“Really?”

The girl’s face was full of surprise.

Xu Taiping paused for a moment, then looked at the girl with a regretful expression and said:

“But the woman I met was at least forty years old.”

Upon hearing this, the girl’s expression of joy turned into disappointment, while a look of relief flashed across Lu Chen’s face.

Xu Taiping saw the changes in the expressions of the two of them.

“You dare to tease my junior sister, just wait and see…”

“Senior Brother!”

Lu Chen was about to reprimand Xu Taiping again, but was stopped by the girl.

“Thank you for letting me know. Here are thirty merit coins, take it as the cost of joining the sect.”

The girl took out a money bag and threw it to Xu Taiping with a look of disappointment.

“Kid, with thirty merit coins, you have more than enough to join the sect. You can be happy about it.”

Lu Chen glared at Xu Taiping fiercely.

“Let’s go, Senior Brother. Don’t make things difficult for this little friend.”

The girl persuaded Lu Chen with a somewhat disappointed look.

“Since junior sister has spoken, I will let this kid go. Junior sister, don’t be upset. If we can’t find it here, we’ll go to Green Peak Gorge.”

Lu Chen said with a smile to the girl.

“Yes, that’s the only way.”

The girl nodded and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

Xu Taiping suddenly called out to the girl.

“What’s the matter, little friend?”

The girl turned her head and looked at Xu Taiping with some confusion.

“What’s your name, sister?”

Xu Taiping asked.

“How dare you ask for my junior sister’s name?”

Lu Chen’s eyes showed a fierce light.

“If you meet the woman you mentioned next time, I can tell her that you came to look for her.”

Xu Taiping replied seriously.

“Little friend, my surname is Liu, and my name is Zi Jin. If you really meet my sister, please tell her that Zi Jin has been looking for her. No matter what trouble she encounters, Zi Jin is there for her, and she doesn’t need to be afraid.”

The girl’s face was full of joy, and then she quickly asked Xu Taiping.

“Okay.” Xu Taiping nodded, “If I meet her, I will tell her everything you said.”

“Thank you!”

Zi Jin clasped her hands and bowed to Xu Taiping with great solemnity.

“Let’s go, Senior Brother. Big Brother and the other senior brothers from Sixth Peak are waiting for us near Green Peak Gorge. If we’re late, we might be scolded by Big Brother.”

Lu Chen glared at Xu Taiping and then urged Zi Jin.

“Yes, let’s go, Senior Brother.”

Zi Jin nodded and left Green Bamboo Residence with Lu Chen.

“Phew…”

As soon as the two of them left, Xu Taiping let out a long breath. Although he appeared calm and composed, he was actually a little nervous inside.

After testing Lu Chen’s reaction, he was sure that if he showed any signs of knowing Qingmei Liu, or wanted to tell Zi Jin Liu something, Lu Chen would take action against him.

Although he didn’t know Lu Chen’s specific cultivation level, after breaking through to the Sea Realm, he could clearly feel the powerful True Qi fluctuations from Lu Chen.

“If I were to confront him directly, what are my chances of winning? Forty percent? No, maybe not even twenty percent.”

Xu Taiping pondered silently in his heart.

The pressure Lu Chen brought to him was much greater than that of the Evil Ghost, and he probably wouldn’t even have a chance to make a move if they were to fight.

So in this situation, it was obviously not wise to hand the Seeking Dust Incense over to Zi Jin Liu in the absence of Lu Chen.

However, by observing the reactions of Lu Chen and Zi Jin, Xu Taiping finally confirmed one thing from the side – “Qingmei Liu’s words that day were not false, and the scene in the Seeking Dust Incense is also real. She was indeed harmed by Lu Chen.”

Xu Taiping walked to the gate of the courtyard.

“I need to figure out a way to hand the Seeking Dust Incense to Zi Jin Liu when Lu Chen is not around, so that she can see Lu Chen’s true face. However, it seems that the relationship between these two is not very close, at least it shows that Zi Jin Liu has not been deceived by Lu Chen’s sweet words…”

Watching the direction in which Zi Jin and Lu Chen left, Xu Taiping muttered to himself.

“They just said they were going to Green Peak Gorge. Could it be that they are also investigating the Tiger Demon?”

Xu Taiping suddenly remembered the conversation between Lu Chen and Zi Jin, and a flash of insight suddenly appeared in his mind.

The most ferocious monster in this area is the Tiger Demon. It is logical for Zi Jin to blame the Tiger Demon for her sister’s disappearance.

“If I can get to Green Peak Gorge ahead of time, maybe I’ll have a chance to contact Zi Jin. But if I do, I’ll have to risk the danger of encountering the Tiger Demon.”

He began to weigh the risks of going to Green Peak Gorge in his mind.

Xu Taiping did promise Qingmei Liu to hand over the Seeking Dust Incense to Zi Jin Liu, but the premise of all this was that he could guarantee his own life.

“Boom…”

At this moment, a giant white-headed eagle suddenly landed at the gate of the Green Bamboo Residence.

“Xu Taiping of Green Bamboo Residence, this is what you bought. It’s a total of twenty merit coins, and you need to pay me one more.”

The white-headed eagle raised its head, and the package it was carrying was thrown high into the air, landing accurately in front of Xu Taiping.

Compared to Baihong, the voice of this white-headed eagle was obviously much younger and more immature, and it shouldn’t be very old.

“Thank you.”

Xu Taiping reached out to take the package, then took out a money bag from his pocket and threw it to the white-headed eagle.

The package contained about a hundred arrows he had purchased, a set of leather armor suitable for mountain travel, and some miscellaneous items for daily life.

Basically, he would purchase these items every three months.Just as Xu Taiping was about to return to his room, he suddenly noticed that the young white-headed eagle did not leave immediately after receiving the Merit Coin. Instead, it stood there, sizing him up.

“Elder Brother Eagle, is there something else?”

Xu Taiping asked with some curiosity.

“I heard from my father that the roasted yellow sheep leg you make is delicious. Have you made any today?”

The white-headed eagle asked Xu Taiping directly.

“Father? Elder Brother Eagle, is your father Uncle Baihong?”

Xu Taiping took a closer look and suddenly realized that this young white-headed eagle bore a striking resemblance to Uncle Baihong.

“That’s right, Baihong is indeed my father, and my name is Baiyu. These past few days, I’ve always heard my father mentioning you. To those unaware, they might think you are his son.”

Baiyu replied with a hint of jealousy.

Hearing this, Xu Taiping gave an embarrassed smile.

“Brother Baiyu, I haven’t been able to hunt any yellow sheep these days. Wait a few more days, and once I’ve hunted one, I will definitely invite you to a feast.”

He extended an invitation to Baiyu.

“Why wait for another day? It’s just a yellow sheep. I have nothing to do today, so I’ll go hunt one for you. Just wait here!”

Baiyu said with a proud expression.

“That sounds good, Brother Baiyu, wait a moment!”

Xu Taiping was about to nod in agreement, as he was willing to cook a meal for Uncle Baihong’s child, but just as he was about to speak, a sudden inspiration struck him.

“What, are you having second thoughts?”

Baiyu sounded a bit unhappy.

“No, no, no.”

Xu Taiping waved his hands repeatedly and then explained to Baiyu:

“Brother Baiyu, you might not know, but to make the most delicious roasted yellow sheep leg, the selection of the finest yellow sheep meat is more important than the roasting technique. Therefore, I would like to ask Brother Baiyu to take me with you, so I can personally select it.”