Chapter 307: Harmony (Part 2)

Li Li Yuanjiao was silent for several breaths, staring straight at Xiao Xiao Guiluan. The woman lowered her eyebrows and said nothing, as if she wanted to stare a flower out of the stone table. After a full half-time, Li Li Yuanjiao sighed and replied:

"Since you have already guessed it, why must you say it out loud."

Xiao Xiao Guiluan raised her head, took his hand, and replied gently:

"I only hope you treat me as one of your own. I was abandoned on the mountain by my father when I was young, suffering cold eyes and thin coolness. I have nothing to be nostalgic about in the Xiao family. In this life, I care about nothing but you and Li Xizhi. Yet such a big matter had to be hidden from me."

Li Li Yuanjiao was quite moved by this, took her hand affectionately, and said gently:

"I know you have always been clever and ingenious, and you always exceed expectations. But the Clan Justice Court's silence on this matter—I didn't expect you to be able to calculate to this step."

"Just guessing."

Xiao Xiao Guiluan had no pride in seeing through the situation on her face, and even felt a bit aggrieved, saying in a muffled voice:

"The Old Ancestor has always been low-key and restrained, never so high-profile. It must be to deter someone. But what kind of deterrence can compare to the Old Ancestor himself?"

"You and I have been husband and wife for eight years, and Li Xizhi is already seven. How could you hide it from me?"

"Not so."

Li Li Yuanjiao shook his head awkwardly, then straightened his expression and replied:

"This matter is too critical. Knowing one more person means one more danger..."

Xiao Xiao Guiluan nodded lightly, her expression somewhat solemn, and whispered:

"To what extent has it reached?"

Li Li Yuanjiao paused and transmitted his voice with magic power:

"All five internal organs are shattered. I fear there are not many years left."

"What!"

Xiao Xiao Guiluan had originally thought it was just that his cultivation could not advance an inch and his lifespan was greatly reduced. She didn't expect it to be this serious. She shook her head in panic and replied:

"Indeed... Jinlian Mohe reincarnation... how could such an opponent be easily beheaded..."

Then she raised her head suddenly, her phoenix eyes full of lingering fear, and replied:

"We must not let Xiao Xiao Guitu know about this!"

She grabbed Li Li Yuanjiao's hand, essence shining in her phoenix eyes, and said in a low voice:

"This brother of mine is far-sighted and ambitious. He has gained the support of the various branches in the family, and his attitude toward our family has always been ambiguous. The True Person has been unknown for many years and once instructed that family affairs should be handled by him. If he were to know about this, he would definitely take action!"

"I have read the family history in the family. Most of the means used by my family when they rose to power were of this kind, swallowing the noble families of Li Xia County one by one..."

Xiao Xiao Guiluan's expression was somewhat uneasy. None of the fates of the daughters who married out or the descendants in these records were good. How could she not be terrified?

"How could he?!"

Li Li Yuanjiao was shocked at first. After calculating carefully, the various supports of his family were either paper-thin lies or the Xiao family itself.

The interest exchange between the Xiao family and the Li family was nothing more than the interest exchange on Wangyue Lake, as well as Xiao Xiao Chuting's personal regard for Li Li Tongya. The relationship between clans could never be maintained by that fragile incense of affection. Disasters where people died and relationships ended happened every day...

Li Li Yuanjiao calculated in his heart and suddenly discovered that the Xiao family was not only the Li family's backer but also a crouching tiger beside the Li family. He muttered:

"Indeed. Although the Xiao family has broken away from Mount Qingchi and cannot invade openly, influence and secret vassalage are possible..."

Xiao Xiao Guiluan nodded slowly and whispered:

"When I was in the Xiao family, I also heard one thing: my family originally had the intention of making the Yu family a vassal, but Yu Yu Muxian's background was too strong, and the Mount Qingchi Sect was unwilling to see such a scene, so it had to be dropped..."

Li Li Yuanjiao was shocked when he heard this news, and couldn't help but laugh or cry, replying:

"So that's how it is. Then the Li family should thank Yu Yu Muxian. Otherwise, decades ago, the Xiao family would have secretly made the Yu family a vassal, and where would there be any place for my family!"

Xiao Xiao Guiluan just poured tea for him, having made a plan in her heart, and replied:

"Husband, rest assured. I will just ask clearly. I will handle the Xiao family. Unless my brother comes personally, there will absolutely be no problems."

"Good!"

Li Li Yuanjiao responded with a smile, pondered for a few breaths, and whispered:

"The rumors in the family are about enough. I will instruct Brother Yuanping to suppress this matter first."

"Hmm."

The couple looked at each other and smiled. A thousand words were all in the silence.

————

Mount Lijing Town.

Li Brother Yuanping counted the large and small boxes on the desk one by one, circling and marking them on the cloth with a vermilion brush, when a commotion came from outside the courtyard. Dou Yi rushed in and whispered:

"Young Master, Lady Ren has arrived."

Li Brother Yuanping's eyes lit up. He hurriedly put down his brush and rushed out of the courtyard. A young girl walked in, holding a child over a year old, who looked clever and cute.

"Ming'er——"

Li Brother Yuanping's pale face was rarely full of smiles. Looking at the child led over by his wife, he couldn't help but laugh loudly, hurriedly picking up the child and teasing Li Li Ximing until he giggled.

Li Brother Yuanping had married the year before, and his wife was a girl with spiritual apertures selected from the Ren clan. Neither of them had high cultivation, so they soon conceived a child. Li Brother Yuanping thought about it and chose the name 'Ming'.

Li Brother Yuanping had worried for a long time, but fortunately, Li Li Ximing was not affected by his root bone, and was healthy and clever. Li Brother Yuanping looked at the bright eyes of the child and thought to himself:

"Brother Jiao's child Li Xizhi is also seven. He has spiritual apertures, but one can't tell his talent just by starting cultivation. Li Ximing is only over a year old. In a few years, he can go pay respects to the Immortal Mirror..."

Holding little Li Ximing in his arms, Li Brother Yuanping teased him for a while. Li Li Ximing laughed happily, lying obediently on the table, pushing the jade box back and forth, stopping precisely at the edge of the table, and turning his head to look at his father.

Li Brother Yuanping was looking down at the child when a commotion came from outside the courtyard. A clan soldier rushed in, knocking Dou Yi, who was standing silently at the door, into a mess, causing a flurry of chaos.

"What's the matter!"

The Li family had always been strict, and this situation had never happened before. His first reaction was not to blame the clan soldier, but his heart skipped a beat, and he said sternly:

"What's going on?!"

The clan soldier was full of panic. Even after bumping into the Dou family's Young Master, he couldn't stop to apologize, and said urgently:

"Young Master! A monster has appeared in the town. It has the cultivation of the seventh level of Qi Refining, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, and has already revealed its true form, confronting us on the street!"

"Seventh level of Qi Refining?!"

Li Brother Yuanping was relieved when he heard this, only frowning slightly, and asked:

"Where are Uncle and An Jieyan and the others?"

The Li family was, after all, a noble family of over ten years, and had accumulated quite a few means. An Jieyan was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and Chen Donghe was at the fourth level. The other Qi Refining cultivators were also at the early stage. Relying on the terrain, they had the confidence to deal with a seventh-level Qi Refining monster.

"If it really doesn't work... the Old Ancestor still left means."

Li Brother Yuanping knew that Li Li Yuanjiao still had a Foundation Establishment level talisman on him, which Li Li Tongya had specifically bought from the Xiao family a few years ago with a premonition. Now he had a bottom line in his heart, and his speech was stable, causing the clan soldier to relax as well, replying:

"Guest An and Uncle Donghe are confronting the fox monster. This monster looks like it has no ferocity, just attacked by the town's early warning array, breaking its illusion and revealing its true form. Judging by the movement, they haven't fought yet."

"Fox monster?!"

Li Brother Yuanping was shocked when he heard this. Hearing it was a fox monster, and combined with the lack of ferocity, he immediately understood. He hurriedly sent little Li Ximing to his wife's arms.

Li Brother Yuanping was dumbfounded for a time. He stepped down from the steps of the seat of honor and rushed out of the courtyard, saying urgently:

"One of our own... one of our own!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 308 =====