Chapter 83

Lin Zheng and his group walked through the streets and alleys, finally arriving in front of a vast mansion. People were coming and going at the gate, constantly entering and exiting the mansion. A dozen or so disciples with considerable cultivation stood outside the gate, orderly reporting and welcoming the visitors.

"Brother Lin, this is Ruoshui's home, see? This is it! This is it!" Li Ruoshui's excited face turned red, and she kept pulling Lin Zheng's hand, saying repeatedly.

"There used to be a big tree there, but it was struck by lightning during a rainy day. Look, the words on that stone pillar were carved by me over several days before I left home! That's... that's..." As Li Ruoshui spoke, tears began to stream down her face because she saw that the stone pillar with the words she had carved was carefully protected by spiritual energy! A small stone pavilion had been built to shelter the pillar!

Li Ruoshui pulled Lin Zheng slowly to the stone pillar, her fingers gently passing through the layer of spiritual energy, lightly touching the cold, uneven surface of the stone pillar. The crooked little words written there expressed the heart of a young girl.

After many years apart, are you all still well?

Li Ruoshui leaned her head against Lin Zheng's chest, one hand gently caressing the small words, the other arm around Lin Zheng's, with two streams of clear tears uncontrollably flowing down her face, as if reminiscing about the long-ago childhood days.

"Rude! Who dares to desecrate the items of our young miss!" With a whoosh, three groups of people rushed out from near the gate towards Lin Zheng and Li Ruoshui.

Bang! Bang! Bang! A light sound, and Lin Dao, Lin Qian, and Lin Wen instantly blocked the three groups of people. Lin Qin, with a dissatisfied look, walked up to them and said, "You've ruined a good scene, I'll beat you!" With that, her delicate fists rained down on the three groups of people.

Though these dozen or so people had good cultivation, Lin Wen and the others easily subdued them. Lin Qin easily got the upper hand, but she still had a sense of measure and didn't use much force. Her spiritual energy transformed fists rained down on the faces of the people, and in their shocked expressions, each fist drew a gentle arc, not too light or too heavy, striking their bodies.

"Enough, Lin Qin, stop fooling around!" Li Ruoshui and Lin Zheng walked up to Lin Qin and stopped her from playing. Lin Qin responded and then ran to Bai Yuqing's side. She knew very well that if she ran to Lin Zheng, she would be scolded, but if she did it in front of Bai Yuqing, she could avoid the scolding.

Lin Zheng glared at Lin Qin, but said nothing. Then he waved his hand, and the people Lin Qin had hit were lifted by a gentle force.

"Who are you, great masters? Regardless of who you are, touching our young miss's items will have consequences. Though we are not as strong as you, we can still fight to the death!"

The leader, a large man, was about to rush forward, but Lin Zheng waved his hand, and a strand of spiritual energy, like a rope, firmly held the group in place! At this moment, a hearty laugh came from inside the Li family: "Ha ha, why make things difficult for the servants? They are just doing their duty. For the sake of an old man, let's put this matter to rest, shall we?"

As he spoke, an elderly man with a sage-like appearance appeared in everyone's sight. The surrounding people had already been drawn in by the scene. As soon as the old man reached the gate, a crowd of people surged out from inside the Li family. Leading them were several young men and women, all with considerable cultivation, mostly at the Eighth Rank, with two showing signs of approaching the Half-Saint level. Behind them were a group of guards, and a few young children peeking out from the crowd.

"Where do you come from, are you passing by, or do you have business with the Li family?" The old man gently waved his hand, dispelling the spiritual energy from the controlled people, and asked in a calm tone.

Before Lin Zheng could speak, Li Ruoshui stepped out from behind him, walked a few steps forward, and bowed gracefully to the old man. As she lowered and raised her head, tears like round pearls fell to the ground.

"Grandpa Mu, have you... have you been well these past years?"

The old man was stunned, looking at the celestial-like woman before him. His face changed from confusion to excitement, and then to bewilderment! Great joy instantly enveloped the old man's face. Old Mu extended his hand, trembling slightly, then suddenly withdrew it, his face beaming with joy, and he loudly said, "Ruoshui is back! She's back! Ha ha! She's back!"

The rumbling sound spread throughout the Li family, but no sound escaped this area!

The old man turned around, his smile even wider, stroking his beard with great joy: "It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back! A month ago, your father sent people to the Wu Kong Sect to fetch you. When he learned you had come down the mountain ahead of time, your mother has been talking about it these past days. Now you're back!"

The expressions of the people standing at the Li family gate changed from guarded to surprised and joyful, and they rushed forward, surrounding Lin Zheng and the others, who were caught off guard. However, the focus was on Li Ruoshui, and the crowd chattered and clamored, with the guards forming a large circle around them, not letting anyone else get close.

Before Lin Zheng and the others could speak, a path opened up outside, and a woman flashed over to Li Ruoshui's side but did not get any closer. She just stared at Li Ruoshui. The woman's appearance bore a resemblance to Li Ruoshui, with a kind and loving face, exuding the charm of her age. Like Li Ruoshui, the woman's face was wet with tears, her eyes filled with great joy, and she could not utter a word.

Li Ruoshui, looking at the woman before her, lost all her courage to speak, as if she had lost all her strength. She slumped into Lin Zheng's arms, seemingly feeling the warmth of his chest, and with a sniff, her eyes misted over. She took a step forward and bowed gracefully, addressing the woman: "Ruoshui greets Mother, these past years, the daughter has not..."

Before she could finish, the woman pulled Li Ruoshui into a tight embrace, tears streaming down her face, and said lovingly, "What are you talking about? It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back!" Mother and daughter cried together, and the women around them could not help but well up with tears.

Lin Qin, leaning on Lin Zheng, her eyes red, said softly, "Third Brother, is our day still far away? I miss everyone, I miss everyone..."

Lin Zheng took a deep breath and said firmly, "Don't worry, that day will come soon!"

"Alright! It's a good thing Ruoshui is back! Let's go inside and talk, let's go inside and talk!" A middle-aged man, who had appeared behind the woman, said softly, but his urgent tone betrayed his agitated state!

"Father! Ruoshui misses you, these past years, have you been well?" Li Ruoshui jumped out of the woman's arms and rushed into the middle-aged man's embrace.

"It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back! Come, let's go inside and talk!" With that, the middle-aged man led everyone into the house, the guards clearing a path for them. Li Ruoshui, facing everyone's gaze, one hand holding Lin Zheng's, the other arm around the middle-aged man's, walked into the mansion, her beautiful face flushed with emotion. The woman on the other side of the middle-aged man looked at her daughter with a playful smile but said nothing, holding the middle-aged man's other arm, and the four of them walked into the Li family mansion.

A rather peculiar scene unfolded as the four of them walked hand in hand into the house. Lin Qin, who had wanted to rush forward and hold Lin Zheng's other hand, was held back by Lin Wen. Lin Qin, dissatisfied, glared at Lin Wen, feeling she had lost her focus. She then ran to Pizi Lang's side, holding his arm, creating a combination of true beauty and true beast that instantly attracted many people's attention. Lin Qin held her head high, looking like a proud peacock, and followed everyone inside.

Lin Wen, with a dark face, followed at the back, while Bai Yuqing and Lin Qian walked shoulder to shoulder into the mansion. The others were politely but firmly stopped by the guards at the gate.

In the main hall, several spirited elders were already seated. As Li Ruoshui entered, the elders all stood up, and she bowed gracefully to each of them. Lin Zheng and the others sat on one side of the hall, waiting for Li Ruoshui to finish greeting everyone. Then, Li Ruoshui's father stood up and started chatting with Bai Yuqing. As for Lin Zheng and the others, the Li family patriarch, with his keen insight, treated them like family, without any pretense or unnecessary questions.

"Master Bai, you seem to be in high spirits lately, and your cultivation has greatly improved. I believe you will show great prowess in the Seven Heroes Competition this time!" the Li family patriarch said loudly.

"Uncle Li, you're too kind. There's no need to be so formal, just call me Yuqing. This time, I will be cautious in the Seven Heroes Competition, it's not as easy as you say!" Bai Yuqing said politely.

"Ha ha, Yuqing has become even more steady over the years, not like the old Yuqing!" the Li family patriarch laughed.

"People do change, Uncle Li. This time, I happened to meet Sister Ruoshui on the way. Now that Sister Ruoshui is home, it doesn't interfere with your reunion. I will come to visit another day. I'll take my leave now!" With that, Bai Yuqing stood up, bowed to the Li family elders, turned to Lin Zheng and the others, and left decisively.

The Li family patriarch had his son, Li Ruoshui's older brother, personally see Bai Yuqing off. As Bai Yuqing bowed, the people in the hall turned their attention to Lin Zheng and the others.

"Ruoshui, you haven't introduced these people yet! Why don't you tell Mother and everyone about them?" the woman smiled at Li Ruoshui, her eyes full of love.

Li Ruoshui seemed a bit embarrassed, glanced at Lin Zheng, and then said, "These are from the Lin family. This is Lin Qin, Ruoshui's good sister. These three are Lin Wen, Lin Dao, and Lin Qian. And this is Senior Wolf, and... and..." Li Ruoshui's voice grew softer, seemingly embarrassed to introduce Lin Zheng in front of everyone.

Everyone listened intently, waiting to hear how Li Ruoshui would introduce Lin Zheng. They had seen the scene clearly and did not think the two were just good friends. They all remained silent, waiting for Li Ruoshui to continue.

PS: Second update! The Heat won! It seems the encouragement from Nianhua worked! Bwahaha, another 10,000-word burst today! Everyone, please support!

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