The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 299 Pardon
The Lord of the Great Cave was very tall. According to the old man, the leader of the Twelve Caves, whom he called the old man, was at least a hundred years old, but Xiao Yan did not sense any trace of old age from him.

Xiao Yan was already considered tall, but judging from the appearance, the Great Cave Lord was actually half a head taller than him. This made Xiao Yan subconsciously doubt whether the Great Cave Lord was from Raojiang.

However, no matter what he was thinking, Xiao Yan remained calm on the surface. Without the need for the old man to introduce him, he directly clasped his fists and said, "I have important matters to attend to. If I have disturbed you this time, I hope that the Great Cave Master will understand."

"Don't be polite to him." The old man patted Xiao Yan's shoulder with a smile, and then said with his hands behind his back: "How is my nephew, isn't he good?"

The Great Cave Lord did not respond, but nodded slightly to Xiao Yan, and walked between the two of them, fiddling with a string of prayer beads. "You hold Mr. Li's token, so you are a distinguished guest of the Twelve Caves. It is not a bother."

The old man winked at Xiao Yan, who understood and immediately followed behind the Great Cave Lord. He then took out Li Chunfeng's token and said directly, "The Eleventh Cave Lord said a few days ago that if you bring this token to see the Great Cave Lord, you can make a request to the Great Cave Lord. I wonder if it still counts?"

"As long as it does not violate the rules of the Twelve Caves, you are welcome to bring it."

During the conversation, the Lord of the Great Cave led the two of them past the stone wall engraved with densely packed words. Only then did Xiao Yan discover that there were actually a series of reliefs engraved behind the stone wall, but the composition was complex. Xiao Yan only took a glance and could not analyze any information from them, so he followed the two of them into the cave behind the stone wall.

The cave was very warm. There was a green python as thick as a human leg coiled at the entrance of the cave, seemingly hibernating. But perhaps it sensed the presence of human beings or for some other reason, but when Xiao Yan stepped in, it immediately raised its head, spit out its tongue, and stared at Xiao Yan with its triangular eyes.

Xiao Yan ignored the green python, but was particularly interested in the Great Cave Master. However, the latter did not take off his hood after entering the cave, but sat down directly on a cushion.

Suddenly, Xiao Yan heard a rustling sound coming from deep within the cave. The next moment, he saw two white pythons as big as forearms, each carrying a cushion on their head, crawling out from the corner behind the cave. Without any instructions from the cave master, they placed the cushions in front of Xiao Yan and the old man respectively.

The old man was obviously used to it and did not sit down immediately. Instead, he walked around the cave with his hands behind his back, searching through a row of neatly arranged bookshelves.

Xiao Yan was a newcomer and was inevitably a little surprised. He was not as rude as the old man. He just sat cross-legged on the futon, pondered for a moment, and continued the previous topic: "According to what the Great Cave Master said, how can we not violate the rules of the Twelve Caves?"

"As long as you don't get involved in the affairs of the outside world, you haven't violated the rules of the Twelve Caves. As for the token of Li Chunfeng, you can mention it however you want." The old man interrupted.

The chieftain slowly fiddled with his rosary beads, seemingly not displeased by the old man's behavior of usurping the throne. After the old man finished speaking, he remained silent for a long while, and suddenly looked at Xiao Yan who was nodding in understanding, and asked inexplicably: "Are you a descendant of the Li Tang Dynasty?"

Xiao Yan remained calm and did not look at the old man. He just said, "Does this have anything to do with my request to the Great Cave Lord?"

The Great Cave Master thought for a moment, as if hesitating about something. Finally, he just shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. What do you want to ask the Twelve Caves to do?"

The old man stood silently beside them. Although he was rummaging through the bookshelf with his back to the two of them, his mind was actually always on Xiao Yan.

He couldn't help but wonder what request Xiao Yan would make.

Was it about the strange altar of the god of war? Or did they want the Twelve Caves to settle the Raojiang incident? Although these two things violated the rules of the Twelve Caves, the words just now by the old man actually had some hints. The Twelve Caves had indeed adhered to the rules for hundreds of years, but they had always been able to make exceptions when it came to Li Chunfeng.

If Xiao Yan really wanted to bring it up, based on my understanding of the Great Cave Lord, not only would the Twelve Caves lend their full support, but in order to completely fulfill this ancestor's will, the Great Cave Lord would at least point out a direction for Xiao Yan, or send a Cave Lord to help Xiao Yan, etc.

The cause and effect between Twelve Dong and Li Chunfeng have been intertwined for three hundred years. As long as this is accomplished, Twelve Dong will no longer have to abide by any promises. From then on, they can be isolated from the world and concentrate on managing this piece of land.

Xiao Yan's voice finally reached the old man's ears as he was eavesdropping.

"I wonder if asking the Great Cave Master to pardon a person is considered a violation of the rules of the Twelve Caves?"

The old man was stunned.

The Lord of the Great Cave's fingers that were fiddling with the rosary beads also paused.

Xiao Yan had a serious expression on his face, and was extremely serious. He didn't pretend at all. He just stared at the Lord of the Great Cave, quietly waiting for an answer.

"Who do you want to forgive?" The voice of the Great Cave Lord was still calm, but he no longer fiddled with the rosary beads.

Xiao Yan asked, "Is fresh ginseng from the Dead Creek Forest okay?"

The old man was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help laughing, as if this answer was both surprising and reasonable.

But the Lord of the Great Cave did not answer immediately. From Xiao Yan's perspective, under the hood that was filled with only darkness, he felt for the first time that he was being watched.

After a moment, a white-bearded and old face slowly emerged from under the dark black robe of the Lord of the Great Cave.

When Xiao Yan saw this face, he was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help but want to look back.

Because although the face was old, full of wrinkles, and the beard was completely white, even whiter than the old man's gray beard, but the face was particularly similar to the old man.

If this Lord of the Cave was thirty or forty years younger, he would be a carbon copy of the old man, with extremely similar eyebrows and eyes, and a kind air exuded from inside and out. But unlike the old man, the Lord of the Cave obviously looks much more serious, with a pair of bright old eyes, and just looking at his eyes, he really doesn't look old at all.

"This is..." Xiao Yan couldn't help but turned back after all. He glanced at the old man, then looked back at the Lord of the Cave, and became unusually confused.

"You don't need to think too much." The Great Cave Lord said sternly, "My last name is not Li."

Xiao Yan was still somewhat taken aback and looked at the old man blankly. However, the old man shrugged and spread his hands like a young man, indicating that he himself did not know the inside story.

The Great Cave Lord ignored the two's little movements. He just stared at Xiao Yan with a pair of old eyes and asked, "This token left by Mr. Li is of extraordinary significance. It can allow the Twelve Caves to fulfill your request once. As long as you are willing, all the forbidden secrets of the Twelve Caves can be opened to you. You can even inherit Mr. Li's position as Cave Lord... Have you thought it through? This is the only chance. Do you really want to leave this opportunity to Xian Shen?!"

Xiao Yan had come back to his senses. He just smiled when he heard this. He crossed his legs and looked particularly relaxed. He placed his hands on his knees and nodded with a smile, "Is there anything wrong with that? Or does the Great Cave Lord not want to pardon Xian Shen?"

The Great Cave Lord frowned, and all the wrinkles on his face seemed to be wrinkled together. He asked again: "Do you know what Xian Shen has done wrong?"

"My master has said outside that she secretly stole the secret techniques of the God of War and taught them to people outside."

The chief of the cave glanced at the old man.

The latter just smiled faintly and stroked his beard, looking like a teachable boy.

The Great Cave Lord frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "You know, even if Xian Shen is pardoned, she is still a member of the Twelve Caves. Even if she leaves the Dead Creek Forest, she cannot leave the Twelve Caves... Even so, are you still willing to propose this condition?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded.

The Great Cave Lord began to fiddle with his rosary beads, with a complicated expression on his wrinkled face. He stared into Xiao Yan's eyes for a long while, and finally let out a long sigh.

Then, without any movement on his part, the pitch-black bone token placed beside Xiao Yan's hand suddenly fell into the hands of the Great Cave Lord.

"I understand."

The Great Cave Lord shook his head and said, "I was too narrow-minded as to why Mr. Li left this item to you three hundred years ago."

Xiao Yan smiled, but did not respond to this question. Instead, he said, "It's good that the Great Cave Lord agrees... Although the Cave Lord Xian Can has committed a serious fault, she has imprisoned herself in the Dead Creek Forest for nearly twenty years, which is enough to make up for her fault. The God of War Altar is the destiny of the catastrophe. It should have happened three hundred years ago, but it was postponed until now." The Twelve Caves have been in seclusion for hundreds of years and have nothing to do with the outside world. The God of War Altar was stolen outside. Even if it caused a disaster in the outside world, the Twelve Caves probably would not have intervened. In this case, why add destiny to Xian Can alone?"

After saying this, Xiao Yan pondered for a moment and asked, "To be honest, among these twelve caves, when Xian Can stole the altar of the gods and monsters, did the chief cave master really not notice anything?"

“……” The Lord of Dadong remained unmoved and remained silent.

"Well said, nephew!" The old man clapped his hands and said leisurely, "You old fellow are just deceiving yourself. We saw Xian Shen steal the Altar of the God of War and give it to Chi Li and Chi Li with our own eyes. We didn't think of stopping him then. He has been imprisoned for nearly twenty years, so it should be about time."

As he said this, the old man sat down on the futon next to Xiao Yan and said, "If you ask me, if Xian Can committed such a crime, we should just deprive her of her status as the chief of the Twelve Caves and expel her directly."

Xiao Yan praised secretly and gave the old man a thumbs up in his heart.

The Great Cave Lord fiddled with his rosary beads with a calm expression. He just glanced at the two of them, but in fact he was more sizing up Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan responded frankly, not avoiding the gaze of the Great Cave Lord, and even smiled at him.

There was silence in the cave for a long time. Suddenly, the Lord of the Great Cave smiled inexplicably. At the same time, the purple rosary in his hand suddenly dissipated and turned into ashes that floated in the air.

The Lord of Dadong casually brushed off the remaining dust on his black robe.

"That's fine too."

Xiao Yan was suddenly delighted and couldn't help but stand up and salute: "The Great Lord is indeed open-minded!"

The Lord of the Great Cave did not respond to Xiao Yan at this time, but just waved his hand calmly at him, obviously making an gesture to see him off.

Xiao Yan was not surprised. He clasped his fists and bowed to the Lord of the Cave again, then turned around and left the cave. It was worth mentioning that the green python coiled at the entrance of the cave was actually fast asleep at this time, as if it no longer regarded Xiao Yan as a stranger.

The old man did not leave with Xiao Yan and stayed in the cave.

"How is it?" The old man's eyes were somewhat smug. "I've told you long ago that Li Maozhen is not a genius. He is too obsessed. He joined the Twelve Caves with a purpose. He is not really here to learn from a master. Do you believe that if I teach him the Falling Life Gu, he will be able to cultivate it in less than five years, my nephew?"

"This boy is not without obsession..." The Great Cave Lord said calmly, "Li Maozhen spent ten years refining the Meteoric Life Gu, and he was still a little short of the right temperature when he rebelled against the cave. Even if this boy has been reborn, how can he be so unpredictable?"

The old man pulled his beard and said with a smile: "I threw the Qi Sutra to him, and it only took him one stick of incense to learn it, and then he spent another two hours to be able to use it proficiently... Tsk tsk tsk tsk, this kid is a monster."

The Great Cave Lord frowned and said, "Didn't you teach him this three days ago?"

"Three days ago?" The old man curled his lips. "At that time, he was beaten by me and was at a loss. How could he have the time to learn anything?"

The old Lord of Dadong had burning eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Tell me, what are your plans for me?" The old man had shown off enough, so he stopped talking nonsense and asked directly to the point.

The Great Cave Lord pondered and said, "When it came to the matter of the Holy Child, I thought your descendants would use Mr. Li's token to inquire about it, but unexpectedly..."

"It's okay, I can tell him for you." The old man was very impolite. Seeing that his goal was achieved, he stood up and left.

The Great Cave Lord sat alone in the cave and did not try to keep them.

However, when the old man reached the entrance of the cave, he suddenly stopped, turned around slightly, and asked with a smile: "Your last name is really not Li?"

The Lord of Dadong sneered and was too lazy to answer.

The old man was a little confused, but he didn't dwell on it too much. He finally left the cave and saw Xiao Yan waiting outside, standing in front of the stone wall and observing it carefully. He asked, "Do you understand?"

Xiao Yan shook his head.

"It's okay. If you don't understand, just remember it in your mind." The old man said with a smile, "I don't know if this thing is good or bad. Maybe you will be interested in it."

After hearing this, Xiao Yan simply stopped looking and followed the old man away.

The old man was surprised: "You don't care what this is?"

"Something that is half good and half bad is a Gu." Xiao Yan said, "I have no interest in this."

"Well... being too greedy is not a good thing." The old man nodded and did not mention the matter again. He just told Xiao Yan about the conversation he had with the Lord of the Cave.

Xiao Yan was a little surprised. According to his idea, Li Chunfeng's token could obviously only be used to choose one thing. The role of the holy child was to guide the location of the Longquan treasure, but he already knew that the Longquan treasure was in the Jieliang Salt Lake, and its role was far less important than reuniting Chi Meng's family.

I didn’t expect that the Lord of the Great Cave would give an extra holy child as a gift.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but ask: "This Great Cave Lord and you..."

The old man pulled his beard and shook his head: "This old guy has lived at least fifty years longer than me. I don't know about these past events. But he had a lot to do with my being able to enter the Twelve Caves."

Xiao Yan nodded in understanding.

Although the Twelve Caves seem to be isolated from the world, they actually have a deep connection with the Li Tang Dynasty. Li Chunfeng also spent a long time in the Twelve Caves in his early years, so it is possible that there were other arrangements in between.

"Oh..." The old man suddenly said, "This old guy has the same surname as Xian Shen."

Xiao Yan was even more confused about the relationship and frowned.

"Now that these things are over."

At this time, the old man said casually: "You can leave the cave early tomorrow morning. It's a waste of time to stay here."

After the old man finished speaking, he took two steps, but heard no response from behind, so he couldn't help but look back.

But Xiao Yan stopped behind him, bowed solemnly, and said nothing more.

The old man curled his lips.

"Stinky boy."

(End of this chapter)