Chapter 664: How Did She Arrive?

"You can't just become a lord; to be a lord you have to study for the imperial examinations..."

Wang Lin subconsciously opened his mouth, but before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt the stare of death, his whole body shivered, causing the words at his lips to be swallowed; his peripheral vision caught Zhang Guihua's unfriendly gaze, and he instantly reacted, scoffing, and said:

"I'm getting old and a bit muddled; I can't make myself clear. Besides studying for the imperial exams, there are many other paths that could let our family's Ping'an become a lord!"

Zhang Guihua forced herself to suppress the urge to beat Wang Lin up; the old thing just wouldn't speak. Doesn't she know that studying for the imperial exams is a taboo in her daughter‑in‑law's heart, and mentioning it in front of her would make her daughter‑in‑law uncomfortable?

She glanced secretly at Liu Dongzhu, fearing Wang Lin's words might affect Liu Dongzhu.

Zhang Guihua hurriedly agreed, saying: "You're right. As long as our Ping'an grows up and diligently learns skills from Xuanqing Daozhang, he can also become a lord!"

"Dong!", "Dong!", "Dong!"

Liu Dongzhu's face showed no expression, yet Zhang Guihua was still worried that Liu Dongzhu might be affected by Wang Lin's words; she only kept silent, fearing they would notice, and was about to speak again to persuade Liu Dongzhu to treat Wang Lin's words as wind in his ears and not take them to heart.

Suddenly.

The tightly shut Taoist temple gate rang with a series of knocks!

"Dongzhu, I'll go open the door first; you stay here and carefully look after Ping'an..."

Zhang Guihua stood up, about to leave, but before she could finish, Liu Dongzhu cut in: "Mother, you should rest here; you were running around the kitchen just now and must be exhausted. Opening the door is a small matter, let me do it!"

"All of you stop arguing; let me open the door!"

Wang Lin looked speechlessly, irritated that Zhang Guihua and Liu Dongzhu were fighting over such a trivial matter as opening the door, and muttered in discontent.

"I'll go then!"

Just as Zhang Guihua and Liu Dongzhu were about to speak, one was eager for the old fool Wang Lin, whose dog‑mouth can't spit ivory and can't speak, to go open the door, while the other wanted to claim the task of opening the door; in the past few months, Liu Dongzhu had already emerged from her postpartum confinement, her health improving day by day, yet at home she was given no chores at all—big or small—so she felt the whole person was about to

Now, a small task within her ability finally presented itself, and she was about to seize it—at least she could help the family a bit, refusing to be a useless burden that would make Zhang Guihua and Wang Lin take care of her.

Before either of them could finish speaking, a familiar voice rang out, drawing everyone's gaze.

The speaker was Xuanqing Daozhang.

Wang Lin exclaimed in shock, "Xuanqing Daozhang, aren't you cultivating in your room?"

He hadn't forgotten that not long ago, when Xuanqing Daozhang returned with Wang Ping'an, his expression was off, as if injured; despite Wang Lin's probing, he got no answer. During the meal, Xuanqing Daozhang barely took a few bites before rushing away from the table, saying he was going to his room to cultivate.

He suspected that Xuanqing Daozhang's so‑called cultivation was a sham, and he was actually going to the room to treat his wounds.

"Maybe the people outside are here to find me!"

Xuanqing Daozhang laughed.

"How could that be..."

Wang Lin was about to rebut, but the sky was neither late nor early; whether anyone knew Xuanqing Daozhang had returned or not, even if they came to find him, it couldn't be at this moment.

Of course.

At this point, even if someone were coming to see Xuanqing Daozhang, it wasn't impossible, but there was no need for him to rush out of his room. For a trivial matter like opening the door, couldn't they handle it themselves?

Suddenly.

A flash of insight flickered in Wang Lin's mind then vanished, and the words at his lips were swallowed; he changed his tone, "Xuanqing Daozhang, be careful!"

"Brother Wang, look at how you say it; the person who came to find me might not be a bad thing!"

Xuanqing Daozhang said that offhand, walked away from the three, and after only a few steps, as if recalling something, he halted, turned toward Wang Lin, and with a complicated expression said:

"Anyway, being cautious isn't a big mistake, Brother Wang. If anything feels off, you should leave here immediately. The secret passage I told you about yesterday, you haven't forgotten it, have you?"

Wang Lin nodded.

Last night.

When Xuanqing Daozhang brought them to this Taoist temple and arranged their lodging, he clearly told them that somewhere within the temple there was a secret passage, fearing they might not know, he even personally showed it to them and said that if any place felt off, they should immediately take their families and leave.

"Brother Wang, just remember it!"

This novel you to

Xuanqing Daozhang also let out a sigh of relief.

Wang Lin watched Xuanqing Daozhang's departing back, about to say something, but before the words reached his lips, Zhang Guihua jumped in, asking, "Old man, it's just opening a door—what danger could there be? Could it be that the Daozhang's enemies have come looking for him?"

"The Daozhang hasn't returned in all these years; what enemies could he have? Even if there were, they'd have died decades ago, becoming dry bones in graves..."

Wang Lin hummed, seeing the doubt and worry on Zhang Guihua and Liu Dongzhu's faces—clearly frightened by Xuanqing Daozhang's parting warning—knowing that now, neither he nor anyone in his family could be careless, he cautioned:

"I'm worried that that brute has found that good daughter‑in‑law; his people have come here!"

"You mean that Prime Minister's Daughter..."

Zhang Guihua gasped, but Wang Lin didn't wait for her to finish, turned to Liu Dongzhu, and instructed, "Dongzhu, if a disaster truly occurs, you must take Ping'an and flee far away, ignoring me and your mother!"

"No, father, I can't abandon you and my mother!"

Liu Dongzhu shook her head and refused.

"Dongzhu, this time you must listen to your father. Our old Wang family has been a single line for generations, counting on Ping'an to continue the lineage; you must take good care of Ping'an and ensure nothing happens to him!"

Zhang Guihua spoke, urging, "At a critical moment, abandoning me and your father is absolutely fine; you are far more important than me and your father, many times over. Moreover, regardless, your father and I are that brute's parents; even if he's not human, he won't do anything to me or his father!"

"Mother..."

Liu Dongzhu was about to say something when Wang Ping'an immediately employed a special method, using a Paper Person he had hidden outside Kumu Guan; through the Paper Person, he saw the person knocking at Kumu Guan's gate, his expression turning extremely complicated, and he muttered to himself in startled doubt, "How could it be her?"

(End of Chapter)