Qiu Ling narrowed his eyes when he saw Xiao Li's reaction. There was nothing suspicious about looking like Bai Mu in itself. After all, Bai Mu had lived for a long time.
It could be that he had some child with another woman than Nie Huang that he had met a long time ago but hadn't talked about yet since they didn't know each other too well.
It could also be that somebody in his family looked a lot like him. After all, both his mother and father would've needed to have some kind of family in this mortal realm. And since they had both been cultivators, they should have had other relatives that were in the same position. At least that would make sense.
But … What were the chances that this person looked so much like Bai Mu and then had such a strange reaction to them? He didn't need to use even his little finger to figure out that this was highly unlikely.
In fact, this Xiao Li shouldn't have much of a reaction to them at all if he didn't know who they were. After all, who would freeze up just because his family had guests over? Especially if his family had somebody like Zhong Gang who certainly invited business partners over on a regular basis. Furthermore, just one look at Jing Yi should be enough to see that he was related to Madam Zhong. So what was this Xiao Li doing looking at them like this?
Jing Yi wasn't able to see anything from Xiao Li's reaction. He was only stunned because this person looked indeed a lot like the one he had seen in the transmission before. If he hadn't been prepared that something like this would happen, he might've believed that this was the very same Bai Mu that he had seen earlier.
Mi Fang's expression lit up when she saw her son-in-law. "Xiao Li! You're back. Come in and have a seat. See, your cousin-in-law, Jing Yi, and his fiance have come to visit from the Yun Zou Sect. You probably know the two of them?" She got up and rushed over, taking his arm. Anyway, she was still very satisfied with this husband of her daughter. Even though the two of them still didn't have any children, she felt that Guanyu could've made so much worse of a deal. He was handsome, he was smart, and he was also able to work hard if need be. Naturally, he shouldn't have to do any manual labor considering that he was a mighty cultivator and part of their family but it was still good to know that he would be able to body-wise if something ever happened to their family.
Xiao Li finally woke up when his so-called mother-in-law touched his arm. Naturally, he knew exactly who these two were: the dragon king and the reincarnation of his lover.
Unfortunately, that was likely not the identity that this woman knew them as. And he definitely couldn't allow the dragon king to latch onto the fact that he knew who they really were. Thus he forced a smile onto his lips, cupped his fists and then bowed. "But of course. Isn't that senior martial brother Qiu and junior martial brother Zhong? We're all disciples of the Yun Zou Sect. Naturally, we know each other."
Qiu Ling just continued to look at him with narrowed eyes while Jing Yi felt embarrassed. So the other person actually knew them. But … He had no idea who he was! He definitely didn't have the guts to say that though. Thus he only smiled and nodded back. "Senior martial brother Xiao. It's been a while." Anyway, this should be how other people reacted when they saw somebody they couldn't remember, right?
Xiao Li almost wanted to laugh when he heard that reaction. So this person that had never met him before was fooled just like this? Maybe he had thought too much. The dragon king might be a different matter but his lover wasn't too bright. He should be able to bluff his way through if it was just him. He just needed to make sure that he didn't give the dragon king any reason to suspect him. After all, he couldn't easily leave the capital right now. Things were too troublesome for that.
Before Qiu Ling could react any further, Mi Fang was already pulling Xiao Li over to the table. "Xiao Li, why don't you sit down? I'll go and get Guanyu. She's already back and went up to change her clothes. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that you're back!"
Xiao Li nodded but then put a hand on her arm. "Thank you, mother-in-law. But there's no reason for you to go to such lengths. Since I'm of the younger generation I should be the one who goes to retrieve Guanyu. Anyway, she's my wife. Wouldn't it be better to surprise her myself?"
"Aiya! Well, if you insist, then we'll wait here for you. As soon as you come down, we'll start eating. Hurry up!"
Xiao Li nodded like a good son-in-law and then went up, still staying alert. He just couldn't help the bad feeling that something would happen otherwise. What if that guy attacked him from behind? Even though he loathed this life as a human, he didn't want to lose it either. Because if he did, then he would never be able to get a better one in the future.
When he reached the staircase, he only lightly glanced in the direction of the table. He noticed that Qiu Ling's gaze was still on him and couldn't help but gulp. He almost hastened his steps but held back at the last possible moment.
The more suspicious he behaved, the worse the reaction he got might be. Maybe he would be able to fool him until tomorrow. Or maybe the dragon king wouldn't be willing to risk anything while his beloved and his family were there? Anyway, he just needed to get some more time and maybe things would get resolved on their own. He just couldn't mess up right now.
He finally reached the end of the staircase, stepped through the door and heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't know how but he had managed to make it to the other side. That had to mean that he was safe for the time being. Now, he only needed a good opportunity to leave. Then, he would be able to find a way to live. As for what happened to that woman … Why would he care?