Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 121

In the main hall were Li Huayuan, his wife, and a woman in red. The woman appeared to be around thirty years old, with an elegant and beautiful appearance, yet her cold expression gave off a fierce impression, unusual for a cultivator. The three of them were engaged in conversation, and they seemed to hold each other in high regard.

Among the two people standing nearby, one was the fourth senior brother, Song Meng, whom Han Li had met before. Next to him stood a girl who looked to be in her late teens, also dressed in red.

She was quite pretty, with a subtle seductive aura. The fact that she wore similar clothes to the woman he had just met suggested they were related.

“Han Li, come here and greet Senior Uncle Hong Fu,” Li Huayuan called out excitedly as soon as he saw Han Li. The senior brother named Mu Hyun moved to stand next to Song Meng without a word.

“Greetings, Senior Uncle Hong Fu,” Han Li said, bowing politely, though he was unsure of what was happening. Senior Uncle Hong Fu didn’t respond to his greeting but instead scanned him from head to toe.

After a moment, a faint smile appeared, and she spoke in a slightly blunt tone, “Yes, he’s not bad.”

“Haha! It seems Senior Sister Hong Fu is satisfied! Although my disciple has an ordinary appearance, he is still a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Moreover, he is usually well-behaved and clever, so he is a child I am pleased with,” Li Huayuan said, praising Han Li excessively. Han Li was at a loss.

‘What do you mean, satisfied?’ he wondered, feeling a bad premonition as Li Huayuan continued to praise him.

As soon as he entered the main hall, he had noticed the girl in red secretly glancing at him, her face full of dissatisfaction. Furthermore, when Senior Uncle Hong Fu gave him a good evaluation, she was so surprised that her body stiffened. At the same time, he felt another hostile gaze from the seventh senior brother, Mu Hyun, who had guided him here.

When Mu Hyun met Han Li’s gaze, he immediately looked away, pretending not to notice him. All these circumstances made Han Li uneasy, but as was his usual habit, he maintained a calm demeanor and revealed no emotion.

Of course, this made the woman in red, who was secretly observing him, feel even more satisfied.

“This child will do. Then, I will take Hwon-ah back first and wait for good news,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I will talk to him properly,” Li Huayuan replied, nodding and hurriedly getting up to see Hong Fu off. Han Li was left standing there blankly, not knowing what was going on.

Li Huayuan and his wife returned, seemingly in a good mood. They sat back in their chairs and continued to look at Han Li, making him feel uneasy.

“Han Li, it seems your master should congratulate you first,” Li Huayuan said.

“Disciple doesn’t understand what you mean,” Han Li replied, his heart pounding faster. Unable to comprehend the situation, he eventually asked politely.

“Haha. Senior Sister Hong Fu has taken a liking to you, so what could be better than this? You will be able to become a cultivation partner with her disciple,” Li Huayuan’s wife answered before he could, resolving Han Li’s confusion. Han Li’s eyes widened.

‘Cultivation partner?’ he muttered inwardly, confused and unsure of what was happening.

“How is it? It’s something others would dream of. Originally, there aren’t many female disciples in the Yellow Maple Valley, and finding a female disciple who has succeeded in Foundation Establishment is extremely rare. Moreover, cultivating with a cultivation partner is beneficial for both men and women, so it’s an opportunity that other disciples eagerly await,” Li Huayuan said cheerfully. For him, forming such a connection with the highly skilled Senior Sister Hong Fu would have many advantages.

Immortal Hong Fu was one of the top Nascent Soul cultivators in the entire Yue Kingdom. Moreover, in the Yellow Maple Valley, she was almost the most powerful in terms of cultivation, except for the older grandmasters.

Thinking about being connected to her disciple through this kind of relationship, the smile on his usually stern face did not disappear.

“This disciple has never thought about such a thing, so it feels too sudden. Moreover, there are many disciples with good looks and talent in the entire Yellow Maple Valley, so why did she choose me?” Han Li asked.

“Haha, it’s your good fortune. Senior Sister Hong Fu was once hurt by love between men and women, so she hates men who are handsome or frivolous. Therefore, when choosing a partner for her disciple, she didn’t like any of the male disciples. I heard that she looked around several places before coming to my residence, and you are the first one she liked.

Moreover, the conditions for talent aren’t that strict. The female disciple who was standing next to her today was also ordinary, and she only barely succeeded in Foundation Establishment after taking three Foundation Establishment pills in a row and with the help of a large amount of rare auxiliary medicinal materials. She wouldn’t have done that if she wasn’t her own niece. In a way, it’s excessive favoritism,” Li Huayuan explained, sighing after a while.

“Actually, at first, I didn’t even think of recommending you, and I called your seventh senior brother. In terms of looks and talent, he was no worse than you, so even though I knew she had a prejudice against handsome men, I thought I’d give it a try. But as you can see, the result was that she didn’t like him. That girl seemed to like you,” Li Huayuan added.

However, as soon as Li Huayuan mentioned the Sixth Family’s girl, the incident of killing the Sixth Senior Brother flashed through his mind. He remembered that at that time, he had gone crazy and tried to harm his lover, and he had also mentioned a woman from the same family as Senior Uncle Hong Fu. Could that woman be that girl from earlier?

As he thought about that incident, his whole body tensed up, and his impression of Senior Uncle Hong Fu’s disciple also worsened. Since he had no liking for the girl, the feelings he had developed while listening to Li Huayuan’s explanation completely disappeared.

“This disciple doesn’t think it’s a good idea. First of all, it’s too sudden, so I don’t have enough time to consider it, and also, Senior Uncle Hong Fu’s disciple doesn’t seem to like me, so what good would come from forcing us together? Would it be possible for Master to look for a better match among the other senior brothers?” Han Li asked.

Although his words were long, they clearly contained a refusal, so Li Huayuan and his wife looked a little surprised. The wife seemed to accept it, but Li Huayuan frowned as soon as he heard those words.

“Listen carefully! How can you so easily overturn something that has already been promised in front of Senior Sister Hong Fu? Even if there is a better choice, it would be difficult to do so. Moreover, it doesn’t make sense to refuse because that girl might not like you. Originally, even if you don’t get along well at first, you can start as cultivation partners and build affection before becoming a married couple,” Li Huayuan scolded Han Li in a stern tone. Han Li could only groan inwardly.

He couldn’t think of a reason to refuse such a seemingly good thing. At that moment, what his wife said surprised Li Huayuan.

“Han Li, you and that child entered the valley around the same time, and you succeeded in Foundation Establishment around the same time, so you must have heard some rumors in between,” she said.

“What rumors are there about that girl?” Han Li asked.

“This concubine heard some rumors while talking with close friends. Surely it’s not true,” the woman said with a slightly embarrassed look.

“You two go out first, and only Han Li stay,” Li Huayuan said. When his wife said this, Li Huayuan thought for a moment and then waved his hand to send Song Meng and Mu Hyun out. Song Meng bowed and retreated without much thought, and Mu Hyun couldn’t disobey his master’s order, but he didn’t seem to want to leave.

“Now that it’s just us, tell me the truth. Let’s hear what I’ve missed,” Li Huayuan said, his expression becoming serious. His wife looked at Han Li once and then shook her head as if she couldn’t help it.

“I also heard a story by chance two years ago, and I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s said that Senior Sister Hong Fu’s female disciple had a complicated relationship with men during the Qi Refining stage, and she was involved with several men, and there were fights between those men. It was an incident that almost led to murder among fellow disciples, so Senior Sister Hong Fu was furious and imprisoned the child, and she was only released after she succeeded in Foundation Establishment.

Moreover, after that, she was said to have fallen in love with a child from the Bong family and tried to become cultivation partners, but Senior Uncle Hong Fu disliked the Bong family child and imprisoned her again. There hasn’t been any news for the past two years, and I wasn’t interested in things that weren’t confirmed, so when Senior Sister Hong Fu came with her disciple, I didn’t think about it. But seeing Han Li’s attitude, that incident suddenly came to mind,” she explained.

Not only Li Huayuan but also Han Li was surprised by the story his wife had told. Li Huayuan was flustered because he had promised to give his disciple to Senior Sister Hong Fu without knowing that the girl was so infamous, and Han Li was speechless at the fact that she was not only involved with the Sixth Family but also had many scandals with other men.

“Wife, is that true? Did Senior Sister Hong Fu have such a disgraceful female disciple?” Li Huayuan said in disbelief and stood up. The reason he was pacing back and forth in the main hall was not because of Han Li. If his disciple was involved with such a woman and strange rumors spread, what would happen to Li Huayuan’s reputation?

“How would I know? Everyone is just talking about it in passing, so they probably don’t know if it’s true either,” she replied.

If that was the case, it was difficult for Li Huayuan to force his disciple. Moreover, he was full of regret now!

However, breaking a promise to someone like Senior Sister Hong Fu was difficult without a really good reason.

He paced around the main hall several times and still couldn’t make a decision, so he looked at Han Li. But when he saw his disciple standing there blankly, waiting for him to speak, he became very troubled.

“Go back for now. I will discuss it with your wife and then decide what to do,” he said.

In fact, Han Li was a little worried that the other party might not care about the rumors and push things forward. However, he was relieved when Li Huayuan said that he would discuss it, as it seemed that he was also concerned.

He happily bowed and said he would leave, then exited the main hall.

Outside, Song Meng and Mu Hyun looked at him with strange eyes, but he just hurried his steps and left his master’s residence.

After returning to his residence, Han Li waited for three days with an uneasy heart. Then, he was called by Li Huayuan again and went to Green Wave Cave, and after hearing the agreement between his master and Senior Sister Hong Fu, he could only sigh.

* * *

A few months later, Li Huayuan and his wife, along with Senior Uncle Hong Fu, were seeing off two people in front of the Green Wave Cave waterfall. Although they were setting off on a long journey, there was no emotion on their faces, and they were just obediently answering questions.

The man and woman were none other than Han Li and Dong Hwon-ah, Senior Uncle Hong Fu’s disciple.

“Han Li, when you go out, you must help each other and always be careful. I heard that the cultivation world has been unstable recently, and there have been many disappearances. At first, the targets were limited to Qi Refining cultivators, but now even Foundation Establishment cultivators are disappearing, so be careful!” Li Huayuan said. Even though his words were short, Han Li was quite moved. However, the advice that Senior Uncle Hong Fu left for the girl remained as an example that broadened Han Li’s horizons.

“During the journey, listen carefully to your senior brother and behave yourself! If you cause trouble one more time, don’t blame your master for being heartless!” she said.

With that, Han Li and Dong Hwon-ah disappeared into the southern sky on their magical artifacts. Li Huayuan looked at the two of them and suddenly became worried, so he looked at Senior Uncle Hong Fu.

“Senior Sister, are you really sure about sending them as representatives to the Yeon family’s treasure competition? They both haven’t been successful in Foundation Establishment for long, so they won’t be able to achieve good results,” he asked.

“Is Senior Brother worried that you won’t be able to produce a good disciple and your reputation will be tarnished? Or are you worried about the Qiankun Pagoda [a powerful magical artifact] that is at stake in this Yeon family competition?” Hong Fu smiled wryly at Li Huayuan.