Wind Rising Overseas — Wen Siyue

Chapter 437: Wind Rising Overseas — Wen Siyue

Hearing the woman’s cry, Han Li paused and turned his gaze toward her, halting his sword light.

“You are a disciple of the Sublime Sound Sect?” Han Li asked, his expression calm.

The woman was a young matron of about twenty, her face as warm as jade and her skin like snow. Her delicate features were filled with delighted surprise, giving her an exceedingly charming appearance.

“Disciple Wen Siyue pays respects to Elder Han!” The extraordinarily captivating matron quickly flew to Han Li’s side and respectfully performed a bow.

Her breasts were firm, her hips full, and her figure was wonderfully graceful. As she spoke in her sweet voice, a intoxicating faint fragrance drifted from her.

Han Li, however, remained expressionless as he looked her over from head to toe. Only after a long moment did he ask in a leisurely tone:

“How do you recognize me? Have we met before?”

He was somewhat puzzled. He was certain this was the first time he had seen her.

“Elder Han may not know this, but although this junior has never paid respects to you before, the sect master has had portraits of the several elders hung in the Worship Hall. Whenever we go to the headquarters, we see them,” the beautiful matron said, her demeanor respectful.

Hearing this, Han Li was momentarily stunned, then inwardly amused.

So that was what the three women of the Sublime Sound Sect had done. No doubt this was also their way of publicly announcing his status as one of their elders.

He felt a little exasperated, but his face betrayed nothing. Instead, he turned his head to the middle-aged man on the other side and said with a smile:

“Brother Wen, it has been many years. I hope you have been well.”

Ever since Han Li had appeared, the middle-aged man had worn a strange expression. Now, upon hearing these words, his look grew even more complicated. The way he gazed at Han Li seemed to hold a mix of envy and inferiority.

“I never thought Senior Han would still remember me. Even after seeing your portrait in the Sublime Sound Sect, it took me a long time to believe it was real. Congratulations on forming your golden core,” the man said, his lips moving before he finally spoke with a bitter smile.

This middle-aged man was none other than “Wen Qiang,” the young cultivator Han Li had met twice on Starshade Island all those years ago.

Though his features were still recognizable as the face from that time, the fair-skinned, bookish youth was now a man with graying sideburns and a face marked by the passage of years, fast approaching his fifties.

“Brother Wen, there is no need for such formalities. We knew each other in the past, so let us treat each other as equals,” Han Li said with a gentle smile.

He could see at a glance that the other man was still at the mid Foundation Establishment stage. There was no hope of him ever reaching Core Formation in this lifetime.

Thinking of how the once-energetic young man had aged into this appearance, Han Li could not help but sigh inwardly.

Even if Wen Siyue had not called out to him, he would have stopped anyway.

With his photographic memory, even though he had only interacted with Wen Qiang a few times, he had recognized him at a single glance as he flew past. The impression the man had left on him back then was quite favorable, so it was only natural that he would lend a hand and not let him die before his eyes.

Wen Qiang repeatedly declined to address Han Li as an equal, and Han Li, seeing no other option, had to let him be.

The young matron beside them, upon hearing their brief exchange, was utterly astonished, her small mouth falling open.

She blinked her large, limpid eyes and was about to ask something when Han Li suddenly turned his head and said in a cold tone:

“Where do you three think you’re going? Did I give you permission to leave?”

It turned out that the three cultivators on the opposite side, upon seeing that Han Li had brought a Core Formation ally, had long since been panicked.

But seeing that Han Li seemed to pay them no attention and was instead chatting leisurely, they had allowed themselves a flicker of hope and had begun to edge backward.

Now, hearing Han Li’s words, their faces turned pale. After exchanging a single glance, they immediately fled in three separate directions on their flying tools, one after another.

As they flew, they activated all sorts of colorful defensive artifacts and protective shields over their bodies.

“Hmph! Seeking death!”

Han Li let out a cold snort. His expression turned icy as he raised his hand and lightly flicked his fingers. Three dazzling streaks of azure sword light shot out, appearing behind the three cultivators in a flash.

With a series of soft “puff” sounds, the artifacts and shields on their bodies shattered like paper under the thick, bowl-sized sword beams. Almost simultaneously, sharp cries rang out. The three men, along with their flying tools, were instantly turned into specks of light that scattered into nothingness, disappearing without a trace.

The young matron and Wen Qiang were visibly shaken to see Han Li casually wipe out three cultivators of the Poison Dragon Society with such ease. The look in their eyes as they regarded him was now filled with considerably more awe and reverence.

Han Li, for his part, gave a small, satisfied nod.

The three Azure Essence Sword lights he had unleashed might not have looked impressive, but they actually contained a considerable amount of his spiritual power. He was pleased that they could achieve a one-hit kill against Foundation Establishment cultivators.

It seemed that, as his cultivation increased, the power of the Azure Essence Sword lights still had great utility.

“By the way, Brother Wen here shares the surname ‘Wen’ with this lady. Could it be…?” Han Li seemed to recall something and suddenly turned to ask Wen Qiang.

Hearing this question, a slightly awkward expression appeared on Wen Qiang’s face.

“I hope Senior Han will not laugh, but Siyue is indeed my daughter.”

Han Li was taken aback, but immediately burst into laughter.

“Then I must also congratulate you, Brother Wen! Fellow Daoist Siyue here has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage at such a young age. Perhaps she may one day form a golden core as well.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Qiang revealed a hint of pride. With a touch of joy, he said:

“To be honest with Senior Han, Siyue is indeed my pride and joy. She succeeded in Foundation Establishment in just over twenty years, and I have great hopes for her. I myself can advance no further, but I wish only for her to go further than I have.”

As he spoke, the look in Wen Qiang’s eyes as he gazed at the young matron was full of affection.

Wen Siyue, for her part, lowered her head shyly at her father’s words.

Han Li, a smile in his eyes, looked over the young matron once more and gave a slight nod. This Wen Siyue was indeed of fairly good aptitude.

Next, Wen Qiang and Han Li each spoke a little of their respective experiences.

Though their friendship had never been deep, suddenly meeting an acquaintance from many years past was always a pleasant thing. Han Li, in a rare moment of leisure, chatted with him a while longer.

From the other man’s words, Han Li heard the story of an ordinary cultivator’s uneventful life in the Chaotic Star Sea, a tale much like any other.

Not long after their parting that day, Wen Qiang’s master had passed away from old age. After drifting on Starshade Island for decades, he had barely managed to achieve Foundation Establishment. He then began to travel between the various islands, and during this time, he caught the eye of a female disciple of the Sublime Sound Sect, eventually joining the sect as an outer affairs disciple.

Since then, he had been handling various miscellaneous tasks for the Sublime Sound Sect. Later, Wen Siyue was born. Not long after her daughter’s birth, his wife had fallen ill with a strange disease and passed away. Because his feelings for his wife were very deep, he had no wish to remarry, and instead raised Wen Siyue alone. Naturally, she too became a disciple of the Sublime Sound Sect.

When he reached this part, Han Li sighed a few times.

His own experiences were far simpler. Aside from cultivation, there was hardly anything worth mentioning. This made Han Li smile wryly.

In the end, however, he asked why the father and daughter had been fighting with others here.

Upon hearing this question, Wen Qiang’s face immediately showed indignation, while Wen Siyue’s expression dimmed.

Han Li was rather curious.

After some hesitation, Wen Qiang slowly revealed another part of the story.

It turned out that after Wen Siyue came of age, she had married a young cultivator who seemed to have a promising future, becoming his dual cultivation partner. But unfortunately, his fortune was shallow. Shortly after their marriage, he had met with an accident and died during a fight with another cultivator. Thus, she had become a widow.

As a result, the widowed Wen Siyue, who was naturally blessed with an alluring charm, naturally attracted the uninvited interest of some male cultivators within the sect. However, since her husband had only recently died, she had no thought of remarrying. She thus politely declined several requests for dual cultivation partnerships.

Without her realizing it, this had offended some of the Sublime Sound Sect’s higher-ups.

Consequently, this time, Wen Siyue had been assigned a difficult and dangerous task: to escort a batch of valuable goods through territory belonging to the Poison Dragon Society, a group with whom the Sublime Sound Sect had always been at odds.

As her father, Wen Qiang naturally could not stand by and do nothing. He had no choice but to accompany his daughter on this journey.

But the information, which should have been extremely secret, had somehow been learned by the Poison Dragon Society. As a result, the father and daughter were pursued and blocked, and were finally caught here by three men from the Poison Dragon Society. They had no choice but to fight for their lives.

If Han Li had not happened to pass by, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

After listening to Wen Qiang’s indignant account, Han Li stroked his chin and said nothing for a long time.

He could hear the implication in this Fellow Daoist Wen’s words. He was hoping that Han Li would do something on their behalf.

But this was, after all, only one side of the story. He was not about to blindly interfere in the affairs of the Sublime Sound Sect just because the other man had a slight connection to him.