Han Li had a remarkably vivid impression of the young girl he had personally brought into Huang Maple Valley all those years ago. But what immediately followed was the fleeting image of the wizened little Senior Brother Ma, and a wave of desolation welled up in his heart.
At Senior Brother Ma's age, forming a Golden Core was absolutely out of the question. That man — the one he'd had the most tenuous connection with in all of Huang Maple Valley — had probably long since turned to dust.
"Little girl! Our dear Junior Sister Xiao is hardly a little girl anymore. She married long ago and entered the Core Formation stage several decades back." Nie Ying spoke with a mix of amusement and reproach, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"Oh, she reached Core Formation too. That's quite unexpected." Han Li was momentarily stunned, then let out a soft chuckle.
"I've heard Junior Sister Xiao mention many times how Senior brought her into the sect back then. She has always been deeply grateful to Senior Han and thinks of you often." Nie Ying said gently.
"I only brought her to Senior Brother Ma because I thought she had decent aptitude — nothing more than a whim at the time. Everything's changed since then. What point is there in looking back?" Han Li's smile faded, and his voice turned calm and even.
Seeing that even such persuasion failed to move him and that Han Li clearly had no desire whatsoever to return to Huang Maple Valley, Nie Ying and Lei Wanhe exchanged a glance and could only smile bitterly in silence.
The two of them were no fools. They could more or less guess the reason behind Han Li's reluctance. Back when the core disciples had fled into the Nine Nations Alliance, Han Li had not been among them. This former mere Foundation Establishment cultivator — this "Senior Han" — had naturally been designated as bait and abandoned.
No wonder he treated Huang Maple Valley with such utter coldness, without the slightest intention of ever returning.
Just as the two were at a loss, Han Li fell silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to the middle-aged cultivator from the Concealed Moon Sect and asked slowly:
"Does your Concealed Moon Sect have a female cultivator named Nangong Wan? How is she now?" Han Li's voice had turned somewhat subdued.
"Ah! Senior knows Martial Aunt Nangong? She is currently overseeing the sect — everything is well with her." The middle-aged cultivator named Tang Minghua was momentarily taken aback, but quickly replied with deep respect.
"Martial Aunt? She's advanced to Nascent Soul as well?" After his initial surprise, a hint of undisguised pleasure crept into Han Li's words.
"Martial Aunt Nangong successfully formed her Nascent Soul over a hundred years ago. She is now one of our sect's Elders. Might I ask — is Senior an old acquaintance of Martial Aunt Nangong?" The middle-aged cultivator's reply was remarkably thorough, his manner exceedingly eager.
For him, the chance to befriend a Nascent Soul cultivator would naturally bring boundless benefits down the road.
"An old acquaintance… I suppose you could say that. I once received a great kindness from your Martial Aunt and have wanted to see her again ever since. But I've been occupied all these years and never had the chance." Han Li sighed, a distant look flickering across his face as he murmured.
"Ha ha! Martial Aunt Nangong rarely receives visitors, but if Senior truly wishes to see her, it's quite simple. In three months, she will be holding a Dual Cultivation Ceremony with Elder Wei of the Transformation Intent Gate, formally becoming his dual cultivation partner. The ceremony was originally meant to invite only high-ranking cultivators from within the Alliance. But since Senior is an old acquaintance of Martial Aunt Nangong, if you were to attend at our sect, we would certainly—"
"Dual Cultivation Ceremony?" The words struck Han Li like a bolt of lightning. He couldn't hear a single word that followed, and spun around abruptly, his voice turning ice-cold:
"That's right. Elder Wei Lichen of the Transformation Intent Gate formed his Nascent Soul in barely three hundred years. His techniques are unfathomably profound — a once-in-a-generation cultivation genius of Tiannan. Our sect and the Transformation Intent Gate went to great lengths to bring this match about." Tang Minghua flinched at Han Li's chilling expression. All manner of strange thoughts raced through his mind, but under Han Li's frigid gaze, he found himself helplessly blurting everything out, one detail after another.
Lei Wanhe and the others wore peculiar expressions upon seeing this.
Even a fool could tell by now — Han Li's relationship with the Concealed Moon Sect's Nangong Wan was clearly anything but simple!
Otherwise, how could he possibly react so strongly upon hearing this news?
But what came next was far beyond everyone's expectations. The coldness on Han Li's face lingered for a moment as he stared at the middle-aged cultivator, then vanished in an instant. Instead, his voice softened as he said gently:
"Fellow Daoist Tang, please don't be alarmed. I mean no harm. I was simply a bit agitated upon hearing that someone I once held in admiration is about to become another man's wife. Now that I know, I'll naturally attend the joyous occasion of my friend's ceremony."
Hearing Han Li speak so candidly, the middle-aged cultivator let out a great sigh of relief and hurriedly uttered words of welcome.
But Han Li merely offered a faint smile and said nothing more.