As the first floor of Linxian Town, although the name of Hongyun Restaurant is a bit tacky, the business is quite prosperous and lively. Even if a dish costs a sky-high price of one hundred spirit stones, there is still an endless stream of people at the door.

When passing by in the morning, Ming Dai was originally thinking about when she would have spare money and would bring her apprentices to try new things and see the world. Unexpectedly, she sat in the private room by the window on the first floor in the afternoon.

But at this time she was not in the mood to enjoy the food.

Until a moment later, the door opened again, and a male voice came from behind the screen. It was warm and soft, like the morning mountain breeze.

"Thank you very much, Elder Tang, for what happened today."

As the words fell, a wooden wheelchair first appeared in the field of vision. And on the wheelchair sat a man who described himself as sickly.

There was a smile at the corner of his mouth, his peach blossom eyes were slightly curved, the ends of his eyes were raised, and he looked very gentle. But if you look closely, there is no smile in his eyebrows, but instead there is a faint alienation in his expression.

If there is mist in the distant mountains, it is as if they are covered with a gauze curtain and cannot see clearly.

It was obviously almost mid-spring, but he was still wrapped in a heavy cloak, and he didn't take it off even after entering the house. The gray fur collar was bunched together, making his face pale and colorless.

This person is the newly appointed head of the Cangcheng clan, Zong Jichu.

He is also the one who invited Mingdai here.

According to etiquette, Mingdai should have stood up to greet him, but at this moment she was still holding Xiao Douding in her arms, so she did not move and just nodded: "I should thank the head of the clan. If it weren't for you guys,

If you keep watch outside, the man will probably run away."

"Elder Tang, there is no need to belittle yourself."

Although he was sitting in a wheelchair, there was no trace of depression on Zong Jichu's face. He was so close that he could even smell the faint scent of sandalwood on his body.

Just like the slow pace when he spoke, it was inexplicably soothing.

"I feel ashamed to say that it is my younger brother who is missing this time. All my men have been pursuing this matter for a long time. If I hadn't happened to meet Elder Tang, I would have missed it again."

While he was talking, the guard pushed him to stop in front of the table and sat face to face with Mingdai.

The table covered the wheelchair, leaving only his thin upper body. At a glance, except for the sick look between his eyebrows, he had a dignified temperament and elegant speech, just like those young men from aristocratic families passing by under the window.

Sensing someone approaching, Xiao Douding, who was lying in Ming Dai's arms, couldn't help but look up. Zong Jichu noticed her gaze, and was slightly startled at first, then showed a kind smile.

But when Xiao Douding saw this, he didn't buy it. He just glanced at him lightly, then quickly turned his head back, buried it in Mingdai's neck, and continued to remain silent.

Zong Jichu was not upset when he saw this.

He laughed and said, "My sister is quite alert."

After the previous incident, everyone knew that the little Douding dressed as a boy in front of them was actually an out-and-out little girl.

Mingdai was a little surprised at first, but when she recalled how Xiao Douding wouldn't let her help take a bath, she suddenly felt that everything made sense.

As for the specific reason why Xiaodouding chose to conceal his identity...

Mingdai's intuition may have something to do with the words she unconsciously muttered, but it was not convenient to do anything since she was outside at the moment, so she didn't ask anything.

Ming Dai explained: "This is not my sister, this is my apprentice."

Zong Jichu was a little surprised when he heard this and raised his eyebrows: "Elder Tang actually accepted a disciple?"

Mingdai: "...let's almost forget it."

Strictly speaking, Xiao Douding and the others should actually be regarded as Ming Dai's nephews, but she was used to calling her apprentices in private, so she just said so.

The left and right are all from their peak.

If her confused senior brother found out, it would probably be too late to be happy.

"I see." Zong Jichu nodded slightly.

He raised his hand to pour a cup of tea for the two of them, and his sleeves moved up along the edge of the table, as if the clouds were passing by.

"I have heard before that there is a young female elder from the Sword Sect who cultivates to achieve success, but because I am not a person in this way, I have never been able to meet her in person."

"I'm lucky enough to meet you today, and I really live up to my reputation."

Mingdai:……

She was tired of saying the word praise.

But from what I heard, it seems that he is not an immortal cultivator? As the successor of a family of immortal cultivators, he is just an ordinary person?

Mingdai's heart moved slightly as she thought about this, but since they met the first day, she didn't want to ask more, so she had to change the topic and ask: "How is your brother?"

"The situation is not bad, I'm still sleeping at the moment."

He didn't ask why only Xiao Douding was not affected by the drug, and only stated the situation of his brother Zong Ziyi and the other little girl.

"The medical practitioner has already looked at her and said she had taken an overdose of tranquilizing drugs. Fortunately, the rescue was in time. If she had been a little too late, she might not have been able to save her life."

Zong Jichu's tone was very calm when he said this, but the flash of gloom in his eyes faintly revealed his true inner thoughts.

Looking at the entire continent, although the Zong family is not a top family, it is still somewhat powerful in Zhongzhou. If something really happened to his brother...

Zong Jichu lowered his eyes, and his long eyelashes fell on his lower eyelids, leaving a light shadow that could barely cover up the coldness in them.

Mingdai: "So what is going on? Have you found any new clues just now?"

"have."

Zong Jichu nodded slightly, but did not speak immediately. Instead, he raised his hand to screen everyone away. Several guards did not say much when they saw this, and left the private room respectfully, guarding the door.

When there were only three of them left in the room, he spoke again: "I guess you already know that this person's name is Zhou Feng, and he was a steward of my clan."

Mingdai nodded, "He did say that at the time."

She paused and asked, "Is this true?"

"It's true." Zong Jichu said calmly and took a sip of tea, "But that was already a year ago."

"A year ago, my grandfather was seriously ill. Not only was there an undercurrent in all aspects of the clan, but even the people below became restless."

…

The affairs of the Zong family are not considered secrets in the entire Central Continent. Although there is no relevant information in the memory of the original owner, Ming Dai got a rough idea after a little inquiry.

To put it simply, it is a plot often played in Hong Kong dramas in the early years, in which sons and grandsons fight for family property.

Mr. Zong had a total of five children in his life. Among them, the father of the two brothers Zong Jichu was the eldest. Logically speaking, after the death of Mr. Zong, their father should have inherited the family.

Unexpectedly, not long after Zong Ziyi was born, his father-in-law and mother-in-law passed away, leaving only his younger brother.

After that, Mrs. Zong never mentioned the matter of his successor, and various forces began to make moves, and finally they completely broke up with each other.

"Zhou Feng was originally the manager of a certain property of the Zong family, but he got addicted to gambling at some point and misappropriated a lot of assets from my family."

"After the incident, I ordered people to destroy his bones and drive him out of the clan. I think it was at that time that he started to hate me."

"I was born without spiritual roots. According to the rules of the clan, I could not inherit the family business. But Ziyi has a single golden spiritual root, so a few days ago, my first uncle approached him in an attempt to kill two birds with one stone."

Ming Dai: "..."

In the world of immortality, no matter which one is useless or has no spiritual roots, it is no different from being fatal, but Zong Jichu said it so lightly, as if it was as simple as pouring a cup of tea.

Mingdai suddenly felt that the man in front of her was not as sick and weak as he appeared on the surface.

At least not on the inner level.

Ming Dai frowned and said, "But when I saw him today, he not only had spiritual power, he also turned into a talisman cultivator, and there seemed to be a weird spiritual fire in his body."

Zong Jichu nodded: "This is what I'm curious about, but judging from the testimony, he should have changed his spiritual roots - by the way, the woman you met earlier is not the real Aunt Zhao."

Mingdai: "I guessed it."

She said: "The waiter in the shop should be her biological son. The mother and son are involved in it, probably for the sake of their spiritual roots."

Zong Jichu was slightly startled and smiled: "That's because I'm worrying too much."

"I just happened to hear a few words."

At first, Ming Dai did not doubt Aunt Zhao's identity. After all, she was very familiar with the business of the Zhao family wine shop from beginning to end, and even knew everything about Lingmi.

But when she later traced the whereabouts of the man in black, she quickly realized something was wrong.

First of all, judging from the actions of their group, this kidnapping was obviously aimed at Mingdai and Xiaodouding, and was not a temporary act.

But if this is the case, who is leaking the information?

Mingdai thought of Old Man Cai first.

She didn't mention the matter of going down the mountain to anyone except Old Uncle Cai, and it was he who recommended Aunt Zhao's wine shop to Mingdai.

No matter how you look at it, it looks like a gang crime.

But is this really the case?

First of all, Mr. Cai has no enmity or enmity with them.

First of all, Uncle Cai has been delivering food to Qingfeng Mountain for so many years. If it was really him, why didn't he take advantage of the time when there were no adults on Qingfeng Mountain? Instead, he took the risk from Ming Dai in broad daylight.

Steal someone?

When she thought of how Kong Fang was in a hurry when she bumped into him, as if he was in a hurry, Mingdai intuitively felt that things might not be that simple.

So she turned back again and learned about the disappearance of Mr. Cai. Kong Fang hurried over because he wanted to inquire about the situation from Aunt Zhao.

Based on this calculation, Uncle Cai's possibility becomes even smaller.
To be continued...