Chapter 99

Li Miao had the fruits and snacks in his hands, just waiting for the good show between Yong Jie and the woman to begin.

Unexpectedly, after Yong Jie shouted "Sixth Sister," he said nothing more.

The woman chattered on for a while, but hearing no sound from Yong Jie, her voice gradually faded, and she also fell silent.

The prison was quiet for a moment.

Li Miao had ordered the local Prefect to arrange a secluded place; the Prefect certainly did not dare to keep a bunch of thugs in the prison, for fear of offending Li Miao.

Only this woman had been locked here by Bu Lei a few days ago; the Prefect did not dare to move her, and everyone else had been cleared out.

At this moment, in the large prison, there were only Li Miao, Yong Jie, and the woman.

The woman was silent for a long while, then forced a dry laugh and said, "Brother, where have you been all these years?"

"I..." Yong Jie stammered.

"I... sigh—" He let out a long sigh and pressed his hands together in front of his chest.

"This monk joined Shaolin."

"Ah." The woman responded, but unlike the man in the inn whose head Li Miao had shattered, she was not irritable, but laughed softly.

"That's quite good; only a giant like Shaolin can protect Brother and let him live a few days of peace."

"However, since Brother joined Shaolin, why bother coming back to this Huguang region?"

Yong Jie said in a low voice, "I came to find something."

The woman immediately said, "How could that be!? Although our manor is scattered, there are still many enemies in this Huguang region! They all still recognize you, Brother!"

"Shaolin is a giant of the Wu Lin, and it doesn't lack divine arts; why would they let you come and get involved in that matter!"

Yong Jie was stunned for a moment.

Li Miao, who was using his true energy to cover the sound of him eating melon seeds on the side, understood—the two of them were talking about different things; it wasn't the same matter.

Sure enough, Yong Jie realized it.

He said, "What matter?"

The woman said in surprise, "Brother, you don't know?"

"That's right, that's right, it's my assumption. You haven't appeared for many years, Brother; you must have been cultivating in Shaolin, so it's natural you don't know."

"It's good that it's not, it's good that it's not." She let out a long breath.

"Near the Miao region, Jianghu people discovered an ancient tomb, rumored to be a Miao King's tomb."

"The witchcraft of the Miao region is strange and hard to guard against; there were unusually many poisonous insects and snakes around that tomb, and at first, no one on the greenwood path dared to have any ideas."

"But, a few grave robbers from the 'Xieling Sect', relying on their habit of doing such things, snuck in."

"As a result, more than a dozen people went in, and only one came out, severely injured and dying, and he had gone mad."

"A few Jianghu people saved him. These grave robbers, although despised by everyone in the Jianghu, are very rich; these people originally thought of sending him back to the 'Xieling Sect' to exchange for some money."

"But they heard the man babbling and saying a name."

Yong Jie asked, "What did he say?"

"The Wedding Dress Divine Art," the woman said.

"What?" Yong Jie said in surprise.

Li Miao also raised his eyebrows.

He also knew the Wedding Dress Divine Art, but not the original one. It was the "Li Family Wedding Dress Divine Art" that he had deduced from a fragment collected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It was the Wu Gong he used to heal Gao Ling when she fled Mount Huashan.

The original Wedding Dress Divine Art had been lost for many years. It was rumored to be fierce, domineering, and extremely Yang and rigid; once mastered, one could be invincible in the world.

Of course, Li Miao knew this was just hearsay. The Wu Gong of this world is essentially icing on the cake, not charcoal in the snow. Those who could be invincible by cultivating the Wedding Dress Divine Art could also be invincible by cultivating other divine arts.

However, Li Miao also knew how attractive the news that the "Wedding Dress Divine Art" was hidden somewhere was to Jianghu people.

Sure enough, the woman continued, "Those few Jianghu people accidentally leaked the news, causing a sensation in the Jianghu."

"Not only in the Huguang region, but martial arts people from the entire southern martial arts community are rushing to the Miao region, wanting to obtain the Wedding Dress Divine Art."

"However, everyone wants to enter, but no one can. They started fighting at the gate, and many people died."

"The Hengshan Sword Sect, the Beggar Gang, the Cao Gang, Emei, Qingcheng, Kong Dong. The famous southern giants have all arrived, refusing to give way to each other. Other small and medium forces and Jianghu wanderers have also gathered, just thinking about whether they can fish in troubled waters."

"We were also thinking of trying it, but we ran into the Embroidered Uniform Guard halfway, and I was caught; I don't know what happened to the others."

The woman sighed and continued, "Jianghu rumors say that several giants want to enter, but they don't trust each other, so they want to invite Master Xingchi of Shaolin to be a witness, so everyone can enter together and rely on their own abilities."

"That's why I thought you were also here to find the 'Wedding Dress Divine Art', Brother."

The woman let out a long breath.

She was already severely injured and dying, but seeing Yong Jie, she had regained some spirit for a moment.

After saying so much, she could no longer hold on and fainted.

"Sixth Sister! Sixth Sister!"

Hearing the woman's voice fade, Yong Jie stood up anxiously.

His true energy was already bottomed out, and his injuries had just healed, so he was very weak and actually stumbled.

"Alright, alright, Great Master, rest," Li Miao said.

He stood up, threw away the melon seeds, clapped his hands, and pushed open the prison door. He walked to the door of the woman's cell, pointed and drew a line, and the lock fell to the ground.

Li Miao went in and held the woman's pulse.

The woman's complexion gradually recovered.

However, Li Miao had no intention of healing her, just keeping her alive.

This woman was likely one of the "Seven Ghosts of Meishan," caught by Bu Lei and placed here. Li Miao had killed the others, and he would not save this one.

Just don't let her die in front of Yong Jie.

Yong Jie sat on the ground and let out a long breath.

After a while, he looked up at Li Miao and said, "Benefactor, this prison is just a means for you to let this monk recover from his injuries, right?"

Li Miao nodded: "Yes."

"Thank you, Benefactor, for your concern." Yong Jie bowed to Li Miao.

"This monk is a person who deserves to die, but I have concerns in my heart, and for a moment, I cannot return my life."

"In those years, this monk made many mistakes; Heaven favored me, first letting me meet my Master, allowing me to escape the sea of bitterness. After leaving Shaolin, I met you, Benefactor, and received much care."

"If this monk were an innocent person without blood debts, I would definitely drink and talk with you, Benefactor, and travel the Jianghu together."

Li Miao frowned: "Great Master, the way you say this, it sounds like you want to break up?"

Yong Jie nodded: "This monk cannot go to the Miao region with you, Benefactor, anymore."

"This monk snuck out this time to find something to save someone. But this monk is also not sure if that thing is still there."

"The Wedding Dress Divine Art... legend says it can pass one's own power to others; perhaps it will be helpful to the person this monk wants to save."

"This monk must go and fight for this divine art."

(End of chapter)