"He looks just like Vincent Chiao in costume dramas! So handsome!"
Roxie saw Li Xunhuan enter and instantly switched to fangirl mode, hands clasped to her chest, her eyes wide and fixed.
Idiot.
No wonder she'd make such a foolish wish.
Leo was speechless.
Li Xunhuan was stunned by the scene before him. He blinked. What is going on?
Bare-handed blade catch?
But surely there should be another move after that.
Why are they all frozen?
If I remember correctly, the one kneeling in front is Zhuge Lei, isn't it?
Haven't seen him in over a decade. Did he switch careers to acting?
"Uncle Li, over here!"
As Li Xunhuan looked over, a new idea sparked in Leo's mind. He tucked the hammer back into his belt and waved cheerfully. "It's me! Xiaobai!"
Li Xunhuan's reputation was too great. Calling him out directly would disrupt the plot. To help him maintain his cover, Leo willingly lowered his own seniority.
"Xiaobai?" Li Xunhuan looked at Leo, bewildered. "Young man, do we know each other?"
"Uncle Li, you've probably forgotten. More than ten years ago, my master was nearly killed by the 'Three Fiends Beyond the Pass.' It was you who stepped in and saved him!" Leo recounted a fabricated past with a straight face. "I was only a boy then, but your heroic figure was etched into my mind, never to be forgotten! My master repeatedly told me that if I ever met you, I must repay your kindness. How fortunate I am to have met you again…"
Leo's delivery was full of emotion, painting the picture of a grateful young man.
However, as he spoke, he was still holding his sword in a downward slash, with three burly men kneeling before him, their expressions twisted.
The scene was rather bizarre.
Beneath the Green Lotus Sword, Zhuge Lei was on the verge of tears.
Can you guys reminisce later and let me go first?
"Forgive my poor memory, but who is your master?" Li Xunhuan asked with a slight frown.
"My master is Li Jing." Leo let out a mournful sigh. "He passed away last year."
Heavenly King Li, my apologies! A man has to do what a man has to do in the Jianghu. You're a magnanimous figure, please don't hold it against me! Leo prayed inwardly.
"My condolences." Li Xunhuan was taken aback and cupped his hands in respect.
"Zhuge Lei, my benefactor has arrived. I'll let you go, and we'll pretend this never happened. What do you say?" Leo let out a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to Zhuge Lei.
The Golden Silk Armor was a great item, but it was nothing compared to completing his mission.
Besides, the Golden Silk Armor was an unlucky object.
In the original story, everyone who touched it during the struggle for its possession died, except for Ah Fei.
Leo just wanted to complete his mission as soon as possible and avoid any extra complications.
Following Li Xunhuan's path and getting the plot back on track was clearly to his advantage.
Roxie stared at Li Xunhuan's handsome face, a blush on her cheeks, still in her fangirl state.
"Young hero, you are most generous. Zhuge Lei will naturally comply," Zhuge Lei said, unable to wish for anything more. The feeling of being unable to move his own body, and the humiliating, bizarre posture, was driving him mad.
"Don't try to ambush me," Leo warned.
Before coming here, he had read Duoqing Jianke Wuqing Jian thoroughly.
He knew exactly what kind of person Zhuge Lei was. The man had died while trying to ambush Ah Fei.
"I wouldn't dare," Zhuge Lei said sheepishly, his intentions read.
Leo withdrew his sword.
Now that he had established a connection with Li Xunhuan, with the never-missing Little Li Flying Dagger around, he didn't have to worry about Zhuge Lei's tricks.
Zhuge Lei regained control of his body and scrambled away from Leo, grabbing his fallen sword and dashing towards the door.
"Don't you dare move!" Seeing them try to leave, Leo ignored Li Xunhuan and shouted.
Zhuge Lei and his men froze, turning back stiffly.
Zhuge Lei's face was dark. "Young hero, be merciful when you can. We admit defeat, but the Golden Lion Escort Agency is more than just the three of us!"
"I don't care how many men you have. Didn't you hear me when I said we'll pretend this never happened?" Leo pointed domineeringly at the table they had been sitting at. "Go back to your seats. Eat what you should eat, drink what you should drink. That's what it means for nothing to have happened!"
What kind of logic is that?
The veins on Zhuge Lei's forehead throbbed.
If he wasn't afraid of Leo's bizarre technique, he would have already picked up his sword and fought to the death. He would accept being killed or carved up.
But this kind of mockery was unbearable!
He had been in the Jianghu for twenty or thirty years, and never had "pretend it never happened" meant this.
"Is my request unreasonable?" Leo emphasized coldly.
He slowly raised the Green Lotus Sword again.
Leo was giving it his all for the mission, forcefully trying to bend the plot back. If he let Zhuge Lei and his men escape, who knew if the Black and White Snakes would still show up?
If they didn't, would Li Xunhuan go directly back to Xingyun庄?
What if Li Xunhuan decided not to include them in his party then?
The turbulent plot was his only advantage.
It was a naked threat.
Zhuge Lei and his men exchanged glances, shot Leo a hateful glare, and trudged back to their table.
The three of them sat stiffly on their stools, staring at each other, with no appetite or mood for conversation.
Li Xunhuan watched the entire exchange, dumbfounded.
From the moment he entered the tavern, he had been in a state of confusion, and now he was even more so.
Has the Jianghu become this strange in the ten years I've been away?
"Uncle Li, come, I have good wine here."
Leo patted his satchel and beckoned to Li Xunhuan with an air of familiarity, demonstrating to Zhuge Lei and his men what it meant to act as if nothing had happened.
But the way everyone else looked at him had completely changed.
This guy is a complete lunatic!
Stay away from him!
"Young Master!" The bearded man, Tie Chuanjia, frowned. This strange young man of unknown origin seemed off to him, and he instinctively tried to stop Li Xunhuan.
"It's fine. He's the son of an old friend. He won't harm me." Li Xunhuan smiled meaningfully and walked towards Leo. "Chuanjia, go arrange for our rooms."
Tie Chuanjia acknowledged, shot Leo a warning look, and went to find the waiter to ask about rooms.
"And this is?" Li Xunhuan asked, looking at Roxie.
"My senior apprentice sister, Roxanne Tang," Leo said.
"What do you think of 'Li Lianyou' for our child's name?" Roxie suddenly blurted out.
"…" Li Xunhuan froze.
Leo stared at Roxie, his expression bizarre. Good grief, in just this short time, you've already come up with a name for the child?
Miss, what have you been imagining in that head of yours?
Was all that earlier stubbornness just an act?
Where is your shame?
Must be an external object!
But for him, this was a good thing. At least Roxie wouldn't be uncooperative.
"Miss Tang, what did you say?" Li Xunhuan finally managed to ask.
"Ah!" Roxie was flustered, her face turning as red as a tomato. So embarrassing! How did I say what I was thinking out loud!
"My senior apprentice sister wants to have your child!" Leo, lacking Roxie's girlish sentimentality, played the wingman.
"Alba Li, what nonsense are you talking about!" Roxie stomped her foot and shot Leo a fierce glare.
Li Xunhuan gave a bitter smile, his expression suddenly pained as if he was thinking of Lin Shiyin. He sighed, "Miss Tang, you jest."
"…"
Roxie was stunned. Was that a rejection?
She glared at Leo again, as if it were all his fault.
Idiot!
Leo was speechless.
Roxie looked at Li Xunhuan and stammered, "Top Scholar Li, I… I didn't mean that! Ah… Achoo!"
Li Xunhuan smiled. "The weather is freezing. Miss Tang, you're dressed so lightly. Aren't you cold?"
Before Roxie could speak, Leo had already fabricated an excuse for her. "Uncle Li, to be honest, my sister's clothes were taken by some mischievous child while she was bathing! She had no choice but to dress like this! I hope we haven't made a spectacle of ourselves."
My image is completely ruined!
Damn you, Alba Li!
Can't you be more creative with your excuses?
Who bathes outdoors in the middle of winter?
Roxie was about to lose her mind, but she managed to maintain an awkward yet polite smile in the shivering wind.
"If you don't mind, I have spare clothes in my luggage," Li Xunhuan said, glancing between the two of them with a smile.
"I don't mind, I don't mind at all," Roxie blurted out before Leo could speak.
Li Xunhuan smiled and went to get the clothes.
"Roxanne Tang, I thought you wouldn't wear stinky men's clothes?" Leo said with a smirk.
"If I don't, I'll freeze to death!" Roxie glared. "Besides, can you compare a handsome man's clothes to a stinky man's?"
"…" said Leo.
"Li Xunhuan is so manly, so charismatic!" Two streams of clear snot dripped from her nose. Roxie sniffled, her face flushed like a peach blossom. "Giving myself to a man like that isn't such a bad deal after all!"
Idiot!
Leo couldn't help but shiver, goosebumps erupting on his skin.
But a cooperative client was a good client. At least his mission was back on track.
After a moment, Li Xunhuan returned with a sable cloak and handed it to Roxie.
Roxie took it, draped it over her shoulders with a shy expression, and performed a clumsy curtsy she must have learned from some TV drama. "Thank you, Top Scholar Li."
Li Xunhuan was visibly awkward. "You're welcome."
"Uncle Li, let me treat you to a drink." Leo pulled a bottle of Wuliangye from his satchel, turned over two wine cups from the table, and filled them to the brim.
Li Xunhuan was a drunkard. The Wuliangye was a weapon prepared specifically for him.
The rich aroma of the liquor instantly filled the tavern.
The surrounding guests instinctively sniffed the air.
"Uncle Li, on behalf of my late master, I thank you for saving his life!"
Leo raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
In this bizarre wuxia world, he had to show his sincerity first.
If he didn't drink, it would be awkward if Li Xunhuan suspected him of poisoning it.
The 52% alcohol was strong.
Leo winced.
Li Xunhuan glanced at the crystal-clear glass bottle in surprise, then raised his own cup and downed it.
His eyes lit up, followed by a violent fit of coughing. In between coughs, he still managed to praise, "Good wine!"
"Uncle Li, if you like it, drink more!" Leo diligently refilled his cup with a grin.
For a drunkard, wine was all that mattered. After two cups, they were friends.
Men were that simple.
Li Xunhuan's craving for alcohol was piqued. He picked up the cup and downed it again.
Leo refilled it once more.
"Xiaobai, why aren't you drinking?" Li Xunhuan asked strangely.
"Uncle Li, I'm a lightweight. I tend to mess things up when I'm drunk," Leo said, scratching his head.
Are you kidding me?
This is a Gu Long world!
I don't have a protagonist's halo!
I'm just a normal person. If I get drunk, do I still want my life?
And if I get drunk, my idiot client is as good as dead!
Li Xunhuan looked Leo up and down, took the bottle from his hand, and chugged several large mouthfuls. He shook his head and smiled, "Interesting little fellow!"
As soon as he finished speaking.
Thump!
Li Xunhuan fell face-first onto the table and didn't move.