Li Kuanglan’s attitude was unexpectedly unyielding, so much so that even the experienced Luo Yun didn’t know what to do. Besides, it wasn’t suitable to adopt a harsher tone with that mysterious old man around. At least Luo Yun understood that his mental defenses had collapsed and that it was impossible for him to extract more benefits.
He sighed secretly, understanding that the appearance of that mysterious elder had reversed the scales. At the very least, Southern Blue was no longer in a situation of certain-loss. It was impossible to force more concessions from Li Kuanglan under such circumstances.
Luo Yun acted decisively after deducing the situation. “It’s settled then. But there’s a small step both parties should go through. The city lord has a special secret art that can be trained in one day. Both parties must channel this art at the same time during the transaction to make sure they have kept their promises. I hope Mister Li can hand the art to Qianye and tell him that he must finish cultivating it before the exchange.”
Li Kuanglan received the ancient scroll from Luo Yun. Her brows twitched slightly as she glanced through the contents. “Heart Reflection! Who would’ve thought this kind of inheritance still existed in the neutral lands?”
Luo Yun was astonished. “Mister Li knows this secret art?”
Li Kuanglan sneered, “This is just a minor divination technique. It’s just that the requirements are high and it doesn’t have many uses, so it faded away gradually. What’s so special about it?”
Luo Yun’s haughtiness was completely gone at this point. “It’s best if Mister Li knows about the art. Where do we perform the exchange?”
Li Kuanglan gave it some thought before replying, “Three days later, the place where Song Zining was captured.”
“Very well, I’ll arrive on time.”
Just as Luo Yun was saying his farewell, Li Kuanglan said, “Don’t tell me the city lord allowed you to barter with both arts plus Song Seven?”
Luo Yun shook his head helplessly. “How can that be? The city lord’s bottom line is Young Noble Song Zining and one of the two arts. But Qianye doesn’t need a better cultivation art, either, so two arts or one makes no difference.”
Li Kuanglan nodded and then asked her subordinates to send Luo Yun out.
When the room was completely empty, Li Kuanglan’s expression changed drastically. She shot to her feet and dashed for the door. Her movements were as quick as lightning, arriving at the threshold in a single flash and seemingly about to make her exit. A figure suddenly appeared in her vision at this moment. It was that old man.
The elder stood at the center of the door, blocking it firmly. Li Kuanglan was less than three meters away when he had appeared. Considering the speed at which she was traveling, there wasn’t even any time to think at such a distance.
Her hair stood on end, and she almost let out a scream. Fortunately, she reacted quickly by tapping the door frame and moving her entire body along the wall, toward the window.
Her movements weren’t slow. Weaker champions wouldn’t even be able to see clearly how she had changed her direction, only the afterimages.
However, it was a different world in Li Kuanglan’s eyes and ears. The window was clearly empty and she would reach the vast world outside just by going through it. Yet, when she changed directions just now, she could hear the old man’s cough coming from that direction.
Li Kuanglan understood that the sound and image might be false, but one thing was certain—the old man would be waiting there for her.
Being the talented person she was, Li Kuanglan made a sharp change in direction and barreled toward the wall. It looked like she actually wanted to crash right through. Now, this was an unexpected move—once she had broken through the wall, she would reach the vast world like a bird freed of its cage.
But this fragile, easily-broken wall suddenly became incomparably firm as a soft but tough layer of origin power appeared on it. Caught entirely off-guard, Li Kuanglan crashed right into it and was bounced away, staggering backward from the impact. Her ram was enough to destroy a tank, yet this thin wall was completely fine and not even a piece of concrete had fallen off.
The impact was severe. Li Kuanglan had gone all out, so this was equal to her taking an all-out blow from herself. Her blood and qi went churning, her face flushed, and her eyes dazed as she gasped for breath.
Just as she was wavering and unable to find her footing, she heard the elder’s voice, “I must convey the empress’ words as I was asked to, otherwise, I won’t be able to report back to her majesty. Please don’t make things difficult for me. This is what she said, ‘Kuanglan isn’t young anymore and needs to seek a relationship…’”
Li Kuanglan screamed while covering her ears. “I’m not listening, I’m not listening!”
Yet no matter how hard she tried to cover her ears, the old man’s voice still echoed quite clearly in her senses. The sound was akin to waves crashing onto the rocky cliffs, so much so that they would reverberate in her consciousness even with her ears covered.
The old man arrived beside Li Kuanglan with a sigh. “Even if you use that man to drag things out, it’ll only happen once. You can dodge one, but you can’t dodge fifty. I must still convey the words I must convey, unless you can escape this room and never let me find you.”
Li Kuanglan remained silent. The situation was already clear at this point—it would take more than a couple more years of training to escape from the old man’s hands.
Seeing that Li Kuanglan had resigned herself to fate, the old man said with a smile, “That’s more like it. This saves me a lot of trouble, and I’ll be able to report back sooner. I’ll continue then… I’ll repeat the message once more after this. My mission would be considered complete after you’ve thrice heard the message.”
The old man’s lips moved slightly, sending a string of fine words echoing in Li Kuanglan’s ears. She knew each and every word as well as their meaning, yet she couldn’t accept the resultant message when they were combined. She had never even thought about it.
Even though she had heard it once, Li Kuanglan still turned pale and weak after hearing the missive a second time. She looked like a soldier who had just come out of a great battle.
The old man hesitated for a while before asking, “Just one time left. Do you want to drink some tea to calm down?”
Li Kuanglan clenched her teeth. “No need! Just go ahead, the earlier one dies, the quicker he can reincarnate!”
The old man laughed. “There is no such thing as reincarnation, and uttering such absurdities would only harm one’s status. It’s fine to say what you want outside, but you won’t escape punishment if the Empress hears of it.”
“Enough rubbish, quick!” Li Kuanglan had abandoned all forms of upbringing and manners at this point.
The old man would surely have lectured her under normal circumstances, but she was in an agitated state of mind right now and he didn’t want to further upset her. It wouldn’t be good if she was forced into taking drastic actions.
The old man repeated the message once more in a constant tone.
After he had finished his last word, Li Kuanglan was weak and drenched in sweat. She sat dazed in her chair with neither movement, thought, nor words, much like a lifeless statue.
“My job is done, is there anything you want to ask me?”
Li Kuanglan blurted out, “What if I don’t obey?”
“Everyone knows the Empress’ way of doing things, I would suggest you do as she says. Nothing good will come out of angering her. Besides, Her Majesty is doing this for your own good and the Li family’s. Otherwise, why would she send these old bones so far just to deliver a message? Making me work isn’t hard, but it’s not so easy, either.”
Li Kuanglan whispered, “I know it’s for the Li family, but me…”
“I must say some fair words here, this is indeed for your own good. You should know that some things aren’t in your scope of choice.”
Li Kuanglan only sighed.
The old man seemed much more relaxed. He picked up a cup of tea and sipped it slowly, saying, “I’ve been pondering about the Empress’ intentions. Although there’s a lot to do back in the palace, I’m really in no rush to go back. I’ll stay here for three more days. I can help you with some things if it isn’t anything major.”
Li Kuanglan laughed wryly. “I don’t dare owe you a favor.”
“I just said I won’t do anything big, so you don’t owe me a favor.”
“What does big entail?”
“Anything below divine champion isn’t a big matter.”
Li Kuanglan said all of a sudden, “Can you kill Qianye for me?”
The old man was startled. He then broke into a laugh, saying, “I haven’t lived long enough. I don’t want my head to roll once I go back to the Empress.”
“Then slaughter Song Seven! I’m sure he’s the one playing all these tricks!” Li Kuanglan said through clenched teeth.
“Now this is a bit more reliable. Unfortunately, this matter is also related to the seventh young noble. The Empress has already taken notice of him, so I can’t touch him just yet, but I can think of a way after this entire business has been dealt with.”
Li Kuanglan was sent into a daze. “What’s the use of killing him after everything is over?”
The old man said lightly, “It’s just to vent. Even if we don’t kill him, we can still let him feel some pain.”
“What’s the point of beating him up at that point!?”
The old man turned away with a laugh, leaving only Li Kuanglan in the room.
Li Kuanglan sat alone in the room. The more she thought about this matter, the more frustrated she felt, and all of sudden, she started bawling her eyes out. Although she didn’t cry out loud, tears streamed down until she couldn’t wipe them clean no matter how hard she tried.
So there were things in this world that the Cold Moon’s Embrace couldn’t cut.
The sun started to set and had soon submerged behind the distant mountains. The scarlet clouds in the sky gradually darkened, leaving only a trace of deep red. The night winds kicked up from all directions as the bright moon appeared in the east and the stars flickered behind the layers of clouds.
The lounge was so dark that one could hardly see the scenery inside. Li Kuanglan was still there with seemingly no intention of switching on the lights.
After a long while, the chamber doors were kicked away with a boom, shattering on the opposite building wall. The other building even sank in slightly, a testament to just how powerful this kick was.
Li Kuanglan walked out into the darkness and soon vanished around the corner of the corridor. The guards only heard the commotion at this point. Shocked by the devastation at the scene, they immediately sounded the alarm.
Numerous mercenaries rushed over to find that the old man had appeared beside the lounge. “Kuanglan is in a bad mood right now, don’t mind her. Just clean this place up.” He then disappeared.
Everyone knew that this old man’s relationship with Li Kuanglan was extraordinary, so none of them dared to question him further. They simply buried their heads into cleaning up the mess.
Outside of Tidehark, Qianye was atop a tall peak, gazing at the big city from afar. A cold intent appeared behind him at this point!
