We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

Yes, it's all because of a promise.

A promise to his deceased wife.

In this era, only the woman who was formally married by the man was considered a wife, and there was only one wife. All other women a man had were called concubines.

The term "臣妾" (chenqie) reveals the relative status of a concubine and a wife.

For men, the feelings for their wives who have shared hardships are the deepest, especially for someone as sentimental as Li Gongfu.

Before Xu Xian's sister passed away, he had promised her that he would find a good woman for Xu Xian to continue the Xu family line.

Bai Suzhen possesses virtues such as being beautiful and generous, gentle and refined, well-educated and courteous, quiet and unassuming, and not materialistic or prejudiced against the poor. Apart from her mysterious origins, she is practically the perfect wife.

A wife who only exists in my ideal world.

If Li Gongfu hadn't agreed back then, once those "big shots" in Lin'an City learned about this extraordinary woman, they would have tried every means to get Bai Suzhen.

As for Xu Xian?

Standing there, despite my deep reluctance, I could only watch and sigh. Even with his protection, it was still the same.

It can only be said that Xu Xian had the upper hand. Even if those people were reluctant, they did not dare to forcibly abduct the woman in public.

Moreover, she is Dr. Xu's wife.

Of course, if the person protecting Xu Xian were to be Shen Bailian now, Li Gongfu would be absolutely certain that no one in Lin'an City could stand in the way of Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen's marriage.

"If Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing are indeed demons in disguise, then this is going to be a bit troublesome." Li Gongfu felt that this matter was very difficult to handle.

It's not that his first thought was to separate Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen.

Of course, even if he wanted to, judging from Xu Xian's current state, he had no intention of severing ties at all.

During this time, Li Gongfu had been keeping a close eye on Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing's every move. In his opinion, even if the two were snake demons, they must be extremely kind snake demons.

Over the past year, he had witnessed how many people Bai Suzhen had saved. Even the most unruly and willful Xiaoqing hadn't caused any major trouble; at most, she would pretend to be a man and drink and make merry in the brothel.

This is also why he was so enthusiastic about arranging Xiaoqing's marriage.

Therefore, Li Gongfu gradually stopped pursuing the identities of Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing, after all, to put it bluntly, he was just a minor innate martial artist.

Perhaps on ordinary days, one could roam freely within the city of Lin'an.

However, when it comes to crucial moments, even a master of innate martial arts is just a pawn on the chessboard. Once placed on the chessboard, there is no turning back, and they may be sacrificed at any time.

Years of professional experience have also taught Li Gongfu that some things cannot be investigated too deeply, otherwise, the matter will be more complex than what is on the surface.

What's that saying again... Lord Ye's love of dragons!
However, how exactly did Fahai discover the identities of Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing, the two snake demons?
It should be noted that Fahai had been in Lin'an City for nearly a month, and he did not believe that Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing had not noticed anything.

And they had been hiding right under Fahai's nose for so long, how could they suddenly be exposed?
As for betrayal, judging from Xiaoqing's appearance, she doesn't seem like that kind of traitor at all—no, she should be called that kind of double-dealing monster.

"No, could it be that day?" Whoosh!
Just as Li Gongfu was racking his brains, a word suddenly popped into his mind: "blind date".

Thinking about it this way, the reason why Xiaoqing ran away at the last minute is quite simple: when the two were in close contact, Fahai discovered her true identity.

That's why Xiaoqing chose to jump out of the window in a panic, rather than simply trying to avoid the blind date.

As for how Fahai came to them, it's not hard to guess.

Although the world is somewhat chaotic, it is not yet out of control. Therefore, as long as the displaced people are not concealed by the local gentry, their household registrations are recorded in the county government.

Therefore, Fahai only needed to ask at the county government office to find out... Xiaoqing and Bai Suzhen's home addresses and social relationships.

“However, although I can’t help you, but…” At this moment of silence, Shen Bailian’s voice rang out once again in the quiet courtyard:

"In this Lin'an city, I am not the only reclusive person capable of dealing with Fahai."

"You mean...?" Xu Xian's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he asked with surprise and uncertainty, "Young Master Shen, are you talking about the owner of Baoqing Workshop in Shapi Alley?"

'As expected, Brother Shen's identity is not so simple. He is actually a recluse living in seclusion in the city.' Compared to the anxious Xu Xian, Li Gongfu had few other emotions besides some guilt and regret.

Compared to the perilous situation of Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing, he was more concerned about Xu Xian's safety and Shen Bailian's identity.

After confirming that Shen Bailian was a recluse living in seclusion in the city, Li Gongfu felt much more at ease.

In this way, even after the monks of Jinshan Temple revealed Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing's true identities, the county government and people in the capital, out of respect for Shen Bailian, would not make things difficult for them.

It can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Back to the original topic.

"Huh?" Shen Bailian's face immediately showed surprise when he heard what Xu Xian said. He never expected that Xu Xian would know about the owner of Shapi Lane and Baoqing Workshop.

You see, it was because he possessed the divine skill of the Eye of God that he was able to discover the extraordinary qualities of the owner of Baoqing Workshop.

But what about Xu Xian?
He is merely a mortal, and even if he can attain immortality in the future, he is currently just an extremely simple mortal.

'It seems that this version of the Legend of the White Snake deviates too far from the original...' Shen Bailian thought to himself.

It's not that he's overthinking things, but given how things have come to this point, apart from the main plot remaining unchanged, almost all the other side quests have changed to some extent.

Furthermore, Xu Xian even learned of the existence of the owner of Baoqing Workshop.

This shows that those who coveted the coveted "Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen" were not just him and the myriad gods and Buddhas.

Furthermore, it can be seen that the owner of Baoqing Workshop is of an extraordinary status, daring to interfere in such a calamity.

If you think about it this way.

'I have a general idea now.' Shen Bailian smiled contentedly. (End of Chapter)