76: Analysis of the situation

The Flying Shuttle cut through the clouds, flying steadily toward Qingxuan New Town.

Li Qingfeng held the little one wrapped in a cotton jacket in his arms; the child was still fast asleep, though his brow seemed to furrow a bit tighter than before.

He thought of his Fourth Brother's arrangements just now and still felt a bit skeptical, unable to resist asking:

"Fourth Brother,"

He nudged Li Qinghe, who was meditating with his eyes closed beside him, with his shoulder.

"Didn't we just get the gist of things from Man En, roughly figuring out the strength of those barbarians to the north?"

"The highest is just that 'Bone Forging' Realm or whatever. It sounds intimidating, but they can't even fly! If your Third Brother really encountered them, I could shoot them into sieves just by kiting them from the sky! Why go through the extra trouble of having Man En divert the trouble elsewhere? Isn't that just like taking off your pants to fart?"

Li Qinghe slowly opened his eyes and looked at his Third Brother, whose mind was sometimes quite straightforward:

"Third Brother, I've discovered a problem!"

"What problem?"

"An increase in Realm doesn't mean your brain gets any smarter! You're currently at the Qi Refinement Stage; according to this Realm, roughly how many years can you live?"

Li Qingfeng was taken aback and did the math:

"Well... at the Qi Refining stage, if nothing goes wrong, living for a hundred and fifty or sixty years shouldn't be a problem. With a bit of luck, reaching the Late Stage or Perfection, maybe I could even hit two hundred? What's up? Why ask that?"

"Exactly,"

Li Qinghe nodded.

"If you can live for nearly two hundred years at the Qi Refinement Stage, then how can you be so certain there aren't old monsters hidden even deeper who have lived even longer among the barbarians?"

"How can you be sure there are no experts above the Bone Forging stage? How many years has that Man En even lived? How long has he been with the Barbarian King Tribe? Do you think an outsider like him, who joined halfway and isn't of their Bloodline, could climb to a high position in the tribe? How many true core secrets could he possibly access?"

"Furthermore, where does his Barbarian King Tribe rank on the Vast Grasslands? Is it a top-tier great tribe, middle-of-the-road, or just an insignificant small tribe?"

"We know none of this! Letting Man En lead them away is the perfect way to scout the background of the pursuers, to see what kind of lot they are and if there are any true masters."

"If a few old monsters who can fly really are drawn out to the south, we can be prepared in advance, rather than being caught completely off guard when they come knocking on our door!"

Li Qinghe looked at Li Qingfeng and added one last thing:

"It's to prevent a group of flying muscle-bound men from suddenly popping out from the north, lunging at you, and swinging their fists! Even if you're in the sky, you might not react in time!"

After hearing Li Qinghe's string of analysis, Li Qingfeng suddenly realized and slapped his thigh:

"Ah! Fourth Brother, you really have thought of everything! I was thinking about it all wrong! Right! We definitely need to test their depth! What if there really are old monsters? Hehe, Fourth Brother, your mind is truly meticulous!"

He praised him sincerely.

However, Li Qingfeng's curiosity clearly didn't end there. Having resolved his doubts, his eyes darted around as he remembered something else, and he leaned in with a cheeky grin to ask:

"Hey, Fourth Brother, what if... I mean just in case, that kid Man En is lucky enough to come back alive, who do you plan on finding for him as a wife? Do you have someone in mind?"

Li Qinghe was getting a bit annoyed by his questioning and replied casually:

"Isn't that simple? Isn't Li Youfu's mother a ready-made widow? Her husband died when she was only in her twenties, and she's been a widow raising a child at such a young age. It's quite a pity."

"Oh! Quite a pity?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingfeng immediately seized the opening, intentionally dragging out his tone with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Tsk tsk tsk, listening to your tone, Fourth Brother, do you feel bad for her? Then Fourth Brother... why don't you just marry her yourself? Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone! You'd solve the difficulties of a widow and her orphan, sharing her burdens, and you'd even get a good son with a Spiritual Root for free!"

He got more and more excited, imitating Li Youfu's usual respectful manner:

"I see that kid Li Youfu is quite close to you, his Junior Martial Uncle! All day long it's 'Junior Martial Uncle this' and 'Junior Martial Uncle that,' his little mouth is so sweet! I think if you were willing to be his father, he'd be so happy he wouldn't know which way was up; he'd probably wake up laughing in his sleep and definitely wouldn't object! Hehehe..."

Li Qinghe was completely exasperated into laughter by his nonsensical words and retorted irritably:

"Get lost! I see you're quite warm-hearted and so good at thinking for others, why don't you be his father? I think the two of you are quite 'a match'!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Li Qingfeng burst out laughing at the retort, doubling over so much that even the Flying Shuttle beneath their feet wobbled a few times.

"No! Not me! I can't handle that! As for me, I'm very picky and don't like widows! Better leave her for you, Fourth Brother! I think you two really are a match! One's a quiet soul, the other's a hard worker—a perfect match!"

"Beat it!"

Li Qinghe couldn't be bothered to bicker with him any longer and simply closed his eyes, entering a meditative state again to avoid the annoyance.

On the Flying Shuttle, only Li Qingfeng's triumphant and infuriating laughter remained, drifting through the whistling wind all the way.

The Flying Shuttle landed steadily in the backyard of the Town Guardian Residence.

The two jumped off the Flying Shuttle, and Li Qingfeng released his hold, letting the child wrapped in the small black cotton jacket float in the air.

Under the eaves of the backyard, Lady Zhang was sitting with her two daughters-in-law, doing embroidery and chatting about family matters.

"Mother! Fourth Brother and I are back!"

Before Li Qingfeng even arrived, his loud voice called out first.

Lady Zhang didn't even look up, her needlework never stopping, as she said irritably:

"If you're back, you're back. What are you shouting for? Don't you see..."

Before she could finish, she subconsciously glanced up and happened to see a small bundle floating beside Li Qingfeng, revealing a child's sleeping face!

"Oh! My goodness!"

Lady Zhang grew anxious in an instant; her embroidery dropped to the ground with a thud as she rushed to Li Qingfeng in a few quick steps, taking the child into her arms with heartache and holding him tightly.

"How could you treat a child like this? Just letting him float there? What if he falls? Give him to me, quick!"

She looked down at the child's restless sleeping face and his wrinkled little brow; the more she looked, the more her heart ached for him.

She gently patted the child's back and looked up at her two sons, her tone questioning:

"Qingfeng, Qinghe! Where... where did this child come from? Whose child is he? What suffering has he been through to look so pitiful!"

Li Qingfeng quickly explained:

"Mother, we happened to take this child in while we were out this time; his father is a barbarian subordinate we just recruited."

Lady Zhang frowned and said:

"Barbarian? Then... where's his father? He just dumped the child on you?"

"His father is named Man En. He was sent on a mission by Fourth Brother; if he's lucky, he'll be back in a week or so, but if he's unlucky... he might never come back in this lifetime."

Li Qinghe also added:

"If he can return, we'll naturally give the child back to him. If he doesn't, we'll take the child as our godson and raise him in the residence. We thought that since you're usually idle at home, Mother, we'd trouble you to help look after the child for a few days. We'll make further arrangements once Man En returns or when the child is a bit older.""}],