I saw that Xia Mengying didn't speak, and quickly said, "Look!"

"According to the information I received, Xia Yuting had a very close relationship with my dad back then."

"But we don't know how close it was, right? Maybe they were just friends back then? Or just male and female buddies? It's hard to say."

"Besides, I've carefully studied the information from that time."

"Back then, Banxian Village gathered many extraordinary people and strangers from the martial world."

"The longest-staying person lived there for three years, and the shortest for half a year. Can you guarantee that none of these people caught Xia Yuting's eye? Does it have to be my dad?"

"This..." Xia Mengying didn't know what to say for a moment.

Butcher Wang said, "I think what Li Po said makes sense."

"We're just here to investigate, not to claim relatives."

Lin Zhao also said, "It's a pity that Teacher Xia and Li Po can only be cousins. If they were siblings, we could directly do a gene test to get the result."

Xia Mengying glanced at me and said, "Li Po, I have to tell you. If you really are Xia Yuting's son, don't recognize her. You'd better find another reason to see Xia Yuting."

My expression sank slightly and I said, "Why?"

Xia Mengying said, "Three families in Banxian Village take turns serving as village head, each term lasting ten years."

"The Cheng family, which is currently the village head, belongs to the School of Principle, and people of this faction attach great importance to etiquette. If they find out that Xia Yuting had a child out of wedlock, she would probably be executed by Banxian Village."

"According to the rules of the martial world, Banxian Village's handling of Xia Yuting is an internal matter of the Confucian School, and no one can interfere except for the other two families in Banxian Village."

"Moreover, apart from the Xia family, the Yan family is unlikely to interfere."

I nodded and said, "Understood!"

I said "understood" with my mouth, but in my heart I was saying: Where do so many rules come from? Aren't the rules of the martial world determined by the person with the biggest fist?

However, Xia Mengying wasn't the person in charge of Banxian Village, so it was pointless for me to say harsh words to her. That's why I was perfunctory with her.

Xia Mengying obviously didn't see that I was being perfunctory and continued, "Putting aside your purpose, Banxian Village is unlikely to let you see Xia Mengying."

"The Cheng family is very contemptuous of people in the martial world. In their eyes, commoners of the martial world are not worthy of entering their refined society and are not worthy of interacting with them on an equal footing."

I sneered and said, "Are you saying that the Cheng family's door is full of learned scholars and no common people are allowed to enter, right?"

"You could say that!" Xia Mengying nodded somewhat awkwardly, "In addition, the Cheng family has a very bad impression of you, and it's even possible that they won't even give you a chance to enter."

"Me?" I said inexplicably, "I don't have any interaction with them, right?"

Xia Mengying said, "In the battle on Snow Mountain, you handed the Demon Suppression Stele to the Samsara Division. Although you were on the side of righteousness, making the Confucian School speechless, many people in the Confucian School felt uncomfortable. The Cheng family is one of them."

"They won't say this explicitly, but they will definitely find trouble for you! Also..."

Xia Mengying hesitated for a moment and said, "Some time ago, Jun Jixue's forceful snatching of the Spring and Autumn Annals was also linked to you."

"Jun Jixue only said at the time that he 'wanted to borrow the Spring and Autumn Annals', but according to later rumors in the martial world, he should have taken the Spring and Autumn Annals to Taiqu Mountain to reinforce Liangjie Hall." (Hall of Two Worlds)

"So, this debt has also been placed on your head."

"Just a few days ago, Banxian Village was still discussing whether they should demand the Spring and Autumn Annals from Liangjie Hall?"

I was amused by what I heard: "Their meaning is that they can't afford to offend Jun Jixue, and they think Liangjie Hall is easy to bully, right?"

"As a result, after discussing it, they felt that it wouldn't look good for them to directly go to Liangjie Hall. So, they suppressed the matter. Is that how it went?"

Xia Mengying's expression became even more awkward: "More or less!"

"Is the Cheng family asking for a beating?" My eyes narrowed as I spoke.

Xia Mengying said, "Li Po, I think you should not be impulsive this time."

"Although the Cheng family's actions are unbearable, in terms of kinship, the Cheng family may be your maternal relatives. Xia Yuting's mother was the Cheng family's direct daughter."

I had a bit of a headache: "What a mess!"

I didn't suspect that Xia Mengying was lying to me. It was normal for various branches within sects to have intermarriage. The larger the family, the more intertwined the relationships between in-laws would be. You never knew who might be whose relative.

If I fought with the Cheng family, maybe I'd end up sending one of my uncles to meet the King of Hell with my blade.

In ancient times, a nephew murdering his uncle would be considered one of the ten great sins, punishable by immediate execution!

I tapped the table and said, "Is there any way for me not to conflict with the Cheng family?"

Xia Mengying said, "Currently, the only way is for you to go to 'Treading the Heavenly Gate'. If you can break through the Heavenly Gate, you will be a benefactor of Banxian Village, and Banxian Village will treat you like seeing their ancestor."

I was surprised: "Isn't Banxian Village a school of magic arts? When did it become a宗门 (zongmen, sect)?"