Chapter 538 - Auntie Li Says They're Rich

Li Guanqi turned to look at Meng Jiangchu, who was sulking and drinking wine.

“And your father... No,

our

father...?” Li Guanqi said to Meng Wanshu, bright-eyed.

Meng Wanshu beamed proudly. “He’s the only tier-eight holy artifact blacksmith!”

Li Guanqi grinned even wider, finding himself liking Meng Jiangchu more and more.

“Our father is impressive.”

Meng Jiangchu sat on the stern, downing his wine at an even faster pace. He muttered under his breath, “Damn it... I tried and tried... In the end, I still couldn’t keep him from her! The moment Long Hou flattened the Hell Rivers region, I knew I had to keep her far from that brat. But the Taiqing Territory is huge! How the hell did they meet in such a big place?!”

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He made furious calculations with one hand, using the Liuren[1] divination technique. Brow knitted, he muttered, “But no one intervened in this at all! Is this really fate?!”

His precious daughter’s innocence had been lost, so he was quite upset. It was only later that he gradually understood Su Xuan’s true identity and that the mysterious seventh territory really existed. He did not even know where the seventh territory was, let alone what kind of people lived there. And Su Xuan was the ruler of that seventh territory.

If Li Guanqi had known about the seventh territory back then, he would have been far more impressed by Gu Yong, the pavilion master of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. After all, Gu Yong knew the seventh territory very well.

The cloud boat traveled at great speed for a short while, then stopped.

A shining golden square, resembling a door, materialized several zhang ahead. Golden rays of light stretched from it to the cloud boat, creating a metal tunnel carved with countless complex patterns.

The passengers leaped from the cloud boat into the tunnel. Li Guanqi was impressed. “Wow, just a docking platform and it’s already this dramatic.”

Meng Wanshu smiled and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, offering what sense of security she could. Li Guanqi smiled back, understanding her intentions.

As they walked ahead, they suddenly heard a woman shout. “Xiao Li! Where is Xiao Li?

Hahaha!

Come, let Auntie take a good look at you!”

A plump woman in luxurious robes ran over, lifting her skirt with both hands. She was flying, yet moved her legs as if on flat ground, glancing down cautiously as though afraid of heights.

Li Guanqi broke into a warm smile. He waved and started flying toward her, shouting, “Auntie Li! I’m here! I’m here!”

Seeing her after so long put him at peace. Auntie Li was like a second mother to him. When he was younger, his grandfather didn’t know how to mend clothes or cook, so Auntie Li had helped with everything.

Auntie Li’s name was Li Guilan, and she was a village woman through and through. She possessed a rare blend of simplicity and authenticity. The plump woman smiled so wide that her eyes crinkled into lines.

She watched the youth flying toward her. He had grown much taller than her. Standing in front of Li Guanqi, she looked up at the smiling youth and swatted at him.

Li Guanqi didn’t dodge. The woman’s eyes reddened, and he choked up too. She punched his shoulder and huffed, “You brat... You’ve grown so quickly. Look at you, thin as a stick! You must’ve suffered a lot out there. I see you’re flying quite steadily—you must be at least at the late Foundation Building Realm, right? Don’t worry, cultivation level doesn’t matter. I’ll get Old Meng to get you some pills, and your cultivation level will rise quickly. No, no... I’ve got to get you up to at least the Nascent Soul Realm. Auntie will get you some cultivation techniques and artifacts. I’ve got a lot of good stuff.”

She grabbed his arm, afraid his cultivation might be too low to stay stable mid-air. The concern she showed made even Meng Wanshu wonder if

she

was the woman’s biological daughter.

Meng Jiangchu stood there, face still twitching. He didn’t dare say a word. Everyone else smiled knowingly. Who in the Divine Treasure Territory didn’t know the territory lord was terrified of his own wife?

Despite being only at the Golden Core Realm, Li Guilan was Meng Jiangchu’s only wife, enjoying supreme status and power.

Li Guilan held Li Guanqi and whispered, “Xiao Li, you can’t imagine how stunned I was when I first learned how impressive your uncle was. But don’t worry about me getting bullied. After we came here, I gave him a good talking-to. So what if he’s the territory lord?”

Li Guanqi didn’t reply, so she thought he was intimidated by Meng Jiangchu’s status and powerful aura. Hands on her hips, she pointed at Meng Jiangchu and said, “Could you retract your aura? How many times have I told you? How are you so shameless?! I told you to put that bangle on to suppress your aura! Why did you take it off?”

Meng Jiangchu was about to tell her what had happened to their daughter, but Li Guilan glared at him. Having no choice, he sighed and put on a golden bangle.

Li Guilan rolled her eyes. “One of these days, I swear...”

Even Xiao Chen was shocked.

Li Guanqi grinned like an idiot. It took him back to when Meng Jiangchu used to sit by the door, smoking sulkily at the sunset while Auntie Li scolded him for doing nothing, a tub in her arms.

It was all too familiar. Even the words were identical.

Li Guanqi quickly grabbed her arm and smiled. “Auntie Li, Auntie Li... Don’t scold him... I’m fine! Uncle Li took great care of me. Plus, your little brat is really strong now.”

She raised her eyebrows and leaned in to whisper, “

Tsk

, how strong could you be? Don’t say a word. I’ll find a way to get you some goodies. Old Meng is really rich, you know.

Sigh...

You’ve had a tough life since young. I really don’t know how you’ve survived. I thought I’d never see you again.”

Meng Jiangchu couldn’t bear it any longer. He huffed. “Woman, are you still thinking of giving him stuff? He’s already gotten your best cabbage![2] And you’re still giving him stuff? I’m sure he can’t wait to get his hands on my best artifacts."

With a sweep of his sleeve, Meng Jiangchu stormed off. Li Guilan froze, then looked at Meng Wanshu, who now had an additional hint of femininity in her shy gaze. She looked at the awkward Li Guanqi and understood.

She looked down and thought about it. Tutting, she shook her head and remarked, “This really is fate...

Hahaha!

So you’re going to be my son-in-law?

Hahaha!

Aiyo, aiyo

. This is great.”

He turned to look at Meng Wanshu. All three of them beamed.

1. Liuren is one of the three main divination techniques used in ancient China, with the other two being Qimen Dunjia and Taiyi Shenshu. It’s considered a sophisticated system for forecasting events and outcomes based on cosmology and astronomy. ☜

2. This is a reference to the idiom “giving a pig one’s best cabbage,” which means giving away one’s daughter to an unworthy man. ☜