I, the transmigrated villain, please wait, gentle master.

Chapter 192 The Truth Will Be Revealed Again (1)

Along the east coast, reefs are scattered and seagulls gather in large numbers.

Li Tingyun had no interest in appreciating the scenery; he was only focused on searching. He moved faster than the sea breeze, traveling along the winding coastline. In an instant, he covered ten miles and disappeared without a trace.

Passing by a sheltered ferry crossing, having walked quite a distance, I suddenly turned back and stopped on a nearby beach.

The Yantian Sect chose a treasure land that gathers wind and energy. The coastline is winding and the waves are small. Such a place is also suitable for human habitation. Within a hundred miles of the sect, there are several small fishing villages and numerous ferry crossings.

As evening fell, fishermen gradually returned home after hauling in their nets. More than a dozen fishing boats were moored haphazardly at the ferry dock, their masts creaking in the wind and swaying back and forth with a few dim fishing lights hanging from them.

Nearby on the shore, there was a large, rugged pile of rocks. On the highest and largest rock sat an old man with white hair, wearing a straw hat and raincoat, with a gourd of wine at his waist and a fishing rod in his hand. A few birds flew around him, sometimes rising and sometimes falling.

In a good mood.

As dusk fell, the tide was rising, and the sound of the wind mixed with the tide was blowing in his face. It was salty, fishy, ​​and cool. The tide was almost submerging the rocks, and it was amazing that he, an old man, could still sit still.

The pile of stones was slippery and steep, but Li Tingyun walked forward as if on flat ground, taking only a few steps. He stood behind the fisherman, who stood with his back to him as steady as a mountain, and spoke first:

"Sect Leader Ren, is it fun to toy with me like this?"

"...How did you know it was me?"

The fisherman slowly turned around, revealing a face with white hair and beard, weathered by time.

Look how weathered he looks! It's obvious he's been carefully made up.

Ren Pingsheng sighed, "It was originally quite interesting, but it's not fun anymore once you guessed it right away."

He raised his fishing rod and showed it to him: "Look, I also want to imitate 'Jiang Taigong fishing'."

Li Tingyun looked at the fishing rod without a hook and commented sharply, "A very old-fashioned trick."

"True feelings are hard to retain, but tricks always win people's hearts. These days I've been thinking about how to create an opportunity to meet you. After thinking it over, I still think the simplest way is to just call out to you and see if you come out. Those who are willing will take the bait."

Ren Pingsheng packed up his fishing rod, chair, and fish basket at his feet, his hands full. He glanced at Li Tingyun, who was just standing there opposite him.

What a clueless young man! He doesn't know how to respect the elderly or care for the young. If it were his apprentice, he would have already come up and carried his things for him.

"Sect Leader Ren wants to see me?" Li Tingyun frowned. Why? Was it necessary? Was he here to lecture me, or to fight?

Ren Pingsheng jumped off the reef with a large pile of fishing gear.

The waves do not wash his body.

He walked towards the ferry crossing and said to Li Tingyun, who was following closely behind him, "See that little wine shop over there? Let's go over and have a couple of drinks."

"I don't drink," Li Tingyun refused.

Ren Pingsheng doesn't care about him.

Without stopping or turning around, he asked, "No, or can't I?"

"do not like."

"pretty good."

"……what?"

"Men who don't like drinking are capable of great things."

Ren Pingsheng then changed the subject, "But being too lustful is also not good."

"..." Li Tingyun: "Sect Leader Ren also reads the Beijing News?"

Ren Pingsheng did not deny it. In fact, he read all sorts of things. After being in seclusion for so long, he naturally wanted to learn about "family affairs, national affairs, and world affairs" through various channels. Whether the news was true or false was another matter, but he knew quite a lot anyway.

Entering the distillery, I sat down and said, "Shopkeeper, one jar of wine and one pot of tea."

This little distillery was really rudimentary, made with local materials: oyster shells for the walls, seaweed for the roof, and drafty from all sides.

When Li Tingyun entered, he bumped his head against the lintel, quite hard, causing the two lanterns hanging under the eaves to sway.

The hunched old shopkeeper, carrying a wine jar and teapot, passed by and reminded him, "Young man, remember to keep your head down."

So Li Tingyun lowered his head, bent down, and "crawled" into the door frame.

To my surprise, when I stepped on it, I missed and almost fell again.

The old shopkeeper put down his things, walked back in front of him, and reminded him again: "Young man, remember to watch where you're going."

Small place, low lintel, deep foundation, specializing in curing those who have their eyes on their heads.

Ren Pingsheng burst into laughter, pounding his leg. Li Tingyun endured it, walked over, and sat down facing him.

"Sect Leader Ren, what are your instructions?"

"As for 'seeking guidance,' I wouldn't say so."

Ren Pingsheng smiled, raised his wine bowl, and gestured.

"I have long heard of the name of the Master of Taiji Hall; it is as famous as thunder in my ears."

Li Tingyun poured a bowl of tea and clinked it against his.

"Likewise. Senior Ren is a man of noble character and integrity, worthy of our utmost respect."

The tea bowl is about an inch lower than the wine bowl.

He does know a little bit of manners, just a little, not much.

"Just drinking is a bit boring. How about this, shopkeeper? I caught some seafood here. Could you take it outside, grill it, and make it into some snacks to go with your drinks?"

Ren Pingsheng added, "The cost of firewood and labor will be included in the total bill, especially the price of firewood, which I will double. Also, I've booked the entire place tonight, so your little winery can't entertain any other guests. The losses will also be on my account, and you won't be shortchanged a single penny."

These words were well-considered and took everything into account, so the old shopkeeper readily agreed and left with his fish basket.

Li Tingyun pondered, "Sect Leader Ren seems to have a great understanding of 'human relationships and worldly wisdom'."

"Haha, you little rascal... How old are you this year? Do you know how old I am? I've crossed more bridges than you've walked roads. Don't you think it's a bit inappropriate for you to say that?"

"That's not what I meant. I just think that cultivators, who don't eat the food of mortals, are already quite good at knowing that cooking requires firewood. Who would know that among firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, firewood is the most expensive?"

"Then how did you know?"

"Life experience".

I'll sum it up in four words; I don't want to elaborate further.

Ren Pingsheng didn't ask any further questions, only recounting his own observations:

"Although I spend most of my time in seclusion, I occasionally come out of seclusion to walk around and see the world."

“Especially when I was young, I traveled all over the mountains and rivers, watched the clouds drift by, and witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties and the changing of generations. How could I be ‘out of touch with the world’?”

"What an ordinary person experiences in their entire life is probably less than what I have seen with my own eyes. Of course I understand human relationships and common etiquette."

Li Tingyun casually remarked, "But your disciple is nothing like you..."

"Really?" Ren Pingsheng countered, "Which one are you referring to?"

"..." Li Tingyun answered irrelevantly: "One, two, or...all of them?"

"Then you're really talking nonsense. My disciples are all incredibly shrewd, except for..."

Ren Pingsheng smiled and said, "Apart from my little thirteenth brother, he really doesn't understand these things, but among his twelve senior brothers and sisters, there are quite a few shrewd, capable, and worldly-wise people."

When Li Tingyun mentioned "my little thirteenth son," his eyes visibly lit up, and his expression changed.

How to put it? It's like when Wangcai hears the sound of banging on the pot to serve food, he's fast asleep one moment and wakes up the next. Being even a little slow is disrespectful to the food, the delicacies, and what he loves!

Those expectant and hopeful eyes were truly hard to ignore.

Ren Pingsheng instantly became alert.

It feels like my money bag, which I didn't protect properly, has been targeted by a thief.

Of course, this is just an analogy.

The thief may not be eyeing his money bag, but something more important, more precious, and more difficult to part with!

Li Tingyun used a strategy of advancing as a retreat, taking the initiative to attack: "I have long heard of Mei Shiyu, the closed-door disciple of Sect Master Ren and the peak master of Hidden Sword Peak. He is a gentleman, gentle as jade, and has extraordinary talent and elegance, unparalleled in the world. In short, everyone says he is very good, but I have never met him, so I remain skeptical. I do not believe that there is such a good person in the world."

Ren Pingsheng found these words very strange.

Perhaps it was because of his tone.

Although he clearly said "doubt" and "disbelief," every word of his effusive praise contained absolute certainty, utmost sincerity, 30% confidence, and complete genuine affection!

He was absolutely convinced of it, so much so that he was willing to go crazy for it, to the point of banging his head against a wall for it.

Ren Pingsheng frowned deeply. This young man was putting him in a difficult position. He was clearly praising his apprentice, and as a master, he should feel proud. But... but!

There's always an inexplicable sense of unease lingering in my mind.

His gaze toward Li Tingyun held a deeper scrutiny.

Li Tingyun sat there openly and generously, letting him look at him. Even though the gazes that swept over him felt like knives piercing his body, he remained calm and composed, as steady as a mountain.

She even had the audacity to ask, "What's wrong? What do you think is wrong with me? Is it me, or something I said? Is there something wrong with me?"

"...No, not at all." Ren Pingsheng couldn't find anything wrong and let him off the hook. However, since the matter had come to this point, there was something he had to mention, something that concerned the purpose of his visit:

"Did you know that you and my apprentice originally had a master-disciple relationship?"

“I saw you when you were very young, and I left you a Mountain Spirit coin as a token.”

"But I don't know what you went through later that led you down the wrong path and to where you are today."

"It seems your fate is too shallow; you are destined not to be master and disciple, and perhaps by some twist of fate, one of you is righteous and the other is evil..."

"From now on, we'll probably only be enemies."

"You...remember?" Li Tingyun raised her eyelids, then lowered them again, chuckled twice, and said, "I guess I was just too unlucky, so I missed him once, twice, many times."

"It's alright, so what if our connection is shallow? I don't care. Anyway, I don't really want to be his apprentice. I'd rather he..."

"Keep him away from me. To use your usual saying, 'Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together,' right?"

“Yes,” Ren Pingsheng said with absolute certainty, “Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together.”

"But you deliberately avoided the key point of my words. What I really want to know is, 'What happened to you afterward that led you down the wrong path and to where you are today?' Why are you avoiding this question?"

He not only repeated what he had said in its entirety, but also emphasized his tone and stressed the words, making him sound somewhat "aggressive." Even if Li Tingyun wanted to downplay the issue, he couldn't avoid it.

He said frankly, "Sect Leader Ren, you are my senior, and for some reason, I can respect you."

"But what makes you think that I have to answer your questions just because you asked them?"

“Under normal circumstances, I am the one who ‘interrogates’ others; no one can threaten me in return.”

He chuckled coldly: "Even in front of you, it's the same. What I want to say, what I don't want to say, what I want to do, and what I don't want to do are all up to me, not others' opinions."

"Hahaha! I knew you were arrogant, but I didn't expect you to be this arrogant beyond measure, unable to withstand even the slightest 'pressure.' Have you never been tempered before, or have you been tempered too much?"

Ren Pingsheng smiled and took two sips of the turbid wine. "Too much rigidity leads to breakage, young man."