Despite the twists and turns throughout the transaction, it ended quite smoothly toward the end. The lady’s mood fluctuated repeatedly, making it difficult for anyone to guess which words she had meant and which otherwise. Additionally, no one understood why she had revealed her great divination attainments.
Nonetheless, the trade was the primary objective, and with that out of the way, Qianye was no longer willing to remain in these dangerous lands. He had many things to ask Song Zining, but he could ask him all the same upon their return. Hence, the group duly boarded the airship and returned to Southern Blue.
On the airship, the old man from before was sitting in the main cabin—silently and with his eyes closed. Song Zining was shocked out of his wits upon seeing him. “Eunuch Liu!”
The old man opened his eyes ever so slightly and shot Song Zining a glance. “So young yet quite bold. You actually managed to drag me to the neutral lands, quite the rare occurrence truly.”
Song Zining’s frivolous attitude had vanished completely at this point. He replied with due respect, “This young one really didn’t know you would be troubled for this matter. Please forgive me.”
Eunuch Liu waved his hand. “Let it be. These old bones have been stuck in the palace for long enough. I should come out and get some fresh air anyway or I’ll get rusty. I’m aching all over whenever there’s bad weather.”
Song Zining said immediately, “There are some good things in the neutral lands. I heard some medicines here have miraculous effects against rheumatism and are especially suited for people with powerful cultivations. These medicines aren’t super valuable, but they are a bit difficult to find. Qianye and I will help you find some later on.”
Fairly satisfied, the old eunuch said with a nod, “I appreciate your rare show of goodwill, but I can’t stay very long and will be hurrying back tomorrow. The neutral lands is a world for you youngsters.”
Song Zining was startled. “That fast? Then I’ll send someone to deliver the medicines to you when we find them.”
Eunuch Liu smiled in delight. “Send a bit more if it isn’t too valuable. The palace is cold and humid, there are a lot of other old fellows with the same condition. It’ll be difficult to split the medicine if there’s not enough.”
“Rest assured, we’ll do our best to find them. I was just wondering why that lady was so easy to deal with, turns out it was because of your presence.”
Eunuch Liu nodded softly. “I felt annoyed at her ambiguity, so I released a bit of my aura for her to see, lest things turn out troublesome.”
With that, Eunuch Liu beckoned Qianye over. “You must be Qianye, come over and let me see.”
Qianye glanced about and only walked over when he got a nod from Li Kuanglan and Song Zining. Truthfully speaking, Qianye was instinctively unwilling to approach an unknown expert like Eunuch Liu—not unlike how fierce beasts would stay away from one another. This feeling wasn’t evident before because he wasn’t strong enough, but now his instincts were growing stronger and stronger due to the sharp upgrade in origin power and blood energy.
Eunuch Liu smiled. “Come closer. What are you afraid of? It’s not like I’ll eat you.”
Qianye braced himself and took a step forward, arriving within two meters of the old man. He was no longer willing to get closer than this. His instincts were sending him strong signals that this Eunuch Liu wasn’t as peaceful as he seemed on the surface—he was full of power and could erupt at any moment.
Eunuch Liu didn’t ask Qianye to come any closer. He sized the latter up from head to toe and praised, “Not bad, I surely didn’t have this level of power when I was his age.”
Eunuch Liu flicked his thumb lightly against his index finger, eliciting a crisp explosive sound. This flick immediately sent Qianye’s heartbeat out of control—it sped up all of a sudden, pumping a torrent of warm blood to all parts of his body.
Qianye was astonished. His heart’s role, under normal circumstances, was quite small due to the presence of a blood core. If it wasn’t for his daybreak origin power protecting the organ all this time, this important organ might’ve been transformed by auric flame blood.
Eunuch Liu had used a mysterious ability, bringing about thunder and making Qianye’s heart lose control with a flick of his fingers. This method had actually penetrated through Qianye’s origin power and blood energy defenses to reach the heart. It was extremely powerful.
After recovering from the initial shock, Qianye’s origin power and blood energy kicked into circulation. They forcibly suppressed his heart, stopping it from beating too fast. Otherwise, there was no telling whether he would die of a ruptured heart.
Eunuch Liu only flicked that once and no more. As the sound of thunder gradually faded away, Qianye’s heartbeat returned to normal.
Eunuch Liu nodded. “Not bad, even I am envious of your physique. Qianye, you should consider certain things carefully after I leave. With that person protecting you, whatever you did in the past won’t be a problem.”
Qianye was puzzled as to who Eunuch Liu was referring to. Nonetheless, the old man was pointing upward as he said this, so it had to be a certain major character. Who could it be? A prince, princess, imperial consort, or maybe even one of the two empresses?
Qianye had no idea when he had become connected to these people, but it would seem Eunuch Liu wasn’t willing to divulge anything, either. The man closed his eyes once more and made no other movement.
Li Kuanglan kept on gazing out of the window, almost as though there was some sort of exceptional view outside. Qianye glanced over at her suspicious figure and noticed her shoulders shrinking slightly as his gaze landed—a clear response.
This raised suspicions in Qianye’s heart. As he saw it, Li Kuanglan was feeling guilty because she knew something but was keeping it from him.
Qianye was just about to go up and ask when Song Zining dragged him by the sleeve and shot him a meaningful glance.
Qianye followed the seventh young master out of the cabin. As they reached a secluded passage, the latter said, “This Eunuch Liu is of significant background. He was an extremely powerful general during the last emperor’s reign. Later on, the emperor suffered numerous ambushes and was heavily wounded during one of them. That was when Eunuch Liu entered the palace to serve as the emperor’s personal guardian. Countless dark races have died in his hands throughout the years. As far as I know, he’s the number one expert in the current imperial palace.”
Qianye was surprised. No wonder the old man had given him so much pressure. That finger-snap of his was as strange as it was powerful—the victim would be hard-pressed to respond immediately if struck on the battlefield, and that moment was enough to decide their fate.
“Why did Eunuch Liu come to the neutral lands? Shouldn’t he be protecting the emperor?”
Song Zining replied, “His elderly grace’s arrival naturally means the business is important.”
“What business could it be?” Qianye was still clueless.”
Song Zining, however, seemed quite cautious about it. “You’ll find out one of these days, it’s related to you.”
The more Song Zining tried to beat around the bush, the more Qianye wanted to know. Nonetheless, he was helpless since Song Zining kept his mouth shut and wasn’t willing to divulge anything.
Just as he was about to press on, Eunuch Liu’s voice echoed in the duo’s ears. “This matter is extremely important, otherwise, I wouldn’t have come here personally. But Lil’ Seven, since I was sent here personally, you should realize that person’s attitude regarding this matter. It’s fine if things work out, but you know the outcome otherwise. I won’t be this delighted if I have to run this errand again, so you better take care of yourself.”
Song Zining’s expression changed drastically. He smiled ruefully and became lost in thought—who knew what he was scheming?
Unexpectedly, Eunuch Liu continued, “There’s nothing more important in that person’s eyes. You suggested this matter, so you have to make it happen at any cost. Don’t even think about getting away because of your merits. None of your contributions will help if this matter doesn’t go off smoothly.”
This time, Song Zining’s countenance collapsed entirely, and he had nothing left to say. All he could do was let out a long sigh.
Even Qianye realized from the old man’s tone that things were quite serious. “Zining, what exactly is going on? Let me know a bit, so that I can help you shoulder the burden.”
Song Zining laughed wryly upon hearing those words. “Share the burden? When the time comes, it’ll be good enough if you don’t kick me while I’m down. Sigh, it’s all my fault. I should have known my limits and not played so big.”
Qianye was baffled. “What exactly is this about? How is it related to me?”
“It’s not just related.”
The airship sped forward in due haste. On the vessel, Eunuch Liu sat as still as a mountain, his eyes closed and his mouth shut. Li Kuanglan and Song Zining, on the other hand, were both drowning in their own worries. The former was still gazing out of the window, while the latter was hiding in a corner, banging his head against the wall. Only Qianye was filled with such curiosity that he almost wanted to scratch at the cabin.
At this moment, another airship had just landed in Tidehark. Luo Bingfeng was already waiting in the study when Luo Yun entered. The city lord said in great delight when he saw the two boxes in the steward’s hands, “You’ve got your hands on it?”
Luo Yun presented the two boxes. “Everything went smoothly. Qianye also passed the Heart Reflection, so the cultivation arts should be genuine.”
Luo Bingfeng smiled as he took over the sealed boxes. “All is good then. With these secret arts, Nannan’s cultivation can take a step forward and her chances of recovery will increase.”
Luo Yun said, “City Lord, the Wolf King sent word, asking us to compensate them for their loss regarding Song Zining.”
Luo Bingfeng was in a good mood. “Give them what they want as long as it’s within reason.”
“Yes, City Lord,” Luo Yun replied but didn’t leave immediately. Seeing this, the city lord asked curiously, “Is there anything else.”
Luo Yun hesitated for a moment. “This… there’s actually something. I’m wondering if I should say it.”
“Just say what you must, stop beating around the bush.”
“Well… the madam was also present during the transaction.”
Luo Bingfeng shot out of his seat in shock. “What? How come?”
At this moment, the lady’s gentle voice arrived from outside the room. “Why can’t I? Are you so afraid that I’ll find out?”
Luo Bingfeng was immediately stoppered up. “Of course not, there’s nothing I can hide from you.”
The woman entered the study and pointed at the sealed boxes. “The things are here, don’t you plan to take a look?”
