The moment the middle-aged man appeared, Old Man Cui stopped talking.
The unease in his eyes vanished completely.
The pipe, bright as a lantern, resumed its steady rhythm.
The flame was neither too large nor too small.
Tu Shan Jun remained calm, though a strange glint flashed through his eyes.
He had thought that this time, he merely needed to let them know that he had already guarded against their methods, and use a few juniors to warn the people behind the scenes not to play too many tricks.
He had not expected this man to make no attempt to conceal himself.
"Who might you be?"
The middle-aged man was not short, standing a little over six feet tall, and was quite powerfully built.
His features were upright, with a faintly handsome air about them.
He wore a purple-gold Dharma robe and a golden crown.
With a genial smile, he sized up Tu Shan Jun. "Easy enough. Ancient Immortal Tower, Cui Jianlu."
Cui Jianlu cupped his hands and asked, "And who might you be, Fellow Daoist?"
Tu Shan Jun kept silent.
"Even if you do not say it, I can roughly guess."
"Oh?"
"Of these four, one is my nephew, the swordsman came from the Western Heaven, the girl is of the Mystic Sect, and the young man is of the Daoist Sect. You acted decisively against the Buddhist cultivator, regarded the Mystic Sect with cold disdain, yet showed a particular reaction toward the Daoist Sect. I would guess that you are a Daoist cultivator. As for which branch of the Daoist Sect, need I spell it out?"
Cui Jianlu smiled meaningfully.
Only then did Qi Hua understand.
Why had the man said that a Daoist cultivator's crime deserved an added degree of punishment?
It seemed this truly was a