Li Miao reached out and grabbed something from the air, pulling out the notebook from Yang Yueze’s corpse.
After putting away the notebook, Li Miao lifted the corpse, flew onto the roof, and looked around.
It was not even the second watch yet, and the temple was completely silent, so he wasn't afraid of being seen.
The Ming Cult's invasion of Shaolin had destroyed many buildings. Most of them had not yet been repaired and lay there in dark heaps, which was perfect for stuffing a corpse into.
After tearing off the face, no one would recognize him. They would just assume a Ming Cult bandit had been crushed to death by a building.
After taking care of the loose ends, Li Miao clapped his hands, then turned and returned to his small courtyard, acting as if nothing had happened and going back to his room to rest.
Heaven have mercy, he was already thirty-five.
Even if the sky fell and the earth collapsed, it wouldn't be as important as nurturing life.
Yin Minjun was sitting upright in her room. When she heard Li Miao's footsteps in the courtyard, she was momentarily flustered. Then, hearing the sound of Li Miao returning to his room and closing the door, she let out a sigh as if relieved of a heavy burden.
Immediately recalling Li Miao's words, "If there's anything, we'll talk about it tomorrow night," her ears couldn't help but turn red.
Yin Minjun's struggles that night shall be omitted.
When the sky was fully bright, Li Miao slowly got up, pushed open his door, and saw Yin Minjun dressed neatly, sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, with her long sword resting on her knees, covered in some dew. She must have been sitting there for a while.
"Elder Yin, up so early?"
Li Miao asked casually.
He was an old hand and could afford to be relaxed. Yin Minjun, however, was in a state of turmoil and replied in a barely audible voice, then fell silent.
Li Miao smiled, not caring, and went to wash up and pack his belongings.
Outside the door, Yongjie had already had someone bring two horses, tied at the entrance.
The two followed an uninhabited small path, exited Shaolin through a side door, then rode for a distance, detouring to the vicinity of Shaolin's main gate.
By this time, the area outside Shaolin's mountain gate was already bustling with people.
Xing Chi's abdication and Shaolin's change of leadership, with an unknown "Yongjie" taking over, was a major event. Jianghu people loved to join in the fun, and even many major sects who hadn't been invited rushed over day and night after receiving the news.
Li Miao and Yin Minjun heard the distant voices and exchanged glances.
"Sir, should we put some dirt on ourselves?" Yin Minjun asked.
"No need. Just pull on your collar and rub some wrinkles into the hem of your clothes."
Li Miao waved his hand.
"You, me, and Yongjie, we set off together. The people at Miao King's Tomb all saw it with their own eyes."
"Yongjie is a direct descendant of Shaolin, so it makes sense for him to have ridden at top speed, day and night, to return to Shaolin ahead of us. It's fine if he doesn't appear with us."
"We'll just say we received news that Shaolin was fine halfway, so we traveled slowly and arrived just in time. There's no need to make ourselves too disheveled, otherwise it won't match our travel speed."
"The Commander will send people to leave traces of our journey along the way, so don't worry."
With that, the two led their horses and merged into the crowd, flowing with the tide towards the Shaolin Temple's mountain gate.
Normally, people from major sects would enter Shaolin through a side gate and wouldn't need to wait outside. As the second-in-command of the Hengshan Sect, Yin Minjun also didn't need to wait with these smaller forces and rogue martial artists outside the main gate.
However, Li Miao wanted as many people as possible to see their arrival.
So the two calmly blended into the crowd, waiting to enter.
Nonetheless, no matter how low-key they were, the two stood out remarkably among this group of people.
Leaving aside their martial arts, just their appearance alone.
Li Miao was heroic and handsome, his eyes like large stars. Yin Minjun had picturesque features, like snow gathered under the moon, and an heroic aura from years of sword practice.
As the two stood there with their horses, many Jianghu people felt ashamed of themselves and instinctively moved away from them.
Even more people, seeing a potential acquaintance, wanted to approach and chat but didn't know how to start.
A moment later, several young people walked over.
The leader among them, holding the middle of his sword scabbard with his right hand, the hilt resting on his shoulder, and his left hand pressing on his right, bowed to Li Miao.
"Greetings to you two."
Just by this greeting, one could tell that this person was a well-behaved and polite young man.
Holding the middle of the sword scabbard with the right hand and resting the hilt on the shoulder made it inconvenient to draw the sword. Most people's dominant hand is the right hand, so pressing the left hand on the right hand signifies no intention of fighting.
This form of greeting applied to most weapons: those with sabers would hold the saber sheath, those with spears would hold the spear shaft in reverse, those with exotic weapons would hold the handle in reverse, and those with whips would hold the middle of the whip and wrap it around their hand. In short, it was done in a way that made it inconvenient to use the weapon.
According to custom, this was the etiquette for a first meeting.
Of course, that's how it was said. But most people who roamed the Jianghu didn't have many rules.
This was the first time Li Miao had seen someone perform such a standard bow since he left the capital, and he found it quite novel.
"Hello, young man."
He nodded, considering it a return of the greeting.
His casual attitude would normally be a bit impolite. But coupled with his appearance and demeanor, it made people feel it was perfectly natural.
The man gestured, first introducing himself.
"We are disciples of the Huanhua Sword Sect, here to pay our respects."
The others also announced their names.
"We were waiting outside the gate, but seeing your outstanding demeanor, we wanted to make your acquaintance."
"May I ask your names?"
Li Miao smiled: "A rogue martial artist, Li Miao."
"This is my friend, Heroine Yin."
"It's an honor, an honor."
"My apologies for not knowing you sooner, my apologies."
After some pleasantries and a few casual chats, they became somewhat familiar.
The young people, being youthful, were on their first trip down the mountain to roam the Jianghu and did not yet know its dangers. In just a few sentences, Li Miao had completely extracted their background. Not only did they not notice, but they felt even closer to Li Miao.
"Brother Li, are you and Heroine Yin…"
A female disciple avoided Yin Minjun and quietly asked.
She usually read more storybooks and had many fantasies about immortal couples traveling the Jianghu together. Seeing the two with such graceful bearing, as if they had stepped out of her imagination, she couldn't help but ask.
Li Miao nodded: "Just one step away."
"Oh!"
The female disciple gasped softly, then turned to whisper a few words to her fellow disciples, making her own ears turn crimson.
If Li Miao had said he was already with Yin Minjun, she wouldn't have been so excited.
It was this phrase, "just one step away," that sparked even more imagination.
She didn't know that with Yin Minjun's martial arts, it was impossible for her not to hear the question. She had already been listening intently nearby, and now her ears were even redder than the disciple's.
The leading young man smiled apologetically at Li Miao: "I'm sorry, Brother Li."
"These junior sisters of mine are on their first trip down the mountain. They were spoiled by our elders within the sect and are asking random questions. Please forgive them."
Li Miao glanced at Yin Minjun, who was lowering her head silently, her earlobes so red they looked like they might drip blood, and smiled casually.
"No matter, it's a good question."
The group chatted while waiting for the gate to open.
As they chatted, they heard a cold snort from nearby.
"Hmph, you bookworms, instead of reciting your broken poems inside your sect, you dare to come out and roam the Jianghu?"
Li Miao turned to look and saw a group of Jianghu people with sabers and swords, looking at them with disdain.