Chapter 38

The magistrate of Jiamin County stepped forward immediately, nodding at Mu Hua with a poised and generous air, as if to greet her while simultaneously making it clear that the person before them was the Seventh Princess, not someone Mu Hua had the standing to lecture.

As the group arrived at the Zixiao Palace, two attendants, Haotian and Yaochi, led them inside.

"Come here and enjoy the view." After taking a few sips of tea, Chen Yanfeng turned to beckon to Li Yan, who was peeking at him from the cabin. Li Yan hesitated for a moment before wrapping herself in a cloak and stepping out.

A few days later, the house in the west of the city had been fully renovated. Axing and her father returned the house to Ling Zifeng and moved back into their own home.

Hong Weng stared at the person before him. The Grand Princess seemed to sense it; she raised her eyes, and though they were clearly brimming with tears, Hong Weng could perceive a distinct warning within them.

Upon hearing that members of the Ji household had brandished blades and committed violence during the New Year festivities, everyone in the room widened their eyes in astonishment.

With the three sect rules established, the disciples became bound by karma to Yuanshi upon their initiation. Since Yuanshi was the master of karma, any future betrayal would require them to carefully weigh the backlash of that karmic debt. Of course, this was merely a temporary restriction; how things would unfold later would depend entirely on how Yuanshi chose to instruct his disciples.

As they were speaking, the show began. With a resonant strike of the gong, the stage curtains were drawn back slowly. The audience grew quiet, their focus shifting entirely to the performance.

Li Yin actually had such an outstanding younger sister? What exactly was her intention in bringing her into the Hu household? The wives and concubines of the Hu family all pondered this question, their gazes toward the Li sisters filled with a newfound sense of vigilance.

Wang Aijia made a startling move. He found himself in a difficult position—riding a tiger and unable to dismount. In his eyes, the leaders of Fengtai County mattered little, but the presence of the patient's family in the conference room was a different matter. He had to follow through on his earlier rhetoric; he owed them an explanation.

Yet, Fang Ziye remained completely unresponsive, still sleeping with a look of sweet contentment. The surrounding chaos seemed to have nothing to do with her; she remained that calm and composed.

"Are you still quibbling? I’ll smash your mouth!" Divine Physician Ji raised his hand to strike Wang Jun.

Mu Lingxue was dressed in men's attire, and Li Ningfu recognized her at a glance. Seeing her emerge from the courtyard where the Prince resided, and recalling the Prince's evasive behavior, she couldn't help but wonder: was this the reason?

Jing Ba kept his nerves tightly coiled. It wasn't until he reached the imperial palace, alighted from the carriage, and switched to a sedan chair that he breathed a secret sigh of relief. Yet, he felt something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Mm-mm! Mm-mm!" The person gagged behind Li Muyuan struggled, their eyes seemingly spitting fire as they glared at him.

Yang Ding was different. From the start, he hadn't placed Wang Aijia in his eyes. Just a vice mayor—did he really think he was the master of Denghu City?

Yang Ding mused that even if it were he, he wouldn't go to an opponent's territory to spend money, especially not with the sole purpose of eating and drinking.

His brow furrowed deeper at her words, but not knowing what else to do, he could only sit there, dazed and motionless.

"A secret, a great achievement..." Wei Yuankai muttered, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Just as Zuo Zhengde thought he was about to agree, he saw Wei Yuankai signal for Chen Ji, who was standing to the side, to come over.

A cold glint flashed as the arrow vanished into the bushes. A moment later, a shrill, miserable scream erupted from behind the thicket.

Some had been joking earlier, but their expressions shifted in an instant. Nine Thousand Kills—it was a legend. That man had finished his nine-thousandth kill some time ago. Perhaps, before long, he would complete his ten-thousandth.

He pondered for a moment, his hand ultimately remaining still. Instead, he projected a stream of true energy, passing through the wall and into the room, reaching the bed and heading straight for Michiko’s sleeping form.

The young man smiled helplessly, seemingly unsurprised by this, and turned his head to look at the handsome middle-aged cultivator beside him.

Though he complained endlessly about Rong Qian, he watched every change that unfolded. He watched the youth receive his crown layer by layer, as if growing up bit by bit, gradually becoming able to bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, even attempting to shoulder everything for his teacher. In the end, his heart softened.

"Good, Brother Zhou’s method is excellent." Gu Yannan was the first to express his support, which also signified that the matter was settled. "I will leave the selection and the shop quotas to your diligence, Brother Zhou."

Hearing Luo Yi say he would not kill them, they felt a wave of relief. They had thought death was certain, but they had unexpectedly kept their lives. In their hearts, they sneered—Luo Yi was truly courting disaster.

Once the political alliance around him tightened into a single knot, who in the imperial court would be able to defend their own position in the future?

One must know that a single rocket cost one thousand yuan; thirty of them meant a full thirty thousand! For most of the audience, that was more than their monthly salary.

"Alright, I must be going!" Wu Liuli was always swift and decisive in her actions, never dragging things out. After bidding farewell to Yun Hao, she vanished from his sight.

After a night of torment, he had forgotten just how many times he had resolved to smash his head against the wall to end the inhuman torture inflicted by Xu Fan.

Dongfang Yan poured orange juice for Lin Feng, but noticing he was somewhat distracted, she felt a flicker of confusion.

On the large black banner were drawn strange and eerie talismans. At the very center of the flag was a striking, crimson character for "Demon." It was a demonic formation flag.

Completely different from his arrogant persona at their meeting in the hotel, Chen Bi’s face was now etched with profound regret.

Dongfang Yuliang thought for a moment, then lay back down. That was true—whether this golden cat was male or female, did it really have anything to do with him?

"You've gone to such trouble, Brother Xingchen. After all we’ve been through, aren't we both fine? Every time, we’ve overcome the trials and made it to this day. Doesn't that prove that the path we chose was not wrong?" Xu Chuyun said with an innocent smile.