Chapter 656: A Parting Gift
Han Li received the portrait and gently unrolled the scroll in his hand to reveal a meter long portrait of a smiling azure-robed man. It was a lifelike image of himself.
After taking a look at the scroll, Han Li sighed and rolled it back up.
After a moment of thought, Han Li stared at the woman and slowly asked, “Might I ask why your ancestor left behind a portrait of me? Is there a deeper meaning behind it?”
When the woman heard this, she wore a hesitant expression. With some thought, she carefully replied, “Senior Han, before Junior answers this question, may I ask whether or not you remember your promise with Miss Xin?”
“Of course I remember. You also know of the matter?” Han Li asked with a trace of astonishment.
With a heart filled with apprehension, the woman looked at Han Li and softly said, “In fact, Junior has continued to stay here in large part due to Senior. However, I hope you’ll forgive me as I cannot speak forthrightly until your promise with Miss Xin is fulfilled.”
Peng. Han Li expressionlessly tossed a wooden box onto the table from his storage pouch.
“This...” The woman felt her heart jump as she wasn’t sure what Han Li intended.
Han Li calmly said, “There is no need for Fellow Daoist to be so fl.u.s.tered! The box contains the head of the Fu Clan Ancestor. The direct lineage of the Fu Clan have been exterminated, and only a few distant Fu Clan members remain. The Fu Clan no longer holds any power in the State of Yuan Wu. Is the promise considered fulfilled?”
The woman cried out in shock, “What? The Fu Clan Ancestor has already been killed?!”
She looked at the box with gritted teeth and opened the lid, filling the air with the scent of blood.
The woman’s face paled, but upon recognizing the face of the head, she smiled, “It truly is the Fu Clan Ancestor. Many years ago, I stealthily caught sight of the villian from a distance.”
Han Li smiled and said, “Because I killed him several days ago, word should’ve already spread. So long as you talk to someone you’re familiar with or go to a market city, you should be able to verify this.”
“Then Senior must’ve brought the head here to...”
“That’s right. I came to this old place to honor Miss Xin and Fellow Daoist Qi. I haven’t made many friends in my life and now that I’ve taken revenge on their behalf, I may as well follow it to completion.” Han Li’s voice grew sullen and his expression became earnest.
“When Miss Xin and Sir Qi learn of this in the underworld, they will certainly be pleased. Please wait for a moment, I will be right back.” The woman’s expression became dim, but something soon came to mind and she hurriedly left.
Han Li was baffled but nodded his head and watched as the woman rushed out of the room.
This time, the woman walked to a building in the back and began to dig below a tree, eventually taking a faint green jade box from within the dirt. She then carefully brought it back into the room and placed it on the table in front of Han Li.
“What’s this?” Han Li narrowed his eyes and waited for her explanation.
“Senior Han, before Miss Xin died from her illness, she left behind a message for my ancestor. She wished to give this box to Senior if he managed to fulfill his promise and exterminate the Fu Clan. As a result, my ancestor remained here, as this would be the place Senior would make an appearance. Many years later, Senior hadn’t yet returned and my ancestor pa.s.sed this matter onto me. She even left behind a portrait of Senior so that we may recognize you. Now that you’ve personally arrived and fulfilled your promise, I will naturally act in accordance to Miss Xin’s words and hand this item over to you. At long last, I am finally free of this burden.”
The woman spoke serenely and her expression appeared relieved. It appeared this matter had weighed heavily on her mind.
Han Li felt moved as he gazed at the box on the table. He swept his spiritual sense past it and was somewhat astonished. He grabbed onto the box and opened it without any further reservations.
There was a faint azure jade slip sitting in the box with a yellow talisman attached to it, and silver lines of talisman characters faintly floated up from the box.
At that moment, the woman gazed at the jade slip with a curious expression.
Han Li raised his head and asked, “Hm? Has Fellow Daoist never seen this before?”
“I won’t conceal this from Senior. Because Miss Xin hadn’t left behind any words that restricted the protectors of the jade slip from looking at it, in a moment of curiosity my ancestor thought to take a look. But after reading it for just a short moment, she spat blood and lost consciousness for an entire day. Soon after, my ancestor used a high grade restriction talisman to restrict any of her descendants from reading it. Although I am quite curious, my cultivation is far inferior to my ancestor’s when she was alive. I didn’t dare to touch it.”
Han Li nodded his head in response. He then blew a mist of azure light onto the jade slip and effortlessly removed the talisman.
The woman was astonished by the sight. She had personally attempted to remove the talisman during an idle moment of curiosity, but her efforts had been completely in vain. However, Senior Han was able to remove the talisman with just a breath of spiritual Qi. His cultivation must be unfathomable.
Having heard that Han Li was a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the past and now he had been able to exterminate the Fu Clan and the Fu Clan Ancestor, his cultivation must be at late Core Formation stage at the very least. It was quite possible he was even at Nascent Soul stage. The woman felt awe emerge from her heart.
After looking through the jade slip, Han Li put it away in a flash of azure light. “Not bad. This jade slip is truly useful to me so I will be taking it. However, Fellow Daoist must’ve waited here for many years for me, and I feel regretful at the matter. Are you living here by yourself?”
Once the woman heard Han Li’s question, she grew excited and eagerly said, “Of course not. My husband is also a cultivator, but his apt.i.tude is poor and his cultivation is similar to my own. However, my son Quanzi is young and his apt.i.tude is not bad. However, he never had an expert’s guidance and was unable to enter a cultivation sect. If Senior could...”
Regardless of herself or her husband, so long as her son could become a disciple of this profound and mighty figure, it would be vastly beneficial. As such, she began to mutter her intentions in a roundabout manner in hopes that she wouldn’t offend him.
When Han Li heard this, he waved his arm and interrupted her, “There is no need to continue. I understand!”
In the woman’s alarm, Han Li calmly continued, “As you’re a descendant of Xiao Mei and have watched over this item for so long, while I cannot take him in as a disciple, I can bestow him a Foundation Establishment Pill and two bottles of medicine pills useful for Qi Condensation cultivation. Your son’s success in Foundation Establishment will depend on his own luck. Once he succeeds in Foundation Establishment, he should have no problem entering a cultivation clan or sect.” Han Li took out three bottles and handed them over to the woman.
“A Foundation Establishment Pill?” The woman rejoiced and repeatedly uttered her thanks. Her previous disappointment had completely disappeared.
Then with a change of tone, Han Li asked, “Ah yes, when I exterminated the Fu Clan, I killed two Devilflame Sect cultivators in pa.s.sing. Although I don’t fear the Devilflame Sect, I don’t wish to attract any trouble. Does anybody else know of this matter?”
As if aware of Han Li’s worries, she hastily replied, “Senior, please be at ease. When my ancestor pa.s.sed this matter onto me, no other outsiders were informed out of fear it would bring trouble to Senior. I have always been silent on this matter and mentioned this to neither my husband nor my son.”
“Since you won’t be wantonly speaking about this, I will be paying my respects to their memorial tablets before heading off.” Han Li nodded with satisfaction and stood up.
“Ah, if Senior is about to leave, please wait a moment. My husband and my son will soon...”
Peng. Just as the woman stood up, white light flashed from behind her and she lost consciousness. Han Li had flung his sleeve as if he were already prepared for this and caught the woman in a mist of azure light.
At that moment, the white light behind her disappeared to reveal Silvermoon’s fox body.
After glancing around, Silvermoon mysteriously smiled and said, “Master, why did you have me knock this woman unconscious. Do you feel uneasy about something, or does she just catch your fancy?”