Chapter 23

After Ling Yushi finished filling the bathtub with hot water, she left happily, reminding Qin Lie before she went that she would come to pick him up early the next morning.

Immersed in the wooden tub filled with hot water, Qin Lie raised his head to look at the rafters, frowning in deep thought.

A second-stage spirit beast, the Silver-Winged Demon Wolf, had strength comparable to a martial artist at the Kaiyuan Realm. A single Silver-Winged Demon Wolf fighting an Ice Bone Python would have a higher chance of winning.

Most importantly—Silver-Winged Demon Wolves are pack animals! And the Tianlang Mountain is precisely the den of the Silver-Winged Demon Wolf pack!

"Every year in May or June, the Silver-Winged Demon Wolves go to the Ice Peak to pay homage, to meet the 'Rock Ice Snow Wolf King.' In July, they will return. Once they return and see human martial artists occupying their den..."

In Qin Lie's mind, a bloody scene suddenly emerged, where Ling Yushi, Ling Feng, Ling Ying, and others were torn to pieces by the pack of Silver-Winged Demon Wolves...

For some reason, the thought of Ling Yushi's delicate body being torn to pieces made him feel restless and unable to calm down.

"It seems I need to go to Medicine Mountain tomorrow and get the statue carved by Grandfather. The area of Tianlang Mountain... was specifically marked by Grandfather."

Qin Lie made up his mind, and his restless mind suddenly calmed down. He then lay in the wooden tub, focusing his mental energy to examine the spirit array diagram representing "Spirit Storage" within the Soul Suppressing Pearl.

He had already deeply memorized the "Spirit Gathering" diagram, and now he began to gradually study the other three spirit array diagrams: Spirit Storage, Enhancement, and Toughness.

...

The next morning, Ling Yushi, along with Ling Feng, Ling Ying, Ling Xin, and other members of the Ling family, arrived early at Qin Lie's stone house.

Ling Yushi, dressed in a tight-fitting green outfit, her slender and graceful figure was clearly visible, making many of the Ling family's young men glance at her, wanting to look more but feeling embarrassed.

"Miss, are you really going to take him along?"

Ling Xin, who was the same age as Ling Feng, was tall and had thick eyebrows and a large face, with short whiskers on his lips. He was at the sixth level of Body Cultivation. He had some objections to Ling Yushi taking Qin Lie along.

"Ling Xin, stop nagging!" Ling Feng frowned and scolded.

Ling Xin seemed to be somewhat in awe of Ling Feng. He pouted and did not say anything more.

Arriving at Qin Lie's stone house, Ling Yushi called out, "Qin Lie, we're about to leave!"

After waiting for a while and receiving no response, Ling Yushi was slightly stunned and pushed the door open. She found the room empty, with no sign of Qin Lie.

A clear disappointment appeared on Ling Yushi's beautiful face. She bit her lip lightly and sighed.

"Maybe I thought too much. He didn't listen to me seriously, or maybe I was being presumptuous, and he heard but pretended not to hear?" Ling Yushi looked bitter, shook her head with a self-deprecating smile, and then took a deep breath, saying calmly, "Let's go."

Seeing that Qin Lie was not there, Ling Xin was secretly pleased, thinking: One less burden, fewer troubles.

"Miss, you don't need to worry too much. The family head will arrange someone else to take care of him," Ling Feng said after a moment of thought, trying to comfort her.

"That's right. The Du family has been more subdued recently. They shouldn't dare to act rashly," Ling Ying added.

Ling Yushi smiled and nodded, saying casually, "Let's go. We'll pass by Medicine Mountain anyway. I'll call out to him again. If he doesn't hear, then it's fine."

Upon hearing this, Ling Feng, Ling Ying, and Ling Xin all looked surprised and puzzled.

"Still not giving up? Does she really consider that guy her fiancé and has fallen for him? It's hard to understand..."

Everyone shook their heads in secret, their gazes toward Ling Yushi becoming more suspicious.

Under the strange gazes of the group, Ling Yushi remained calm and led the way toward Medicine Mountain.

As the sun gradually rose, a group of ten people arrived at the foot of Medicine Mountain.

Looking at the mine shafts on Medicine Mountain, Ling Yushi took a deep breath and called out loudly, "Qin Lie, we're about to leave. Are you coming or not? We'll wait for half an hour. If you don't come, we'll leave without you."

"Time is still early, everyone can rest for a bit." Turning around, Ling Yushi smiled calmly, not caring if anyone was unhappy, and found a clean rock to sit on.

Seeing her take such a stance, everyone was helpless and could only wait with her.

Time ticked by, but no one appeared at the mine shafts on Medicine Mountain. The disappointment in Ling Yushi's beautiful eyes deepened with each passing moment, clearly affecting her.

"That fool probably didn't hear it..." After waiting for a while, Ling Xin gradually became impatient and muttered.

Ling Feng glared at him fiercely.

"Miss, the time is up. He probably won't come," Ling Ying stood up gracefully, facing Ling Feng. She stretched her slender waist lazily, her impressive chest creating a stunning curve, and said in a soft voice, "Big Brother Ling, should we leave now?"

Ling Feng, seeing her show off her figure, nodded with a headache and said, "Miss, what do you think?"

"Let's go," Ling Yushi said in a low voice.

Tianlang Mountain is also in the Extreme Cold Mountain Range, closest to the Gao family. The Gao family, Feng family, and Ling family are all vassal forces of the Nebula Pavilion. The Fire Crystal Stone mine on Tianlang Mountain is located on the steep cliffs, making it very difficult for ordinary people to climb, and a single misstep could result in death.

Fire Crystal Stones are a source of fire for forging, and they are the most common and ordinary type. Once lit, Fire Crystal Stones burn fiercely, providing the intense heat needed to smelt spiritual materials.

Depending on their quality, Fire Crystal Stones have different ranks. The lower quality ones are third-grade ordinary spiritual materials, and the higher quality ones are fifth-grade ordinary spiritual materials, not particularly precious. Having high-ranking martial artists from the Nebula Pavilion mine them would be a waste of their talents.

Therefore, the Nebula Pavilion arranged for the vassal forces, the Gao family, Feng family, and Ling family, to mine together. They would then tally the quantity and quality of the Fire Crystal Stones mined by the three families and compensate them with a certain amount of spirit stones.

The direction to Tianlang Mountain is completely different from the direction to the Silent Ridge. They would have to part ways as soon as they left Medicine Mountain.

The group of ten from the Ling family gradually left Medicine Mountain. Ling Yushi looked back at the mountain behind her, sighed softly, and then stepped onto the path leading to Tianlang Mountain, feeling disappointed.

Everyone knew she was not in high spirits, so no one disturbed her. Even the talkative Ling Xin, after not seeing Qin Lie, was satisfied and stopped talking.

Walking under the ancient trees, the others gradually opened up and excitedly discussed the mining on Tianlang Mountain.

Even Ling Feng and Ling Ying joined in later, their enthusiasm high as they calculated how many spirit stones they could earn from this.

Ling Yushi kept a slight distance from the group, walking alone at the front. She walked with her head down, lost in thought, occasionally looking up to check the path.

She gradually felt that Qin Lie was not as foolish as she thought and should have heard her words, which was why she said she would take him to Tianlang Mountain.

However, after this incident, she was not so sure anymore.

As for the other possibility, she did not think much about it—she preferred to believe that Qin Lie did not hear her words rather than think he intentionally stood her up...

"You probably didn't hear it. Forget it, I was just assuming." Ling Yushi consoled herself, still feeling a bit sour, and looked up at the road ahead.

Her face suddenly froze, and she instinctively rubbed her eyes. Her eyes gradually became extremely bright, and her bitter mouth broke into a radiant and beautiful smile.

Under a large tree ahead, a slim figure stood woodenly, his clothes covered in dew, having waited for who knows how long.

Who else could it be but Qin Lie?

Ling Yushi's heart suddenly overflowed with sweet warmth, and she couldn't help but laugh softly. With a joyful laugh, her body moved like the wind to Qin Lie's side.

In front of everyone, she held Qin Lie's hand for the first time, then turned to the stunned Ling family members and said, "He was waiting for us all along."

Ling Feng, Ling Ying, Ling Xin, and the other Ling family young men were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other, suddenly feeling a bit lost: When did that guy know to wait for them?

"Go ahead!" Ling Yushi ignored their confusion and surprise, calling out to them to go ahead.

As Ling Feng and the others passed by her and Qin Lie, they all scratched their heads, their expressions extremely strange, and Ling Ying's bright eyes showed a look of disbelief.

The group gradually moved past the two.

"You, really, you made me sad for a while!" Once the group was far away, Ling Yushi's face turned slightly red, and she looked at Qin Lie with deep meaning, lightly punching his chest and then smiling gently, "I'm glad you came. Since you came... it means you can hear me. Ha, how long do you plan to keep up this act?"

At this point, she was finally certain that Qin Lie was not as foolish as he appeared and was at least sometimes clear-headed.

Qin Lie did not immediately reveal anything, still looking wooden. After she finished speaking, he turned his hand away from hers and walked in the direction of Ling Feng and the others.

"Ha, if you find this interesting, I'll play along with you." Ling Yushi watched his back, smiled lightly, shook her head, and then followed.

...

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends