Lighting Lanterns in the Mountains and Seas

Thus he had to change his tone and say, "Then warn Ming Chaofeng to weigh the consequences of damaging the Gong family's reputation. He will make Li Hongjiu shut up on his own."

"Okay." Lei Ying agreed and then tentatively said, "Young Master, wouldn't it be easier to deal directly with Shi Chun?"

Gong Shaoci got a little angry at this suggestion, "I don't want to see him arrogant, but the problem is, this rodent is surrounded by a bunch of guards. He's so flamboyant, I suspect many are watching him. It's hard to deal with him quietly in the Royal Capital. He's not from Nanshan, and if something goes wrong, my family won't be able to hold down the matter."

Lei Ying said, "Then wait until he leaves the Royal Capital to act, there will definitely be an opportunity."

The incident of being forced by Shi Chun to publicly apologize back then wasn't forgotten either, as being embarrassed in public was a sore point, and now hearing that Shi Chun had become a Commander in the Heavenly Domain, blooming with success, made him even more resentful.

Gong Shaoci's heart stirred at his words, "Are you sure you have confidence? You know it will cause big trouble if exposed."

Today's attitude of the Miao family towards Shi Chun ultimately made him resentful too. Jealousy easily leads to a loss of composure.

Lei Ying promised, "Don't worry, Young Master, I will arrange carefully. Without absolute confidence, I wouldn't make a move. Even if I fail, nobody will know it concerns us."

At this moment, Shi Chun, having left the Miao family, appeared on the mountain road, with a flock of guards by his side. Gong Shaoci stared intently, a fierce look in his eyes, finally taking a deep breath and saying, "Handle it yourself, start by making Ming Chaofeng's side shut up."

"Yes, I will take care of it now." Lei Ying took the order and left.

Shi Chun and his group did not linger in the Nanshan Royal City. Upon leaving the Miao family, they directly headed to the Xun Gate Central Hub, en route to the Yanbao Sect.

Traveling from the Nanshan Royal City to the Yanbao Sect is easy, seeing as Yanbao Sect is a top Great Sect in the Artifact Refining World, and near the sect there is the Xun Gate.

Shi Chun and his entourage only had to make one transfer along the way and then directly reached the city at the foot of Yanbao Sect's mountain.

A host of Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals appeared, immediately drawing the attention of many in the city.

Sitting atop Qilin A San under the guard of a group of Armored Soldiers, Shi Chun, in casual attire, exuded an air of superiority and quite enjoyed this feeling.

After all, his previous identity had always been looked down upon.

With such a formation, there was naturally no chance of being driven away upon reaching Yanbao Sect's mountain gate; revealing his identity promptly had someone reporting to the sect.

After waiting for a while, a Yanbao Sect disciple came, leading the group up the mountain.

In the past, Yanbao Sect wouldn't even look at Shi Chun, not wanting to see him associate with Li Hongjiu. Forget about seeing him, they likely wouldn't even let him enter the mountain gate.

The group ascended the mountain and followed the path deeper without flying high, circumventing to fly into the depths of the back mountain on a designated route.

Green shadows swayed, and at the entrance to a small courtyard fenced with bamboo in a sea of bamboo, Li Hongjiu leaned against the old door frame with his arms folded, seeing the grandeur of Shi Chun's arrival, he couldn't help but let out a sneer.

The guide approached and bowed, "Junior Sister Li, the person has arrived."

Li Hongjiu chuckled, "You don't need to say, I'm more familiar. All right, go wait aside."

The guide withdrew.

Shi Chun strode forward and cupped his hands, "Brother Jiu, finally meeting again."

Li Hongjiu gestured toward the flock of armored soldiers, "Isn't the display a bit grand?"

Shi Chun immediately defended, "How dare I put on airs in front of Brother Jiu. Brothers have offended too many people before, as you know." He motioned for his attendants to wait outside, then took Li Hongjiu's arm and went inside.

Once in the small courtyard, he couldn't help but glance around at the living environment, finding it rather ordinary, like a farmhouse courtyard, neat yet filled with spiritual energy.

Sitting in the house, there was no tea offered, only wine. Li Hongjiu poured wine for the guest, "I've heard you're now quite formidable, having more power than Manxi in the Demon Realm."

Shi Chun wasn't interested in the wine, moistened his lips, "Not really. Why don't you follow me down the mountain and together check out today's Demon Realm?"

Li Hongjiu drained his cup of wine in one go, sighed deeply, "I'm confined, can't go anywhere."

Shi Chun was puzzled, "Why? You haven't done anything to anger your master again, have you?"

Li Hongjiu shook his head slightly, continued to pour wine, "It's unrelated. I get seriously injured once out, life-threatening once out, the sect feels something's off. Besides, having even been exposed to 'Demon Dew' this time, my master thinks I'm being targeted, and wouldn't dare let me go down the mountain again. If it wasn't for you saving me, anyone else would probably find it difficult to see me now. Alas, Master says I'm to close myself off for a hundred years, not allowed to go down for a century."

"That serious?" Shi Chun was taken aback, but thinking about it, it made sense, as this fellow indeed found himself life-on-the-line whenever he went down the mountain, not knowing what bad luck he's hit.

Thinking about it, he sighed, "I originally wanted to invite you to go to the Dazhi City in West Niu, and perhaps see your disciple along the way. Now, it seems your master might not give me this favor either."

Li Hongjiu was puzzled, "Why go to Dazhi City? You previously went undercover because you didn't want too much involvement with Chao Yue Hall, didn't you?"

"I have some matters." Shi Chun lightly glossed over it, unable to disclose the specific reason externally, as he was going to find the red-clothed woman he had had an affair with.

Isn't her maternal uncle a close confidant around the Western Ox Demon Queen? He wanted to exploit this relationship for help in population introduction matters; if not, even being guided a way would be good.

Despite the red-clothed woman's promise to get her uncle to save him twenty years ago not coming true, he now truly had no other options, and must try any possible way.

Whether the red-clothed woman was still at the library or not, even if she wasn't, the Chao Yue Hall should still have contact information, hence he needed to make a trip.

Li Hongjiu poured another half cup of wine into his mouth, exuding wine breath, "Probably something worth hiding. I warn you, you play your game, don't drag my disciple Dongliang Ying into it."

"I won't, this time I won't show up in front of the Dong Family." Shi Chun casually replied, changed the topic, "By the way, what's the deal with your Senior Brother Ming chasing to kill me?"

Li Hongjiu paused his sight, shook his head, "Don't know, Senior Brother wouldn't say."

In reality, he had already learned from his master who instructed Ming Chaofeng, as Ming Chaofeng returned to the sect to explain after failing in the Battle of Great Pardon. The sect inquired about the pursuit of Shi Chun initially.

Faced with the sect's questioning, Ming Chaofeng didn't hide and revealed who had instigated him.

Through his master, Li Hongjiu had gotten to know, but his master instructed him, Yanbao Sect mixed with Nanshan, can't provoke the Gong family, must not divulge this matter.

Shi Chun pondered while touching his chin, "I've no grievance or enmity with your Senior Brother, even if he dislikes me, there's no need to rush. It must be someone instigating."

Li Hongjiu remained silent, poured wine into his cup.

Shi Chun shifted the topic again, "Right, I have population introduction tasks in my territory. Can your master help?"

Li Hongjiu slowly sipped his wine, staring at Shi Chun across, knowing the Gong family dislikes Shi Chun, there's no way Yanbao Sect would help. He casually said, "I'll try back."

"Thanks, Brother Jiu." Shi Chun raised the wine cup with both hands, expressing gratitude.

The two spent half a day eating and chatting idly. After, Shi Chun wanted to pay respects to the Yanbao Sect Master, but upon reporting, the sect master wasn't interested in meeting him, dismissing him with an excuse of inconvenience due to Shi Chun's not-so-high status in the sect master's eyes.

Shi Chun had to bid farewell.

Li Hongjiu accompanied him out of the bamboo courtyard and suddenly, heard the muffled bell ringing from the mountain direction of the sect's grand hall. Soon, from the mountains where elders resided further and near, silhouettes flew towards the mountain of the sect's grand hall.

"This bell doesn't normally ring, something must have happened?" Li Hongjiu muttered, as he effortlessly took out the Mother-child Talisman to contact his master's attendant.

Receiving the reply, his face suddenly changed, stopping in place.

Shi Chun halted and turned, asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Hongjiu pressed his lips, solemnly said, "Senior Brother Ming met misfortune..."