Chapter 30 Return
Zhao Yu arrived in front of a mansion that occupied a vast area and glanced at the Ling Mansion plaque hanging above the entrance.
Li Xianjiao stood silently by his side.
A servant came forward and said, "This is Ling Mansion. May I know the business of the two visitors?"
Zhao Yu said, "Go inform the master of the house, and say that a friend of Ling Chongshan has come to visit."
"Honored guests, please wait a moment!"
The servant\'s face changed slightly, and he bowed very respectfully to Zhao Yu and his companion before turning to enter the mansion.
Not long after, a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties, tall and voluptuous, with an extraordinarily gorgeous appearance and at the second level of Qi Refinement, walked out from within the mansion, accompanied by two young and beautiful women.
Among the two young women, one was around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, also at the second level of Qi Refinement, dressed in a green long dress, tall and voluptuous, with shoulder-length hair, extremely beautiful, and with a dignified and elegant demeanor.
The other was about fifteen or sixteen years old, at the first level of Qi Refinement, wearing blue clothes, with a pure and beautiful appearance and an innocent and naive aura.
The stunningly beautiful woman said with a hint of caution in her eyes, "My name is Cheng Linlan, and I am Ling Chongshan\'s wife. May I inquire as to how to address you, friend?"
"I am Zhao Yu, a good friend of Ling Dao\'s! Unfortunately, Ling Dao passed away in a small black mountain market. According to his will, I am here to return a portion of his legacy to you."
Zhao Yu handed a storage bag to Cheng Linlan, which contained thirteen mid-grade Spirit Stones, more than a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, and some Talismans and a mid-grade Magic Artifact.
Cheng Linlan swayed, her complexion turning extremely pale as if all strength had been drained from her, and she fell toward the ground.
The elegant and dignified young woman in the green dress quickly supported Cheng Linlan, asking with concern, "Mother, are you alright?"
"I\'m fine!"
Cheng Linlan\'s face was pale as she grasped the storage bag and invited him, "Daoist Zhao, please come inside for a talk."
"I apologize for intruding!"
Only then did Zhao Yu enter the reception hall of Ling Mansion with Li Xianjiao.
After carefully reading the letter left behind by Ling Chongshan, Cheng Linlan burst into tears and, after some time, dried her eyes and said apologetically, "Daoist Zhao, I have been rude!"
Zhao Yu said, "No matter."
Cheng Linlan asked, "May I know where you currently reside, Daoist Zhao?"
Zhao Yu replied, "I am currently residing in cave mansion number 5793 of grade A in the Jiu Chen Mountain market. I owe your husband a great favor. Should you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can find me there. Within my capabilities, I will do my utmost to help you."
Zhao Yu had used a Second-order Low-grade Demon Beast Inner Pill left by Ling Chongshan. That pill was extremely precious, capable of fetching a price of over three thousand Spirit Stones at auction.
For Zhao Yu, Spirit Stones were not an issue; the main problem was that Second-order Demon Beast Inner Pills seldom appeared at auctions, and another problem was securing such an inner pill even if one were acquired at auction.
The Second-order Low-grade Demon Beast Inner Pill left by Ling Chongshan had been a great help to Zhao Yu. Without it, he might not have been able to reach the fortieth level in the practice of Vajra Dragon Elephant Art.
Cheng Linlan\'s eyes lit up, "A grade A cave mansion at Jiu Chen Mountain, isn\'t that quite expensive to rent? I remember it costs about sixty Spirit Stones a year."
Zhao Yu said, "I am a Pill Master and can just about afford the rent."
Cheng Linlan chuckled, "A Pill Master! Daoist Zhao is truly remarkable! To my knowledge, there are only two Pill Masters in the entire Jiu Chen Mountain! Now, with Daoist Zhao included, there are three!"
Zhao Yu smiled modestly, "I can only refine Yellow Spirit Pills, far from matching other Pill Masters. If Daoist Cheng is interested, you could help me acquire materials for Yellow Spirit Pills and Red Jade Pills."
"No problem, leave the matter of purchasing materials to me!"
Cheng Linlan said with a smiling face, "Zhao Yu, these are my daughters Lian Xue and Nian Lei. You two, why aren\'t you greeting your uncle properly yet?"
"Greetings, Uncle!"
Ling Lian Xue and her sister stood up, greeted Zhao Yu with a bow, and then settled back down.
Cheng Linlan\'s gaze fell on Li Xianjiao, who was sitting to the side, and said, "Zhao Yu, who might this be?"
Li Xianjiao, with an innocent smile on her face as if she were a little adult, said, "Cheng Yu, I am Li Xianjiao, Zhao Yu\'s child bride! I am twelve years old this year!"
Upon hearing this, a wave of peculiar glances immediately focused on Zhao Yu.
In Cang Country, it is common for young girls to marry and have children around the age of fourteen or fifteen, and indeed, some parts of the populace do have the custom of child brides.
Even so, Cheng Linlan\'s smile became forced, and a hint of something else flashed across her eyes.
Disdain flickered in the depths of Ling Lian Xue and Ling Nian Lei\'s eyes as well.
However, in the Cultivation World where all sorts of people exist, compared to those from the Demon Path who refine Spirit Pills using living people, showing absolutely no humanity, having a child bride doesn\'t seem like much.
"Stop causing trouble!"
Zhao Yu fondly tapped Li Xianjiao on the forehead and helplessly said, "Cheng Yu, Xianjiao is the daughter of an old friend. For now, she is temporarily staying with me."
Cheng Linlan\'s face showed sudden understanding: "So that\'s how it is!"
Zhao Yu and Cheng Linlan continued discussing the details of their collaboration.
Cheng Linlan said, "The sky is getting dark. Zhao Yu, why don\'t you two have an evening meal and rest well in the mansion tonight? We can continue our discussion tomorrow, how about that?"
Zhao Yu replied, "Then we shall impose upon your hospitality!"
After the evening meal, Ling Nian Lei led Zhao Yu and Li Xianjiao to a spacious guest room for them to rest.
"Be careful by yourself!"
As soon as Zhao Yu entered the room, he reminded Li Xianjiao, then deployed the Phantom Step Technique and disappeared from the room like a ghost.
In a spacious room.
Cheng Linlan slowly said, "Lian Xue, Nian Lei, I am thinking of betrothing one of you to Zhao Yu. Which one of you is willing to marry him?"
The faces of Ling Lian Xue and Ling Nian Lei changed dramatically. Although Zhao Yu had become much younger and somewhat handsome and gallant, he was still far from a beautiful man like Li Yunhai.
Both girls from the Ling family were Cultivators with Spirit Roots, with countless young and handsome men pursuing them. How could they take a liking to a mere Qi Refinement level four, who was not an exceptionally beautiful man, like Zhao Yu?
Ling Lian Xue said, "Mother, I have mutual affection with Wang Jingzhang, the young master of the Wang family from Lingxi. Please bless our union!"
Cheng Linlan said with concern, "The Wang family of Lingxi is a Foundation Establishment family, and Wang Jingzhang is of the Wang family\'s direct line. He is of noble birth, pursued by countless women. I am afraid he won\'t cherish you, and I am afraid you will have regrets!"
Ling Lian Xue resolutely said, "Mother, brother Wang has promised that we will grow old together, never to part. I choose him and will never regret it! Although Uncle Zhao is a Pill Master, I still prefer brother Wang. Please give us your blessing!"
"Alright! I won\'t force you!"
Cheng Linlan\'s gaze then fell upon Ling Nian Lei.