124 Venomous Spider

Certainly:

"... How did you know?" Lili's cheek muscles tightened, his expression restrained and composed, his entire face stiff and cold, only the storm brewing in his eyes betrayed the true emotions of the master. He clenched his large fist hanging by his side tightly, "Who are you?"

The last "three words" carried a strong hostility.

As if he could twist Qishan's head off in the next second!

Without saying a word, Shentang stepped forward diagonally, standing in front of Qishan, eyes alertly watching Lili, guarding against his sudden violence. The dark-faced man who followed Shentang like a little wife also sensed the danger and oppression, lowered his head, whimpering softly.

Qishan's expression became momentarily strange.

He patted Shentang's shoulder first, indicating that Shentang didn't need to be so guarded, then looked up at Lili's eyes, and said calmly, "I am Qishan, Qiyuan Liang. It seems that the warrior may have misunderstood. Shan is not your enemy..."

Certainly not a rival in love with Laoshizi...

That "Venomous Spider," whoever gets involved with her tends to have a short life.

|ω)

He did have some relationship with Lili, but it was quite indirect.

Qishan had once experienced a very bleak and destitute period when he was on the run, and had been helped by a certain lady.

This lady was the sister of the former county guard, the famous "Venomous Spider" - her nickname, Lady Mei.

It was through this relationship that Qishan learned that the "Venomous Spider" had raised a face slave named "Lili" a few years ago, whom she cherished. It makes sense when you think about it. Without cherishing, she probably wouldn't have spent a large sum of money to find someone to restore an old painting that had been accidentally drenched in rain.

Hmm, this restoration of the old painting made Qishan wealthy overnight, and he also did a "little something" with the help of the Venomous Spider's connections.

The words Qishan had just read were from the old painting.

The latter half of Dongpo Jushi's "The End of the Track" - [Returning from afar, the smile is even less. Smiling, still carrying the fragrance of Ling Mei. I wonder if Lingnan is not good. But I say, where this heart rests is my hometown.]

When he first saw that old painting, he felt there was a story to it.

Never thought, one day, he would see another protagonist.

Lili pursed his lips and said nothing.

But his gaze at Qishan was still very complex.

For a literary man like Lili, the young literary youth in front of him was indeed the type that the lady had previously favored, handsome and talented.

He hesitated, "How is that lady... is she alright?"

Qishan's expression was strange, "Do you think she could be not alright?"

Anyway, she's doing much better than Lili.

Lili choked, "..."

Indeed, his question was somewhat redundant.

Not knowing what else to say, he fell silent for two breaths, murmuring slowly, "Well, I asked the wrong question. As long as the lady is doing well now, that's good."

Qishan: "..."

The lady's well-being, I'm afraid, is known only to herself, but from an outsider's perspective, it's certainly admirable.

When Sibao County was breached by Zheng Qiao's army, the former county guard and his family fled to another country. In order to establish themselves in the new place, they spared no effort to integrate into the local circles and sought some influential connections.

Coincidentally, the prince of the neighboring country had long admired the "Venomous Spider" and proposed to take her as a concubine, only to be sternly refused by the "Venomous Spider."

When she didn't agree, the former county guard was targeted everywhere.

The former county guard was furious: ["Why won't you agree? For you, it's just one more face slave. What's the harm in agreeing?"]

The Venomous Spider scoffed at this argument.

["Raising a face slave is my choice, but a man forced upon me by others, dear brother, can he still be called a 'face slave'?"]

It didn't take long for her to return to her licentious ways.

Even the prince had to gauge her mood when he wanted to see her.

When had the prince ever been rejected like this?

He had thought about resorting to force, but the Venomous Spider's networking skills were terrifyingly strong, with many friends and acquaintances, and in a short time, she had met many scholars and powerful figures, among whom were some who admired her beauty or talent, and some who were the prince's political rivals.

He didn't dare to act rashly.

So it dragged on like this, dragging on for nearly half a year.

Various details are inconvenient to elaborate on, but only the outcome will be mentioned.

This prince was once an employer of Qishan.

_(:з)∠)_

Lili: "When did you see her?"

"Three or four years ago, when I helped her repair a painting. Thanks to the lady's support, I got through a difficult time." Grateful as he was, Qishan still felt a bit wary of this woman, for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on, but his intuition told him so.

At Lili's words, there was a ripple of emotion in his expression.

"A painting?"

He seemed to know which painting it was.

Shentang beside him was greatly shocked.

"Wait... do you two know each other?"

Has time sped up again?

Why couldn't she understand this plot development all of a sudden?

How many connections does Qiyuan Liang have that she doesn't know about? How is it possible that he runs into his "old acquaintances" wherever he goes?

Zhai Le also expressed confusion.

But the onlookers relied on gossip and speculation, guessing a fraction of the truth, with the remaining ninety-seven percent being wildly off.

They secretly hoped that Qishan and Lili would clash for the sake of a woman's beauty, providing them with some post-dinner gossip.

But alas, no fight broke out, much to their disappointment.

Qishan: "I don't know her personally, but I know someone who does."

Lili lowered his head, lost in thought, and grabbed a handful of messy hair fiercely, then said abruptly, "Alright, I'll go with you."

Shentang: "..."

Once again, she suspected someone had hit the accelerator.

When they arrived, there were only three people and two pigs. But as they left, there were seventy to eighty people, still with two pigs.

Qishan's gaze was discerning, carefully selecting over seventy people. Fifty of them were young men aged fifteen to twenty, while the rest were women aged thirty to fifty. Their needlework was good, and they had experience working in the fields, just what Qishan needed.

Before leaving, Shentang did one more thing.

She went back to where they came from and took away the woman's child.

The woman looked at her son with reluctance and greed.

Shentang couldn't bear it in her heart. "Madam, please take good care of yourself. There will be a day for you to reunite with your son..."

As if catching the last straw, the woman's cloudy eyes lit up weakly. "Is that true?"

Shentang nodded. "It is."

As the woman stumbled away, Lili frowned at the body placed in his hands. "This child is already dead..."

The livor mortis had set in.

Shentang sighed. "I know."

She planned to bury the child in the hills behind, fearing that if she buried him just anywhere, he might be dug up.

Zhai Le knew Shentang's plan.

He said, "Brother Shen is kind-hearted."

Kind-hearted? Shentang didn't respond to this assessment outwardly, but inwardly, she sneered, as if a voice in her mind whispered like a demon—If she truly were kind, why didn't she save that woman too? Why only bring back a corpse?

On the way back, Lili secretly observed Shentang's group.

In today's world, bringing back so many people in one go, was either the work of prominent families or had ulterior motives. After all, with more people came more mouths to feed, something ordinary families couldn't afford.

Thinking this, the black-clad youth suddenly spoke up, "With such strong roots, it's not an exaggeration to say that you were born with divine strength. Your talent must be extraordinary. Why haven't you practiced martial arts to strengthen your body?"

_(:з」∠)_