Chapter 187: Chapter 163: Feng Ling’s Thoughts

"He’s inviting me?" Ling Xiao held the letter, a cold sneer touching his lips. That member of the Sword Sect had snatched the Crown Prince’s Tier Five Magical Beast on the main street of the Imperial Capital, then swaggered off. At the time, Ling Xiao hadn’t even considered the Southern King. But now that he was in the southern fiefdom and had run into that Sword Sect member again, he couldn’t even convince himself that the Southern King wasn’t involved.

Uncle Fu’s eyes were slightly narrowed as he sipped his tea. "Young Master," he said lightly, "I suggest you go. After all, as things stand, we don’t have the strength to contend with both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince simultaneously. So, while we are on this southern land, we must maintain a good relationship with the Southern King for now. Whether that Sword Sect member is his man or not, we should make this trip."

"We?" Ling Xiao looked at Uncle Fu. "You’re going too?"

Uncle Fu smiled. "Of course, my young master. Wherever you go, I will follow. Otherwise, how could I call myself an excellent butler?"

Ling Xiao smiled, knowing Uncle Fu was just worried about him. He chuckled and said, "Alright then. We’ll go together."

Ye Wen Ni had locked herself in her room. Her face was pale, and even her lips were drained of all color. Just now, when the messenger delivered Ling Xiao’s letter, he had given one to her as well.

Ye Wen Ni had been surprised at first. ’Why would someone from the Southern King give me a letter?’ she had wondered. But when she opened it, she was utterly stunned. Her mind in turmoil, she had barely managed to brew a pot of tea for Ling Xiao and Uncle Fu before retreating to her room. She pulled out the Southern King’s letter again. It contained only a few simple words, written very plainly. There was no threatening tone whatsoever. He had only expressed concern for Ye Zi, asking if she was getting used to being with Ling Xiao, and even said he was glad she had found such a good home!

Beyond that, it mentioned nothing at all!

And yet, the more it was like this, the more intense the unease in Ye Wen Ni’s heart became. She knew her adoptive father well. She didn’t know if he was the Southern King, Li Wutong, himself, but he was clearly connected to him! And this person’s status could not be low. If the letter hadn’t mentioned the children in Wutang Town, and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was indeed her adoptive father’s handwriting, Ye Wen Ni wouldn’t have believed she could receive news from him here. ’It seems he found me after I returned to the Imperial Capital and entered the Imperial Academy,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, there’s no way he’d know my whereabouts so precisely!’

Ye Wen Ni suddenly felt a sense of deflation. It had always been like this. She could never escape from that man’s grasp!

The image of that stern-faced, rarely smiling man appeared in her mind again. Ye Wen Ni sat on her bed, her body curled up in the corner, her arms wrapped around her knees, and her head buried in them. Her soft, dark hair fell loosely, making her look somewhat helpless.

’That man... he must know my strength has increased. Damn it! I shouldn’t be a burden to him. I should have left him sooner.’ Tears slid from the corners of Ye Wen Ni’s eyes. ’But... but I just can’t bear to leave him!’

’He even promised he would go with me and help me settle those matters, but now, that man turns out to be connected to the Southern King... And there’s that overwhelmingly powerful member of the Sword Sect. Ling Xiao... there’s no way he can fight the Southern King right now.’ Ye Wen Ni’s thoughts were a tangled mess, but she secretly made a decision. ’I have to go with Ling Xiao to see the Southern King. I must see my adoptive father, no matter what, and make things clear. He may have raised me, but I’ve also done a lot for him. I don’t owe him anything anymore! From now on, I am my own person. I will stand with Ling Xiao, through thick and thin! As for those children...’ A determined look appeared on Ye Wen Ni’s face. ’Wait for your big sister. I’ll take you all away. Wutang Town is not your home! Penzes City will be your paradise!’

"You want to come with me too?"

Ling Xiao looked at Ye Zi’s determined face with some confusion. Ye Zi had been working very hard recently, trying to break through to First-rank Mad Sword Master. Logically, she should stay home and focus on her training rather than go out with him.

"Are you worried I’ll run into danger?" Ling Xiao asked softly.

"I said we’d stand together, through thick and thin." A smile appeared in Ye Wen Ni’s eyes, and she said somewhat shyly, "I just like being by your side, tee-hee. You don’t think I’ll be in the way, do you?"

Ling Xiao shook his head and smiled, and a triumphant expression appeared on Ye Wen Ni’s face.

Fengling was in her room, flipping through some documents. She had been here for some time now. To her disappointment, the father who had treated her as the apple of his eye had not appeared, nor had he even sent a single letter. It was as if he had forgotten about his daughter.

Having had more contact with the secular world, Fengling was no longer as hot-tempered as before. She spent her days playing her zither and reading books, living a rather leisurely life. Out of boredom, she had recently started helping Ling Xiao handle some matters for the Lightning Legion.

Fengling was a smart girl who could grasp most things almost instantly. Women are detail-oriented, and when it came to matters like logistics, her planning was always more thorough than a man’s might be.

Suddenly, a few KNOCK KNOCK sounds came from the door. Fengling put down her book, and her clear voice rang out, "Who is it?"

"It’s me," Ling Xiao said. "May I come in?"

Fengling was taken aback. Usually, the only visitors were Ye Wen Ni and Huangpu Yue. Chunlan and Qiuyue were also frequent guests at her courtyard now. But Ling Xiao was basically never seen; she’d heard he was always training. Over time, Fengling’s hatred for Ling Xiao had gradually faded. When she thought about it, he hadn’t really done anything wrong. If she had been the one targeted for assassination, she wouldn’t have let her attacker go either. To be merely placed under house arrest like this was already a great mercy.

Of course, while she understood this, the fact that she had been captured by someone several ranks beneath her still bothered her. So, upon hearing it was Ling Xiao, Fengling’s face immediately fell, and her voice turned cold. "Is there something you need?"

But Ling Xiao didn’t answer her, simply pushing the door open.

Fengling shot to her feet, glaring at Ling Xiao. "How can you be so rude? This is outrageous! I didn’t say you could come in!"

Ling Xiao gave a faint smile and tossed a small porcelain vial to her. It wasn’t large, but it was exceptionally exquisite. The landscape pattern on it was clear and detailed down to the smallest stroke. It was definitely a masterpiece, the kind you couldn’t buy on the market.

Fengling caught it with a suspicious expression, examining it for a moment before asking, "What’s this? Another new poison you’ve invented?" She knew Ling Xiao wouldn’t give her an exquisite porcelain vial for no reason, and her words were instinctively barbed.

"That’s right. Everyone else is too important, so I could only have you test it."

Ling Xiao’s handsome face wore a charming smile, but in Fengling’s eyes, it was an extremely punchable one. Seeing her expression turn ugly, Ling Xiao sighed lightly and said, "Inside this vial are ten elixirs. Take one every three months. Each one will sustain your strength for three months."

A flash of surprise flickered in Fengling’s eyes, but she asked coldly, "Why?"

"Who knows, maybe one day I won’t come back. If you could never recover your strength for the rest of your life because of me, wouldn’t you hate me to death?" Ling Xiao said with a relaxed smile. "So, you can choose to leave at any time now."

Fengling was stunned for a long moment before saying softly, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll come back for revenge after I leave?"

"Would you?"

Ling Xiao asked with a light laugh.

"Maybe... I would," Fengling said, rolling her eyes at Ling Xiao. "I don’t believe you’d be this kind. Tell me, are you trying to win my sympathy? You’ve run into some trouble, haven’t you? You want me to go back to my sect and find people to help you, right?"

Ling Xiao shrugged and gave a helpless smile. "Your imagination is a little too vivid. Don’t think you can get your revenge just by leaving. After you take all these elixirs, your strength... will revert to its current state! So, you’ll still need to get a Solid Essence Pill from me. Only by taking it can you fully recover your strength without any side effects. In fact, it will even be greatly beneficial to your power growth! Of course, you can choose not to believe me. Go ahead, tell your sect to come after me with all they have. But if I die, you’ll never get that Solid Essence Pill."

"You really are as despicable and shameless as ever!"

Fengling ground her teeth, glaring viciously at Ling Xiao. Unfortunately, all he left her was the sight of his back as he turned and walked away.

The door closed softly, shutting out the bright light and heat from outside. Fengling snatched up the exquisite porcelain vial, raised it high, and mimed smashing it on the floor a couple of times. But then she sighed, opened it, and took a gentle sniff. A refreshing fragrance that permeated her heart and lungs shot into her nostrils, instantly revitalizing her mind.

She tipped one out and placed it in her mouth. A sweet fragrance flowed down her throat from the root of her tongue. Immediately after, a warm current flowed through the various meridians in Fengling’s body. Abundant Inner Strength instantly returned to her.

’The feeling of holding power... it’s so good!’

Fengling’s face flushed with excitement. At this moment, she wished she could immediately go out and practice the "Death God’s Summons" sword technique that Ling Xiao had improved. Feeling the small porcelain vial still clutched in her palm, a storm was already raging in Fengling’s heart!

Although she hated Ling Xiao for sealing her strength, she had to admit that he was an absolute genius!

Whether in the Martial Dao or the art of medicine, he was definitely at the genius level! If a person like him were discovered by those hidden aristocratic families, it would probably cause a fight over him!

’If... if he could join my Qishan Sect... then, in probably less than a hundred years, we could rise to become a third-rate... or even a second-rate sect!’

’But... on what grounds would he join the Qishan Sect?’ Fengling seemed to suddenly think of something, her face flushing pink. She then made a sound of contempt. ’This man is insidious and cunning. I’m afraid that even if I sold myself to him, I wouldn’t get what I want!’

As Fengling thought about this, her gaze grew a little dazed.

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So much has been going on these past two days! I’m speechless. Last night, my computer restarted over ten times, and today the hard drive finally crashed. I had to run to the computer market to get a new one, then came home to install software and find my manuscript files. What a hassle!

A word of warning to everyone, be careful when using Seagate hard drives for your builds... (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters and to support the author and legitimate reading!)