Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 571 Luring the wolf into the house
It was just a form of address, and Li Hongjiu didn't take it seriously. Since the woman didn't object, he naturally didn't care. Calling her "sister-in-law" wouldn't hurt him.

To be honest, he really couldn't stand Shi Chun, that scoundrel. He would fawn over anyone with a good family background like a dog. It seemed like he was doing the same thing to Gu Lianni, the daughter of the sect leader of Shudao Mountain in the Divine Fire Domain. He guessed that if he hadn't messed things up due to circumstances, Gu Lianni would most likely have been swayed by this guy.

So when Shi Chun said he wanted to curry favor with him, he somewhat believed it.

Sister-in-law? The woman in red was experiencing a surge of emotions, her calm gaze making her look at Li Hongjiu as if she were looking at a dead person.

They no longer intend to let him leave Jukuzhou alive.

But at this moment, she was more interested in how the other person got here, so she asked directly, "How did you get here?"

Li Hongjiu was taken aback. What did he mean by that? But she still pointed at Shi Chun and said, "He wrote me a letter, and I came at his invitation. Is there a problem?"

A single letter was all it took to recruit Li Hongjiu as a disciple? The woman in red turned to look at the ground beside her. Shi Chun could recruit Li Hongjiu as a disciple with just one letter? No, she needed to calm down.

She needs to sort through the intelligence she has received.

After Shi Chun took on the task of accepting apprentices from her, she became interested in learning more about Shi Chun's situation. Before, she had no energy to pay much attention to a little Shi Chun. The way she used her information channels was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

The Yanbao Sect has also sent her the most detailed and inside information about the relationship between Shi Chun and Li Hongjiu, saying that the true relationship between Li Hongjiu and Shi Chun is not what the outside world thinks.

In short, it was all just a charade; there was no real friendship whatsoever, not even friendship at all.

She was even a little worried about whether Shi Chun could complete the task he had promised.

This is also one of the reasons why she believes it is necessary for Shi Chun to personally leave Jukuzhou and go to Yanbao Sect.

Now Li Hongjiu says that Shi Chun summoned him with just one letter, so how is she supposed to understand the intelligence she received?
Also, news from the Yanbao Sect says that Li Hongjiu is still there. So what's the deal with this Li Hongjiu in front of us? Is he a fake?
If it's true, all she wants to know now is what the Yanbao Sect is trying to do by repeatedly providing incorrect information that led her to misjudge the situation.
"Just asking, no problem." She took a deep breath and replied, composing herself before asking, "When did you arrive at the library?"

Upon hearing this question, Shi Chun knew things were going to get bad. Just as he was about to interrupt, the woman in red stopped him first, saying, "Shut up."

Shi Chundun looked embarrassed.

Li Hongjiu also realized that something was wrong. After observing Shi Chun's reaction, she carefully replied, "I'll arrive this afternoon. I'll be reading upstairs in the library. Is there a problem?"

The woman in red couldn't help but bare her teeth at Shi Chun, "Is this what you call inviting someone within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn?"

Shi Chun hurriedly chuckled and said, "Ruojun, just tell me if I broke my promise. Just tell me if I managed to get that person here for you within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn?"

The woman in red sneered and gritted her teeth, realizing that the other party had taken advantage of her by setting a trap for her.

Li Hongjiu also felt that Shi Chun was unreliable, so she tried asking, "Sister-in-law, Wang Ping said he wanted me to help you take on apprentices, is that true?"

Wang Ping? The woman in red gave him a slightly unfriendly look, realizing that he was no better than Shi Chun, cut from the same cloth.

But she had to pretend to be confused and said, "That's how it is, thank you for your help."

Shi Chun hurriedly reminded him, "Brother Jiu, please remember, your presence has nothing to do with me. You're only here because of your cousin Ruojun."

Li Hongjiu nodded and said, "I've said it so many times, my memory isn't that bad, there's no need to remind me repeatedly."

Just then, a clear voice rang out, "Who is it?"

A young man appeared at the second courtyard gate. It was none other than Dong Liangze. Hearing the sounds of voices outside, he ran out to investigate.

Shi Chun immediately turned her head, took off her veil, and quickly covered her true face.

At this hour, the dim light of the lanterns in the courtyard was still on, making it easy to see the people in the courtyard. Moreover, with the woman in red dressed so conspicuously, Dong Liangze naturally recognized her at a glance. Seeing two strangers beside the woman in red, he immediately walked over.

The woman in red turned her head and glanced up at the library upstairs. She saw a window open upstairs, and a figure inside was none other than the Sword Saint, Fu Que.

The shout from the backyard startled him, and he went to the window to see what was going on.

Dong Liangze approached the group and asked in surprise, "Sister Jun, who are these two?"

The woman in red said "Oh," and pointed to Li Hongjiu, indicating, "This is Li Hongjiu of the Yanbao Sect. This is his servant. You don't need to pay attention to him." The latter part of her sentence clearly referred to Shi Chun, and her disparagement was obvious.

Li Hongjiu couldn't help but glance at the man and woman beside her. Why did she feel that this woman harbored some resentment towards Shi Chun, that slut?

"Ah, Mr. Li!" Dong Liangze was overjoyed. He bowed repeatedly and gestured towards the pavilion. "Please sit in the pavilion first. I will go and call my father and the others out."

After saying that, he turned around and ran away.

So Li Hongjiu and the other two walked towards the pavilion.

As he walked, Shi Chun caught sight of a graceful figure beside him. Slightly tempted, he raised his hand and placed one hand on the waist of the woman in red, stealing a touch.

The woman in red was so shocked that her hair stood on end. It's one thing for you to be touching me in the house, but there are people watching from upstairs!
She went so far as to want to tear the jerk next to her to pieces.

In reality, it turned into an elbow strike, hitting Shi Chun in the waist with a thud. Shi Chun's waist felt like it was about to break, his back bent as if it were folded in half, he let out a muffled groan, almost kneeling down in pain, and once again experienced how painful it was for this woman to hit someone.

Li Hongjiu glanced back, grinned, and thought to himself that they deserved it. He could sense their actions up close.

Fu Que, standing behind the library window, looked bewildered. He initially thought he was seeing things, but the woman in red's counterattack confirmed that he hadn't misread anything.

At first, he didn't know who was wearing the veil, but now, comparing that behavior with that figure, he immediately remembered who it was.

Although his attempt to put his arm around her waist was rejected, he instantly realized that, compared to what he had glimpsed inside the house last time, the relationship between the man and woman had progressed to an unspeakable level.

This woman actually…

He didn't think that guy would have a chance if the woman didn't give him one.

So he was really taken aback, and reacted quickly, turning to the side and leaning against the wall behind the window, pretending he hadn't seen anything. He muttered to himself, "This time I didn't use any magic to spy; you guys just accidentally let my eyes see me."

The woman in red glanced back but didn't see the figure behind the open window. However, she had already activated her domain before Li Hongjiu appeared, and was fully aware of Fu Que's little actions upstairs. She gritted her teeth and looked at Shi Chun, who was clutching his stomach and groaning, behind her. She still wished she could rush up and personally cut him into ten thousand pieces.

She realized that her reputation was ruined by this guy.

She didn't go into the pavilion to sit down. She gestured for Li Hongjiu to wait in the pavilion first, then went to the kitchen by herself. After avoiding everyone's sight, she directly transmitted her voice into the void: "Immediately have the Yanbao Sect confirm whether Li Hongjiu is still there. We need to confirm it in person!"

After receiving the reply that she had been given the order, she turned around and came out again.

The family in the inner courtyard was also startled by Dong Liangze's shout. They were already peeking out from their respective room doors. After Dong Liangze ran over to give a greeting, the family, led by Dong Wenshu, immediately gathered together.

The visit was naturally quite polite and lively.

Dong Wenshu, as the host, exchanged pleasantries with Li Hongjiu.

The young lady was busy serving tea and water to the guests.

The second young lady occasionally stole glances at Shi Chun, who had already taken her seat behind Li Hongjiu. Although Shi Chun was wearing a veil, she could still recognize her at a glance, since she had seen her dressed like that before.

She had a vague feeling that something was wrong. When Wang Ping brought Li Hongjiu to the library before, he casually mentioned that she was his friend. How come she is now the Li Hongjiu that Junjie's cousin invited?
The fact that Wang Ping had now become Li Hongjiu's servant made her even more suspicious.

The third young lady, Dong Liangying, knew what she was about to face, and was clearly nervous and apprehensive.

The fourth brother, Dong Liangze, looked at Li Hongjiu with eyes full of admiration.

There were a lot of people at the scene, but only Li Hongjiu, the woman in red, and Dong Wenshu were seated. Everyone else stood quietly on the side.

Li Hongjiu was not a fool to be manipulated. He was determined to find out the truth of the matter and could not simply believe whatever that bitch said. After exchanging pleasantries, he asked, "I heard that the Third Miss wants to become my disciple. I would like to know why."

So Dong Wenshu first bowed to the woman in red to express his gratitude, and then explained the whole story from the beginning. When it came to his personal wishes, Dong Wenshu let his daughter Dong Liangying speak for herself.

Dong Liangying's personal situation was similar to what Shi Chun had said. What Li Hongjiu didn't expect was that this matter would also involve Situ Gu. A woman who was busy with housework all day long actually wanted to become the master of the number one weapon refiner. What the hell?

Because it seemed so far-fetched, he actually believed that it might not have been orchestrated and might indeed be true.

Whether it's true or false, he doesn't care. He's determined to just go through the motions and not get involved in any trouble. Right now, he's just trying to find out what's going on.

Putting all that aside for the time being, he had other plans and asked, "I wonder, between the Second Miss and the Fourth Young Master, which one has become a disciple of the Sword Saint?"

The woman in red chimed in, "It's not decided yet; Fuque will choose one."

Unexpectedly, the second young lady, Dong Liangyu, spoke up at this moment: "My health is not good, and I am not suitable for cultivation. I dare not presume to become the Sword Saint's disciple. Let my fourth brother become his disciple instead."

Over the past few days, she had come to realize that her fourth brother had long admired the Sword Saint. She guessed that her fourth brother also thought that her body, as his second sister, was not good enough to compete with him, which led to his expectations being too high. Therefore, she did not want to disappoint her fourth brother who had been looking forward to it for so long.

This can be seen as an opportunity to publicly announce their voluntary withdrawal.

The family looked at each other.

Li Hongjiu remarked bluntly, "In that case, the only thing left for the Second Miss to find a good teacher is... I do have the best candidate for the Second Miss. If the Second Miss can become his teacher, she will surely live a worthwhile life."

The family looked at each other in surprise again.

Shi Chun's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. She keenly realized something and stared intently at the back of Li Hongjiu's head from behind the veil. She felt as if she had let a wolf into her house and began to feel uneasy.

The woman in red spoke up, asking, "Who is Mr. Li referring to?"

Li Hongjiu glanced around at everyone, but missed Shi Chun behind him. He laughed heartily, rolled up his sleeves, and said eloquently, "Have you all heard of the first person in the Heavenly Rain Meteor Tournament? Have you heard of the Mingshan Sect who won the championship in the Divine Fire Alliance? This person is the Sect Master of the Mingshan Sect. Oh, no, not the Sect Master, but the head of the Mingshan Sect. The Sect Master and the Sect Leader of the Mingshan Sect have to listen to him."

(End of this chapter)