“Master, you only get to watch sister Liu’s dance once in a month!” Xue Ling giggled.
“I’ll watch it if I have another chance next time.” Chu Li smiled. “Thanks Miss Liu, but I should be on my way.”
“Master——!” Xue Ling yelled.
Chu Li smiled as he got up to his feet and left the place.
Xue Ling stomped on her feet helplessly. She sat down heavily, looking frustrated.
“What is Master Chu busy about?” Liu asked with regret. “Why the hurry?”
“Cultivating. Cultivation all day and all night!” Xue Ling replied.
Although she was close to Liu, but some secrets were better left unexplained. She was wary not to spill the beans.
Liu smiled, “No wonder he’s so skilled at martial arts. For someone like my little brother, he’ll never get to his level!”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s a good thing. Once you’re into it, you’ll be addicted!” Xue Ling sighed, looking downcast. “No matter how much I advise him, he wouldn’t listen!”
She still could not understand why Chu Li was acting that way. He was already a top-notch innate master at such a young age. He only needed to wait until the time is right for him to break through the grandmaster’s boundary. Why did he need to work so desperately?
The most important thing was, he was already a Chief himself. Whatever he wanted to get done, he could just issue orders and ask someone else to accomplish it for him. He did not need to do everything himself, especially the elemental formation. Something like that could harm his body a lot, plus, it would reduce his lifespan!
Liu said, “Xue Ling, I really don’t know how to repay Master Chu.”
Xue Ling smiled as she looked at her, her eyes rested on her chest.
Liu patted on her.
Xue Ling smiled, “don’t worry about it. It only took him a saying to fulfill that favor of yours. If you really want to thank him, then help me collect more intel… He’s too engrossed in cultivation so he wouldn’t have time to go outside. However, he’s still very caring about what’s happening outside. You do that for me, and I’ll pass on the information to him when we’re having our meals together.”
“Intel?” Liu smiled. “Well that’s convenient. There are all sorts of information in the New Moon Brothel.”
“Find me something interesting. I will tell him the story by then.”
“No problem.”
Chu Li returned to the Thousand Herb Garden. He sat in the kiosk, his eyes gazing at the green bamboos. He was soon immersed deep in thought, as each of the elemental formations started emerging in his mind.
Then, he heard knocks on the door. Su Ru, who was donned in a yellow gown, pushed the door open and walked inwards.
She saw that Chu Li remained still at his place, both his eyes gazing blankly. It seemed that his mind had already travelled elsewhere. She shook her head and sighed. She gracefully made her way to the kiosk and pushed on his shoulder. “Chu Li Chu! Chu Li Chu!”
Chu Li was startled, he snapped back to reality.
“Yang Xu has something to tell you.”
“Oh——?” Chu Li stood up and walked outside. “How is she lately?”
“After her son arrived, she looked like a completely different person.” Su Ru smiled. “She looked happy all the time.”
“That’s good then.” Chu Li’s mind quickly wandered back to elemental formation as he started walking outside.
Su Ru saw that the situation was amiss, so she hurriedly continued, “Lady and I will leave here very soon.”
Chu Li suddenly stopped in his tracks. Almost immediately, he continued walking again. He looked unbothered by that and smiled, “When?”
“I think in seven or eight days.” Su Ru replied.
Chu Li stopped walking and frowned, “Why so sudden?”
Su Ru said, “There is a change in the condition over there. Both of us are required to head there earlier than expected.”
Chu Li remained silent and continued walking forward.
“Once we had left, it might take years before we would come back.”
“Based on my knowledge of the Lady’s ingenuity, I believe that she wouldn’t take long to break through the boundaries of an innate master.”
“No one could really say for sure.” Su Ru sighed. “The Lady wanted to delay the departure for another year.”
Chu Li raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
Su Ru continued, “But the Lady had no control over the matter. She still need to listen to what they have to say on the other side.”
“This is a rare opportunity. Why don’t you seize the chance to become an innate master too, Chief?” Chu Li smiled.
Su Ru waved her hand and said, “I have no ambitions for that. It’s not easy to achieve innate mastery!”
“It all comes down to how you deal with it.” Chu Li said, “Chief, the stars had always shined upon you. I believe you will succeed. If there is an emergency, please do not hesitate to send me a message!”
“Sure, I’ll think of a way to send you a message.” Su Ru smiled.
Chu Li nodded slowly. He remained silent.
The two of them arrived at the Island of Symphony. They saw Siao Qi and Siao Shi at the kiosk in the middle of Floral Sea.
Chu Li performed a fist salute from afar.
Siao Qi pointed towards the small building opposite of them.
Chu Li raised his head, signaling her that he understood, then gave her another fist salute. He rowed through the Floral Sea alone.
Su Ru on the other hand made her way to the small kiosk.
“His expressions looked strange. What’s wrong?” Siao Qi frowned at her.
Su Ru stuck out her tongue and said, “I told him that we’re leaving.”
“What?!” Siao Qi furrowed her brows.
Siao Shi smiled, “Little sister, I think it’s about time you tell him. Once you had left, a lot of burden will fall on his shoulders. He needed the mental preparation.”
“I’ve already told him everything I should.” Siao Qi replied.
She had already told Chu Li the names of their contacts, and the stuff to do in the future. She wanted to leave without alarming him, so he would not feel too emotional.
Siao Shi said, “You’re really cold-hearted!”
“Second sister, give me a break already!” Siao Qi replied, agitated. She turned her glance to Su Ru and asked, “So, what did he say?”
Su Ru shook her head, “He didn’t say anything.”
Siao Shi smiled, “His usual reaction.”
Siao Qi rolled her eyes at her, then looked at the small building. “I don’t know what Yang Xu wants to tell him.”
“I reckon it’s some royal secrets.” Siao Shi said.
“Uncle Chu!” When Chu Li stepped onto the second floor, Quan Zhu rushed towards him.
A smile etched on Chu Li’s face. He reached out his arms and hugged him.
Quan smiled and said, “Uncle Chu, why did it take so long for you to come and visit me!”
“Uncle had something to do. Do you like it here, little Quan?”
“I do!”
“What do you like the most here?”
“The sisters here are all very pretty, and the dim sum here tastes good too!”
Chu Li carried Quan into the house. Yang Xu was sitting by the window, knitting. The windows were wide open, and sunlight shone on her body, adding a layer of soft glint on her.
She looked calm and quiet.
“Mom!” Quan broke free from Chu Li’s embrace and ran into Xu’s arms.
Xu hugged him and smiled back at Chu Li, “Master Chu.”
Chu Li sat opposite to her and said, “Miss Yang, you look great.”
“I’ve enjoyed my stay here these few days.” Xu looked adoringly at her own son. “Master Chu, something came up in my mind, so I felt that I should discuss with you about it.”
Chu Li nodded.
Xu said, “I heard this story a while back, but I’m not sure if it’s credible.”
Chu Li continued gazing at her.
Xu continued, “I heard there’s a supreme being living on the Rising Sun Mountain.”
“Rising Sun Mountain…” Chu Li mumbled.
Xu added, “A few top-notch martial artists from the imperial house went there once, but they couldn’t find anything. Since even the imperial house was interested in this man, I bet he’s not a small character.”
“Who is this man?” Chu Li asked.
“I think he’s called Variety Demon Lord.”
“Variety Demon Lord….” Chu Li searched through his mind palace and quickly found archives of that name.
There were two books which mentioned his name. One was the “Tales of Ji Dynasty”, the other was the “Martial Arts World Anecdotes”. This Variety Demon Lord had phenomenal martial arts skills. The deadliest thing about him was that his face can change into different expressions. He can fake a true expression, making him extremely hard to anticipate.
He should had cultivated a type of strange technique like the Shrinking Bone Art, which allowed him to change faces. Too bad he retreated into the deep mountains and nobody could track him down. Thus, this strange technique vanished along with him, never resurfacing again.
Xu asked, “Do you know this, Master Chu?”
“I’ve heard of him. He was a very powerful man. But that was about three hundred years ago, I believe he’s already dead long ago.”
“They intended to look for that his inheritance.”
“Inheritance… Rising Sun Mountain…” Chu Li nodded slowly, “Thank you Miss Yang, I’ll go there and have a look myself!”
A smile etched on Xu’s face as she replied, “I’m glad I can help.”
“If I can really find the Variety Demon Lord, there would be many benefits.” Chu Li smiled. “No matter what happens, I still need to thank you, miss.”
“There’s no need to be so polite between us two.” Xu smiled sweetly, “I will try to recall if there are any more useful information.”
Chu Li shook his head, “No need to think too hard. There’s still a lot of time ahead.”
Xu smiled and nodded.
Chu Li exited the building, feeling inspired. He went straight back to the Thousand Herb Garden. He then prepared for his trip to the Rising Sun Mountain.