Chapter 79: Learning

“Don’t panic, I’m not blaming you, but I’ve recently heard a rumor,” Li Qi said.

After speaking, he comforted the old horse while recounting the events of the past two days, focusing on the Song Kingdom general.

After he finished, the old horse calmed down instead.

He whinnied twice.

Then, Shen Shuibi translated, “The old horse said that wasn’t him.”

“Ah?” Li Qi was stunned.

——————

Great Deer Kingdom, Li Prefecture, Yi County, at Wang Yuanwai’s home.

Li Qi came here alone for the next step of their discussion.

Li Qi cleared his throat, “Ahem, it was probably a misunderstanding, so I probably won’t need you to smear yourself with blood.”

After speaking, Li Qi glanced at Wang Laotai.

Did she know that the old horse wasn't the Dragon Steed Shadow?

She must have known, right?

She was a Diviner, though unranked.

But Li Qi himself was also unranked.

However, he already knew that even an unranked Invoker could possess various strange Divine Abilities, so he dared not underestimate her in the slightest.

On the contrary, Martial Dao…

It seemed to have no other great uses besides fighting.

But it was powerful enough; the Ox Strength Technique only gave him six thousand catties of immense strength, but after Martial Dao Rank Nine, he could easily lift giant stones weighing over twenty thousand catties with just his Physical Body, and with the Carp Current Intent bursting forth, his strength could temporarily double or more.

One could only say that the two sides focused on different things. Martial Dao was truly a Dao that purely pursued combat power, but Invoker was not; combat power was merely auxiliary, and the most crucial aspect was functionality.

As for Diviner, Li Qi had long heard that this Dao was not strong in combat, but it had many strange spells, so Li Qi dared not underestimate Wang Laotai in the slightest.

So, Li Qi said, “Old lady, since you don’t need to use your blood as a price to erase the old horse’s Karma clues, can I change this reward?”

Li Qi asked this, and Wang Laotai immediately nodded. She promptly said, “That is natural, Senior Brother. Feel free to state any requests you have, and I will do my best to fulfill them.”

“It’s not that strange. I just want to ask, how did you pinpoint our location? It was because of this that I was tricked by you,” Li Qi asked.

When mentioning being tricked, Wang Laofu immediately became flustered.

When this topic came up, Li Qi’s expression also became serious: “Forgive my bluntness, old lady, I bear a Grand Diviner’s mission. If what you say is not satisfactory, although I resolved the conflict between Human-Ghost and saved you from the evil ghost’s clutches, if you can’t explain yourself, then I might have to silence you.”

Wang Laofu’s body visibly stiffened when she heard the words Grand Diviner.

For those from Shaman God Mountain, the suppressive power of the terms Grand Diviner and Grand Diviner was unquestionable.

She immediately bowed: “This foolish woman deserves to die… I concealed some things earlier, I hope Senior Brother will not blame me…”

“I know you concealed things, but everyone has their difficulties, so I won’t pursue what happened before. I only hope you tell me how you pinpointed my location,” Li Qi waved his hand, his expression seemingly relaxed, but his eyes were fixed on Wang Laotai.

Wang Laotai looked solemn, her face filled with fear, and she immediately knelt: “Senior Brother, please understand, though I am a foolish woman, I would never dare to delay the Grand Diviner’s matters. In truth… I actually had no idea of Senior Brother’s whereabouts.”

“Senior Brother’s cultivation is profound; my divination techniques are completely unable to pinpoint you, so… this foolish woman used a clumsy method.”

“It’s not difficult to explain. Actually, that gold… I merely applied a minor spell, it had the form but not the spirit, completely unable to frame anyone, but if there were someone from our Shaman God Mountain or someone knowledgeable, they might detect that the gold could carry a curse. At that time, they would natural come looking… I have already distributed thirty-five such pieces of gold,” Wang Laofu said.

“As long as I see someone who comes from the wild, can hunt beasts alone, or has unusual phenomena, I will have my son give them a piece…” The old woman’s forehead touched the ground as she carefully explained.

Li Qi listened, then looked up, speechless.

Damn it, he underestimated the heroes of the world.

Who would have thought that a blind old woman from a small rural county would possess such a fishing method.

However, it should indeed be so.

My heart aches so much…

That corner of gold dust was a thousand cash.

“Then, how did you confirm my Dragon Steed and my whereabouts? And how could you even answer about the military saber?” Li Qi asked again.

“I dare not conceal anything from Senior Brother. At Shaman God Mountain, I learned a method called ‘Mirror Flower Water Moon,’ allowing me to secretly observe Senior Brother from afar… Then I saw the military Qi on the long saber, and then I guessed some things myself to bluff Senior Brother… I didn’t expect to hit the mark exactly… As for the military saber, that is indeed true, and the matter of the Dragon Steed Shadow is also real…” Wang Laofu said.

Li Qi truly didn’t know what to say now.

Li Qi kept this matter in mind, treating it as a lesson.

Alright, a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. Let’s just consider it a lesson.

However, he didn’t intend to pursue accountability. He merely said to Wang Laofu, “…Then so be it. This saber, I’ll leave it to you to erase its Karma traces. I’ll go help your family resolve the final matters, and then your Wang family will be out of danger.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother!” Wang Laotai repeatedly kowtowed.

Li Qi did not stop her, leaving the long saber for her to cast her spell. He went to complete the final sacrificial ritual, offering the Five Qi and Clear Water, which would then return Yin Qi.

Five Qi referred to five kinds of finely cut cold meat and vegetable dishes.

Clear Water, on the other hand, was water blessed by a Invoker, water warmed by the Invoker’s own internal Qi.

He performed the ritual, and incidentally drew out the Qi from the tomb, receiving the blessing of the Ghost God, and then re-sealed the tomb.

Once all of this was completed, the Karma clues on the long saber had also been erased.

Li Qi didn’t make Wang Laotai die, but he still took twenty gold from the Wang family.

Afterward, he didn’t linger, bought some luggage, mounted the old horse, and left without stopping.

On the way, Shen Shuibi held tightly to his waist to avoid falling off, and suddenly asked during the old horse’s rapid dash, “Li Qi, is that all? It doesn’t seem like you?”

“How does it not seem like me?” Li Qi retorted.

“Hmm, I always feel that to avoid risk, you should have directly silenced them and then left,” Shen Shuibi said.

And upon hearing this, Li Qi burst out laughing.

“If I were still the same me who had just come out of Li Prefecture City, then I would definitely silence them without hesitation to prevent any possible risks,” Li Qi explained to Shen Shuibi.

“However, things are different now,” Li Qi’s voice suddenly lowered.

“I am not an executioner, nor am I a desperate man. I am now a person pursuing the Dao. My goal is to ascend the Dao and see more scenery, not to be as cautious as a mouse!” Li Qi said, raising his head, appearing very confident.

“Oh, Li Qi, you think they pose no threat, do you?” Shen Shuibi tilted her head and replied.

“Ahem, saying it like that makes me sound very…” Li Qi was a bit embarrassed; the rabbit’s keenness was always unpleasant at times like this.

“I’m not saying you’re arrogant, oh.” Shen Shuibi counted on her fingers: “Isn’t this based on your true heart? You probably don’t want to kill people, so you’d rather take some risks, right?”