Chapter 31: Returning to Heaven Dou CityHer thoughts flowed, eventually returning to peace.No matter what the original future held, it would no longer come to pass.Ah Yin decided to pretend that future didn't exist and focus only on the present.Urged by Ye Feng, Ah Yin snapped back to reality.As she circulated her entire body's spirit power, her originally blue-gold spirit power gradually turned red, as if stained with blood.A dazzling crimson appeared amidst the golden veins of the Blue Silver Emperor, and then a drop of blood floated out from that crimson streak.The drop of blood floated in the air, slowly drifting between the two of them.Then, like ink dripping into water, the blood droplet suddenly dispersed, condensing a strange pattern in the air that looked like two stalks of Blue Silver Grass intertwined with each other.Both of them felt a flash of inspiration and simultaneously began to chant the contents of the contract.As the chanting ended, the pattern turned back into a blood droplet, splitting into two drops—one falling into Ah Yin's roots and the other sinking between Ye Feng's eyebrows.In an instant, Ye Feng felt an extra mark appear between his eyebrows, identical in appearance to the pattern formed by that drop of blood.Usually hidden beneath the skin, if he failed to complete the contract, the mark would surface, forcing him to act according to the contents of the blood pact.Furthermore, for unknown reasons, at the moment the blood pact was established—or rather, the moment the blood droplet turned into a mark—Ye Feng felt a surge of vitality welling up inside his body, rushing from the center of his eyebrows to all parts of his body.Ye Feng was somewhat surprised. The blood pact even had this benefit?He wanted to ask Ah Yin, but saw that she had already curled up into a ball and fallen into a deep sleep.Feeling helpless, Ye Feng could only wait for her to wake up before asking.Ye Feng circulated his spirit power, carefully wrapping it around Ah Yin, and then transformed his right hand into a blade, cutting away the entire patch of soil where Ah Yin was rooted.Throughout the entire process, he continuously channeled spirit power, terrified that if he wasn't careful, Ah Yin would completely die.Ye Feng placed her into a water cup; given her current size, it was just right.Ye Feng's storage spirit tool was still the one Qian Renxue gave him. Its quality was considered top-tier on the market, but it still could not store living things."Had I known, I would have borrowed Dugu Bo's Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse."Ye Feng was very helpless; he hadn't known beforehand that there would be such a thing as a blood pact.He tucked the water cup containing Ah Yin at his waist and continuously channeled spirit power to ensure Ah Yin's vital status remained intact.He covered up the traces of his visit, fabricating the illusion that Ah Yin had died of natural causes.Afterwards, he left the cave and found Jin Ling playing in the water and Yaoguang flying in the sky.Rendevousing with them, he hurried without stopping to the place where the carriage was hidden.Riding the carriage, he quickly distanced himself from Saint Spirit Village....One month later, the carriage driven by Ye Feng drove into the streets of Heaven Dou City.After a lapse of two years, he had returned here once again.This was also a decision Ye Feng had made long ago: since he had taken a disciple, he had to teach her well.It wouldn't be good for her to constantly endure wind and rain with him.He himself also needed a quiet place to study Jin Ling's cultivation method.According to what Jin Ling herself said, her innate spirit power was only rank one, just like Ye Feng's.This was clearly unreasonable; her Spirit was a Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff of extremely high quality.It was impossible for her to have only this much innate spirit power; the problem should lie within her body.Moreover, her speed in practicing the meditation technique was very slow, even slower than someone with true rank one innate spirit power.The problem likewise lay within her body.Ye Feng needed to find out the answers to these problems, and besides Spirit Hall, the place with the most book collections was naturally Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.This was also Ye Feng's main purpose for coming to Heaven Dou City.The streets were still a lively scene with an endless stream of pedestrians, and the shouting of vendors echoed in his ears.Ye Feng parked the carriage at a restaurant and, bringing one person and one bird along, had lunch."Hey, have you heard?""What? Being all mysterious—if there's something to say, spit it out.""I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince has gone missing!""What?!""Shh, keep it down. This is news passed down from my sister in the palace. It is said that His Highness the Crown Prince went missing a year ago, but the news has been suppressed all along.""No wonder I haven't seen His Highness the Crown Prince for so long."Listening to the conversation of the two people at the next table, the corners of Ye Feng's mouth curled up slightly.He thought to himself: It seems Qian Renxue took the letter I wrote to heart. It hasn't let down my painstaking efforts.After the meal, Ye Feng sold the carriage; he would be staying in Heaven Dou City for a very long time and wouldn't need a carriage.Afterwards, bringing Jin Ling and Yaoguang, he came to the small courtyard where he had previously lived.This was precisely the residence Qian Renxue had given to Ye Feng.The location of the small courtyard was far from the bustling market. Because it was once the Crown Prince's residence, very few people lived around it, making this one of the rare secluded places in Heaven Dou City.Ye Feng pushed open the front door. What met his eyes was a towering giant tree, its branches covered in emerald green leaves. The giant tree covered half of the courtyard, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting mottled tree shadows across the yard.The moment it saw the tree, Yaoguang shot off like an arrow from a bowstring, flying over and continuously circling around the giant tree.It was clear that it liked this tree very much.This was a plant Spirit Beast known as the Evergreen Tree, named because it stayed green all four seasons of the year. Moreover, it had a gentle temperament and would not move its roots unless its own survival was threatened.And the one in Ye Feng's courtyard was a hundred-year-old Spirit Beast.Without paying attention to Yaoguang, which had gone wild with play, Ye Feng took Jin Ling to choose a room.Although called a small courtyard, the Crown Prince's small courtyard wasn't small at all.Let alone just Ye Feng and his disciple, even if a dozen or so people lived here, it could accommodate them."Master, which one is your room?"Ye Feng pointed to the room leaning against the tree trunk; he liked to lean against the tree forks to enjoy the moonlight."Then I'll choose the one next to Master's."Ye Feng nodded, assuming Jin Ling just wasn't familiar with the new environment and was scared.Having not been home for two years, dust had inevitably appeared inside the house. Ye Feng used spirit power to sweep away the dust, directing it into the courtyard's lawn.Although he made it look effortless, if it were anyone else—even a Titled Douluo—they might not necessarily possess such meticulous control.Their luggage wasn't much, and before long, everything was tidied up.Yaoguang was finally tired of playing and flew back onto Ye Feng's shoulder.The sky had grown late, and the two people and one bird happily finished their dinner and drifted off into dreamland....Early the next morning, Ye Feng and Jin Ling stood in the courtyard, one in front and one behind, practicing Tai Chi.Ye Feng was in front, Jin Ling was in the back, and Yaoguang stood on the Evergreen Tree watching them."Master, can this kind of soft boxing really defeat an enemy?"Hearing this, Ye Feng burst out laughing and said,"Back then, when my grandfather taught me, I asked him the exact same question. Guess what he said?"Jin Ling blinked her big eyes, looking at Ye Feng with curiosity."He said, 'Can't I beat you to death, you turtle grandson?'"Jin Ling let out a snort and laughed."Hahaha, Master's grandfather is so interesting.""Lass, you don't need to worry that Tai Chi's power isn't enough; that's just because your practice is too shallow.""Martial arts is inherently a path that exchanges effort accumulated over time for power."
