Chapter 126

The Qinghong Sword Sect did have Transcendent Masters, but they certainly wouldn’t have come out in person to assess Lian Li’s aptitude, and Super First-class masters might not have been able to discern it. If he had truly left Lian Li there back then, the boy would likely have been long gone.

“So…” the West Island Lord finally concluded, “supervise him and make sure he practices his martial arts well.”

He glanced at Yun Huizhou and continued, “The way you teach him is far more merciful than when Master, Nanrong, and Dong Qing taught you back then.”

“Mm,” Yun Huizhou responded. “I understand.”

Seeing him agree, the West Island Lord stretched. “We’ve strayed from the topic. The first priority is to resolve the issue of the bug inside your body. Otherwise, you won’t be able to use your internal energy, nor will you be able to keep him in check.”

“Alright,” Yun Huizhou said. “Junior Uncle, what do I need to do now?”

The West Island Lord did not answer immediately, merely staring at Yun Huizhou.

Yun Huizhou didn’t think much of it, assuming the Gu was simply troublesome and that his Junior Uncle had not yet devised a countermeasure.

He wasn’t in any rush; the Gu wasn’t fatal, after all. It was just that for every day it remained unresolved, he would be unable to use his internal energy.

In any case, with both Senior Uncle and Junior Uncle here, they wouldn’t be in any danger. To bypass them and kill the pair, it would take at least four Transcendent Masters acting in unison.

There were only twenty-eight Transcendent Masters in the world to begin with. On Drunken Dream Island, aside from the four Island Lords of the East, South, West, and North, there was also his Grandmaster, who had been wandering the world for so long that no one knew his whereabouts.

No one knew exactly how powerful a person who could train four Transcendent Masters as disciples had become by now.

If four or more Transcendent Masters truly joined forces just to kill a few juniors like them, then it was feared that all Transcendent Masters would soon be drawn into the conflict.

The West Island Lord found it interesting that Yun Huizhou didn’t seem worried in the least.

He had breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the boy Lian Li wasn’t afflicted by the gu, and his expression turned solemn when he heard that Lian Li had to practice the Wood Spirit Art, yet he wasn’t at all concerned about his own unpurged gu or his inability to use internal energy.

The West Island Lord looked down at his newly dyed nails. Recalling the descriptions he had read in the Jianghu Anecdotes and the Beauty Ranking a while back, the corners of his mouth curled into a smirk.

However, his current silence did not mean he lacked a solution for the Gu; rather, he had suddenly decided not to tell Yun Huizhou how to resolve it. Otherwise, the brat might not be so willing to cooperate.

Unfortunately, when Xi Yu wanted to do something, he rarely considered whether others were willing—especially the opinions of this brat.

His fingers moved as he picked up an empty teacup, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Yun Huizhou. “Drink some tea,” he said. “It will do you good.”

Yun Huizhou didn’t think much of it. He took the cup and drained the tea in one gulp.

He had just finished drinking when he realized something was wrong. He looked up, intending to ask the West Island Lord, but his vision suddenly went black, and he collapsed.

Seeing that he had fainted, the West Island Lord raised an eyebrow. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the man onto the bed. He didn’t bother to check if the haphazard position was comfortable before turning to leave the room.

Just as he stepped out of his courtyard, he saw Ice Treader wandering by the gate. He patted Ice Treader’s head, took up the reins, and led the horse toward the courtyard he had assigned to Lian Li.

Ice Treader followed behind him with a rhythmic clatter of hooves, carrying two small bundles on its back.

The West Island Lord, who was in a fairly good mood, led Ice Treader into the courtyard and casually took down the two small bundles, intending to bring them inside for Lian Li to put away.

Suddenly, a small booklet fell out of a bundle and hit the ground with a thud.

The West Island Lord looked down and saw that the small book’s cover was blank, making it impossible to tell what it was. He checked the two bundles in his hands again, weighing them slightly, and found they contained only clothing, with no other books or pamphlets inside. He tossed the bundles back onto Ice Treader’s back and reached out his hand, drawing the fallen book up from the ground.

Noticing that the book was not very thick and assuming it was one of Lian Li’s storybooks, his curiosity was piqued, and he flipped it open.

When he clearly saw the illustrations of naked figures entangled together inside, he did not lose his composure and throw the book back onto the ground as Yun Huizhou had done. Instead, he raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest surfacing in his eyes.

After looking through the entire book, he closed it, rolled it into a cylinder, and tapped it lightly against his palm.

He glanced at his small courtyard and then toward Lian Li’s room, the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening. After tucking the book—hardly suitable for a child’s eyes—into his robes, he retrieved the bundle from Ice Treader’s back once more and stepped into Lian Li’s room.

“Junior Uncle.” Lian Li, who had been diligently meditating to circulate his internal energy, immediately finished his session and climbed down from the bed to stand obediently.

The West Island Lord tossed the bundle directly at Lian Li and said, “Pack this up.”

Lian Li reached out and caught it. He turned to place it on the bed and opened it, taking everything out. He refolded the clothes and neatly organized the other miscellaneous items.

He packed quickly, looking nothing like his usual self when he was with Yun Huizhou, where he would sit for a bit and play for a bit.

The West Island Lord leaned against the doorframe and yawned. After Lian Li finished tidying up, he crooked a finger at him. “Come here.”

Normally, Lian Li wasn’t afraid of him and would often act shamelessly in front of him, provoking the man into throwing him out.

But now, he was exceptionally obedient. Seeing the West Island Lord beckon, he went over at once.

He was shorter than the West Island Lord and had to look up slightly when standing before him. Seeing his pitiful state, the West Island Lord knew he was only being so well-behaved because of Yun Huizhou, yet he still couldn’t resist reaching out to pat his head, just as he would pat Ice Treader’s.

“The time has come for you to be of use,” the West Island Lord said, withdrawing his hand.

Lian Li’s eyes lit up instantly. Since Junior Uncle had put it that way, he must have already figured out how to cure Yun Huizhou, which naturally made him happy.

The West Island Lord curled his lip and said pointedly, “He’s been poisoned by a Gu. Your Junior Uncle took a palm strike for you, and that old fella used a hidden hand.”

Lian Li’s expression went blank for a moment, followed by a look of utter daze and helplessness.

The West Island Lord had absolutely no intention of providing his junior nephew with any psychological counseling. He continued, “He realized it while he was regulating his breathing, so he stopped, and he didn’t let you help alleviate his injuries either.”

“I…” Lian Li had just started to speak when the West Island Lord interrupted him.

“If this Gu isn’t neutralized, he cannot use his internal energy. Otherwise, he is simply providing nourishment for those insects.”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw Lian Li’s expression turn into one of utter panic, as if his greatest fear had suddenly materialized.

This expression gave the West Island Lord quite a start.

He only had a bit of a mischievous streak; he hadn’t intended to actually scare the boy half to death!

So he immediately spoke the rest: “That’s why I said the time has come for you to be of use.”

“What do you want me to do?” Lian Li asked.

His expression was so earnest that the West Island Lord didn’t have the heart to keep teasing him.

Finding it all quite dull, the West Island Lord gave a snort. “Bring a bowl over.”