71: Chapter 71 Su Ying, Jiang Yufeng

Just as Meng Li was speculating whether the simultaneous appearance of Xiao Yuer, Su Ying, and Jiang Yu Feng was a coincidence, Xiao Yuer walked over.

Noticing Meng Li's odd gaze, he turned his head and saw Su Ying and Jiang Yu Feng as well. He couldn't help but turn back and tease, "Brother Meng, you're a family man now. You should be careful when you're out and about, especially since your wife is right beside you."

As he spoke, he gave a slight cupped-fist salute to Tie Xinlan and the other two. "Greetings, ladies."

Tie Xinlan, Jiang Yuyan, and Xiao Xiao nodded gently.

Then, Tie Xinlan stealthily reached out and pinched the soft flesh at Meng Li's waist where others couldn't see.

Clearly, she was somewhat displeased with Meng Li's "unfaithful" behavior.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuyan and Xiao Xiao couldn't help but suppress a smile.

Meng Li immediately withdrew his gaze and rolled his eyes at Xiao Yuer. "I was just a bit surprised, that's all."

"Surprised?" Xiao Yuer said with a face full of disbelief, then teased, "Surprised to run into me here? But your gaze only stayed on me for a second before moving on to those two beautiful girls."

After finishing, he pointed at Su Ying and Jiang Yu Feng.

The two women noticed this and subconsciously turned their heads to look over.

Seeing this, Meng Li thought for a moment. Instead of avoiding or ignoring them, he gave a candid greeting: "Miss Su, Miss Jiang, hello."

Su Ying and Jiang Yu Feng were stunned.

This was their first time meeting Meng Li, and they were certain they didn't know him. Yet, Meng Li accurately called out their surnames, clearly indicating he knew who they were.

This left the two of them feeling puzzled.

Tie Xinlan, Jiang Yuyan, and Xiao Xiao were also surprised.

Xiao Yuer was startled. His gaze darted between Meng Li, Su Ying, and Jiang Yu Feng as he said in bewilderment, "You guys know each other?"

Meng Li smiled and said, "I know them, but they probably don't know me."

With that, he pointed at Su Ying and said, "Miss Su Ying, daughter of the poison expert 'Poison Queen' Su Rushi."

Su Ying showed a look of surprise.

Following that, Meng Li pointed at Jiang Yu Feng. "Miss Jiang Yu Feng, the top Disciple of the Divine Nun of the South Sea and daughter of the Great Hero Jiang Biehe, who is unmatched in benevolence and righteousness."

Tie Xinlan quietly withdrew her hand.

So, her husband had just run into people he knew, rather than being unfaithful. In that case, she wouldn't pinch him anymore.

Jiang Yuyan's eyes flickered as she looked at Jiang Yu Feng.

Is this another daughter of that scumbag father of mine?

Then, Su Ying spoke to Meng Li, "We don't seem to have ever met before."

Jiang Yu Feng followed suit, "I don't recall meeting you either."

Meng Li laughed. "Indeed, we haven't met. I guessed your identities."

"We are going to settle our luggage. If you two are interested, you can wait here for a moment, and we can chat later."

After saying that, he didn't wait for their response and led Tie Xinlan, Jiang Yuyan, and Xiao Xiao upstairs.

When they came back downstairs, Su Ying and Jiang Yu Feng hadn't left; they were even sitting at the same table chatting with Xiao Yuer.

Seeing Meng Li come down, Xiao Yuer quickly waved for him to take a seat.

As soon as Meng Li sat down, the most curious one, Jiang Yu Feng, asked, "Young Master Meng, how did you guess my identity?"

Hearing the form of address, Meng Li knew Xiao Yuer had revealed his identity, but he didn't mind.

At the question, he replied, "I guessed it from the sword in your hand, Miss Jiang."

"My father-in-law, Tie Ruyun, has a deep friendship with your Master, the Divine Nun of the South Sea, so I have some understanding of her situation. For example, your Master's famous ultimate skill is the Thirteen Limitless Swords, and she has a total of three Disciples."

"The eldest Disciple, Murong Shu, and the second Disciple, Mu Rong Xian, both come from the Murong Clan."

"And you, Miss Jiang, are the daughter of the Great Hero Jiang. The sword you carry is the Cold Sword bestowed by your Master."

"This Cold Sword is special. Not only does it carry its own chill Qi, but its design is also different from ordinary swords, making it difficult to forge and impossible for ordinary people to take away."

"Identifying the person by the sword, it wasn't hard to guess your identity."

"I see." Jiang Yu Feng realized, then praised Meng Li, "Young Master Meng has a good eye."

Meng Li smiled but said nothing.

Beside him, Tie Xinlan was muttering to herself.

Her father had a friendship with the Divine Nun of the South Sea?

How come she didn't know?

On second thought, she realized she really didn't know much about her father's friends outside.

Because Tie Ruyun often traveled, and before becoming the Wulin Alliance Leader, it was all for those friends' affairs.

Tie Xinlan was displeased with these people who kept her father away from home, so she never asked much.

Influenced by the current idea of "men handle the outside, women handle the inside," Tie Ruyun didn't want outside matters to involve his daughter. Knowing she didn't like it, he naturally wouldn't mention it much. Instead, he would talk about it with Meng Li, who also handled outside affairs and was interested, especially when they were drinking.

Thinking this way, Tie Xinlan couldn't help but feel relieved.

At this time, Su Ying spoke up, "Then what about me? My mother has nothing to do with Alliance Leader Tie."

Meng Li smiled. "Recognizing Miss Su indeed had nothing to do with my father-in-law; it was for personal reasons. I am quite interested in the Way of Medicine and Poison, so I have specifically studied the famous experts and their deeds. Your mother happens to be among them."

"I learned from some miscellaneous talks that your mother was once careless and was afflicted with a strange poison, causing her to sleep for eleven watches every day."

"To cure your mother, Miss Su, you have been traveling everywhere looking for a solution."

"Before entering the Inn, I caught a glimpse of you leading a soft sedan chair from a distance. I didn't pay much attention at first. It wasn't until you entered the Inn and I caught a hint of a special medicinal powder scent on you that I combined it with what I knew from the stories to guess your identity."

"So that's how it is." Su Ying felt the explanation was a bit forced, but it was plausible.

Xiao Yuer said in amazement, "The scent of a special medicinal powder? How come I didn't smell it?"

As he spoke, he twitched his nose and leaned closer to Su Ying.

Su Ying subconsciously dodged backward while simultaneously flicking a sachet on her person.

Meng Li explained, "The scent of this medicinal powder is extremely faint. Someone without special training who doesn't frequently deal with herbs basically won't be able to smell it. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a specially formulated poison that Miss Su usually carries for self-defense."

"If you could easily smell it, you'd be about ready to be poisoned."

Just as he finished speaking, Xiao Yuer fell with a thud, collapsing onto the table.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!"

He complained weakly, unaware that his face had already turned green, looking quite terrifying.

Seeing this, Jiang Yu Feng, Tie Xinlan, and the others were startled and instinctively stepped back, distancing themselves from Xiao Yuer and Su Ying.

Meng Li curled his lip and said crossly, "I told you during the introduction just now that Miss Su is the daughter of the Poison Queen. How do you think the title of Poison Queen came about? I've told you before to have some respect. Knowing Miss Su is the daughter of the Poison Queen and still daring to push your luck by leaning in close—you deserve it."

Xiao Yuer didn't argue back.

Because he had no strength left.

Seeing this, E Tongtian hurriedly said to Su Ying, "Miss Su, my Master was in the wrong, but he was just curious about the scent on you. He didn't mean anything else."

"Please be magnanimous and forgive him this time."

"I, E Tongtian, will kowtow to you!"

Having said that, he knelt directly toward Su Ying, prepared to kowtow.

Su Ying had only intended to give Xiao Yuer a small lesson and didn't really plan to do anything to him. Seeing this, she quickly raised her hand. "Stop, stop, stop. There's no need to kowtow. Just make sure he's more careful in the future. Sniffing around a lady right after meeting her is very impolite."

After she finished, she took a small porcelain bottle from her pocket and gave it to E Tongtian. "This is the antidote. Just open it and let him take a sniff."

E Tongtian did as he was told.

A moment later, Xiao Yuer returned to normal. He thanked and apologized to Su Ying, a trace of wariness and respect growing in his heart. He also knew some poison techniques, but they were usually used in combination with trickery, not as specialized or powerful as Su Ying's.

Beside them, Jiang Yu Feng, Tie Xinlan, and the others watched in wonder, gaining a preliminary understanding of Su Ying's methods.

The daughter of the Poison Queen indeed lives up to her reputation.

After the brief interlude, Su Ying looked toward Meng Li. "From what just happened, Young Master Meng's attainment in the way of poison is not weak. I wonder who your Master is?"

...