Chapter 159: Little Bear's Apprenticeship Tale

A muffled thud echoed, and the ground shook a few times.

Li Changshou, quick-handed and sharp-eyed, didn't move. With his left hand, he pressed down on the opponent's small head and sturdy body, directly imprinting their face into the grass.

If he hadn't acted fast enough, that person would have shouted "Sea God"!

What should he do?

If she said "sea," was he supposed to reply with "hello"?

With so many eyes watching, he couldn't simply incinerate her with the Samadhi True Flame.

In an instant, Li Changshou made a decision.

He secretly transmitted his voice directly to the girl using his spiritual sense, but on his face, he displayed an excited expression, shouting aloud:

"Lingli! What a surprise to find you here!"

Meanwhile, he secretly transmitted a message:

'If you dare to utter those two words, I'll have your village chief come discipline you tomorrow! Quickly shout... "cousin"! I have critical matters concerning the survival of Xiongzhai Village to attend to here. If you expose my identity, Xiongzhai will be in peril! Hum three times if you understand!'"

Xiong Lingli's sturdy limbs trembled, making a series of muffled "humph, humph, humph" sounds against the ground.

Did she really understand?

At that moment, the disciples from the Carefree Immortal Sect nearby had reacted, observing him with furrowed brows. The few disciples who had accompanied Xiong Lingli, however, all showed expressions of shock. Meanwhile, the members of the Immortal Ascension Sect on their side also turned their gazes towards Li Changshou.

Releasing his hand, Li Changshou smiled, his eyes reflecting a hint of emotion.

Xiong Lingli propped herself up with both hands, lifting her face from the ground.

Her face, which was clearly in the style of a cute girl with big eyes and long eyelashes, was now covered in dirt and grass. Yet, she looked at Li Changshou with excitement and blurted out:

"He..."

Li Changshou's eyes widened. Xiong Lingli instantly recoiled, timidly changing her words to: "Cousin..."

"Lingli, oh, it's been years! You've grown quite a bit."

Li Changshou smiled, while Xiong Lingli nodded profusely, her eyes inexplicably reddening as she muttered softly:

"I... I didn't sell you, and I didn't lose you."

Around them, the elders, deacons, and disciples from the Carefree Immortal Sect, the Immortal Ascension Sect, and a certain less important Human Dao Immortal Sect nearby all had question marks sprouting like small mushrooms above their heads.

Jiu Jiu, who had managed to refrain from teasing Li Changshou throughout the journey, and Yuqin Xuanya, who had previously maintained an icy demeanor at the front, both stood up and watched the scene.

What was happening?

Li Changshou silently weighed his options. Considering various factors, he would rather expose a small part of his cultivation strength than reveal himself as the Sea God of the South Sea! While it would be one thing to damage his "credibility" with the Jade Emperor, attracting the attention of the Western Sect would severely endanger his life!

So, Li Changshou could only go along with Xiong Lingli's words.

"Ah, I insisted on leaving that time to pursue immortal cultivation," Li Changshou sighed. "It must have been tough on you, Lingli. I'm sure your village chief scolded you quite a bit."

Meanwhile, he continued to transmit his voice through spiritual sense at close range:

'Don't bring that up. While I am indeed the Sea God, I'm merely one of his incarnations. The Sea God aids the suffering and has tens of thousands of incarnations. This particular incarnation also has its own mission. Lingli, tell me about your recent situation.'"

Xiong Lingli blinked, her large eyes filled with adoration.

Li Changshou then smiled and asked, "But, Lingli, what brings you here?"

Xiong Lingli's expression grew even more aggrieved. She whispered, "Cousin, my parents had another younger brother, so they sent me here to find a master and learn spells. It's just like what Uncle Liu next door said: once they have younger ones, they don't dote on the older ones anymore!"

Li Changshou was speechless.

What was all this about?

That year, before Li Changshou dispatched his paper figurine army to resolve the hidden threat of the South Sea Sea God, Xiong Lingli had already been sent to the Mixed Immortal Sect in the Central Divine Continent.

Li Changshou genuinely hadn't expected Xiong Lingli to join the Carefree Immortal Sect.

Judging by her demeanor, she seemed dissatisfied with her current situation, still resenting her parents for favoring her younger sibling.

Li Changshou smiled and casually summoned a wisp of clear spring water, offering it to her.

Xiong Lingli blinked, looking at Li Changshou.

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, gesturing for her to wash her face.

However, Xiong Lingli opened her mouth and directly swallowed a mouthful of the clear water, slurping it down with two gulps.

"This is a blessing from the Sea God!"

A few dark lines appeared on Li Changshou's forehead as he suddenly realized...

Junior Uncle Jiu Jiu sometimes appeared less than intelligent because she was often drunk, which infused a bit of tipsiness into her personality; when she was serious, however, she was quite sharp.

But this Xiong Lingli, having grown up in Xiongzhai Village's "inbred" environment...

She was a true, honest-to-goodness simpleton.

This kind of person was the hardest to deal with; she might just turn around and blurt out that he was the Sea God.

What to do? Should he find a place to dispose of her?

Xiongzhai Village was now considered his direct subordinate, so treating Xiong Lingli in such a manner would be entirely improper. He was cautious, but he wasn't heartless.

Li Changshou pondered for a few moments. He decided to solidify his cousin relationship with Xiong Lingli on one hand, and on the other, subtly hint to her that whenever she thought of him, the word "cousin" should be the first to come to mind.

Li Changshou summoned another stream of clear spring water and gently said, "This is for washing your face."

Xiong Lingli scratched her head and immediately gave an embarrassed smile, saying, "Thank you..."

'Say "cousin".'

'Cousin!'

"There," Li Changshou said with a kindly, father-like smile. He used the clear water to help Xiong Lingli wash her face, even thoughtfully taking out a handkerchief that he had originally prepared for tranquilizers.

Nearby, the few Carefree Immortal Sect disciples who had been accompanying Xiong Lingli had already approached.

"Junior Sister Xiong, is this your... cousin?"

"Mmm!" Xiong Lingli leaped up from the ground, instantly forming a wall in front of Li Changshou.

Xiong Lingli scratched her head, her tied-up long hair slightly disheveled. She gave a somewhat embarrassed smile and, in a rather delicate voice, said:

"This is my... cousin."

Li Changshou stood up and bowed to the Carefree Immortal Sect disciples, saying, "My cousin has caused you all some trouble, fellow Daoists."

The disciples returned his bow. One of them, with a very complex expression, touched his chest and said with a wry smile, "No trouble at all, just a bit of pain."

A female disciple standing by glared at the man, then immediately offered Li Changshou a gentle smile. "Aside from her immense strength, Junior Sister Lingli gets along very well with us and is highly valued within the sect."

Xiong Lingli stood nearby, smiling a little bashfully, like a child who had just received praise.

After a few more pleasantries, Li Changshou asked where Xiong Lingli's master was, stating he wished to pay his respects. (This was merely to maintain his persona as a cousin.)

However, the Carefree Immortal Sect disciples immediately looked awkward and stammered.

Xiong Lingli pouted and whispered, "Cousin, I accidentally injured my master, so he couldn't make it this time..."

Li Changshou was speechless.

"Cousin, how on earth did you injure your own master?"

The young disciples nearby also looked quite embarrassed, but the gentle senior female disciple still said, "The sect has already disciplined Lingli for that... May I ask for your name, fellow Daoist?"

Li Changshou smiled and replied, "Changshou, Li Changshou, a disciple of the Immortal Ascension Sect."

"So, Lingli, will you be catching up with your cousin here?"

"Can I?"

Xiong Lingli's eyes immediately lit up, and she asked in a soft voice.

The Carefree Immortal Sect disciples all nodded in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they had practiced many times.

Seeing this, Li Changshou vaguely understood something.

So, Xiong Lingli stayed to catch up. Li Changshou began to transmit his voice, emphasizing to her the importance of him being a cousin and not the Sea God. He also fabricated a simple cousin story spanning the Nanshanbuzhou, titled "Second Aunt's Far-Off Marriage," basing it on Xiongzhai Village's geography and Xiong Lingli's mother.

Xiong Lingli took out a cushion the size of a mattress and sat obediently beside Li Changshou. Because her thighs were too thick to sit comfortably cross-legged, Xiong Lingli simply sat down, curling her legs, and used her extra-large, iron-clad "tender hands" to hold down the hem of her battle skirt.

Nearby, Jiu Jiu initially wanted to rush over out of curiosity, but remembering Little Ling'e's instructions before their departure, she could only shake her head and sit there, bored, wiggling her leg. This also made Li Changshou feel a little strange.

Yuqin Xuanya, on the other hand, was impressive.

'Senior Brother Changshou's cousin... she's also so outstanding.'

She thought for a moment and decided not to approach, allowing the siblings a brief moment of warmth.

When Uncle-master Jiuwu walked back from a distance, he was startled, initially thinking a rockery had appeared beside Li Changshou. On closer inspection, however, he saw a small girl's head on top of what he thought was a rockery.

He was both surprised and slightly horrified.

The short Daoist immediately frowned and concentrated, noticing that many eyes, both overt and covert, from the Carefree Immortal Sect, their own Immortal Ascension Sect, and several other Daoist lineages nearby, were fixed on Li Changshou and the peculiar girl.

He had only been gone for a little while; what had happened? Could it be that this girl, seeing Junior Nephew Changshou's refined features, dashing appearance, resourcefulness, and courtesy, had forced her way over?

How could this be? What about Little Jiu's lifelong happiness!

"Ahem," Jiuwu coughed and continued to walk forward.

As Jiuwu drew closer, he heard the girl muttering, full of grievances.

"...Later, my parents stopped liking me and just tossed me to the north, telling me not to come back until I found a master. I searched and searched, but nobody would take me in. Thankfully, I'd learned to hunt, so I could forage in the mountains and roast meat to keep from starving. And Cousin, do you know, some large wild beasts can even transform into humans!"

Jiuwu stumbled, and Li Changshou also found his breathing uneven, coughing a few times.

This must be...

A witch-human hunting demons, seeking human Daoist traditions for immortal cultivation?

Xiong Lingli continued to mutter plaintively:

"Later, an immortal sect finally took me in. They made me a handyman, but they gave me food, so of course I had to agree. Mother always said eating only meat isn't good. But later, while hunting in the mountains, I accidentally roasted and ate their guardian spirit beast. I didn't know at the time that living creatures in those mountains couldn't be eaten, so they kicked me out again..."

Eating a guardian spirit beast by mistake and then being kicked out of the immortal sect?

Jiuwu quietly sat down nearby, continuing to listen intently.

Xiong Lingli sighed again and continued to recount her arduous journey of seeking a master.

"Later, I spent a few years in the mountains, hunting until there was no prey left in one area, so I figured I should find another place... A person can't just starve to death, right! One day, I saw a huge snake fighting with an old immortal. Following my father's instructions, I picked up a small stone and threw it from the side, knocking the snake down. Then, Cousin, guess what happened?"

Li Changshou smiled and asked, "Did the old immortal take you as a disciple?"

"Mhm!" Xiong Lingli nodded vigorously. "That was my first master!"

"First!"

Li Changshou choked, nearly kneeling before this large young woman beside him.

Xiong Lingli sighed and continued:

"Since I went up the mountain, I've had four masters already... My first master said we were fated, took me back to the mountains, taught me immortal techniques, and let me study spells."

At this point, Xiong Lingli was already at the first stage of the Void Return Realm. Considering the time, her cultivation talent was indeed that of a high-quality immortal seedling.

"And then?" Li Changshou asked with a strange expression.

Xiong Lingli muttered, "When I was learning to ride the clouds, I accidentally fell and smashed my master's alchemy furnace. I panicked and tried to secretly toss the furnace into the back mountains, but I accidentally threw it with too much force and knocked out my master, who was cultivating on a tree. Then... two old men from the immortal sect came to talk to me and made me take a second master..."

Li Changshou couldn't help but put a hand to his forehead.

Although the witch-human bloodline was human, it possessed half-witch power. At the moment of a combat power burst, even a wary opponent could be strong enough to destroy a Soul Immortal and injure a True Immortal.

Xiong Lingli's first master apparently didn't think it through, directly taking a half-witch as a disciple...

"Sigh," Xiong Lingli sighed mournfully. "Perhaps when this is all over and I go back, I'll be getting my fifth master... Cousin, what do you think I should do about this?"

Li Changshou thought for a moment, then transmitted his voice: "Don't worry about anything else for now. Just silently recite 'cousin' three hundred times in your heart."

"Okay!" Xiong Lingli nodded in agreement and obediently began reciting it silently in her heart.

Afterwards, Li Changshou painstakingly leaned to the side, finally finding the "small and nimble" Uncle-master Jiuwu on the other side of the "large and sturdy" Xiong Lingli.

Li Changshou transmitted his voice: "Uncle-master, do you... perhaps need a disciple?"

Jiuwu immediately trembled, his face turning slightly pale.