Chapter 31.4 - As his guardian, I refuse.

Li Xinwen and Sun Xiao followed Min Shaotian, and when they got closer to Xue Jun and Xue Rui, only then did Li Xinwen remembered about them. Looking at Xue Rui's figure, he suddenly has a feeling of guilt. "Rui-ge, how are you feeling?" Li Xinwen asked. Though he does want to teach Xue Rui a lesson, he didn't plan it to be like this. He knew Xue Rui is only a mortal man so if he were to use his full strength, then that is simply bullying the weak. That was not Li Xinwen's nature.

"I'm okay. Just a bit cold," Xue Rui replied. "Xinwen, earlier..."

"I will explain later. I apologize for implicating you along, Rui-ge," Li Xinwen said.

"Don't worry about it," Xue Rui smiled at Li Xinwen.

"What do you mean don't worry? If I didn't save you earlier and brought you out, you would've been frozen to death!" Xue Jun said angrily.

"First young master Xue is right. Rui-ge, I wasn't careful earlier. Tell me what you want I will make it up to you in later times," Li Xinwen agreed to what Xue Jun said and even offered to make it up to Xue Rui.

Of course, Xue Rui immediately decided to take advantage of this matter. "Then, how about a kiss? Your kiss will surely warm me up!"

"... Think again and tell me later," Li Xinwen said as he turned to walk away.

"Idiot," Xue Jun muttered under his breath as he watched his younger brother act like a fool.

"Ah, Xinwen, wait!" Xue Rui quickly rushed over to Li Xinwen's side. "How about holding hands?" Xue Rui asked. "Holding hands should be fine, right?"

Li Xinwen thought for a while before he held out his hand for the other to hold. "Only until we get inside," Li Xinwen told Xue Rui.

Xue Rui didn't dare to ask for more and he simply took Li Xinwen's hand in his. It may have only been a few days but for Xue Rui, it felt like an eternity since the last time he was this close to Li Xinwen.

Sun Xiao saw the two holding hands and his heart feels uncomfortable. Xue Jun was also the same, though he has mixed feelings about this scene. For one, he knew that person is not the Li Xinwen that he and his brother had fallen in love with, but it still feels like watching the one you love walk away with your brother.

"Xiao Rui... once you find out he's not who you think he is, I hope you won't be too heartbroken..." Xue Jun murmured in a soft voice before he finally followed the rest of the group.

Min Shaotian who was leading them naturally heard everything that was said. But since he has little understanding of what was happening, he didn't say anything lest he agitated the young man again. Sun Xiao is truly a rare find, and Min Shaotian truly wants the boy as his disciple. Although Xue Jun is one of his best disciples, in the end, the cultivation method that he has does not suit Xue Jun since Xue Jun leans more towards the Yin energy while all the cultivation method he has are only compatible with those who lean toward the Yang energy.

'It truly is a shame,' he lamented. 'But maybe this Mr Li can help him in his cultivation. After all, their body condition seems to be the same.'

They entered the main residence and were greeted by a middle-aged woman who was currently cleaning the entrance. "Ah, master. Are these four your guest?" the woman asked.

"En. Go and prepare the tea for us and deliver it to the eastern courtyard," Min Shaotian replied.

The woman bowed her head before she hurriedly walked away. Min Shaotian continued to lead them deeper into the residence until they reached another courtyard. When they stepped into the courtyard, Li Xinwen felt that he had entered a barrier. Not only that, the spiritual energy here is much denser than the outside, though compared to inside his dimension, it is still less pure.

"This is my private courtyard. No one is allowed here without permission," Min Shaotian told the rest. "Jun, this is also your first time here, right?"

"Yes," Xue Jun replied.

"En. Do you notice anything different?"

Xue Jun closed his eyes and began to feel around him. "There is more spiritual energies here."

"That's right. Now go into that room over there," Min Shaotian pointed at a door with his cane. "Inside you will see my grandson. Don't bother him but you can cultivate there without worrying about being disturbed. The rest of you, follow me."

Xue Jun separated from the group and went to the room that Min Shaotian had told him earlier. Li Xinwen and the rest continued to follow Min Shaotian to another room. This room was quite huge and there was a small wooden coffee table in the middle. Min Shaotian went over and took a seat near the coffee table before he gestured for them to sit at the opposite side. "Please have a seat."

Xue Rui took the lead and sits down near the end of the table, then he pulled Li Xinwen to sit down beside him. This action made Li Xinwen frown, but since he was still feeling a bit guilty for almost 'killing' Xue Rui earlier, he stays quiet and obediently sat down beside the male. Sun Xiao naturally sits down beside Li Xinwen's other side and finally, Min Shaotian speaks up again.

"I will get right to the point. I want the boy to be my direct disciple," Min Shaotian said with a serious tone.

"As his guardian, I refuse," came Li Xinwen's direct reply.

"Why? It would be beneficial if you let me train him."

"Chen Jingguo," Li Xinwen uttered only one name in reply and Min Shaotian immediately understood.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips before he massaged his temple. "Right, I should explain to you about that first... earlier, do you know why I thought you were a demonic cultivator?" Min Shaotian asked.

"Is it because Xue Jun told you I have only woken up from my comatose recently? And then my cultivation rose very quickly?" Li Xinwen asked back and Min Shaotian nods his head. Li Xinwen didn't say anything else and Min Shaotian waited for a while before finally asking.

"Are you not going to explain?"

"What is there to explain. I can only say my method is different than yours and it is very compatible with me, which is why my cultivation level can soar by leaps and bounds," Li Xinwen replied. "Now, back to the original discussion, Mr Min. Chen Jingguo. If you disliked demonic cultivator, why is he here?"

"Because I'm trying to smoke out the rest."

The reply was short, but it told Li Xinwen a lot. 'So, there are more cultivators in this world? And there seems to be a group of demonic cultivator too.'

"What I'm about to tell you, you must not speak of it anywhere else. If you do, your own life will end up being in danger," Min Shaotian said.

"Danger? Are you saying that someone will come to kill us?" Xue Rui asked. Though he had seen a lot of miraculous things today, it was still hard for him to accept it all in one day. After all, he was raised not to believe any nonsense, and only believe in science. Of course, after today, he would need to reorganize his thought and the way he sees the world will change.

"Killing you would be mercy by them. Rather than killing you, they will simply take your soul and refine them for their own use. Then, you will not be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation at all."

After the word was said, the room fell into complete silence. Sun Xiao appeared slightly fearful while Li Xinwen had a grim expression. He didn't know how strong the demonic cultivator is, so he wasn't sure if he could protect his family if they decided to come after them.

"Don't worry though. As long as you don't have anything of value to them, they won't come out to get you. That is, of course, as long as you keep your mouth shut," Min Shaotian who saw their grim expression decided to try and assure them. "It began around twenty years ago. At the time, my Yuyu was still just a little toddler, barely two years old. His father had just recently found a treasure. We didn't know what it does at first, so we simply took it back home. I called on my friends, and we researched it, but even after a long time, we still couldn't figure it out. Then one day, a friend of mine said he finally figured out on how to activate the treasure..."