Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Dad and Cheng has Returned (2)

The children sat around the kitchen enjoying the cold drinks, and for a while, the earlier unpleasantness at the fruit shop was pushed aside.

"Now we only have to worry about lunch later." Li Juanxin suddenly said after finishing his cup of smoothie.

"There is nothing to worry about. Uncle Xiong will take care of it." Jingxuan leaned back in his chair and looked completely unworried.

Although his uncle Xiong went to buy vegetables to cook, he wasn’t bothered that the food might not taste good.

In fact, he wants it to go wrong. In that way they can order takeout with dessert.

Li Jingsheng on the other hand strongly disagrees with this idea. He shook his head and said seriously: "After the breakfast we had, I do not trust Uncle Xiong to get us a good dinner."

Li Jingxuan pointed at him and accused: "You all ate it just fine. There were no complaints, why are you suddenly acting all high and mighty?"

"Just because we ate it, does not mean it was a proper breakfast." Li Jingsheng wasn’t willing to back down either.

Li Zhang grinned: "I thought it was great, changing up the manual is what this family needs apart from the regular males.

Li Yuhan thought about it and nodded in agreement: "That is not wrong."

Li Yujian raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t say anything.

Li Juanxin, who was still thinking seriously about lunch, looked toward Yujian and suddenly had an idea: "Then eldest brother should cook dinner this evening. His food always tastes good."

The moment he said this, Li Yuhan burst out into non-stop laughter. He laughed so hard that tears were coming from his eyes.

He quickly placed his smoothie down and said: "Xin Xin, if we all love our dear lives, we should not let your eldest brother ever put a pot on the stove!"

Li Juanxin blinked in confusion: "Why? Eldest brother’s food tastes good. He used to cook for us everyday before he went to the Yan family."

"That is the problem." Yuhan said: "Yes. It tastes good, but afterward, your stomach will feel like it’s undergoing a Heavenly tribulation."

Li Yujian only frowned but didn’t deny the accusations.

Li Zhang placed a hand over his stomach as he recalled a painful memory: "Last time, it was only one bowl of soup, and I thought I was going to see my ancestors."

"Isn’t that because the water wasn’t clean?" Li Juanxin was unconvinced, he thought his brother was slandering his eldest brother.

Everyone slowly turned to look at Li Yujian.

Li Yujian calmly set his cup down, feeling a little uneasy under their glares: "I didn’t do anything to the food." he said.

Li Yuhan immediately smiled: "Of course. Eldest brother would never poison us on purpose."

Li Zhang added: "It just somehow became poisonous after he cooked it."

Li Jingsheng sneered: "Isn’t that the same as you, usually edible ingredients only to cook something disgusting. At least we can eat eldest brother’s finished product, but no one would even dare go near what fourth brother cooks."

Li Yujian gave Li Zhang a strange look. After awakening his bloodline, he realized the reason why the food he cooked always had bad side effects is because of his poisonous qi that he wasn’t aware of. But why would a similar thing happen to Li Zhang?

Li Zhang picked up his smoothie and pretended he heard nothing.

After discussing, they agreed that when Liu Xiong comes back, the triplets would help him prepare the meals. Otherwise, they would just order takeouts.

....

Li Jain waited until evening, just when he was starting to worry that it was getting late, Li Cheng returned with Zhao Yun.

When footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, Li Jain walked out. Before he could see clearly who came, a small figure rushed towards him.

"Father!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Li Cheng, who had always been steady and calm beyond his age, ran straight into Li Jain’s arms without caring about his image. His movement was fast, and when Li Jain caught him, he felt the child’s fingers clutch tightly at his robe.

Li Jain lowered his head and saw that Li Cheng’s eyes were slightly red.

The boy had tried hard not to panic, when he arrived at this place by himself. He had already endured so much. He always told others who mocked him that his father would come to get him, even though he wasn’t absolutely certain.

But how could a ten years old child, taken to a strange place and unable to return home really not be afraid?

Li Jain’s heart softened, and he patted the child’s back gently.

"Daddy is here," he said: "You did well."

Li Cheng buried his face against him for a moment before lifting his head. He tried to recover his usual calm expression, but his eyes were still red, making him look exactly like a child that he is.

"I knew Father would come," Li Cheng said with a smile.

Li Jain smiled and rubbed his hair: "Of course I would come."

Zhao Yun was standing at the side, looking at Li Jain curiously.

Compared to Li Cheng’s restrained emotion, Zhao Yun looked relaxed and cheerful. His face was indeed beautiful, and when he smiled, it carried a kind of bright elegance that made people look twice.

"Hello, Cheng’s father. My name is Zhao Yun, Cheng’s friend." Zhao Yun said: "I’m sorry for dragging him out of the secret realm."

Li Jain looked at Zhao Yun and said lightly: "No need, the matter has already been settled. Thank you for taking care of my Cheng’er."

Zhao Yun waved his hand: "There is no need to thank me. We are friends after all." He paused and asked Li Cheng: "Are you leaving now? Will you come back in the future to visit?"

Li Cheng’s expression returned to its usual calmness: "I won’t be back. There’s no reason to."

Zhao Yun was surprised by how direct he was and clicked his tongue: "We only just became familiar, and you are already cutting off the road?"

Li Cheng looked at him silently: "There is also no need for you to hold on to the returning talisman."

Zhao Yun’s eyes widened slightly.

Li Cheng continued: "We no longer live at the same place. The original entrance has already been removed. Even if you keep the talisman, you cannot use it to come to our home."

Zhao Yun stared at him. Then his expression slowly changed, as his smile became even brighter .

"So you knew?" he asked.

Li Cheng didn’t respond.

Zhao Yun touched his sleeve, where the returning talisman had been hidden since the secret realm incident.

He took it at that time. Not with malice exactly, he wanted to know how the talisman worked, and perhaps he also wanted to see the other side of the secret realm. And just in case Li Cheng didn’t keep his promise.

He was certain that Li Cheng had not noticed, after all, both of them searched for over an hour.

Who would have thought that Li Cheng had known from the beginning and simply did not expose him?

After a short silence, Zhao Yun suddenly laughed: "You really are interesting."

Then as if he had made up his mind, he said: "Li Cheng, we will definitely meet again."

"If it is fate."

Li Cheng’s curiosity about Zhao Yun has been settled so he wasn’t reluctant to leave.

"Fellow Daoist Li, if you come across Zhao Qiren or learn anything about his whereabouts, please do this old man a favor and send a message to Red Flame Academy." Elder Zhao said.

Li Jain nodded: "No problem."

Elder Zhao studied him for a moment, then gave a slight nod: "Good."

He did not continue asking about the couple or the stolen formation. Whether Li Jain truly had no connection to Zhao Qiren, or whether he was simply too difficult to read, forcing the matter further would not help.

Elder Zhao turned and walked toward the array platform.

The formation plate that Li Jain had handed over was placed at the center. Elder Zhao activated it, after injecting spiritual energy. The lines on the plate lit up one by one, spreading outward like a net of silver threads.

A faint doorway formed in the air. Li Jain held his son’s hand and walked towards the door.

Before stepping in, Li Cheng turned back once and looked at Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun raised his hand with a lazy smile: "Don’t forget me too quickly."

Li Cheng nodded, and turned back to look at his father who nodded at him, and entered the passage.

Zhao Yun stared at where Li Cheng and his father left, seemingly lost in thoughts.

"What is it about that kid that you like?" Elder Zhao couldn’t help but ask.

"He’s very interesting, grandpa." Zhao Yun said, then he frowned: "If you had taken him in as a disciple, he wouldn’t have left. It’s all your fault!"

Elder Zhao was helpless: "He refused, there’s nothing I could do about it."

"It’s all because you’re not capable enough!" Zhao Yun left with a sneered.

Elder Zhao was speechless by his grandson’s accusations. He sighed helplessly and went back into the house.