Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Old Song’s Letter

Evening, Wei Hour.

Bell Tower.

Li Qian took his stance, holding the striking pole with a serious expression.

Suddenly, his ears twitched slightly, hearing the sand in the hourglass about to run out.

He took a deep breath, twisted his waist and legs abruptly, and in a Sword-Piercing Fist starting posture, pushed the striking pole, smashing it fiercely towards the Time Bell with unstoppable momentum.

A clear and resonant bell chime echoed through the mountains.

Immediately followed by the second chime.

Continuing for five chimes, the sound lingered for a long time.

Li Qian felt the Qi and blood, and internal strength within his entire body boiling.

This was triggered by the special characteristics contained within the bell chime.

He immediately began practicing Sword-Piercing Fist on the Bell Tower platform. The whistling sound of “hu hu hu” faintly spread, continuous and unending.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from below the Bell Tower.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

Li Qian stopped practicing upon hearing the voice and walked to the edge of the platform to look down. He saw a young man standing there.

“Are you Li Qian?”

The young man asked.

“Yes, what is it?”

Li Qian nodded and said.

“I’m a disciple from the Odd-Job Hall. There’s a woman who claims to be your family member and has something important to discuss with you.”

The young man said.

“Family member?”

Li Qian was taken aback.

Where did this family member come from?

No, wait, this body did have a family, and they were even from a wealthy background.

It’s just that his birth mother died early, his father never liked him, and he was secretly bullied by his stepmother. His life was very unpleasant, so he secretly ran away from home and participated in the Divine Sword Sect’s entrance assessment.

After Li Qian was reborn into this body, he had even less attachment to that family.

After all this time, he had almost forgotten that this body had family.

But that’s not right.

He had never contacted that family since becoming an Odd-Job Disciple at the Divine Sword Sect. With doubt in his mind, Li Qian quickly followed the young man down the mountain and arrived at the Odd-Job Hall.

Inside the Odd-Job Hall, a slightly disheveled young woman sat restlessly. When she saw Li Qian, she asked, “Are you Li Qian?”

“Yes, who are you?”

Li Qian nodded and asked.

He didn’t seem to recognize this young woman from the previous owner’s memories.

“How often is the hourglass adjusted?”

The young woman suddenly asked an unrelated question.

Li Qian was stunned at first, but then he realized that this young woman was definitely not sent by his family.

She must be related to Old Song.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked such a question.

It was clearly a test of Li Qian’s identity.

This made his heart skip a beat. Could something have happened to Old Song?

Otherwise, why would this young woman be so cautious?

“Thirteen days.”

Li Qian replied.

This was what Old Song had taught him.

“Li Qian, this is what Grandfather asked me to give you.”

The young woman took out a crumpled letter and handed it to Li Qian.

Grandfather?

Li Qian became even more confused.

Wasn’t Old Song unmarried and without children?

How did a granddaughter suddenly appear?

He took the letter but didn’t open it. Instead, he asked, “Where’s Old Song?”

“Grandfather… is dead.”

A trace of sorrow appeared on the young woman’s face, but she quickly regained her composure.

◈◈◈

Old Song is dead?

Li Qian’s heart trembled.

Although Old Song was almost eighty years old, he had been practicing martial arts for many years and was still in good health. How could he suddenly die?

He looked at the letter in his hand, took a deep breath, and carefully opened it, revealing its contents.

“Li Qian, this is my granddaughter, Song Yingying. How about I betroth her to you as your wife?”

Li Qian was completely dumbfounded.

The young woman, Song Yingying, sitting opposite him seemed to have known the contents of the letter long ago. Seeing Li Qian’s expression, she couldn’t help but lower her head, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“Of course, if you’re unwilling, it’s fine. For my sake, I hope you can take care of Yingying. I’ll give you a chance for good fortune. When the hourglass on the Bell Tower runs out, two chimes at Chen Hour are worth a fortune. Go and figure it out yourself.”

“Remember, as an Odd-Job Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, be wary of certain people in the Odd-Job Hall. Until you become a Formal Disciple, trust no one. Try not to leave the Divine Sword Sect, and even if you must, be extremely careful.”

“Sigh, if only I could live a few more years.”

After reading the letter, Li Qian’s face was contemplative.

This was Old Song’s handwriting.

He had seen Old Song write before.

Old Song had even specifically reminded him to be able to recognize this handwriting.

This showed that Old Song had been preparing for this day long ago.

“How did Old Song die?”

Li Qian looked up at Song Yingying and asked hurriedly.

Song Yingying shook her head, seemingly unwilling to speak.

“Old Song asked me to take care of you in his letter.”

Li Qian didn’t ask any further questions and changed the subject.

“Grandfather has already exchanged for an anonymous identity token for an Odd-Job Disciple for me. From now on, I hope… Big Brother Li will take good care of me.”

She said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

There were two ways to become an Odd-Job Disciple. One was to participate in the assessment, which had much lower requirements than for Formal Disciples.

The second was to use sect contribution points to exchange for an anonymous identity token for an Odd-Job Disciple.

This anonymous identity token meant that the Divine Sword Sect’s Odd-Job Hall only recognized the token, not the person.

As long as one registered at the Odd-Job Hall with the anonymous Odd-Job Disciple identity token, they could smoothly become an Odd-Job Disciple.

“Song Yingying, since you came to me as my family member, let’s say we’re cousins to the outside world.”

Li Qian thought for a moment and said.

Since Old Song had asked Song Yingying to come to him as his family member, it meant that there must be some kind of risk he didn’t know about in the Odd-Job Hall.

Moreover, Old Song had also mentioned in his letter that he should be wary of certain people in the Odd-Job Hall.

This inevitably made him wonder if Old Song’s death was related to some people in the Odd-Job Hall.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Song Yingying said, looking down.

Her grandfather had told her that if Li Qian was willing, she should pretend to be his fiancée within the Odd-Job Hall.

Now that Li Qian had suggested the identity of cousins, she understood his meaning.

At the same time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, it was the first time she had met Li Qian. She knew nothing about him. If she was betrothed to him just because of her grandfather’s words, she would feel a bit uneasy.

However, she was a filial person and would not disobey her grandfather’s decision.

She also understood his good intentions.

After all, her grandfather had told her that Li Qian had high martial arts talent and a very good chance of becoming a Formal Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect.

As for her… in her grandfather’s words, her aptitude was too mediocre.

Otherwise, her grandfather would have sent her to the Divine Sword Sect long ago.

Exchanging for an identity as an Odd-Job Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect was just a precaution.

“Then I’ll call you Cousin from now on.”

“Cousin.”

Song Yingying nodded and called out.

Li Qian glanced at the letter again, memorized its contents, then crumpled it into a ball. He circulated his internal strength, clenched his fist tightly, and with a surge of internal strength, shattered the paper ball into dust.

The contents of this letter definitely couldn’t be leaked.

Otherwise, it would cause trouble.

Without this letter, no one except him would know Song Yingying’s true identity.