Bearing Ginseng, Seeking Vengeance

A buzzing murmur filled the air, like a swarm of flies attracted by the bloodstains, utterly annoying.

"I never expected that old dog Xiao Hu would go to such lengths. What was the point?"

"Could it be... that what he said wasn't a lie?"

Xiao Hu's desperate fight, though still somewhat insufficient against a Three Tribulation Immortal cultivator, failed to severely injure Ling Baiquan, but it did successfully affect him.

His actions today, in particular, are tantamount to proving his innocence with his own life; he is using his own life to prove his and his daughter's innocence.

The Ling Baiquan heard the sounds around him and withdrew his attention from the injury on his neck. His expression changed slightly, and then he became even more resentful.

This fellow looked up at the master of the academy on the platform and cried out in grief and indignation:

"Master, this old dog intends to obstruct my Dao Path and prevent me from joining Immortal Sect. Please, Master, do me justice!"

He barked once, Ling Baiquan bark urgently again:

"It must be because the Spring Examination are approaching, and someone is trying to harm me, disturb my peace of mind, and ruin the reputation of our institution."

Upon hearing his words, the museum master remained expressionless, merely flicking his sleeve and issuing a command:

"All irrelevant personnel should leave."

As soon as his voice rang out, the surrounding whispers and discussions ceased abruptly, and all the disciples, stewards, and servants in the academy responded, "Yes."

Like flowing water, the group quickly left the training ground, but after they left, the area outside the training ground was bustling with noise and excitement.

In the arena, only the Master Ling remained on the high platform, Ling Baiquan in the arena, and Xiao Hu's mangled corpse.

Only the master and apprentice remained. Ling Baiquan wanted to say something, but he only felt a blur before his eyes, and the figure of the sect leader appeared in front of him.

A mocking smile appeared on the old man's face as he coldly said, "You scoundrel, you still want to claim you're innocent?"

The Ling Baiquan choked on its words, and hurriedly tried to explain. But the guild master's next sentence had already been uttered:

"Hmph! You really think you're something special? Why would he risk his life to frame you?"

This Ling Baiquan speechless for a moment.

Realizing that the museum owner had probably already seen through the scheme and there was no room for further explanation, the man covered his neck and stood obediently to the side.

The museum owner squatted down, looking at Xiao Hu's corpse on the ground with a melancholy expression.

The man rubbed his hands together, trying to close Xiao Hu's wide-open eyes and let him die in peace.

But when he touched it, Xiao Hu's eyelids seemed to be embedded in their sockets, unable to close.

This made the museum master frown. So he hooked two fingers and poked them into Xiao Hu's eye sockets, forcibly prying out his eyelids and closing his eyes.

Then, the man stood up and let out a long breath. "Let's go to his room and help Xiao Lili collect her body."

The Ling Baiquan was taken aback, and instinctively said, "I saw that old dog pushing his daughter out to sunbathe yesterday."

But before he could finish speaking, the Ling Baiquan understood that if his daughter hadn't died, Xiao Hu would never have been so reckless as to risk his life to prove his innocence, just to spit out a mouthful of blood from him.

This made the Ling Baiquan's expression darken slightly, and he finally couldn't help but grit his teeth and mutter, "That wretched servant, she couldn't even choose a good day to die."

These words made the museum master turn his head and squint at him.

The Ling Baiquan immediately realized he had said something inappropriate and fell silent. He then cupped his hands in greeting and ran towards Xiao Hu's room in the mansion.

Halfway there.

This Ling Baiquan's heart, and also stirred some regret within him.

He had come to his senses and realized that his family's publicity stunt for the day had been completely ruined by Xiao Hu, and that there was still a vulnerable spot on his neck.

This guy was regretting it. If he had known this would happen, he should have Xiao Lili earlier and killed her sooner, so that he wouldn't have let his guard down and been outmaneuvered by this father and daughter.

However, this fellow forgot that he had indeed considered this possibility.

For the past six months, Xiao Hu has been taking care of his daughter almost non-stop, which is why his daughter Xiao Lili has survived to this day and has not given anyone a chance to harm her.

Bang!

The room, filled with the strong smell of medicine, was suddenly kicked open.

Ling Baiquan to pounce into the room.

He spotted the limp human figure inside the bed curtains, and without thinking, kicked the body to shake it up so he could pick it up and leave.

But the next moment, something happened that made his eyelids twitch.

The robes and blankets on the bed were scattered, but no corpses jumped up; there was no one there.

Xiao Lili was not in the room.

"Damn it!" With no one around, the Ling Baiquan could no longer contain itself and burst into a tirade:

"You lowly drug slave, how dare you bully me!"

More than an hour ago.

When everyone in the Scorched-Tail Hall was gathered in the training ground, a figure wearing a cloak quietly left the Scorched-Tail Hall.

The man was hunched over, with a protruding belly, and swayed unsteadily. He was also surrounded by a strong smell of medicine.

When passersby saw her, no one would think she was a pregnant woman; they would only think she was an old woman who was terminally ill and near death.

Xiao Lili trembled all over. She endured the pain and walked out of the small door of the Scorched-Tail Hall with every step she took, looking back again and again. She wanted to cry but did not have the energy to cry. Only clear tears kept flowing down her pale and thin face.

Ling Baiquan was battling the disciples at the Scorched-Tail Hall, this woman, barely holding on, ran through Guling Town.

Following her father's instructions, she went to a martial arts dojo, hoping to see one of her father's former friends, but she couldn't even get past the dojo's servant.

With no time to waste, Xiao Lili had no choice but to turn and leave.

She also found the doorstep of one of Xiao Hu's friends and successfully gained a meeting with him, who invited her inside.

But just as she was about to step across the threshold, she noticed the other person's strange gaze. She gritted her teeth, turned around, and quickly blended into the crowd.

And so on.

Xiao Lili wandered around Guling Town for a whole time, but still couldn't find a place she could enter.

Suddenly.

She found herself wandering back to the vicinity of the Scorched-Tail Hall.

As she was eager to leave, she saw the gate of the Solitary Gu Hall again.

As if guided by some strange force, Xiao Lili strolled to the small door of the Solitary Gu Hall.

The woman hesitated for a long time, unsure whether she should step forward and ask someone to announce her arrival so that Du Yu'er could come out for a chat.

A foul, rancid smell wafted up, and just then someone came out to empty the swill. That person saw Xiao Lili:

"You little girl, are you here looking for someone?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lili hesitated for a long time, bowed to the other party, and turned to leave.

When she looked up, she saw the face of the person who had spoken to her; half of her face was also seen by that person.

When that person called out to her again, Xiao Lili's lips trembled, and she let out a soft, murmuring reply:

"Second Uncle Yu..."

Not long after.

Just after finishing his inspection, the Lone Pavilion Master learned from Du Yu'er that Xiao Lili was loitering at the entrance.

After thinking for a moment, the old woman sighed softly.

She instructed Du Yu'er to bring the girl into the inner courtyard first, intending to ask her what her intentions were before making a decision.

After repeatedly hitting a wall, Xiao Lili finally succeeded in meeting the head of a martial arts school.

As soon as she entered the hall, she removed her cloak, revealing her emaciated figure, no longer resembling a human.

The girl prostrated herself with great difficulty, disobeying her father's instructions and uttering no words of request for shelter. She pounded her head on the ground, sobbing, and said:

Xiao Lili, daughter of Xiao Hu, pays respects to Grandma Du.

I am willing to offer the precious medicine within my body and my own flesh and blood as payment, I implore you, Grandmother, to avenge my father!