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Join the Server“I say, was it really necessary to waste so many words on him? Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just kill him?”
Hua Yan’s leisurely voice drifted down from above.
The instant her words fell, the entire City Lord’s Mansion abruptly reverted to its original state. Zhang Lide’s corpse, surprisingly, remained in the study, as if he had never stepped into an endless corridor at all.
“Of course, it was necessary. After all, before he willingly exposed his identity as a Demonic Cultivator, we couldn’t very well make a move directly.”
Qu Linglong’s voice carried in from outside the door.
With a gentle wave of her hand, a large wooden chest slowly emerged from the wooden floor—the very one she always carried on her back.
“Alright. But truthfully, I’m a little surprised you actually moved against him so directly.”
Hua Yan folded her arms, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched Yun Xueshang silently sheathe her sword.
‘This woman is still so strong. Although she had assistance, she managed to dispatch a Demonic Cultivator at the Nascent Soul mid-stage with a single strike.’
‘Hmph, truly worthy of being the opponent I think of day and night.’
“If they are a fiend, then slaying them is proper. Why should we not act?”
The white-robed, white-haired maiden returned her sword to its sheath, her words resolute.
“I thought you would give him a chance to explain himself. Perhaps you’d even consider some righteous compassion, hoping he’d repent and turn over a new leaf.”
Hua Yan’s lips curved into a slight smirk, her tone laced with a hint of mockery.
“If we had let him go, who would have shown mercy to the mortals who died by his wicked arts?”
Yun Xueshang met her gaze directly, her expression earnest:
“Fellow Daoist Hua, do not harbor any pity for Demonic Cultivators who have committed heinous crimes. Regardless of their hardships, eradicating them is the most righteous choice for everyone.”
“Ah? Oh, oh…”
Staring into those clear, crimson eyes, Hua Yan was momentarily speechless, only nodding blankly.
“It’s good that Fellow Daoist Hua understands.”
Seeing her agreement, Yun Xueshang seemed satisfied. She turned and began searching for remaining clues in the mansion with Lin Qianqian.
“…”
‘Wait, that’s not right! I was clearly mocking her, so how did I end up being lectured instead?’
Watching the white figure squatting by the corpse, meticulously examining a scroll, Hua Yan finally snapped back to reality.
‘Yun Xueshang, are you perhaps playing a trick on me?’
Yet, remembering the serious expression on the white-haired maiden’s face when she had looked at her earlier, that inexplicable spark of anger in her heart somehow faded.
‘But I really feel… she wasn’t lying? Moreover, she did indeed slay that Demonic Cultivator with one strike. Could it be that everything she said just now was sincere, and she isn’t some rigid, stubborn righteous fool?’
At that moment, a memory suddenly surfaced—the pink-haired girl clapping and cheering on the ship, celebrating her killing of the bandits.
‘Indeed… perhaps it’s precisely because Yun Xueshang is this kind of person that she raised Rongrong to be as she is.’
“This fellow was cautious enough; he didn’t leave any specific names related to intelligence…”
Before long, the group laid out the organized clues on the table, and Qu Linglong analyzed them with her hands on her hips.
“Or rather, the person behind him was cautious enough… but we can roughly deduce that the mastermind’s location should be within the Great Chu Imperial City.”
“The Great Chu Imperial City? Are you referring to Yunjing?” Hua Yan frowned. “Could the Demonic Cultivator affair actually be related to the Zhao family of Great Chu?”
“It’s not impossible. This also perfectly explains why they could keep the information so strictly concealed,” Qu Linglong nodded. “The mastermind behind this group of Demonic Cultivators, even if not a Zhao family member, must be a high-ranking official in the Imperial City. They probably intended to just throw out some small fry to get rid of us.”
“In that case, we truly have little Rongrong to thank. Otherwise, we might have truly been fooled.”
“Speaking of which, I’m still a little confused about something…”
Lin Qianqian excitedly turned to Yun Xueshang.
“I didn’t have a chance to ask in detail earlier—Rongrong can actually foresee the future?
Then, when she met Senior Sister last time, was it also because she foresaw Senior Sister’s location that she specifically came out to find you, rather than secretly sneaking out to play?”
“This…”
Yun Xueshang paused, then lowered her gaze:
“Actually, I don’t know either.”
‘I’ve never actually asked Rongrong for the reason behind this. As her mother, am I too incompetent?’
The Sword Immortal, a novice mother, silently chastised herself.
“So, what exactly is going on with Rongrong?”
Hua Yan also looked bewildered.
‘Why could Hua Xiangrong foresee both Yun Xueshang’s arrival and Zhang Lide’s escape? Could it be that…’
“Regarding this matter, I think I might have an answer.”
Qu Linglong smiled faintly. A mechanical arm extended from the wooden chest behind her, retrieving the clues and the record stone from the table.
“Why don’t you all return with me, and we can explore little Rongrong’s secret together?”
***
“Indeed, just as expected, little Rongrong’s constitution is precisely the ‘Heaven-Blessed Dao Body’ rumored to be encountered only once in ten thousand years.”
In the room, Qu Linglong, holding Hua Xiangrong’s wrist, opened her eyes, her face revealing undisguised delight.
“What… what body?”
Hua Yan looked utterly bewildered.
‘How have I never heard of such a thing?’
“It is the Heaven-Blessed Dao Body.”
Qu Linglong repeated, a rare serious expression appearing on her usually smiling face:
“Legend has it that those who possess this body are favored by the Heavenly Dao. Their path of cultivation is aided as if by divine intervention, and they can occasionally glimpse a sliver of the future.
If they cultivate divination arts, they will be like a fish in water, progressing at an astonishing speed.”
“Furthermore, it is said that those with this physique will bring good fortune to themselves and those close to them.”
She glanced at Hua Yan, who was still in a daze, and then at Yun Xueshang beside her, who looked ethereal and resembled a human-shaped block of ice.
“It seems Rongrong has indeed brought good fortune to both of you—a reunion after a long separation, rekindling old ties, isn’t this the best proof?”
Qu Linglong said with a beaming smile.
‘?!’
‘What nonsense! How is this good fortune?! The first day I saw this girl, my grandmother inexplicably spanked my bottom, and now I’ve been kicked out of the valley!’
‘I don’t feel like I’ve gained any good luck at all!’
Hearing these words, Hua Yan’s face flushed crimson with indignation.
Yun Xueshang, however, was slightly startled.
‘Good fortune… brought by Rongrong?’
She cast a sidelong glance at the red-haired woman beside her—at some point, the other’s fair cheeks had taken on a faint blush, seemingly stirred by Qu Linglong’s words into a hint of shyness, which made her already bright countenance even more vibrant.
‘The good fortune… of reuniting with her?’
“Since that is the case, Rongrong, would you be willing to become a disciple of my Tianji Pavilion?”
Qu Linglong turned back, looking earnestly at the pink-haired girl before her. Fearing she wouldn’t understand, she explained in detail:
“My Tianji Pavilion is named after ‘Tianji’ (Heavenly Secrets). Besides our ingenious mechanical arts, we also possess a divination and deduction path that can peer into heavenly secrets, both of which are the foundation of our pavilion.”
“Rongrong, with your extraordinary talent, if you join my sect, you will naturally be able to cultivate the most supreme divination techniques in the Divine Continent. What do you say?”
“Wait, who said the girl is going to learn divination from you?”
Hua Yan frowned, abruptly cutting her off:
“Rongrong won’t learn such life-shortening nonsense. It’s better for her to follow me and learn spellcraft.”
‘Hmph, don’t all those who learn divination suffer a shortened lifespan? Does she really think the path of divination is so easy to cultivate? What exactly are Qu Linglong’s intentions!’
She stared at Qu Linglong warily, her eyes full of suspicion.
“Oh, Fellow Daoist Hua, you are mistaken about this.”
Qu Linglong spread her hands helplessly:
“Actually, regarding the Heaven-Blessed Dao Body, my Tianji Pavilion has studied it since ancient times, and our ancient texts have recorded several predecessors who possessed this physique.”
“The most heaven-defying aspect of this physique is that one can actively glimpse heavenly secrets without shortening their lifespan—after all, she is inherently favored by the Heavenly Dao.”
Her eyes shone brightly as she gazed at the pink-haired girl before her.
“Although the heavenly secrets that can be glimpsed without shortening one’s life are certainly limited, this is already a physique countless fellow Daoists dream of, not to mention the occasional sliver of future bestowed by the Heavenly Dao and the blessings it brings!”
“If Fellow Daoist Hua is worried that I will restrict Rongrong, I can take her as a nominal disciple.
I will pass on cultivation techniques to her, bear the costs of her cultivation, and she will not be required to make any additional contributions to Tianji Pavilion.
She will only need to help Tianji Pavilion with one divination every sixty years after reaching the Soul Transformation stage, a divination that does not shorten her lifespan. How does that sound?”
Qu Linglong solemnly extended three fingers:
“I am willing to make a Heavenly Dao Oath that every word I have spoken is true.”
As her words fell, she immediately swore the oath on the spot, then looked up at Hua Yan, her tone sincere:
“Fellow Daoist Hua, these are already the most generous conditions I can offer. Please do not hinder the child’s talent!”
Hua Yan bit her rosy lower lip, silent for a long moment.
‘Damn it… I originally thought the girl’s physique just meant faster cultivation progress and the ability to learn various spells. How could it be this most niche divination physique!’
‘Swords, spears, blades, axes, lightning, fire, the five elements—what can I, Hua Yan, not teach? Only this divination…’
After a while, she turned her head, squeezing a sentence through clenched teeth:
“…Girl, make your own decision.”
‘Tianji Pavilion’s conditions are indeed generous. Perhaps what Qu Linglong truly wants is merely the “good fortune of a close person” that comes with being the girl’s master.’
‘The Dao must ultimately be cultivated by oneself; I cannot make the choice for Rongrong.’
The pink-haired girl first looked at her mother—the red-haired maiden’s face was filled with internal struggle, yet she still chose to respect her decision.
Then she looked at her other mother—the white-haired maiden’s expression was calm, and she also nodded encouragingly at her.
“Then I want to become Auntie Qu’s disciple, learn divination, and help Mother and Mama!”
Hua Xiangrong nodded, a sweet smile blossoming on her small face:
“This way, I can foresee any dangers you encounter in the future and help you avoid them. Our family will never be in trouble!”
You’ve got to see this next! Star Switch Scandal will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : Star Switch Scandal
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