The next day.
Min Ziqing waved goodbye to Ying Chen with reluctance, "Brother-in-law, take care on the road. I'm entrusting Nannan to you, make sure you deliver her safely to my sister!"
"Sigh, old man Guo's medical skills are truly lacking. Such a minor illness requires half a month to cure. Brother-in-law, absolutely do not hold your wedding with my sister within these half a month, you must wait until I return!"
Ying Chen simply ignored Min Ziqing's nonsensical ramblings.
Elder Guo, standing beside him, gave Min Ziqing a swift whack on the head, his face darkened.
"Who are you calling an old man?"
"Who are you saying has poor medical skills?"
"A minor illness? When you were clinging to my leg and crying for me to save you, why didn't you call it a minor illness then?"
"Do you believe I'll terminate your treatment right now and let you fend for yourself?"
Hearing this, Min Ziqing panicked.
He quickly plastered on a smile, "Teacher Guo, I was just joking, why are you taking it seriously? Have you forgotten our agreement? We promised to 'live freely with companionship in the mortal world, and gallop on horseback to share the prosperity of human life'?"
"If I die, won't you be left all alone and helpless, with no one to send you fifty-year-aged soy sauce liquor anymore?"
Gulp!
Elder Guo had been indifferent to Min Ziqing's earlier words, but the moment he heard "fifty-year-aged soy sauce liquor," he couldn't help himself.
After swallowing hard, Elder Guo snorted, "You little brat, if the liquor you send me is short by even a year, a month, or a day, I'll let you know the consequences of deceiving me!"
"Don't worry, if there's one thing Young Master Min is good at, it's not cutting corners! Not only will there be no less, but there will be more! And I'll send you a few boxes every year from now on. Even if you die, I'll pour it on your grave, how about that?"
"..." Elder Guo's face darkened.
He had mixed feelings of love and hate for this blockhead.
"Let's go." Ying Chen said to Professor Li beside him.
Professor Li nodded, and the two turned to leave.
In Ying Chen's hand, he held Nannan's.
For some reason, the moment Ying Chen grasped Nannan's small hand, a peculiar feeling surged in his heart.
It felt as if their bloodlines were one, their fates intertwined.
Ying Chen was slightly puzzled for a moment, then rationalized, "It must be the natal artifact! Only a natal artifact could trigger this feeling in me!"
"Once I find a dojo and establish the snake bone formation, I must find a way to bring this child to live in the dojo. With the help of the formation, her cultivation speed will double, and the Azure Sky Moon mark hidden within her will also manifest more quickly."
"Then her muteness can be cured, and I can begin preparing to reforge the Azure Sky Moon. With the natal mark, I believe I can restore the Azure Sky Moon within a year!"
Ying Chen spoke with conviction, his heart filled with ambition.
This era where Daoism had declined was difficult, but it also offered Ying Chen a chance to retrace his cultivation path!
And the regrets he had left behind due to various reasons in the past could all be rectified now!
For example, the flawless Golden Body that he had never managed to forge;
For example, due to his haste then, he had not cultivated the "Seventy-two Articles of the Land" to perfection;
For example, he had stepped into the Heaven Connection realm without forging a top-tier artifact with the Dao, which led him to reforge a top-tier artifact later, namely the Azure Sky Moon.
All sorts of regrets, Ying Chen had never considered rectifying them before.
And now, heaven had given Ying Chen another chance!
"At that time, as I re-enter the ranks of the strongest mystics, I will be even stronger than before, won't I?"
"At that time, even if my master deceives me and takes away my eight immortal bones again, he won't be able to easily suppress me, right?"
Thinking of his master, a hint of malevolence surfaced in Ying Chen's eyes.
It perfectly exemplified the saying: the look in someone's eyes when they want to kill a person cannot be hidden!
Inside the SUV.
Professor Li drove, cautiously asking, "Mr. Ying, after we return to Jianghai, can I leave?"
"As you know, I still have a group of students at the archaeological site on the border. If I'm gone for too long, I'm afraid they might cause some trouble..."
Professor Li's words were tactful; he actually meant that if he didn't return soon, his students would call the police.
At that time, if the police showed up, Professor Li didn't believe they could do anything to Ying Chen, but it would be bad if any bloodshed occurred because of it.
"You've worked hard these past few days. When we reach Jianghai, you can leave on your own. As for my mausoleum... I'll trouble you to help conceal it! Try not to let outsiders know about it."
"As compensation, I will tell you the true burial place of Lord Wu'an."
Ying Chen said.
Professor Li's hands, gripping the steering wheel, trembled uncontrollably.
After all these days of hard work, and having flirted with death several times, it was finally not in vain!
Ying Chen was finally willing to tell him the true location of Lord Wu'an's tomb!
For those in their profession, while driven by a love for history and culture, who wouldn't want to be recorded in history?
The thought of a future day when his grandson would bring him a textbook, and the content would tell the story of him finding the tomb of Lord Wu'an, made Professor Li feel dizzy!
A dizzy spell of excitement and pride!
"I suggest you concentrate on driving first, lest you die before achieving fame."
Ying Chen reminded him.
Professor Li startled and quickly refocused on driving.
The journey was bumpy.
During the trip, Nannan seemed to have no sense of strangeness or distance from Ying Chen, staring at him intently.
This made Ying Chen feel a little embarrassed.
Ying Chen could sense that it was just that Nannan couldn't speak.
If Nannan could speak, Ying Chen's ears would have been restless the entire way, like a chirping sparrow buzzing around his ears!
Fortunately, as they were nearing home, Nannan finally felt tired.
Her head tilted, and she fell into a deep sleep on Ying Chen's lap.
Ying Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Facing such a non-threatening four-year-old girl, he felt more pressure than facing a thousand-year-old demon with profound Daoist abilities.
Ying Chen didn't understand why this was the case.
"Mr. Ying, we've arrived."
At this moment, Professor Li slowly stopped the car.
They had arrived at the entrance of the Min family's residence!
Three people stood at the gate.
Leading them was Min Ziqiong, looking anxious and expectant.
Behind her were Min Ziqiong's parents.
The three had already learned of the situation from Min Ziqing's phone call, so they were waiting here in advance.
"Nannan!"
Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Min Ziqiong rushed forward impatiently.
She nervously opened the car door, fearing that what she saw would not be Nannan but a dream.
Fortunately, she saw Nannan's sleeping little face.
Tears of joy and relief immediately streamed down her face.
"Nannan, I'm sorry. It's my fault."
"Mom won't leave you again, okay?"