These were things etched deep into bone. What Bai Ge'er said was incredibly grating to Long Xuan's ears.
She strode quickly to Bai Ge'er's side and, before Bai Ge'er could react, raised her right hand and slapped him hard across the face twice.
"What do you think you are? Just a penniless boy with no father, no mother, and no background. You think that by deceiving Yi Zhixie back then and scheming for him to get to where you are today, you've truly become different? I'm telling you, you're even more pathetic than before. And you dare to lecture me? I think you've taken the wrong medicine."
"I rely on my father, so what? I can rely on him because I'm qualified to. Are you envious or jealous, and yet you don't have the qualifications?"
"You're competitive and strive to do everything perfectly, so what?"
"With just a word from my father, all your efforts are in vain."
"And as for me, even if I do nothing, what does it matter? As long as my father stands, my position in the Sun Heat Sect will forever be higher than yours. You can only be trampled beneath my feet, ordered around like a dog."
Long Xuan's words were like a knife plunged into Bai Ge'er's heart, causing him unbearable pain.
Seeing Bai Ge'er's face grow paler and his body begin to sway, Long Xuan felt an immense sense of satisfaction. She wanted to say more, but was stopped by Long Hao.
Long Xuan tried to retort, but was silenced by Long Hao's words.
"Do you think you're so much better than him? He's only missing a father; otherwise, you two are equally matched."
Severely struck, Long Xuan instantly lost all will to fight.
Thinking further, it was truly pointless to argue with Bai Ge'er.
If, someday, she could make Shen Xiaoyan despair, that would be her true capability.
Lost in her daydreams, Long Xuan no longer cared about Long Hao's reprimand.
Though rescued by Long Hao, Bai Ge'er didn't offer him a pleasant look.
Long Hao's status in the Sun Heat Sect was of no consequence to Bai Ge'er, whom he looked down upon in his heart.
However, it was not the time to stir up more trouble, so Bai Ge'er said nothing.
The three stood in silence for a while in the wind. Long Hao then spoke in a low voice, "They've all disappeared. What should we do?"
Hearing this, Long Xuan pouted. As a pampered young lady, this wasn't something for her to worry about, so she paid no mind.
Bai Ge'er was still sulking from the earlier incident and also remained silent.
Finally, Long Hao spoke again, "We don't know if they ran off or are hiding nearby. Since that's the case, let's search all the houses in the vicinity."
Besides Long Hao's suggestion, they could think of no better method for the moment, so they agreed.
They thought it would be a quick task to search a few dozen households, easily accomplished with their speed. However, as they began, they were shocked to discover the difficulty involved.
This was because the owner of every house was the same person.
That's right, it was that same old man.
Every time they knocked and saw the same old man open the door, Long Hao and the other two finally broke down.
Long Xuan couldn't help but exclaim, "What's wrong with you, old man? Why are you always lingering around? Do you want crystal coins? Tell me, how many do you want? You keep following us, what do you want?"
Long Hao thought Long Xuan had finally grown a brain, but after hearing her words, he could only helplessly rub his forehead.
He really shouldn't have harbored any illusions about this woman. Even a pig would have said something more sensible.
Had she never considered why this seemingly ordinary old man could travel faster than the three of them, who were cultivators?
The houses here weren't clustered together. How did this old man know their targets?
Why was he always one step ahead?
These were all points worth pondering, but unfortunately, Long Xuan had noticed none of them.
Even Long Hao was too lazy to argue with Long Xuan. He looked at the old man with a hint of solemnity, "May I know your esteemed name, sir? We apologize for any offense earlier. Please forgive us."
Under normal circumstances, someone of such status and ability would usually chuckle and say they didn't mind.
Long Hao was prepared to hear the old man say he didn't mind and then inquire about his strength.
However, this old man did not play by the rules.
"If I slapped you twice and then told you I didn't mean it, would you forgive me? Would you not mind?"
If possible, Long Hao really wanted to say he didn't mind.
But looking at the old man's sparkling eyes, the three words simply wouldn't come out.
Because he genuinely feared that if he said he didn't mind, the old man might actually slap him twice.
To protect his own face, he considered it carefully and still did not speak.
He was also unwilling to give up like this.
So, Long Hao took a deep breath and said again, "Senior, we just want to ask where the people who were with us just now went. Do you know?"
The old man chuckled, "I naturally... do not know."
Hearing the old man's drawling speech, Long Xuan's eyes rolled in exasperation. "How can you not know? Did you hide them? Otherwise, how could they have disappeared in such a short time?"
She then thought of a good idea. "If you don't tell us, we'll find them ourselves. You don't need to open the doors for us. You're really wasting our time."
The old man laughed heartily. "That's fine. I won't open the doors for you. If you can get inside, then consider me defeated."
Seeing the old man's confident demeanor, Long Xuan's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that they really couldn't get in?
But she was somewhat reluctant to believe it. Were there doors that couldn't be pushed open?
If they couldn't be pushed open, then they could just jump in, or kick them down.
With this thought, she walked towards a nearby house.
This time, Long Hao and Bai Ge'er did not stop Long Xuan, as they were also curious. It would be good to let Long Xuan try.
If it truly didn't work, they hadn't completely fallen out with the old man, and they could try to talk to him again.
However, they were astonished when they watched Long Xuan try her best and still fail to get in.
They then turned to look at the old man, who had a smile all over his face, clearly in a good mood. This outcome was as he had predicted.
Despite feeling dejected, Bai Ge'er still forced a smile and said, "Senior is truly remarkable. We have never seen such a thing."
Bai Ge'er paused after speaking. Seeing that the old man had no intention of responding, he did not feel embarrassed and continued, "Our companions have suddenly disappeared, and we are very worried about their safety. If Senior knows, please tell us a little. We will be extremely grateful."
Bai Ge'er's posture was very humble, showing his ability to bend.
Such people could often achieve their goals in one fell swoop.
But today, he had encountered someone who was completely unyielding.
After waiting for a long time and receiving no reply from the old man, if Bai Ge'er still didn't understand the old man's intentions, he would have lived his hundreds of years in vain.
He took a spatial ring from his hand and handed it to the old man, smiling. "This was given to us by the sect leader when we left. We are now offering it to Senior as a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it."
Hearing this, the old man finally turned to look at Bai Ge'er.
He scrutinized Bai Ge'er from head to toe, then extended his hand and took the spatial ring.
"What is your purpose for this trip?" the old man asked.
Seeing that the old man had finally spoken, Bai Ge'er was ecstatic. It seemed the gift was not in vain and was useful.
"We are here to seek medicine at the Medicine Emperor Valley," Bai Ge'er quickly replied.
The old man nodded. "I guessed as much. No one usually comes here except to seek medicine. However, you have outsmarted yourselves!"
Bai Ge'er was startled, then lowered his posture even further. "Please enlighten us, Senior."
"Why do you assume they are hiding? Perhaps they have already gone to the Medicine Emperor Valley!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Bai Ge'er, Long Xuan, and Long Hao were all dumbfounded.
That's right!
Why hadn't they thought of that?
Yi Zhixie was here to seek medicine. Perhaps he had seen something just now, or figured out the way to the Medicine Emperor Valley, and then seized the opportunity to leave the courtyard and head directly for it.
It was a waste of their time here, and they hadn't even considered this possibility.
"Thank you, Senior," Long Hao stepped forward. "Please tell us, where exactly is the Medicine Emperor Valley?"
The old man suddenly smiled cunningly. He fiddled with the spatial ring in his hand and said calmly, "Since I accepted your ring, I naturally have to answer your questions. But when you gave me the ring just now, you didn't ask this question, did you?"
The implication was that the ring could only be used to ask one question, and he had already answered it.
Bai Ge'er and Long Hao were dumbfounded.
They had seen shameless people before, but never one as shameless as this.
This was clearly a trap.
However, the gap in their strength left them with no recourse.
Even knowing the old man was doing this deliberately, what could they do? They still couldn't say anything.
The two took several deep breaths, managing to suppress the anger that was rising within them.
Forcing a smile, Bai Ge'er said, "Please be accommodating, Senior, and just give us a general direction."