A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 79 Retreat
"Oh dear, I forgot!"

Before Zhang Wanyi could elaborate, Zhao Yuanzhi suddenly remembered and exclaimed, "I forgot that Uncle Zhang was once an abandoned monk of Leiyin Temple. He must have the 'Golden Bell Cover' manual!"

Zhang Wanyi's face darkened, and Li Changning, who was standing to the side, was clearly having a headache. Then Li Weizhou said enviously, "So legendary? If it weren't for the long distance, I would also like to go to Leiyin Temple to become a monk and learn martial arts."

Li Chang'an laughed and said, "You wish! Leiyin Temple is one of the eight major sects in the world. Do you think just anyone can enter its gates? General Zhang went from being a poor commoner to becoming a highly respected general of the court. Can ordinary people compare to that?"

Zhao Yuanzhi probably realized she had gone too far, so she changed the subject and asked Li Weizhou, "Third Brother, do you want any other secret manuals?"

Li Weizhou laughed and nodded, saying, "It doesn't need to be too high-end, something a little strange and unusual, like those lost techniques or precious medicines, but that sound really powerful. Just don't bring anything that's a treasured item that can't be passed on to outsiders, that would be a complete waste."

Zhao Yuanzhi loved this kind of unconventional play, and nodded happily, replying, "Yes, yes, I'll find them all for you later!"

Li Weizhou was also loyal: "If A Ning makes you angry again, just tell me and I'll deal with him!"

Zhao Yuanzhi chuckled and looked at Li Changning with bright, lively eyes.

Zhang Wanyi said calmly, "My family has one too."

Li Weizhou chided, "Wanyi too! He made you angry, so your third brother will stand up for you!"

Zhang Wanyi, probably intending to make a joke, asked, "What if Princess Yi'an makes me angry?"

Li Chang'an and Li Changning both looked at the bird-like man, wanting to see how he would answer.

Zhao Yuanzhi first glanced at someone sideways, then looked at Li Weizhou, wanting to see if this third brother would be biased!
Li Weizhou, surprisingly, still patted his chest confidently and said cheerfully, "Don't worry, even if Yuan Zhi makes you angry, I'll get revenge for you! I'll teach... Fourth Brother a lesson!"

Li Changning: "..."

Zhang Wanyi: "..."

Zhao Yuanzhi was taken aback at first, then giggled and said, "Third Brother, what if she bullies me?"

Li Weizhou said, "You're the same. Wanyi made you angry, so I'll deal with Lao Si too!"

Several people laughed, some chuckled, some giggled, and some giggled; it was so cheerful.

Li Weizhou smiled, not because he was being pretentious, but because the girls here were really too naive and easy to fool. They hadn't been exposed to so many witty remarks and jokes, and they were all as innocent as paper.

Thinking about those girls over there, Li Weizhou couldn't handle them at all; they were all highly skilled, leaving him no chance of survival...

"Let's go home. We'll have dinner together tonight, and I'll send you off first thing tomorrow morning!"

Li Chang'an led everyone to the Li family's old residence.

……

"elder brother……"

After the dinner, Ximei sat next to Li Weizhou, looking very reluctant to part.

Li Weizhou patted his sister's head and laughed, "Brother is going with your fourth brother and the others to broaden their horizons. If we can also find a powerful patron, like your fourth brother's master, then we siblings can run rampant and act like tyrants in Qingzhou City."

The whole family was laughing, even the two noble ladies.

Even though she went to work for the Wu family and Li Weizhou went to work as a waiter at Zuixianglou, the brother and sister remained in Qingzhou City and were never separated.

But tomorrow, Li Weizhou will be traveling far away... or at least leaving the city.

So Ximei was still very reluctant to part with her brother and clung tightly to his clothes.

Xi Mei is no longer the same as she was two or three months ago. She eats and drinks well and is very happy. Recently, she has even started practicing martial arts, gained some weight, and her face is fair and rosy. Her peach blossom eyes, shaped like peach petals, are extremely beautiful, making her appearance no less stunning than the two noble ladies.

Of course, if you add to that her embroidered red cotton-padded jacket, with gold trim on the collar and cuffs, which makes her look like a little flame when she runs, it will make people notice her cuteness even more.

"If you practice your skills diligently, and one day your martial arts skills become as high as your fourth brother's and two older sisters', won't you be able to take your brother with you to travel around?"

Li Weizhou comforted him.

Whether Xi Mei was comforted or not, Zhao Yuanzhi was definitely comforted. She kept giggling until she bent over, and even when she was lying on the table, she was still laughing.

Zhang Wanyi also laughed. She was reserved by nature, so her laughter wasn't as exaggerated, but the smile in her eyes still showed.

Li Changning couldn't stand it and said, "Let Ximei take you out to play..." How could he even say that?!

Xi Mei probably only realized what was happening then, and giggled, resting her little head on her brother's arm.

Looking at the brother and sister who depended on each other for survival, Li Delong's eyes reddened slightly, perhaps thinking of his own younger brother.

But being an old hand, he simply tilted his head back and drank a glass of wine, thus covering up the incident.

Cao repeated the same words she had said five hundred times before to Li Changning. Luo and Guo also continued to warmly welcome the two noble ladies, repeatedly inviting them to come again on their return journey!

The lively evening passed by in a flash.

……

“Before I come back, you have to stay at your uncle’s house and can’t go back to Shiqiao Street. I’m worried about you being home alone.”

Before falling asleep, Li Weizhou said to Ximei in the bedroom.

Even a fool would think that after he left, someone would definitely search his house, trying to find his treasures.

They may not be enemies, but they are definitely greedy and highly skilled in martial arts.

Xi Mei nodded and said, "I will definitely practice martial arts hard. Sister Yuan Zhi and Sister Wan Yi both said that I have good aptitude. As long as I practice diligently, I will definitely become a master! Then, I can protect my brother and go play everywhere."

Actually, what she wanted to say was that she could protect her brother when he went to find their parents, but she didn't dare, afraid that her brother would be heartbroken.

Li Weizhou took out the snacks he had prepared for his younger sister. There was a lot of milk candy and chocolate, all wrapped in oil paper.

These delicious desserts dispelled Ximei's sadness at parting...

Seeing Xi Mei giggling and secretly gloating, Li Weizhou smiled brightly as well.

...Close one eye here, open the other.

Li Weizhou opened his eyes in the secret room beneath the basement of the Changzhou villa. He stopped practicing his stance training, took out his phone to check the surveillance footage, and only after confirming that there had been no abnormalities outside overnight did he emerge from the secret room…

For those who aspire to great things, caution is always the best defense.

He stretched his muscles and bones, becoming increasingly satisfied with the progress brought about by his stance training.

Although they are still at the fourth level of martial arts here, not as strong as the fifth level in the Great Qian Dynasty, the persistence in stance training brings progress every day.

The twenty-fifth orifice has been opened, and the twenty-sixth orifice is not far behind.

Li Weizhou lay down on the rattan chair in the courtyard, basking in the morning light, until the sun became a little too bright before he looked away.

I checked the time; it was 8:40.

After thinking for a moment, he first called Xu Qiang, and then dialed Xiao Rui's number.

The phone rang five times before being answered. A slightly groggy but still pleasant voice came through: "Boss?"

Li Weizhou smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going into seclusion to practice martial arts. You don't need to rush things in southern Henan. You can rest at home for a few more days. Even if you don't need to, Song Jia and Xu Li should take a break. They probably haven't had a chance to breathe properly for the past two months."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed much more awake. Xiao Rui laughed and said, "A boss with a conscience isn't necessarily a good boss." She paused, then added with amusement, "Boss, are you really in seclusion practicing martial arts?"

Li Weizhou said quite seriously, "Well, otherwise how could his martial arts skills be so high?"

Xiao Rui giggled and said, "Wasn't it trained by holding piglets since you were a baby?"

Li Weizhou argued, "That was a virgin's skill. Now it has evolved, and you need to go into seclusion to practice your movement techniques. By the way, you said last time that your mother was weak. I left a jar of wild ginseng wine at Baibaolou later. It's authentic wild ginseng. Go and get it at noon. Drink a small cup each time; it should help a bit."

Xiao Rui paused for a moment before saying, "Okay." Then she asked, "When will you emerge from seclusion?"

Li Weizhou smiled and said, "I'll call you when I get out of the pass."

Xiao Rui smiled and said, "Okay. Is there anything else?" Her voice was quite gentle.

Li Weizhou was gone, so he hung up the phone.

After sitting in the rattan chair for a while, watching the clouds drift by, I went inside to get a jar of ginseng wine. It didn't even have a label. Then I drove to the gold shop on the pedestrian street.

Business is good, and the filigree masters on the second floor are working very hard.

He put down the medicinal wine, gave the shop manager a few instructions, and then left.

Gold shops, including the gold vending machines in Pengcheng Shuibei Market, are all in the circulation business, and the longest contract they sign with a shop manager is no more than one year.

Renewing the contract is no problem, but you'll need to explore new markets in other places.

The intense competition among gold shops is something that outsiders can hardly imagine.

In short, the competition was quite brutal.

Naturally, it's difficult to develop any real relationships with them...

After leaving the gold shop, Li Weizhou went to buy some snacks and alcoholic beverages such as chocolates, candies, wine, and vodka.

I went to several pharmacies and bought a lot of iodine, gauze, and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Alcohol is not suitable. Although it can kill bacteria and viruses, it cannot be used on open wounds, otherwise it will cause severe pain and irritation.

After walking around, Li Weizhou passed by an outdoor equipment store and went in to buy several military coats, a double-layer tent, two cast iron pots, two stoves, and machine-made charcoal, etc.

It feels like we're going camping in a cold place...

After stuffing the things into the car, Li Weizhou tossed them aside and drove to the urban village to visit Grandpa Liao...

……

Time seems to have left little trace on the urban village; not even the slightest change has occurred.

The streets and alleys are still filled with overhead power lines and walls covered with electricity meters.

Although the public restrooms and kitchens were dark and the walls were rough and black, these shortcomings were not really shortcomings considering that a single room only cost two hundred yuan a month.

At the roadside stalls, some people were selling fried rice and noodles, some were selling braised food, and an old man had only a basket in front of him with some leafy vegetables inside.

Li Weizhou bought the basketball hoop along with the money and offered the old lady 100 yuan, but she refused, probably thinking it was fake, and asked him to transfer the money via WeChat...

What are you doing here?

Li Weizhou was scanning a QR code to transfer money when a deep, resonant voice came from behind him.

Li Weizhou was much more generous, turning around and smiling, "Uncle Liao, would you like to go to Hongding International for some fun?" It was one of the most famous red-light districts in the mountain city.

"You damned bastard, you've gone and become a pimp, huh?"

Grandpa Liao was dressed very formally, with his shirt buttoned all the way up. He was also a very upright person, so he was naturally not polite when it came to giving a lecture.

Li Weizhou laughed heartily and said, "Really not, I've been working at a pig blood powder factory lately. I had a day off today, so I came back to see you and treated you to hot pot!"

Grandpa Liao looked him over carefully for a while and said, "Really?"

Li Weizhou nodded and said, "Guaranteed authentic!"

Grandpa Liao said with his hands behind his back, "Let's go, it's my treat today."

Li Weizhou was overjoyed: "I've struck gold today!"

……

(End of this chapter)