The youths of Changling mostly did not dare to look down at her imperiously, much less deliberately show off that iced beverage.
So this youth could only be Ding Ning.
Palace Attendant Rong narrowed her eyes slightly. A few seconds later, she got off her carriage. She was a powerful cultivator, so the horse caravans blocking her carriage could not stop her steps.
She seemed to stroll through the crowded caravans easily like a wind, walking towards Happiness Tower.
Perhaps because she was purposefully showing her cultivation that a glowing ball of light appeared around her. The stench and even the burning heat were blocked off.
No one stopped her from ascending the tower until she was behind Ding Ning.
There was wind at higher elevations, and those caravans had slowly dissipated after she left so there was no stench left.
Ding Ning did not immediately turn around. Her gaze first landed on Ding Ning’s back and then the iced beverage in Ding Ning’s hands.
A thin sneer appeared on her lips. She said slowly, “As expected, a bowl of iced mung bean soup.”
Ding Ning did not look at her and slowly drank the soup. Then he allowed the bowl in his hand to fall down the tower and crack.
As Palace Attendant Rong’s eyebrows went up, he turned around and looked at her. “Even though Happiness Tower made it, it does not taste very good.”
Palace Attendant Rong did not show much anger, and looked calmly at Ding Ning. “If you want to vent your anger, you do not have to go to such trouble. If you really want me to apologize, I can never drink this iced mung bean soup in my life.”
“He is dead, what is the use in apologies?”
Ding Ning shook his head at her and said coolly, “I am not like Senior Sect Brother Zhang Yi, I am more practical. The so-called glory is only true glory when people can see it. I just wanted to make the old man happy. So what is the use in his glorious funeral now? The old man endured and withstood his entire life. His last wish was to finish watching the entire sword trials. But you cruelly took away his last bit of time… you are just a palace attendant.”
Ding Ning smiled and said seriously, “You feel that I just want to vent my anger?”
Palace Attendant Rong’s gaze cooled slightly. She had heard Ding Ning say the words “You are just a palace attendant” before during the Min Mountain Sword Trials. Yet when she heard him say the words now, she felt completely different.
“You want to force me to fight you, and then kill me?” She was silent for a moment and then looked coldly at Ding Ning. “I will not agree to your request.”
“It is not that I feel you are strong enough to kill me, but I will not obey the empress’ decree.” Palace Attendant Rong said slowly, “You proved you are a genius on level with Jin Liuli and An Baoshi after the Min Mountain Sword Trials. You will be one of the pillars of the Qin Dynasty in the future. So even if I am able to kill you now, I will not act. As long as the empress admires you, I will not accept your request.”
Ding Ning smiled and said, “I hear you have a pet cat with blue fur. It is very rare and very obedient.”
“Just a material item. If you like it, I will send it to Ink Garden today. You can do as you please.” Palace Attendant Rong smiled coldly, shook her head and said, “All you have done is useless against me. I can live in the palace, even if it is for a long time… your tactics cannot reach the imperial palace. While these Guanzhong families help you, they cannot give you unlimited help.”
Ding Ning put away his smile and said, “Your most dislikable trait is that you are too confident and condescending. So even when you apologize, you do not have much sincerity. Even if I give you another chance to do it over, you will do the same thing. If I do not kill you, I will not feel pleased. My eldest sect brother, forced away by you, will not be pleased. My junior sect brother Shen Yi will not be pleased.”
Palace Attendant Rong’s gaze became several degrees colder. But before she said anything, a bellow suddenly came from the nearby streets followed by thunderous hoofbeats.
In a blink, a sprinting horse with red eyes galloped along the alley. With a bang, the mad horse collided directly with the horse pulling Palace Attendant Rong’s carriage. Spraying blood and gore, the two horses fell to the ground.
Palace Attendant Rong’s carriage driver paled and screamed. He almost had been thrown off the carriage. The rider of the wild horse had turned and landed on the ground. Then he bowed apologetically to the driver. “The horse was frightened, and caused this accident… I will pay.”
Of course this could not be an accident.
Ding Ning did not conceal it and said calmly to Palace Attendant Rong as he looked at the bloody scene, “We are displeased, so we will not let you be pleased. As long as you do not fight me, things like this will happen. You will not even have a carriage in Changling. You have to walk back to the imperial palace on your foot.”
“Fortunately, the road is not too far.”
Palace Attendant Rong’s gaze turned icy. “So you are most displeased by the departure of your eldest sect brother Zhang Yi. You should know that any cultivator in Changling must listen to the decrees of the entire Qin Dynasty. You are people of the Qin. As you grow strong in your cultivation, you must clearly understand who you work for. Otherwise, no matter how great your talent, you only seek your own death.”
“You still think too highly of yourself,” Ding Ning looked at Palace Attendant Rong and said in a calm and slow voice that could easily drive people mad, “You are just a palace attendant. If I want to challenge you, most people in Changling think I have a right reason.”
“I have been in Changling for decades and experienced countless events. What have I not seen? I want to see how you can force me to accept your challenge. Since you want to make trouble for me, of course I will make trouble for you. This is fair.”
Palace Attendant Rong turned to leave without a word.
“It seems she does not fear your threat.” When Palace Attendant Rong’s walking figure disappeared from the street, Jin Liuli appeared behind Ding Ning and said solemnly as she looked in that direction.
Ding Ning nodded and said, “Of course she will not fear these kinds of tactics. But over time, her mentality will change. She will be conflicted whether she should have accepted my challenge earlier or not. In the end, this kind of conflict in addition to her anger will easily cause her to lose her calm.”
Jin Liuli was puzzled and said, “Why will her mind change, why will she be conflicted whether she should have accepted your challenge earlier?”
Ding Ning smiled and said, “Because she will find that my cultivation will constantly grow, and I will quickly grow stronger.”
Jin Liuli’s eyes lit up. She started to understand what Ding Ning meant.
Ding Ning glanced at her and said, “What we do next is to let her know my cultivation is growing rapidly at a terrifying speed.”
Ding Ning laughed after a pause and said, “Fortunately, she said she will make trouble for me, and I will not have to deliberately tell her that my cultivation will grow rapidly.”
Jin Liuli nodded and asked, “What about her old lover?”
Ding Ning said, “That is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so we will not touch him now. We can make them meet more often and so she will receive more comfort from him.”
Jin Liuli thought intently for a moment and said, “I have learned.”
“Let’s go to her residence,” Ding Ning said and went downstairs.
Jin Liuli followed behind him and asked softly, “To do what?”
Ding Ning said, “To get her cat.”
Jin Liuli frowned, puzzled.
Ding Ning turned to glance at her and said, “Some things, when the enemy appears to not care, does not mean they really do not care. And even if they do not care, when you take away their things one by one, they will feel discomforted inside.”
Jin Liuli’s frown eased. “You are going to kill her cat?”
“Kill? No, I will treat it well.” Ding Ning laughed. “A long period of discomfort is more uncomfortable than a momentary discomfort.”
Jin Liuli thought and said, “How about we have her old lover fall in love with someone else?”
Ding Ning laughed and said, “With whom? You want to get her old lover to like you?”
Jin Liuli said seriously, “If useful, of course I can try.”
Ding Ning saw her grave expression and then her young but authoritative presence. His smile grew brighter. “Let us not. I fear that person does not have such good taste.”
Not far from where he and Jin Liuli could not see, a yellow-robed middle-aged man appeared in front of Palace Attendant Rong who was walking alone. “Kill that cat in my home,” she said coldly as she passed by him.
