In less than half an incense stick's time.
Ling Yuan led the two back to her boudoir.
Yue Guan walked ahead, looking unwilling.
He was wearing a bright red tuxedo with gold and silver trim, and the glittering gem the size of a baby's fist on his chest swayed in the candlelight.
Behind him followed a ghostly figure, a blurry black shadow whose features were almost indistinguishable, with only two points of eerie purple light flickering in the darkness—those were its eyes.
Upon entering the room, Yue Guan first looked around Ling Yuan's boudoir, revealing a lack of interest.
"Lingyuan, your room is decorated too plainly. Why do you only have two potted plants on the windowsill...?"
"Elder Yue, please don't touch my orchid." Ling Yuan interrupted, somewhat displeased.
Yue Guan awkwardly withdrew his hand.
The ghost floated up to Bloodthirst.
The two points of eerie light scrutinized the blood-piercing needle for a long while.
"Bloodthirst." The ghostly voice was hoarse and deep. "Long time no see."
Ci Xue nodded: "Long time no see."
Yue Guan also looked at Ci Xue, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall.
"Why did you call us here in the middle of the night?"
Without wasting any words, Ci Xue relayed Qian Renxue's prepared remarks from beginning to end.
The meaning of "千仞雪" is very clear.
First, do not participate in tomorrow's Soul Hunting Operation.
Second, find a reason to fake your death, or find an opportunity to escape.
Third, if possible, leave the Spirit Hall and go to the Heaven Dou City Imperial Palace to find her.
After Ci Xue finished speaking, the boudoir fell silent for a while.
Yue Guan spoke first, her voice full of resistance.
"What does the young master mean by this? Does he want us to break away from the Pope and work for her?"
He clicked his tongue.
"Although working for the young master might offer better pay than what we have now, why would we just run away like this without any explanation?"
Yue Guan shook his head, not understanding the reason for doing so.
"Chrysanthemum wouldn't do such a thing. We've served His Holiness the Pope for so many years, and we'd just disappear without a word? Would that look good if word got out?" Ghostly Ghost chimed in. "Bloodthirst. Don't forget the relationship between the young master and His Holiness the Pope."
His voice was low, but his questioning was clear.
"Young Master, you want us to turn away from the Pope... Does that mean they, mother and daughter, are going to turn against each other?"
Ling Yuan sat by the window, saying nothing.
Kiku and Kito were right.
Qian Renxue is Bibi Dong's daughter. Although their relationship has always been very bad, they are still family in name only.
Now the young master wants the three of them to leave Bibi Dong...
Seeing that the three were unmoved by reason, Ci Xue felt a sense of helplessness.
But I still have to fulfill Qian Renxue's request.
We need to change our strategy.
Ci Xue was silent for a few seconds, then spoke.
"Do you want to know what the young master has been doing all these years?"
All three of them looked at him.
Ci Xue then briefly recounted the key events that had occurred around Qian Renxue in recent years to the three of them.
"..."
"So..." Ling Yuan's voice was filled with surprise, "what prevented us from participating in the Soul Hunting Operation was not actually the young master's intention, but rather Dongfang Jing's casual remark?"
He nodded and then shook his head, his eyes filled with blood.
"Young Master made this decision based on that person's advice. As for the reason... the other party didn't elaborate, only reminding Young Master that entering the Star Dou Great Forest would be very dangerous."
Ling Yuan pressed on, her tone full of confidence: "What danger? We are Title Douluos, and there are many Soul Saints and Soul Douluos traveling with us. How could there be any danger for this team entering the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Ci Xue hesitated for a moment.
He was weighing whether or not to reveal Qian Renxue's bold speculation that she had kept private.
In the end, he didn't.
Because that might involve Dongfang Jing's privacy, he couldn't make a decision on his own.
If the young master finds out he's talking nonsense, he'll definitely be furious!
"I don't know the specific reason," Ci Xue said. "But that young man, She Long and I have both seen him, and we know more about him than you do. I can only say that this person is indeed unfathomable, and he is shrouded in mystery."
He paused.
"As for his reminder to us... it's probably because he values relationships. After all, he and the young master are friends now, and if you can serve the young master, it would be more valuable to Dongfang Jing than to serve the Pope."
Ci Xue stood up.
"That's all I have to say. Think it through yourselves."
He walked towards the door.
I paused for a moment before leaving.
Whether you go on tomorrow's Soul Hunting Operation or not is none of my business. But I hope you won't let down the young master's good intentions.
After saying that, Ci Xue pushed open the door and left, disappearing into the night.
Only three people remained in the boudoir.
Ling Yuan sat on the windowsill, legs crossed, one hand supporting her chin.
She whispered, "I never imagined that our young master would fall in love with an enemy!"
Yue Guan was filing her fingers with nail clippers.
With each grinding motion, some debris fell onto the clean floor of Lingyuan's boudoir.
Ling Yuan stared intently at the debris, her lips twitching.
But she held back, because in terms of strength and status, she was the lowest among those present.
Without looking up, Yue Guan corrected him in a complicated tone: "That's not right. That kid is now the young master's long-term partner and also supports the unification of the empire. Our positions are the same."
"Their group was able to eliminate Tang Hao, so their strength should not be underestimated. It would be best if we could avoid becoming their enemy."
Two eerie points of light flickered: "Chrysanthemum Pass, you mean...?"
Yue Guan sighed and put away the nail clippers.
"Old Ghost, we made the right choice back then."
He raised his head, a rare serious expression on his face: "You remember, right? When His Holiness the Pope ordered us to capture that kid, we slacked off and didn't actually go looking for him. Later, we ran into him on the Lima Plain, but Tang Hao ruined our plans, so we just made up an excuse to get it over with."
The ghost was silent for a moment.
"...Remember."
"Tell me, what if we had been determined to fight that kid to the death back then?"
The ghost did not answer, but the answer was self-evident.
Given the skill that Dongfang Jing has demonstrated, if they had actually taken action back then and truly driven the other party to a dead end...
Their fate will probably be no better than Tang Hao's!
Ling Yuan looked at the two seniors, Chrysanthemum and Ghost. Although she still had many questions in her mind, there was no need to delve into them.
"So what should we do?" she asked.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, their eyes hardening with determination.
"Let's take it one step at a time. We'll participate in the Soul Hunting Operation as scheduled tomorrow, but we must be careful, make decisive decisions, and act according to circumstances." Yue Guan stood up and walked confidently towards the door. Before leaving, he turned back to look at the orchid on the windowsill, somewhat tempted.
"Your orchids are quite well-grown. Since you have two pots, why don't you give me one?"
Ling Yuan listened without expression, then raised her hand to ask, "It's getting late, Elder Yue, please take care."
🔥 Read Ahead!
Unlock 40+ advanced chapters on Patreon.
👉 patreon.com/Ficthoria
(End of chapter)