Chapter 45: The Perils of Wang Qiu’er and the Xiao Family Girl

“Disciple, if you truly do not wish to go, then send your sycophantic lackey to run this errand for you.”

Liu Ruyan, who had already departed, clambered back using her fair arms, offering Luo Bingli a final reminder before being unceremoniously dragged away by Immortal Liuli.

Seeing this, Luo Bingli surmised that her old master was about to experience the ‘Nine Heavens of Ice and Fire’ game mechanism once more.

‘May you find delight and joy in your play; your good disciple shall not disturb you,’ she thought.

****

Despite this, Luo Bingli still felt she should return to the Liu family herself.

Otherwise, if she didn’t go back, she might truly have to send Wang Qiu’er. But Wang Qiu’er…

Instantly, Luo Bingli recalled the plot. It was Wang Qiu’er who first confronted that girl from the Xiao family, pointing a finger and scolding her for breaking the engagement, declaring her unworthy of their Saintess.

However, the girl refused to be humiliated. She retorted with the adage, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; do not bully a young girl in poverty.” She declared, “Today, your Saintess does not divorce me; rather, it is I, this young lady, who divorces your Saintess.”

In the original plot, Wang Qiu’er, naturally incensed by the insult to her Saintess, immediately prepared to teach the girl a lesson.

Yet, the Xiao family girl’s mother intervened. Wang Qiu’er, only in the early stage of Core Formation, was outmatched by the Xiao family matriarch, who was at the peak of Core Formation. The confrontation ended in an unpleasant stalemate.

Not only that, but Wang Qiu’er’s incessant chatter provoked the Xiao family girl to loudly demand three years’ time. She vowed to challenge the Saintess then.

If she lost, she would willingly become a s*ave, allowing the Saintess to do with her as she pleased, and accept being ‘divorced.’ Conversely, if she won, the Saintess would be at her mercy.

Wang Qiu’er, convinced of the Saintess’s inevitable victory, readily agreed.

And so, the engagement was broken.

The Luo Bingli of the original plot felt no surprise, merely deeming the girl ignorant of her place. She also firmly believed in her own strength.

However, the current Luo Bingli could not act similarly. This time, she absolutely could not let Wang Qiu’er go; she had to go herself.

This was because, in the original plot, on the very next night, while the Xiao family girl was brooding on a mountain, her face etched with sorrow over her impulsive three-year vow, a fairy suddenly emerged from a storage ring—a relic left by her mother.

According to the setting, this fairy had an incredibly significant background, though her identity was never revealed from beginning to end.

However, this fairy’s ‘techniques’ were comparable to the legendary Harmony Empress. Though both were women, she seemed to hold a grudge against them. Whether it was to bring them pleasure, pain, or a mix of both, it was effortlessly achieved, even to the point of making people wish neither to live nor die.

But, for an R-rated novel, identity wasn’t paramount. What mattered were the ‘techniques’ and ‘flourishes.’ So, even if the readers didn’t know her identity, as long as they found it satisfying, they still considered her a good character and the book a good read.

Shaking her head, Luo Bingli’s expression grew serious.

Ever since bringing Wang Qiu’er to the Hundred Flowers Palace, whenever Luo Bingli left, Wang Qiu’er would inevitably follow.

Ostensibly, it was to protect and care for her. In reality, it was Luo Bingli who was protecting Wang Qiu’er. Furthermore, Luo Bingli had a cleanliness obsession and didn’t require Wang Qiu’er’s care.

Therefore, Wang Qiu’er’s outings with Luo Bingli were essentially for leisure.

Initially, out of gratitude for saving her life, Luo Bingli had indulged her. Even when Wang Qiu’er frequently abused her authority, acting like a sycophant lackey to others, introducing her with phrases like, “This is our Saintess! Are your dog eyes blind?!”

Before awakening her past life’s memories, Luo Bingli never found anything wrong with such words. However, the awakened Luo Bingli now knew that Wang Qiu’er was eighty percent responsible for Luo Bingli’s eventual downfall.

It could be said that most of the Immortal Maidens were offended by Wang Qiu’er, but the one who ultimately bore the bitter consequences was Luo Bingli in the original plot.

Why was this? It was simply because Wang Qiu’er’s catchphrases, before she even spoke, were always something like, “Our Saintess is here!” or “The Saintess is present, you lowly creatures…”

She was simply a born ‘hatred magnet.’

Take this Xiao family girl, for instance. If Luo Bingli hadn’t awakened her past life’s memories, she would never have been interested in her, believing Wang Qiu’er’s actions were entirely justified.

But precisely because she had awakened her past life’s memories, just hearing the girl’s name made Luo Bingli realize she absolutely could not be provoked.

Because her name was Xiao Yan’er!

****

With her master now gone, Luo Bingli’s mind was entirely preoccupied with the impending visit to her ancestral home and Xiao Yan’er. As for Ye Xiaozi, she had completely given up on that matter.

After all, several days had passed, and the system’s progress had not advanced. Although Wang Qiu’er kept trying to encourage her, Luo Bingli felt that Wang Qiu’er had run out of ideas.

Moreover, since it didn’t involve life-or-death safety, Luo Bingli was usually quite lenient in this regard.

Currently, Luo Bingli’s entire focus was on how to deal with the Xiao family girl.

***

At the mine where Ye Xiaozi worked.

After several days of effort, the original thirty-plus meters had now, after two more days, approached fifty meters. It was estimated that with another two hours of work tomorrow, they would have dug the full fifty meters.

At that point, this group would likely have achieved their fifty-meter target, allowing them to abandon this location and move elsewhere.

This was essentially everyone’s understanding, so no one took this spot seriously. No one meticulously observed the surrounding environment or checked for stray ore, as it seemed pointless.

However, just then, one robust woman suddenly shrieked, “Big Sister, Big Sister… look what this is! Look, look!”

The most experienced woman among them, the leader, immediately frowned. She shot the other woman a helpless glare, thinking that if they weren’t somewhat related, she would surely spank her today.

She replied curtly, “Why are you so flustered? Can’t you show some composure? Quick, tell me what has you so alarmed.”

“Big Sister, look, just look at this stone, this scrap!” The woman ignored Big Sister’s words, excitedly holding up the piece of scrap and constantly thrusting it before her leader.

Big Sister was annoyed but knew the other woman wasn’t making things up. Could her little sister truly be so lucky as to dig up a scrap of spirit stone in this desolate place? Thinking this, Big Sister took the stone and brought it closer to her eyes. She instantly froze.

She blinked, then rubbed her eyes, and a look of utter astonishment spread across her face. “This… how is this possible? How can this be? Such a thing, even a mere scrap, shouldn’t appear here. How could I find this here?”