"Oh, looking good! What's with that face, as though you're nursing some bitter, deep-seated grudge?"
"Why do I get the feeling you've suddenly started questioning the whole world?"
"I imagine you have something you want to ask me. Go ahead. I'll answer what I can."
As soon as Li Chengqian returned to the Eastern Palace, he saw Li Haoran sitting in the study, looking so bitter and aggrieved that one might have thought the world was about to end.
A smile lingered at the corners of Li Chengqian's mouth. His conversation with Li Shimin had clearly gone smoothly, so he was naturally in a good mood.
That was why he still had the leisure to joke with Li Haoran.
Li Haoran looked at Li Chengqian and pondered for a moment before finally saying, "Li Chengqian, Master, I think we ought to have a proper talk. An open, honest talk."
"There's a lot that has me baffled, because so much has gone beyond my calculations."
"This is very important to both of us. Can we do that?"
His expression was utterly grave, as though both his parents had died.
Li Chengqian instantly sensed that something was wrong. Li Haoran, in particular, suddenly seemed beyond his control, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as though he were meeting him for the first time.
His expression grew serious as well, and he said directly, "Ask whatever you want."
"I'll tell you what I can."
Li Haoran nodded, then said bluntly, "I want to know where you obtained these cultivation techniques, Master."
"I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. Although I don't have these techniques myself, I've seen them before. I also know they're techniques from the Yang God Great World, and I know about Hong Yi and his father, Hong Xuanji."