Li Miao rose and walked out of the room, followed closely by the Mount Hua Sect disciples.
Gao Ling hesitated for a moment, not speaking, and followed Li Miao under Master Zuo's icy gaze.
Outside the door, disciples of the Mount Tai Sect were waiting, leading Li Miao and his group to a private residence in the back mountain.
Master Zuo's gaze was fixed on Li Miao until Li Miao and the others disappeared from his sight for a long time, then he turned back to greet and exchange pleasantries with the people inside the house.
“Master Deng, long time no see…”
“Master Zuo, it’s been a long time…”
How Master Zuo explained the situation to the people inside the house is not mentioned.
Li Miao and his group followed the Mount Tai Sect disciples to the private residence.
Master Zuo would not be so disgusting as to arrange a remote, wild place; this private residence was indeed good, with flying eaves and upturned corners, very quiet. There were no neighbors nearby, so it was probably an old residence where a certain elder of the Mount Tai Sect, who liked tranquility, lived alone.
If a dozen or twenty people died here, it’s estimated that the commotion wouldn’t even spread out.
Li Miao and his group had already departed late from Tai'an City, and it was already approaching noon.
A short while later, Mount Tai Sect disciples brought some food.
The Mount Tai Sect was a large family with many disciples, of course, they had their own kitchen and chef. The dishes were still steaming hot when they arrived, with a fresh aroma. The variety didn't seem like mass-produced food; it should have been made by a small kitchen specially for the sect elders, looking even more delicious than the tavern in Tai'an City.
However, the Mount Hua Sect disciples and Gao Ling dared not eat.
They were acting as unwelcome guests today. Others might not understand, but Master Zuo surely knew that Li Miao’s trip up the mountain was to take his life.
What’s more, Master Zuo's evil cultivation was not ordinary evil cultivation; it was practiced in conjunction with Witchcraft.
Who would dare to eat the food sent by Master Zuo so casually?
The others were fine, but Gao Ling, who had personally witnessed Master Zuo's inhuman appearance, instinctively kept far away from the food, as if afraid a worm might pop out at any moment.
Li Miao, however, smiled, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and put a slice of mushroom into his mouth.
“Hmm… Since leaving the capital, this is truly the best meal I’ve had. The Mount Tai Sect has a considerable estate; they can afford a chef of this caliber. I estimate a lot of silver can be squeezed out of them.”
“Don’t just stand there, come, come, eat.”
He opened his mouth to greet everyone.
Seeing that Li Miao, the leader, had already sat down to eat, the others naturally no longer hesitated and came forward to divide the food.
Mei Qinghe, Gao Ling, Liu Baiyun, and Li Miao shared a table, while the other Mount Hua disciples found their own rooms to eat.
Mei Qinghe asked, “My Lord, are you not afraid Master Zuo will poison you?”
“With your internal energy realm, ordinary poisons cannot harm you. But after all, he is involved with Witchcraft, and matters of Witchcraft are strange and hard to guard against, not of the same path as the Central Plains Martial World. You must be careful.”
Li Miao laughed and said, “Eat with confidence. When it comes to Witchcraft, Master Zuo is far from as familiar with it as I am.”
“I have raised a Human Gu, and this thing isn’t that sinister. If it were truly small enough to be unintentionally put into one’s mouth, it would have been scalded to death by the freshly cooked dishes.”
“Besides, Master Zuo doesn’t want me to die just like this.”
Upon hearing this, Mei Qinghe wanted to ask for more details.
Li Miao intended to train Mei Qinghe, so he didn’t keep her in suspense, and while eating, he began to explain from the beginning.
“Martial arts are like clothes; some are suitable, some are not. If you find one that fits, it’s more comfortable to wear, and you can go further; if it doesn’t fit, you’re constrained and find it difficult to advance.”
“But inheritance, after all, is like someone else’s old clothes given to you to wear. No matter how well it fits, it’s hard to be perfectly tailored.”
“Therefore, when martial arts reach the pinnacle level, excluding sects like Wudang and Shaolin whose internal inheritances are too extraordinary to surpass, most will try to create their own martial arts. After all, at this level, even a slight ill-fit is already a huge flaw.”
Li Miao took a shrimp, wrapped his hand around it, and the shell peeled off easily.
He put the shrimp into his mouth, then took a sip of wine, and only then continued speaking.
“You’ve seen me spar with Master Zuo; his swordsmanship is self-created. What artistic conception did you feel?”
Mei Qinghe knew this was Li Miao’s test, closed her eyes to ponder for a while, and then replied, “Overbearing, rigid, fierce.”
Li Miao shook his head.
“The key is arrogance; that’s his foundation.”
“Most martial artists in this world don’t have such good luck. They often use martial arts that don’t match their temperament and do things that don’t match their intentions. And temperament, in most cases, doesn’t distinguish between good and evil.”
“For example, fierceness and gentleness are both qualities that can be divided into good and evil.”
“Therefore, only when a person practices a martial art beyond the limits of their innate talent can one somewhat discern their temperament. It’s like a piece of clothing; only when it’s worn perfectly fitted can one see the person’s figure.”
“And self-created martial arts, like Master Zuo’s, are like tailor-made clothes, fitting everywhere. So, when top experts spar, they can generally understand each other’s intentions, which is also the origin of ‘exchanging pointers through martial arts’.”
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Li Miao held up his wine glass and slowly said, “I had already reviewed Master Zuo’s resume.”
“After this exchange, I can understand his temperament even better.”
“His fierceness, rigidity, and overbearingness all stem from his arrogance. From the beginning of his martial arts training, he left his peers behind, and after achieving success in martial arts, he never suffered a defeat. He is confident that he is a prodigy and believes that he should be superior to others.”
“Because of his arrogance, he is overbearing and rigid, which allowed him to create this swordsmanship.”
“And what is an arrogant person most afraid of?”
Mei Qinghe was still pondering when Li Miao continued on his own.
“It’s an opponent who once defeated him, who has disappeared.”
“Little Mei, when you were little, did you ever play games with people where there were winners and losers?”
Mei Qinghe nodded, “I did.”
Li Miao said, “In such games, what makes people most angry isn’t losing, but when the other party wins a round and then says ‘I’m not playing with you anymore’.”
“The only one in this world who will never lose is a dead person.”
“If I were poisoned to death by him now, then there would be someone Master Zuo could never win back against.”
“Just this alone can leave a flaw in his mental state.”
“So tonight, he will definitely come to find me, to honorably win back that crushing defeat. Only then will he kill Elder Gao and you all to silence us.”
“Otherwise, with his temperament, he’ll probably have nightmares about me every night from now on.”
Mei Qinghe suddenly realized, “So that’s how it is.”
Li Miao smiled, “Alright, you don’t need to worry about tonight’s matters.”
“After dinner, rest yourselves, and there’s no need to come out if you hear any commotion tonight. I still have to continue this act with Master Zuo tonight.”
“Otherwise, how can I force him to seek help from the Ming Cult?”
