Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 62 Asking
time flies.

The Changyang Valley Market has come to a close.

As the cultivators dispersed, the Chen family members also prepared to leave.

"Good sister, aren't you coming with us?"

Chen Ling'er looked at Tang Xueyan and felt a pang of sadness.

"No, Ling'er, thank you for keeping me company these past few days."

Tang Xueyan shook her head; she had no reason to go to the Chen family.

Apart from Chen Ling'er, no one in the Chen family completely trusted her.

"What are Miss Tang's plans for the future?"

Chen Zhonghe asked politely.

"Find someone."

Tang Xueyan's gaze was desolate.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhonghe and Chen Gongchang exchanged a glance, unsure of what to say.

Who knows how many hardships Miss Tang will encounter on her journey?

Chen Ling'er couldn't help but ask, "Good sister, if Nie Rong really is your senior brother, why wouldn't he acknowledge you?"

"My senior brother has his reasons."

Tang Xueyan had a thousand words in her heart, but in the end, they all boiled down to this one sentence.

"Ugh."

Chen Ling'er sighed and didn't try to persuade her any further.

The Chen family then embarked on their journey home.

Watching their retreating figures, Tang Xueyan felt a pang of emotion.

She used to walk with her master and fellow disciples.
Just then, Li Xiangming appeared behind her: "It's the last day, is Fairy Tang still unwilling to talk?"

"With your strength, you can't possibly stop Nie Rong. Even if you follow him, it will be in vain."

In order to find out information about Nie Rong, Li Xiangming found Tang Xueyan last night, but she was very resistant and refused to cooperate, probably because she had been injured by him.

"I won't say anything about my senior brother."

Tang Xueyan turned around, her cool eyes looking at Li Xiangming.

She has her own bottom line.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming's mind raced.

The woman in front of me claimed that her senior brother looked exactly like Nie Rong, and even had the same name.

Whether true or false, these are clues worth investigating.

Li Xiangming admitted that he was persuaded by Jiang Liang.

However, it wasn't because he trusted Jiang Liang, but rather because he re-examined many intriguing aspects of the gathering.

From the prying eyes of the blind man and the hunchbacked man, to the rogue cultivator Nie Rong winning the championship, and then to the appearance of the rare Youth Preservation Pill.

These experiences served as a wake-up call for Li Xiangming.

However, as things remained peaceful afterward, Li Xiangming's concerns were dispelled.

It wasn't until Jiang Liang claimed that Nie Rong and the stall owner selling the Youth-Preserving Pill were in cahoots that Li Xiangming's suspicions instantly grew.

Yes, from the current perspective, there has been no unusual activity from the Li family, and the Changyang Valley gathering can be considered a perfect conclusion.

But there is one thing the Li family has to admit.

That was Nie Rong, who participated in the small magical contest and won the championship, and the stubble-faced man who sold the Youth Preservation Pill in the market, who almost stole all the visible benefits from the Changyang Valley gathering.

And these two people were together.

what is this?
Want to make the most of the Changyang Valley Gathering?

The Li family can accept receiving a flying sword and spending 500 spirit stones to buy a youth-preserving pill, but they cannot accept that someone is plotting behind this.

Because this is undoubtedly a provocation.

Just like a cunning fish that takes all the bait, flips over, and escapes.

The Li family, who were fishing, were completely unaware of the situation and thought they had prepared a perfect fishing spot.

In the end, he suffered in silence.

From this perspective, the youth-preserving pill that the stubble-faced man sold to Master Lingwu must have been problematic.

Only in this way can the Li family's reputation be damaged, thus maximizing their losses.

Thinking of this, Li Xiangming wished he could arrest the stubble-faced man and Nie Rong immediately.

But he can't do that, or rather, he doesn't have the ability.

To take action against these two, we need help from our family.

Jiang Liang's deduction could convince himself, but not Li Qianxiong.

Both the burly man with stubble and Nie Rong were there for the Changyang Valley gathering, which was also under the name of the Li family.

Based solely on a few words from Jiang Liang, an outsider, the Li family attacked the guests of Changyang Valley. Isn't that utterly ridiculous?

Unless Li Xiangming strongly supports Jiang Liang, Li Qianxiong might not agree to let the Li family take action out of respect for him. But that would be incredibly foolish.

If it is ultimately proven that the stubble-faced man and Nie Rong have no connection, Jiang Liang will simply pack up and return to Lingwu Gate.

Li Xiangming, however, will forever bear the stigma of being a "boastful liar" within the Li family.

To avoid this situation, Li Xiangming had no choice but to seek out Tang Xueyan for some "evidence".

Jiang Liang judged things by their appearance, and by being certain that the bearded man was suspicious, he became convinced that the Youth-Preserving Pill was problematic.

Li Xiangming couldn't be sure if the stubble-faced man and the Youth-Preserving Pill were the problem, but he had personally received Nie Rong and felt Nie Rong's strange, out-of-place aura.

There's definitely something wrong with this person!

However, all independent cultivators have some problems, which he hadn't paid any attention to before.

If we can get Nie Rong's secret from Tang Xueyan now, we might be able to deduce the identity of the stubble-faced man.

“Nie Rong is my senior brother, I’ve said that many times.”

Tang Xueyan was becoming impatient with Li Xiangming's persistent questioning.

"Don't you want to know why I kept asking about Nie Rong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nie Rong won the championship of this Changyang Valley martial arts competition and has been chosen by our Li family. If nothing unexpected happens, he will have a brand new identity in the Li family."

Tang Xueyan looked astonished.

"That's why the Li family wanted to find out Nie Rong's background. Of course, even if you don't tell us, we won't give up on Nie Rong. He will be sent to a mysterious place."

"What mysterious place?"

Tang Xueyan couldn't help but ask.

"There's no need for Fairy Tang to know that."

Li Xiangming said calmly.

Since Tang Xueyan refused to cooperate, he had no choice but to resort to deception.

As the organizer of the Changyang Valley gathering, it is only natural for the Li family to recruit the best of the fighting contests; there is nothing to doubt about it.

Moreover, since Nie Rong refused to acknowledge Tang Xueyan, she must have been in a state of "estrangement" in Tang Xueyan's mind at this time.

Is she sure Nie Rong won't agree to join the Li family?
Sure enough, Tang Xueyan's face was full of anxiety, and she was very afraid that the Li family would deliberately hide Nie Rong.

Even if she stayed at the Li family's house, she wouldn't be able to see anyone.

Li Xiangming pressed his advantage, saying, "If Fairy Tang cooperates with my investigation, then Fellow Daoist Nie's whereabouts are not out of the question."

Tang Xueyan remained silent.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming changed his mind and said, "Since Fairy Tang doesn't want to reveal Nie Rong's information, then I can only ask about your matter, right?"

"If you ask, I may not answer."

Tang Xueyan bit her lip.

"You and Nie Rong are fellow disciples, so you must belong to the same sect, right?"

"Northern Cold Gate".

Tang Xueyan's gaze lingered, as if she were seeing her former homeland.

Northern Cold Gate?
Li Xiangming thought hard. The name sounded familiar at first, but upon closer inspection, it seemed unfamiliar.

Unable to come up with a solution, Li Xiangming changed his approach: "Last night you said you had been looking for Nie Rong. Forgive my bluntness, but how did you know that Nie Rong would come to Changyang Valley?"

"I didn't know. Coming to Changyang Valley was an accident. I was invited here by Ling'er on the way."

Li Xiangming was stunned, not expecting this to be the case. Unwilling to give up, he asked again, "Didn't you have any clues at all when you looked for your senior brother?"

"No."

Tang Xueyan shook her head, but after thinking for a moment, she changed her words and said, "Well, I did come with a woman."

"woman?"

"This person is named Madam Zhen. The Northern Cold Sect was destroyed by her."

At this point, Tang Xueyan looked pained, as if recalling that unbearable past.

Madam Zhen?
Li Xiangming frowned; the name was also unfamiliar to him.

Is this woman very capable?

"I don't know. I wasn't in the sect at the time, so I escaped the disaster. When I came back, my master and senior brother had also disappeared."

"Then how do you know that it was this Madam Zhen who attacked the Northern Cold Sect?"

"The information I bought from Xu Zibu was also the one who guided me to find Madam Zhen multiple times."

"Xu Zibu?"

Li Xiangming was surprised.

"You don't know Xu Zibu? He's a very famous intelligence merchant in Zhangning Prefecture, and he knows everything about the Mangjiao's movements."

"Wait, the Mang Cult?"

(End of this chapter)