654: Chapter 65 Not Disdainful, Not Like Back Then

Regarding which route to take next, Meng Li pondered for a long time but couldn't decide, so he simply put it aside for now, turned to walk out of the room, intending to go outside for some fresh air.

Just as he reached the Inn's lobby, he saw Jing Tian, Hong Kui, Lan Kui, Tang Xuejian, and Xu Maoshan returning.

However, the atmosphere among them was a bit off, especially between Jing Tian and Tang Xuejian.

Both of them were fuming, and as soon as they entered the Inn, they each went back to their rooms.

Xu Maoshan followed closely behind Jing Tian into the room.

Hong Kui and Lan Kui walked toward Meng Li.

"What's wrong with those two?" Meng Li asked them in confusion.

As he spoke, he found a nearby seat and sat down.

Hong Kui and Lan Kui sat down beside him.

Subsequently, Hong Kui pursed her lips and said irritably, "What else could it be? They're just having a tiff."

"What exactly happened?" Meng Li pressed.

As he spoke, he took the half-piece of pear syrup candy from Lan Kui's hand and ate it in one bite.

Lan Kui was stunned, then her cheeks flushed slightly as she chided, "Elder Brother Meng, that's the one I was eating."

Meng Li said nonchalantly, "It's fine, I don't mind."

Lan Kui: "..."

The problem with this isn't whether you mind or not, is it? It's that I'm embarrassed, alright!

Complaining silently in her heart, Lan Kui didn't say anything more.

After all, she and Meng Li had even engaged in sharp verbal exchanges before.

Now, him just eating a half-piece of pear syrup candy that she had eaten was nothing.

It was just that she was thin-skinned and wasn't quite used to such intimate gestures.

Next, Meng Li took the pear syrup candy from Hong Kui's hand and ate it too.

Some things need to be balanced; one cannot favor one over the other.

To this, Hong Kui's reaction was to roll her eyes at Meng Li, letting him figure it out for himself.

Meng Li didn't take the bait, instead returning to the main topic: "Back to the matter, what happened when Jing Tian and Xue Jian went out, and why didn't Daoist Xu come back?"

Lan Kui replied, "After we went out, in order to find the thunder spirit pearl faster, we chose to split into groups. Daoist Xu was in a group by himself, and Brother and Sister Xue Jian wanted to compete to see who could find the thunder spirit pearl first, so they each pulled people into their groups."

"Brother Maoshan was in Brother's group, and Sister Xue Jian pulled me and Hong Kui into her group."

"Everything was fine at first, but halfway through, some horses got spooked and were charging wildly through the streets."

"Hong Kui, me, and Sister Xue Jian just happened to be on the path that the horse was charging down."

"Seeing the horse charging toward us, we naturally hurried to dodge."

"Hong Kui and I were fine, but Sister Xue Jian, not being careful, bumped into that person who looked very much like Yang Kang."

"That person is named Yun Ting, and he is the commander of Leizhou City."

"Originally, this would have been nothing; Sister Xue Jian just needed to apologize and it would have been fine."

"But for some reason, that Yun Ting was exceptionally concerned about Sister Xue Jian. After they exchanged identities, they discovered that the Yun family and Tang Family Fortress had some historical connection, so they chatted for a while. In the end, Yun Ting invited Sister Xue Jian to be a guest at his home."

"Sister Xue Jian wanted to inquire further about the whereabouts of the thunder spirit pearl, so she accepted the invitation."

"Then, this scene was seen by Brother."

"Brother was a bit jealous, so he started bickering with Sister Xue Jian."

"As they bickered, the two of them ended up like this, both fuming and refusing to talk to each other."

"I originally wanted to persuade them, but Hong Kui told me not to get involved."

Hong Kui pursed her lips and said, "It's not the first day those two have been bickering; they've been at it for ages. This is the way they interact with each other, so why would you get involved? Besides, it's not like Maoshan didn't try to persuade them, and what was the result? It was completely useless."

Lan Kui was speechless.

Meng Li was a bit surprised by Hong Kui's attitude.

Compared to the delicate Lan Kui, the assertive Hong Kui had a stronger possessiveness.

Logically speaking, Hong Kui should care more about Jing Tian, but the current situation seemed a bit different.

"Your attitude is different from what I expected." With this doubt in his heart, Meng Li said it directly.

Hong Kui was slightly stunned, then immediately asked, "Then according to your expectations, what kind of attitude should I have?"

"Defending Jing Tian, not hesitating to take action against Xue Jian." Meng Li said bluntly.

Upon hearing this, Hong Kui fell silent. Two seconds later, she said, "I actually wanted to do that, but I was afraid it would be the same as last time."

Meng Li understood.

What Hong Kui was referring to was the time "she shot an arrow at Tang Xuejian to defend Jing Tian, but Jing Tian stepped in to block the arrow and protect Tang Xuejian."

Lan Kui also understood and immediately comforted her, "Last time was a mistake, not intentional."

Unexpectedly, Hong Kui shook her head and said with a serious expression, "No, at that time I really wanted to kill Tang Xuejian. And Brother really did sacrifice himself to protect her."

Lan Kui opened her mouth but couldn't find any words to refute.

Because she knew that what Hong Kui said was the truth.

Hong Kui continued, "Through this incident, I completely understood that although Jing Tian is our brother, he is ultimately not our royal brother from back then. He doesn't just have younger sisters; he also has other people he wants to protect, such as Tang Xuejian."

"When it involves Tang Xuejian, there are some things, even as siblings, that we shouldn't get involved in."

"Especially acting directly on our own impulses; that is even less advisable."

"Otherwise, things will likely end up the same as last time."

"Therefore, it's best if we don't get involved in matters between Brother and Tang Xuejian at every turn."

Lan Kui fell silent and glanced at Meng Li.

She felt that Hong Kui had two other important reasons she hadn't mentioned, which were:

The current Brother is not the royal brother from back then, and they are not the Long Kui from that time either.

Brother doesn't just have younger sisters, and they... also don't just have Brother.

...