"Zhou Hong, I won't be polite with you then. Great kindness needs no words," Qiao Wanli said with a hearty laugh.
"That's right, we're all family."
At this moment, Liu Liying moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but didn't. Qiao Yannian, beside her, even glared at her slightly, seemingly preventing her from speaking.
How could Zhou Hong miss this detail?
"Mom, is there something you're hiding from me?" Zhou Hong asked with a smile.
"No, no," Liu Liying hastily shook her head, but Zhou Hong knew she was lying from her expression.
"Mom, it must be about Xiao Yu, right? You've heard from her, haven't you?" Zhou Hong guessed immediately. It was highly likely they had news of Xiao Yu, but for some reason, they didn't want Zhou Hong to know.
Zhou Hong felt a pang of doubt. Could it be that Qiao Xiaoyu had found someone else? Otherwise, why would Liu Liying have such an expression?
"There really isn't," Liu Liying insisted, her denial unconvincing.
"Heh, if I'm not mistaken, she's found someone else. It's alright, I won't be upset. If she can find someone better than me, I'll be happy for her," Zhou Hong said with a bitter smile.
"Don't misunderstand, it's really not like that," Liu Liying quickly explained.
"Heh, you still say you have no news of her. Can't you even tell me? Do you still consider me family?"
Liu Liying was speechless, realizing she had been tricked by Zhou Hong.
Seeing this, Qiao Wanli could only sigh deeply and say, "Zhou Hong, since it's come to this, I'll tell you the truth. We do have news of Xiao Yu. A while ago, we received a letter from her. She said she's in a sect, but she didn't tell us which one. Moreover, she knows you have three fiancées in the capital. She said she's happy for you and asked us not to reveal her information. In short, she's doing well."
"I see," Zhou Hong said with a smile. So, Qiao Xiaoyu's information wasn't completely cut off; she actually knew about his three fiancées.
"Since she's doing well, I'm relieved," Zhou Hong nodded. Although finding her wouldn't be difficult, perhaps a tour of every sect in Huaxia would lead him to her.
However, Zhou Hong wasn't in the mood to look for her at the moment.
"Grandpa, Mom, Dad, you can do as you please. I'll be going now. When I return to the Qiao family, I'll host a welcoming banquet for you," Zhou Hong left, somewhat dejected.
Perhaps hearing about Qiao Xiaoyu had brought back some memories.
After Zhou Hong left, Qiao Yannian sighed and said, "Dad, why did you lie to Zhou Hong? What's the harm in telling him the truth? He wouldn't..."
"I don't want to lie to him, but that young master of Langya seems difficult to deal with. What if he does something foolish? He's a person who values loyalty and righteousness..."
"Sigh!" Qiao Yannian sighed deeply.
However, they didn't know that Zhou Hong had only pretended to leave to see if they would exchange any words after he was gone.
As expected, once Zhou Hong left, they began to talk. Zhou Hong heard them mention lying to him.
Zhou Hong immediately emerged from the nearby bushes.
"Now, can you tell me the truth?"
"Ah, Zhou Hong, you... weren't you gone?" Qiao Wanli was startled to see Zhou Hong suddenly appear. He had clearly seen Zhou Hong walk far away, looking dejected.
"Heh, I was just pretending. If I hadn't left, how would you have told the truth? You mentioned the young master of Langya just now. Who is this person? What did he do to Xiao Yu?" Zhou Hong asked angrily.
"Zhou Hong, we weren't intentionally trying to deceive you. We just didn't want to implicate you. We already owe you too much," Qiao Wanli hastily tried to appease him.
"If you know you owe me too much, why deceive me? Tell me everything you know immediately."
Helplessly, Liu Liying said, "Zhou Hong, a while ago, we received a letter from Xiao Yu. She said that after she left Jinshi City that day, she encountered the young master of the Langya Pavilion, who was on a training journey. This young master of Langya Pavilion, seeing that Xiao Yu was beautiful, forcibly took her away. Xiao Yu is now in the Langya Pavilion. We've been trying to find the Langya Pavilion all this time, but we don't know where it is. However, we have heard some news that this young master of Langya Pavilion is extremely powerful, far beyond the capabilities of secular martial cultivators."
"Young Master of Langya Pavilion?" Zhou Hong clenched his fists. No wonder he couldn't find any trace of Xiao Yu; she had been taken to the Langya Pavilion.
"Zhou Hong, please don't be rash. After all, you are a martial cultivator from the secular world, and Langya Pavilion is a millennium-old sect."
Zhou Hong asked, "What does the young master of Langya Pavilion want with Xiao Yu?"
"What else could he want?" Qiao Wanli wiped away a tear.
Zhou Hong's heart was in turmoil. So much time had passed, she might have...
Zhou Hong dared not think further.
If Xiao Yu had truly been defiled, then not a single person in the Langya Pavilion would escape, not even a single mouse.
"Zhou Hong, I hope you can try to think it through," Qiao Yannian advised.
"When did you receive Xiao Yu's letter?" Zhou Hong asked, clenching his fists.
"About half a month ago. For these past half a month, we've been searching for the location of the Langya Pavilion, but to no avail. These millennium-old sects, for some reason, are all hidden very deeply, as if they are all isolated from the world."
"Don't worry, I will definitely rescue Xiao Yu."
"Zhou Hong, please don't. What if you get implicated?"
"Heh," Zhou Hong let out a cold laugh and got straight to the point, "I'm done pretending. Let me be honest with you. My strength on this planet, I believe, has no match."
"What do you mean?" Qiao Wanli and the other two frowned, unsure if they hadn't understood or didn't believe him.
"I am no longer an ordinary martial cultivator. I am a cultivator."
"Cultivator?"
"Yes, it's a level higher than martial cultivation. At the end of cultivation, one can become an immortal and ascend to heaven in broad daylight."
"Ah." Qiao Wanli and the other two seemed to understand, their faces filled with disbelief. Especially the words "become an immortal" and "ascend to heaven," which were unimaginable to mortals.
"Heh, you don't need to be surprised. I'm just a low-level cultivator now, but for Earth, I believe I'm the only cultivator. Now, do you still think I would care about this so-called Langya Pavilion?" Zhou Hong said, then turned and left. This time, he truly left. He was going to find out where the Langya Pavilion was.
Su Dan Novel Network