Han Li saw Mo Caihuan's appearance and knew it wasn't the right time to press further. Mo Caihuan led him to a small shop on the next street and stopped in front of it.
"Here?" Han Li asked, looking at Mo Caihuan with a questioning gaze.
"Yes, this is it! Mother and I run a small business here. We just want to earn some spirit stones to buy medicine for Mother to suppress her injuries." Mo Caihuan blushed slightly, looking a bit embarrassed. Then she led the way inside.
Han Li smiled and followed without saying anything.
"Mother, look who I brought!"
As soon as Han Li stepped through the door, he heard Mo Caihuan's excited voice. Then came another voice he recognized, though it sounded older and hoarse.
"Who could it be? Since Uncle Zhu died, only Aunt Xianglian from next door visits us!"
Indeed, that was Yan Shi's voice, though much hoarser than before.
"No, it's Senior Brother! I met Senior Brother in the castle!" Mo Caihuan shouted excitedly.
"Senior Brother? Aren't all your senior brothers long dead? Child, have you lost your mind?" Yan Shi sounded clearly worried.
By this time, Han Li could see the situation inside the shop.
A small room about six or seven zhang wide, with several wooden counters displaying neatly arranged sets of low-grade talismans and some worthless materials. A wooden door led to the inner room. Behind the counter, a woman lay in a bamboo armchair, looking at Mo Caihuan with concern.
It was indeed Yan Shi, whom he hadn't seen in nearly ten years!
She looked much older now, with a sickly complexion. Only the traces of her former beauty could still be discerned between her brows and eyes.
When Han Li entered, Yan Shi naturally noticed him. When she clearly saw who it was, she froze for a moment and tried to stand up. But obviously, this was something her seriously ill body couldn't manage. She only managed to straighten halfway before collapsing back. Mo Caihuan quickly reached out to support her.
"You're Han Li?" Yan Shi gasped for breath, just as surprised as Mo Caihuan had been. But amidst her shock, there was a hint of hopeful joy.
Han Li naturally knew what she was thinking, but after a slight hesitation, he walked over and bowed slightly.
"Fourth Mother, greetings!"
"You... you still acknowledge me as your Fourth Mother? You don't hold a grudge for what happened back then?" Yan Shi's face lit up with joy when Han Li called her "Fourth Mother," but she still seemed unable to believe it.
"As for what happened between Master Mo and me, let's not discuss who was right or wrong for now. But the master-disciple relationship between Master Mo and me was genuine. So I should still call you Fourth Mother." Han Li said calmly.
"As for the antidote later, there's no need to mention it! I'm standing here perfectly fine, aren't I?" Han Li said casually. Indeed, as a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator now, he naturally didn't need to hold grudges against mortal people anymore. The conflicts with Yan Shi and the other masters were no longer worth his attention.
"Yes, with your talent, you must have done quite well in the cultivation world! Unlike your other masters and me, we've become like stray dogs... cough..." Yan Shi had just spoken a few words when her face suddenly turned red. She started coughing violently.
"Mother, are you alright? Senior Brother..." Mo Caihuan panicked, hurriedly rubbing Yan Shi's chest. She looked at Han Li with pleading eyes.
"Let me take a look!"
Han Li couldn't resist Mo Caihuan's imploring gaze. He sighed lightly, then reached out and took Yan Shi's pulse. After a moment, he released her hand and said:
"It's nothing serious. Just old injuries acting up, combined with not resting well these past few years. Too much overexertion!"
"Is it treatable?" Mo Caihuan asked anxiously.
"Don't worry. If this were ten years ago, I'd have some trouble with these old injuries. But now it's a piece of cake!" Han Li comforted her. Then he took out an acupuncture box from his storage pouch and performed a set of acupuncture treatments on Yan Shi, which immediately stopped her coughing.
"Take one pill daily. In about ten days, you'll be completely healed!" Han Li took out a small bottle and handed it to Yan Shi, speaking with confidence.
Yan Shi felt comfortable all over. The illness that had plagued her for years seemed truly gone. At this moment, she felt rejuvenated, looking several years younger. After taking the bottle, she didn't know what to say.
"Han Li..." But before Yan Shi could express her gratitude, Han Li interrupted her.
"Can you tell me now what happened back then? And how did you come to Yanling Castle?" Han Li still wanted to understand the situation.
Yan Shi's face showed pain as she slowly began recounting the events of the past.
It turned out that after Han Li had eliminated Ouyang Feitian from the Doba Mountain Villa, the Jingjiao Society, which had been prepared early, had indeed reaped great benefits, taking over more than half of the territory and profits. But the other dominant power in Lanzhou, the Wuse Sect, reacted quickly and also devoured the remaining smaller half. This created a situation of two powers standing side by side in Lanzhou!
But since the balance between the three kingdoms had been broken, naturally only one tiger could be allowed on the mountain!
As a result, when the Jingjiao Society led by Mo's residence clashed with the Wuse Sect, they realized they had made a mistake! They shouldn't have let Ouyang Feitian die so easily! The Wuse Sect's strength far exceeded what it had shown on the surface, defeating the Jingjiao Society in a single battle.
Subsequently, the Jingjiao Society was uprooted, and Mo's residence was also intercepted by numerous experts. With no other choice, the women had to fight their way out. Second Madam Li and Fifth Madam Wang were killed during the breakout, while the others immediately scattered and fled after escaping the encirclement.
Yan Shi took Mo Caihuan and was pursued all the way. Just when it seemed mother and daughter would die together, a middle-aged man claiming to be Yan Zhu saved them. With the mother and daughter's consent, he brought them to Yanling Castle, where they became ordinary residents.
Yan Zhu was only a low-level Qi Refining stage disciple of Yanling Castle with limited abilities, but he was very kind to Yan Shi and her daughter.
To repay his life-saving kindness, Yan Shi married him a year later. As for Mo Caihuan, because she had become increasingly beautiful, Yan Zhu feared trouble and publicly announced that Mo Caihuan was an unfortunate widow who had already been married outside and whose husband had been killed by her fate before she entered the castle. This way, whenever Mo Caihuan found a suitor and they married, she could have her name cleared.
Thus, mother and daughter lived peacefully in the castle for two years. But unfortunately, Yan Zhu died in an accident while executing a family mission outside. This left Yan Shi and her daughter without support again. Leaving the castle was impossible, so they had to depend on each other within Yanling Castle. Using the compensation spirit stones, they opened this small shop and had been running it poorly ever since.
If things had continued this way, though the shop's income was small, it could at least provide medicine for Yan Shi to suppress her injuries. But recently, the wholesale shop that had been supplying them with low-grade talismans suddenly stopped supplying them, plunging Yan Shi's small shop into a crisis of bankruptcy.
Yan Shi, being who she was, immediately saw the problem. After a brief analysis, she identified the person behind it.
It turned out to be a cultivator living nearby who had taken a fancy to Mo Caihuan, who often passed by his door. Despite the rumors about Mo Caihuan's ill-fated marriage prospects, he demanded to take her as a concubine. Yan Shi naturally refused, which enraged the cultivator, who left in a huff.
So the person behind the sabotage became obvious!
And when Han Li happened to encounter Mo Caihuan on the street today, it was precisely when she was going to find the supplier again after having a heated argument with them.
Yan Shi explained everything in detail, with Mo Caihuan occasionally adding a sentence or two. Han Li had already understood most of the situation. However, when he heard that Mo Caihuan was being forced to become someone's concubine, he couldn't help but chuckle a couple of times.
He hadn't expected that the little enchantress from back then would still have people fighting over her! But he had to admit, after all these years apart, she had truly grown into a great enchantress—a type that could charm someone to death without even trying!
"Han Li, after so many years of cultivation, your techniques must have advanced to at least the ninth level, right?" Yan Shi re-examined Han Li and asked politely. She had lived in Yanling Castle for years, and even though she couldn't cultivate, she knew quite a bit about common knowledge in the cultivation world.
"Not bad! Fourth Mother wants me to deal with that cultivator's pestering, doesn't she? He's quite a troublemaker?" Han Li smiled slightly and asked directly.
Yan Shi looked a bit embarrassed but also relieved. Judging from Han Li's tone, he seemed willing to help.