Upon hearing these words, Deng Hu stood up suddenly, unleashing the air of a First-stage God Supreme in one intense glare at Si Mobai. “Demon King!”
“Why? Are you too scared to bet with me?” Si Mobai lifted his eyebrows gently, interrupting Deng Hu without any emotion. Seeing the man’s face was turning red with rage, he continued speaking slowly, “It’s alright if you are afraid. If you want, you can personally participate in the battle. My Lan’er will still win even if she’s competing against you.”
“Arrogant! How very arrogant!” Deng Hu was so infuriated by Si Mobai’s words that his beard trembled. He turned around and found Feng Tianlan looking stunned on the other side as well. So he bit his tongue and agreed, “Alright, if Feng Tianlan wins, I will become her Medical Errant Child servant. If she loses, then she will have to repay Ya’er with her life!”
“Alright.” Si Mobai looked at him with indifference, and suggested out of kindness, “Why don’t you compete against Lan’er yourself rather than let your disciple compete, just in case he loses without even knowing why?”
Feng Tianlan glanced at Si Mobai and swallowed her words. Perhaps it was better to watch quietly as Mobai cornered them.
“There is no need for that! Yue’er is now a Grand Alchemist. Competing with her would already be considered dragging his pill refinement skills in the mud.” Deng Hu turned towards Feng Tianlan and said coldly, “Humph! I will give you three days to do a crash course on pill refinement in case you don’t even know how to light a fire and embarrass yourself big time during the competition!”
Weng Yue glanced at Feng Tianlan who sat there without showing any emotions and felt skeptical. He had seen panic flashed across her face momentarily, so perhaps she really did not know how to refine pills. Even if she knew, her skills might be elementary. How could she dream of winning against him?
That would be impossible, hence there was no need to pay attention to her.
“You…” The Emperor wanted to persuade Feng Tianlan but he did not know how. He could only look at her with concern.
She was the victim, to begin with. But at this point, it appeared as if she was the perpetrator. When he thought of this, his heart ached. If Zhu’er were to know of this, she would be heartbroken.
Feng Tianlan laughed lightly. “No problem, I do know how to make pills. Emperor, you don’t have to be worried about me. Moreover, even if I lose, Mobai will be with me. He will never let others take advantage of me.”
Seeing how much she trusted him, Si Mobai’s eyes half-closed as the corners of his lips curled into a beautiful smile. “My precious Lan’er, how could you possibly lose?”
“By the way, is there any news about Xi Jin?” Feng Tianlan asked the Emperor, glancing at Luo Shiyun who looked so pale she might faint any moment.
The Emperor shook his head, “We could not find him.” He was very much afraid that Jin’er would do something stupid. But when he thought about the consequences of what happened, even if Jin’er did anything reckless, it would be understandable because he still felt horrible deep down.
Feng Tianlan acknowledged gently, “I will enter the Shang Institute after a couple of days but Mobai will continue looking for him. In regards to this, I am very sorry. I too, do not wish to see things end this way.”
“No, it was Jin’er’s fault. It’s got nothing to do with you. We are the ones who owe you and for that, we are truly sorry.” The Emperor did not blame Feng Tianlan at all. In this case, both she and Jin’er were victims, so neither of them should be held responsible. The only one to be blamed was that dead Shen Yunya.
Feng Tianlan did not continue to argue with him about who was right or wrong. She simply said again that she would continue looking for Xi Jin. Then, she and Si Mobai bid them farewell and left the palace together.
The two of them left the palace and got into a horse carriage. He leaned against the carriage walls while she rested in his arms. They listened to the peddlers bawling their goods outside. “Mobai, how could you agree to such a bet with him and say that if I compete against him, I will definitely win?”
She did not know anything about Deng Hu. Moreover, since he was a pill-making teacher at the Shang Institute, his skills would be above the level of a Grandmaster. She did not have absolute confidence in winning a competition against him, even if she possessed the Pill Scroll Azurite.
