I defeated the saint with a parry.

"Don't take it to heart."

Xu Ling comforted them, "Just call them Lion Lord, that's what the people from the Demon Suppression Division call them."

Li Yang shook his head, not angry at all. He was just a child, and seeing how friendly the lion was, he wanted to touch it. Xu Ling was about to stop him when he saw Li Yang already touching it, and the lion didn't refuse, even rubbing its head against him, completely unlike its previous disgusted expression at the smell of sweat and body odor.

"Oh, that's strange," Xu Ling laughed. "Zhang Li tried to touch it too, but he almost got bitten by Lion."

Lion King said while snoring, "This kid smells pretty good after he's been cleaned up, I don't mind."

Xu Ling asked curiously, "What does it taste like?"

The two lions exchanged a glance and then pawed at the sachet: "Moon Grass."

Li Yang opened the sachet and showed it to Xu Ling. Inside, besides a few dried flowers, there was also a green leaf with a moon pattern.

"So that's what it was!"

That's not surprising.

"Where did this come from?"

Li Yang said, "My classmates from the martial arts school gave it to me. They said it can remove odors and add fragrance."

"That's certainly possible. But this thing... has a natural attraction for Sulong."

Just like catnip on Earth, it gets cats all fuzzy.

Sulong don't have a strong affinity for moongrass, but since their power comes from the moon, the shared origin of moongrass creates a natural sense of closeness between them.

With each of them following one of the animals, they soon arrived at the Li family's residence.

When the steward of the Li family saw the two lions approaching, he immediately recognized the Moon Lions, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

He naturally knew Xu Ling; Li You had received Xu Ling last time he came, and the Second Master had also met him.

"Lord Xu, the patriarch instructed me to wait here. Please come in..."

He didn't dare say anything more and quickly led Xu Ling inside, pretending not to see Li Yang standing to the side.

This second young master... the Li family now considers him non-existent, but since today is a family banquet and Xu Ling brought him here, they, as the stewards, dare not complain and let the head of the family handle it.

Whether it's punishment or whatever, he, as the butler, accepted it. After all, isn't being a servant meant taking the blame for the boss's mood?

This family dinner was naturally held in the backyard.

Xu Ling followed the steward through two courtyards before arriving at the dining area.

When the two lions encounter small places, they shrink their size. Once inside the house, they become as cute as kittens.

Even the butler leading the way couldn't help but glance at it, secretly looking at it countless times along the way. If it weren't for his status, he probably would have wanted to keep one long ago.

The Li family's backyard has a large number of people.

Now that the old man's lineage is almost extinct, if Xu Ling hadn't brought Li Yang, there probably wouldn't be a single person of any standing there.

All of Li Erye's people came, including Li You, Li Xuance, and their parents. There were also some members of collateral branches and their descendants at the table.

Li Tao naturally sat in the main seat, while the other members of the Li family sat on either side, each with a separate table in front of them for serving dishes.

As soon as Xu Ling arrived, everyone in the room immediately turned their attention to Li Yang.

Even Li Tao didn't expect that Xu Ling would bring Li Yang along as well.

A few people whispered among themselves, saying things like Li Yang didn't deserve to be here. Everyone present was a cultivator, so they heard it clearly.

Xu Ling shielded Li Yang behind him, his cold eyes sweeping over the crowd. Perhaps knowing Xu Ling's martial prowess, no one dared to meet his gaze.

"Please don't be offended, Lord Xu. There are quite a few people in my family, so I haven't been able to entertain you properly," Li Tao said with a smile. "Please take a seat."

"It's alright. Li Yang is here as my younger brother. Some people shouldn't be so presumptuous." After Xu Ling finished speaking, he picked up the Sulong that had turned into a kitten. "I also brought two pet beasts with me. Second Master Li, you don't mind, do you?"

Seeing Xu Ling playing with the two moon lions from the Seaview Pavilion, even Li Tao, with his deep composure, couldn't help but twitch his lips and force a smile: "Of course I don't mind. I should thank these two for their hospitality. There's plenty of food and drink for you today, so please eat as much as you like. If you have any complaints, just tell the steward."

Lion nodded, looking at Li Tao with admiration: "You're very good, we'll definitely eat well."

The Li family set up a separate table for the two lion cubs next to Xu Ling.

There was no other way; regardless of their status or influence, neither of these two gentlemen were people the Li family could openly offend.

Zhang Li's idea was brilliant. Even if Li Tao was dissatisfied, he could only swallow his anger.

At the family dinner, there was another person who broke through the rules.

Li Xuance had just lost face at the Demon Suppression Bureau during the day, and that evening he saw Xu Ling bring the Bureau's Lion King to his house for dinner, with even his grandfather treating him with courtesy. He tried his best to minimize his presence, but unexpectedly, Xu Ling looked at him and asked, "How is the Second Young Master's cultivation consolidation going?"

You really hold a grudge.

Li Xuance gritted his teeth: "Heh, no need for Brother Xu to trouble himself!"

"Is that so? If that doesn't work, we can have another match."

"No, no, eating is more important."

Xu Ling then let him go: "What a pity."

Li Tao continued, "I've heard that Lord Xu possesses the ability to see through anyone's moves, and when he fights, he only uses the most basic and simple moves, yet he is invincible among his peers. I thought it was a joke, but now it seems to be true."

"It's all due to clever tricks, Second Master, you flatter me." Xu Ling said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "After killing more demons and fighting more people, I naturally became more skilled and could handle anything. Practice makes perfect, and I can handle anyone."

Ah!

Hearing this, Li You and Li Xuance, who were standing to the side, both glared at Xu Ling. They would never believe such a lie.

What a fine statement! Anyone can do it. In all the years of the Great Chu Dynasty, before Xu Ling came out, no one had ever been able to do that. I have never seen or heard of it before.

Xu Ling clearly possesses a secret technique but keeps it hidden, using his Body Tempering Realm cultivation level to freeload off others.

Pooh!

Li Tao raised his wine glass and said to the younger generation in his family, "You should all learn more from Lord Xu, lay a solid foundation, and not be overly ambitious."

Before the younger generation could speak, Li Tao stood up and shouted to the entire Li family, "May the Li family prosper forever!"

The Li family members also raised their glasses in unison.

No matter what they did, Xu Ling, Li Yang, and the two "cats" didn't react and waited for the food to be served.

As soon as the food arrived, they began to eat and drink heartily, and the meal lasted until midnight, all due to social obligations.

Li Yang was unfamiliar with such occasions, but Xu Ling didn't let him leave, forcing him to accept the "human touch" before him. Because social interaction is a necessary stage in life, the earlier one becomes aware of this, the better, as it will benefit his future life.

If Li Yang is talented, that's fine; he'll surpass everyone in cultivation and won't need any socializing. But if he's not talented, without socializing, he'll always be bullied and won't be able to build connections.

Of course, we'll skip the Li family's connections.

But Li Yang knows people in the Demon Suppression Division, right? Surely Xu Ling's younger brother doesn't have any connections among demon slayers?

That's a story for another time.

The two lions paid no heed to any of this, focusing solely on their food, with servants bringing them fresh food whenever they were free. In the end, the remains of the demonic beasts beside and behind them gradually formed a small mountain. If a stranger were to enter this hall from the outside, they would probably think they had mistakenly entered Lion Camel Ridge.

During this time, the steward went to Li Erye's side several times to whisper, seemingly because the ingredients were not prepared enough and some were temporarily transferred from Fanlou.

They had to eat at least ten times before the two gentlemen were full.

The meal these two lions ate was equivalent to the total expenses Xu Ling and Zhang Li incurred that night at Fanlou for a whole year.

A family feast nearly depleted Fanlou's entire stock, making it difficult to entertain guests normally for several days. Li Tao's face darkened, but he didn't say anything.

The Li family had already accepted this loss the moment the two lions were placed on the table, so there was nothing more to say.

After dinner, when Xu Ling and Li Yang were leaving, Li Tao asked Li Yang to stay behind, saying he would return him at midnight. Li Yang didn't refuse, so Xu Ling left the two lions behind as well, to keep Li Yang in check.

At midnight, Xu Ling was at the martial arts school, sparring with the school's master, Zhang Songyang, when Li Yang, who was returning home, arrived.

Li Tao kept Li Yang behind to discuss the inheritance of the Li family fortune. He didn't want Li Yang to return and fight for the family property, so he deliberately kept him there to say a few words. He also handed over a gift, saying it was as an elder to make up for the time Xu Ling had escorted Li Xi.

As for the contents, they were the Li family's account books from back then.

As soon as Li Yang returned, Zhang Songyang left, reassured, leaving the courtyard to the two of them. Li Yang glanced at the so-called gift—just an old, worn-out booklet—and couldn't help but scoff, "Just a bunch of tattered books?"

Xu Ling laughed out loud: "Foolish little brother, these account books are the key to unlocking the secrets of the Li family. You might even find clues to your sister's death from them."

That's why he watched it with Li Yang.

"The Great Chu Calendar, the sixtieth year of Yong'an."

Yong'an was the reign title of Ji Yan, the current emperor of the Great Chu, upon his ascension to the throne. It meant that the Great Chu would be forever peaceful and no longer troubled by evil spirits.

It is now the twentieth year of Yongding, the twentieth year of the second reign title after Ji Yan turned one hundred.

"Yongding" means "the border is forever stable," which reflects the old emperor's attitude towards the border regions.

Therefore, sixty years ago was the sixtieth year of Yong'an.

The ledger contained a lot of entries for that year; almost every page was filled with entries.

However, only one page was blank, containing only the following: "Time: October 10th," "Location: Li Clan of Wucai Mountain," "Expenditure: 'Over 400 households due, over 200 actually received,'" "Income: 'None,'" "Note: 'Completely paid to Prince Kang,'" and signed: "Li Yan, Li Tao, Li Yuan."

The people who signed were the three elders of the Li family.

The Li family of Fancheng initially rose to prominence thanks to these three brothers. Although only Li Tao remains in this generation, the third brother left behind a great deal. At least in the intelligence of the Demon Suppression Division, much of the information about Fancheng involves the stories of these three brothers from the Li family.

Upon seeing the words "Li Clan," Xu Ling thought of the information related to Li Tao's hometown. He glanced at Li Yang and found him staring blankly at this page, as if he was thinking about the hard times in Li Family Village. So he quickly turned the page away.

He then found the last book from ten years ago and turned to the page he wanted to read.

"Ten years of Yongding".

"Time: October 10th, Location: Li Family Village, Fancheng, Outgoing: None, Incoming: None, Note: 'Demonic invasion, transaction failed, nearly half of the clansmen perished, all materials have been moved,' Signed: 'Li Yan.'"

"Time: October 11th; Location: Li Family Residence; Outgoing: 20 sets of materials; Incoming: 10 bottles of Blood Fusion Pills; Signed: Li Yan, Li Tao, Li Yuan."

Xu Ling said softly, "This should be from ten years ago, but what are the materials and the Blood Fusion Pill?"

He flipped through the pages and discovered that ten years ago, in that last year, the Li family's brokerage firm did nothing but collect materials, all for the purpose of fusing blood pills.

Going back a year, the accounts mentioned fewer materials, and even fewer as you go further back, but they were all related to Fanlou.

He was startled when he thought of the discrepancy between the transaction numbers mentioned by Song Cai of the Song family.

"Does 'materials' refer to people?"