Now there were no outsiders here, so the Madam might as well tell the truth. Let me think about it, maybe there's something you haven't considered?" Li Huayuan said with a solemn expression.
Upon hearing this, Madam ** looked at Han Li and, seeing him scratching his head with a bitter smile, finally spoke up.
"A couple of years ago, I overheard some rumors—I'm not sure if they're true or false. I heard that Senior Sister Hongfu's female disciple is rather improper when it comes to men and women. During the Qi Refining stage, she was entangled with several male disciples. Some even fought duels over her, nearly causing the tragedy of fellow disciples harming one another. When Senior Sister Hongfu found out, she was furious and confined the girl to her cave dwelling under strict watch. Only after the girl reached Foundation Establishment was she released. But not long after, rumors spread that she had gotten involved with a young man from the Feng family, showing intentions of dual cultivation. Senior Sister Hongfu has always despised the Feng family, so she naturally wouldn't allow it and confined the girl again. For the next two years, no news came out. Since these matters lacked concrete evidence and I've never been interested in such things, I didn't recall them when Senior Sister Hongfu brought her disciple here earlier. Seeing Han Li's unwillingness just now struck me as strange, and it suddenly came back to me."
Madam **'s words of explanation left both Han Li and Li Huayuan somewhat stunned.
Li Huayuan hadn't expected that young girl surnamed Dong to have such a terrible reputation. He had rashly agreed to Senior Sister Hongfu's request—what was he to do now? Han Li, on the other hand, hadn't imagined that this girl wasn't just entangled with "Senior Brother Lu" but had so many questionable liaisons. It truly left him speechless once again.
"Madam, are you telling the truth? Is Senior Sister Hongfu's disciple really that scandalous?" Li Huayuan could no longer sit still. He stood up involuntarily, still finding it hard to believe, and began pacing anxiously around the hall.
This was no longer just a matter of whether Han Li was willing to enter a dual cultivation partnership. If his own disciple were to take such a woman, Li Huayuan's own reputation would certainly suffer.
"I don't know, because these are just things people have said casually. Even the people spreading them probably don't know if they're true or false!" Madam ** sighed, saying helplessly.
Hearing this, Han Li rolled his eyes inwardly, shouting to himself: "What do you mean you don't know if it's true or false? At the very least, this girl definitely had some kind of improper relationship with that 'Senior Brother Lu.' Otherwise, how could that 'Senior Brother Lu' have so easily committed murder against his former female companion?"
Of course, Han Li wouldn't say these words out loud. He just stood there with an awkward expression, pretending to think, "As long as Madam knows about this, that's fine." Seeing this, Li Huayuan immediately felt a headache coming on.
Now that such a matter had come to light, Li Huayuan could no longer pressure Han Li into agreeing. He, too, had begun to regret his decision. However, his Senior Sister Hongfu was not someone who would easily let promises be broken. Moreover, the reason for backing out was hard to bring up openly. How could this not torment him endlessly?
Li Huayuan paced back and forth across the hall several times but still couldn't come up with a solution. Glancing to the side, he saw Han Li still standing there eagerly, waiting for his master's response, which only deepened his frustration. He said irritably:
"You go back first. Once your Madam and I have discussed the matter, we'll notify you of how to proceed."
Han Li had been on edge the whole time, fearing that Li Huayuan would force him into the dual cultivation arrangement regardless of everything. But upon hearing these instructions, he immediately felt relieved, knowing that the matter had most likely fallen through.
He agreed happily and slipped out swiftly.
Then, under the surprised gazes of Song Meng and Wu Xuan waiting outside the hall, Han Li hastily flew away from the cave dwelling.
After flying back to his residence in one breath, Han Li waited anxiously for three days. Finally, he received a message talisman from Li Huayuan. After listening to the results of the discussion between his master and Senior Sister Hongfu, Han Li couldn't help but sigh up at the sky.
...
Half a month later, in front of the waterfall at Green Ripple Cave, Li Huayuan and his wife, along with Fairy Hongfu, were seeing off two people. These two departing travelers wore stiff expressions, only nodding and agreeing meekly, showing none of the excitement one would expect of people setting off on a journey.
The man and woman were none other than Han Li and Fairy Hongfu's disciple, Dong Xuan'er.
"Han Li, the two of you must support each other along the way and be careful! I've heard that the cultivation world has been rather unsettled lately. Cultivators have been going missing one after another—initially it was Qi Refining cultivators, but recently even Foundation Establishment cultivators have met with accidents!" Before the two departed, Li Huayuan only gave Han Li a few simple words of advice, but they still touched Han Li's heart.
However, Senior Sister Hongfu's parting words to the young girl were a real eye-opener.
"On this journey, you must listen to your Senior Brother Han and behave yourself. If you cause any trouble again, don't blame me for disregarding our master-disciple bond." Senior Sister Hongfu's harsh words turned the girl's face pale. She nodded repeatedly without speaking, looking pitiful and vulnerable.
And just like that, Han Li and Dong Xuan'er mounted their flying artifacts and soared southward, disappearing into the horizon.
Watching the two gradually fading points of light, Li Huayuan suddenly felt a twinge of worry and said to Fairy Hongfu:
"Sister, are you really comfortable letting the two of them represent you and me at the Yan family's Treasure Competition? Both of them only recently reached Foundation Establishment—they don't stand a chance!"
"What's this, Junior Brother Li? Worried that not sending capable disciples will damage your reputation, or feeling reluctant that the Yan family is offering the talisman treasure 'Qiankun Pagoda' as a prize?" Fairy Hongfu glanced sideways at Li Huayuan, leaving him with a bitter smile he couldn't hide.
"My husband certainly doesn't mean that. He's just wondering why Sister wouldn't send your strongest disciple. Compared to true Foundation Establishment experts, Han Li and Miss Dong would surely be no match. Could it be that Sister hopes to use this opportunity to bring the two of them together?" Madam ** offered with a gentle smile, speaking softly in her husband's defense.
"Junior Brother Li, your wife is truly a helpful companion! Actually, I do have that thought to some extent. If she and your disciple could develop feelings along the way and make it work, that would certainly be best! But that's not my main intention. I mainly want this girl to experience more setbacks through the Yan family trip and temper her arrogance. I've heard that the Yan family's young prodigy with Heavenly Spirit Root will also be returning home for this Treasure Competition. This way, she can see the gap between herself and true genius, and stop thinking she's all that among Foundation Establishment female cultivators, being ignorant of her own limitations day after day."
"Before, because she was my late brother's only descendant, I spoiled her too much! Letting her dare to do things that offend public morals, getting involved with various male disciples—what kind of behavior is that? It completely ruined a young woman's reputation! If I hadn't checked several times and confirmed that she was still chaste, I would have struck her down long ago! To save everyone from thinking our Dong family had produced a shameless woman."
The woman in red spoke coldly, but her final words seemed pointed. Hearing the implication, the Li couple exchanged awkward glances, both showing embarrassed expressions.
That day, Li Huayuan and his wife had steeled themselves to speak with Senior Sister Hongfu about their disciple's change of heart. To their great surprise, this usually hot-tempered senior sister simply sighed lightly and agreed. This left them overjoyed!
However, Hongfu still imposed a condition—she hoped Han Li could accompany Dong Xuan'er on a journey to attend the "Treasure Competition" recently organized by the Yan family.
This "Treasure Competition" was a grand assembly organized by the Yan family, the foremost cultivation family in the Kingdom of Yue, inviting disciples from the sects of Core Formation experts from neighboring countries. The purpose was to build good relationships with numerous Core Formation cultivators to benefit the Yan family's future development. Therefore, they had brought out the legendary talisman treasure "Qiankun Pagoda" as the top prize, along with many other rare treasures, magical artifacts, and spirit pills.
As a result, many Core Formation cultivators who received invitations truly sent their strongest disciples to attend. After all, even Core Formation cultivators would covet the "Qiankun Pagoda" talisman treasure!
Of course, due to the distance, the likelihood of Core Formation cultivators from outside the Kingdom of Yue sending representatives was not very high—it would still mainly be local cultivators.
When Li Huayuan first heard the condition, he felt that having Han Li, whose cultivation was too weak, participate was a bit of a waste!
But on second thought, his strongest second disciple happened to be away on business and couldn't make it to the competition. Sending other disciples would surely mean no chance of winning first place. If they merely achieved other rankings and obtained some artifacts or similar things, he wouldn't even care for them! So he agreed.
The Li couple thought the matter was settled and were about to take their leave. But unexpectedly, Fairy Hongfu suddenly asked to keep Madam ** for a moment, saying she had some things to discuss privately. This left Li Huayuan, brimming with questions, to be sent out.
As a result, half a day later, when Madam ** returned from Fairy Hongfu's cave dwelling, she told Li Huayuan something that left him absolutely dumbfounded.