Moreover, Li Qingyun had another expectation in bringing Third Master Yuan Guǐ into this Yellow Mud Temple.
"With the River Maiden's tyrannical, exclusive nature, she would never allow her 'things' to be taken by anyone else..."
He had been secretly contending with this saint of the River Mother Clan for a long time. As the old saying went, the one who understood you best was often your greatest enemy. Naturally, he understood this deeply.
It could only be said that everything was "heaven's will," everything falling into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
Who could have expected that, after Third Master Yuan had fallen into Guǐhood, his obsession would still refuse to fade? He still craved Yuan Gumo's mouthful, lingering outside the Yellow Mud Temple's domain—and then happened to encounter Li Qingyun.
Yet Mud Granny's reaction exceeded Li Qingyun's expectations.
Her dim, ghostly yellow eyes rolled as she scrutinized the drooling Third Master Yuan Guǐ. Then she slowly shook her head and said, "No, no. It came in by itself, so it must have come willingly to pay tribute to Granny!"
Then she abruptly twisted her head around. Her neck creaked like stiffened rotten wood as she stared fixedly at Li Qingyun, entering a mechanical, rigid "mode" as she asked in a faint voice:
"Little Daoist, did you come to seek refuge and shelter, or to pay tribute to Granny?"
A strange entity was a strange entity. It would not be led or induced by Li Qingyun. Even if it had rarely "lost focus" just now, it immediately returned to its own mode.
Li Qingyun's divine sense had been secretly probing this grim Mud Temple, searching for Yuan Gumo. Yet after searching it once, he still found no sign of him—not even a trace of his aura.