Chapter 1035: Grand Assembly of the Purple Mansion (III)
Xiao Yuansi hesitated for a moment. The old man was not one to flaunt himself, yet he lifted his brows and looked up at Li Ximing, who, though not greatly changed in form, seemed entirely different in essence.
"Ming'er..."
The face before him was upright and proper. His brows were slightly long, and the pale golden eyes softened as his lips curved into a restrained smile.
Daoist Master Zhaojing, Li Ximing.
The constant gloom between his brows, that clenched-teeth bitterness, had vanished completely. In its place shone a trace of heavenly light, glimmering at the center of his brow.
The flicker of unease in his eyes was gone as well. Now Li Ximing’s gaze carried a gentle smile, with no trace of gloom or the grim resolve of one about to die in vain. With those shadows erased, his entire face came alive. He was no longer the Li Family’s desperate, last gamble, but truly Daoist Master Zhaojing, Li Ximing.
Tears welled faintly in Xiao Yuansi’s eyes. But before the gaze of all, he could only sigh and say, "Daoist Master Zhaojing’s fortune is profound indeed. This old man merely basks in its glow."
Li Ximing helped him up with a smile. Changxi, standing nearby, spoke in a warm and amiable tone, envy stirring in his heart, while Li Ximing respectfully said, "Master, please."
Everyone in the three sects and seven gates knew of Xiao Yuansi's pill. After being chastised by Xiao Chuting, he had returned, dejected and broken, from the Northern Sea. For over a decade of Li Ximing’s seclusion, Xiao Yuansi had been nothing more than a laughingstock or idle gossip among the orthodox immortal families.
Li Ximing had heard fragments of that mockery. His personal arrival to welcome him was to let all the families see, and to vent his master’s long-suffered indignation!