is estimated that the movement wouldn't spread out.

Li Miao's group had set off late from Tai'an City, and it was already near noon.

A short while later, Taishan Sect disciples sent some food.

The Taishan Sect had a large family and business, and there were many disciples in the sect, so naturally, they had their own kitchen and chefs. These dishes were still steaming when they were sent over. The variety didn't look like big-pot rice; it should have been made by the small kitchen specially supplied to the veterans in the sect, and it looked even more delicious than the tavern in Tai'an City.

It was just that the Huashan Sect group and Gao Ling didn't dare to eat.

The ones who came to the door today were evil guests. Others might not understand, but Zuo Lishan must know clearly that Li Miao's trip up the mountain was to take his life.

What's more, Zuo Lishan's evil arts were not ordinary evil arts; they were practiced in conjunction with witchcraft.

Who would dare to eat the food sent by Zuo Lishan so carelessly?

Others were fine, but Gao Ling, who had seen Zuo Lishan's inhuman appearance with her own eyes, couldn't help but stay far away from the food, as if she were afraid that a worm would crawl out of it at any time.

Li Miao smiled, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and put a piece of mushroom into his mouth.

"Hmm... since leaving the capital, this is really the best meal I've ever had. This Taishan Sect has a big business, they can afford this level of chef. I estimate they can squeeze a lot of silver out of it."

"Don't just stand there, come on, eat, eat."

He called out to everyone.

Seeing that Li Miao, the leader, had sat down to eat, the others naturally didn't hesitate anymore and stepped forward to share the food.

Mei Qinghe, Gao Ling, Liu Baiyun, and Li Miao were at one table, and the other Huashan disciples found their own rooms to eat.

Mei Qinghe asked: "My lord, aren't you afraid that Zuo Lishan will poison it?"

"With your internal energy realm, ordinary poisons can't hurt you. But after all, he is involved in witchcraft, and witchcraft is weird and hard to prevent, not the same path as the Central Plains martial arts, so you must be careful."

Li Miao smiled and said: "Eat with peace of mind. When it comes to witchcraft, Zuo Lishan is far less familiar than I am."

"I raised a human-insect, this thing is not that evil. If it were really the size that could be accidentally put into the mouth, it would have been scalded to death by this freshly cooked dish long ago."

"Besides, Zuo Lishan doesn't want me to die just like that."

When Mei Qinghe heard this, she wanted to ask in detail.

Li Miao intended to cultivate Mei Qinghe, so he didn't sell it short, and while eating, he started from the beginning.

"Martial arts are like clothes; there are suitable ones and unsuitable ones. If you encounter a suitable one, you feel comfortable wearing it, and you can go further; if it's unsuitable, you'll be tied up and unable to move forward."

"But inheritance is, after all, someone else's old clothes for you to wear. No matter how well-fitting it is, it's hard to fit perfectly."

"So when martial arts reach the top level, except for inheritances like Wudang and Shaolin that are too magical and hard to surpass, basically everyone will try to create their own martial arts. After all, at this level, a little bit of ill-fitting is already a huge flaw."

Li Miao took a shrimp, wrapped his hand around it, and the shells fell off one after another.

He put the shrimp into his mouth, sipped some wine, and then continued.

"You have seen me fight Zuo Lishan; his sword technique is self-created. What kind of artistic conception did you feel?"

Mei Qinghe knew this was Li Miao's test, closed her eyes and thought for a while, then replied: "Overbearing, strong, fierce."

Li Miao shook his head.

"The key is arrogance; this is his foundation."

"Most people in this world who practice martial arts don't have such good luck. They are often using martial arts that don't fit their temperament to do things that don't fit their intentions. And temperament, in fact, most of the time doesn't distinguish between good and evil."

"For example, fierceness, for example, gentleness, are all properties that distinguish between good and evil."

"Therefore, only when a person practices a martial art to the limit beyond his bones can one see what this person's temperament is like. Just like a piece of clothing, it must be worn perfectly to see the person's figure."

"And martial arts like Zuo Lishan's self-created ones are like a piece of custom-made clothing, fitting everywhere. So when top experts fight, they can basically understand each other's intentions, which is also the origin of meeting friends through martial arts."

Li Miao held his wine glass and said slowly: "I have already seen Zuo Lishan's resume."

"After this fight, I can understand his temperament even more."

"His fierceness, strength, and overbearingness all come from his arrogance. He left his peers behind from the moment he started practicing martial arts, and he had never been defeated after achieving success in martial arts. He is confident that he is a genius and feels that he should be the person above others."

"Because of arrogance, he is overbearing and strong, so he was able to create this sword technique."

"And what is an arrogant person most afraid of?"

Mei Qinghe was thinking, and Li Miao continued on his own.

"It is that an opponent who once defeated him has disappeared."

"Little Mei, did you play games with winners and losers when you were a child?"

Mei Qinghe nodded: "I did."

Li Miao said: "In this kind of game, the most infuriating thing is not losing, but the other party saying 'I won't play with you anymore' after winning a game."

"The only thing in this world that won't lose is a dead person."

"If I were poisoned to death by him now, that would be a person Zuo Lishan could never win back."

"Just this one thing can leave a flaw in his state of mind."

"So tonight, he will definitely come to find me, to win back that tragic defeat in a dignified way. Only then will he kill Elder Gao and you to silence you."

"Otherwise, with his temperament, I fear he will dream of me every night in the future."

Mei Qinghe suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

Li Miao smiled: "Alright, you don't need to worry about tonight's affairs."

"After eating, rest separately, and don't come out if you hear any movement at night. I still have to accompany Sect Leader Zuo to act out this play tonight."

"Otherwise, how can I force him to go to the Ming Cult for help?"

(End of chapter)