"Really?"
The young woman's face lit up with joy.
Xu Taiping paused for a moment, then looked at the young woman with a regretful expression and said,
"But the woman I encountered was at least forty years old."
Upon hearing this, the joy on the young woman's face instantly faded into disappointment, while Lu Chen's face flashed with an expression of relief.
Xu Taiping saw the change in both of their expressions.
"You brat, you dare to toy with my junior sister? Watch how I—"
"Shige!"
Lu Chen was about to scold Xu Taiping again but was stopped by the young woman.
"Thank you, little Daoist," she said, pulling out a small pouch and tossing it toward Xu Taiping. "Here are thirty merit coins. Please accept them as compensation for the damage to the door."
Xu Taiping caught the pouch, and Lu Chen glared at him. "Thirty merit coins? Enough to fix your shabby door. Enjoy it while you can."
The young woman gave him a disappointed look and gently said, "Let's go, Shige. Master and the others are waiting for us at Qingfeng Gorge. If we're late, the eldest senior brother will scold us."
Lu Chen's face softened as he turned toward her. "Since you're asking, I'll let this brat go. Don't worry, if we don't find her here, we'll go check Qingfeng Gorge."
"Mm, I guess we have no choice," the young woman said, nodding. She turned to leave.
"Wait."
Xu Taiping suddenly called out to her.
"What is it, little Daoist?" She turned, confused.
"May I ask your name, sister?" Xu Taiping asked.
"You think you deserve to know my junior sister's name?" Lu Chen glared at him with menace.
"I'll tell her if I come across the woman you mentioned. I'll let her know you came looking for her." Xu Taiping answered sincerely.
"Little Daoist, my name is Liu Zijing. If you really do meet my sister, please tell her that Zijing has been looking for her. No matter what trouble she's in, Zijing will be there for her. She needn't fear anything."
The young woman spoke quickly and eagerly.
"Okay," Xu Taiping nodded. "If I meet her, I'll pass on every word."
"Thank you!" Liu Zijing clasped her hands together in gratitude, bowing deeply to Xu Taiping.
"Let's go, junior sister. The eldest senior brother and several others from Six Peaks are waiting for us at Qingfeng Gorge. If we're late, eldest senior brother will surely scold us," Lu Chen urged, shooting Xu Taiping one last glare.
"Mm, let's go, Shige," Liu Zijing nodded and walked off with Lu Chen.
"Phew…"
Once they left, Xu Taiping let out a long sigh. Despite his calm demeanor, he had been slightly nervous just now.
After testing Lu Chen's reaction, Xu Taiping was sure that if he had even hinted at knowing Liu Qingmei or had shown any intention to pass on information to Liu Zijing, Lu Chen would have attacked him.
Though Xu Taiping didn't know Lu Chen's exact cultivation level, after breaking through the Opening Door stage, he could clearly sense the powerful aura emanating from Lu Chen.
"If we were to fight head-on, what's my chance of winning? Forty percent? No, maybe less than twenty percent." Xu Taiping thought to himself.
The pressure Lu Chen exerted on him was far greater than the one from the Chang Gui. In a real fight, Xu Taiping felt he might not even get a chance to strike.
So, under these circumstances, handing the Xunchenxiang over to Liu Zijing seemed unwise.
However, by observing Lu Chen and Liu Zijing's reactions, Xu Taiping had at least confirmed one thing: "What Liu Qingmei said was true, the visions in the Xunchenxiang were real. She was indeed harmed by Lu Chen."
Xu Taiping walked to the courtyard gate.
"I need to figure out a way to hand the Xunchenxiang to Liu Zijing when Lu Chen isn't around, so she can see his true face. However, their relationship doesn't seem very close. At least, it seems Liu Zijing isn't fooled by Lu Chen's sweet words…"
He muttered to himself as he watched Liu Zijing and Lu Chen leave.
"They mentioned going to Qingfeng Gorge. Could it be that they're investigating the tiger demon?"
Xu Taiping suddenly recalled the conversation between Lu Chen and Liu Zijing, and an idea struck him.
The most vicious demon in this area was the tiger demon. It made sense that Liu Zijing would blame the tiger demon for her sister's disappearance.
"If I get to Qingfeng Gorge before them, I might have a chance to meet Liu Zijing. But then again, I'd be risking an encounter with that tiger demon."
Xu Taiping began to weigh the risks of heading to Qingfeng Gorge.
He had promised Liu Qingmei to deliver the Xunchenxiang to Liu Zijing, but that promise came with the condition that his life must be secure first.
Boom…
At that moment, a giant white-headed eagle descended in front of the courtyard gate.
"Xu Taiping of Qingzhu Residence, here's the stuff you bought. Twenty merit coins in total, and you still owe me one more."
The white-headed eagle tilted its head and dropped the package it was carrying, which landed perfectly in front of Xu Taiping.
Compared to Bai Hong, this white-headed eagle sounded much younger, its voice more immature. It seemed it wasn't very old.
"Thank you."
Xu Taiping caught the package and then retrieved a money pouch from his pocket, tossing it to the eagle.
Inside the package were over a hundred arrows, a set of leather armor for mountain trekking, and some daily supplies. He usually stocked up on such things every three months.
As Xu Taiping was about to head back inside, he noticed the young eagle didn't immediately leave after receiving the merit coin. Instead, it stood there, eyeing him curiously.
"Is there something else, Eagle Brother?"
Xu Taiping asked, intrigued.
"I heard from my father that your roasted yellow goat legs are really delicious. Did you roast any today?"
The young eagle looked directly at Xu Taiping.
"Father? Is your father Bai Hong, Uncle Bai?"
Xu Taiping squinted and suddenly realized that this eagle resembled Bai Hong quite a bit.
"That's right. Bai Hong is my father. My name is Bai Yu. I've heard my father talk about you a lot. Some people even thought you were his son."
Bai Yu replied with a hint of jealousy.
Xu Taiping chuckled awkwardly.
"Bai Yu, recently I haven't been able to hunt any yellow goats. But when I get one, I'll definitely invite you to a feast."
He extended the invitation.
"No need to wait! It's just a yellow goat. I have nothing to do today. I'll go hunt it for you. You just wait here!"
Bai Yu said proudly.
"That's fine. Bai Yu, wait a moment!"
Xu Taiping was about to agree, but as he was about to speak, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
"What? Are you backing out now?"
Bai Yu looked a little displeased.
"No, no, no," Xu Taiping quickly shook his head. "Bai Yu, you may not know, but when it comes to making the best roasted yellow goat legs, choosing the finest yellow goat meat is even more important than the roasting technique. So, I was thinking... Could you take me with you so I can pick the best one?"