"There are no outsiders here now. Madam, you should speak the truth. That way, I can weigh the matter properly and make sure we haven't overlooked anything." Li Huayuan said with a grave expression.
The young woman heard his words and glanced at Han Li. Seeing him scratching his head with a bitter smile on his face, she finally spoke.
"A couple of years ago, I happened to overhear some things—I'm not sure whether they're true or not—about that person. They say this disciple of Senior Sister Hongfu is rather... immodest when it comes to affairs between men and women. Even during the Qi Condensation stage, she was entangled with several male disciples. People even fought duels over her behind closed doors, nearly causing the tragedy of sect members injuring each other. When Senior Sister Hongfu found out, she was furious and locked the girl inside her cave dwelling under strict guard. She didn't let her out until after the girl established her Foundation. But not long after, rumors spread again that she had gotten involved with a young man from the Feng family, and it seemed they were on the verge of becoming cultivation partners. Senior Sister Hongfu has always despised anyone from the Feng family, of course she wouldn't allow it, so she locked her up once more. For the next two years, no news came out. Since these were just hearsay with no real evidence, and I've never had much interest in gossip, I didn't think of it when Senior Sister Hongfu brought her disciple here just now. But seeing how unwilling Han Li looked, I found it strange, and suddenly remembered."
The young woman's somewhat apologetic explanation left both Han Li and Li Huayuan stunned.
Li Huayuan had never imagined that the reputation of this girl surnamed Dong would be so appalling, and yet he had rashly agreed to Senior Sister Hongfu's request. What was he going to do now? As for Han Li, he hadn't expected that this girl not only had shady ties with "Senior Brother Lu" but also had all these other supposed lovers of questionable authenticity. He was truly rendered speechless again.
"Madam, are you sure about this? Senior Sister Hongfu's disciple—her reputation is really that disgraceful?" Li Huayuan could no longer remain seated. He stood up involuntarily, still finding it hard to believe, and then began pacing restlessly around the hall.
This was no longer just about whether Han Li was willing to enter a dual cultivation partnership. If he actually let his disciple take such a woman, Li Huayuan's own reputation would certainly take a nosedive.
"I can't be sure, since these are all just things people said in passing. Probably even the people telling the stories didn't know whether they were true or not!" The young woman sighed and said helplessly.
Hearing this, Han Li was rolling his eyes inwardly, silently screaming: "What do you mean you don't know if it's true? At the very least, this girl definitely had an improper relationship with that 'Senior Brother Lu'—otherwise, how could he have casually murdered his previous female companion?"
Of course, Han Li would never say any of this aloud. He simply stood in place with an awkward expression, pretending to be in the posture of "Well, now that you know about it, Shiniang." The sight of this made Li Huayuan's head ache even more.
Now that this had come to light, Li Huayuan could no longer very well pressure Han Li into agreeing. Moreover, he himself was already having second thoughts. But this Senior Sister Hongfu of his was not someone with whom one could casually break a promise. And the reasons for backing out couldn't exactly be laid out on the table for public discussion. How could this not torment him endlessly?
Li Huayuan paced back and forth across the hall several times, still at a complete loss. His gaze drifted sideways and he noticed Han Li still standing there expectantly, waiting for his master's answer. This only deepened his irritation, and he said curtly: "Go back for now. Once your Shiniang and I have discussed the matter and figured out how to handle it, we'll send word to you."
Han Li had been standing there in utter anxiety, terrified that the other party might force the dual cultivation arrangement on him regardless. But the moment he heard Li Huayuan's instruction, he immediately felt a wave of relief wash over him—he knew there was at least a nine-in-one chance the whole thing had fallen through!
He responded with undisguised joy and slipped out in a flash.
Then, under the surprised gazes of Song Meng and Wu Xuan, who were waiting outside the hall, Han Li hurriedly flew away from the cave dwelling.
Flying back to his residence on his magical tool in a single breath, Han Li spent the next three days in a state of unease before finally receiving a voice-transmission talisman from Li Huayuan. After hearing the result of his master's negotiation with Senior Sister Hongfu, Han Li could only heave a long sigh toward the sky.
...
Half a month later, before the waterfall of Green Wave Cave, Li Huayuan and his wife, along with Fairy Hongfu, were there to see two people off on their journey. The two departing individuals looked rather stiff, merely nodding along meekly without a trace of the excitement one would expect from people setting off on a long trip.
The man and woman were none other than Han Li and Fairy Hongfu's disciple, Dong Xuan'er.
"Han Li, the two of you must support each other along the way, and be careful! I've heard that the cultivation world has been rather unsettled lately. Cultivators have been disappearing one after another—first it was Qi Condensation cultivators, but recently even Foundation Establishment cultivators have met with accidents!" Before the two departed, Li Huayuan only offered Han Li a few brief words of advice, yet they still moved Han Li quite deeply.