Chapter 430: Wen Siyue
Han Li was startled by her yell and he couldn’t help but look over and examine the woman.
“You’re a disciple of the Exquisite Sound Sect?” Han Li asked with a calm expression.
The young woman appeared to be about twenty years of age and had a face of soft jade with skin as fair as snow. Her flowery expression of pleasant surprise revealed a very sweet charm.
“Disciple Wen Siyue pays her respect to Elder Han!” This lovely young woman hastily flew to Han Li’s side and respectfully gave him a bow. Her body wasn’t lacking in neither grace, given her firm chest and ample bottom. In addition to the young woman’s sweet voice, he could detect an intoxicatingly sweet fragrance from her.
Han Li calmly sized her up and slowly asked, “How did you recognize me? Have I seen you before?” Han Li felt slightly puzzled as he was certain that this was the first time he had seen her.
“Although this is the first time Junior has paid her respects to Senior, the sect master hung several of Senior’s portraits in the offerings hall. I’ve seen them every time I passed by.” The young woman respectfully said.
Han Li was stunned and didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. He didn’t think that those three woman from the Exquisite Sound Sect would actually do something like this. This must be one of their method of disseminating the fact that he had become the Exquisite Sound Sect’s elder.
Despite feeling slightly gloomy, his face didn’t reveal the slightest peculiarity, and he turned his gaze towards the middle-aged man to the side, and spoke with a slight smile, “Brother Wen, I haven’t seen you in so many years. It seems you’re doing well!”
Ever since the middle-aged man saw Han LI, his face had appeared odd. Now, his expression had become even more complicated. When he looked at Han Li, his gaze seemed to contain both admiration and a feeling of self-inferiority.
“I didn’t expect that Senior Han would still recognize me. Although I’ve seen your portrait at the Exquisite Sound Sect, I didn’t dare to believe it given that so much time had passed. Congratulations on Senior’s Core Formation.” He spoke with slight bitterness.
This middle-aged man was actually the youth Wen Qiang that Han LI originally met at Stalwart Star Island.
Although his appearance resembled that of his youth, his hair was now growing white, and his face showed signs of aging. It seemed he was on the verge of appearing elderly.
“There is no need for Brother Wen to call me Senior. After all, we were acquainted when we were still of the same generation!” Han Li spoke with a smile.
Han Li saw that Wen Qiang was only at mid Foundation Establishment and wouldn’t have any hope of Core Formation. Han Li couldn’t help but inwardly sigh upon seeing a youth at his prime had become so elderly.
In truth, even if Wen Siyue didn’t yell for him to stop, he would’ve done so anyways. With his outstanding memory, he would’ve recognized Wen Qiang from a single glance despite not having met him many times. As he had originally given Han Li a good impression, it was only natural for Han Li to lend him aid in passing and not stand by and watch him die.
After hearing Han Li, Wen Qiang stated that he didn’t dare to do so. Han Li could only follow suit.
When the young woman heard the two chatting, her mouth slightly widened from alarm.
Her soft, spirited eyes blinked several times, wanting to ask something. But she was interrupted when Han Li spoke with a cold voice towards the three enemies, “Where do you three think you’re going? Did I say you could leave?”
The three enemy cultivators were panic stricken upon seeing a hostile Core Formation cultivator arrive. But after seeing that Han Li didn’t seem to mind them and was happily chatting, they couldn’t help but slowly fall back and test their luck.
The three turned deathly white upon hearing Han Li. After exchanging a mutual glance, they immediately flew off on their magic tools with defensive magic tools and barriers of all colors at their side.
“Humph! You’re courting death!” Han Li coldly snorted and lightly flicked his finger, shooting out three brilliant streaks of azure light, appearing behind them in a single instant.
Pff. Pff. The three cultivator’s magic tools and defensive barriers were shredded through like paper by the thick swordlights. With three simultaneous miserable screams, their magic tools filled the sky with fluorescent lights before disappearing without a trace.
After the young woman and Wen Qiang watched Han Li’s extermination of the three Poison Dragon Union cultivators, they couldn’t help but look at Han Li with even greater respect.
Han Li inwardly nodded his head. While these three azure essence swordstreaks appeared unremarkable, they actually consumed a significant amount of spiritual power. Regardless, Han Li was quite satisfied as they were able to kill Foundation Establishment cultivators in a single strike. It seemed that the azure essence swordstreaks had increased in power along with his cultivation.
Han Li seemed to have thought of something and asked, “Ah, that’s right. Since you both have the surname Wen, does that mean…”
When Wen Qiang heard Han Li, his face revealed embarrassment, and he replied, “Senior Han jests. Siyue is my daughter.”
Han Li was stunned, but soon burst into laughter, “Then I must congratulate Brother Wen! Fellow Daoist Siyue has reached Foundation Establishment at such a young age. Perhaps she will one day reach Core Formation as well!”
Having heard that, Wen Qiang laughed with a prideful expression, “I won’t conceal this from Senior Han. Siyue is truly my pride. She became Foundation Establishment after only a little more than twenty years. I have high hopes for her. While I won’t be progressing any farther, I can only hope for her to travel farther than I ever did.”
Wen Qiang then looked at the young woman with a tender expression, causing Siyue to turn her head away in embarrassment.
Han Li looked at the young woman with a smile and faintly nodded his head. Wen Siyue was gifted with remarkable aptitude.
Afterwards, Wen Qiang and Han Li each spoke about their own experiences.
Although they didn’t have a particularly deep friendship, meeting an old friend after many years of separation was always a pleasant matter.
From their excited chat, Han Li heard a story that was not uncommon to cultivators with mediocre aptitudes throughout the Scattered Star Seas.
Not long after Han Li departed, Wen Qiang’s master had met the end of his lifespan during cultivation. After muddling around Stalwart Star Island for several tens of years, he managed to barely breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage. After that, he started to wander through all sorts of islands and accumulated experience. Then after sometime, he met a female disciple from the Exquisite Sound Sect and became one of their external affairs disciples.
From then on, he handled all sorts of miscellaneous tasks for the Exquisite Sound Sect. But shortly after his daughter Siyue was born, his wife died from a strange illness. Due to his deep love for his wife, he decided not to remarry and raised Wen Siyue by himself. Naturally, she had been brought in to be a disciple of the Exquisite Sound Sect.
Having heard this, Han Li inwardly sighed several times and bitterly laughed. In contrast, his own experiences were quite simple. Apart from cultivation, there was practically nothing for him to talk about.
But in the end, Han Li asked the father-daughter pair why they were fighting at this remote place. In response, Wen Qiang appeared furious while his daughter appeared sad.
Han Li was greatly baffled by this.
After some hesitation, Wen Qiang slowly gave an explanation.
When Wen Siyue grew to adulthood, she was to marry a young cultivator with limitless prospects and become his Dao companion. Unfortunately, the young cultivator perished in a fight against other cultivators shortly after they were wed.
As such, the newly available and charming Wen Siyue attracted the eyes of many male cultivators in the sect. But as Wen Siyue was just recently widowed, she didn’t wish to quickly remarry. As such, she turned down her many requests for pair cultivation. Consequently, she unconsciously offended a high ranker in the Exquisite Sound Sect and was assigned to a dangerous and strenuous task: she had to retrieve a precious material from within the Poison Dragon Union’s territory.
With his daughter in such a dangerous situation, Wen Qiang naturally couldn’t stand idly by and instead accompanied his daughter on the journey. However, their secret tasks had been discovered by the Poison Dragon Union at an unknown time through unknown means. As a result, the father-daughter pair had been chased down by three three Poison Dragon Union cultivators and were forced to fight with their lives on the line.
If chance had not brought Han Li by them, they were certain to have met a horrible end.
Upon hearing Wen Qiang’s indignant words, Han Li stroked his chin and remained silent for a long while. Wen Qiang’s words implied that he wanted Han Li to seek justice on their behalf.
However, this was only one side of the story, and he wasn’t willing to recklessly involve himself in the internal affairs of the Exquisite Sound Sect over such a shallow friendship.
