When Nangong Ling goes crazy, he's absolutely ruthless and can kill anyone, not even family members. I've experienced it firsthand. Every test he's given me has been a bloody lesson. Compared to him, Nangong Ling's methods of testing me are much gentler. Of course, I'll keep these things to myself. As for whether Nangong Ling has figured it out, I don't know. Anyway, as long as he doesn't stir things up, I'll pretend I don't know anything.
"I don't believe you can settle down."
Whether you believe it or not is none of my business.
Perhaps because her gaze was too sharp, she slightly turned her head away and looked away.
"Don't expect to be smug forever. You owe Jun Guan a debt, and the retribution will come sooner or later."
All I know is that I went to the Heavenly Sect to play around back then, and the old sect leader was killed by my elder brother because I didn't like him. Jun Guan survived only because my conscience bothered me. As for the cause of the incident, who would bother to investigate? Even if they knew that I was bitten by a poisonous snake and almost went to the underworld, they would only say that I reaped what I sowed by being playful. It's like putting a dying lion and an injured deer together; most people would still choose to sympathize with the latter.
"Then you'd better open your eyes and watch, or you'll die before me."
"you……"
"Although fortune tellers' words are generally unreliable, there's one thing I do heed: I will live to be a hundred, so you should at least live to be a hundred and one."
She looked up, her expression quite stunned.
I hope you won't be as stubborn as Yue Linghe.
Seeing that I had nothing more to say, Xiaoman came up at the right time and said, "It's windy outside, Madam, you should go back inside and rest."
Before leaving, I caught a glimpse of her quietly tightening her sleeves to conceal the gruesome knife marks on her wrist.
...
Perhaps because it was his first time traveling so far in his life, the little guy was especially excited today and stayed up half the night fussing and refused to sleep.
"If you don't behave, your dad will beat you!"
Later, I lost my patience and was about to roll up my sleeves to take action when some of them finally finished their social engagements and came back.
"……do what?"
He rarely glared with his phoenix eyes, and he even gritted his teeth at me.
"Can't you see? Hit your son!"
I saw the corners of his mouth turn down, and his eyebrows twitch. Very well, it's my turn to be unlucky.
"Come out."
"No, I refuse to believe I can't handle this brat. If he doesn't sleep, I won't sleep tonight either. Get out."
Just as I finished speaking, I suddenly felt a sharp pain at the base of my hair. I looked down and saw a little person clenching a chubby fist and pulling my hair hard, while giggling happily.
"Yuan'er!"
His father rushed over and pried open his son's small fists, his thin eyebrows slightly furrowed. Seeing his father's expression, the brat finally knew to behave and quieted down.
Before I could even pull the hair out completely, he pouted and burst into a heart-wrenching cry.
"You can go out now."
His father whispered instructions, but I couldn't bear to hear a child cry. My stubbornness from earlier vanished, and I left without a second thought.
I went out for a drink of water to calm my nerves. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the noise inside gradually subsided. A while later, Nangong Ling came out, looking completely at ease, as if all the commotion had been an illusion.
"Asleep?"
He nodded, a hint of weariness in his eyes.
"Did it hurt?"
I took a moment to process it, "How strong could that brat possibly be?"
"Hmm." He reached out and pulled the hairpin out of my hair, using his hand as a comb to run through my hair. His voice was low and particularly hoarse. "There are many good shows to watch tomorrow. You should get some rest."
Actually, I'm fine. I guess he was really tired and wanted me to put him to sleep. I don't know when it started, but he either won't sleep at all, or he can only fall asleep if I'm next to him.
Fine, fine. Since you've made an exception and not given our son a kind look today, I'll play the role of Guanyin Bodhisattva this time.
Chapter 134
I slept until noon, and when I woke up, the bed was empty beside me, and the blankets were ice cold to the touch.
"Madam, shall you rise?"
"Hmm, where is the Emperor?"
"At the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), the drums sound four times, and the battle begins at the west hall. Your Majesty must go and oversee the situation."
After getting up and washing up, he went to the inner room to check on his sleeping son. He left Ah Qing to help the nanny take care of his father's precious child, and then went to the west hall in front.
Nangong Ling chose a relatively remote courtyard. The advantage was that it was quiet, but the disadvantage was that it was far away and it would take a quarter of an hour to get there by carriage.
As soon as the carriage reached the outside of the hall, a series of noises arose before it even stopped. I was quite unaccustomed to such commotion.
Nangong Ling naturally sat in the seat of honor. Behind him, there were no four guardians, only a ghost in red. But behind him, who was sitting below him and whose name he did not know, stood a group of people, each of them arrogant and looking down on everyone.
I was just caught up in the affairs of Xiling Kingdom when I saw that the speed at which new talents emerged in the martial arts world was as fast as ever, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. At first glance, all I could see were unfamiliar faces.
Not wanting to attract attention, I chose the side staircase to the platform. I always walked around at the back, so it's normal that Nangong Ling didn't see me. But some people sitting on the side platform, with a narrow view, still didn't look properly at the large round platform in the middle. They insisted on imitating that thief's sharp eyes. How ridiculous was Rong Lian's shout!
I stiffly turned my head toward the source of the sound and saw Shuang Zi An gripping the railing with one hand and waving it at me with the other. He didn't care about losing face; Shuang Zi Wei behind him had a completely black face.
Fortunately, the fight on the round platform was quite exciting, and there weren't many people in the audience who knew me well, so it didn't cause much of a stir.
As I walked up, Nangong Lingzheng was squinting intently at me, and he didn't react at all when I sat down next to him.
So I followed his gaze and saw that it was Tao Zhiqi, the master of Peach Blossom Valley, who was personally going up on stage to fight him... Wasn't that Qu Haifeng from Haifeng Tower?
He glanced at the table where Yan Suqing was sitting and accidentally bumped into it. Yan Suqing happened to be looking over as well, but quickly looked away without expression. You old fox, you have someone backing you up, huh? What kind of attitude is that!
Looking back down, I was stunned. When did dozens of eyes suddenly appear on me?
I glanced at the person next to me, who was still propping their head up and staring down without any reaction. After thinking for a while, I finally realized that my seat was too conspicuous. I used to find it strange that someone with Nangong Ling's incredibly awkward personality would only be someone like me, someone whose head had been slammed in a door, so stubbornly persistent. Now I understand: first, Nangong Ling is too good at pretending; second, in this world, people judge others by their appearance.
I moved to the side, wondering if I should just go to Gemini's side, but before I could move, a hand reached out.
"Don't run around."
"Varied……"
A commotion broke out on the round platform after only one word was uttered. Turning around, they were surprised to find that Qu Haifeng had won. However, this was not the point. The point was the appearance of Han Xuanmo.
"Huh? What's he doing here?"
Not only Han Xuanmo, but also Princess Yaoxing was standing next to Qionghua, who brought him here. What's going on?
"Aren't you afraid they'll run away?"
"Why are you running? The people from the Qianqiu Bureau aren't just sitting around doing nothing."
"Do we need so many people watching over them?"
Qu Haifeng's first reaction upon seeing Han Xuanmo was to freeze, then she glared at him fiercely.
"That's ruthless. What did Qu Haifeng do to you that you've brought along your enemy, whom she's trying to avoid? Isn't it obvious..." I paused here, "...that you want to get rid of her?!"
He smiled but didn't answer, only tightened his grip on my hand.
"Why?"
"Forgetful little thing." He still had a smile on his lips. "Have you completely forgotten about my third senior brother being poisoned by the sesame mushroom?"
"Oh, that matter? How so?"
“I’ve said before that Ling’er and you are very similar, not just in appearance, but also in your shrewdness and calculating nature. But in essence, you are very different. She can do things step by step without making a sound, while you are the opposite, you insist on making everyone think you are the villain before you are satisfied…”
"Don't compare her to me. That's because I'm afraid of trouble. Besides, people who are kind are often taken advantage of. And don't go off on a tangent again."
"Yes, what happened that time was actually a conspiracy between Ling'er and Qu Haifeng, with the aim of killing you. At that time, you were very resistant to me, and you were with my master and senior sister. Even if my master didn't like you, you still had my senior sister. The two of them would definitely not let anything happen to you. Now that you are safe, out of guilt towards Ling'er, I can't just abandon her. I spent so much effort to take over Haifeng Tower, but I didn't expect it to be a scam from beginning to end. Of course, I will get my money back with interest."
"...When did you realize something was wrong?"
"Guanghan Powder, even if she knew I was deliberately indulging her, she couldn't possibly be this bold. I never expected that further investigation would reveal that my father had instructed her to do both the mushroom poison and Guanghan Powder."
That was very frustrating. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"How many things are you willing to honestly tell me?"
"Can it be the same? I don't need to say anything, but you can see it all anyway. You always have to go through all sorts of complicated and convoluted things before you finally get to the bottom of it. You know I don't like to overthink things..."
Just then, the sound of thousands of horses galloping in the distance suddenly rang out, rolling in like thunder. Dust billowed outside the flying gate, and someone in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, whipping his horse against the wind, shattered a magnificent fireworks display.
Nangong Ling stood up, tall and elegant, spotless. He didn't speak, but smiled faintly in profile, his beauty as stunning as a fleeting shadow, a beauty amidst bloodshed and chaos.
When the newcomer was draped in light silk gauze, it was impossible to tell whether he was male or female. Now, with black hair and golden armor, he stood on horseback with a sword at his side, and with a smile, he seemed to be able to conquer the world and dominate the battlefield.
"It seems to have come earlier than I expected."
With a light flick of her delicate hand, the fragrance of flowers filled the air. As the fingers of the person beside her swept away the dust, she saw the enemy troops approaching the city.
"Nangong Ling, let's see where you can hide today!"
Chapter 135
For a moment, nearly a thousand people in the West Hall fell silent. Han Xuanmo turned around, his wide blue robe swaying slightly. He was extremely thin, with a pale, bluish complexion, and looked exceptionally cold and somewhat frightening.
I sat up there and looked around. Wow, everyone's here!
This is supposed to be a martial arts tournament, so why is Prince Xiao Lianjue here to join in? If you're going to come, why bring a huge army and make such a grand spectacle?