Luochen lowered his gaze. "Hmm, it really is time to go down the mountain..."
For the past few days, he had constantly been divining with his fate chess, and every single result told him to let her go down the mountain.
Yet he did not want to...
But since she had already brought it up, he could only attribute it to the will of fate, and he had no reason to stop her.
It was just that this peach blossom wine... suddenly didn't taste very sweet anymore...
*
Aww yeah, I can finally go out and gain some real-world experience! Qihuang Continent, here I come!
Bai Sinan ran back to Fusheng Hall in high excitement.
Luochen, knowing about her trip to the Wushang Domain, had given Bai Sinan quite a few spirit stones. The Wushang Domain already contained a vast array of items, so she didn't need to pack much else.
When Lingyun learned that Bai Sinan was heading down the mountain for real-world experience, she transformed into a Shengyu bird and came to find her. "Where is the little sovereign going? Lingyun will escort you."
"To Fan Village in the Shengzhan Kingdom!" Bai Sinan replied.
After bidding farewell to Luochen, she followed Lingyun to Fan Village. Lingyun handed her a large sum of spirit stones along with a whistle, and then departed.
Fan Village could hardly be called a village anymore.
It had been reduced to a pile of ruins.
"Sigh, how on earth am I supposed to find any clues here... Yaya, why don't you give it a try?" Bai Sinan sighed, looking at Yaya perched on her shoulder.
Yaya rolled its eyes at her. "I'm not a dog! I only hunt for treasures!"
*Yeah, right. You're pretty much no different from a dog,* Bai Sinan thought.
Stepping into the ruins, she planned to search for any items that might reveal someone's identity.
"Who's there?"
Sensing another person's presence, Bai Sinan whirled around.
A man stood there in a dark robe, tall and straight-backed. An aura of profound chill radiated from him, and his sharp, angular face was entirely devoid of expression. His black eyes were unfathomable, carrying a noble air and a natural majesty that commanded respect without anger. Standing amidst the ruins, he looked like the absolute ruler of this realm.
*Holy shit, he's so handsome! Isn't this totally my type?* Bai Sinan thought.
The man's gaze fixed upon her, his dark eyes narrowing as a piercing, frigid light flashed within them. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" he demanded coldly, his low, magnetic voice carrying a haughty and unquestionable authority.
*Crap, I'm in love,* Bai Sinan thought.
"Hmm?"
Failing to receive a response, the man furrowed his brow slightly.
"Ah, I'm just here to look into something." Bai Sinan felt rather awkward, having accidentally zoned out for a moment.
"Look into something?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Xiaoying, kill her!"
"Understood!"
Bai Sinan blinked. *?*
In the blink of an eye, a figure materialized right in front of Bai Sinan, striking directly toward her face with lethal intent.
*A Spirit King?!*
Caught completely off guard, Bai Sinan hastily summoned the Huoshui Sword to block the attack.
Gritting her teeth in fury, Bai Sinan snarled, "What the hell? I thought you looked pretty good, so why is your brain broken? Does me looking into something affect you? Is this place your family's private property? Sending a Spirit King to assassinate me—you sure know how to make a grand gesture!"
*Psychopaths!*
"Silence! You are forbidden to insult my master!" Xiaoying snapped.
Xiaoying pressed the attack with even greater ferocity. How dare this person insult his master? She must have a death wish!
"What the hell does me cursing him have to do with you?" Bai Sinan yelled back. "And you, you shameless jerk! A Spirit King actually trying to kill a fragile, defenseless young woman like me! Bah!"
"You—you truly are a woman with zero class!" Xiaoying retorted.
"Can class be eaten as a meal?" Bai Sinan roared back. "If you stop right now, I'll show you what the embodiment of class looks like!"
With her cultivation merely at Rank 4 Spirit Lord, holding out this long under the frantic, suicidal onslaught of a Spirit King was already her absolute limit.
Gritting her teeth hard, Bai Sinan spat, "I came here to investigate matters concerning myself! I don't know you people at all, and I have zero interest in whatever schemes you're pulling!"
Yan Qianjue raised an eyebrow. "Xiaoying, stand down."
Throwing a fierce glare at Bai Sinan, Xiaoying leaped back to Yan Qianjue's side.
*Oh, my fucking god? Are you glaring at me?*
Bai Sinan glared right back at Xiaoying several times in a row.
*You want to glare at me? I'll glare you to death!*
"What is your relation to the Bai Family?" Yan Qianjue asked.
"If I knew, would I need to investigate?"
Dropping unceremoniously onto the ground, Bai Sinan sat cross-legged. She was exhausted.
"What is your name?" Yan Qianjue inquired.
Bai Sinan raised an eyebrow. "What, do you have a crush on me?"
"Xiaoying."
At the sound of his voice, Xiaoying made a move, prompting Bai Sinan to blurt out in a rush, "Bai Sinan! Bai Sinan, my name is Bai Sinan! Don't let him attack again!"
If he struck again, her little life really wouldn't make it.
Yan Qianjue looked down at her and let out a scoff. "Useless."
*? I am about to unleash a torrent of exquisite profanity right now.*
"Bring her to the manor."
Leaving behind those words, Yan Qianjue turned and walked away.
"You couldn't have actually fallen for me, could you? Let me tell you, even though you're handsome..." Bai Sinan called out.
"You truly are a shameless woman!" Xiaoying interrupted.
Could this woman have any shred of dignity?
"What, you still want to throw punches?" Bai Sinan challenged.
"Move!" Xiaoying barked.
Bai Sinan cursed and grumbled all the way back, making Xiaoying feel as though calluses were about to form inside his ears.
He truly had no idea what use his master saw in keeping this woman around!
*Prince Regent's Mansion.*
Xiaoying escorted Bai Sinan straight to Yan Qianjue's study.
Having yelled curses the entire journey, Bai Sinan's throat felt bone-dry. She casually pulled out a chair, sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, and moistened her throat before asking, "What on earth do you want?"
Yan Qianjue tossed a thick stack of documents onto the table.
"Read it yourself."
Bai Sinan raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, it was a tale of deep-seated blood vengeance.
Back when the original host was five years old, her father, Bai Mingan, was suddenly framed on fabricated charges of treason and colluding with the enemy. The Bai Family's military authority was stripped away, their main household was slaughtered in a bloodbath, and her second uncle, Bai Jiahua, usurped the position of the head of the Bai Family.
However, because the God of War Bai Mingan held immense prestige among the common people, the imperial court publicly claimed that although Bai Mingan's treasonous crimes were unforgivable, in light of his monumental military achievements, they were merely revoking the Bai Family's military power and throwing Bai Mingan into the celestial prison!
"This is clearly the imperial court being intimidated by my Bai Family, conspiring with that ungrateful wolf Bai Jiahua to stage a rebellion."
According to the documents, Bai Jiahua had merely been an adopted child taken in by the former head of the Bai Family—he wasn't even a true blood relative of the Bais! Not only did he fail to show gratitude for the family's kindness, but he had even committed such a treasonous atrocity.
Though she had read plenty of such plots and grown accustomed to them, experiencing it firsthand made her desperately wish she could instantly annihilate both the imperial court and the current Bai Family!
"And so?" Yan Qianjue asked indifferently.
"And so I'm going back to the Bai Family to kick that old bastard down!"
The Bai Family wasn't something just anybody could seize!
"Your grandfather is in my custody," Yan Qianjue stated.
Bai Sinan sprang to her feet in excitement. "Where is my grandfather right now?!"
She hadn't expected such an unexpected windfall!
Yan Qianjue gave Xiaoying a look. Acknowledging the order, Xiaoying withdrew, leaving only Bai Sinan and Yan Qianjue in the study.
Looking somewhat awkward, Bai Sinan spoke up, "Even though some rather unpleasant things happened earlier, I still want to thank you. If there's ever anything you need help with in the future, just say the word!"
Yan Qianjue let out a dry laugh. "There is no need. I merely owed Old Master Bai a favor. Besides, with your abilities, you wouldn't be of any help to me."
*? You're rejecting kindness and asking for a beating—my fists are itching!*