With a sword drawn, he laughs proudly, his martial prowess dominating the heavens!

The Yellow River Ancestor and five others left the forest but did not head towards Luoyang.

After walking two miles, they reached an open area. The six of them stopped one after another, looked around a few times, and then gathered together again, surrounding Ji Wushi in the middle.

The men frowned, their faces filled with worry. The old man was the first to lose his composure and asked softly, "Old Ji, what do you think the Holy Maiden means?"

When Ji Wushi saw that the men were staring intently at him, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Gentlemen, my nickname is 'No Plans to be devised,' how could I possibly fathom the Holy Maiden's true intentions?"

In short, just do whatever the Holy Maiden says. Sigh~

"Old Ji, this is a matter of life and death! Why are you still playing riddles?!"

Zu Qianqiu rubbed his beard between two fingers and pondered, "The Holy Maiden had us find out where that boy surnamed Li came from before, and these past two days she has asked us to keep an eye on his whereabouts."

Just now we were asked to spread... um? How come it's all related to that guy surnamed Li?!

Old man, do you still remember where Yan Sanxing and the Northern Desert Twins were stabbed? Below the neck and in the heart, they were both killed in one blow.

Could it be...?

Wu Baiying subconsciously touched the top of her head, still feeling lingering fear as she recalled the scene outside Luoyang.

"You mean... those people from the Songshan Sect were killed by someone surnamed Li? Then isn't the Holy Maiden... cleaning up the mess for... Young Hero Li?!"

"The Holy Maiden is of noble status; why should she concern herself with the affairs of the Five Mountains Sword Sect?"

"That's right. Even if we were to intervene, we should publicize that the disciples of Songshan and Huashan died in battle. The Holy Maiden's thoughts are truly unfathomable."

"Oh, I get it!"

The old man clasped his hands together and shouted, startling the group.

"What are you howling about? Do you want to die?!"

Ji Wushi looked suspicious. What could this old fool's muddled brain possibly understand? Even a fool can have a stroke of genius.

The old man didn't care at all. Instead, he smugly approached the crowd and said with a sly smile and a strong sense of smugness, "Think about it, although the Holy Maiden has a noble status and is revered by thousands, she is still a young girl in the prime of her life."

That young swordsman Li is not only exceptionally skilled at swordsmanship at such a young age, but also handsome and dashing; he is truly a rare talent in the martial world.

"You mean... the Holy Maiden has taken a liking to him?"

The few people who initially looked down on the old man found his words increasingly reasonable after thinking about them.

Otherwise, given the Holy Maiden's personality, why would she go to such lengths to cover for Young Hero Li?

Recalling the Holy Maiden's arrangement, Zu Qianqiu suddenly understood and whispered, "Could it be that the Holy Maiden meant to help Young Hero Li become famous in the martial arts world?"

"Oh, that's exactly right!" The old man chimed in. "A young girl is in love. I never thought that even a woman like the Holy Maiden couldn't escape this. If you ask me, why be so coy? Just say you like her directly."

Upon reflection, the two were indeed a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

"No, who exactly are Yan Sanxing and the Northern Desert Twin Bears? It's hard to believe they can make a name for themselves in the martial arts world with just that."

The old man glanced at his old partner with a hint of disdain, feeling a sense of shame at being associated with fools. "Rumors in the martial arts world are a mix of truth and falsehood. What's that saying?"

Three people said a tiger died?

"Three men can make a tiger!"

"Yes! Old Ji is indeed knowledgeable."

After he finished speaking, the men reacted in various ways: some gazed at the moon in deep thought, some frowned and stroked their beards, and some stared at each other blankly.

But no one dared to ask the Holy Maiden for her deeper meaning.

Only the old man was smug, his cheeks practically bursting with pride, thinking to himself, "When it comes to wisdom, you still have to rely on me!"

"Old Ji, what do you think?"

"What the old man says seems... to make some sense." The old man was delighted to hear this, then he added, "However, we can't rush this matter. If we misunderstand, there's still time to adjust. Otherwise, I'm afraid..."

The group of people felt a chill run down their spines and quickly said:

"reasonable!"

"Words of wisdom and prudence!"

"That's what we'll do!"

"..."

On the other hand, Miss Ren, who had just returned to the bamboo house, looked a little calmer, and her anger had subsided somewhat compared to yesterday.

Looking westward through the gauze curtain, Miss Ren sneered to herself, "A threat? Let's see if Zuo Lengchan can tolerate the 'rising star' of Mount Hua!"

Luqiao Post Station, Yuelai Inn.

Looking at the inn's plaque, Li Che suddenly recalled a joke from his past life: "There must be a Yuelai Inn in the martial arts world, and encountering it often leads to bad things happening in life."

But this time it might not be allowed, as the inn is full of brothers from the Weixin Escort Agency, all of them are our own people.

As dusk approached, the inn's lobby was already packed with people, clinking glasses and laughing heartily. Thick slices of meat with rich, dark sauce were served in bowls on the tables.

Especially the two burly men from Qianjin Village, who swallowed the large pieces of fish and meat with their wine after only a couple of chews.

They had been training their bodies for years and used heavy weapons, so they were used to eating and drinking lavishly.

Li Che has always preferred quiet, so he only offered a cup of wine before leaving the inn. If he were there, everyone would feel a bit too reserved.

Looking westward, the mountains rise one after another. After passing Luqiao Post Station, we entered the heart of the Xiaoshan Mountains, and the road was not as easy to travel as it had been a few days before.

However, I had already lain down there once before coming, so I figured I wouldn't encounter any trouble this time.

As Li Che stepped out of the inn, he glanced around. The vendors who had been hawking their wares earlier had all turned away, leaving only a wonton stall under the eaves of a building diagonally opposite.

It was called a stall, but in reality it was just a carrying pole and two wooden buckets, without even a table or chairs.

The stall owner was a slightly thin old man, dressed in a patched coarse gray cloth coat, with a straw hat on his head. He squatted on the bluestone steps, tapping a bamboo stick to call out his wares.

Steam billowed from the bucket, obscuring the old man's face.

"Grandpa, how many wontons are left? I'll take them all. It's getting late, you should head home soon."

"It's not too late, thank you young man. But you can't eat all of this by yourself, so don't waste it."

Li Che smiled, raised his head and pointed, "Look at those men inside, these little wontons, two bites a bowl."

"Hey, these rough men, all they care about is drinking and eating meat, they don't even have room for my wontons. No way, no way, it's a waste of my skills."

Li Che glanced at him with some surprise; the old man was indeed frank and interesting.

"Okay, cook me a bowl, I'm starving."

The old man beamed with joy upon hearing this, and deftly picked out the wontons. Just now, he had only picked out eight wontons for someone else's bowl of food, but he had packed twelve for Li Che.

"Grandpa, that's too much."

"No more, no less, exactly twelve. But, this old man sells wontons to others for one copper coin each, but he sells them to you by the bowl."

This bowl will cost thirty-four copper coins.

Seeing the old man's kind smile, Li Che didn't ask any further questions and simply took out a copper coin to pay the bill.

In no time at all, Li Che had finished a bowl of wontons, soup and all. Still wanting more, he said, "Grandpa's cooking is really good. I'll have another bowl."

"I'm not selling anymore. I'm afraid you won't be able to eat too much. Young man, eat your fill and go digest. I won't take your thirty-four copper coins for nothing."

Upon hearing this, Li Che's pupils contracted slightly. He glanced deeply at the old man beside him, and in an instant, his dantian surged, channeling energy throughout his body.

After a few breaths, he stood up and said, "In that case, I will do as you say and go for a stroll."

"Go away, go away, don't disturb the peace of the people."

Li Che did not reply. He carried his sword and walked through the streets and alleys, heading straight out of the town.

The Weixin Escort Agency has 34 people besides itself, so where did these 12 "wontons" come from?

The old man had already named him; the person was coming for Li Che. The old man with wontons? He's probably surnamed He.

Since that's the case, who cares who does it? We'll know once it's made into wonton filling!

......