Zombie Bodyguard-Chapter 1527 - 1524: Claiming Orthodoxy

Lin Tian looked around and found that there were still quite a few empty seats. Key figures from several ancient martial arts families hadn’t appeared yet, including Situ Ming from the Situ family, Wang Wanxi from the Wang family, the middle-aged man from the Yuwen family, and of course, the Pavilion Master of Qingshuang Pavilion hadn’t shown up either.

While scanning the hall, someone suddenly patted his shoulder. Lin Tian turned around and saw it was Ghost, who had a face full of smiles.

"Damn, you still have the nerve to smile. Why did you run off on your own first?" Lin Tian said grumpily.

"I didn’t have a choice. Aunt Wang took the two of us into the inner pavilion directly. The inner pavilion doesn’t allow any communication devices, so I didn’t have a chance to inform you. But I knew Brother Tian would definitely come in, so I left you the car keys," Ghost explained, looking rather helpless.

Lin Tian was even more puzzled and curiously asked, "This visit to Qingshuang Pavilion was promised by Aunt Wang, why is she unwilling to take me into the inner pavilion now?" Ghost shrugged his shoulders, indicating he didn’t know.

"Never mind, since we’re already in, I’m not interested in the Sword Appreciation Gathering anyway. How about wandering around and seeing where that girl, Second Miss, is?" Lin Tian thought for a moment and decided not to worry about it. He knew Aunt Wang meant no harm, and surely had her reasons.

"Brother Tian, Aunt Wang instructed us not to wander around. It’s dangerous if we accidentally enter the forbidden area," Ghost advised.

"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Go keep an eye on Yun Xiaotian, so he doesn’t get bullied," Lin Tian waved his hand and turned to walk out of the crowd, without attracting anyone’s attention.

The territory of Qingshuang Pavilion was large, occupying the entire valley. Apart from those wooden towers and pavilions, Lin Tian also saw some fields. These fields weren’t planted with rice or wheat, but medicinal herbs; they were herb fields.

As he walked past the herb field, Lin Tian seemed to feel a fresh scent floating in the air, as if filled with spiritual energy. He found the stream in the valley and walked upstream, feeling cooler the farther he went.

He couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the stream water, and felt a kind of icy coldness.

What a strange water, Lin Tian thought to himself. It’s summer now, the hottest time of year, with the sun overhead, yet the stream is much cooler than the air, as if there’s an ice spring upstream.

With questions in mind, Lin Tian walked a few hundred meters more, turned a forest, and saw a mountain in the distance, which was connected to a cliff, forming a whole.

Could this be the end of the stream? Lin Tian mused, planning to continue forward when four women in white suddenly jumped out of the woods, each carrying a longsword, blocking his path.

"This is a forbidden area, please stop," one of the women said coldly.

"Forbidden area? The scenery here is so beautiful, why not let people visit?" Lin Tian played dumb, pretending not to know.

"A forbidden area is a forbidden area, there’s no need for many reasons," the woman frowned and said.

"Alright, I won’t go in, I’ll just wander nearby, won’t make things difficult for the four beautiful ladies," Lin Tian showed he meant no harm and then turned to walk back.

Once Lin Tian walked away, one of the women slightly frowned and said, "Sister Lan, today’s Sword Appreciation Gathering is mainly attended by the leading families, they all know our Qingshuang Pavilion’s rules, why did this person come to the forbidden area?"

The young woman addressed as Sister Lan shook her head and said, "I don’t know either, as long as he doesn’t enter the forbidden area, we don’t need to worry about him."

Even though Lin Tian walked far away, he heard their conversation clearly. Seeing there was no useful information, he headed out.

Before reaching the square, a bell rang, and a group of people came out of a pavilion. The pavilion wasn’t far from Lin Tian, and he immediately saw Wang Wanxi in this group.

Looking at the other people, most were familiar faces, including the leaders from the major families like Situ Ming and others, as well as Tang Ziqing. Walking at the forefront was a woman, dressed in plain clothes, her hair simply tied behind her, age indefinable.

She had no decorations on her body or head but exuded a transcendent temperament that surpassed those adorned with jewels. At first glance, she seemed to have no presence, yet those walking with her seemed wary of getting close.

Some people were clearly older than her but displayed subtle respect towards her. Even Tang Ziqing, typically cold, restrained her arrogance in front of this woman.

Walking alongside the plain-clothed woman were two people; one was a woman Lin Tian recognized as Ling Zishan, and the other was an elderly man around sixty, who, along with Ling Zishan, weren’t affected by the plain-clothed woman’s invisible aura.

Seeing the elderly man, a scene flashed through Lin Tian’s mind. A few days ago, at the entrance of Qinglan Garden, he saw a group led by this elderly man. He appeared to have a significant background but hadn’t shown himself at any major events these past days.

The Langya Pavilion auction, Wang Wanxi advancing to Innate, the emergence of the Heavenly Tribulation Sword, all these were important events, yet the elderly man hadn’t appeared, nor had the young people around him.

Today, the elderly man appeared at the Sword Appreciation Gathering, giving Lin Tian a bad premonition. Their purpose seemed different from other families, aiming directly for the Hua Ying Sword.

While Lin Tian was scrutinizing the plain-clothed woman and her group, the woman seemed to sense something and turned her head towards Lin Tian’s direction, startling him, and he sidestepped behind a big tree.

What powerful spiritual sense, she could even feel this, Lin Tian marveled.

Once this group entered the square, Lin Tian slowly walked over, choosing an inconspicuous corner and blending in with the crowd.

The appearance of the plain-clothed woman’s group immediately became the focus of the entire venue. Those originally seated didn’t dare to appear disrespectful, standing up and clasping fists in greeting.

"Master Tang..."

"Mr. Ji..."

It turned out the plain-clothed woman was the Pavilion Master of Qingshuang Pavilion, no wonder her status was so esteemed, Lin Tian suddenly understood.

And what was the identity of the "Mr. Ji" appearing with Master Tang? Lin Tian was puzzled, reaching out to pat the person beside him and asked, "Brother, who is that Mr. Ji?"

The person he patted was a young guy with a crew cut, looking very spirited. He turned around and looked at Lin Tian, his eyes like looking at an alien, "Brother, are you from Mars? You don’t know the Ji family?"

Lin Tian didn’t mind and pretended to be a novice, full of curiosity, "Brother, you may not know, until now I have been focused on cultivation, not concerning myself with outside matters, so I’m not quite familiar with the Ancient Martial World." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Upon hearing he was a novice, the young man nodded understandingly, then said in a know-it-all manner, "The Ji family is called the orthodox of ancient martial arts. Do you know why?"

The young man became excited while speaking, not waiting for Lin Tian to answer, he continued, "Do you know the Ji surname? It’s one of Huaxia’s ancient eight great surnames, a surname of the Five Emperors. The Yellow Emperor’s name was Ji Xuanyuan. It’s said the Ji family descends from Emperor Zhuanxu’s line. If it were ancient times, they would be true nobility."