If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1404 Talk Between Husband and Wife
"So it's the Peng brothers from Juye~~"

Upon seeing Peng Yue arrive with a dozen or so Juye bandits, Lü Zhi, who had just given birth to a son ten days prior, immediately greeted them with a beaming smile and great enthusiasm.

"I've long heard our leader praise Brother Peng for being such a hero and for admiring and respecting you."

Although this is our first meeting, I find Brother Peng exceptionally kind and approachable.

Brother Peng, please don't stand on ceremony. No need for formalities. Come inside and sit down; I'll warm your wine."

If it were Lü Zhi when she had just married, she would definitely feel very uncomfortable and not know how to behave when she met Peng Yue, who had a bandit-like air about him.

In the years since she married into the Liu family, she has seen many similar heroes and extraordinary figures.

They were so skilled, and their attitude was so sincere and natural.

Peng Yue was deeply moved and developed a genuine respect and affection for this young woman.

"Sister-in-law, don't go yet, sit down first!" He pulled Lü Zhi to sit on the stone chair in the center of the hall, and knelt down in front of her first. His younger brother immediately followed suit and knelt down behind him.

"Peng Yue greets sister-in-law!" He bowed respectfully.

Empress Lü was somewhat flattered.

Liu Ji, on the other hand, stood to the side, stroking his beard with a broad smile and a very natural expression.

Having come from a background of chivalry, he understood all too well what this meant: Peng Yue genuinely recognized him as his elder brother!
Only those who respect him as their elder brother would perform such a grand ceremony for their sister-in-law.

"Who accompanied you today? What wine and food did you bring? Bring them out quickly, I want to drink with Brother Peng until we're completely drunk!" Liu Ji said.

"Third Brother, I came here with Sister-in-law." Liu Jiao walked out of the cave.

Without Liu Ji's instruction, he quickly walked up to Peng Yue, knelt down and bowed three times, saying, "Your younger brother Liu Jiao greets Brother Peng and all the other brothers."

"Good, good, good!" Peng Yue was overjoyed. He helped Liu Jiao up, patted him a few times, and praised him repeatedly for his martial arts skills and promising future.

Lü Zhi looked at them and smiled, "The day before yesterday, my family slaughtered three sheep. I cut off the meat and made a vat of meat sauce."

It's perfectly seasoned now; wrapped in a fried dough stick, it makes a great snack with drinks.

Liu Ji clapped his hands with joy and laughed, "Brother, I'm not bragging, but your sister-in-law's meat sauce is the best in Pei County. You'll definitely love it."

A short while later, Lü Zhi came out carrying a red lacquered wooden tray, which was covered with flatbreads already rolled with meat sauce.

There was also a large copper basin, half-filled with meat sauce, and a rich aroma of braised meat filled the cave hall.

Several mountain bandits and river bandits couldn't help but swallow hard.

Peng Yue took just one bite, and his eyes lit up. He exclaimed, "Sister-in-law's meat sauce is indeed incredibly delicious! It's so good!"

After treating the second-best meat sauce expert of the Han Dynasty to a meat sauce feast, the first expert did not immediately return to Pei County.

She set off in the morning and arrived at the main peak of Mangdang in the afternoon. After a not-so-lavish banquet, it was already seven or eight o'clock in the evening.

Even Peng Yue and his group were left to spend the night in the cave, so Lü Zhi naturally had to wait until the next morning to return.

"The baby has been born."

She sat down on the stone bed with an oil lamp, and skillfully took out Liu Ji's dirty clothes from the basket on her back. By the dim light, she mended them stitch by stitch.

"Hu~hu~~"

Liu Ji's cheeks were flushed. He loosened his belt, opened his clothes, and lay down on the tiger-skin blanket, fast asleep.

"Liu Ji, the baby has been born."

Empress Lü was very unhappy and pricked his "yam thigh" with a needle, which had seventy-two black moles.

"Hey, why are you stabbing me?" Liu Ji said angrily.

Empress Lü repeated, "The child has been born."

This was her first visit to Mangdang Mountain to see Liu Ji since giving birth.

Liu Ji said irritably, "Your belly is all flat, how could I not know you've given birth?"

Empress Lü angrily retorted, "I bore you a son!!"

Liu Ji lay back down on the bed and casually hummed in agreement.

Lü Zhi stabbed him again.

Liu Ji sat up, his eyes wide with anger, and raised his hand to hit her.

Empress Lü said quickly, "Have you forgotten? Your son has an extraordinary background!"

Liu Ji paused for a moment, then casually placed his right hand on Lü Zhi's waist, pulling her into his arms. He chuckled and said, "I drank too much just now, almost half a jar of strong liquor. I was so confused that I forgot what was really important. Please don't take offense!"

When Empress Lü gave birth to her daughter, Liu Ji only glanced at her before forgetting about her and going about his business.

If nothing unexpected happens, even if he has a son this time, Liu Ji will just hold him in his arms, chuckle, and then toss him aside, forgetting about him, and continue doing whatever he was doing.

But this son is quite extraordinary!
At the end of last year, a heretical cultivator known as "Shi Daoren" discovered that Lü Zhi's belly was shimmering with auspicious golden light, and concluded that she was pregnant with a "sacred fetus".

Later, the Taoist priest Wuyazi appeared in Lü Zhi's dream and taught her how to conceal the child's aura.

Liu Ji knew all these things. At the time, he was still full of anticipation for the birth of his son.

But after only two days, he completely forgot about his son and the strange phenomena that had occurred to him.

"What's wrong with my son? Is there a red glow filling the room, or a strange fragrance? Or are there unusual celestial phenomena, or something terrifying?" Liu Ji asked expectantly.

Lü Zhi shook her head calmly, "There are no unusual signs. My father examined his aura and read his face, and he only said that his fate was ordinary, that he was destined to be the son of a wealthy landowner."

Liu Ji said in disappointment, "How could this be? Could it be that Daoist Shi and Daoist Wuyazi both misjudged?"

Lu Zhi's eyes flashed, and she said, "Daoist Wuyazi taught me a secret method in a dream, which can transform a child's innate energy into bloodline power and hide it in the body so that no one can see it."

I didn't even tell my dad about this.

I know my dad is good at judging people.

Before the child was born, he was specially summoned to the Liu family to have his fortune told.

If even he was deceived, it proves that the secret method passed down by the Taoist priest is indeed effective. From now on, our son can go out and meet people openly and without any reservations.

Liu Ji suddenly realized what was going on, and looked at his wife with a mixture of admiration and apprehension.

"How can you be so sure that my son's extraordinary background is concealed by the Taoist priest's secret method, rather than that he has no extraordinary background at all?"

Lü Zhi stared at him and said, "That depends on you. If you are just a village head, then he is the son of a village head."

Liu Ji touched his nose and said awkwardly, "His father is no longer even a village head; he's just a bandit who bears the name of a bandit in vain."

The only thing I can do for him now is to give him a good name.

“A name isn’t necessary. The Taoist priest said he has great fortune but bad luck, and will surely face many disasters in the future. He needs to use a humble name to accumulate good fortune,” Lü Zhi said.

Liu Ji asked, "What name did you choose, Taoist priest?"

"Liu Ji the dog!" Lü Zhi laughed.

Liu Ji said unhappily, "Why are you cursing me?"

“His name is ‘Liu San Gou’ (Liu the Third Dog), and you’re the third child, named ‘Liu Ji’ (Liu the Ji). He also has the surname ‘Liu’, so wouldn’t that make him Liu Ji Gou (Liu the Ji Dog)?” Lü Zhi said, suppressing a laugh.

"Fine, you can call me that. When I become successful, I'll definitely change my name!" Liu Ji lay back down on the bed.

Lü Zhi frowned and asked, "How many of the supernatural powers and secret techniques you obtained from the White Cloud Immortal Mansion have you mastered?"

Liu Ji shook his head and said, "I haven't mastered a single one."

Lü Zhi's expression was stern as she shouted, "Isn't this a complete waste of opportunity? Entering the Immortal Abode for meditation requires consuming one's blessings!"

Liu Ji said helplessly, "Didn't you hear my conversation with Peng Yue at the banquet just now?"
I can at least understand some of the supernatural powers, but I can't master them. Peng Yue doesn't even understand many Taoist esoteric terms.

For example, '玄牝' originally meant 'the source of life,' but he treated it as the two inches of tender red and white flesh in a woman's crotch, hahaha.

He also complained bitterly, saying, "How can I cultivate if I don't have that thing?"

He clapped his hands and burst into laughter, "If you don't even understand Taoist terminology, and you get a manual of supernatural powers, you'll still be completely clueless and won't be able to understand it at all?"

Lü Zhi was amused and said, "I see that he is big and burly, and is indeed a hero, but he has no trace of Taoist aura on him."

Does he not even understand the basic principle that one must read Taoist scriptures to cultivate Taoist energy in order to begin practicing Taoist cultivation methods?

Liu Ji shook his head and said, "How can one understand something out of thin air without a teacher?"

I didn't understand it before either. It was only after the old Taoist Wuyazi taught me for two months that I was able to barely get started.

He also listened to the old Taoist's advice and often recited Taoist scriptures, but now he can only barely understand a small part of the Earthly Fiend Supernatural Powers.

The Heavenly Dipper Arts are too profound; I seem to have gained some understanding from them, yet I don't know what I've grasped.

In fact, let alone Liu Ji, even the Lü family, with its "family tradition of learning," only knew the common sense that "if you want to cultivate immortality, you must first study the scriptures."

Master Lü did not understand the true methods of cultivating disciples of the Xuanmen sect; he only forced his sons and daughters to read more Taoist scriptures.

The Taoist scriptures that the Lü family children read were all copied from Taoist temples.

The things that a Taoist temple allows you to copy are definitely not related to the secret teachings of the esoteric schools.

Compared to them, Xiaoyu is quite lucky.

Aside from the two cheat codes, Purple Mansion and Kunpeng Wisdom, the fundamental technique she initially cultivated, "Male Dragon Skill," was an authentic Xuanmen internal skill.

To cultivate inner strength, one must be filled with Daoist energy. This forced her to constantly recite Daoist scriptures and study various Daoist classics.

She didn't take any detours from the very beginning. Even if she progressed slowly, she made rapid progress, let alone Xiaoyu, who progressed at breakneck speed.

Liu Ji and Peng Yue took the wrong path from the very beginning.

They cultivated the systematic "Great Qin Five Elements True Skill," which did not require understanding any profound theories. They only needed to follow the internal energy circulation path and comprehend the divine will in battle.

Immortal martial arts improve very quickly, but have little effect on cultivating Taoist profound arts.

Now, suddenly obtaining the Nine Heavens Secret Technique is like a middle school dropout suddenly getting published in two top academic journals, Nature and Science, and mastering the most cutting-edge technology in them.

It would be a miracle if you could even master it.

Empress Lü Zhi once again sternly urged her husband, saying, "You have no impressive family background, nor royal blood."

If you want to accomplish great things, you can only rely on your own true abilities.

Even if the cultivation process is difficult, one must make up for any shortcomings with diligence and never slack off!

"I know, you don't need to nag and disturb my rest." Liu Ji turned over irritably, his back to her, and pulled a bearskin rug over his head.

While quickly mending the clothes, Lü Zhi continued to ramble on, "Even if you think I'm long-winded, I'll still say it."

Zhou Shi and Wu Guang, who are now renowned throughout the Central Plains, are probably not as good as you in terms of background and martial arts skills.

They also relied on the Nine Heavens Secret Technique of Baiyun Cave and the incomplete "Secret Records of Taigong" to cultivate powerful supernatural abilities, enabling them to lead troops into battle and be invincible.

"Their invincibility is entirely due to the help of immortals. With their own meager skills, they would have been killed by the Qin generals long ago," Liu Ji sneered.

Empress Lü said solemnly, "It is precisely because they practiced diligently and demonstrated their true abilities that the immortals came to serve them!"

Liu Ji said irritably, "You ignorant and stupid woman, what do you know? The immortals of the Xuanmen Sect seek the dynasty's fortune by joining them. No matter how capable you are, without power, they won't pay any attention to you."

Lü Zhi said, "I'm not asking you to show off your skills now and attract heroes and immortals to your side."

If you want to show your skills, you must first have skills.

Where do skills come from? They come from hard work and practice every day.

In short, I'm just advising you not to waste your time and chance encounters on sightseeing and aimless strolling through markets.

I wonder why Liu Jiao came with me today?
He didn't want to do farm work; he wanted to practice martial arts and cultivate the Earthly Fiend Divine Power!
While you were drinking, he was practicing meditation in the cave!

But when I brought him here, you were nowhere to be found, and instead you were wandering around the market by Baiyun Lake, weren't you?"

"Liu Jiao is hardworking and ambitious, you should remarry him."

Liu Ji said something in a huff and then covered his head with the bearskin rug again.

Enraged, Lü Zhi pricked his yam-shaped leg with a needle, saying, "Liu Jiao refuses to do farm work, and you're not home. Who's tilling the fields? I haven't even finished my postpartum confinement!"

Liu Ji said defiantly, "Fine, fine, fine! You're forcing me to be ambitious, aren't you? I'll go down the mountain with Brother Peng tomorrow and start an uprising at Juye Marsh."

"When the authorities throw you and your two children into a death row, don't blame me."

Lü Zhi's expression changed drastically. "Peng Yue wants to start a rebellion? How many men does he have? Besides, when you first met him last year, didn't he say, 'Two dragons are fighting, let's wait and see'? How come he's so impatient to start a rebellion now that the new year is over?"

"He has mastered the Earthly Fiend Divine Power. Although he said he had not mastered any of the divine powers himself, the 'brothers' who came with him clearly possessed Taoist skills."

His power grew too inflated, and then he encountered two ill-intentioned Taoist priests, Jingjing and Kongkong, who relentlessly tried to bewitch him.

Even though he was originally mature and steady, he's starting to get impatient now. Liu Ji said with a complicated expression.

Lü Zhi stared at him strangely for a while, then said, "You seem completely unaffected by Jingjing and Kongkong Daoren."

Liu Ji said, "If I were like him, with seven or eight hundred brothers who would swear to be loyal to me to the death, I probably wouldn't be able to resist either."

Lü Zhi shook her head and said, "What use are seven or eight hundred river bandits? The location of Juye, where they are, is not very good."

Once they attract the attention of the imperial court, they could be destroyed in an instant.

Liu Ji asked in surprise, "You can tell that Juye's location is bad? Before the King of Liang appeared, it was a geomantically auspicious place. It could be attacked or defended at will. If it really couldn't win, it could retreat into the depths of the marshland, and who could catch up with it?"
It is only now, having caught the eye of the King of Liang, that it has become so awkward.

Are you just guessing, or are you just spouting nonsense?

Lü Zhi rolled her eyes. "I grew up in Shanfu, have you forgotten? Before I married you, I had already heard of the reputation of Peng Yue, the bandit from Juye."

The young men in the county admired him and respected him as an elder.

Moreover, my elder brother was serving as a physician in Suiyang.

If Peng Yue were to rebel, the army from Suiyang could arrive within days and annihilate him.

"Oh, I forgot about my brother-in-law."

Liu Ji's eyes darted around, and he got out of bed again, pulling his "wife of humble origins" into his arms once more. He asked with a grin, "Tell me the truth, how many soldiers does your brother-in-law support, and how many troops can he muster?"

Lü Zhi initially didn't want to pay him any attention, but thinking about his attitude just now, she felt very frustrated. So she gave a cold smile and asked, "Have you ever heard of the Six Great Sword Immortals of the Great Qin?"

"Who hasn't heard of that? The owner of the recently visited Ape Lord Immortal Mansion, Ape Lord, is one of the Six Great Sword Immortals, isn't he?" Liu Ji said.

Lü Zhi said, "The Gu Sword Immortal Insect Da was subdued by my elder brother twenty years ago!"

Liu Ji exclaimed in shock, "Chongda is actually my brother-in-law's man?"

Lü Zhi nodded slightly, her expression complex, a mixture of pride and resentment. "Outsiders don't know that Chongda has already secretly pledged allegiance to my elder brother as his lord."

Several other sword immortals of the Great Qin Dynasty, including Zhang Zhong, the sword immortal of Qi, Kong Zhou, the sword immortal of the former Wei, and Gai Nie, the sword immortal of Guanzhong, all had a past relationship with my elder brother.

Think about it, even Chongda is like this, and even the six great sword immortals of the Great Qin are on good terms with him.

Just how many extraordinary people and heroes of the martial arts world has my elder brother recruited and befriended?
If the Jing family hadn't been so powerful, my elder brother would be the Commandant of Dang Commandery right now.

—If my older brother hadn't been so unlucky, my father would never have bothered with you.

(End of this chapter)