Chapter 412 Coming Uninvited
Li Yundong and Su Chan hurried down the stairs. Sure enough, upon reaching the first floor they saw Zou Ping and Zhang Ling, both dressed in Daopao, standing at the door. Li Yundong"s heart skipped a beat. He slowed down and walked over.
Most of the people sitting in the tea room on the first floor were students, friends of Li Yundong, Liu Fei"er and the others. When they saw the two Taoist nuns standing at the door, they all turned their heads curiously. Only Zhou Qin, Zi Yuan, and Ruan Hongling were feeling nervous.
Liu Fei"er picked up a cup of tea as she curiously sized up Zhang Ling and Zou Ping. She asked in a low voice, "Why are there still Taoists coming out to beg alms now?"
Liu Fei"er was a simple-minded person. She didn"t notice Li Yundong, Zi Yuan and Zhou Qin"s vigilance and hostility. However, Cao Kefei had some brains and could tell that something fishy was going on.
Cao Kefei winked at Liu Fei"er and whispered, "Stay quiet. There will be a good show later."
Liu Fei"er said curiously, "They"re just two Taoists. What"s the...?"
When she was talking in a low voice, she suddenly saw Zhang Ling turn around and glance at her casually. This glance was not very sharp, but when it swept across Liu Fei"er"s face, her words died in her throat. Her heart beat wildly, as if there was a hand pressing down on her chest, making her feel a little breathless.
By this point, Li Yundong had already walked downstairs. Feng Na turned her head and smiled when she saw him. "Li Yundong, there are two Taoists here to beg alms. Do you want to...?"
"They do not aim to beg alms!" said Li Yundong.
After saying that, he cupped his hands and said to Zhang Ling and Zou Ping in a deep voice, "Zhenren Zhang, why are you here today?"
Zou Ping stood to one side. For once, she wasn"t saying anything, just staring at Li Yundong with unfriendly eyes. Zhang Ling formed a palm with one hand and said, "Amitayus, Zhenren Li. How have you been since we left Mount Gezao?"
Li Yundong saluted her back and said lightly, "Zhenren Zhang, you look just as good as before. But I don"t know how you have the free time to visit our shop today."
The people next to them watched Li Yundong and Zhang Ling bow to each other and speak in a gentle way, like people from the ancient world. They all felt strange inwardly and their feelings of curiosity intensified.
Zhang Ling glanced around indifferently and said, "I heard that you had opened a tea shop. As a friend with the same Tao, how could I not come to celebrate?"
Li Yundong"s heart trembled. He cupped his hands and said, "You"re too polite, Zhenren Zhang. I"m embarra.s.sed by this undeserved praise. Distinguished guests have gathered upstairs and downstairs. I wonder how Zhenren Zhang intends to celebrate?"
Zhang Ling suddenly smiled and said meaningfully, "Since you have been so bold as to use your sword in public just now, you must be very confident in your own magic and cultivation quotient. Am I right?"
Li Yundong narrowed his eyes slightly, but he soon broke out laughing. He deliberately played dumb and said, "I used a sword in public? What do you mean? Sounds odd."
Next to him, Zou Ping couldn"t help but mutter in a low voice, "Li Yundong, don"t play dumb. You dared to use your powerful magical weapon in front of the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. Are you insane?"
Li Yundong glanced at her lightly. "I don"t understand what you"re saying!"
Zhang Ling snorted disdainfully. "Zhenren Li, it"s okay for you to play with fire, but don"t let us get involved in it."
Li Yundong drawled, "Hm? What do you mean?"
Zhang Ling"s voice was like ice. "No one is allowed to use magic in front of mortals. This is a law of the cultivation world. Don"t you even know that?"
Li Yundong just smiled faintly. "Is that so? I"m aware that we can"t let ordinary mortals find out that we use spells, so tell me, aside from you guys, did anyone else discover anything just now?"
Zhang Ling shot daggers at Li Yundong. Her eyes were fixed on him, and her expression was very unfriendly. Li Yundong was also on high alert, his body full of Zhenqi, and he was on the verge of erupting.
At this time, Feng Na and the others could tell that there was something wrong between Zhang Ling and Li Yundong. Although they didn"t know what Li Yundong had said to her, they felt like a big fight was about to break out.
Feng Na said to Zhou Qin nervously, "Hey, what"s going on? Are these two Taoists going to make trouble? Call the police!"
Zhou Qin was even more nervous than Feng Na, but she was the descendent of a rich family after all. Having experienced so many dramas already, she was able to respond calmly in a low voice, "It"s okay. With Li Yundong here, it will be okay."
At this time, Liu Fei"er grabbed Cao Kefei"s arm and said excitedly, as if she wanted to see the world plunged into chaos, "Hey, hey, sure enough, it seems that they are going to fight! Wow, you"re a master, aren"t you even going to beat a woman?"
Cao Kefei"s expression was strange. Although she felt uncomfortable, she defended Li Yundong verbally. "Li Yundong is not that kind of person. However, you have to know that there are some women in this world who are really disgusting."
Yin Mengfan turned around and glared at them. "Shut up! I can"t hear them!"
The two girls immediately fell quiet and continued to look at Li Yundong and the others with great interest.
Zhang Ling stared at Li Yundong for a long time. Suddenly, she burst out laughing. "You"re really brave. Very well, I admire you! Since you said so, I"d like to have a try at fighting in public!"
A sharp look suddenly appeared in Li Yundong"s eyes. He said coldly, "Zhenren Zhang, today is Disanxian"s opening ceremony. Must you make trouble today?"
Zhang Ling snorted coldly. "Zhenren Li, I think you are mistaken. Before you showed your sword in public, I didn"t want to come to you. But since you dared to show a powerful magical weapon in public, it means that you must be very confident in your ability to fight in public. As such, any cultivator around should be able to challenge you in order to uphold the law of the cultivation world! Even if you were not discovered this time, what about the next time, hm?"
Li Yundong frowned, tilting his head slightly as he whispered to Zi Yuan, "Is there such a law?"
Zi Yuan replied swiftly in a low voice, "Yes! There"s an unwritten law in the cultivation world. If any cultivator uses a powerful magical weapon or magic in public, the cultivators around them have the right to deal with it. The purpose of this rule is to prevent people from maliciously publicizing magic and the weapons of the cultivation world and causing chaos or attracting the government"s vigilance and suppression."
Li Yundong nodded slightly. Seeing that he wasn"t going to be able to avoid this fight, he calmed down and said in a deep voice, "Well, how do you want to settle a score, Zhenren Zhang? How about we find a remote place with no one around?"
Zhang Ling smiled. She looked around and said, "Why do we have to find an empty spot? Since you dared to show your powerful magical weapon in front of so many people, why don"t we just compete according to the practices of the cultivation world? Let"s see who will be discovered first by the surrounding people when we fight!"
At this time, Zi Yuan whispered in Li Yundong"s ear again, "This is a duel between high-leveled cultivators. Whenever they rely on their high-level magic, they often do bold things. They use magic skills and magic treasures in public, but won"t let people discover what they"re doing. People around only think that they are playing with magic, but if one of them gets destroyed by the other side or is seen by the people, they will be regarded as having lost."
Li Yundong smiled gratefully at Zi Yuan and nodded. "I understand." He then said to Zhang Ling, "In that case, how should we fight?"
Zhang Ling pondered for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, she heard an old man"s voice. "Haha, what a coincidence. It turns out that Zhenren Zhang is also here!"
When they heard this, they looked in the direction of the sound to see an old man with white hair and a ruddy complexion dressed in a Taoist robe. A slender Taoist nun was walking by his side.
When Li Yundong saw them, he immediately frowned. These two people were Zheng Yuan and Ding Nan!
Zheng Yuan"s face was glowing, looking kindly and amiable. Those who didn"t know him would feel close to him as soon as they saw his appearance. Ding Nan next to him was wearing a Taoist robe for the first time. Although it was large and covered her graceful figure, she somehow looked even more attractive by wearing the robe thanks to her height and beautiful face.
Li Yundong shot a searching look at Ding Nan and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing here?"
Ding Nan smiled. "Li Yundong, we are cla.s.smates. I heard that you have opened a shop here. As a cla.s.smate and fellow Daoist, I"ve come to congratulate you. Won"t you welcome me?"
Zheng Yuan also said with a kind smile, "My beloved disciple is really nostalgic. As she wanted to come so much, I could hardly stand in her way. Zhenren Li, you won"t be unreasonable, will you?"
Li Yundong snorted secretly. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a surprised voice nearby saying, "Hey, Head Zheng, you are here too? Ah, Zhenren Zhang, you as well?"
Everyone looked over and saw that Du Fei of the Quanzhen Dragon Sect was also there and dressed in a Taoist robe. He looked at Li Yundong and the others in surprise.
Li Yundong was equally taken aback. "Zhenren Du, why are you here?"
Du Fei"s face was full of smiles. He cupped his hands in obeisance and said, "Amitayus, Zhenren Li didn"t tell me that you had opened a shop. Obviously, you don"t consider me as a friend, so I had to come without an invitation."
Li Yundong smiled bitterly in his heart. "I just didn"t want to involve the people of the cultivation world. I wanted to keep a low profile. Well, the people who should come and the people who shouldn"t have come are all here just the same now!"
As if Zi Yuan had read Li Yundong"s thoughts, she said in a low voice, "Li Yundong, you"re a cultivator. Since you"ve chosen to open a store in a noisy area, there"s no way you won"t be disturbed by your fellow Daoists. You should have been aware of this and gotten mentally prepared."
Su Chan tugged on Li Yundong"s arm and whispered, "Yundong, I"m sorry. I"ve caused you trouble again!"
Li Yundong glanced at Zi Yuan and smiled at her. Then, he patted Su Chan"s head and said gently, "Dear girl, don"t be silly. Even if you weren"t around, trouble would still come and find me."
Beside them, Zhang Ling nodded to Zheng Yuan and Du Fei by way of greeting. She then said, "Since Zhenren Du and Head Zheng are here, they can also act as witnesses."
Head Zheng and Du Fei asked in unison, "Witnesses?"
Meanwhile, Liu Fei"er, Cao Kefei, and Yin Mengfan, who were in the teahouse, were craning their necks trying to listen to them. Liu Fei"er said, "Hey, I heard them say something like "witnesses". What did you hear?"
Yin Mengfan said with a strange expression, "I didn"t hear it clearly. It"s too noisy in here, especially with the people upstairs. I can even hear the sounds of them drinking and playing some stupid finger guessing game. Do they really think the teahouse is a restaurant?"
Cao Kefei also sighed. "I just heard something about "Zhenren". I didn"t hear the rest clearly."
Liu Fei"er blinked slowly. "Why don"t we go over and listen properly?"
Cao Kefei hesitated for a moment before saying, "That"s not a good idea. Don"t you see that they are all Taoists? Maybe they have something private they need to discuss."
Liu Fei"er pouted and said unhappily, "You"re so annoying. You asked me to come and see a master, but there isn"t one here. Instead, all I see is a group of stinky officials and a group of smelly Taoists!"
As soon as she had finished speaking, Cao Kefei and Yin Mengfan opened their eyes wide and stared out of the door. They could see a luxurious Mercedes-Benz approaching slowly, which a young man and a young woman stepped out of. The man was handsome, but his eyes were somewhat l.u.s.tful. The woman had a baby face but her figure was hot and s.e.xy.
Yin Mengfan asked hesitantly, "Isn"t that the young master of the Shen family and Shen Hui? What are they doing here?"
When Li Yundong saw the two of them, he suddenly felt a headache coming on and secretly complained, "Why have these two lawless guys come? This is getting more and more chaotic!"