Chapter 381: Chapter 380: I will arrange your wedding as soon as possible.
Carrying a gift.
Before he could knock, the enormous door opened automatically to both sides.
A young woman, who appeared to be in her early thirties, walked out from inside, her gaze falling on Xu Lingjun. Her eyes lit up involuntarily, then calmed as she asked, "You are Xu Lingjun, right?"
Xu Lingjun asked, "And you are..."
"I am Jingjun’s aunt, Li Pingting, more or less the housekeeper here. Please come in."
She waved her hand, signaling the servant behind her to advance and take the gift from Xu Lingjun’s hands. Her eyes glanced at Daxiong and Pang Hu, who was riding on Daxiong.
Pang Hu had already puffed up, staring at the woman with a continuous rumbling sound in its throat.
Li Pingting ignored Pang Hu, nodded at Xu Lingjun, and turned directly to walk back inside... halfway, she suddenly thought of something, asking, "This big cat doesn’t harm people, does it? Do I need to prepare a cage?"
Xu Lingjun shook his head and said, "No need, Daxiong is very gentle."
Daxiong nodded in agreement, saying, "Meow..."
Li Pingting couldn’t help but pause, her gaze fixed on Daxiong for a long moment before murmuring, "I now understand how you won Jingjun’s heart, a bit. Well, if anyone gets hurt, it’ll be your responsibility. Follow me."
With that, she turned and went inside.
Xu Lingjun followed her.
The entire large domain of the Li Family was on the mountain, the path was not smooth. After entering through the main courtyard, it gave way to uneven buildings, designed with such character as to not damage the mountain bodies. Instead, the entire manor was carefully hidden within the mountain.
It looked like a hidden family amidst the forest, bearing a certain elegance.
But seeing such a scene... it apparently stirred Daxiong’s internal beastly instincts, itching to climb and leap among the many mountain bodies for fun.
Xu Lingjun held back the somewhat agitated Daxiong and asked, "Where is Jingjun? Why hasn’t she come out?"
"She’s in closed-door cultivation, the area has no signal so she can’t reply to messages. After seeing your message, she asked me to send you a location and I’ve been here waiting for you," Li Pingting explained. "If you wish to see her, you might need to wait a while... I’ll take you to meet my aunt first."
Jingjun’s aunt’s aunt?
So, is it Li Fufeng?
Before coming here, Xu Lingjun had inquired about Li Fufeng from Zhang Zhiheng. According to Zhang Zhiheng, this woman was not the kind, gentle old lady he had imagined, but rather a difficult person. Li Jingjun, as her granddaughter, wasn’t lucky, but unfortunate.
Unexpectedly, he would meet the big boss right upon arrival, especially in the absence of Li Jingjun, meeting the family... this feeling...
Xu Lingjun couldn’t shake the feeling that Li Pingting didn’t have a favorable impression of him.
She seemed somewhat unwelcoming, merely constrained by courtesy to treat him with manners.
Did this woman’s attitude represent the entire Li Mansion’s attitude?
Xu Lingjun followed behind Li Pingting for over ten minutes before reaching the main hall.
Inside, an old woman was sitting quietly with a cane, her gaze sharp like a hawk’s. When Xu Lingjun entered, her gaze fell on his face, and her expression eased slightly.
She nodded approvingly.
And at that moment, Xu Lingjun got a clearer view of the woman’s features in front of him.
She looked quite old, her hair had long since turned white as frost, but she did not appear weak or ill. Rather, she was like a hawk that had concealed its wings, staring intently at its prey.
"Meow."
Daxiong arched its body warily while Pang Hu retreated into Daxiong’s fur, wishing for the fur to grow longer to hide him completely.
Seeing Xu Lingjun, Li Fufeng’s expression softened considerably. With a rigid face, she squeezed out a smile and said, "Honored guest from afar, please sit."
"Thank you."
Xu Lingjun sat down, immediately served tea by a servant, and the courtesy was impeccable.
Li Fufeng asked, "You are Xu Lingjun, correct?"
Xu Lingjun nodded and said, "Yes."
"You came to see Jingjun?"
"Yes."
Li Fufeng’s gaze scrutinized Xu Lingjun from head to toe before saying, "You and she... are you classmates, or romantic partners?"
Xu Lingjun was taken aback by the directness of Li Fufeng’s question.
After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded and said, "Jingjun and I encountered an unprecedentedly strong enemy together in the Ice Snow Realm. Thanks to our side-by-side battle and mutual support, we barely survived. After that, we..."
Li Fufeng asked, "You’re romantic partners, aren’t you?"
Xu Lingjun nodded.
Inwardly, he felt somewhat resigned; this woman was really pushing things.
He knew the safest response was to deny it, especially since both Zhang Zhiheng and Li Jingjun had warned him that the old woman before him wasn’t an easy person to deal with, quite literally the toughest parent.
The fact she was treating him courteously now was likely because she didn’t have a bad impression of him too much.
But if he were to date her granddaughter...
"Don’t worry, I’m strict with Jingjun, but my strictness is based on the potential and comprehension I see in her, and the expectations for her talent. As long as her abilities live up to the standards I’ve set for her, I don’t mind what she does outside of that," Li Fufeng stated. "I’m quite satisfied with her progress over the past year or so, so... whatever else she’s been up to outside, I don’t mind."
Xu Lingjun let out a sound acknowledging her statement. So, as long as she meets your expectations, you don’t care if Li Jingjun acts rebelliously?
Li Fufeng continued, "However, Jingjun has been in closed-door cultivation for over a month now. During this time, she needs to merge the two Supreme cultivation techniques of our Li Family, the Wind Seeking Technique and the Hui xue Technique, and she is at a crucial stage. If you want to see her, you might as well stay at the Li Family for now. Once she completes her task, she’ll naturally come out."
"How long might it take?"
Xu Lingjun gave Li Pingting a peculiar look.
Before coming, he had thought of countless scenarios.
From what he had heard, Li Jingjun often talked about how her grandmother treated her. Although out of family affection, she never spoke ill of her, but Xu Lingjun, who knew Jingjun well, could clearly hear the resentment in her words.
It turned out, the old lady’s attitude towards him was surprisingly cordial, friendly despite its coldness—considering his previous impressions of her character, this was outright maximum friendliness.
On the other hand, this Li Pingting, who appeared out of nowhere...
had quite a lot of hostility towards him.
Li Fufeng asked, "Are you in a hurry?"
Xu Lingjun answered, "I’m actually not here specifically to see Jingjun. I have to go to the Polar Star Battlefield... Time is limited, and I’m afraid if I wait too long, I won’t be able to meet her."
"The Polar Star Battlefield?"
Upon hearing this, Li Pingting’s brows furrowed.
Li Fufeng’s eyes brightened and she asked, "Why are you going to the Polar Star Battlefield?"
Xu Lingjun stated succinctly, "There are some tasks that only I can perform. Please forgive me for not being able to disclose further details."
"Are you going there because of the extreme danger, and that’s why you’re here to bid farewell to Jingjun?"
"Well... sort of," Xu Lingjun replied.
"I understand what you’re implying," Li Fufeng said. "Counting the days, Jingjun should be able to come out in a few more days. If it’s urgent, I’ll have her come out early to quickly get both of you married."
"Thank you, madam... um... what?"
Xu Lingjun couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock, staring at Li Fufeng incredulously.
Did he just mishear something?