Poison Arts, a Daoist?

Inside the inn.

Lu Li waved a hand. "No need to thank me."

Matters of the martial world were the most troublesome.

The Myriad Life Sect was a pack of persistent leeches. He had merely come into contact with them, yet they had set their sights on him. If he left behind trouble, he would not be able to sleep peacefully either.

Just then, Qiao Xiong suddenly pointed ahead in surprise. "Mr. Tong, look at this!"

Everyone turned toward where Qiao Xiong was pointing.

To prevent Red Ghost Buddha from trying any more tricks, Qiao Xiong had stomped his head into the ground. His body was bound by a net, but in the inn's lantern light, they could clearly see a black tattoo beneath Red Ghost Buddha's neck.

Tong Xinghe looked at the black tattoo, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.

He was well traveled and knowledgeable, and he recognized some clues. The tattoo on Red Ghost Buddha's body was clearly a poison art.

But before he could study it carefully, someone else emerged from within the inn.

"Everyone, Lixi Inn has failed to serve you properly today. Please move to the superior rooms."

Only after the fighting ended did the innkeeper of Lixi Inn emerge, trembling as he bowed and gestured for them to follow.

Seeing him, Tong Xinghe withdrew his gaze and had Qiao Xiong escort Red Ghost Buddha as they followed the innkeeper into a bright, spacious room.

Under the innkeeper's arrangements, Lu Li was also moved to a spacious guest room on the third floor.

After entering the guest room, the innkeeper refunded all the money Lu Li had spent during the day and personally brought him a twenty-tael silver note.

Holding Liu Yueling as he watched the innkeeper leave, Lu Li used the Weapon Lord to confirm that no martial artists were hiding nearby. Only then did he relax.

Was this really a place fit for people?

It had already been this dangerous on his first day!

Lu Li shook his head inwardly. Luckily, he had refined the blood qi of that Qi Solidification martial artist. Otherwise, the moment he entered the martial world, he might have been treated like a stray dog by the roadside and kicked to death.

Still, so many people had witnessed today's events that word of him killing Flow-Ring Blade alone would likely spread.

"Most of the Myriad Life Sect are mediocre fighters. They're only troublesome. Once I refine the blood qi within me, the Myriad Life Sect will no longer pose a threat. It's the Merging Cavern behind them..."

Lu Li frowned slightly.

The Merging Cavern had been the force behind the fall of Cloud Province City. This faction did not belong to the martial world, but to the imperial court. It sought to steal the throne and was one of the ultimate bosses in the current version's setting.

When the Jing Dynasty and Li Dynasty went to war again in the future, this faction would be secretly fanning the flames.

The Myriad Life Sect possessed a martial art that could assess an infant's innate bones. They scoured the countryside for children and abducted them. Those with exceptional foundations would be sent to the Merging Cavern and trained into death warriors.

However, given the Merging Cavern's current situation, it should still be laying out its plans in the martial world. It would not turn its attention to a minor figure like him just because he had killed someone from the Myriad Life Sect.

"Mm... water."

As he pondered, Liu Yueling suddenly let out a faint cry from Lu Li's arms.

Lu Li hurriedly set her down by the bed.

The guest room had a prepared teapot, cups, and bowls. He poured some warm tea and brought it to Liu Yueling's lips.

The little girl must have been terribly thirsty. Only after drinking four cups of water did she gradually wake up and open her eyes.

The instant she opened her eyes and saw Lu Li, she was startled.

"Don't be afraid. I know you're old enough to remember things. Let me explain everything that happened first."

Lu Li soothed her, then told Liu Yueling about what had happened in Cloud Province City.

He left out the matter of the black-clothed Qi Solidification martial artist.

After hearing the full story, Liu Yueling gradually calmed down. There was no panic in her lively eyes; instead, she looked earnestly at Lu Li.

"So, you're a good person."

Lu Li was briefly stunned, then slapped his forehead. He truly had been foolish.

Even if a child could remember things, what could she possibly know? In her heart, there was probably only a simple distinction between good and bad.

"That's right, I'm a good person."

Lu Li nodded repeatedly, feeling relieved.

Come to think of it, he really did not know how to deal with children. Fortunately, Liu Yueling was much more obedient than he had imagined.

For a while, the two chatted. Through indirect questioning, he also learned some things about Liu Yueling's former life.

Liu Yueling's past life had been very simple. Her parents had died when she was young, but Shuang Qiuyue would visit her every few months.

And because of Shuang Qiuyue, she had lived comfortably and never suffered unfair treatment. Whenever she went out, guards and household servants accompanied her for protection.

"Aunt Shuang always said she'd take me to the Southern Wasteland after she finished being busy, but she's never finished."

Liu Yueling was very lively. After hearing Lu Li describe so much about Shuang Qiuyue, she finally let down her guard.

"Don't blame her. She cares about you very much too. Didn't she have me escort you to the Miao Poison Sect in the Southern Wasteland?"

Listening to her complaints, Lu Li nodded lightly and chatted with her now and then. At last, he pointed to the jade-green pendant on her chest and asked curiously,

"Do you remember where this came from?"

In the game, Liu Yueling appeared during the demon version thirty years later, when the nine great demons emerged.

Every demon possessed a different token.

Those tokens had been forged by ancient sages after they sealed the demons and stripped away their essences. The martial arts recorded within them were precisely the prototypes of demonic martial arts.

Lu Li knew that the current era had actually undergone a break in its lineage. In ancient times, martial arts had been far more glorious, but the great calamity of heaven and earth had severed the inheritances.

The current martial cultivation system had also been developed by the people of this era through excavating ancient ruins.

This continued until the later era of Astral Martial Arts, when civilization's accumulated knowledge finally exploded and new paths emerged.

The many earlier martial arts versions were merely later generations picking up scraps of their predecessors' ideas and patching them together.

"This? Aunt Shuang said I can't tell anyone."

Liu Yueling shook her little head. But after saying that, she looked at Lu Li's face, thought for a moment, and hesitated.

"But you're a good person, so I think I can tell you."

Lu Li did not know whether to laugh or cry. He rubbed the little girl's head, and Liu Yueling revealed a satisfied expression.

"Aunt Shuang said that when I was born, a Daoist gave it to me and told me never to take it off."

At the word "Daoist," Lu Li's eyes lit up. He continued asking, "Did Aunt Shuang say what that Daoist looked like?"

Hearing this, Liu Yueling lowered her head and counted on her fingers as she thought.

"Aunt Shuang said he was holding a piece of Xiao Bai's tail."

"Xiao Bai's tail?"

Lu Li froze. After further questioning, he learned that "Xiao Bai" was merely a white horse.

After saying all this, Liu Yueling yawned. She was getting sleepy again.

Seeing this, Lu Li had someone bring over a bowl of thin porridge. Liu Yueling obediently finished it, then lay back down on the bed for a short rest. Meanwhile, Lu Li stroked his chin as he recalled and pondered.

"A white horse's tail... could she mean a fly whisk?"

Children had little knowledge. She might have mistaken a fly whisk for a horse's tail hair.

"A Daoist holding a fly whisk?"

Lu Li fell into thought, vaguely settling on a possible candidate.