A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 104 Emergency Relocation of the Entire Family

"Uncle, please have some tea."

"Auntie, please have some tea."

The whole family was beaming with joy as they watched the newlyweds serve tea.

Li Delong grinned from ear to ear, his dark face contorted with laughter, and kept saying, "Good, good, good, have some tea!"

Madam Cao smiled and, after drinking the tea served to her new daughter-in-law, praised her, saying, "She looks beautiful, just like her mother."

Madam Guo chimed in, "Look at Sanlang! We all thought his in-laws in Mingzhou Prefecture were already married. Zhou Daxia is such a big name; how could our humble gentry and officials from this poor little town be worthy of such a family? But when we tried to arrange marriages for him one by one, he was so stubborn, refusing to even meet them. He kept saying he was too young, and made excuses about his second uncle and aunt not being home yet. But look at him now, he's beaming from ear to ear!"

The room erupted in laughter, and even Madam Luo remarked, "It's clear that this is a preordained destiny; there's no escaping it."

If we're talking about who in the Li family would be most pleased to see Li Weizhou marry Zhou Yueniang, it would undoubtedly be these two sisters-in-law.

This is because the daughters of镖头 (镖头 is a term used to describe the chief镖师, or even the so-called镖王 (镖王 is a term used to describe a master镖师) are at most of the same social standing as these women.

In front of Zhou Yueniang, he didn't have to feel inferior like he did in front of any princess or general's daughter.

Li Weizhou is becoming increasingly outstanding and charming, and is highly respected by Princess Yi'an and the daughter of the Grand General. If they wanted to arrange a marriage between them, it would not be difficult at all.

If that's the case, then during future family reunion dinners, those two sisters-in-law will have to be all humble and fawning, how will they get along?
Li Weizhou was unaware of the women's ulterior motives; as long as they got along, that was fine. He said to Li Delong, "A major battle is likely to break out outside the city in the next few days, and the city may not be safe. Uncle, why don't we take the whole family to the horse market to visit the fourth brother?"

The family's expressions turned strange, and Li Chang'an couldn't stand it anymore. He said, "Sanlang, do you still want to bring the whole family back to your parents' home?"

Zhou Yueniang's pretty face flushed red with embarrassment. She whispered to Li Weizhou, "Husband, no need..."

This is unbelievable, they're spoiling her way too much.

Li Weizhou nodded to his wife first, then said solemnly, "Uncle, Second Brother, others may not understand, but don't you understand? The Fifteen Mile Mountain God Temple is a huge pit, destined to be a river of blood, and countless people will die. But who exactly will be killed is still unclear. The Demonic Sect is too abnormal; it has been biding its time for decades, and its sudden outbreak suggests its ambitions are not small. If we don't go to the horse market, then our whole family must relocate to Shenji Valley. And we must relocate in batches, discreetly."

"That valley?!"

Li Chang'an exclaimed in surprise.

Li Weizhou nodded and said, "I'm more confident in ensuring my family's safety if we go there."

Shenji Valley has been under construction. Although it has not been fully excavated yet, it is sufficient for the time being after some emergency arrangements. It can at least protect itself for a period of time.

Li Delong frowned and said, "There isn't even a spring there, and as for food... Sanlang, this whole family is no joke."

A large family, men and women, old and young, in the dead of winter, hiding in a cave—it just doesn't seem like the right thing to do.

It's not like you'll freeze half to death.

Li Weizhou sighed, knowing he couldn't force the issue, and rubbed his temples, saying, "Then... let's go to the fortified village. I've dug an underground chamber there, and everything we need—food, clothing, and supplies—is prepared. Three rooms, separate for men and women, enough for three days..."

Li Changping couldn't understand: "Is it safer outside the city than inside?"

Li Weizhou remained silent. Li Chang'an patted him on the shoulder and said to his elder brother, "Brother, if the Demonic Sect really does clash with the Imperial Punishment Bureau and the Mountain Forest Guard, they won't care about the royal laws and prohibitions. At that time, the city will indeed be more dangerous." After saying that, he turned to Li Weizhou and asked, "But Sanlang, are you confident about the fortified village?"

Li Weizhou said, "It's not a big problem. With Yue Niang and Chu Mengjun, two experts at the sixth level of the Breaking Realm, protecting us down there, it's extremely difficult for ordinary people to find the secret room. No one is left up there. Moreover, I will set up a number of traps over there. Just be patient for a few days. I estimate it won't take more than three days. Once the seventh day after that Demonic Sect Dharma King's death is over, it will be about time. I will then bring you back."

Li Delong, Li Changping, Li Chang'an, and Zhou Yueniang all shook their heads in unison, disagreeing.

Judging from his words, it was clear that Li Weizhou wanted to stay in the city.

How can it be?

Zhou Yueniang was the first to state her position, looking at Li Weizhou resolutely and saying, "I want to stay and accompany you." They had just agreed last night to live and die together until they grew old, and she was serious.

Li Weizhou smiled at his wife.

Li Chang'an frowned and scolded, "Sanlang, what are you saying? The whole family is leaving, and you're the only one left outside? Get this straight, you're the younger brother. With Silang gone, you're the youngest. It's not your place to stand up and play the hero!"

Li Chang'an rarely spoke in this tone, which showed that he was truly annoyed.

Li Changping, equally angry, complained, "Exactly! They look down on people!"

Li Weizhou laughed and said, "Would I do something I'm not sure of? Si Lang's master, Lord Situ, has already met me. She can suppress the Eighth Martial Saint with her Martial Grandmaster status, so she will protect me. Because I am the Iron-Bearing Officer of the Imperial Punishment Department, she is my superior, and so are you? Leaving one more person behind means one more risk, so there's no need."

Li Changping said, "Wouldn't it be better to hide together?"

Li Weizhou shook his head and said, "The Imperial Punishment Office has the responsibility of protecting the people and punishing traitors; I cannot leave lightly."

After saying that, she pointed to Ximei and said softly, "From the moment we got married yesterday, you have been my elder sister-in-law and like a mother to me. You have to take good care of my younger sister. This is my responsibility, and it is also yours. Yueniang, you are the head of our branch of the family. Be good."

Zhou Yueniang: "..." Her eyes were stubborn.

The atmosphere was extremely heavy. Not only Ximei, but even Li Huan and Li Rui stopped being naughty.

Li Weizhou smiled and reassured him, "Don't worry, when it comes to being the most afraid of death, no one can beat me. I just got married and have a new home, and I will never lose it."

Cao Shi finally came to her senses and said in a panic, "What happened? She was fine just now..."

Li Weizhou laughed and said, "Auntie, it's alright. Let's go to the cellar and experience a few days of new life. Then we can all go to the capital and enjoy ourselves."

After staring at his nephew like a ferocious tiger for a long time, Li Delong decisively said, "Sanlang, you make the arrangements. Everyone in the family will be under your command. Just one thing: take care of yourself. If anything happens to you, I'll go with you to see your parents and apologize to my brothers and sisters-in-law. That's all. That's it."

This demonstrates the decisiveness he displayed throughout his many years in the underworld.

Moreover, he already knew that once his nephew had made up his mind, not even eight oxen could pull him back.

At times like these, it's best to avoid disagreements and arguments among family members.

Since it was for the sake of protecting his family's safety, he accepted it.

If his nephew really gets into trouble, he will keep his word!

……

Yesterday was a joyous occasion at home, with an extremely festive atmosphere.

Today, however, things took a sharp turn for the worse, and I'm feeling tense.

The Li family was large, so they did not travel together.

One horse-drawn carriage after another departed from the front or side gate of the Li family's old residence every half hour.

You can go to Shiqiao Street, or to Zuixianlou Restaurant on Dongshi Street, or to Xishi Street.

But in reality, they would quickly board another carriage and drive away in some deserted alley.

Some of the personnel trained by Baibaolou are already of usable use.

No one knows the city's alleyways better than Li Weizhou...

The carriages came and went, but sometimes there were people inside and sometimes there were no people inside.

Ultimately, the group was broken up into smaller units, with most of them heading to the fortified village.

However, even most of the servants in the Li family's old residence were unaware of this change.

However, they would all be given a day off in the afternoon and go home for the time being, and would return to work three days later.

Those born into the family moved to the manor outside the city. The fortified village had long been emptied, as had Shenji Valley; everyone had moved to the manor to squeeze in.

It's not that Li Weizhou has paranoia; he's making a big fuss over nothing.

Rather, he was certain that the Demonic Sect was after the Blood Eye in his mind.

That damned Ye Yun of Shangqing Palace dug this thing up from who-knows-where. According to Li Changning's test results from the Imperial Punishment Department, the "Blood Transformation Demon Art" cannot absorb the blood of livestock at all; it can only absorb human blood. However, absorbing too much blood can easily lead to qi deviation and turning one into a monster who only knows how to suck blood.

However, the existence of blood eyes can change these side effects.

Moreover, the Blood Eye is definitely a treasure of the immortals, or rather, a treasure of the demonic path.

In the past few months, Li Weizhou has probably swallowed enough pig's blood to fill a lake. Not to mention him, even a hundred experts who have broken through to the ninth level couldn't swallow it all.

It is conceivable that the Blood Eye itself was consuming and then transforming a small portion to nourish Li Weizhou, providing for his martial arts training.

But in the vast majority, it still swallowed it itself.

Only such strange, even evil, objects could justify the Demonic Cult's all-out attack on Shangqing Palace, regardless of the cost.

Now that suspicion has fallen on Li Changning... no, it won't be Li Changning, they might directly suspect Situ Qingyue.

Because Li Changning's aptitude is probably only about the same as Ye Yun's, even if it's a little better, it's still impossible to hide his bloodlust, and it's already shown its signs.

Only Situ Qingyue, with her exceptional martial arts skills, could have killed Ye Yun silently and forcibly suppressed the Blood Eye.

Based on this deduction, the Demonic Sect's target is actually Situ Qingyue?!
Why wait until now? Why didn't you just surround and kill them when Situ Qingyue killed the Demonic Cult's protector that day?
Perhaps there are other hidden reasons, such as insufficient manpower...

Li Weizhou sighed inwardly. His position was still too low; he had very little reliable information to analyze and could only guess...

But in any case, slaughtering the Li family would force Situ Qingyue to show herself, disturb her mind, and drive Li Changning insane. If Li Weizhou were to consider the issue from the perspective of the Demonic Sect, there was really no reason for him to let them go.

"Husband."

By mid-afternoon, there were not many people left in the Li family's old house.

Zhou Yueniang had changed her hair to a ponytail, held up with a leather hair tie. Her amber eyes were still as beautiful as ever, but she clearly had someone she missed more.

Li Weizhou held her hand and whispered with a smile, "You are my new wife. You know how much I love you. I wish I could stay with you for every second!"

"..."

Even though there was no one around, Zhou Yueniang still wanted to gag him with her hand, her pretty face flushed.

More beautiful than any blush...

Li Weizhou's eyes were definitely filled with lust as he greedily stared at his beautiful wife, even though she was skilled enough to send him flying with a single punch.

Only when Zhou Yueniang blushed and glared at him did Li Weizhou chuckle and gently pull her into his arms. He whispered, "Don't worry, I won't seek my own death. The place I'm going to is very safe. I'll wait there and see if I can catch a big fish."

……

Fifteen li east of Qingzhou City, there is a mountain god temple.

The corpse of Chen Xuanling, a powerful figure in the demonic path and a guardian of the demonic sect, has been hanging here for seven days.

Tonight marks the seventh day since his death.

Since ancient times, the Central Plains have been a land where death is valued more than life, hence the saying "the dead are the greatest."

The seventh day after a person's death is the most solemn day after their passing.

According to ancient legend, the souls of the dead return on this night to bid farewell to their families and friends.

This day is also the day when relatives and friends send the departed souls on their true journey...

We must not let it become a wandering ghost.

The news that the body of the Demonic Cult's Protector Venerable is hanging here has spread throughout the martial arts world, and it is impossible for the Demonic Cult not to come and collect the body.

If that's the case, then it must happen tonight...

By afternoon, before dusk, Qingzhou City was much quieter and more solemn than usual, as if it were the oppressive atmosphere before a storm.

Even the street vendors packed up and went home early. It seems that humans, as advanced animals, still have an instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm subconsciously...

Li Weizhou didn't. After delivering Zhou Yueniang to the fortified village and settling the whole family in several underground secret rooms, he repeatedly instructed them not to come up, because he had set up killing traps all around, lest they kill their own family instead of the enemy...

After setting up positions at various locations, including the gate of the fortified village and the corner towers of the city wall, he quietly returned to Qingzhou City.

This upright and independent manner of supporting the family alone made Li Delong, Li Changping, Li Chang'an and others look gloomy, but the women were very grateful.

This also made Zhou Yunniang feel even more reluctant to part with her husband, whom she had been betrothed to since childhood.

I only pray that he can return safely...

……

Doesn't Li Weizhou know how to seek advantage and avoid harm?

Of course not, he was most afraid of dying.

Is he important to those powerful figures in the demonic path or the great masters of the righteous path?
No, that's not true. Apart from Situ Qingyue, who has witnessed his supernatural powers, who would take him seriously?

The only one in the Li family worth paying attention to is Li Changning. Who does he think he is?

However, slaughtering the Li family could disturb Situ Qingyue's peace of mind.

It would be a miracle if the Demonic Sect didn't have an inside source in Qingzhou City.

Li Weizhou is a selfish person, but he also has humanity.

When the leader of the Heavenly Blade Sect attacked, Li Delong was able to rush over with his servants, which meant they were his closest relatives.

The brothers get along well, and the wives are all doing well too.

A newlywed wife is even better.

Therefore, when it's time to take responsibility, we should step forward and do so.

Actually, it's nothing. His sister Situ will really protect him. After witnessing his supernatural abilities, she even gave him her identity jade token. How could she just watch him get killed?

not to mention……

He also has his own trump card.

The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish; Li Weizhou was really looking forward to tonight's scenery...

……

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(End of this chapter)