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"It's been four days now, and you were personally sent back by Xiaowei Jiang Hanyun. While your injuries were not severe, and you practically recovered the next day, you have been in a deep sleep of sorts, for a reason unknown."
Li Chengji wore a serious expression: "As for the two Daoists you spoke of, both have successfully escaped. They are notorious evil cultivators, particularly that Xue Wuya, who is one of the three most outstanding disciples of the Blood Blade Ancestor. Xiaowei Jiang had to watch over you, so he wasn't able to capture the two."
"I've been unconscious for four days?" Li Xuan found this unbelievable. His sword-like eyebrows furrowed, "Did Xiaowei say anything about the situation then? I saw them carrying a coffin; one of them would rather be injured than letting the coffin be damaged."
"It is said that there might be an Evil Corpse inside the coffin, possibly close to the rank of the Drought Demon."
The person who spoke was Li Yan: "Don't look at me like that. The Liudao Division is currently conducting a city-wide manhunt. They're trying to find the whereabouts of Xue Wuya and the Evil Corpse. With millions of people in Nanjing City, having an Evil Corpse of the Drought Demon level sneak in, that's catastrophic. If not careful, several hundred thousand people will die. Xue Wuya must have brought the Evil Corpse into the city with ill intentions. It's a pity that the Liudao Division had just found the location of the second prince and Princess Changle, and now they have to exhaust all resources to deal with this major case."
Li Xuan's spirits were lifted considerably: "They have found the second prince?"
"They found him three days ago." Li Yan's expression was calm. "However, he was seriously injured and remains unconscious till now. The situation at that time was perilous. If the people of the Liudao Division had been a bit late, there would have been fears of his demise."
"It's a good thing that he returned safely. The Court——"
But Li Xuan noticed that Li Chengji and the others were still in their usual home attire. He couldn't help but frown: "Father, you guys?"
Could it be that they are still under investigation and have been suspended from their duties?
"Although the second prince has safely returned, he was still attacked on the river. A crime like this can't be so easily erased,"
First, Li Chengji gave a wry smile. Then, after much hesitation, he told some hard truths: "Xuan, you don't need to worry. We were merely swept up by some political maneuvering in the court, which resulted in undeserved misfortune. It may be difficult for us to rise again for some time, but for now, it will not harm the fundamentals of the Earl's mansion."
On the other hand, Li Yan jeered in good humor: "You should be more worried about yourself rather than us. Four days ago, your supervisor sent you home, then forced our father to agree to have you practice twelve rounds of 'Frozen Blade' and 'Cold Breath Fierce Palm' every day, and even insisted that he supervise it personally."
Li Xuan couldn't believe what he was hearing and looked at Li Chengji. The original agreement was for ten rounds, but now it seemed the ante had been upped. Earl Chengyi, what a way to sell out your son.
Li Chengji avoided his younger son's questioning and hurtful gaze, looking a little guilty: "Xiaowei Jiang said that I have not been raising you properly, that I had spoiled you too much. He said that I would ruin you eventually. This, to me, is a loss of face and unbearable. Take this incident as a lesson. Even if your cultivation was only at the Four-story Realm level then, with the aid of the Kuiniu luminous armor, you should have been able to at least withstand one of their blows."
As he spoke, he wore a solemn look, conveying the aura of Earl Chengyi, "It's rare for your supervisor to think so highly of you. He has even agreed to let you check in an hour later every day. You should take this opportunity to improve yourself by training harder."
Just as Li Xuan was about to say something, he heard Li Yan laughing on the side; "Actually, it's like taking advantage of the current. Old man, he couldn't be happier to have someone discipline you and press you to practice martial arts. Xiaowei Jiang is not afraid of my mother's fierce reputation. Little brother, you don't know, but it's rare to see someone stand up to our mother. She may look delicate, but she is as tough as a rock. If you marry her, things would certainly be interesting around here."
"What are you talking about? If you don't speak, no one will think you're dumb."
Li Chengji glared at him and then took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, placing it in front of Li Xuan: "This is what Xiaowei Jiang left for you. She said that her actions were rash this time and almost cost you your life. Feeling very guilty, she left this pill as compensation."
Li Xuan took the porcelain bottle and gave it a glance which made his eyes lit up, "Liudao Renyuan Elixir?"
The 'Liudao Renyuan Elixir' is a well-known name. It's one of the few extremely rare elixirs in the world that can enhance Zhenyuan without any major consequences.
How rare is it? With the power and prestige of the Earl Chengyi's mansion, they can only acquire two similar elixirs a year, which are then distributed to Li Xuan and Li Yan.
Unfortunately, the original Li Xuan was not ambitious, often being able to utilize less than one-tenth of the power of a single elixir.
The Liudao Renyuan Elixir, however, is one of the unique products of the Liudao Division. The even more powerful Diyuan Elixir is capable of helping a person break through their cultivation realm, attracting many outstanding independent martial artists to join the Liudao Division over the past thousand years.
"It's clear that Xiaowei Jiang has high hopes for your talents,"
Li Chengji stroked his beard: "Xuan, you must not let down Xiaowei Jiang's cultivation efforts."
"What cultivation?"
At that moment, the bead curtain at the entrance was lifted again, and Mrs. Liu came in, teary-eyed. In her hands was a bowl of medicinal soup: "This time Xuan was almost dead, are you still planning to let him take duty at the Liudao Division? Do you have to see him dead to stop?"
At this point, not only were Li Chengji and Li Yan quiet as cicadas in cold weather, Li Xuan himself also felt his scalp tingling, knowing that Mrs. Liu's wrath would soon turn to him.
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Li Xuan's premonition was correct. Mrs. Liu scolded Li Chengji and his son until they were covered in dog's blood and fled. Then she spent more than two hours complaining by his bedside, only sparing him as it neared midnight.
It was not easy waiting for the room to quiet down and for his ears to regain their silence, but Li Xuan couldn't help but shudder with fear.
His whole body broke out in goosebumps as he looked at the red-dressed female ghost who was still drifting by his bed.
Anybody in this place and time would not be calm. Although Li Xuan was brave, he was not an insanely arrogant person.
This female ghost seemed dull and did not show any intention of harming him for the time being. But what if she was waiting for a certain moment, a certain opportunity to seize his life? This was something no one could predict.
Li Xuan first went through the memories of his original self in his mind, confirming that he and this girl had nothing to do with each other and had no grudges.
Even though the original self was a mess, he did have a bottom line in his actions. He bullied people, but he never killed anyone. It was unreasonable for him to be haunted.
Then Li Xuan decided to try and talk to this female ghost.
"Miss, who are you?"
"Can you talk? Can we have a discussion?"
"Why are you staring at me? Although I also think I am particularly handsome, you looking at me so affectionately will make me feel embarrassed."
"Who are you?"
"Are you OK?"
"Will you sleep with me?"
There was no response to all these, Li Xuan could only give a wry smile, turning to take out the porcelain bottle containing the Human-Origin Pill.
Just as before, since he was helpless toward this female ghost, he could only pretend she did not exist.
Li Xuan decided to take care of his business first. He had to finish his Heavenly Circulation for the day and consume this Human-Origin Pill.
The near-death incident four days ago indeed made him feel a strong sense of crisis. He had made up his mind to, in the shortest possible time, elevate his 'Hunyuan Celestial Scripture' to the Fourth-Floor Territory.
Li Chengji was right. If he had the cultivation of the Fourth-Floor Territory at that time, he wouldn't have been knocked unconscious by one hit.