Yun Lintian hurriedly bowed at the ancient gate. “Junior Mu Chen greets Senior. I thank Senior for letting me in.”
A burst of faint laughter resounded. “You’re wrong. I didn’t let you in, but you entered this place yourself.”
Yun Lintian’s face was cramped. He was too embarrassed to speak anything at the moment.
“I won’t tease you anymore. Come in.” The female voice rang out once again.
Creak!
In the next moment, a gentle flame brightly lit on the Vermilion Bird pattern, and the gate gradually opened.
Yun Lintian looked over the inside and saw a broad and deep passage. At the same time, the faint connection between something inside and the token in his interspatial ring had become stronger. Undoubtedly, this token had a significant role waiting to play.
“Please, Senior.” Huoyun Lingling made a gesture and walked into the passage, followed closely by Yun Lintian.
Dusky yellow lamp light swayed along the passage. The atmosphere around here was much better than the outside. The further Yun Lintian moved forward, the richer fire energy he could feel. It was understandable why the clan elders were living in this place.
After walking for a few minutes, Yun Lintian and Huoyun Lingling arrived in a somewhat spacious hall with ancient runes carved over the red jade walls. A fire-shaped altar stood tall in the center, and a faint gentle flame could be seen shining above it. The flame had a bird shape. When Yun Lintian looked closely, he could see a clear outline of the Vermilion Bird on it.
Beside the altar was a hunchback old woman. Her white hair floated down freely on her shoulders. As she leaned forward, her hair was covering a large part of her face full of wrinkles, making her appear solemn. In her hand was an ancient-looking wooden cane. With a glance, one could see it was a top-grade artifact.
As soon as she saw Yun Lintian appear in the hall, her heavy eyelids gradually raised, and she looked straight at Yun Lintian with her cloudy eyes.
“Welcome to our Vermilion Bird Hall, Little Friend Mu. My name is Huoyun Yurou, the current clan head.” The old woman, Huoyun Yurou, said kindly.
Yun Lintian cupped his fists and said politely. “Junior Mu greets Senior Huoyun.” He felt it was necessary to greet her once again, as they were officially met.
“No need to be cautious. Although I have indeed tested you earlier, I have no bad intentions. I’m merely trying to see what kind of person you are… Besides,” Huoyun Yurou shifted her gaze onto Linlin on Yun Lintian’s shoulder and said further with a smile. “How could I dare to have a bad thought on a descendant of the Divine Beast?”
Surprisingly, Yun Lintian’s expression did not change in the slightest upon hearing this. He had long expected this situation since he came to this place. The old woman in front of him was obviously the strongest person he had ever encountered, aside from the Scarlet Soul Emperor and Hongyue. It was normal for her to have such a sharp perception.
Seeing Yun Lintian did not say anything, Huoyun Yurou continued. “From the Primordial Era until now, it is extremely rare to see Divine Beasts willing to follow a human. This has proven that there’s no problem with your personality.” She paused for a moment and asked curiously. “If I’m not mistaken, Lord Divine Beast should be the legendary White Tiger God. Am I correct?”
Linlin tilted her head to look at Yun Lintian as if she was asking for permission.
Yun Lintian smiled and nodded at her. “It’s okay. You can tell her.” 𝑜𝑣𝘭.𝘯𝑡
“Mhm!” Linlin replied softly and turned to Huoyun Yurou. At this moment, her temperament abruptly changed, revealing a dignified side of her as she spoke. “My name is Linlin, and I am the White Tiger God like you said.”
Even though she had already expected this, Huoyun Yurou was still shocked in her heart. Her body trembled, and she suddenly knelt on one knee. “Servant Yurou greets Lord White Tiger God. Please forgive this servant’s negligence. This servant shall prepare a better reception for you right away.”
On the side, Huoyun Lingling and Huoyun Yanyan opened their mouth widely and hurriedly knelt on the floor when they came back to their senses. They didn’t expect her grandmother to act like this all of a sudden.
“You can get up!” Linlin said calmly. “There’s no need to act in such a way. You are not my subject.”
Huoyun Yurou shook her head. “In the past, Lord White Tiger God and Lord Vermilion Bird had always been good friends. We, the Fire Cloud Rat Clan, are fortunate enough to have a chance to serve Lord Vermilion Bird. We have the ancestor’s decree passed down from generation to generation that we shall give utmost respect to a descendant of the Lord White Tiger God whenever we see one.”
Yun Lintian was stunned for a moment and hurriedly said. “Senior, please get up first. We can talk about it later.”
Seeing Huoyun Yurou didn’t get up, Linlin frowned and said coldly. “Do you hear what he said?”
Huoyun Yurou trembled slightly and got up to her feet with the help of the cane, followed by the Huoyun sisters.
Yun Lintian asked in doubt. “Senior, can you elaborate more? Why didn’t I hear before your clan has a relationship with the Vermilion Bird?”
Huoyun Yurou took a deep breath and explained. “Our Fire Cloud Rat Clan originated from the Divine World. One day, our ancestors escaped from that place to this lower world. As for a reason, I don’t know much about it because there’s no record.”
“What I know is that our clan has always been Lord Vermilion Bird’s subject since the Primordial Era. We have received Lord Vermilion Bird’s kindness as she bestowed us her Origin Blood… However, as time passed, our bloodline’s purity gradually declined and became what we are currently.”
Listening to this, Yun Lintian felt incredible. He quickly asked in his mind. “Hongyue, do you know about this?”