Gu Sheng Comes Calling

"Pops, do you think we can get a result if we go to the city lord about this?"

Li Yuan’s brows were tightly furrowed as he cautiously questioned his Pops. He deliberately emphasized the words "go to the city lord." The city lord of Wan City came from Green Lake Island’s Iron Family. He was on ordinary terms with the governor of Wu’an County, but he also had powerful backing.

This Iron City Lord was no pushover, either. Ever since taking office, he had shown no mercy when extorting merchants. Even if the Li Family went to him and the matter was ultimately resolved, they would probably have to pay a heavy price.

Although Iron City Lord’s demands were vicious, his reputation for keeping his word had always been good. Anything he agreed to do, he would definitely carry out, so his reputation among Wan City’s officials was actually quite good.

However, using most of the Li Family’s capital to grease Iron City Lord’s palm was no small matter. Even as the head of the Li Family, Li Yuan could not make such a decision on his own. That was why he had invited Old Master Li over to discuss it.

"This will be difficult!"

Old Master Li did not say whether they could succeed. Instead, he simply said it would be difficult. Having grown old and sharp through experience, Old Master Li had built his success from nothing. He naturally possessed considerable ability, and his insight and experience surpassed even Li Yuan’s.

He knew very well that the key to this matter was Zhao Yuanzuo, the governor of Wu’an County behind Liu Sanlong. The question was whether Zhao Yuanzuo knew about this. If Zhao Yuanzuo had secretly approved of the matter, then even if the Li Family sought help from Iron City Lord, it would be useless.

Although Iron City Lord had the Iron Family behind him, Zhao Yuanzuo was a favored descendant of the Zhao Family’s ancestor, Zhao Danchen. In terms of status and authority on Green Lake Island, Iron City Lord could not possibly stand against Zhao Yuanzuo.

But if Zhao Yuanzuo knew nothing about this, then Liu Sanlong was merely borrowing the tiger’s authority. As long as they got Iron City Lord to step forward and vouch for them, Liu Sanlong might be the one who suffered instead.

The Zhao Family was a thousand-year-old clan of Green Lake Island. Naturally, they valued their reputation and guarded their image. Acting in the Zhao Family’s name without permission was a serious taboo.

If Zhao Yuanzuo took this matter to heart, then for the Liu Family to calm his thunderous fury, they might have to pay an enormous price instead.

"Liu Sanlong wants to swallow my Li Family’s Root? He isn’t afraid of breaking his own teeth."

Old Master Li narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold smile spreading across his lips. "If we hand him the wine formula, how will my Li Family maintain a foothold in Wan City afterward? At worst, we’ll both suffer. Yuan’er, let’s take the gamble."

"I understand, Pops. I’ll go and—"

Li Yuan’s eyes lit up. He instantly found his backbone and rose to arrange for someone to handle the matter, but suddenly he heard repeated cries.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

His daughter Li Jun’s voice came from outside. Then, with a bang, the tightly closed door was slammed open, and energetic Li Jun charged inside.

"Jun’er! What is it?"

Li Yuan looked at his lively and active only daughter and felt a headache coming on. Ever since she had learned Teng Qinghu’s family art and cultivated Inner Force, her temperament had undergone a tremendous change.

She had originally been a gentle and lovable little sweetheart. Although she was still very considerate, learning Inner Force had made her much more lively. She no longer knew how to rein in her strength when doing things, and she had also become rather willful.

"Teng Big Brother and Big Sister Li are here. They rode over on a big cat and a big dog. They looked so impressive."

Li Jun’s answer had nothing to do with the question. Her pair of bright, sparkling eyes remained fixed on Li Yuan. Her meaning was already perfectly clear: Pops, Jun’er wants a big cat and a big dog.

"Teng, wasn’t he supposed to be going to Southern Barbarian City on business? He’s back so soon."

The moment Li Jun mentioned him, Li Yuan remembered the "culprit" who had turned his daughter into this. To be honest, he was actually very grateful to Teng Qinghu (Gu Sheng). The Li Family had risen late, and his generation had already missed the best age for cultivating Inner Force.

Li Jun was the Li Family’s only daughter, yet she had been born with blocked meridians and could not cultivate Inner Force. She was destined to inherit the Li Family’s immense wealth, but a weak woman unable to cultivate Inner Force in such chaotic times was nothing more than an enticing piece of fat.

Li Yuan had always been deeply anxious about it. Over the years, he and Mrs. Li had made no small effort to give Li Jun a brother or sister who could share the burden. Unfortunately, whether the problem lay with him or with Li Jun’s mother, after years of effort, Mrs. Li’s belly had remained completely unmoved.

Mrs. Li was a gentle and virtuous woman. For the sake of the Li Family’s bloodline, she had once taken the initiative to ask Li Yuan to take a concubine.

Li Yuan and Mrs. Li had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, accompanying and understanding each other. Their feelings ran deep. Besides, he was not childless; the family simply had no sons for the time being. He was in the prime of his life, so he naturally refused to agree to such a thing.

In the end, Li Yuan, as the head of the family, still managed to persuade Mrs. Li. However, the fact that the Li Family had no martial artist of its own had become a source of anxiety for them. In these chaotic times, not having strength of their own always made people feel unsafe. No matter how good an outsider’s reputation was, having one of their own was still safer and more reassuring.

After all these years, Li Yuan had gradually come to terms with it. His hope that the Li Family would produce a martial artist had faded, and he now planned to find Li Jun a capable husband who would marry into the family, giving his daughter an additional layer of protection in the future.

In the past, because of Li Jun’s blocked meridians, Li Yuan had specifically consulted many experts with high reputations. The answers he received were largely the same. One option was to venture deep into the wilderness and search for the legendary miraculous medicine capable of transforming and cleansing the meridians. The other was the legendary Essence of the Northern Sea, a single drop of which could create a top-tier acquired expert.

The former had always been merely a legend. The wilderness contained many miraculous medicines, including quite a few useful for purifying the meridians, but he had never heard of any medicine capable of treating Li Jun’s condition.

As for the latter, ever since Emperor Yu’s era, the Essence of the Northern Sea had been a specialty of Yu Emperor’s Gate in Yu Province. Every year, only faint traces of it circulated among the upper echelons of the Eight Great Sects. The Li clan of Wan City was certainly a respectable force in Wan City, but compared with the Eight Great Sects, those towering powers of the world, it was like mud compared with clouds. The Essence of the Northern Sea was simply beyond their reach.

Li Yuan had originally given up and planned to recruit a powerful son-in-law in the future. But a month or so ago, Gu Sheng’s appearance had completely overturned his understanding. His daughter, who had been sentenced to death by fate, had unexpectedly cultivated Inner Force after mastering that fist technique and could now practice Inner Force methods.

Li Yuan’s feelings toward Gu Sheng were complicated. As a father, he instinctively felt that the tall young man’s gaze toward his "little sweetheart" was not quite right. If Gu Sheng had not arrived with a female companion, and if he did not spend only a few days with Li Jun at a time, Li Yuan would have found a way to drive him away long ago.

"Daddy! Teng Big Brother and Big Sister Li are waiting outside! The big cat and big dog are there too!"

Li Jun grabbed Li Yuan’s arm and swung it from side to side, urging her father to hurry and go see the big cat and big dog with her.

"All right, all right! My little princess!"

Li Yuan laughed and tapped Li Jun on the nose, then took his daughter’s little hand and walked out of the study.