The girl's face was full of surprise.
Xu Taiping paused for a moment, then looked at the girl with a regretful expression and said:
"But the woman I met is already at least forty years old."
Upon hearing this, the girl's joyful expression immediately turned to disappointment, while Lu Chen's face flashed with a look of relief.
Xu Taiping observed the changes in their expressions.
"You little brat, how dare you play tricks on my junior sister, watch me—"
Lu Chen was about to scold Xu Taiping, but was stopped again by the girl.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your information. Here are thirty merit coins. Please take them as payment for the door repair."
The girl, somewhat disappointed, took out a money bag and threw it to Xu Taiping.
"Thirty merit coins, more than enough to fix your broken door. You should be happy about it."
Lu Chen glared at Xu Taiping fiercely.
"Senior Brother, don't make things difficult for this Fellow Daoist anymore."
The girl, with a somewhat disappointed look, persuaded Lu Chen.
"Since you've spoken, I'll let this brat off. Don't be sad, Junior Sister. If we can't find her here, we'll go to Qingfeng Gorge."
Lu Chen said with a smile to the girl.
"Alright, that's the only way."
The girl nodded and turned to leave.
Xu Taiping suddenly called out to the girl.
"What is it, Fellow Daoist?"
The girl turned her head, looking at Xu Taiping with some confusion.
"What's your name, Sister?"
"Do you deserve to know my junior sister's name?"
Lu Chen, a disciple of Wufeng, glared fiercely.
"If I meet the woman you mentioned next time, I can tell her that you came looking for her."
Xu Taiping answered very seriously.
"Fellow Daoist, my surname is Liu, and my name is Zijin. If you really meet my sister, please tell her that Zijin has been looking for her. No matter what trouble she encounters, Zijin will be there for her, and she doesn't need to be afraid."
The girl, hearing this, looked delighted and quickly requested Xu Taiping.
"Alright." Xu Taiping nodded. "If I meet her, I will tell her your message word for word."
Liu Zijin clasped her hands and bowed deeply to Xu Taiping.
"Let's go, Junior Sister. The Grand Senior Brother and the senior brothers from Liufeng are waiting for us near Qingfeng Gorge. We'll be scolded if we're late."
Lu Chen glared at Xu Taiping and then urged Liu Zijin.
"Alright, let's go, Senior Brother."
Liu Zijin nodded and left Qingzhu Residence with Lu Chen.
Once they left, Xu Taiping let out a long breath. Despite his calm appearance, he had been quite nervous inside.
After testing Lu Chen's reaction, he was certain that if he had shown any sign of recognizing Liu Qingmei or wanting to tell Liu Zijin something, Lu Chen would have attacked him.
Although he didn't know Lu Chen's exact cultivation level, after breaking through to the Sea Realm, he could clearly sense Lu Chen's powerful true qi fluctuations.
"If I were to fight him head-on, what are my chances of winning? Forty percent? No, probably less than twenty percent."
Xu Taiping thought to himself.
The pressure Lu Chen gave him was many times greater than that of the ghost. If they were to fight, he wouldn't even have a chance to make a move.
Therefore, under these circumstances, it was unwise to hand the Xunchen Incense to Liu Zijin.
However, by observing Lu Chen and Liu Zijin's reactions, Xu Taiping confirmed something indirectly:
"Liu Qingmei's sister's words were true. The scene in the Xunchen Incense was real, and she was indeed harmed by Lu Chen."
Xu Taiping walked to the gate of the courtyard.
"I need to find a way to hand the Xunchen Incense to Zijin Sister when Lu Chen is not around, so she can see his true face. However, their relationship doesn't seem very close, at least indicating that Zijin Sister hasn't been deceived by Lu Chen's sweet talk..."
Looking in the direction where Liu Zijin and Lu Chen had left, Xu Taiping muttered to himself.
"They said they were going to Qingfeng Gorge. Could they also be investigating the tiger demon?"
Xu Taiping suddenly recalled the conversation between Lu Chen and Liu Zijin, and a thought flashed in his mind.
The most vicious demon in this area was the tiger demon. It made sense for Liu Zijin to blame her sister's disappearance on the tiger demon.
"If I arrive at Qingfeng Gorge ahead of time, I might have a chance to meet Zijin Sister, but that would mean risking an encounter with the tiger demon."
He began to weigh the risks of going to Qingfeng Gorge in his mind.
Xu Taiping had indeed promised Liu Qingmei to deliver the Xunchen Incense to Liu Zijin, but the premise was that his own life would be safe.
At that moment, a large white-headed eagle landed at the gate of Qingzhu Residence.
"Xu Taiping of Qingzhu Residence, here is what you bought. It costs twenty merit coins, and you need to pay one more."
The white-headed eagle tilted its head, and the package it held in its mouth was thrown high and landed accurately in front of Xu Taiping.
Compared to Baihong, the voice of this white-headed eagle was much younger, indicating it was not very old.
Xu Taiping reached out to catch the package and then took out a money bag he had prepared and threw it to the white-headed eagle.
The package contained the hundred or so arrows he had bought, a set of leather armor suitable for mountain travel, and some miscellaneous daily necessities.
He usually bought these things every three months.
Just as Xu Taiping was about to return to his room, he noticed that the young white-headed eagle did not leave immediately after receiving the merit coin but instead stood there, looking him over.
"Is there anything else, Brother Eagle?"
Xu Taiping asked curiously.
"I heard from Father that your roasted yellow sheep legs are very delicious. Did you roast any today?"
The white-headed eagle asked Xu Taiping directly.
"Father? Is your father Uncle Baihong?"
Xu Taiping took a closer look and suddenly realized that the young white-headed eagle bore a resemblance to Uncle Bai.
"That's right, Baihong is my father. My name is Baiyu. Father often talks about you, and if someone didn't know, they might think you were his son."
Baiyu replied with a hint of jealousy.
Xu Taiping smiled awkwardly.
"Baiyu Brother, I haven't been able to hunt any yellow sheep recently. I'll definitely invite you to a feast when I do."
He extended an invitation to Baiyu.
"Why wait? It's just a yellow sheep. I have nothing to do today, so I'll go and hunt one for you. Just wait here!"
Baiyu said with a proud expression.
"Alright, Baiyu Brother, wait a moment!"
Xu Taiping was about to nod in agreement. He was willing to cook a meal for Uncle Bai's child, but as he was about to speak, a thought flashed in his mind.
"What, are you changing your mind?"
Baiyu's tone was somewhat unhappy.
Xu Taiping waved his hands and then explained to Baiyu:
"Baiyu Brother, you don't know. To make the best roasted yellow sheep legs, selecting the best meat is more important than the roasting technique. So I want to ask Baiyu Brother to take me along to select the meat myself."