"Master, you have such a background?" Ling Zhou's voice carried a hint of pride. "It's nothing. There are still many surprises about me that you, my little disciple, don't know."
However, Shen Qing was indeed hearing the name of the Ling family in Guangfu for the first time. After listening to Li Xian's explanation, she felt that the Ling family was a very special existence both in the mortal world and on the Nine Desolate Continent.
They had always taken it as their duty to protect the common people for generations. The accumulated merits on them were profound, which also blessed the descendants of the Ling family.
"But won't the emperors in the mortal world be jealous of the Ling family?"
The Nine Desolate Continent was separated from the mortal world by the Kunlun Mountains. One could say that these two places were completely independent and parallel, just like another world.
Only those with spiritual bones or guided by great powers could pass through the Kunlun Mountains to reach the Nine Desolate Continent. Shen Qing was one who had been guided here at that time.
When she came to the Nine Desolate Continent, she was still young. All she remembered about the mortal world was Xiaolin Village. She also knew that the emperors in the mortal world were extremely suspicious. How could they allow a subject to be more powerful than themselves?
Ling Zhou explained, "We of the Ling family possess merits because of the trust of the common people. But the emperors are surrounded by the aura of kings and the purple qi of the human emperor. How can we compare with them? Moreover, even if the disciples of the Ling family have high cultivation levels, they still have to kneel in front of the emperors and claim themselves as subjects. The emperors will only feel proud."
"As long as the Ling family exists, Guangfu doesn't have to worry about natural disasters and man - made disasters. Although the emperors are jealous, they won't take action against the Ling family."
Shen Qing understood little about the matters of power and intrigue. Although she understood Ling Zhou's explanation, she didn't dare to agree.
Once the feeling of jealousy arose, over time, the Ling family would become a thorn in the emperors' hearts. It was only a matter of time before they were removed. Presumably, the current head of the Ling family also had this conjecture, which was why they appeared in public. In the future on the Nine Desolate Continent, the Ling family would probably get involved.
Otherwise, just based on Elder Yaoyue's words, how could the people of the Ling family believe it and send someone here?
It should be known that Ling Zhou was still "missing and his life or death unknown" at present.
"Shen Qing, take out Bishuo."
"Bishuo?" Bishuo had already been taken back by Ling Zhou. Where could she get Bishuo from...
Shen Qing was about to call Ling Zhou, but suddenly Bishuo appeared, as if flying out of Shen Qing's storage bag.
The people from the Ling family slowly landed from the air, and the crowd unconsciously made way for them.
The people sent by the Ling family were all girls. Without exception, they were all very beautiful and young. One could tell that their eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Ling Zhou's.
The leading girl immediately noticed Bishuo and looked a bit excited.
"Look, it's Grand Uncle Third's natal sword!"
"Where? Where?"
All the girls looked over excitedly and ran up to Shen Qing.
"Fairy, may I ask if you are the disciple of our Grand Uncle Third, Ling Zhou?"
"Cousin, what are you asking blindly for? This fairy is holding Grand Uncle Third's Bishuo. She must be his disciple!"
"Eldest cousin, say something!"
"Hey! Isn't that our future Grand Aunt Third? We can just ask Grand Aunt Third and we'll know."
"Yes, yes, cousin, you're so smart!"
The girls were chattering. Before Shen Qing could figure out who was whose cousin and who was whose younger cousin, the girls who had been surrounding her all ran in front of Elder Yaoyue.
But these girls looked very respectful in front of Elder Yaoyue. They kept calling her Grand Aunt Third, which made Yaoyue blush.
"Alright, alright. Shen Qing is indeed Ling Zhou's disciple. You've found the right person. By the way, you're here to deliver the wedding gifts, right?"
Elder Yaoyue really couldn't stand the repeated calls of Grand Aunt Third, so she had to change the topic and shift the girls' attention back to Shen Qing.
They warmly led Shen Qing to the several boxes. The leading girl said, "Disciple of Grand Uncle Third, these are the wedding gifts from the Ling family. They should have been delivered when you got engaged, but it took our great - great - great - grandfather too long to prepare the gifts, so it's one month late."
"We didn't expect that you've already advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. We'll send you another batch later."
While thanking them, Shen Qing looked at Li Xian helplessly.
But Li Xian just gave her a helpless look, which made Shen Qing want to cry.
"Master, what kind of family hierarchy do you have?"
Ling Zhou was a bit helpless. "Not everyone in the Ling family practices cultivation. Some with only Qi - training levels have lived for one or two hundred years, while some without spiritual roots died early. So the family hierarchy is a bit chaotic. Actually, I'm not really their grand uncle third. It's just that I've lived for a long time and they don't know how to address me, so these little girls call me grand uncle third."
"Sure enough, the Ling family is really... special..." Shen Qing forced a couple of laughs and then opened the first box under the expectant gazes of the little girls.
They had brought a total of eight boxes. When the first box was opened, there were a lot of cured sausages and bacon inside. The fragrance wafted out, making Xian Shiyu's eyes widen.
It was really... so fragrant!
"These cured sausages were sun - dried by our great - great - grandmother herself. They're all for you!"
The little girls stared at the cured sausages eagerly and even swallowed a few times. Their faces were full of the words "I want to eat".
Shen Qing was also attracted by the fragrance and couldn't help looking at Li Xian. Li Xian received Shen Qing's message and immediately started thinking in his mind about how to cook these cured sausages deliciously.
The second box was opened, and there were chilled fruits inside.
These mortal fruits were perishable, so there were several formation stones specially placed on the box to keep the fruits fresh and give them a frozen taste.
"These fruit trees were planted by our eldest cousin himself. He picked the best fruits. They're guaranteed to be fresh. Fruits like lychees, longans, and pineapples are so sweet and delicious."
The little girl explained, and her eyes never left these fruits and cured sausages.
"Pfft, the Ling family only sends such shabby gifts. It's so laughable!"
Someone sneered and whispered to mock the Ling family's gifts as being petty.
Shen Qing looked over unhappily. She never thought there was anything wrong with these gifts. Instead, they were full of the smoke and fire of home, making Shen Qing feel extremely warm.
True Person Heng Ling, who had originally had a gloomy face, also became faintly disdainful when he saw these gifts.
Although he felt Ling Zhou's aura on Shen Qing, he always firmly believed that Ling Zhou was dead. That aura was just what Bishuo had沾染. He couldn't even sense the sword spirit of Bishuo. One could imagine how could Ling Zhou have escaped unscathed.
Just relying on a useless sword, the people of the Ling family in Guangfu actually recognized Shen Qing's identity. It was simply a joke.
But now it seemed that either the Ling family was about to decline or they simply looked down on Shen Qing, sending such petty gifts.
So, True Person Heng Ling couldn't help but step forward and "calmly" said, "Shen Qing, if you want this kind of thing, there's no shortage of it on my Worry - Free Peak. Why do you humiliate yourself?"
He Yu also stepped forward. His eyes swept over the boxes and were full of disgust.
"What kind of Ling family in Guangfu? It just sounds good. It's not half as good as the He family."