A Contest of Beauty

Li Canghai was not simply making a few polite remarks to express his attitude.

Spiritual Curse Technique have always been universally applicable.

Unlike wizards who have too many spells and prefer to find spells that match their own, this one is different.

Most martial arts practitioners in this world develop other abilities based on a single incantation.

Li Canghai is currently reading minds.

The Buddhist practice of telepathy has been activated!

Li Canghai's pupils suddenly contracted.

Despite her misogyny, she was actually more wary of Duan Zhengchun because of his handsome face, and subconsciously assumed that he must be a beast in human clothing.

But among the emotions she sensed was only an incredibly sincere fatherly love and a deep longing for Yu Yan's mother.

Could this really be?

While Li Canghai was filled with doubt and suspicion, he put aside his scrutiny of Duan Zhengchun.

Two out of three possible factors led to Duan Zhengchun's death.

And finally, Wu Xingyun.

"Sit down, what are you looking at me for?"

Her tone was kind, like that of an elder. Before Duan Zhengchun and Duan Yu could refuse, two chairs appeared behind them.

"I dare not refuse such a gift from an elder." Duan Yu bowed and sat down.

"Zhengchun thanks the Palace Master." Duan Zhengchun was unaware that he had just narrowly escaped three life-threatening crises, only inwardly grumbling, 'Yu'er is really something; aren't my father-in-law and the others all very kind? How could they be so terrifying?'

Li Canghai frowned slightly, and her gaze, which naturally exuded the vibrant energy of early spring, swept over Wu Xingyun's profile.

Based on her understanding of her senior sister, when facing strangers, her senior sister's body should act before her mind, that is, first use force to teach the Duan father and son a lesson, and then communicate verbally.

But right now.

What Li Canghai didn't know was that the seemingly careless senior sister, whose mind had been completely robbed of its nourishment by the great humiliation of Qi Chi, had actually developed the mentality of a young woman after falling in love.

If Wu Yazi's granddaughter is recognized by the Dali Royal Family and brought back to Dali, wouldn't I, your grandmother, have one less competitor?

That's what Wu Xingyun was thinking.

Only she and Li Lin knew these thoughts.

Li Lin didn't care about Wu Xingyun's thoughts.

Because it's simply impossible to achieve.

Yu Yan will not be separated from him, and Duan Zhengchun will not have another daughter. On the contrary, he will lose several daughters because of this meeting.

"Those of you outside can come in now," Li Lin said with a smile, "After confirming that your fathers and brothers are safe and sound."

His gentle voice reached the ears of the people outside the door, like the warm spring sunshine falling on their foreheads through the window, warm and incredibly touching.

The woman in black was the boldest among the girls and always referred to herself as the elder sister. She was the first to push open the bamboo door and enter the room. Her beautiful eyes, which seemed to hold a pool of spring water, looked towards the possible person who had heard the voice, and finally landed on Li Lin, who was dressed as a scholar.

Li Lin also scrutinized the woman before him. What struck him most was not her face, as beautiful as a begonia in spring slumber, or her body, as delicate as Phoebe in bloom, but rather the strange fragrance she brought into the room, which his keen senses had detected. It was neither orchid nor musk, and although the scent was not strong, it was subtle, deep, and sweet.

As expected of the Fragrant Medicine Fork.

Of course, she shouldn't have this nickname in this life, and her name is no longer Mu Wanqing, but Duan Wanqing.

"Greetings, young master. I wonder if you are the young master—" The woman in black only thought of greeting Li Lin. If Duan Yu hadn't coughed, she probably would have forgotten about the other people in the room.

"Greetings, Father, Brother, Yu Yan—" Her gaze lingered on two almost identical faces, and she fell into a daze.

"Sister Wanqing, what's wrong?" The girl in purple rushed in, pulling her older sister who shared the same mother.

Her voice was delicate, clear and pleasant, but she spoke with a lot of rolled "r" sounds and her pronunciation was not very clear, just like a foreigner learning a Middle-earth language for the first time.

Coupled with the naturally shrewd look brought about by her eyes, which were as bright and sparkling as her mother's, her inherent cuteness was enhanced by this contradiction.

"A'zi, you~" The voice of the girl in red beside her was as clear and crisp as her own sister's, like pearls falling on a jade plate, and her words carried a touch of the unique charm of the Wu dialect.

His expression was a half-smile, his face full of mischievousness.

If A'zi is clever and a little cute, then her older sister A'zhu is mostly mischievous. Her round, dark eyes seem to be able to come up with thousands of prank ideas with just a blink of an eye.

However, when their bright, round eyes turned to Li Lin, they almost instantly froze, their shrewdness vanished, leaving only cuteness.

Li Lin returned their gazes.

Unlike the other versions of A'zhu and A'zi he had seen, A'zhu was not a dark-skinned, mature woman, but gentle and kind, A'zi was not tall.

Both of them had smooth, radiant, fair skin and petite, delicate figures.

However, A'zhu, as the older sister, was more slender and frail, and carried a faint fragrance similar to that of Mu Wanqing.

A'zi has a graceful figure and even bigger eyes, like a cute anime girl brought to life. Li Lin also knows that she has a pair of snow-white and crystal-clear little feet, which Jin Yong couldn't help but describe in detail.

"My name is Li Lin. May I ask how the three of you are addressed?" Li Lin said, bowing slightly after finishing the eye massage.

A'zi was the first to come to her senses, and she immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, "Come in! That young master is indeed exceptionally handsome. My two older sisters are completely mesmerized."

First appeared a small, light green shoe with a few tiny yellow flowers embroidered along the edge, followed by a round face.

If you ignore the girl in the green dress and her round, youthful face, combined with her lively and spirited nature, she would look more like A'zi A'zhu's half-sisters.

But in an instant, she pulled another girl, who looked more like her half-sister, into the room.

"Sister A'bi, what are you dawdling for?"

The girl, who was being pulled into the room, smiled sweetly.

This smile extinguished Wu Xingyun's anger, which had been rising because more and more beautiful girls were appearing before Li Lin.

Li Lin no longer felt that A'bi and Zhong Ling looked alike; the girl in front of him had a gentle face and a delicate appearance.

Although her face wasn't as beautiful as the others, only an 8 out of 10, her innate gentleness made her no less than a beauty with a perfect 10.

The illusion I just had stemmed from the fact that both of them were dressed in green, had similar builds, and were both beautiful.

In an instant, the group of young girls formed a masterpiece of painting, resembling a riot of flowers in full bloom, so beautiful that one couldn't bear to disturb it.

However, the next second, a brightly colored butterfly flew into the painting of flowers, making the picture even more lively and natural.

"A'zhu, A'bi!" Wang Yuyan went to greet them, her eyes filled with tears.

"Miss Cousin!" x2

A'zhu shook off A'zi's arm and shook hands with A'bi and Wang Yuyan.

The three of them formed a circle, their faces beaming with joy.

To Wang Yuyan as a child, her mother and the other women in her family were like demons from a storybook, killing people and fattening them up all day long.

His own maid was only slightly better.

Her cousin's family in Linshui Village was the only haven where she could escape the pressure.

But her cousin only cared about his career all day long. If it weren't for the fact that he was the only eligible man who could get close to her without being killed and paid for, and that he was also handsome, she wouldn't have developed any feelings for him.

In a sense, A'zhu A'bi were her childhood sweethearts and closest people.

But one day, the two of them suddenly disappeared.

When I asked my cousin, his expression would change drastically and he would fly into a rage.

She now realized that the two of them had gone to Dali.

"Could I call you Yuyan?" A'zhu then remembered that Murong Fu was actually Wang Yuyan's enemy.

Wang Yuyan nodded, "You have nothing to do with that person anymore, so you don't need to call me that."

"Yu Yan," A'bi said softly, "I should have asked my godfather to come find you sooner, so that we could—"

Wang Yuyan shook her head, "My maternal grandfather turned Mandala Villa into a forbidden area to protect me. Luckily, you didn't come."

Seeing her friends being so affectionate with others, Huang Rong couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. "I think it's because they've forgotten what it means to be the adopted daughter of the Prince of Zhennan in Dali."

"Rong'er~" Wang Yuyan said reproachfully, "You don't need to worry, no matter what, you will always be my good sister."

"Hmph," Huang Rong snuggled up to Li Lin, "I have enough with Brother Lin."

"Brother Lin~" Wu Xingyun said in a high-pitched voice, "You tender melon seedling only knows how to act cute, and you have no tolerance for others at all."

Her magnificent phoenix eyes turned to Li Lin with overflowing enthusiasm, "If it were me, I would definitely make good arrangements for my sisters."

Seeing his daughter and goddaughter gathered together so warmly and happily, Duan Zhengchun instantly came back to his senses.

This is partly because the Palace Master of the Lingjiu Palace actually has a man.

The other half is that he understood the implication in Wu Xingyun's words.

I'm here to find my daughter, not to marry her off. Is it appropriate for so many of my daughters to marry into the same family?

But he didn't want to offend this mysterious young man, to whom even the Palace Master of the Lingjiu Palace bowed and scraped. So he quickly picked up his political skills that he had forgotten, "Young Master Li, Palace Master, with the passing of Song Emperor, Gang Leader Qiao is now the only candidate to succeed him."

"Even Xuan Ci, the ruler of the Buddha Kingdom, openly supports him."

"Why don't we go and pay them a visit together?"

Then he quickly turned around and said, "Yu'er, you take your sisters to settle down and rest first."

The people inside were all quick-witted and immediately understood Duan Zhengchun's implied meaning.

Duan Yu was extremely troubled. His younger sisters always had their own opinions, and now they were all clearly interested in this Young Master Li.

Just as he had thought.

A'zi pouted in dissatisfaction, "I still want to get to know Brother Lin."

Zhong Ling nodded in agreement.

A'zhu's round eyes darted around, "Let's settle down and rest here, so we can keep Yuyan company."

A'bi smiled gently, "Sister A'zhu, this is more appropriate."

Mu Wanqing had already sat down with her sword drawn, seemingly with no intention of leaving.

In order to demonstrate her status as the first wife in front of the other women, Wu Xingyun snorted, "Prince Duan, we are all outsiders, why be so mercenary? No matter who comes to power, it will not affect the status of our Lingjiu Palace."

"The same applies to you."

"Those eminent monks of Tianlong Temple are the trump card that allows your Duan family to firmly sit on the throne."

"I have also heard of Master Kuron Zen Gong."

"When the World-Honored One Shakyamuni entered Nirvana in Kushinagar, there were two Sala trees on each side, one flourishing and one withered, which is called 'four withered and four flourishing'. According to Buddhist scriptures, the two trees on the east side represent 'permanence and impermanence', the two trees on the south side represent 'happiness and no happiness', the two trees on the west side represent 'self and no self', and the two trees on the north side represent 'purity and impurity'."

"The flourishing and glorious tree signifies the True Form of Nirvana: permanence, bliss, self, and purity; the withered and decaying tree shows the worldly nature: impermanence, lack of bliss, lack of self, and lack of purity. The Tathagata enters Nirvana between these eight states, meaning neither withered nor flourishing, neither false nor empty."

"Master Kuron has now reached the state of 'neither withered nor flourishing, yet both withered and flourishing' described by the Buddha in the scriptures."

"Moreover, Yu Yan was raised by my junior brother, who is also her maternal grandfather. You think you can take her away like that? You may not be thinking too highly of yourself."

"I think this young girl in red is right. Why don't you stay here and make yourselves at home?"

"Don't let the small size of this bamboo house fool you. From what I've observed, it contains the power of a spatial expansion spell. It can accommodate not only you and a few girls, but even an entire army."

Wu Xingyun's words revealed her understanding of Dali and her opinions.

This is like a nuclear-armed superpower warning another developing country. "I know you are researching nuclear weapons, to what extent, and who the researchers are. If you want to avoid trouble, do as I say."

At present, Duan Zhengchun and the Dali Kingdom he represents are merely developing countries in the eyes of the Lingjiu Palace.

After all, Dali still has ordinary people; it's not a place where everyone is a martial artist.

Lingjiu Palace not only has the Nine Heavens Nine Divisions composed of female warriors with extraordinary martial arts skills, but also martial arts masters such as the 'Thirty-Six Cave Lords' and 'Seventy-Two Island Lords'.

Therefore, Duan Zhengchun should have shown weakness.

However, although Duan Zhengchun was good at forgetting his lovers and children who were away, when they were by his side or when he was aware of them, his feelings for them were extremely sincere, and he considered them to be more important than his own life.

In the original novel, Duan Zhengchun died because his wife and lover had died, and he abandoned the Dali Kingdom. He was so blinded by love that he went to his death.

And the same is true now.

He initially refused indirectly, saying, "Master Kuron said that his realm of 'neither withering nor flourishing, yet both withering and flourishing' can only prevail in a golden age of martial arts. But right now, there is not only martial arts, but also Curse Technique."

"As the number one person in the world and the soon-to-be Song Emperor, it is essential to understand Gang Leader Qiao's views on other sects and neighboring countries after he takes the throne."

Seeing that Wu Xingyun did not react, he became more direct, "As for staying here, although this bamboo house is nice, we Duan family are not just ordinary people from the martial arts world."

"While enjoying the benefits of being a member of the royal family, one must also abide by some necessary unspoken rules."

"With so many women living in the same house with men from outside the royal family, it's hard not to question the upbringing of our Dali Royal Family."

Courageous! Truly courageous!

Li Lin just wanted to applaud.

What's the difference between this and directly pointing your finger at Wu Xingyun and calling him ill-mannered?

Seeing Wu Xingyun's brows furrowed and a surge of power, like a volcano about to erupt, about to burst forth from her graceful body, Li Lin prepared to make his move.

Although he was lecherous and enjoyed licking the lips of Bao Gan Baobao and others while shedding tears, he didn't have a thing for widows.

Narcissa Malfoy: You pointed at me and said you weren't into that kind of thing.

Li Lin: You forgot that Lucius Malfoy and I have a grudge. I didn't kill him; it was Tom's arrangement. It really caused me a lot of trouble.