Why do I have so many masters?

Leaving Li Bei to speak ill of his uncle, as the junior, Wang Anfeng could only cough softly and pretend not to hear it. Then, he looked up at Dongfang Ximing, who was sitting uneasily. His expression couldn't help but soften, and he said gently:

"There are many people here. Would you like to go upstairs to talk?"

Dongfang Ximing blushed, lowered her head, and dared not look at him, her voice weak.

"Hmm."

Wang Anfeng felt a slight relief in his heart. He led the blushing Dongfang Ximing and Gong Yu back to the room in the inn.

As they walked up the aging wooden stairs, Sikou Tingfeng, whose expression was indifferent as if uninterested in everything, leaned against the handrail on one side, his eyes fell on the blushing face of Dongfang Ximing. He fixed a glance at her, showed no unusual expression, and stepped aside to let them pass.

Then he noticed that when Gong Yu passed by, he seemed to glance at her more than once. He subconsciously looked up to meet her eyes, and they brushed past each other.

For the moment, they arrived at Wang Anfeng's guest room. Gong Yu went to the room that Lin Qiaofu and the others had reopened, giving time to the three of them. In the room, Xu Sixing, who was in a charred state, still lay there motionless.

Wang Anfeng walked to the table, poured a cup of tea, and the delicate touch of the white porcelain teacup in his hands gradually calmed the fluctuations in his heart. He turned around, placed the tea on the table, and gently pushed it towards Dongfang Ximing.

The water in the teacup rippled.

Both Dongfang Ximing and Wang Anfeng had already thought of hundreds of ways to start a conversation in their minds before this, pondering what to say to dispel the sense of alienation and unfamiliarity between them, considering whether to comfort the frightened Dongfang Ximing first.

But when the time came, they found themselves unable to say a single sentence.

Finally, it was Li Qidao who broke the growing awkwardness between them. The white-haired old man quietly kicked Xu Sixing, who was ruining the atmosphere, under the bed, then sat blatantly on the table, took a swig of tea, broke the deadlock, and said:

"That old man in your family, Dongfang... what's his name again, oh right, Dongfang Zhaohai, is he still alive?"

"Should I bring him a sheep?"

Dongfang Ximing was stunned for a moment before recalling who the name Dongfang Zhaohai referred to. She showed a slightly relaxed expression and said:

"Grandfather is in good health."

"And Grandfather doesn't seem to like eating mutton..."

Li Qidao's face showed a trace of embarrassment, he laughed it off. Wang Anfeng's mouth twitched; based on his familiarity with the old man, he absolutely did not believe that Li Bei would casually utter a useless statement, so he asked Li Qidao via sound transmission why he mentioned sheep.

Li Qidao coughed lightly, handed over a look, and transmitted a sound.

"It's a custom from the Northwest. We stayed there for quite some time. When someone passes away, you take a sheep there, have a meal, and see them off, bringing the sheep there in the morning, and then the whole village goes to eat at the deceased's house in the afternoon."

"Sigh, this old guy Dongfang Zhaohai is no good, doesn't teach anything."

"It's not nice when words don't find their target. Next time I see him, I have to punish him, I must."

Wang Anfeng's mouth twitched slightly.

Li Qidao laughed and said, "Who would've thought that guy would change his taste? Back then, he often asked me to bring him a sheep."

Dongfang Ximing breathed a sigh of relief. The old man in front of her felt very familiar, and she had no doubts, curiously asked:

"Is that so?"

Li Qidao thought that the old comrades who had died back then couldn't crawl out to refute him, and Penglai of the East Sea was tens of thousands of miles away. Even if the old guy could read the heavens and stars, he couldn't possibly come over, so he nodded boldly and said:

"That's right, back in our day, everyone knew this. When us old folks said one, it was one; when we said two, it was two, never talking nonsense."

Dongfang Ximing nodded, muttering to herself:

"Then next time I go back, I should bring a sheep for Grandfather too..."

Li Qidao's smile became stiff, and a cold sweat formed on his back.

Wang Anfeng's mouth twitched —

After Li Bei finished criticizing his uncle, he moved on to his grandfather, leaving him no room to interject. Mr. Ying, Master, Second Master, Third Master, Daoist Priest.

What should I do?

Fortunately, Li Qidao did not dwell on the topic further. Although he knew more about the Dongfang family than most in the Jianghu, the Dongfang family had been reclusive for hundreds of years, and he wasn't clear on many things. At this moment, he racked his brains, pondering about the Dongfang family, and casually said:

"By the way, what's up with that guy, Dongfang Yanyong?"

Dongfang Ximing was obviously startled by this name, murmuring:

"That, that was our old Family Head..."

Li Qidao raised an eyebrow and said: "Old Family Head, meaning his son is the Family Head now? Hey..."

"And what about Dongfang Zong?"

Dongfang Ximing replied:

"He is, he is the Dongfang family's Great Elder for teachings..."

Li Qidao fell into silence.

Heads of the Four Great Noble Families?

Great Elder for teachings?!

Dongfang Ximing saw that although Li Qidao's face did not have many wrinkles, his hair had turned white, and his eyebrows were grey, indicating he was not young. From what he had said earlier, it seemed he was familiar with several of the Dongfang family's elders. Curiously and nervously, she plucked up the courage to ask:

"Old sir, are you very familiar with the elders of our Dongfa family?"

Just by saying these few words, her face became a bit flushed.

Li Qidao came back to his senses, looked at her, saw the curiosity on the young girl's face, and the nervousness she couldn't hide, and absentmindedly stroked the beard on his chin while casually replying: