Chapter 93

"Never thought you'd take that girl so seriously!" Lu Xiaofeng said with a look of amusement.

"Trust me, even though the江湖 (jianghu) is full of rumors about your intelligence, your IQ is not enough to figure out my relationship with Princess Feifeng!" Ling Xiao said as he walked, his tone filled with disdain.

"Hehe! I'm too lazy to think about it!"

"Then why do you have that constipated look on your face?"

"You're the one who looks constipated! How do you even know what constipated looks like?" Lu Xiaofeng scolded him irritably.

"I've never seen it before, but looking at you now, I naturally thought of that word!" Lu Xiaofeng had been in a bad mood since they left the palace, which was why Ling Xiao asked.

"Do you really have feelings for Princess Feifeng?"

Ling Xiao rolled his eyes and cursed, "Why are you all so obsessed with this! Does it have anything to do with you? Don't worry, I'll send you a wedding invitation when I get married, but it doesn't matter if you come or not, as long as you bring a gift!"

"It's best if there's no connection! We are friends, and I can't bear to see you jump into the fire!" Lu Xiaofeng said earnestly.

Ling Xiao was quite surprised, "What do you mean 'we are friends'? And what did the royal family do to offend you? Why do you have to speak so poorly of them?"

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head, "When you become the successor of the Bao Long Clan, you should already know some things!"

Ling Xiao thought for a moment and probed, "Are you talking about the Ji family?"

Lu Xiaofeng nodded solemnly and sighed, "The Ji family is a behemoth, a sword hanging over the heads of the jianghu! No one can shake its position in the jianghu, and its arrogance is beyond your imagination! It's even more so for the royal family! In the Bao Long Clan, your lineage has the weakest backing, no, I should say none at all! Don't think you are favored by the Emperor; in the eyes of others, it's not worth mentioning! Especially the Ji family, the other three can still make them cautious, but you are not in that category."

"Without the name of the state, they cannot harm a person with qi! You are not yet part of the Bao Long Clan, so you are not under the influence of qi, right? Besides, making someone suffer doesn't necessarily mean killing them! There are many ways to do it. In the future, you will make many friends and have lovers. Can you watch them all the time? Once you have a relationship with Princess Feifeng, you will be completely on the opposite side of the Ji family!" Lu Xiaofeng's words were not without reason, but Ling Xiao didn't take them seriously at all.

"Thanks for the reminder, but the day I became Ling Lingfa's disciple, I already had an irreconcilable conflict with the Ji family. Who made my master so loyal! Besides, are you afraid? Are you running away?" Ling Xiao said with a grin, as if seeing Lu Xiaofeng's fear was very encouraging!

Lu Xiaofeng replied disdainfully, "Pfft! I'm a lone wolf, and my friends are all highly skilled! Of course, not including you! The Ji family would need to send at least a dozen masters to catch me, and to be honest, I've never played guerrilla warfare with the Ji family's masters!"

Ling Xiao laughed, "Don't worry! There will be a chance for you to try, to fly the Ji family's masters like kites!"

...

The next thing was very simple, each went back to their own home! Lu Xiaofeng, as if thinking of something, ran off without even saying goodbye.

Ling Xiao didn't care much about this; he had his own things to do. He still went to Chang Le Fang, still that street, looked up at the old gate, shook his head, and entered.

"It's you! What brings you here today? Are you here to see Wuqing? She's in the library." Tieshou was quietly watering the flowers with a watering can and said excitedly when he saw Ling Xiao come in.

Ling Xiao looked at him in confusion, "Why are you so excited? Who said I'm here to see Wuqing! Don't be so self-important!"

Tieshou was taken aback and awkwardly scratched his head. He thought Wuqing had a crush on Ling Xiao, so he naturally assumed Ling Xiao was here to see her! As a tough guy, he really didn't understand these subtle feelings between men and women!

Ling Xiao, not getting the answer he wanted, rolled his eyes, "Keep being awkward! I won't disturb you!" He then walked towards the hall.

Tieshou quickly came to his senses and said, "Sir has gone to the back garden, he'll be back soon!"

Ling Xiao nodded and said, "Thanks, I'll wait for him in the hall. By the way, you look cooler without the headband!"

Tieshou touched his headband and said helplessly, "I'm used to it, and besides, this way I don't look so fierce! My head is covered in tattoos, which can scare children."

Ling Xiao was speechless for a long time, knowing that if you're going to scare people, why get tattoos in the first place!

Ling Xiao sat in the hall, bored, and watched Tieshou watering the flowers outside, sighing lightly. This kind of peaceful life might be what he truly pursued! So tranquil, so ordinary, as if nothing in the world could disturb it! Although it wasn't spectacular, it was a true form of freedom!

"Why are you here?"

The voice was still so cold, without joy or sorrow. Ling Xiao looked at Wuqing, who was wheeling herself over. Every time he saw her, he was struck by her beautiful face, like a perfect ice lotus untouched by the world's filth!

"Trust me, if I had no purpose, I would be lying in a rocking chair at the clinic enjoying my leisure!" Ling Xiao said very seriously.

"I've never heard anyone justify laziness so grandly!" Wuqing turned her head and ignored him.

"This is just a way of life. If you don't like it, you can close your eyes. Trust me, you'll look even more beautiful if you don't listen, don't look, and don't speak!"

Wuqing coldly snorted, "I heard you've been getting close to Feifeng recently. If you've decided, you should treat her well!"

"..." Ling Xiao suddenly felt a bit sad. A beautiful woman was advising him to be good to another woman in front of a handsome man! Does this mean I'm not even considered a man in your eyes? Is my charm that bad?

"Which eye did you see us as a couple?"

"I often go to the palace to see her."

"Then what?"

"She's not there!"

"What's it got to do with me!" This woman's logic was so bizarre. Just because she can't find someone, does it mean they are with me?

Wuqing's face turned cold, but she quickly frowned, as if remembering something troubling. Ling Xiao looked at her, speechless. This was blatant disregard! With a guest still present, she was lost in her own thoughts!

Wuqing was indeed not paying attention to Ling Xiao. She was worried about her best friend's safety! In recent days, she had visited the palace multiple times, but each time she was told the princess had left the palace. Once or twice would be fine, but if it continued for over ten days, there was a problem! The palace was spreading rumors that Ling Xiao was pursuing Princess Feifeng, so she naturally assumed the princess had left the palace to see Ling Xiao. But now, looking at Ling Xiao, she realized he wasn't faking it, which made the situation serious! Because she thought of another possibility: the princess might have gone to see someone else, a very dangerous person!

"Hey! Snap out of it, Old Zhuge is calling you for dinner!" Ling Xiao waved his hand in front of her face, but Wuqing just glanced at him and continued thinking about her own problems.

"Ha! So you're good at the cold shoulder! You're tough!" Feeling bored, he sat back in his chair and looked around. The decoration here was not luxurious, even simple. It was hard to imagine that the top palace guard lived in such a dilapidated place.

"Hey! Did you ask the flowers how they feel when you water them!" Ling Xiao, as if discovering something interesting, called out to Tieshou with a mischievous look.

Tieshou was taken aback and looked down. The water had already overflowed from the flower pot! The breeze blew, and the flowers swayed gently, looking quite pitiful! He put down the watering can speechlessly and secretly moved the overwatered pot to a more hidden place, hoping Mr. Zhuge wouldn't notice!

He had been focusing his energy to eavesdrop on their conversation, but Wuqing had already covered the area outside the house with a layer of mental energy! As a result, he didn't hear any gossip and accidentally overwatered the flowers!

Tap, tap, tap!

The footsteps were light but made a clear sound on the stone slabs. Ling Xiao's hearing was very good, and he could easily recognize different people's footsteps.

Zhuge Zhengwo's footsteps were very distinctive, steady and calm, with a sense of watching the clouds roll by. Strictly speaking, every master-level expert had distinctive footsteps. For example, Ye Gucheng's were firm and domineering, not intentionally so, but each step seemed to land on the hearts of those around him! Lu Xiaofeng's footsteps were the lightest, like a bird freely soaring in the sky. Huamanlou's footsteps were similar to Zhuge Zhengwo's but even more indifferent, probably because he had no official duties! As for Sikong Zhaixing, there were no footsteps at all; he had developed a professional habit of stealing, walking silently at all times!

"Oh! Welcome, welcome! Mr. Ling, you are so busy with official duties, yet you still have time to visit me. I am truly honored!" He was dressed in a gray robe, his sleeves casually rolled up, and his hands still had some dirt on them! If Ling Xiao didn't know his abilities, he would have thought he was just a farmer!

"Thank you, thank you! Mr. Zhuge's life is truly enviable! Working from sunrise to sunset, a simple and fulfilling life, truly admirable! Hehe!" Ling Xiao smiled and bowed.

Zhuge Zhengwo looked at the dirt on his hands and smiled, "I planted some vegetables in the back garden, a bit of self-sufficiency! After all, prices are soaring, and who knows when we won't be able to afford pork!"

"Is that so? I haven't noticed, as I've been running around with Lu Xiaofeng and haven't had time to go to the market!" Ling Xiao said as if complaining.

Zhuge Zhengwo was moved and asked, "Oh? It seems Mr. Ling and Great Hero Lu have a close relationship! Does he often come to drink with you?"

Ling Xiao picked up a teacup and sipped it pretentiously, "Not often, but recently he has something to ask of me, to help him enter the palace. If he came too often, even he couldn't stand it, because I always make him pay for our meals!"

Wuqing rolled her eyes, and Ling Xiao gained another label in her mind: a cheapskate.

"Is that so! I'm glad I have nothing to ask of you, or I would be a pauper! Hahaha!" Zhuge Zhengwo laughed heartily and then asked with a curious look, "Why does he want to enter the palace?"

Ling Xiao put down the teacup and said meaningfully, "It seems that Little Shunzi, under Wei Zhongxian, has some secret dealings with the Tang Family's Four Heroes. He is now mainly following up on this matter."