“Alliance Leader Lu, what did Miaomiao say when she met with you?” Yuan Taishi suddenly asked.
Lu Yin remembered the young woman’s beautiful face, as well as that captivating flower on her face, and his heart was unwittingly moved. Her beautiful face with the image of the flower had been just too alluring. “Nothing much. Why does Senior Yuan Taishi ask?”
Yuan Taishi bitterly replied, “That child, Miaomiao, has changed a great deal after her meeting with the alliance leader, and she seems quite lost. Alliance Leader Lu, this old man has a request that I hope you can help me with.”
“Senior, please tell me,” Lu Yin said.
Yuan Taishi grew embarrassed, but he still gritted his teeth and continued on to say, “I would ask Alliance Leader Lu to speak with Miaomiao again in order to loosen the knot that has formed in her heart. You would have this old man’s deepest gratitude.”
After speaking, the old man actually bowed to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin quickly helped the old man back up. “Yuan Taishi, this sounds quite serious. If there’s anything that I can do to help Miss Miaomiao, this junior feels obligated to do so.”
“I owe you my greatest thanks. Here, show Alliance Leader Lu to see Miaomiao,” Yuan Taishi ordered a servant.
Lu Yin bade goodbye to Yuan Taishi before following a maid to Yuan Miaomiao’s quarters. If he was being honest, Lu Yin was a bit excited. While he did not feel anything in particular towards the woman, she did possess an irresistible charm, and besides, everyone appreciated great beauty.
When Lu Yin entered the room, his eyes were greeted by an active spring with a soft mist rising from it, but what caught his attention were the puerile snow-white feet playing in the spring water. It was like watching a young girl play, and water splashed up and sprinkled on the lotus that was blooming within the spring.
It was a truly beautiful scene, especially when Yuan Miaomiao turned to the side to look at Lu Yin, showing him the image of the flower on her face. The sight stunned Lu Yin for a moment; the sensation was the same as when he had first met Madam Nalan, or when he had fallen into Ming Yan’s tub on Shenwu Continent. It was a sensation that a person could drown in.
Yuan Miaomiao blushed when she saw Lu Yin approaching her, and she hurriedly rose to stand and cover her feet with her white dress. Her back faced Lu Yin, as she was quite embarrassed.
Lu Yin coughed, as he also felt a bit embarrassed. He stepped forward and said, “I’m sorry about that.”
Yuan Miaomiao hummed softly as she put on her shoes. She took a few deep breaths, turned to face Lu Yin, and then gave a slow bow. “Alliance Leader Lu.”
“We’re both about the same age, so just call me Brother Lu,” Lu Yin said.
Yuan Miaomiao’s face was still red, but it was impossible to see that through the veil she wore. Still, her eyes were entrancing, and they looked like beautiful stars that glittered when she flicked them over to Lu Yin from time to time. “Lu- Brother Lu, why did you come here?”
Lu Yin’s expression grew a bit stiff. “Yuan Taishi asked me to come see you. He mentioned that you’ve been feeling rather off lately, so he asked me to come speak with you.”
As Lu Yin was speaking, something suddenly popped up in his mind, and he quickly corrected himself. “I mean, to try to help you.”
“Help me with what?” Yuan Miaomiao blinked, looking somewhat dazed.
Lu Yin had no idea what else to say. Anyone would end up at a loss when faced with this kind of woman, no matter how powerful they might be. “Help cheer Miss Miaomiao up.”
Yuan Miaomiao laughed gently. “Tell my grandpa that his daughter’s not in a bad mood. It’s just his imagination.”
“Since that’s the case, I’ll say goodbye,” Lu Yin said.
“Brother Lu!” Yuan Miaomiao called out. She pursed her lips and remained silent for a bit before finally saying in a quiet voice, “Join me for a drink. I actually like to drink, but Grandpa doesn’t let me.”
Lu Yin thought for a moment, but then he quickly nodded with a smile. “Sure thing.”
The two of them sat across from each other at a stone table as they enjoyed some snacks and wine. It was a unique atmosphere, given that they were surrounded by the spring’s soft white mist.
Lu Yin found that chatting with Yuan Miaomiao was very relaxing. She made no further mention of the Great Eastern Alliance or the Divine Venom Dynasty and instead simply talked about trivial matters, as well as interesting gossip from Venom King City. It allowed Lu Yin to enjoy a rare moment of relaxation.
It was dark when Lu Yin finally left Yuan Tiashi’s mansion.
The day had passed in a hurry, and that night, Lu Yin reached out to Qing Longlong and asked her to arrange a meeting with Yuan Miaomiao.
Qing Longlong immediately left to visit Yuan Tiashi’s mansion. After arriving, she stared at Yuan Miaomiao. “You met Lu Yin again? Did the same thing happen?”
Yuan Miaomiao shook her head. She felt a little lost, but also a bit happy. “No.”
“No? How could you ask meet him without me? Last time, you sent me away at the restaurant too. You must have a crush on him.” Qing Longlong hated the fact that her friend had ended up in this situation.
Yuan Miaomiao looked at Qing Longlong and blinked. “Do you not approve?”
Qing Longlong sighed. “How can I not approve? Still, Lu Yin is too much to go after. Do you know what he did to conquer the Outerverse? Now the entire Innerverse is his enemy.”
Yuan Miaomiao rolled her eyes. “We’ve only met twice! How much do you think has happened?”
Qing Longlong smacked a hand against her forehead. “Two times! Just two times you’ve met, and yet you’re already like this. You need to see him again.”
“So you’ll help me see him?” Yuan Miaomiao laughed.
Qing Longlong shrugged. “I don’t really want to, but…” As she spoke, her voice grew bitter. “I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.”
Yuan Miaomiao froze and stared at Qing Longlong with a sincere look in her eyes. “Thank you, Longlong.”
Qing Longlong just showed a sour smile. “Who asked me to become your little sister? By the way, you still haven’t said anything to your grandpa. Will he agree?”
The smile disappeared from Yuan Miaomiao’s face. “Right now, he can’t wait to get me into Lu Yin’s bed so that Lu Yin will leave Venom Flowzone.”
Qing Longlong opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What could she even say? Everything that Yuan Taishi did was for the Divine Venom Dynasty, even if it meant sacrificing Yuan Miaomiao. He was someone who had sacrificed his own family for the benefit of the entire Divine Venom Dynasty, but Qing Longlong had benefited from the old man’s sacrifices.
“Miaomiao, I can’t help you. I’m sorry,” Qing Longlong apologized.
Yuan Miaomiao smiled back. “What are you apologizing for? I’m not upset. It’s definitely better than being shipped off to some old man.”
Qing Longlong perked up at her friend’s words. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”
“No, I’ll go by myself.”
“What? Do you not need me anymore? Miaomiao, you have to stay firm! There are some things that you can only do after marriage!”
“Damn it, girl! What are you talking about?”
…
There were still two days left before Qing Shaohuang’s celebratory banquet, and Lu Yin found himself sitting in a restaurant. He was waiting to meet with Yuan Miaomiao again, as she had asked to meet in the same restaurant when they had met for the first time.
Lu Yin did not wait for long when a familiar scent appeared. It instantly reminded him of the misty spring shrouded in shadows.
“Brother Lu, I’ve made you wait,” Yuan Miaomiao quietly apologized as soon as she arrived.
Lu Yin felt curious. “Where’s Qinglong?”
“She didn’t come.”
“Okay,” Lu Yin said and closed the door. He then turned to look at Yuan Miaomiao before glancing at the table, where there were two words that had been written with wine. These words had not been on the table when the two had first met, as Lu Yin had just written them down. They were copied from what Yuan Miaomiao had written the previous day when she had chatted with Lu Yin by the spring.
“What do you mean?” Lu Yin asked.
Yuan Miaomiao suddenly dropped to one knee, providing Lu Yin with an incredible and shocking view, but he did not move.
“Alliance Leader Lu, please save me! Save me from Yuan Taishi’s mansion!” Yuan Miaomiao begged as her eyes grew red and tears dripped down.
Lu Yin felt puzzled. “Yuan Taishi is your grandfather. He-“
“He is not my grandfather!” Yuan Miaomiao raised her head, revealing hatred and sadness that filled her eyes. “He killed my parents! He is not my grandfather!”
Lu Yin frowned. “What are you talking about?”
He suddenly thought about the imposter masquerading as Ancestor Autumnfrost. The same situation could not happen twice; that would be too much of a coincidence. What was going on here?
Yuan Miaomiao sadly explained, “Yuan Taishi adopted my parents. After I was born, he poisoned me with this love flower.”
As she spoke, she removed her veil so that Lu Yin could clearly see the image of the flower on her face again before she continued explaining. “He killed my parents just because they learned of his greatest secret: he- he’s working with the Neohuman Alliance!”
Lu Yin’s expression instantly changed. “What was that?”
Yuan Miaomiao stared up at Lu Yin. “Yuan Taishi worked with the Neohuman Alliance to develop a poison here in the Divine Venom Dynasty. My parents were killed after they learned about this. He thinks that I don’t know, as I was very young at the time, but I overheard my parents talking about it, and I’ve never forgotten.
“He’s put on the appearance of being my grandfather for many years, but the truth is that he controls me with both love and this jincan. He arranged my first meeting with you, Alliance Leader Lu, hoping to get you to leave Venom Flowzone by offering me to you. He must be worried that you’ll learn that he’s been working with the Neohuman Alliance to develop a poison. He’s not trying to help the Divine Venom Dynasty to have peace! That’s nothing but lies.”
“What’s the poison?” Lu Yin asked in a low voice.
Yuan Miaomiao thought for a bit before remembering. “It was… What was it? Vital-something?”
Vitality Poison! Lu Yin’s eyes instantly grew stern. Vitality Poison was always accompanied by a number that indicated how powerful it was. This was a name that no one would ever know unless they had personally come across the poison. This was something that not even many of the Neohuman Alliance’s corpse kings knew about.
The moment Yuan Miaomiao had mentioned the word “vital,” Lu Yin had lost all consideration that she might be lying. Given her strength and position, it was impossible for her to have ever encountered Vitality Poison outside this situation.
If Yuan Miaomiao’s words were true, then the most likely reason why Yuan Taishi was pushing for the Divine Venom Dynasty to not get involved in the conflict between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Innerverse was because he was afraid that the conflict would disturb the development of the Neohuman Alliance’s Vitality Poison. It was possible that the information related to the Horned Galaxy that had been offered at the secret auction had not been fake like Yuan Taishi had claimed, but rather something that the old man could not afford to let leak to anyone.
Lu Yin asked Yuan Miaomiao to stand up, and then he sank deep into thought.
Yuan Miaomiao did not bother Lu Yin, and she just stood to the side as she watched him with eyes that occasionally flickered with a bit of hope.
“Your parents only said that Yuan Taishi’s working with the Neohuman Alliance, right? They didn’t mention anyone else?” Lu Yin asked.
Yuan Miaomiao shook her head.
Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief, as his biggest worry was that Qing Shaohuang was also an accomplice of the Neohuman Alliance. If that were the case, then Venom Flowzone would be nothing more than the Neohuman Alliance’s personal nest, and it would be very difficult for him to leave in safety.
It was reasonable and made perfect sense that the Vitality Poison had been researched and developed in Venom Flowzone. This place was filled with all kinds of poisons, and researching poison in such a place would not attract any attention at all. Even better, Venom Flowzone was an isolated place, which meant information was even harder to obtain. It was an ideal location for the Neohuman Alliance’s work.
Why did Lu Yin run into the Neohuman Alliance wherever he went? Aeternus really had pervaded the entire Human Domain.
Lu Yin looked back at Yuan Miaomiao, wanting to say something, but suddenly, his pupils shrank. Earlier, Yuan Miaomiao had taken off her veil when she had been telling Lu Yin her story, and he was still able to clearly see the image of the flower on her face. Each and every line and curve that detailed the flower was crystal clear, but within the image, there was a second, hidden flower.
The second flower was a perfectly ordinary little flower, and it was far from as glamorous and dazzling as the love flower. However, there were nine dots around that little flower. Although it just looked like an ordinary flower, Lu Yin felt like he was struck by lightning when he saw it, as he instantly recognized it: it was the emblem of Progenitor Chen.
