Chapter 2616 - 2680: Encountering Ma Xingyun
Li Yifei certainly didn’t intend to rush into Ma Village now to confront Ma Xingyun; he just came early to scout ahead. This indeed is Ma Village, but Ma Guang may not necessarily live here. Over the years, there has been very little news about him; whatever news there is may not be accurate either. It was Murong Yuanqing who told him that Ma Guang committed the most killings back then, so he has been in seclusion for years, trying to eliminate his past crimes. As to how effective this is, it’s really unknown.
After repeated analysis, Li Yifei felt that someone like Ma Xingyun had no reason to do such things, yet the reality was right in front of him. Not only did Ma Xingyun do it, but he went excessively overboard with it.
Li Yifei pulled out a bottle of water from his waist, unscrewed it, and took a few gulps. His brow relaxed. Although his body was now impervious to harm, such hot weather was still uncomfortable. Ma Village was not open to outsiders. Li Yifei, looking like a traveler, restrained his aura and stopped to rest not far from Ma Village, occasionally glancing at it like a traveler would.
A family! Li Yifei pondered with emotion. The Ma Village, vague and blurred, seemed hidden in the mist. There was no need to ask to know that formations were concealed here, whether for defense or attack was unknown, but there were certainly formations to obscure the eyes.
What impressed Li Yifei was the people coming out of Ma Village. During this period, there had been twelve people disguised in peasant attire entering and exiting, each with different levels of cultivation.
For even those in peasant attire to have such high levels of cultivation, this was the scenario Li Yifei wanted to see. If the Li family could be like this in a hundred years, it would definitely be a great thing, transforming from a family relying on a few individuals into a cultivator family, allowing it to endure for generations.
With a sigh of emotion, Li Yifei got up to meet a villager who was farming outside the village, smiling as he said, "Uncle!"
The villager had already noticed Li Yifei, and now frowned as he looked at him, saying, "Are you traveling here?"
"Yes, I saw an Arcadia-like oasis from afar, so I rushed over to escape the heat; the sun is too harsh this time of day," Li Yifei replied.
"It’s better not to walk alone in the desert," the villager said.
Li Yifei nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, it’s dangerous."
"Alright, return to where you came from. This is a private place, and we don’t welcome outsiders. It’s easier if you leave on your own instead of us having to drive you away."
"Ah!" Li Yifei looked somewhat incredulous and said, "Can’t I even take a rest here?"
"No, that’s the rule set by our ancestors. Outsiders are not allowed in. Young man, you’d better leave before I have to take action."
"Take action?" Li Yifei seemed not to understand, watching as the other swung the hoe lightly, releasing a streak of True Qi, carving a trench into the ground.
Li Yifei feigned a very shocked expression as he looked at the villager, unable to speak for a long while. Finally, the villager said, "See that? So hurry up and leave; this place isn’t for you."
"Alright, I’ll go now," Li Yifei said.
Just as Li Yifei turned around, he saw several vehicles approaching from the distance, all of them luxurious off-road cars. The farmer thumped his hoe and muttered, "The Young Master is back."
Young Master, Ma Xingyun? Li Yifei raised an eyebrow and turned to look. He was looking for Ma Xingyun, and had happened to meet him now.
Several vehicles came speeding over, with Li Yifei and the farmer standing not far off the roadside. These vehicles came roaring past, suddenly screeching to a halt, with the ensuing vehicles making high-pitched sounds as well. The car doors opened, and a handsome-looking man stepped out, seemingly no older than thirty, possibly even younger. A strong aura emanated from him, and Li Yifei recognized him.
Ma Xingyun was exactly the person Li Yifei was investigating. After getting out of the car, he glanced at the farmer, nodded slightly, and called him Uncle Lio, then fixated his eyes on Li Yifei.
Indeed, he had suddenly stopped and gotten out because of Li Yifei.
Ma Village was a very isolated village, and its inhabitants were all relatives living around Ma Guang, making them very wary of outsiders and generally not open to them. Naturally, this was also the case now, but this wouldn’t warrant the Young Master stopping to check an outsider.
The farmer called Uncle Lio hurriedly stepped forward, smiling as he said to Ma Xingyun, "Young Master, this person is a traveler, and I’ve already told him to leave promptly!"
Li Yifei watched the person. On hearing this, Ma Xingyun slowly shook his head, looking at Li Yifei with an amused gaze and slowly asked, "Are you a traveler?"
"We are all travelers; life is but a journey, and everyone is a passerby," Li Yifei replied, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Hahaha!" Ma Xingyun, as if hearing an exceedingly funny joke, burst into laughter. After he had laughed enough, he squinted at Li Yifei, saying word by word, "You are not a traveler."
"Why not?" Li Yifei countered.
"Traveling, especially traveling alone, no one is as foolish as you!"
"Foolish?" Li Yifei seemed puzzled.
Ma Xingyun said, "Exactly, people normally fear death more when traveling alone, especially in this desert, but you’re not afraid, not now either."
"In the desert, I’m afraid of snakes, afraid of poisonous insects, afraid of wolves, but why should I be afraid of people?" Li Yifei countered.
Ma Xingyun chuckled, a few cars behind him slowed to a stop. Most of these people had cultivation, albeit at varying levels, with Ma Xingyun being the strongest. No wonder he could easily defeat Laxman; Ma Xingyun’s cultivation was approaching the realm of an Innate Expert. Considering his age, having such cultivation was truly impressive.
Of course, he couldn’t compare to Li Yifei, who was an anomaly. Yifei’s cultivation speed was within the normal range, but he seemed to be rocketing upward, like a rocket climbing higher and higher.
"Is this interesting?" Ma Xingyun said with a sneer, "A person who’s not a traveler claiming to be a traveler is peculiar in itself."
Li Yifei shook his head, seemingly unwilling to argue. At this moment, Ma Xingyun laughed wildly, and with great arrogance, leaned forward with squinting eyes, saying, "If I’m not mistaken, you must be the legendary young talent Li Yifei."
Boom! Li Yifei, who was always knowledgeable and experienced, didn’t expect to be recognized. He was momentarily unprepared, his eyes showing surprise as he glanced at Ma Xingyun. Li Yifei instinctively wanted to shake his head but quickly stopped.
"Why do you say that?"
Ma Xingyun shook his head with a smile, "Is it that difficult? An Innate Expert, hiding your energy and spirit, and bored enough to come all the way to Ma Village; who else could it be but you? Besides, I’ve researched experts worldwide, and as an Internet Celebrity, recognizing you at a glance isn’t hard, is it?"
Damn, Li Yifei wanted to shout it out loud in his heart; the other party actually recognized him. Li Yifei could confirm the other wasn’t bluffing, even though he had disguised his face. Still, to an expert of the same level, this disguise was useless.
But Ma Xingyun’s cultivation surely wasn’t as good as his own; how did he see through it? While Li Yifei pondered this, he heard Ma Xingyun say eerily, "An Innate Expert travels thousands of miles to Ma Village pretending to be a traveler, tsk, and doesn’t even act the part!"
"What if I say you got the wrong person?" Li Yifei steadied himself within a few breaths and smiled at the other.
Ma Xingyun nodded as if he understood, "Sure, of course!"
After saying that, he glanced at the people behind him and said casually, "Family rules state that offenders are to be sentenced to death. Someone take him away, drag him to the back, and feed him to the wolves."
Li Yifei squinted, knowing Ma Xingyun was arrogant but didn’t expect him to be even more ruthless, ready to feed someone to the wolves at the slightest disagreement... Seeing this stance, Li Yifei didn’t doubt he was serious.
He exhaled a rough breath through his nostrils, saying, "Ma Xingyun, is this interesting?"
"Li Yifei, it seems not very interesting like this, but why are you in my Ma Village?" Ma Xingyun took a step forward, his momentum suddenly pressing down. Li Yifei felt as if a wall had fallen in front of him.
But it was only a wall; Li Yifei didn’t care. He narrowed his eyes, staring at Ma Xingyun, and said after a few seconds, "I said I came to travel."
"Too bad I don’t believe it. Haha, the nationally famous young talent, top expert, future hope, why would you come to my Ma Village for tourism for no reason? Do you think there’s any logic in that?"
"If not, can you think of a reason?"
Ma Xingyun’s expression became darker, his sinister eyes fixed on Li Yifei like a hungry wolf, staring for a full minute before suddenly moving aside, pointing toward the village, and saying, "Since you’re here, I’ll invite you into the village. Do you dare?"
Into the village? Li Yifei thought to himself: This counters his original plan too much. Originally, he just wanted to come and see, hoping to find a clue, and if not, at least he would know the location. But instead, he directly ran into Ma Xingyun, who even recognized him.
This was definitely bad luck, too coincidental, so Li Yifei’s plan was disrupted. Now the other party invited him into the village. Li Yifei wasn’t worried about his safety; the village had a Formation Method and cultivators, even many cultivators, but trapping him wasn’t necessarily easy. The key was, this disrupted the investigation.
Enter or not? Li Yifei raised his hand to rub his nose and laughed, saying, "Why wouldn’t I dare? Is Ma Village a dragon’s den or tiger’s lair, so I can’t enter?"
"It’s not a dragon’s den or tiger’s lair, but it’s also not a place for you to act recklessly." After saying that, Ma Xingyun returned to his car first, without letting Li Yifei, and sped off with a stomp of the accelerator.
Several cars sped away instantly, raising a cloud of dust. Li Yifei’s gaze was fixed, and the farmer beside him was looking at him in surprise. As the cars went far, he seemed to recover and said, "You... Young Master invited you in, you should go!"