Chapter 88: The Ancestor

“Even if I really am a descendant of the Li family, so what? Am I supposed to return to the clan and kneel before my ancestors? My senior brother said you refined quite a few corpse thralls. I did not witness it myself, so I cannot be certain, but Qian Hao is a corpse thrall, and I saw that with my own eyes. You cannot change that fact, can you?”

Zhang Shouzheng drew in a deep breath. Looking at the old ancestor who seemed scarcely older than himself in appearance, he could not shake the feeling that something about this was deeply strange.

Li Taigu tapped him on the head, showing no trace of anger. After a faint smile, he grew solemn and said, “He was indeed refined by me into a corpse thrall. But do you know who Qian Hao truly is? Do you know why I am still hanging on to this world, struggling to breathe? It is all because of the people of the Qian family. They have been mortal enemies of our Li family for generations. Back when our family suffered that catastrophe, quite a few clansmen escaped. We thought it was over then, but I never imagined they would keep hunting down the members of the Li family.

“Turning Qian Hao into a corpse thrall was already me showing mercy. If I had not needed to pry the whereabouts of the other Qian descendants from his mouth, I would have slapped him to death long ago. Otherwise, why would I only bind his soul while letting his body walk about outside? For what reason? One of your parents must have been a member of the Li family. Otherwise, how could they bear to leave you behind? They did not want you to be hunted as well. They did not want the Li bloodline to be cut off!”

“Then my parents, too, were because of the Qian family...”

An endless surge of grief and fury rose within Zhang Shouzheng. He bit down hard on his lip until the taste of blood filled his mouth, his eyes rimmed red with veins, like an enraged lion.

“Senior Brother Shouzheng!”

A clear voice rang out from afar. Jiu'er came racing over with the Yin-Yang Umbrella on her back, her hair flying, her face stern with killing intent. Meanwhile, Jiang Litian was busy dealing with Iron Bull. Iron Bull had never appeared because he had actually been guarding the villa’s front gate. Granny Yinshan stood nearby, holding up the small Underworld Luo cauldron in both hands and murmuring an incantation under her breath. Somehow, by this time, vast banks of dark clouds had already gathered overhead.

“Junior Sister!”

Zhang Shouzheng’s face lit up with joy when he saw Jiu'er.

“A very lovely girl indeed,” Li Taigu said with a smacking of his lips and a shake of his head. “Pretty and delicate, and quite a match for you. What a pity she is a zombie.”

“Ancestor, where are your thoughts wandering off to? She is my junior sister!”

Zhang Shouzheng looked at Li Taigu, speechless.

“Senior Brother Shouzheng... you... you’re all right?”

Jiu'er stopped, staring at Li Taigu with full alertness. She did not dare act rashly, fearing that Li Taigu might use Zhang Shouzheng as a hostage to threaten her.

“I have the blessing of good fortune. What could happen to me? Ancestor, tell your people to stand down. These are all my family. You must not harm them.”

Zhang Shouzheng turned to face Li Taigu and spoke with urgency.

Li Taigu let out a sharp whistle, and Iron Bull immediately withdrew. Then Li Taigu patted Zhang Shouzheng on the head and said with a smile, “Of course. We are all family. Whatever you want to do, your ancestor will fully support you.”

After Jiang Litian and the others came over, Zhang Shouzheng explained everything from beginning to end. The surrounding area fell into silence. Jiang Litian looked at Li Taigu with shock, never imagining that this man’s seniority could be so astonishing. In his eyes, even the third generation patriarchs of the Heavenly Dao Sect seemed to be juniors.

“Heh, little one. Qian Hao’s body slipped out of my control. By rights, I should never have spared you. But since you are now my only remaining descendant, I will let you live. Very well, you may leave now.”

Li Taigu pursed his lips and began fussing with Zhang Shouzheng’s hair as though he had discovered a novel toy.

“Ancestor, I want to stay with my senior brother and the others. Also, I want to investigate the real culprit who killed my parents. I already have a lead now. It was people from the Qian family, wasn’t it?”

Zhang Shouzheng clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth.

Li Taigu’s playful expression vanished. He nodded very seriously, his voice rough with age as he said, “Yes, it was the Qian family. Your parents were wise to send you to Qingxu and have Qingxu teach you the methods of the Azure Dragon lineage. That way, even if you walked the world outside, the Qian family would not be able to discover that you were a descendant of the Li family. But let me tell you this: as long as you continue to walk outside, one day you will reveal a flaw. Stay here with your ancestor, and I will protect you. Those ragtag few of yours would have no way out if they ran into the Qian family’s experts.”

“Senior, even if the Qian family is powerful, can they really compare with the Heavenly Dao Sect, the foremost sect of today? I think you are worrying too much.”

Granny Yinshan showed no expression, but her tone was unmistakably unconvinced.

“Hmph. What do you know? The enemies I provoked back then—I know very well just how...” Li Taigu seemed to realize he had misspoken, and immediately clamped his mouth shut. Looking awkwardly at Zhang Shouzheng, he saw Zhang Shouzheng glaring at him. Li Taigu chuckled twice, patted his shoulder, and said, “Go on then. Just do not leave Dragon Capital. And given your age now, you ought to be entering high school. I do not care whether you live at school or commute from home. Every Saturday and Sunday, you must come here. The arts of the Azure Dragon lineage are only passable, but you still must cultivate our Li family’s Heavenly Book.”

“The Heavenly Book? What is that?”

Zhang Shouzheng asked curiously.

Granny Yinshan and Jiang Litian both unconsciously edged a little closer. Seeing Li Taigu keep silent, they immediately turned their heads away as though nothing had happened. Zhang Shouzheng did not know what the Heavenly Book was, but Jiang Litian and Granny Yinshan did. Especially Granny Yinshan—she knew even better that the Heavenly Book was the supreme Daoist scripture of the Li family, extraordinarily formidable.

“When the time comes and you see it, you will know. Also, from now on, all your expenses will be borne by me. If the school needs to hold a parents’ meeting or anything of the sort, they must notify me as well.”

As he said this, he cast a faint glance at Jiang Litian. Jiang Litian immediately felt a powerful aura lock onto him and hurriedly said, “If anything comes up, I will notify Mr. Li.”

After Zhang Shouzheng and the others had left, Iron Bull came over and asked in confusion, “Master, you finally found your descendant. Why let him go? Aren’t you afraid the Qian family will hunt him down? And he is the one guarded by the spirit ape. If he dies, then the Li family bloodline will...”

Li Taigu smiled. “It is all right. He is still young. He has to go through some storms sooner or later, otherwise how will he ever grow? Right now I am only a soul returned to a corpse; I cannot possibly defeat my enemies. If that bastard does not die, our Li family will forever face their pursuit. This matter still requires Shouzheng to deal with personally. Of course I am not at ease leaving him on his own. It was no easy thing finding this little one at last—how could I let anything happen to him? From this moment on, you are to be responsible for protecting him. If he comes to any harm, or even loses a single hair, I will hold you accountable.”