Chapter 107: I’m Not Going Back

“I knew my wife came from a mysterious background and was a very powerful martial arts expert, but I never understood why she took a liking to me and was willing to live as an ordinary couple in a small town.”

“You said Tingquan is missing… could it be that the group of people who killed my wife finally found Tingquan? Do they want the thing inside her body, so they took her away?”

Zhao Honglan was astonished by Father Qu’s words. He had originally thought Father Qu would only have a vague inkling of the truth, but he hadn’t expected the man to reveal so much information.

Meanwhile, Yun Huizhou, who had been expressionless, grew increasingly surprised as he listened to Father Qu.

To call it “surprised” wasn’t quite accurate; “horrified” would be more fitting.

He turned to look at Lian Li, his eyes screaming: It matches the bullshit you made up.

Lian Li was also fucking stunned. He had truly just made that up on the spot; how could he have actually hit the mark? How was he supposed to explain this to Yun Huizhou now?

Should he say he had secretly gone to the North Island Lord to learn a bit of fortune-telling? Or say the North Island Lord had told him?

But the North Island Lord was a total fraud—nothing he predicted ever came true.

Yun Huizhou had grown up on Drunken Dream Island and knew exactly what level of “skill” the North Island Lord possessed.

Both of them were reeling from Lian Li’s “divine foresight.”

On the other side, Zhao Honglan continued his questioning: “Then, how much do you know about Tingquan’s mother?”

Hearing this, Father Qu shook his head. “Her mother didn’t like talking about the past, so I didn’t ask much. When I first met her, she had a very heavy accent—a very southern accent. If she spoke too fast, it sounded like unintelligible babbling.”

Hearing this, Zhao Honglan was essentially certain: it was the people from the Southern Border Spirit Sect.

At this moment, Yun Huizhou’s eyebrows were practically flying off his face. He stared at Lian Li, his originally handsome face now looking somewhat comical.

Lian Li was also completely speechless. Who could understand his plight? He had randomly made up some melodramatic backstory for Qu Tingquan, and it had actually turned out to be true.

Zhao Honglan was entirely focused on Qu Tingquan’s situation, and Father Qu was currently overcome with grief after mentioning his late wife.

Neither of them noticed the abnormal behavior of Lian Li and Yun Huizhou.

Finally, Zhao Honglan was the first to snap out of it. “Uncle Qu, you should stay at the Qinghong Sword Sect for the time being. If I’ve guessed correctly, the power that took Tingquan is quite troublesome. I don’t want something to happen to you after I bring her back; Tingquan would be heartbroken.”

Father Qu understood this logic and nodded repeatedly. “I’ll go pack my things now and set out first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Good. I’ll head to the Martial Arts Alliance in a moment to hire people to escort you there,” Zhao Honglan said.

Father Qu did not refuse. He had no martial arts skills, and now that his daughter was embroiled in this mess, he couldn’t be a burden while his future son-in-law went to rescue her.

“Brother Yun, Junior Brother Lian, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Uncle Qu here. I’m heading to the Martial Arts Alliance first,” Zhao Honglan said to them.

Father Qu had basically stayed in this small town for years without traveling and remained very low-profile; the people who took Tingquan might not necessarily know he was here.

But now that Zhao Honglan had arrived, those people knew the relationship between Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan. They might soon discover where Father Qu lived.

Zhao Honglan didn’t dare to gamble.

He was truly afraid that after finding Qu Tingquan, Father Qu would go missing.

If that really happened, he wouldn’t even know how to explain it. Was he supposed to say, “I went to your father for information, which led those people to him, and then I failed to settle your father safely before I left, allowing them to kidnap him”?

Just thinking about it made Zhao Honglan’s scalp tingle.

After seeing Lian Li and Yun Huizhou nod in agreement, Zhao Honglan hurriedly departed again.

Father Qu stood up and said to the two, “I’ve troubled you two Great Heroes. It’s getting late; let me arrange guest rooms for you to rest.”

Yun Huizhou replied, “No rush. We’ll wait until Brother Zhao returns.”

Father Qu nodded. “Very well.”

Afterward, the three sat in the room in silence. Lian Li felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward, but he didn’t know what to say. After all, Father Qu had just learned of Qu Tingquan’s disappearance; he likely wouldn’t have any interest in small talk until she was found.

Fortunately, Zhao Honglan returned quickly, and the atmosphere finally livened up.

With Zhao Honglan there, Father Qu didn’t need to be troubled with the room arrangements.

Just as Lian Li put his things down, he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to see Yun Huizhou and immediately felt a surge of guilt.

Seeing him like this, Yun Huizhou found it a bit funny. This person had been so righteous when he was talking nonsense; why was he feeling guilty now?

Though he thought this, he hadn’t come to pester Lian Li about those things.

“Going to the Southern Border is very dangerous. Why don’t you head back to Drunken Dream Island first? Zhao Honglan and I will go,” Yun Huizhou said.

“You’ve already decided to go immediately?” Lian Li asked.

“Judging by the Sui Xin Monk’s behavior and what Xin Ci said, time is of the essence for Miss Qu. If we’re too late, there’s no telling what might happen, so we must go immediately. Moreover, as far as I know, the Sect Leader of the Spirit Sect and their Great Elder are in a very important state of secluded cultivation. With the Spirit Sect’s current strength, there shouldn’t be any problem with Zhao Honglan and me going,” Yun Huizhou explained. “Besides, I’m afraid Brother Zhao will set out the moment he sends Uncle Qu off. It would be a bit dangerous for him to go alone.”

“Ah? The strongest ones are in seclusion? That is a good opportunity. No wonder they wanted to delay Senior Brother Zhao’s time.” Lian Li nodded, then continued, “So just the three of us? Three people charging into an entire sect?”

“It’s just Brother Zhao and me,” Yun Huizhou said, tapping Lian Li on the forehead.

Lian Li covered his forehead, frowning with a face full of disapproval.

He didn’t know the exact trajectory of the original plot, but it was obvious now that following Zhao Honglan meant following the plot.

Although the plot might have changed slightly—for instance, Zhao Honglan wasn’t injured, and they were heading out much earlier—that was exactly why Lian Li had to go.

He remembered his childhood friend talking about this part of the plot for a long time. Although he hadn’t listened carefully, who knew if he might suddenly recall some impressions once they reached the location?

Since the timeline had moved up, if he suddenly remembered something, there would be enough time to be on guard.

He was afraid that if Yun Huizhou and Zhao Honglan went while he returned to Drunken Dream Island, he might suddenly remember something but have no way to warn Yun Huizhou in time.

This wasn’t like the modern world where he could just call or send a text.

Here, sending a message took half a day at the fastest, and that was only for nearby locations.

Furthermore, the focus of this plot arc was clearly on the Male and Female Leads. Because there were many descriptions of their situation, he was able to have some impression of it.

As for Yun Huizhou, the supporting male character, Lian Li wasn’t even sure if he had gone or not in the original story.