Chapter 60

As the petals of cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Hua Jia's siblings walked towards Li Xiangfei, while Bai Cangdong found a seat and focused more on the food and wine around him.

"The Hua siblings don't seem to like you," a somewhat cold voice said beside Bai Cangdong. Feng Xian sat next to him, picked up a wine glass, and took a gentle sip.

"What does it have to do with you?" Bai Cangdong was drinking and did not turn to look at Feng Xian.

"If you're unhappy at the Hua family, you can consider coming to my Feng family. You'll get more there, at least more than at the Hua family, and there will be people who appreciate you." Feng Xian spoke very directly and clearly.

"Your praise is touching, but I have no intention of leaving the Hua family." Bai Cangdong refused straightforwardly.

"Then I wish you good luck." Feng Xian whispered in his ear and then turned to leave, revealing a rare smile, as beautiful as a thousand-year-old flower hidden inside a melting iceberg.

Bai Cangdong was slightly taken aback but quickly understood and did not take it to heart.

Sure enough, not long after Feng Xian left, Hua Qianwu and Hua Mingyang walked over.

"What did Feng Xian say to you?" Hua Mingyang asked with a cold face.

"Nothing much, just invited me to join the Feng family." Bai Cangdong spoke the truth.

"How did you respond?" Hua Qianwu asked, looking at Bai Cangdong with some tension.

"I said I have no intention of leaving the Hua family."

"Is that really all?" Hua Mingyang didn't quite believe Bai Cangdong's words.

In fact, even Hua Qianwu didn't quite believe Bai Cangdong, but unlike Hua Mingyang, she wasn't so foolish. Instead, she smiled and said, "Feng Xian will probably miscalculate this time. A masked viscount is not someone she can buy."

Bai Cangdong found dealing with the two of them boring and simply ignored them, drinking his wine.

Hua Qianwu and Hua Mingyang didn't press the issue further. After they left, they walked to a secluded corner.

"Little sister, this person doesn't take our Hua family seriously. He will likely become a threat sooner or later. We should get rid of him early to prevent him from joining the Feng family." Hua Mingyang spoke in a low voice, his eyes full of murderous intent.

"Brother, don't act rashly. The masked viscount just won the position of East Gate City Guard for our Hua family. If we kill him without a proper reason, how can we expect the other retainers to serve us wholeheartedly?" Hua Qianwu quickly said.

"Finding a reason isn't difficult. I saw that boy definitely made some agreement with Feng Xian. As long as we keep a close eye on him, we'll catch him in the act and can justifiably execute him." Hua Mingyang still didn't believe Bai Cangdong's words, convinced that he had made some deal with Feng Xian.

"Let's keep this low-key and act in secret." Hua Qianwu nodded.

Bai Cangdong sighed inwardly. Feng Xian clearly understood the Hua siblings' nature. Just by talking to him for a few moments, she made them suspicious of him, and this woman was truly terrifying.

Elegant music played, and the ballroom suddenly fell silent. It was time to dance. Many male viscounts went to invite Li Xiangfei for the first dance, but she rejected all of them, including Hua Mingyang.

After rejecting everyone, Li Xiangfei walked over to Bai Cangdong, extended her delicate hand, and said sweetly, "Can I have this dance?"

Jealous gazes came from all directions. No one expected Li Xiangfei to reject everyone and then actively invite the masked viscount to dance.

"It seems the legend that the masked viscount once saved Li Xiangfei is not a lie," Feng Xian's eyes flashed with surprise.

The Hua siblings exchanged glances, both feeling annoyed. Bai Cangdong had clearly said he and Li Xiangfei had no friendly relationship, yet now Li Xiangfei had rejected everyone to dance with him, clearly treating him as someone very important.

"Sorry, I don't know how to dance." Bai Cangdong had always been fighting for his life span and had no time to learn such things.

"That's fine, I'll guide you." Li Xiangfei didn't get angry at Bai Cangdong's refusal and insisted on having him accompany her for the first dance.

Many male viscounts were jealous, their faces red. If it were them, they would have already taken Li Xiangfei to the dance floor.

"Sorry, I really don't want to dance." Bai Cangdong was thinking about the Sun True Fire. With Feng Xian's interference, Hua Qianwu probably wouldn't take him to hunt the Eight-Eyed Celestial Lord, and he wouldn't get the Sun True Fire. He felt a bit frustrated.

All the viscounts watching thought that even if Li Xiangfei didn't get angry, she wouldn't invite Bai Cangdong to dance again. They were all ready to step in as soon as she left.

To their surprise, Li Xiangfei didn't get angry or leave. Instead, she sat next to Bai Cangdong and said softly, "Then let me keep you company and have a drink."

With Li Xiangfei by his side, Bai Cangdong couldn't focus on his thoughts. People kept coming over to talk to her, and though she only responded politely, the constant interruptions made it impossible for them to have a quiet moment.

"Let's take a walk, it's a bit stuffy here." Bai Cangdong really needed some quiet time to think. If Hua Qianwu didn't take him to the abyss, he needed to figure out how to get the Sun True Fire.

"Okay." Li Xiangfei nodded and followed Bai Cangdong out of the ballroom, through a corridor to a small garden.

Until the end of the ball, Li Xiangfei, the main guest, stayed by Bai Cangdong's side, making the other viscounts of Fenghua City feel quite depressed. Fortunately, there was another main guest, the Silver Knight, so the ball proceeded smoothly.

However, the Baron of Fenghua did not appear at the ball, which was understandable. Due to his limited lifespan, he had rarely attended such events in the past two years. Many balls held in his name were not actually attended by him.

"Masked Viscount, didn't you say you and Miss Xiangfei don't have a particularly friendly relationship? Why did Miss Xiangfei spend the entire evening with you?" After leaving the baron's residence, Hua Qianwu barely contained her anger.

"Perhaps Miss Xiangfei is grateful for saving her life. I'm not really familiar with her." Bai Cangdong said lightly.

"Hmph, I think you just don't want to work for our Hua family." Hua Mingyang had no qualms and directly mocked him.

"I'm telling the truth. If you two don't believe me, there's nothing I can do." Bai Cangdong didn't bother to argue, just closed his eyes to rest, more certain that Hua Qianwu wouldn't let him join the mission to kill the Eight-Eyed Celestial Lord.

When Li Xiangfei left Fenghua City, Bai Cangdong didn't go to see her off. He had already talked to her at the ball, but when she left the city and didn't see Bai Cangdong, she felt a bit disappointed.

Bai Cangdong was now diligently practicing the "Baiye Sutra," his innate divine light already reaching the tenth level.

Bai Cangdong had once asked others about it. Generally, viscounts cultivating innate divine light find it easier to cultivate bronze innate divine light. With a high-level longevity technique, they can usually complete one level in about ten days. Silver innate divine light takes about half a month to complete one level, and gold innate divine light takes about a month.

However, Bai Cangdong had only been cultivating for half a month and had already reached the tenth level, a speed that even surprised him.

Although the higher the level of innate divine light, the harder it is to cultivate, and after a hundred levels, it often takes a year to complete one level, his cultivation speed would likely still be much faster than ordinary people after a hundred levels.

"At this rate, it probably won't take a few years for me to cultivate to the full 360 levels." Bai Cangdong felt joyful.

Until the day of the hunt for the Eight-Eyed Celestial Lord, Hua Qianwu did not appear before Bai Cangdong, as he had expected. She wouldn't let someone who might be a traitor join such a dangerous mission.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the Hurricane Abyss on my own." Bai Cangdong had already anticipated this and made preparations.

Bai Cangdong walked to a secluded place, removed his mask, and changed into a set of ordinary clothes, then headed to a not-so-conspicuous armory.

Since no one knew his true appearance, he just needed a full set of armor to go to the Hurricane Abyss. As long as he didn't use techniques like "Heavenly Eight Steps," which were characteristic of the masked viscount, no one would recognize him.

The armory was named "Seven Strings," just a small shop. It was unlikely to have any high-quality armors, and even baron-level armors were mostly bronze-grade, with most being ordinary armors without any grade.

Bai Cangdong didn't plan to buy anything high-quality, just a set of baron-level armor.

"What would the customer like to buy?" The shopkeeper was an old-looking man, which was rare in the Light Tier, as everyone's appearance was fixed at twenty years old.

"I want to buy a set of baron-level full armor, preferably a complete set, including helmet, armor, skirt, gauntlets, boots, and helmet. At least these." Bai Cangdong said.

"The customer's request is a bit difficult for me. This is just a small shop, and most of the armors I have are individual pieces. It's hard to put together a complete set of the same armor." After a moment's thought, the shopkeeper continued, "If different types of armors are acceptable, I can put together a set. There are a few fine pieces among them. I wonder if the customer is interested?"