551, 552

551: Rumors Spreading

Ai Lin watched Zi Cheng contact the Demon Ancestor knowing full well she couldn’t do anything about it.

It was impossible for her to expose Zi Cheng because she had no way to explain how she knew. She couldn’t say she travelled into the world by accident and that it was all a story. The master of Star Marshall hall and the principal of the Xingguang Holy academy would surely have a chat with her if she dared.

She didn’t want to be treated like a monster or be thrown into some deep, dark prison awaiting execution.

In order to prevent Zicheng from getting in touch with the Demon Ancestor, Ai Lin tried her best to prevent Zicheng from accepting the task related to the Demon Ancestor. Unfortunately, fate sometimes cannot be reversed. For example, the Demon Ancestor coming into the world was something she could not change.

If the world’s consciousness wanted the Demon Ancestor to come out, he would come out and no one would be able to stop it.

In the original novel, Zi Cheng didn’t know the identity of the Demon Ancestor and had thought he was an old senior stuck in the virtual world. She wanted to build good relations with him so had accepted the reward he offered without hesitation.

A pity, the Demon Ancestor wasn’t extra muscle given to her by the world’s consciousness, but was deliberately released by the world’s consciousness to cause chaos.

Ai Lin’s internal conflict had nothing to do with Feng Wu though.

Xiao Chun[notes] woke up after the three-day off-campus excursion. His strength increased so Feng Wu practiced swordsmanship every day with him.

Xiao Chun’s spiritual intelligence had also evolved so now he knew better than to say random, silly things. He had the ability to consider Feng Wu’s situation and upon doing so decided he wouldn’t rush to act if he didn’t need to. If Feng Wu couldn’t use his full strength, it would be difficult for him to continue to evolve and rise in rank.

What was a sword? Wasn’t a sword a weapon meant to be used? If a sword rushed out to kill the enemies in front by itself, then what was the purpose of the sword master?

A sword’s qualifications were extremely important but a good sword master was the most important thing. If a sword couldn’t partner with a compatible master, then it would be impossible for it to evolve to the highest level.

All divine swords had immense power that were just waiting for their masters to unlock. Xiao Chun could do more than purify demonic and evil energies, but he needed Feng Wu to unlock them. Xiao Chun couldn’t go over his master and use the locked abilities even with his spiritual intelligence.

Xiao Chun being awake put Feng Wu in a good mood. Ming Xi smiled and congratulated her during their nightly chat when she told him about it.

Unfortunately, Feng Wu’s peaceful days didn’t last long; soon enough trouble hit.

Feng Wu and Ink were surprised to learn Jia Moore was a seventh year at Xingguang Holy academy.

Despite being a senior, he went to the second-year's classroom every day to pester Feng Wu, a girl who didn’t have a stellar reputation to begin with.

Jia Moore was a handsome boy who ranked in the top twenty in looks, but most importantly, he came from a good family and was a noble from the Leyang kingdom. According to gossip, he had a good relationship with the royal family of Leyang too.

For someone with such a good background to fall in love with a girl who already had a child was really shocking. All kinds of gossip that had previously died out about Feng Wu came back to life louder and fiercer than before.

Feng Wu’s dark history was rehashed and people began to say Feng Wu was hooking up with Jia Moore because Ming Xi wasn’t around. Clearly, they both had the same colored eyes and hair.

Many girls felt sorry for Jia Moore because they didn’t think he knew. It was unbearable to watch him be cheated on by such a bad woman.

Their attitude towards Feng Wu became worse and worse. The girls who chased after Jia Moore were the worse, often going to the second-year classroom and scolding Feng Wu. They told her to have some self-awareness. It didn’t matter whether it was Ming Xi or Jia Moore, she needed to stop.

Feng Wu would blink her big eyes in silence, not understanding them at all.

From their perspective it looked like Feng Wu was frightened and confused and was too afraid to even talk back. Satisfied, they left.

Jia Moore went to Feng Wu’s class every day regardless of the weather or if Feng Wu paid him any attention.

Jier and Ink were disliking the guy more and more. It was all that guy’s fault. If not for him, why would Feng Wu get so much hostility all of a sudden?

“There’s something fishy about that guy.” Jier said seriously.

“I think so too. On the surface it looks like he’s pursuing Xiao Wu, but really what he’s doing is pushing Xiao Wu deeper in the whirlpool.”

“As a seventh-year student, how could he not know his attention on Xiao Wu is making her more and more unpopular. He goes to see her every day and draws attention to her. This guy, his intentions are definitely not good. Also, don’t you think the rumors about Xiao Wu are spreading too fast?” It had only taken a day for rumors about Feng Wu to spread. Jier was sure there had to be someone behind it.

“You mean there are people behind Jia Moore, or that Jia Moore is hastening the rumors himself and is the one leading public opinion? He’s purposefully trying to isolate Xiao Wu and make the whole school hate her!”

This was what Ink came up with after thinking about it.

“No, I don’t think it’s him behind the scenes; it’s more likely he’s working for someone. Whoever he’s working for must really hate Xiao Wu and wants her to suffer.”

“Who could it be? There are only two people who hate her that much. One is Yifu and the other is Jasmine. Those two have never hidden their dislike of Xiao Wu. Do you think it’s them?” They were the only two names Ink could come up with.

Unexpectedly, Jier shook his head. “It’s not them. You think with their abilities they can move a seventh year like Jia Moore to frame Xiao Wu?”

After thinking about it, Ink realized this was true. The girls had motive but no ability. Someone who could set the whole school on fire and move a seventh year couldn’t be an ordinary noble. Neither Yifu nor Jasmine had enough status. Besides with how much they hated Feng Wu, if they had the ability, they wouldn’t have waited so long to act.

552: Jasmine’s Troubles

If they had wanted to make a move, they would have already moved. Those two weren’t the patient type.

“Then who do you think it could be?” Ink asked. He couldn’t think of anyone else who would hate Feng Wu so much.

“Did you forget about Hua Jin? Who could hate Xiao Wu more?” Jier had never let his guard down around Hua Jin. Though the girl hadn’t attacked Feng Wu yet, Jier felt the she was definitely working on something.

The things happening with Jia Moore only made him more suspicious.

“Hua Jin! That’s right. How could I have forgotten her? She is a good suspect, but she’s never made contact with Xiao Wu. Is it really her?”

“I’m 90% sure it’s her. Unless there are other enemies I don’t know about, no one has the means other than her.”

Ink nodded in agreement with Jier’s assessment. They would keep an eye on Hua Jin in the future. Sooner or later she was sure to slip up.

Jia Moore went to look for Feng Wu to express his affections for her every day. Feng Wu ignored him but he didn’t care. He was diligent and never complained or showed any kind of regret. At this point, he was in the second-year division more than in the seventh-year division.

“I don’t understand how some people can be so good at scheming. They can even hook up with a seventh year.” Jasmine looked at Feng Wu strangely as they sat in the living room of their dorm.

“Jasmine, there has to be some kind of misunderstanding. Xiao Wu never even pays attention to Senior Jia Moore.” Annika said helplessly.

Annika had drifted apart from Jasmine when Zi Cheng and the others entered the picture. The two girls didn’t have a relationship other than attending the same classes and sharing the same dorm.

Feng Wu blinked her eyes. People at school were strange recently. She didn’t understand what was happening but she recognized it had something to do with of Jia Moore. She had disliked him on sight when they first met. Because she didn’t like him, she hadn’t paid him any attention. Although his hair and eyes were similar to Ming Xi’s, Ming Xi was far better looking. Feng Wu preferred the original version and had no interest pirated copies.

Feng Wu ignored him, but he still showed up every day to her class. She was unhappy to be entangled by an annoying person.

Feng Wu told Ming Xi everything about Jia Moore, about how he looked like Ming Xi, how he came to her classroom every day and how he waited for her to leave school.

Feng Wu retold it all verbatim. Hua Jin never dreamed she would do so, after all, who would dare tell their boyfriend she was involved in a scandal with another boy? But Feng Wu did exactly that. She not only told Ming Xi, but she told him about it every day. She also said she didn’t like Jia Moore coming to see her every day either.

Ming Xi listened patiently to Feng Wu talk about her day. He had been wary of Jia Moore, not because he was afraid Jia Moore would steal Feng Wu, but that Jia Moore might hurt Feng Wu.

Feng Wu had always been slow to respond to the stares of people and never cared about the gossip around her.

Jier and Ink could see that Feng Wu didn’t know her reputation was black again. They could block people’s verbal attacks in the halls and in the classroom, but they couldn’t do anything about the dorms.

Jasmine had been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time. She wanted to teach Feng Wu a lesson. It was impossible for her not to hate Feng Wu when she thought about the humiliation she suffered under Jier’s attack.

It was hatred mixed with envy and jealousy. Yes, she was jealous that Feng Wu had people who didn’t want to see her be wronged, who would protect her.

Jasmine never had friends who would do that for her. The friendship between noble ladies and young masters was superficial at best. It was the kind for of friendship that was beneficial for both families. As long as the families didn’t fail, then they would be friends for life. But once a family fell, never mind friendship, it would be considered good if the former friends didn’t use it as an opportunity to profit.

Because of this and because Jasmine knew she wasn’t Jier’s opponent, she could only channel her hate at Feng Wu.

It made her happy to see Feng Wu unhappy.

“Jasmine! We live in the same dorm. Can you stop making trouble like this?” Xi never liked Jasmine’s personality. The girl put on airs like she was some big shot lady even though her family was only a small aristocratic one.

Did she forget Feng Wu was the daughter of Feng house? In terms of status, Feng Wu had the highest one in the dorm.

In the past, Jasmine used to look down on Feng Wu because of her noble arrogance over commoners, but everyone knew Feng Wu’s background now, so there was no reason for Jasmine’s insistence on making trouble for Feng Wu.

Had too much time passed since Jasmine suffered from Jier’s lesson? She never stopped wanting to get revenge from Feng Wu even though it wasn’t even Feng Wu who did it. If Jasmine was angry and needed to vent, then she could find Jier and vent on him. But instead of doing that, she went and troubled Feng Wu. This was calling bullying the weak!

“What’s wrong that? I just can’t stand watching her act all nonchalant. Everyone in school knows her bad history. She’s even seducing Senior Jia Moore now! Before it was Senior Ming Xi. She even proposed to him in public. A woman like her, it’s better to stay away from. Don’t be burdened by her reputation.”

Jasmine didn’t think she said anything wrong. Staying in a dorm with someone whose reputation was that foul was bad for everyone. It was best if they kicked Feng Wu out.

Unfortunately for Jasmine, even though she wanted to drive Feng Wu out, she needed the other two roommates to request it as well, otherwise, Feng Wu would not be kicked out of their suite.

“Speaking of this, are you the one spreading the rumors about Xiao Wu out there? Are you the one making up these rumors? Are you doing this to drive Xiao Wu out?”

553, 554

553: Jasmine Being Blamed

The rumors outside were too specific. It wasn’t the first time rumors had spread about Feng Wu, but this time they were too fierce. Feng Wu became public enemy number one because of a certain seventh-year senior’s attention.

Xi refused to believe there wasn’t someone behind the rumors, not with how rampant they were spreading. Jasmine and Yifu were the most likely suspects. The fact that they didn’t get along wasn’t a secret amongst the second-years.

Xi’s menacing barrage of questions stunned Jasmine for a moment, but then her expression quickly changed to anger.

“Don’t pour you dirty water on me! I admit I don’t like her and if I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t mind using tricks behind her back. But this thing now has nothing to do with me. I didn’t do it, so don’t try to pin the blame on me!” Jasmine yelled back.

“If it’s not you, then it’s Yifu. The two of you get together every few days. The two of you are definitely scheming.” There was no way Xi was going to believe they didn’t have something to do with it.

“It wasn’t me or Yifu. This doesn’t have anything to do with either of us.” Jasmine gritted through angry teeth. It would have been fine if they were criticized for something they did, but they were being blamed for something they didn’t do!

“Can you find another person in the entire school who hates Xiao Wu as much as you the two of you?”

Never mind Xi, even Annika didn’t believe there was anyone else.

“You can’t be sure. How do you know no one else in school hates her?” Jasmine sneered.

“Of course, I’m sure! Except for narrow-minded girls like you two, no one else would hate Xiao Wu so much.”

“Stop arguing! We’re all roommates. There’s no reason to make such a fuss!” Annika saw they didn’t intend to stop bickering even after arguing for so long. She tried to get them to stop.

“This is on her! She was the one who wronged me first!” Jasmine yelled angrily.

Xi snorted coldly. “I think you’re just faking.”

Just as Jasmine was about to retort, she looked to the side and noticed Feng Wu was gone. “Where’s Feng Wu? Where’d she go?” They were quarreling so badly because of her but she ran away without even saying anything. How absolutely shameless!

Now that Jasmine mentioned it, Xi realized Feng Wu was gone. She looked, but saw no sign of Feng Wu anywhere, so she turned to Annika in a daze with a questioning look on her face.

“Feng Wu went upstairs before you guys even started quarreling.” Annika wanted to say something earlier but she couldn’t get a word in edgewise before. She immediately backed away after saying her piece to avoid any stray bullets.

“What?!” Jasmine yelled. She was so excited to see Feng Wu be a joke, but she never expected the other party to not feel anything. Instead here she was feeling all stuffy from arguing with Xi.

What was this?!

Xi rubbed her nose. The protagonist left so there was no reason to continue fighting. It was a rare opportunity to teach Jasmine a lesson.

Jasmine would have spit out blood if she knew what Xi was thinking.

Back in her room, Feng Wu was chatting with Ming Xi about her day. Her conversation was all ordinary every day things and the gossip she heard through out the day.

Ink and Jier had been suppressing the gossip about her so she wouldn’t hear so she didn’t have much gossip to share with Ming Xi. This was fine. Ming Xi wasn’t interested in gossip; he was only interested in listening to her talk. It didn’t matter what she talked about.

“Today, Jia Moore came and waited for me outside the classroom again. I told him I didn’t like him; why does he still show up every day? Jier and Ink accompanied me to eat fried meat skewers. They were very good. We can eat them together when you come back.

These days, Xiao Ye loves to run around. He went into the woods and was sent back today by the teacher. The teacher guarding the woods told me to keep an eye on him and to not let him run around so much.

I’ve told him to not run around, but Xiao Ye is so disobedient. Master said good children should be obedient and listen to adults. Why isn’t Xiao Ye a good boy?

Bad children who don’t listen will be spirited away. I’ll have to keep an eye on Xiao Ye so he doesn’t get spirited away.

When I came back to the dorm just now, Jasmine stopped me and said some words to me. I didn’t understand her. Then she and Xi got into a fight so I went upstairs by myself.

Xi says the rumors outside are being spread by Jasmine to drive me away. Why does Jasmine want to drive me away? This isn’t her home is it? Aren’t you only qualified to drive people away if they are in your home. . . ?”

Feng Wu tended to jump around when she talked but fortunately it was still understandable.

This silly girl, people were trying to make things difficult for her but she didn’t even recognize it.

Ming Xi felt helpless. Based on what Feng Wu told him every day, it sounded like the rumors were becoming more intense. If it wasn’t resolved soon, he was afraid her reputation would take a lot of damage.

Unfortunately, Jier’s group was unable to find any useful information. Ming Xi knew they were investigating Jia Moore, but unfortunately they were unable to find any useful information. What they found was too perfect and surely embellished.

Checking his interpersonal relationships was easy, but alas, none of the people he interacted with had such deep malice towards Feng Wu. What they really wanted to find out was his interaction with Hua Jin, but this was even harder to dig up.

Ming Xi wasn’t surprised. Hua Jin was their grandmother’s favorite grandchild. Although she acted innocent and was well-behaved in front of his parents, she was actually very careful, and under their grandmother’s tutelage, her scheming and means were pretty good.

It wasn’t that odd for them to fail to find any clues or witnesses. Hua Jin wouldn’t leave behind evidence for anyone to use against her.

They couldn’t find any proof of Hua Jin and Jia Moore’s collusion so they would have to change their strategy. They couldn’t remain passive and wait for something to come up.

554: The Threat

Jia Moore was doing really well. He didn’t understand why Hua Jin, daughter of Hua house and niece of the Moon empress, would go to such lengths to mess with a second-year girl, even if the girl in question was the first-born daughter of the main wife from Feng house. It wasn’t worth it.

But in the end, it didn’t have anything to do with him. The important thing was the benefit he would get out of it.

Besides, Hua Jin was going to be the next Moon empress. This could be considered building future relations. Being on good terms now would really boost his standing in the family.

“Xiao Jin, I’ve done everything you asked me. That girl, Feng Wu, looks stupid. How did she provoke you to make you expend so much effort to torment her?” Hua Jin’s image appeared in Jia Moore’s room through the communication crystal.

“You don’t have to worry about that. You just have to worry about shredding her reputation. It would be best to have her drop out of school as soon as possible.” Hua Jin’s face was stern.

“That’s a bit difficult. Feng Wu is cute, but she’s not the kind of little girl to cry because of rumors. If you want her to drop out of school of her own initiative, it will be difficult.” After angling around Feng Wu for so long, Jia Moore had a good understanding of her personality.

There were so many rumors around school about her, but she was completely unaffected. She ate and drank like normal and didn’t care about the pursuit of a handsome man like him. He didn’t understand how such a girl could exist – completely unaffected by other people’s opinions.

There was a lot of resentment in Hua Jin’s face as she said, “You have to do it. If what you’re doing now doesn’t work, then find a way to draw her out. You can use a few men, let them have fun with her. Then publicize it loudly. I don’t believe she’ll have the courage to stay in school after that.”

She would do anything to marry Ming Xi, driving a lowly nobody like Feng Wu out of school was nothing.

“That’s too much! We agreed we’d destroy her reputation. Right now, her reputation is completely ruined, so hasn’t your goal been achieved?!” Jia Moore asked hesitantly. Though hugging the future Moon empress’s thigh[notes] would be helpful in his fight to be the heir; he didn’t want to use such a vicious method against a little girl like Feng Wu, who was clearly an unaware little airhead.

“Excessive? So, what you did to that girl before wasn’t excessive? I remember there was a girl who got pregnant with your child. Didn’t you order her to be dealt with? Now you tell me I’m too much? Yeah, that’s really funny.” Hua Jin responded with a meaningful snort.

The matter she referred to was a black mark in his history; it was the last thing he wanted people to know. Hua Jin actually dared use it to shut him up.

“You don’t want this matter to be made public to your family or to the big families, do you? If you don’t want that to happen, then help me finish this matter well. When I become the Moon empress in the future, I will definitely give you benefits. But consider the consequences if you don’t help.”

Hua Jin sneered and closed their communication line.

Jia Moore squeezed the communication crystal in his hand. His face was gloomy and it looked like a storm was brewing in his eyes.

Ten years ago, he had met a daughter of a minor nobleman. She was smart and had a gentle and pleasing manner about her. They casually dated for a while, but her ambition was too much. She actually wanted to marry him and have a family, so she secretly tried to get pregnant.

It wasn’t up to him to decide who his future wife would be. But even if it was, he wouldn’t choose a wife from a minor noble house. Marrying her would be good for her family, but it gave his family no benefits whatsoever. Jia Moore was ambitious. He wanted to stand out and be the number young master amongst his brothers in the family. To do that, he would need a wife with a strong background.

To have a bastard child before having a son with the main wife was taboo in major families. What family would torment their daughter and marry her to him if he did that?

Jia Moore hadn’t wanted to kill the woman at first, but she was too ambitious and too ignorant of her position. She threatened to go to his school and make a scene in front of his classmates when he refused to marry her.

The two of them had agreed that they would date and break up. He thought she understood he didn’t want to get entangled too much. He had made it clear if they dated, it would be a casual relationship.

The girl understood, but she had her own plans and ambitions.

In the end, they couldn’t reach an agreement and Jia Moore had to kill her and all the people who knew about it. The woman was long dead so there was no way for his brothers to exploit his weak spot.

He never expected Hua Jin to know about the matter, or that she would use it against him.

Him meeting Hua Jin was a complete accident. He had gone with his parents to the ancient eastern countries to visit friends and had met her at a wedding party. He tried to befriend her because she was the Moon empress’s niece. Hua Jin wasn’t offended and they had made a good connection.

Jia Moore had wanted to deepen the relationship but never found the opportunity. This opportunity came along out of the blue and all he had to do was bully a girl. It was such a trivial matter that he agreed immediately.

Unexpectedly, what he thought was a prank in poor taste intensified. Since Hua Jin hated Feng Wu so much, why didn’t she just have someone kill Feng Wu? How powerful could a second-year student, even if she was a tenth chair, be? Killing a little girl, with Hua Jin’s identity, it would have been beyond easy.

555, 556

555: Who Found It?

Feng Wu didn’t know Hua Jin had concocted a cruel method, one far more superior to anything Yifu or Jasmine could have come up with, to deal with her.

There were new developments in the rumor about Feng Wu. In the past few days, several people claiming to be Feng Wu’s suitors rushed to the second-year sword master division and proclaimed to be her suitors. Some of were tall, some were short, but despite the different body shapes, all of them had a nice face.

They claimed to have fallen in love with her at first sight after having a romantic encounter with her, thus, they chased her to school.

So now there were six guys pursuing Feng Wu; all of them declaring their undying love.

Now how could a normal person not see something fishy going on?

Feng Wu never had a suitor in all the two years she had been at school. Now all of a sudden, after coming back from a class excursion, a bunch of guys were after her? On top of that, the guys ranged from fourth years to seventh years. One of them was even the tenth seat in the seventh years! How could such a strong lineup not be shocking?

Some of them were extremely talented commoners, while others were children of nobility who came from good backgrounds. All of them expressed deep affection for Feng Wu.

Now the second years were even more conflicted. One seventh year coming to pursue Feng Wu could be feasible, but so many falling for her at the same time? Not so much.

There was never a shortage of smart people at the academy. Those who weren’t as smart got input from their elders and friends at home.

They said this girl, Feng Wu, probably offended someone she shouldn’t have. Whoever it was, came up with the suitor trick to harm her reputation. The mastermind was unknown, but to avoid being implicated, it was better to just stay out of it and not get involved in the matter.

It didn’t take long before most students at school figured out it was all a result of Feng Wu offending someone she should not have offended.

Now that people began thinking about it, when one person pursued another person of the opposite gender, it could be because they were charmed by the other person.

Once they thought about it some more, they realized Feng Wu’s dark past resurfaced because Jia Moore pursued her.

Feng Wu had a hot temper since she was young. She had low self-esteem but she it didn’t stop her from bullying people, even her own cousins were bullied merciless by her, so much so, they couldn’t even raise their heads. She was disrespectful of elders and her private life was a mess. She even had an improper relationship with a man.

As for the child, Xiao Ye, rumors said his birth wasn’t because of the Mother fruit but because Feng Wu had an affair with some wild man whose identity no one even knew.

The reason the school came forward to protect Feng Wu and offered the explanation about the Motherhood fruit for Feng Ye was because the patriarch of the Feng house and the vice principal had an agreement.

Would the school have helped a student like that if any of them were caught in the same predicament?

Obviously, the answer was no. The school would never issue such an announcement for a single student, but when it came to Feng Wu, they suddenly did.

Who would believe there wasn’t some kind of under the table transaction? Feng Wu might even be the illegitimate daughter of the vice principal, or maybe even the principal!

On top of that, Feng Wu’s interaction with Jier and Ming Xi was obvious proof of her indiscretions and her love of seducing men. Even in class, her number one supporter was Ink. He had been protecting her from day one.

These rumors had spread before, but they never spread so fast or so pervasively.

Feng Wu wasn’t a big shot; she was just a second-year student in the Sword division. Some seniors didn’t even know whose spring onion[notes] she was.

This time the gossip even spread to the upper classes. Before this, the upper classes weren’t familiar with the gossip of the lower classes, but with Jia Moore being involved, the upper classes couldn’t avoid it even if they tried.

Whoever it was that wanted to punish Feng Wu had a lot of energy and resources. Only a few people in school could dispatch a seventh year to do something like this.

However, despite being asked, no one who had the ability to do it owned up to it. So, this begged the question, if they didn’t do it, then who did?

Gossip in school subtly shifted from Feng Wu to the identity of the person targeting Feng Wu.

In Hua Jin’s room:

Bang! A flower vase smashed against the floor. Despite the loud crash, the sound didn’t pass through the door and no one outside was disturbed. Though Hua Jin was really angry, she still remembered to use a sound barrier spell.

After breaking several more vases and destroying several paintings, Hua Jin contacted Jia Moore through the communication crystal.

For his part, Jia Moore’s mood wasn’t any better. When he saw Hua Jin was trying to contact him through the communication crystal, he immediately went to his room to answer it.

“What’s the matter with you! Why did you have so many people pursue Feng Wu?! Don’t you realize when there are that many people it will look fake?! Do you think the people who study here are idiots who’ll fall for such a stupid trick?!

There are so many seventh years curious about who’s behind it! They want to know who did it! Fortunately, they’re only curious and don’t intend to interfere. Can’t you think things through before acting?!”

Jia Moore was mad as well. The seventh years were looking at him like he was something strange. All the curious gazes aimed at him were really annoying!

“I didn’t invite them! This is your fault!” Jia Moore was not going to take the blame for something she did!

It was all Hua Jin’s fault. Did he choose the wrong thigh to hug? Could a ruthless woman like Hua Jin really be the next Moon empress?

It was said that the Moon emperor had a very pure aura because he received the light of the moon’s splendor every night. Because of this, he only liked people with clean, pure minds, who were good and honest. He could easily sense the good and evil in people.

Would the Moon emperor, this kind person, like a vicious woman like Hua Jin?

Jia Moore hadn’t given it much thought before, but now that he did, he really regretted banking on the wrong ship. It was so hard to get off now!

“What did you say? You weren’t the one who invited those people?” Hua Jin’s expression changed. She didn’t even bother paying attention to Jia Moore’s insolent tone.

Hua Jin, because of her relationship with her aunt, had felt she was the proper future queen of the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom since she was young. She didn’t feel the noble boys and girls outside were eligible to even be friends with her.

Normally Hua Jin would have been angry, but she was distracted and didn’t bother replying to Jia Moore’s complaints.

“Me, invite? I thought it was you!” After he finished venting, Jia Moore realized something was wrong. Hua Jin said she hadn’t invited the extra guys. He, for sure, didn’t invite them. Since neither of them did, where did all those extra people come from?

Was Feng Wu really that popular?

556: Resisting Threats

Jia Moore rejected the idea as soon as he thought of it. In the time he spent with Feng Wu, he didn’t see any idol potential in her.

“How could it be me?! I'm not so stupid!” Hua Jin blasted back. She felt unsteady. Who was sabotaging her plans?

Neither Hua Jin nor Jia Moore could figure out who was helping Feng Wu behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, in Jier’s dorm, Jier and Ink were toasting themselves for a job well done.

“That Hua Jin can’t do anything about it now. Didn’t she find someone to pursue Xiao Wu? We’ll help her get even more! Haha! Let’s see what she can do now!” Ink laughed happily before taking a big gulp of his drink.

Once they agreed Hua Jin was the person behind it, they tried to find evidence of collusion between Hua Jin and Jia Moore.

When that failed, they decided to change their strategy. If they couldn’t get evidence to clear Feng Wu’s name, then they could do the opposite and blacken her name as much as they could! They just had to make it as exaggerated as possible so it would be obvious there was something fishy about her admirers.

The students in Xingguang Holy academy weren’t stupid. Such a high number of admirers after Feng Wu, it was blatantly clear someone was directing behind the scenes. No way Feng Wu wasn’t being set up.

Sure enough, their plan succeeded. Now it was Hua Jin and Jia Moore’s turn to worry.

“Don’t be too happy. That woman won’t give up so easily. She’s so good at pretending; her skills are almost on par with Zi Cheng from our division.”

Jier didn’t like Zi Cheng. He felt she planned too much and she wasn’t as innocent or kind-hearted as she pretended to be.

Her interactions with people had purpose and her brainwashing ability was top notch. Who knew how many people had their IQ’s plummet after being friends with her?

He had ignored her the few times she tried to get close to him. Luckily, she had enough self-awareness to see he didn’t want anything to do with her, so she didn’t bother him after that.

His division had a fake white lotus and Virgin Mary[notes] like Zi Cheng while the Sword division had a fake future Moon empress like Hua Jin. And this fake queen had tricks up her sleeve. After entering school, she managed to collect a useful group of people.

He knew a setback like this wouldn’t make Hua Jin quiet.

“Zi Cheng? What’s wrong with her? Do you think Zi Cheng is more formidable than Hua Jin?” Even Ink knew Zi Cheng was the most eye-catching number one goddess in the first, second, and third years.

So many people waited outside the second-year Magic division just to get a glimpse of her. Needless to say, she was very popular.

“Formidable? Hardly. It’s just that woman has some strange means. You better avoid contact with her.” Jier frowned before speaking.

“She’s a goddess-level person. I’m such a small fry; how could I have interactions with her?” Ink laughed at himself. He didn’t understand why Jier gave him such a warning, but he decided to keep his distance from Zi Cheng in the future.

“But Jier, since when have you been on such good terms with the seniors? They’re even willing to help you do this kind of thing that’s damaging to their image.” Ink asked. How did Jier do it? He was just a second year like him.

He never saw Jier close to any senior; how was he able to get so many to help?

“I’m not friends with any seniors. It was Senior Ming Xi who asked the other seniors for help. They all came thanks to Senior Sister Elena and her group.”

After Jier discussed the plan with Ming Xi, Ming Xi was put in charge of contacting Elena and the other team members[notes]

Elena liked Feng Wu very much. She immediately took Luis and the others to help. The people they invited were all individuals on good terms with her and her group and were all big shots who weren’t concerned about public opinion.

“It turned out Senior Ming Xi asked Senior Sister Elena and the others for help.” Ink understood. After thinking about it, other than Senior Ming Xi, there wasn’t anyone else.

Hua Jin couldn’t figure out who was destroying her plan. After being angry for a few days, she directed Jia Moore to go ahead with the plan they talked about last time.

Jia Moore didn’t want to do it. Ever since people suspected his motives for pursuing Feng Wu, he became the subject of curious gazes. Some people even blatantly stared at him. They wanted to know why he wanted to harm Feng Wu and who ordered him to do it.

If he dared make a move in this kind of climate, he would be the number suspect guaranteed! This kind of thing, it wasn’t worth the risk. He refused.

Hua Jin raged at him for trying to back out. She yelled and screamed, threatened and intimidated, but he refused to budge. He had made up his mind and refused to change it no matter what.

Hua Jin knew Jia Moore was ambitious and an alliance with a strong family would be beneficial for him. She knew no family that cared about their daughters would accept a marriage from a man who already got another girl pregnant.

In the aristocracy, men were allowed to dally with women, but they couldn’t have a baby before marrying a proper wife first. Those who did would be looked upon as unruly individuals and would never be a suitable marriage candidate.

Hua Jin thought Jia Moore would cave in. Instead, he sneered at her.

“You can say it if you want, but know this, I can just as easily go to your future Moon emperor and tell him everything you’ve done. I’m certain His Highness will be interested.” Jia Moore decisively shut down the communication line after saying this.

How hateful! To dare threaten her! Hua Jin’s expression was grim. It never even occurred to her; she wouldn’t have been threatened if she hadn’t threatened other people first.

557, 558

557: The Wedding Invitation from Blue Moon Castle

Jia Moore was betting on how much Hua Jin cared about her position in the future Moon emperor’s heart and whether he would stand up for her or not.

She wasn’t an ordinary noble lady because behind her was the Moon empress. Jia Moore could go to the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom to reveal what Hua Jin had done, but he knew perfectly well that before Hua Jin faced any kind of punishment, there was a possibility he would be silenced first.

As a young master from an ordinary family, his life and reputation weren’t as important as the reputation of the Moon emperor’s niece.

But it became clear to him after seeing Hua Jin’s reaction that the future Moon emperor didn’t have feelings for her and that the Moon empress didn’t love her as much as she advertised, because if she was confident of their love then, she should have known they would protect her to the end. She wouldn’t have panicked like she did.

He won the bet this time. The “future Moon empress” wouldn’t be finding him to work for her anytime soon.

As for whether Hua Jin would turn to someone else for help, that was none of his business. He was just glad he extricated himself from the situation cleanly.

Hua Jin was so mad after the call that she smashed all kinds of things in her room. Two hours later, after she was done venting her anger, she contacted someone. . . 

“Help me with something and I’ll help you get that thing you want. . . ”

The person at the other line didn't know what to say, but in the end, Hua Jin had a smile on her face when she closed the communication down.

Feng Wu didn't know new troubles were headed her way. Currently she was staring in a daze at the wedding invitation card in her hand.

It had her name on it and the sentence "Please be sure to attend the wedding." was written inside.

“Is someone in your family getting married soon?” Xi snatched the card from Feng Wu’s hand and opened it curiously.

"Miss Feng Wu, On the twelfth day of this month, there will be a grand wedding at Blue Moon Castle, please be sure to attend the ceremony."

"What the hell is this? Just those two sentences? There’s no information about the bride and groom. What kind of wedding invitation is this? It's my first time seeing such a casual wedding invitation." Xi said.

Annika agreed. There was something wrong with the wedding invitation. Under normal circumstances, the bride and groom’s name would be on it. Who would only put an address but no name? It would be strange if anyone did attend.

"Xiao Wu, don't go there. What is this Blue Moon Castle? I've never heard of this place. Maybe this is a trap set by someone to lure you out and harm you." Xi thought about the storm around Feng Wu that only died down a month ago.

Feng Wu nodded obediently, agreeing not to go. The wedding invitation exuded an uncomfortable aura and she didn’t like it.

Feng Wu didn't know two other girls at school also received the invitation.

“The Ancient Blue Moon castle arc is finally starting. I can’t believe I was selected for the dungeon this time. Hopefully, with heaven’s blessing, I won’t be favored by the pervert and can get out alive.”

Ai Lin was worried. Blue Moon castle was the most dangerous dungeon the heroine entered. Before this, all the dungeons were designed to give the heroine good things like experience, men, and artifacts. However, Blue Moon castle wasn’t designed to give her any benefits, but was in fact, designed to be her biggest crisis.

There was nothing inside the castle but a pervert and bunch of brides. The heroine’s charm was always strong around men. There wasn’t anyone she couldn’t seduce if she put her mind to it.

The pervert in Blue Moon castle was an exception. He was one of the few men in the novel who wasn't impressed by the heroine.

He was also lethal. There wasn’t a grading rubric of his strength in the novel, but from Ai Lin’s estimation based on the language description, the pervert was on par with the principal of Xingguang Holy academy and the master of Star Marshall hall.

All told, this guy was the same level as the Demon Ancestor.

Even the heroine had to exhaust all her efforts to escape.

“Ooph.” Ai Lin exhaled. This was a lot of pressure.

"Blue Moon Castle!" Jier had come over to take Feng Wu out to eat in celebration of their victory over Hua Jin’s treacherous scheme. He didn't expect to hear news that nearly made him vomit half his blood!

Other people didn’t know about Blue Moon castle, but he knew. It was a hidden place no one could find. Some said it was somewhere in the juédì. Others said it was in the underworld. While some said it was in the Demon realm.

The Duke of Blue Moon, the master of the castle, was a terrifying existence. Even the master of Star Marshall hall and the principal of the academy would have a hard time defeating him in a fight.

The duke never stepped foot on the continent, and few knew his name. Those who knew were tightlipped and refused to talk. Although to be honest, it wasn’t like anyone had anything new or different to say about him. They all knew the same things.

In regards to power, he was comparable to the Demon Ancestor. If he had the ambition, he could have made a decent bid to dominate the world, but the only thing he did was hold a wedding every one hundred years in his castle.

The girls who received his invitation were all bride candidates who would be transported to the mysterious Blue Moon castle, whether they were willing or not. The girl chosen by the duke would become his bride.

Don’t be fooled into thinking marrying such a powerful man is a good thing. At the wedding, the selected bride will transformed into a doll, which would permanently encase her soul. Afterwards she will be placed in the duke’s collection of dolls.

Those who fail to be selected as a bride don’t get a good end either. Somewhere along the way, they all end up dying. At the end of the selection, their corpses are teleported back to the place they came from. The only female allowed to remain in the castle is the bride.

The duke’s existence was kept a secret to prevent the public from panicking. Except for high-level officials of Xingguang Holy academy and Star Marshall hall, the four emperors, and some of the oldest families, no one knew about his existence.

558: Ming Xi Returns to School

It wasn’t that the powers didn’t want to destroy the duke, it was just that the castle’s location was too secret – no one knew how to reach it. They couldn’t fight despite wanting to.

None of the rejected bride candidates ever escaped alive.

There was once a noble lady who tried really hard to not be abducted by the duke. She put her invitation on her personal maid, hoping that when the time came, her maid would take her place.

A pity, it didn’t work. The lady was still transported to the castle. It had not mattered where she put the invitation or who she put it on, she, as the invited guest, was still taken away to the castle.

Others tried destroying the invitation, but who knew what kind of material it was made out of, it would not disintegrate.

Getting the duke’s wedding invitation was the same thing as getting a death notice from the god of death. People turned pale and were frightened when they heard.

Some girls couldn’t accept this fate; they couldn’t stand the pressure and chose to commit suicide over going to Blue Moon castle.

Jier’s entire body felt unwell upon learning of Feng Wu’s invitation. It was basically a symbol of death. How could Jier not be alarmed?

Even if he wasn’t afraid of anything, he had to admit his own strength was nothing compared to the monstrous duke who had lived for so long.

“What’s the matter?” Feng Wu blinked suspiciously at Jier’s expression. His sudden outburst had startled her and she stared seriously at him.

“Xiao Wu, you’ve got a big problem.” Jier knew it was better not to keep this kind of thing secret. Telling her now would help her mentally prepare, besides, as an involved party, she had a right to know. He only paused for three seconds before telling her everything.

While Jier was telling Feng Wu about Blue Moon castle, Zi Cheng had a puzzled look on her face as she read the wedding invitation in her hand. She didn’t have friends at Blue Moon castle so who could have sent her the invitation? After thinking about it and not coming up with an answer, she didn’t take it seriously and casually put it on a table nearby. She left her dorm, chatting and laughing with Yifu and the other girls as they walked to get something to eat.

Blue Moon castle was such a big thing, Jier immediately shared the news with Ming Xi.

Ming Xi would have forgotten it was the century for the Duke of Blue Moon to choose a bride again if Jier hadn’t mentioned it. It was a heavy blow and his eyes turned serious. His girlfriend had been picked as a bride candidate.

As the heir to the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom, Ming Xi knew what kind of person the duke was, and he was even more acutely aware what the invitation meant.

It was too late to stop Feng Wu from being abducted the moment she received the invitation. Even the current Moon emperor would be powerless to stop it.

However, it didn’t mean Ming Xi couldn’t go to the castle. As long as there was a moon, he would be able to go. And it didn’t matter whether it was the Demon realm, the underworld, or the High God realm, Ming Xi would go and he would bring Feng Wu back.

When Ming Xi returned to school that day, the first thing he did was to bring Feng Wu to his dorm room.

"Ming Xi?" Feng Wu blinked her big eyes, a little confused.

"Hey, close your eyes and don't ask anything." Ming Xi said.

"OK." Feng Wu closed her eyes obediently.

The moment she did, Ming Xi nicked the tip of one of his fingers with a small knife he pulled from his chest.

He dripped the drop of blood directly onto the center of Feng Wu’s brow. When the golden drop of blood touched her, instead of falling off, they were absorbed directly into her skin.

Feng Wu didn’t feel any discomfort, only a sense of lightness and comfort. It was as if her entire consciousness was surrounded by a comfortable shroud.

Ming Xi twitched his lips in satisfaction when he saw that the drop of blood had melted into her skin.

When Feng Wu opened her eyes, Ming Xi had already put the knife away, and even the small wound had disappeared.

"Xiao Wu, in the future, no matter where you go, I’ll be able to find you." Ming Xi hugged Feng Wu.

"OK." Feng Wu nodded a little stupidly, her eyes were somewhat puzzled.

Only a few people knew about Feng Wu receiving the wedding invitation, and of those, the only people who knew the true meaning behind the wedding invitation were Jier and Ming Xi. Everyone else thought it was just an ordinary invitation.

Hua Jin, having no idea Feng Wu was in the middle of a huge crisis, went ahead with her plans to remove Feng Wu from Ming Xi’s heart. If she was lucky, Feng Wu would be trapped in the castle and never be able to return home.

Three days before the wedding date on the invitation, Feng Wu, Annika and Xi went shopping for clothes together.

As the saying went, there was always something missing from a girl’s wardrobe. It was different for Xi because she was tomboy, but Annika was a normal girly kind of girl. Her favorite hobby was to shop for clothes, cosmetics, and skin care products.

Since Zi Cheng came to the world, she had incorporated food culture from earth and combined modern clothing concepts into the standard fashion on the continent. The dresses she designed were immensely popular, but her most profitable ventures were in cosmetics and skin care products.

559, 560

559: You’re Penmanship is Not Good

Zi Cheng even dabbled in jewelry design. She was in fact wealthier than most of the minor nobles at school; it was just that only a few of Zi Cheng’s confidants knew she owned so many businesses. One of the clothing stores she opened in the capital was called Value Clothing Rack, a well-appointed and tastefully decorated shop with uniformed assistants who smiled pleasantly as they helped customers shop. It was a welcoming and bustling atmosphere and there were many customers browsing inside. This was where Feng Wu and the girls were shopping.

As soon as Annika entered, she ran to the clothing section. Xi, though she didn’t care about clothes, was still worried about her skin, so she made a beeline for the skin care section.. Then she went next door to get some sunscreen items as well. Sword masters practiced in the outdoors every day, so their skin tended to be a healthier wheat color. Few female sword masters had truly fair skin.

Feng Wu’s lily-white skin was a rarity in the Sword division at school. She couldn’t tan no matter how much sun exposure she got.

If you were the type who didn’t want to get dark, then skin maintenance that included sunscreen was vital. The sunscreen products in Zi Cheng’s store were smash success the moment they went on the shelves because they were so good at protecting skin from sun damage.

Don’t think the sunscreen products she sold were similar to the sunscreen found on earth. These were an advanced formula Zi Cheng purchased from the system with her favorability points. The sunscreen products were amazing and extremely popular.

There was no market for expensive skin care products that didn’t have immediate effects. It was a world of magic after all. People wouldn’t bother buying an item that didn’t provide instant gratification.

In short, because of her cheat system, Zi Cheng got along like a fish in water and was making lots of money on the continent.

Feng Wu, suddenly left alone, stood stock still for a minute before she decisively turned around and went straight for the stall selling stinky tofu.

Stinky tofu was another item introduced by Zi Cheng. It sold very well so the lines were always long. Feng Wu waited for twenty minutes before she was able to buy an order of stinky tofu. She sat opposite Value Rack and ate her stinky tofu with relish.

Feng Wu was thinking about whether or not to buy a big meat bun as she ate the last piece. Before she could make up her mind, someone interrupted her.

The one that interrupted her wasn’t a bully or a handsome guy trying to strike up a conversation, but a pipsqueak who was only as tall as her thigh.

“Sister, there’s a brother who asked me to send this to you.” The little guy spoke in a childish lilt as he pulled out an envelope.

He turned around and trotted away ffter Feng Wu took it.

Feng Wu opened the envelope suspiciously. Inside was a letter written on plain paper, signed by Ink saying he wanted to meet her outside the city. There was something important he wanted to tell her.

Feng Wu. . .  decisively pulled out her communication crystal and called up Ink.

Ink had just finished his daily training and was returning to his dorm to shower and eat when he received Feng Wu’s call.

“Xiao Wu, what’s the matter?” Ink asked weakly. He was so tired he could barely lift his legs to climb the stairs.

He was doing extra training every day to improve his strength. The training regiment he did today was one his teacher prepared for him.

Ink wondered if his teacher was deliberately messing with him, but he had no evidence.

“You’re looking for me?” Feng Wu asked.

“No.” Why would he want to find her? Didn’t they just see each other in morning class? Ink blinked in bewilderment, wondering why she asked such a weird question.

“You wrote this?” With a blank expression on her face, Feng Wu held up the folded letter so Ink could see it.

“What? What is that? Open it up and let me take a closer look!” Ink’s expression changed as he realized something was wrong. Was someone trying to use his name to trick Feng Wu?!

Feng Wu opened the letter obediently so he could see the writing inside.

After reading the letter, Ink suddenly had a bad taste in his mouth. Some asshole really was trying to use his name to lie to Feng Wu!

“That was not written by me. Xiao Wu, in the future, if there is a letter from me asking to see you in private, don’t believe it willy nilly. Contact me directly through the communication crystal. How can I write a letter like that? The penmanship is so ugly. It’s not my writing.” This was unforgiveable. Whoever it was that was using his name, if he ever discovered their identity, he was going to beat them to a pulp! Ink was so angry!

No matter how bloody the thoughts in his heart were, he was quick to advise Feng Wu, afraid she would ignorantly be deceived by those unknown vicious liars.

“I know you didn’t write it,” said Feng Wu.

“What?! How?!” Did Feng Wu get smarter without him knowing? She could even tell when a letter was written by him or not? Incredible.

“You’re handwriting isn’t as good.” Feng Wu spoke seriously and nodded her head.

Ink instantly received 10,000 points of damage. Was his writing that bad? In Feng Wu’s mind, his words were no better than a fraudster with vicious intentions?

“Since you already know, then why did you contact me?” Ink asked helplessly as he swallowed a mouthful of bitterness.

“I wanted to make sure.”

Ink: . . . 

Half and hour later, Annika and Xi finally finished shopping and came out of the building with their purchases stored away in their space rings. Feng Wu wasn’t interested and didn’t ask them to take their things out to show.

After meeting up, the girls went to a restaurant to eat. They requested a private booth and ordered a table full of food. The service was fast and the food came out shortly after they placed their order.

Annika only took a few bites before her head spun. There was something wrong with the food! Annika wanted to open her mouth and warn the other girls, but Xi’s head had already dropped onto the table. Annika followed immediately after.

560: Was This Mad People Disease?

Movement sounded from outside the door and two tall men walked in.

“Why is she still awake?!” Uttered one of the men who was shocked to see Feng Wu still conscious. Not only that, but she was eating and drinking very naturally like nothing was wrong.

Since you’re unaffected, why didn’t you run away? Go and ask for help? Instead, you’re sitting there and eating like everything is normal.

The men were flabbergasted.

Feng Wu swallowed a mouthful of food calmly. She didn’t display any kind of reaction at the two men who just entered the private booth. She only looked at them after she was done with her bite.

“This booth is occupied.” Feng Wu said seriously.

Girl, your reaction is all wrong! Ah bah humbug! What they thinking? They weren’t there to chat. They were there to do bad things.

“Boss, what should we do now?” One guy turned around to look at the other, apparently the one in charge.

“Idiot, do I have to teach you this? Just knock her out and kidnap her!” The one called the boss said bitterly, hating his subordinate for not living up to expectations.

The other man responded by nodding and taking out a big knife. He stepped forward to make his move.

“Put it away. You’ll have to pay compensation if you break anything in here. Do you have money to pay?” The boss said angrily.

The knife guy put his knife away with a smirk. Of course he couldn’t pay. The furniture was too expensive; besides, it wasn’t like he had money to lose. He would use his giant fists then.

The little girl was cute, but he was being paid to mess her up and he couldn’t afford to have pity. He was just about to punch Feng Wu and take her away when his boss grabbed his arm and signaled him to stop for a minute.

The fist guy obediently and stood aside. He looked at Feng Wu up and down but didn’t say anything.

Feng Wu: What were they here for?

Annika and Xi’s habit of falling asleep while eating was curious. . . 

“Little girl, follow us and we won’t make things difficult for your friends. If you refuse, don’t blame us for taking all three of you together.” The boss sneered, trying to persuade Feng Wu to take the initiative and leave with them peacefully.

The two men were members of a ten-man mercenary group that specialized in stealing and cheating. It was a small group but each member was strong and each person had a dirty background. The two men, who had been brothers since they were kids living in the city, were never shy about committing crimes.

Their mission was to kidnap Feng Wu. Abducting a little girl, it wasn’t a difficult task so they were the only two to take the job.

Originally, when they learned about the girl’s circle of friends from the client, they had wanted to lure her out of the city by pretending to be one of her friends, and then ambush her at the right moment.

But the girl fouled their plans by not following the script. Instead of following the letter, she directly contacted her friend and exposed their deception.

They had to find another way. Out of desperation, they bribed a waiter in the restaurant and put a special drug in the dishes the girls ordered. The plan was to wait for the drug to take effect then enter and abduct the target out of the city. No one would be the wiser.

Their client didn’t say they wanted the target dead; they only wanted to compromise her and damage her reputation.

The two men had never done this before, but it wasn’t difficult: abduct, rape, attract attention. Done. It was a simple task worth 500 gold.

And they didn’t even have to set any fires or kill anyone. Instead, they got to have fun with a girl in an open and honest manner according to their profession. It couldn’t have been a more perfect mission. If it weren’t for their talent and skill, how could they have scooped such a cushy mission?

The plan was good and the two girls had passed out, but the intended target was fine.

What the hell was going on? When they came in, the girl was definitely eating, so how could she still be conscious?!

The men didn’t understand. The boss felt there was something strange with the girl; it was better to be careful and avoid force. Instead they would try to outsmart her.

“Why would I want to go with you?” These guys were so strange. They said some nonsensical things after walking in on people eating. Was this the Mad People disease Ai Lin talked about?! Feng Wu’s eyes sparkled.

Mad People disease was a word Feng Wu learned from Ai Lin. Ai Lin quarreled with Yifu every day. She said Yifu had Mad People disease.

People with Mad People disease had problems with their brains and it was impossible to reason with them. The best thing to do was to ignore them or suppress them with force.

The two guys in the room must have problems with their brains, therefore, they had to have Mad People disease!

The two men: ". . . " Why do I feel something is wrong?

“Why? Well if you don’t want anything to happen to your two classmates here, you’ll come with us.” The boss shook off the apprehension in his heart and threatened Feng Wu with a gloomy face.

Why did this little girl give him such a weird feeling?! The intel clearly said she was a normal, ordinary little girl!

Illusion, it had to be an illusion!

“What will happen to them?” Feng Wu tilted her head as she became more and more puzzled. Sure enough, Ai Lin was right. You couldn’t communicate with people who had Mad People disease.

“M, this girl is just trying to stall for time. Let’s just knock her out and take her away.” The boss felt the girl’s question was stupid. She was messing with them and trying to buy time for rescue to arrive. How could he, a professional villain, let her scheme succeed?

“. . . ” So just punch her like he wanted to earlier? So much nonsense and they still went back to his punching people in the end. He rushed forward with his fist raised again and aimed for the back of Feng Wu’s head.

He didn’t want to kill her, just knock her out with a concussion.

561, 562

561: Hound Dog Mercenary Group

The two assailants thought Feng Wu would be an easy target to take down.

Who would have thought she would catch the punch, and more shocking still, squeeze M’s hand in a death grip so hard he couldn’t free himself.

“Let go!” His face was flushed red from the exertion.

The boss rushed over and tried to kick Feng Wu away, but ended up being kicked back by Feng Wu instead. The impact of her kick on his chest forced him several steps back and made him hit the door.

M took the opportunity to kick Feng Wu as well. In forcing her to avoid his kick by stepping back, he was able to free his hand.

“This stinky girl is not easy to deal with.” He said in a deep voice.

“Let’s attack together.” The boss spat out and rushed forward.

The three started fighting in the small booth. Feng Wu landed more than a dozen blows and kicked the men hard into the mural of the wall. They, who had entered thinking they were invincible against a little girl, were finally forced to quit and run away.

The sound barrier the men set up earlier before entering the booth muffled the sounds inside, so no one outside heard them fighting despite the ruckus they were causing. But they attracted a lot of attention when they burst out in a wild run.

Only then did someone realize something was happening in one of the booths.

The person in charge sent a waiter to investigate. When the story came out about what happened, the staff could only apologize.

The food had been drugged. If it wasn’t for the one girl not succumbing to the drug, all three of them would have been abducted while in the restaurant. It was a big deal.

The person in charge comped their meal and gave them a VIP card as compensation to settle the matter.

The person that colluded with the kidnappers was caught and dealt with by the person in charge.

The person in charge also got some medicine for Xi and Annika so the two girls woke up.

The girls returned to the dorm but their faces weren’t good. Xi and Annika were nearly ruined by scoundrels so their hearts were still uneasy. They scolded the villains as they walked out of the restaurant, scolded them as they walked to the dorms, and didn’t stop scolding even after they reached the dorms.

Feng Wu was unphased and called Ming Xi the moment she returned to her room.

Although Ming Xi was back at school, the two still kept the habit of calling each other every night. Their night time calls were always long and lasted through the wee hours.

Ming Xi’s expression wasn’t good when he learned about the near abduction. He didn’t know who was behind it, but the list of suspects was very short. The most being suspicious person was his cousin, Hua Jin.

If it was her, then he was going to have to settle their debts, old and new. Hua Jin wasn’t going to get away with doing whatever she wanted.

Hua Jin had no idea her impression in Ming Xi’s hearts plummeted beyond repair. She was oblivious and still intent on taking over Feng Wu’s position.

At that moment, in a room inside Xingguang Holy academy, a beautiful man with auburn hair elegantly held a glass of red wine in his hand. In front of him one woman was singing a song, to the side another woman waited to refill his glass in between feeding him grapes, while another massaged his thighs with her slender hands. It was a hedonistic image.

Suddenly the man frowned and ordered, “Leave.”

“Yes.” All three women saluted and left. They went downstairs and with neutral expressions on their faces, greeted his roommates. They put on their cloaks and left amicably.

The three men left behind in the living room sighed and shook their heads.

“How is he so attractive to these women? This time it’s three at once. It’s amazing they didn’t have a cat fight.”

“If you had a family and money like him, you can have lots of women like that too. The girls around him are just there for money and power.” The person who answered had a lot of disdain in his voice.

“Aye, you’re just hateful about it because you’re jealous!”

“There’s nothing to be jealous over. All those women are just doing it for money. I don’t want women like that.”

“Let’s talk about something else.”

The three men stopped talking about other people’s girlfriends and changed topics.

Upstairs, the auburn-haired man had displeasure in his eyes.

“You failed.” His voice was calm without a hint of anger.

Despite this, the person on the other end of the line knew the man was angry. His face paled as he shrank his neck.

“Please give us another chance. This time we’ll succeed,” assured the man on the line.

“This is your last chance. If you fail again, you know my rules. I don’t keep useless people under me.” The auburn hair said casually.

The man on the other end only dared to wipe the cold sweat from his brow after hanging up the communication line. He was head of the mercenary group.

The people in his group were the bottom dregs of society who had done shameful things to live.

He was no exception, but he was lucky five years ago when a man he met gave him a large sum of money to form a mercenary group to handle shady business.

There were two ways for mercenary groups to get business. One was to go to the mercenary guild and pick up a task. Tasks were issued by families and individuals and varied in content.

Their group did not accept missions this way. The missions they accepted were from special underground channels that listed private tasks ordinary people would reject. The missions posted were always shady and never for anything good, but they paid well.

In the mercenary guild, a small task could pay a dozen gold coins, but in the underground, a small task could pay out several hundred gold coins. The bigger the task, the more the pay. It wasn’t impossible to earn several hundred million gold on a single big task.

It was easy to make good money if you didn’t have a conscience.

The only ones who knew their mercenary group was formed specifically to serve a special demonic and cruel young master were him, the head and deputy head. Every one else just thought they were a small mercenary group of ten.

562: Working with a Tiger

The auburn-haired man raised his cold eyes. It looked like he was in deep thought. Who knew what he was thinking.

“Why did you fail? Didn’t you say you would succeed?” Hua Jin yelled angrily at the other party on the end of the communication crystal.

The auburn-haired man frowned slightly and a hint of displeasure colored his eyes.

“I will help you get rid of that woman; you don’t have to be so anxious.” This disgusting girl. If he didn’t need the things she could get him, he would have already had her killed.

A pity he couldn’t kill her yet, not without getting what he wanted first. He had to endure a little longer.

“But you failed, didn’t you? What kind of trash do you have under your command? They couldn’t even beat a single second-year girl. . . ” Hua Jin complained loudly in her room to the person on the other end of the line. She was really fed up with Feng Wu.

Ming Xi returned to school suddenly but he hadn’t visited her. She only knew about him returning second hand from other people.

Most people at school didn’t know Ming Xi’s true identity, so in their eyes it wasn’t strange he wasn’t cozy with her. But in the eyes of those who did know, it was telling. They could see she wasn’t going to sit on the throne in the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom.

In their eyes, Hua Jin instantly became a joke and was no longer a coveted friend. What was she going to do once Ming Xi’s identity came out in the future? She had to resolve the whole Feng Wu thing soon or she would be a laughingstock!

She refused to be ridiculed! Her wish, ever since she was a little girl, was to be the most noble woman in the entire Ancient Silver Moon kingdom. She wanted all the women to bow down and kneel at her feet. Anyone who stood in the way of her dream had to be destroyed.

Before she knew it, Hua Jin’s descent to corruption was irreversible.

“When will Miss Hua Jin get me that item I wanted? I’ve already sent people to help you do what you requested, but I do not see the slightest movement on your end.” The auburn-haired man sneered slightly, murderous intent filled his cold eyes.

Hua Jin’s cursing mouth had no reply. She didn’t have high magical or martial strength, but even she could feel the killing intent in his eyes. If she didn’t give him what he wanted, she was afraid he would silently kill her. She had known when they first agreed to work together that he was perverted. But after Jia Moore backed down, she had no choice but to get involved with this guy, even though he was dangerous.

She took a deep breath to suppress the restlessness and uneasiness in her heart. “What are you worried about? That I’d lie to you? I will do as I promised; don’t worry about it.” Hua Jin hurriedly responded and ended the communication.

She let out an involuntary breath after she did so. This guys was too dangerous. Was she going to regret teaming up with him?

She didn’t know, but regardless whether she would regret it or not, she couldn’t turn back. If she failed to deliver on her promise to him, he would kill her.

Ming Xi was worried something would happen to Feng Wu, so for the next three days he wouldn’t allow her to leave campus willy nilly. The mercenary group trying to abduct her waited outside the school in vain. They couldn’t leave even though they wasted three days waiting.

It was the strangest thing. The task should have been a really easy one to complete. All they had to do was kidnap a little girl. How did things end up like this?

The stormy depression in their hearts spiraled more as the days passed. They had to complete the task, otherwise they had to repay the commission several times over. People willing to complete such shady tasks loved money like their own lives. Ask them to pay back the money? Hell no!

So even though they didn’t want to, they continued to wait outside the school gate.

The two brothers who were beaten by Feng Wu were really motivated. They had been scolded like dogs earlier when they went back empty handed.

Feng Wu didn’t know she was being targeted by the entire Hound Dog Mercenary group. Three days passed in the blink of an eye and the date for the wedding arrived.

Ming Xi helped Feng Wu ask for a leave of absence and took her back to a private villa outside the school where he normally stayed when he wanted a moment of peace and quiet. Only the people he trusted knew about it. Hua Jin obviously didn’t know.

The leave would prevent unnecessary confusion. No one knew how the duke took the girls away, so if a student suddenly disappeared, it was certain people would panic.

In order not to cause panic, Star Marshall hall kept the entire issue about the Duke of Blue Moon secret. Even the families with members who were previous victims of the duke kept their mouths shut.

The duke was too powerful for ordinary people to deal with.

Ming Xi taking Feng Wu out of school was a good move to keep the calm. What he didn’t account for, what he didn’t know, was that Feng Wu wasn’t the only girl in school who received an invitation.

Including Feng Wu, there were three girls.

It was impossible for Ming Xi to hide such a big event from the vice principal. Feng Ye was sent to the vice principal’s house for care. The vice principal reported the matter to the principal but the principal said he couldn’t do anything about the duke.

It wasn’t the first time the Duke of Blue Moon called for brides. He possessed powerful dimensional space magic and could teleport people instantly.

The principal and everyone else in the know had wondered whether the duke was a dimensional space god.[notes]

But since none of them had ever seen the duke in person, it was impossible to test the theory.

Feng Wu was sleeping in bed soundly, but once the clock struck midnight, her body transformed into small dots of lights and she disappeared.

Ming Xi was sitting beside her the entire time and watched as she disappeared. None of the barriers he set up around the premise did any good.

563, 564

563: Ten Bride Candidates

He wasn’t idle while recuperating from his hand injuries. He used the time to work on improving his strength and had trained using the cultivation methods passed down through the generations.

His strength now was considerably stronger compared to a few months ago, especially when it came to his barriers. He was confident even the blood princes of the demon realm wouldn’t be able to break through without expending a great deal of effort.

But the duke apparently broke through all of his barriers like child’s play.

Ming Xi clenched his fists tightly. He didn’t even realize his nails were digging into his flesh.

“Xiao Wu, I will find you. Wait for me. . . ” Ming Xi’s eyes were firm and clear. He looked toward the moon hanging high in the sky with determination.

Soft brilliant light shone down like layered light curtains as they spread toward the surrounding area. No one noticed the moonlight changing. . . 

Feng Wu was awakened by loud bursts of crying. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a deep, black sky. There wasn’t a single star, only a big blue moon. The moon seemed to hold some kind of magic that forced a deep sense of fear into the gazer’s heart.

“Why am I here? Wasn’t I asleep at home? What’s going on?” cried out a woman.

“Is there anyone here? Is there anyone here?!” Someone else shouted in panic hoping someone familiar to her would reply back. She was destined to be disappointed though.

“Stop yelling. There has to be a reason why we’re all here. Let’s think about it calmly. Did anything strange happen before everyone arrived here?” One girl was still calm enough to think things clearly. She interrupted the wailing and yelling to rally everyone together.

“Where is this place? Why am I here?” Another girl woke up dazed.

"What's going on? Who are you? What do you want to do to me?" A stern voice came, obviously it was a girl who was quite favored at home.

Ai Lin and Zi Cheng were among the group as well, but the two of them didn't say much, they just stood in silence. Ai Lin was the first person who noticed Feng Wu was there as well. She walked over in a few steps and helped her up from the grass.

"Did you also receive the wedding invitation from Blue Moon castle?" Ai Lin asked in surprise.

Ai Lin never expected Feng Wu to receive an invitation. Obviously, because there was no Feng Wu in the original text, there shouldn’t have been a Feng Wu in the bride selection.

Ai Lin had suspected Feng Wu’s identity for a long time, but she failed every time she tried to verify it. Feng Wu didn’t seem to understand modern knowledge. It wasn’t until she had more contact with Feng Wu that Ai Lin realized she had been looking at it all wrong.

Feng Wu didn’t come from modern Earth like her and Zi Cheng, nor was she a reborn person like Zo, instead she was a time traveler from ancient times.

It took Ai Lin a long time to make this discovery. Once she did, she really wondered about her life. What was up with this world? The heroine from the original text was a time traveler. She and Feng Wu were both transmigrators from different times, and Zo was a reborn.

Zo’s rebirth could be considered a natural evolution of the world and Zi Cheng’s traveling through time was a requirement as the heroine of the novel and necessary to move the plot along. So, then what was the reason for her and Feng Wu’s addition to the world? Why were they here?

She was sure Feng Wu had never read the original novel nor did she have anything to do with the original world. Ai Lin didn’t understand why Feng Wu travelled through time to the current world.

She couldn’t ask Feng Wu directly because Feng Wu had Ming Xi guarding her. And who was Ming Xi? A big boss who was the future emperor of the Moon kingdom was what! It was best not to make waves with him.

Ai Lin kept her identity a secret from Feng Wu because of this. Feng Wu would never have come up with such a wild scenario on her own.

Seeing Feng Wu now, someone who shouldn’t appear in the duke’s castle, really shocked Ai Lin. She didn’t know if the Duke of Blue Moon brought the three of them there on purpose. If the duke could marry a man, would he have also brought Zo?

Ai Lin complained bitterly about the villain in the small theater of her mind.

After taking Ai Lin’s hand and standing up, Feng Wu realized something was wrong with her clothes – they weren’t hers.

She blinked and looked around at everyone suspiciously only to realize it wasn’t just her. They were all wearing wedding dresses as well.

All ten girls were wearing the same blue gown, the same tiaras, and even the little leather slippers on their feet were the same.

How weird. No wonder the one girl was crying so much. No normal person, when faced with such a strange situation where all their clothes were changed after waking up in an unknown place, wouldn’t feel put off. Who wouldn’t be disoriented?

“Yes.” Feng Wu replied.

“The wedding invitation from Blue Moon castle!” The other girls were close enough to overhear. Plus, Ai Lin hadn’t lowered her voice so it was easy to be overheard.

“Could our being here be related to that invitation?!” There were many smart girls in the group. After confirming everyone had received an invitation, they guessed it was what that brought them here.

“What the hell is going on? How did I end up here after getting an invitation? Why?” A delicate and weak girl cried pitifully, her pear blossom eyes rained tears down her pale cheeks. A pity they were all girls and there weren’t any guys around to appreciate her beautiful crying.

“Who brought us here? What’s the purpose?!” Another girl voiced her anxiety as she wrung her hands.

What purpose could there be? To chose a bride-made doll, thought Ai Lin secretly as she complained in her heart.

That was the only thing she could do. She couldn’t very well say her thoughts out loud. They weren’t things the main daughter of a small house should know.

Besides, it wasn’t good to share too much information. What if the girls couldn’t stand it and committed suicide? What would she do then? Dare destroy the duke’s game, that kind of felony would earn her a miserable death.

564: Mo Yan

Ai Lin was afraid of the mysterious and unpredictable Duke of Blue Moon. No, it was more accurate to say she was very afraid of the Duke of Blue Moon.

The other girls were worried as well, but for a different reason. They were dazed after just waking up and still confused. They didn’t feel desperate yet, probably because they didn’t know the duke’s methods.

“Distinguished ladies, welcome to Blue Moon. I am Mo Yan, head steward of Blue Moon castle. Allow me to sincerely welcome all of you on behalf of His Grace.

Somehow, without any of them noticing, a man in a black robe appeared close by.

He had black hair and looked in his forties. His steps were completely silent and none of them knew how long he had been standing there. They only detected his presence after he spoke.

“Ah! Who are you? What do you want? Money? I can give you lots of money, just let me go home quickly. My father will not let you off easily if you keep me here any longer!” The girl who spoke clearly didn’t understand how dangerous their situation was. She acted superior, like a spoiled young lady.

Head Steward Mo Yan didn’t even frown. “Miss Simia is such a jokester. That you can be here means you’ve already earned the opportunity to be His Grace’s bride. It is a great honor. Please do not speak such disrespectful words again.”

Mo Yan’s eyes were full of reverence and admiration as he spoke about the duke. There was also a hint of madness lurking on his face.

When Ai Lin saw him, the three words “rabid brainless fan” popped to mind.

Honor my foot. What honor? Be killed and turned into a doll? Ai Lin didn’t want any of it. She slandered the duke and the steward mercilessly in her heart. She didn’t have any good feelings toward the duke or the steward who worshipped him like a mad lunatic.

The steward was most definitely a lunatic. To a certain extent, his craziness was comparable to the Duke of Blue Moon.

“The duke’s bride? What nonsense are you spouting? When did this young miss agree to be his bride? You trapped this young miss here just to force her and commit a crime? Let me tell you, you can keep dreaming!

This young miss is the granddaughter of the vice president of the dignified Pharmacist guild. Not everyone can be worthy of me. If you are sensible, you should release me. Otherwise, when Grandfather hears about this and leads people to find me, none of you will have a good end. . . ”

Simia was blind to reality. She still thought they were in the regular world, where people wouldn’t dare slap the Pharmacist guild.

In the outside world, Simia was a cherished child, but here in Blue Moon, she was less than nothing.

The Duke of Blue Moon didn’t give anyone face. A mere vice president of the Pharmacist guild? Please, that was beneath him.

Ai Lin could see it all clearly.

Feng Wu stood silent to the side as she watched Simia and the man named Mo Yan interact.

Zi Cheng also remained silent. Normally someone like Simia was exactly the kind of person she would have wanted to build favor points with. But this time she chose not to jump in. An ominous premonition had dogged her ever since she woke up.

She knew she wouldn’t feel so strongly without a reason, so it was best to avoid confronting her captors until she understood the danger level and who the owner of the castle was.

By the sheer fact that the other party was able to bring her out of school to this place without disturbing anyone showed they had ability. Their strength was probably more than twice her own.

The others were not as calm. When Simia revealed her identity and wanted to force a release, two more girls joined in and made the same demands.

The two girls were from good backgrounds as well. Their identities, had they been on the continent, would have carried considerable weight.

A pity, none of the girls knew they had encountered a pervert, two perverts in fact. Two abnormally strong perverts.

Other than the three young ladies, no one else stood up to speak. The rest of the girls began to calm down as they studied their surroundings closer. They guessed the strength of their host was not something they could trifle with.

Ai Lin looked at these smart girls with approvingly. If they hadn’t been selected by the duke, they would have led good lives and married into aristocratic families.

They had excellent temperaments and strong hearts, but unfortunately it was useless. There was no escaping other than with the cheat item from the heroine. They were all going to be cannon fodder.

Ai Lin wasn’t going to die without a fight, however. She hoped the preparations she made wouldn’t be in vain and that she would be able to escape.

What about Feng Wu though? They were both fellow transmigrators, even if they were from different places. They got along really well too.

Would Feng Wu be able to escape? Ai Lin was so worried about her. But wait, she didn’t have time to worry about someone else! She couldn’t even protect herself; she needed think about herself more!

Ai Lin was just done thinking it over when Mo Yan finished answering their questions.

The end result, of course, was they didn’t get sent back. Mo Yan led them through the castle.

They weren’t stupid. Mo Yan’s attitude was good, but there wasn’t any respect in his eyes. He looked at them with a calmness that was unnerving.

No matter how harshly Simia and the others spoke, he remained unaffected. The other girls felt his thoughts were unpredictable and profound.

Ai Lin knew better. She knew it was because Mo Yan didn’t have the motivation to bother with people who were going to die soon.

They were all dead things in his eyes. How could an old monster like him, who lived for who knows how long, get angry at dead things?

Mo Yan led the ten girls, all dressed in beautiful blue wedding dresses, through a meadow to a splendidly enormous and majestic castle.

All the girls who entered before either had something extraordinary in themselves or something extraordinary in their identities, and every one of them had extraordinary knowledge about something.

565, 566

565: Centennial Bride

None of them had ever seen such a big castle before.

Not everyone was willing to go with Mo Yan, but after he released a wisp of qi, no one dared continue refusing.

The pressure from that tiny wisp had nearly torn them apart. If a mere head steward was this strong, then how powerful must the master be?!

With trepidation in their hearts, the ten girls properly entered Blue Moon castle.

Despite its size, not a single servant was present. A castle so big should have needed an army of servants for maintain, and yet there wasn’t a single servant in sight!

Despite this, everything inside the brightly lit castle was well cared for. The furniture and various decorations stood without a trace of dust.

“Ladies, this is the castle of the Duke of Blue Moon. His Grace is unable to meet you in person. Among the ten of you, one will pass and become his true bride. Only then will you qualify to meet His Grace the honorable Duke of Blue Moon castle.”

Mo Yan’s eyes shimmered with mad admiration when speaking about his master. Ai Lin secretly slandered him in her heart. Yep, birds of a feather flock together.

“What are you trying to do? When are you going to release us?” Simia, having seen a trickle of Mo Yan’s power, didn’t dare yell, but she still dared question even if her questions were voiced in a depressed and aggrieved manner.

“Release you? This is the home of the future duchess.” The faint smile Mo Yan gave them didn’t reach his eyes.

Ai Lin noticed he wasn’t referring to everyone, only the future duchess.

The others didn’t notice. They had grabbed onto the only part that was important to them – the insinuation that the other party didn’t intend to release them.

Among the ten girls, other than Feng Wu, who never thought too much anyway, Ai Lin and Zi Cheng were the only ones who weren’t terrified. Ai Lin and Zi Cheng had aces up their sleeve. The other seven girls were incredibly scared; they hoped their families would find and rescue them from such a terrible place soon.

“Ladies, you must be hungry. Please take a seat and enjoy the meal we have carefully prepared for you.” Mo Yan said.

The moment he finished speaking, silver plates floated in from outside. It was a magical world, so the girls weren't shocked or scared by the floating plates. They just assumed it was done through magic.

It was a castle with no servants, but Feng Wu saw things differently.

In her eyes, there were many people in the castle, and they were all young girls.

The girls had vacant eyes and were intent on their tasks. They came in one by one carrying dinner trays. They respectfully left after setting everything on the table appropriately. They moved as though they were trying hard not to disturb anyone.

It was easy to guess the girls were rejected brides. Though their physical bodies were destroyed, some of them were lucky enough to keep their souls. These souls became the current maids in the castle.

The girls who were unlucky couldn’t save their souls and no longer existed.[notes]

Feng Wu was the only one who could see them. Even Ai Lin wasn’t aware the castle was being maintained by a bunch of ghosts.

The original novel was written from Zi Cheng’s perspective, and since Zi Cheng wasn’t a necromancer, she couldn’t see the ghosts. The existence of so many remained a secret.

Even the master of Star Marshall hall and the principal of Xingguang Holy academy thought all the abducted girls no longer existed.

Mo Yan stood to the side waiting for them to eat the exquisite dishes laid on the table.

The girls were frightened and hungry but they didn’t dare eat what Mo Yan prepared. What if it was poisoned?

Ai Lin wasn’t worried about that. Having already read the novel, she knew the food was safe.

Zi Cheng used her items from her cheat system to test the food and found they were safe. She picked up her cutlery and began to eat.

Her unperturbed and natural attitude impressed Mo Yan. He couldn’t remember how many brides he had seen over the years, but of all the women who came the castle, she was the most calm and elegant.

Perhaps she would have the honor of being the next centennial bride.

The reason it was a centennial bride was because the duke had to replace his wives every one hundred years.

The previous bride had been a duchess for a hundred years and now it was time to replace her. Every century saw a new beautiful bride. These girls were the candidates.

Head Steward Mo Yan hoped someone among them would be able to satisfy the duke. He didn’t want the duke to lose interest in playing with his duchess too quickly.

Though they were superior to humans in the human world, they couldn’t visit too often because of the world’s consciousness. It prevented them from visiting too frequently. Plus, the temple’s Star Marshall hall and Xingguang Holy academy probably didn’t want them to visit either.

The duke said it was best not to confront the world’s consciousness of this world; it wouldn’t be good for outsiders like them.

As for the masters of Star Marshall hall and Xingguang Holy academy, the duke didn’t want to fight with them either. It was best to avoid them.

Mo Yan knew both organizations had been trying to capture his master for some time. But no matter what they tried, they couldn’t enter Blue Moon.

No one entered Blue Moon without his master’s permission.

How could the super powers of this world fight His Grace if they couldn’t find him? Haha. Blue Moon realm was safe.

He didn’t know how long their peace would last, but as long as the super powers couldn’t reach Blue Moon, there was nothing to worry about.

When His Grace tired of playing with his bride, they would leave the current world and go somewhere else. At that time, the affairs of this world would have nothing to do with them.

Hopefully the new bride would keep His Grace’s interest a for a while. The new duchess had to give his master some fun...

566: The Card

The girls ate their meal mechanically in silence.

The food was wonderful; they were rare and delicious dishes that none of them would have been able to eat every day even if they were born into a big family.

Unfortunately, nine of the ten girls couldn’t appreciate any of it. Feng Wu was the only one who gorged happily, smacking her lips in satisfaction.

The meat was tender with a fruity fragrance. After eating a few pieces, her body warmed and the qi she used earlier was replenished.

Feng Wu nodded in satisfaction, appreciating the food very much. A pity, there was so little. Why were the people here so stingy? This wasn’t enough to fill her belly!

Feng Wu was a little resentful. She seldom felt hungry since starting classes at Xingguang Holy academy.

Contrary to Feng Wu, who wasn’t satisfied with the quantity, the other girls could barely eat.

It was impossible for them to eat and drink in such a weird environment. Even if there was the most delicious meat in front of them, they couldn’t bare to stomach much.

Feng Wu looked brightly at the girl sitting opposite her. “Are you going to eat that?” Much of the meal on her plate remained untouched.

“I can’t eat.” The girl’s expression froze and she muttered. Who in their right mind could eat and drink so heartily?

“I’ll help you eat!” Feng Wu squinted her eyes as a bit of drool began to pool in her mouth.

The girl pushed her barely touched plate over to Feng Wu. “You can have it if you want it.”

Feng Wu took it with a blank expression. Then she turned her head to the other girls around the table who hadn’t touched their food.

Three black lines appeared on their foreheads. Who was this glutton? You can really eat in this kind of environment? You are too amazing!

They didn’t wait for Feng Wu to speak, but voluntarily pushed their plates over. They couldn’t eat it anyway, might as well just share it with her and let her eat as much as she wanted.

Two of the girls muttered quietly something about ignorant country bumpkins. Their situation was too dangerous so the normally unruly and willful girls didn’t have the courage to ridicule Feng Wu loudly.

It only took a few minutes for Feng Wu to polish off the plates.

Zi Cheng and Ai Lin involuntarily twitched their lips at the sight. It was impressive, her speed.

After the meal, Head Steward Mo Yan brought them to another room. The new room was ornately decorated and filled with so much sparkling crystal accessories that the entire room was filled with refracted rainbow lights. It was so dazzling it was hard not to squint.

The girls shielded their eyes with their hands. What kind of room was this? Why so dazzling?

The head steward must have been used it as he appeared completely unphased.

“Ladies, please sit down. You will receive the first round of tests here. Among the ten of you, only one can survive to the end. Those who fail to become the duchess shall die. So please try to survive to the end so that you may be privileged to see His Grace and be the Duchess of Blue Moon castle.”

The girls looked at each other with fear and trepidation in their hearts. Did this guy want them to kill each other?

As they were thinking about whether or not Mo Yan had the ability to force them, the room suddenly changed into a forest. A blue moon hung above.

Feng Wu was standing alone in a corner of the forest when a white card materialized in her hand. It read, “You must kill one of the ten people here within two hours. Failure to do so will result in your immediate destruction.”

The other girls held the same cards in their hands as they stood in different parts of the forest. They would die if they didn’t want to kill and they would die if they weren’t strong enough to kill someone else.

It was clear the selection would be bloody. The final winner had to be superior in both mind and body with means and ability.

It was just that the winner would also die in the end. Although they would have an intact body, they would be mute and frozen, with their soul forever sealed inside their corpse.

The girls who won and were turned into dolls probably regretted winning. It would have been better to die a clean death then live as a corpse doll.

Ai Lin sighed. The duke was really perverted. She squeezed the card in her hand as determination flashed in her eyes. She had to live to the end.

Feng Wu glanced at the card before casually throwing it away and walking deeper in the forest.

Some girls tore their cards up and some cried inconsolably. But after crying, a thread of cruelty flashed in their eyes. A girl who can survive in a big family would never be so weak that she would choose to wait for death. Which of them would actually give up the chance to live?

None of them questioned the authenticity of the information on the card. They knew in their hearts if they failed to follow the instructions, they really would die a tragic death.

As the girls were getting ready to kill each other, Ming Xi was busy using the divine blood he left on Feng Wu to find her location. As long as the moon shone where she was, he would be able to find her.

Though the principal and vice principal knew Feng Wu had been chosen by the duke, there was nothing they could do.

The duke’s methods were so mysterious that neither the master of Star Marshall hall nor the principal of Xingguang Holy academy could interfere.

Ai Lin and Zi Cheng were also missing. Their disappearances were concealed by the school to prevent panic.

The school deduced the identities of the other girls who received a wedding invitation from the Duke of Blue Moon, but kept the reason behind their disappearances secret. If the existence of the Duke of Blue Moon was made public, panic would erupt amongst the girls. It was better not to reveal the matter until there was a solution.

The families of the victims were kept in the dark. Most thought it was a simple kidnapping so they were searching like crazy. No one would have guessed the girls were no longer on the continent, that they were in the gap between worlds, hidden away in the Blue Moon realm.

Feng Wu’s friends were hiding the truth from the Feng family as well. It would have been useless to tell them about it. Though the Feng family was powerful, there was nothing they could do against the behemoth that was the Duke of Blue Moon.

Everyone who knew the truth of the matter was worried about Feng Wu.

Before Ai Lin was abducted to Blue Moon castle, she told Zo about it, so he was worried about Ai Lin as well.

567, 568

567: Five Out of Ten Live

Zo wanted to use the opportunity to create issues for Zi Cheng and possibly force her to stay in Blue Moon forever, however, Ai Lin vetoed the idea.

Zi Cheng was the heroine and was blessed by the world’s consciousness. It was possible to make her suffer and lose opportunities here and there, but doing something like killing her was off limits. If Ai Lin dared, she would be punished and the world’s consciousness may even obliterate her.

Without Ai Lin’s cooperation, there was nothing Zo could do but scrap the plan.

He was really worried about Ai Lin being in Blue Moon. There was only the two of them fighting against Zi Cheng. If something happened to Ai Lin, Zo would be left to fight alone.

Yifu was suspicious about Zi Cheng’s disappearance. The school said Zi Cheng had left on a secret mission and would not be back for a while. Zi Cheng never mentioned a secret mission even though they had a date to go shopping the next day, and Zi Cheng wasn’t the kind of person to disappear without saying anything.

Yifu suspected the teachers were lying, but she had no proof. Even though she was unhappy, she couldn’t fight them by herself. There was nothing she could do other than stew in her own anxiety.

Feng Wu and the other girls couldn’t know how worried everyone in the outside world was for them.

At that moment, Feng Wu was using Xiao Chun to slit a girl’s throat.

Feng Wu felt deep malice and strong killing intent earlier, so she knew the person truly wanted to kill her. The thought of showing mercy never crossed her mind. Her master said kindness to the enemy was cruelty to oneself, and that letting an enemy go would only come back to bite you.

Those who failed once would learn from their experience, so letting them learn how to make your life more difficult was foolish. It was better to directly kill them from the beginning.

Feng Wu was an obedient child; she always listened to her master. Like the last time when Yifu tried to kill her, if Ming Xi and the others hadn’t stopped her, she would never have let Yifu live.

But this time in the forest, there was no one to stop her, so Feng Wu easily killed the girl intent on killing her.

The moment she finished, she was transported back to the room from earlier. Head Steward Mo Yan was smiling at her and the other three girls standing nearby.

Another girl materialized after Feng Wu. She was not as calm and was clearly rattled. Her fight must have been fierce because her hands and clothes were covered in blood. She burst into tears when she realized she was no longer in the forest.

She didn’t forget where she was and stopped crying after a few hiccups. This was not the time or place.

“Ladies, you are doing very well. Today’s test is over. A maid will take you to your rooms to rest.” Mo Yan nodded in satisfaction.

The girls breathed a sigh of relief upon learning they would not have to fight any more for the night. Ai Lin and Zi Cheng were both strong fighters but that didn’t mean they wanted to fight for no reason. The girls were just innocents who wanted to survive.

If they could live well, why would they think about killing and suffering?

Rows of maids dressed in white appeared to take the girls to their respective rooms. On the way, they passed by many maids working in the hall. Their eyes and faces were devoid of all expression.

They were like corpses whose intent was only work.

The sight of the doll-like lifeless girls was horrifying and inexplicable to the four girls. Feng Wu wasn’t bothered.

Why were there so many maids suddenly? There weren’t any when they were dining earlier.

Feng Wu: “...” They were always there; you just couldn’t see them.

Feng Wu laid down on the bed in her room. The bed was big and the room beautiful but was cold and unwelcoming.

No matter how big her courage was, Feng Wu knew better than to fall asleep in such a place. She sat up cross legged on the bed to practice her qi.

The laws in this world allowed energy to exist in two forms: one was magic and the other was martial qi. The internal force she cultivated from her original world had been transformed into this world’s martial qi long ago.

After circulating the qi in her body for a bit, her fatigue disappeared. Her mood improved but her stomach grumbled so she took out some food from her space ring and proceeded to stuff her mouth.

Feng Wu looked at the blue wedding dress she was wearing. It was gorgeous, though difficult to move in. She wanted to change but found it impossible to pull the dress off. She frowned and gave up.

Ai Lin had also been practicing qi for a while. After her body recovered, she began to think about her next move. There would be another test tomorrow and another person would die.

Thereafter, one more person would die each day until only one girl remained. After thinking about the plot, Ai Lin thought she knew what the task for tomorrow would be.

If everything in the woods was an appetizer, then everything tomorrow would be the main course.

Tomorrow the five of them would drop to four. She had enough information to survive. Zi Cheng would also be fine. Feng Wu had an unusual sword, so she should also be fine. Thinking about it like that, the one likely to die would be one of the other remaining two girls.

While Ai Lin was thinking about who would die, Zi Cheng was communicating with her system. Her system had evolved and developed and could communicate more.

568: Four Out of Five Left

After talking to the system, Zi Cheng concluded they were in an unknown side world owned by the Duke of Blue Moon. The only way to leave was to redeem a preposterous number of points for an item.

Zi Cheng was relieved to know there was a way out even if it was grossly expensive. She was determined to leave. She didn’t want to stay in the morbid castle and be the duke’s wife.

The other two girls were too terrified to sleep. They tried meditating but couldn’t calm down. Their minds were a mess and their chests felt heavy.

Early next morning, the Blue Moon castle maids appeared and invited them to the front hall for breakfast.

The girls walked over wearing their rumpled wedding dress.

The dining table was already filled with delicious and rare food that filled the room with a wonderfully, delightful and appetizing aroma.

Head Steward Mo Yan quietly waited at the side, watching them finish their breakfast.

Breakfast was a tasteless affair for everyone but Feng Wu. The other girls were preoccupied and couldn’t taste the food at all.

After the meal, Mo Yan led them out of the castle and into the Blue forest. Today’s task was for one of the four to die. They would not be teleported out until the task was complete. They were, however, not allowed to kill each other.

After Mo Yan explained the rules, he disappeared and a barrier materialized around the forest, locking them inside.

Strange blue monsters appeared stealthily. The monsters in the forest were unique to the Blue Moon realm. They were powerful, bloodthirsty monsters with thick hide and sharp teeth.

“No... don’t come here...” cried out a girl. She had red eyes and was holding a staff.

“What kind of monsters are those?” Another girl was so frightened that her hands and feet turned cold and her heart beat wildly. The monsters looked too powerful for them to deal with.

Ai Lin took out her staff and prepared for battle. Something flashed in Zi Cheng’s eyes and her lips pursed slightly.

Feng Wu held Xiao Chun in hand with her normal expressionless face. Xiao Chun was puzzled. What were these monsters? Why did they feel so strange?

They didn’t look like creatures from the human world, demon world, ascended god realm, or the underworld.

It was impossible for Xiao Chun to know they were creatures created by the duke. They were non-sentient monsters designed to kill and were completely subservient to their master, the Duke of Blue Moon.

The duke didn’t have to order them to attack, their killing instincts caused them to surround the girls intruding in the forest immediately.

“Roar!”

Thunderous roars burst through the forest. The girls raised their weapons to defend the oncoming onslaught.

The alien monsters were so ferocious that within a short period of time someone was injured. The sweet scent of blood made them even crazier.

Relying on her good position and extraordinary swordsmanship, Feng Wu moved among the monsters without being injured.

Ai Lin struggled with the strange beasts, but her life wasn’t in danger. This was because of all the good things she had, such as the inheritance from the god tomb, all the things she managed to snatch away from Zi Cheng, and all the secret knowledge she had from having read the novel. These were all trump cards she used to stay safe.

As for Zi Cheng, she was the heroine of the original novel so her luck was naturally good and nothing bad happened to her.

The only people in a truly precarious position were the other two girls. They were bloodstained and getting weak from blood loss. They did not look good.

Just then, probably because she thought the girls were too relaxed, one of the endangered girls rushed toward Feng Wu, Ai Lin and Zi Cheng. Being next to them had to be safer!

The other girl saw this and did the same.

Feng Wu frowned and moved away. After being plotted against so many times, she was on guard and finally understood the meaning behind her master’s teachings.

Ai Lin backed away slightly but Zi Cheng stayed in place, intentionally remaining in the same spot fighting the monsters.

Zi Cheng knew she couldn’t save both of them, nor did she intend to. She wasn’t actually a Mother Theresa; she was just pretending to be good to get favorability points. There was no reason for her to go to the effort of moving – it was impossible for the girls to plot against her.

The two injured girls hid beside Zi Cheng and stayed safe under her protection. They breathed a lot easier.

One of the girls had cold killing intent and determination in her eyes as she faced the monsters.

Five people entered and only four would leave. She had to be one of the survivors.

The other girl obviously had the same idea. Both of them set their sights on Zi Cheng at the same time. Zi Cheng was powerful and carried a lot of high-level scrolls and potions. She would be a formidable competitor in the future.

Instead of attacking the person with the same strength, it was better to join forces and kill the stronger person to increase their own odds of survival.

The two injured girls communicated with their eyes. They attacked with powerful magic at the same time intending to kill Zi Cheng.

Ai Lin was amazed as she watched to two cannon fodder girls attempt to kill Zi Cheng.

They were so going to die.

And indeed attacking Zi Cheng was the same thing as committing suicide. Zi Cheng wasn’t someone who would die that easily. Such a dangerous situation where living and dying was perilous, how could she leave her back unprotected?

The moment the girls made their move, the magic wand in Zi Cheng’s hand condensed powerful magic and struck them both. It was a high-level fire elemental attack.

569, 570

569: Transmigrated Women Don’t Die That Easily

As the heroine, Zi Cheng’s spells were of course much more powerful than the two girls, so it was inevitable when the three magic spells collided, that the spells from the other girls would collapse.

The expressions on their faces changed drastically.

One of the girls reacted quickly enough and she was able to use a scroll to protect herself. The other girl was too slow. The moment Zi Cheng’s spell hit her body, she felt hot all over then nothing at all.

It was instant death.[notes]

Ai Lin glanced at the pile of ashes that used to be the girl. Wasn’t she the granddaughter of the vice president of the Pharmacist guild? Simia?

Background didn’t matter when confronted by the heroine.

Once Simia died, all the girls were teleported out and the task ended.

As soon as they returned to Blue Moon castle, the other girl dropped to the ground like a rock and laid there weakly as though all her strength was gone. She would occasionally glance at Zi Cheng as though she was looking at a demon.

Zi Cheng didn’t care what the girl thought of her. The girl survived this time, but she would definitely die in the next round. Among the four of them who survived, she was the weakest.

Toward someone who was destined to die, it was only natural Zi Cheng would be too lazy to care.

Once she returned to her room, Zi Cheng immediately exchanged her points for a boundary break orb.

The orb had the ability to create cracks in mini worlds like Blue Moon. It was more advanced than the boundary breaking talisman she used before; the cost was accordingly astronomical.

Zi Cheng just had enough points by selling her sacred artifact.

Before using the orb, Zi Cheng asked the system to observe whether there was any type of surveillance around her. She made sure no one noticed her, then she activated the orb according to the instructions for a single person passage.

The moment the orb created a crack in Blue Moon, Zi Cheng stepped through and rushed forward. Ai Lin, who had been paying attention to Zi Cheng the entire time, was not detected because she used a special method to avoid the system’s detection. She jumped into the passage after Zi Cheng a second later.

Just as Ai Lin cleared the crack, a beautiful and indifferent man with waist length blue hair and entirely dressed in blue clothes appeared in front of the crack.

He looked at the crack with interest. It was the first time anyone dared escape from his territory. Did the little mice think they could really leave?

He sneered, and with a light wave of his hand, an incredibly destructive force rose up to immediately destroy the crack. The passage created by the crack dissipated into thin air after crumbling apart.

With the realm repaired, it was like the passage never even existed.

“My deepest apologies, Your Grace. This subordinate neglected his duties.” Mo Yan spoke respectfully from behind the man.

“Forget it, there are only two little mice. The passage is already broken. They must have perished inside it.” The man was of course the master of Blue Moon realm, the Duke of Blue Moon.

Mo Yan stood aside silently. Letting two bride candidates escape under his watch was a dereliction of duty.

“Keep an eye on the other two and don’t let anything happen again.” The duke spoke coldly as his figure gradually disappeared.

After the duke left, Mo Yan’s face changed. It was the first time he had ever failed to do what His Grace asked him to do and it was all because of women who didn’t know what was good.

It was a great honor to be the duchess of Blue Moon castle and yet the girls dared run away. If the remaining two dared to learn from the these two, then he would teach them that death was better than living. Mo Yan secretly swore in his heart.

He sent a maid to guard Feng Wu and the other girl carefully.

From his perspective, since the duke personally moved, it was impossible for Zi Cheng and Ai Lin to be alive. They had to have died in the dimensional crack.

They were no longer viable candidates, but their deaths were too easy. They should have suffered nine levels of torture before dying slowly for daring to run away.

Contrary to what Mo Yan believed, the people he thought were dead, were in fact alive and well. It wasn’t easy for the heroine and female villain to die.

In a certain valley on the continent, a woman wearing a blue wedding gown fell from the sky and landed on a tree branch.

The woman’s once beautiful gown was in tatters and her body was covered with wounds of varying degrees. Even her face was sliced open in several places.

She was bleeding so excessively that a trail of blood flowed from her body down to the trunk of the tree.

As she lay slowly dying, a man on a Pegasus passed through the area and flew under the tree. A drop of blood dripped on the top of his head.

Strange. He looked up and before he could clearly make out the image above him, another drop of blood dripped onto his face.

He frowned once he located the figure in blue. Upon recognizing the person, he jumped up onto the tree and picked up the bleeding woman.

“Ai Lin!” It was actually someone he knew!

Feng Juntian had some impressions of this girl who was his sister’s classmate. She had lived in the Feng estate for a few days.

Ai Lin was lucky. Juntian was on a mission in the area and rescued her.

If she hadn’t met him, with her injuries and her location being so deserted, grass would have already grown over her grave by the time anyone found her.

It was the luck of a transmigrated woman.

Ai Lin laid in bed groggily while a gray-haired light magician stood beside her. Under his ministrations, her wounds healed visibly.

570: What a Waste of Time

When Ai Lin woke up in a strange room no longer wearing the blue wedding gown, she knew she had been rescued.

She breathed a sigh of relief. When the passage leading out of Blue Moon was attacked, the entire space became unstable and she fell out of the shattered passage before she had time to react.

Considering how she didn’t even have the strength to enter the passage, she thought it was the end for her. There was no way for her to survive on her own, so it was good she was rescued.

No matter who it was that saved her, she had to thank them well. . . 

Feng Wu didn’t know both Ai Lin and Zi Cheng were gone. She sat on the bed and practiced, combing the muscles and veins in her body with qi. The fatigue and tension from the day soon melted away.

It was a lifeless place and Feng Wu didn’t like it at all. She wanted to leave but unfortunately there was no way out. She was disappointed when Xiao Chun said he couldn’t take her away, but she didn’t complain or cry.

She accepted the result calmly and waited for Ming Xi to pick her up. She believed Ming Xi when he said he would always find her and bring her back no matter where she went. She just had to wait for him to find her.

Early next morning, Feng Wu and the only other girl left were escorted to the dining hall for breakfast.

Neither Ai Lin nor Zi Cheng were at the table, and this puzzled the girl. She was scared but she asked anyway.

Mo Yan smiled coldly when he heard her question. “The two ladies tried in vain to escape. His Grace has personally put an end to them.”

Feng Wu frowned. They were dead?

The other girl, Mei Luo, clenched her fists when she heard this. Since the other two were dead, then, didn’t that mean she and this Feng Wu girl were the only ones left?

Mei Luo was the granddaughter of an elder in the Adventurers’ guild. She had lived a pampered childhood and was a beauty with a one in a million body that was naturally inclined toward water spirits, so despite her age, her water magic cultivation speed was insanely fast.

Water magic wasn’t normally considered an attack type magic, but because of her amazing control of it, she was able to kill with it. Her ability to control water was heads and shoulders above any of her water magician peers. In short, she was incredible.

She would not have outlasted the girls and stayed to the end if her magic wasn’t powerful.

Mei Luo had a strong family background, strength and cunning. She was the stereotypical winner in life. If the duke had not abducted her, she would have become a powerful force on the continent and had a bright future.

Unfortunately, she was selected as a bride candidate by the duke, and among her competitors were three abnormally strong girls.

There was Feng Wu, a time-traveling passerby, Ai Lin, a time-traveling female villain, and Zi Cheng, a time-traveling heroine favored by the world’s consciousness.

Feng Wu was a girl genius born with a pure mind and an absolute advantage in cultivation practice. Combined with her possession of Xiao Chun and naturally powerful abilities, she was in no way an ordinary girl.

As for Ai Lin, she had so many good things. There was the god-level artifact from the god’s tomb, all the items and opportunities she snatched from Zi Cheng, and all the things she acquired on her own. Every item was better in quality than anything Mei Luo had.

Then there was Zi Cheng. In the original text, the girl heroine had a favorability system, countless treasures, and incredible cultivation speed.

Even Ai Lin had to practice desperately in order to keep up.

It didn’t matter which of the three Mei Luo faced against, it was impossible for her to have an advantage. Even if she defeated most of the geniuses on the continent, it was still impossible for her to defeat the three girls with their outrageous cheats.

Mei Luo knew she had no chance against them. When she heard the news about Ai Lin and Zi Cheng, she was both surprised and pleased.

Her chance of winning was that much greater with the two strongest girls gone!

A pity Mei Luo didn’t know anything about the end. She was only thinking of ways to kill Feng Wu and be the last one standing.

Mei Luo was confident in her appearance and believed the Duke of Blue Moon would fall in love with her if he saw her. He was just a man. She only needed to find a way to make him desperate for her.

Mei Luo thought the Duke of Blue Moon could be charmed like other men. Because of her family background and her body, which was naturally inclined towards water spirits, Mei Luo had countless suitors. In front of her admirers, Mei Luo was always noble and elegant. She never showed her savage and willful side.

The girls who bore witness to her teeth and claws and schemes were disgusted by her admirers.

Mei Luo, who had been sought after by countless men since she was a child, was full of confidence. As long as the duke saw her, she was certain she’d be able trick him into falling in love with her.

Ai Lin would definitely have told Mei Luo she was overthinking it if she knew. They were talking about the super big pervert, Duke of Blue Moon. Conquering that kind of man. . .  it was a waste of time!

After dinner, the two girls were taken out of the castle. This time, instead of the woods or the illusion, they were brought to the grassland where they first woke up.

Mei Luo was worried and uneasy. She had planned more than a hundred different ways to kill Feng Wu, but she was afraid something unexpected would ruin her plans.

Mo Yan didn’t bother to think about Mei Luo’s schemes. He had seen girls like her before too many times. It was the girl named Feng Wu that caught his attention. This girl obviously didn’t meet his master’s criteria for a wife so why did His Grace bring her to Blue Moon?

571, 572

571: Ming Xi Is Here

He knew that the girl, despite being young, had already given birth. He wondered why his master crossed out another girl he had carefully selected in favor of this one.

Mo Yan didn’t understand. He didn’t know everything even though he was the duke’s confidant.

“Congratulations to the two ladies who have survived to now. The one who survives this round will be the mistress of Blue Moon caste. The final winner will be the one who kills her opponent. The round starts now.”

After Mo Yan announced this, he stepped back and looked at the two girls standing on either side with a smile on his face.

Neither of them started fighting immediately. Feng Wu wasn’t interested in the fight. She already had someone she wanted to marry, nor did she want to be the wife of the Duke of Blue Moon.

Feng Wu pursed her lips but remained silent. This man felt too dangerous. Relying on her keen animal intuition, she felt that if she said this, she would die immediately. She decided to remain silent.

Feng Wu’s intuition wasn’t wrong. If she had dared say she didn’t want to compete, as a crazy supporter of the duke, the head steward would have killed her immediately.

Even if Feng Wu was specially brought over by the duke, there were still rules to follow. If she didn’t follow those rules then she would be killed.

Feng Wu and Mei Luo remained where they were. Mei Luo was thinking about how to kill Feng Wu, while Feng Wu was wondering when Ming Xi would arrive. She didn’t want to marry someone else.

Feng Wu was fine with Mei Luo winning. But this didn’t seem to work out either. She would die if Mei Luo won. Mo Yan said they could only win if one of them killed the other.

Feng Wu didn’t want to die. She had to live so Ming Xi could come and pick her up. It looked like the only way to survive was to beat the girl across from her.

But if she won, then she would have to marry the Duke of Blue Moon. A rare emotion called entanglement appeared on Feng Wu’s normally expressionless face.

The girls stood facing each other for a quarter of an hour with neither of them showing any indication of moving.

Mo Yan was just about to remind them they needed to start attacking each other when the moonlight in the sky grew extraordinarily dazzling.

The single blue moon shone no matter the time; there wasn’t a difference between night and day in Blue Moon. It gave off the same chilly blue light without fluctuations. No warmth came from it.

But the light suddenly changed, becoming brighter and taking on a dreamlike haze.

“Why is the Moon emperor here in my Blue Moon realm?” A majestic figure with a hint of malicious aura walked from the sky to suddenly appear above the girls and Mo Yan.

At the same time, a figure as beautiful as a dream appeared under the light of the moon.

The astonishingly beautiful man had long blond hair, icy blue eyes, and a slight smile on his lips that was as warm as the spring breeze and filled with the tenderness of moonlight.

“Prince Ming Xi!” The Duke of Blue Moon was a little surprised when he saw the person coming. He originally thought it was the Moon emperor and had not expected it to be the Crown Prince Ming Xi.

“Duke of Blue Moon.” Ming Xi slightly nodded in the direction of the duke.

“I wonder why Prince Ming Xi is here in my Blue Moon realm.”

The duke was polite towards Ming Xi, the future Moon Emperor. The Moon emperor was not easy to deal with and the duke did not want to confront any of the current world’s top powers for the time being.

“I came for my fiancée, Feng Wu. She was invited by Your Grace and I miss her very much. Is it possible for me to being my fiancée back?” Ming Xi smiled lightly. He didn’t show the slightest timidity in front of the old pervert.

Fiancée? The people the duke brought were all thoroughly investigated and it was impossible for them to have direct connections to the royal families of the four great empires, let alone the be the future Moon emperor’s fiancée.

He knew Ming Xi was lying but he chose not to reveal the matter. Instead, he cast a questioning look at Mo Yan.

“Your Highness, Prince Ming Xi’s fiancée is indeed here. It is this subordinate's fault for not investigating properly. . . ” Mo Yan immediately took the blame.

It was the responsibility of a subordinate to take the blame for the master, not to mention Mo Yan was a rabid supporter of the Duke of Blue Moon, so taking the blame for his master was nothing at all.

For a die-hard fan, it was an honor.

“Go down and receive punishment later.” The duke finished speaking without emotion, then glanced at Feng Wu again. “She is Prince Ming Xi’s fiancée, so naturally she will return with Prince Ming Xi.”

Had it been any of the other three emperors, he wouldn’t have been so accommodating, but a pity it was someone from the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom.

As long as there was a moon, the Moon emperor could be regarded as an invincible existence. Although Ming Xi was not the Moon emperor yet, he had the blood of previous Moon emperors before him. Otherwise the duke’s powers would have blocked Ming Xi from entering Blue Moon.

Feng Wu’s eyes were bright as she looked eagerly at Ming Xi like a puppy wronged by its owner. Ming Xi was finally here to pick her up!

Ming Xi, for his part, appeared calm but was in reality quite relieved. He was betting on the duke giving him face to make the gambit succeed. If the duke didn’t give him face, they would have had to fight a vicious battle.

In order to increase the odds in his favor, he even brought the divine sword from home. He had hoped he would have the strength to wield it against the Duke of Blue Moon.

The duke acquiesced after such a short conversation. Ming Xi was surprised things went smoothly and that there would be no earth-shattering battle. With the duke’s personality, he really had expected a fight.

Ming Xi stretched out his hand toward Feng Wu and the moonlight lifted her up to his side.

Mei Luo, who had been neglected by everyone, rushed up and hugged Feng Wu.

“No! You can’t leave like this! Take me with you! You can’t leave me here alone!” Mei Luo screamed. She was jealous and resentful of Feng Wu. Jealous because Feng Wu had such an outstanding fiancé who cared so much for her he even came to such a dangerous place to rescue her. Resentful because Feng Wu was selfish and escaping alone. Clearly the girl didn’t care if Mei Luo lived or died!

~Well duh.

572: Transforming into a Demon

Mei Luo held firmly onto Feng Wu, determined not to let Feng Wu get away without her. She didn’t want to die in such a terrible place by herself. If Feng Wu didn’t take her along, then she would rather they both die together!

Feng Wu frowned unhappily as she looked at Mei Luo pulling her down.

Ming Xi frowned as well. Being able to take Feng Wu away was already the duke giving him face. It was impossible for him to take another person. Besides, he had nothing to do with the girl. There was no reason for him to displease the duke for her. If this went on, none of them may be able to leave.

“What a naughty girl.” The duke smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Mo Yan immediately waved his hand and Mei Luo, who was holding onto Feng Wu, flew off like a kite with a broken string.

Without Mei Luo’s burden, the soft moonlight floated Feng Wu through the sky to Ming Xi’s side.

Ming Xi took Feng Wu’s hand and said farewell to the duke before disappearing into the moonlight.

“No. . . ” Mei Luo moaned in despair at the sight of them leaving.

Why wouldn’t they take her away with them?! Why?! The resentment in Mei Luo’s heart almost overwhelmed her. Layers of black mist appeared on her body, growing thicker and thicker until Mei Luo was completely shrouded in black mist.

“This. . . ” Mo Yan was a little surprised. He didn’t expect the girl to be possessed!

In all the centuries they had held the bride contest, not a single girl had ever become a demon. This girl was the first. Her hatred was truly deep!

“Interesting, really interesting. Mo Yan, let her go back.” The Duke of Blue Moon looked at the demonized Mei Luo and smiled.

“Yes, Your Grace.” Mo Yan lightly waved his hand and a black hole immediately appeared below Mei Luo.

Mei Luo fell straight down and disappeared.

“Your Grace, why did you let those two go just now? Didn’t Your Grace personally choose the one called Feng Wu? This subordinate thought Your Grace attached great importance to that girl.”

Mo Yan cautiously asked his master after the last two candidates left.

“Feng Wu interests me deeply. Despite being an ordinary person, she successfully gave birth to the reincarnation of the elf king. You must understand, it is simply impossible for an ordinary person to give birth to a god, and yet she did. Not only that, but she is also living a good life without any physical problems. Don’t you think that is very interesting?”

The duke turned around and disappeared into the sky, returning to his study with Mo Yan following closely behind.

Once in the study, Mo Yan poured the duke a glass of wine. The duke took the glass and sat down in his seat to leisurely sip it. Mo Yan’s heart was a turbulent sea as he quietly waited at the side. Outwardly he looked as calm as ever.

The girl had given birth to the elf king! Moreover, she was still alive and living well. It was incredible that she wasn’t exhausted to death by the elf king.

Even the goddesses of the God realm weren’t qualified to give birth to the elf king. How did an ordinary human do it?

Also, what was the elf king thinking?! Even if he was reborn, he shouldn’t have chosen a human being as his mother! Mo Yan couldn’t understand the logic.

How could he know the elf king didn’t have a choice in the matter at all? The original Feng Wu had bad luck and unintentionally asked for death by eating the life fruit that the elf king had turned into. As a result, she expended all her energy and died in labor. Feng Wu transmigrated into her body, took up the baton and completed the process.

“I didn’t expect her to be the future Moon emperor’s fiancée. This surprised me. Now that Prince Ming Xi has taken her away, I won’t be able to investigate her body and find out what is so different about her. Why was her labor so easy? A pity.” The duke sighed regretfully before drinking the wine in his glass.

Mo Yan poured more. “It is truly a pity. But why did Your Grace let the other girl go as well? Your Grace could have had some fun with her. Her body is a natural water spirit vessel and would have made a beautiful doll.”

“She would have been one more doll to the collection. What was the point in that? Her hatred for Prince Ming Xi and Feng Wu is so deep that now that she’s a demon, she will surely cause trouble for them. I gave her back to Prince Ming Xi, but I’m not sure he’ll be able to handle the present. . . ”

The Duke of Blue Moon smiled meaningfully. Mo Yan, as his confidant, understood his meaning immediately.

The duke was upset at Ming Xi for entering Blue Moon and taking Feng Wu away. This was his way of paying Ming Xi back.

Mei Luo had turned into a human demon, so as long as she didn’t show her demonic aura, no one would know what she was.

With such an enemy, the girl named Feng Wu and that Prince Ming Xi would be in danger, thought Mo Yan. Very good.

Feng Wu and Ming Xi didn’t know the duke had given them such an enormous present. They were currently in the palace inside the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom.

Ming Xi wasn’t the emperor yet. He was still young and only in his twenties. His strength wasn't at its peak so he shouldn’t have been able to use the power of moonlight the same way his father did.

The only way to find Feng Wu was to return to the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom and borrow the power of the twin moons to trigger the divine blood in his body. He knew he would be able to find Feng Wu by using the connection in the divine blood and bring her back with him.

It only looked like it was easy for him to bring Feng Wu back, but in fact, it was a lot of wear on his body. His face was deathly pale, and he blacked out as soon as they returned to the palace.

Ming Xi blacking out caused the entire palace to panic. Not long after he was sent to his room, an old, white-bearded man ran into the palace and directly to Ming Xi’s room at a speed that belied his age. He began treating Ming Xi as soon as he stepped in.

The Moon emperor and empress arrived shortly after. They were both anxious. The empress sat on the edge of the bed and cried pear blossom tears. Even crying, she was astonishingly beautiful. It was no wonder the Moon emperor loved the empress so much and couldn’t wait to marry her.

“High Priest, I don’t understand, what is wrong with Ming Xi? How can a good person suddenly faint like that? His vitality is so weak; what serious injury did he suffer? Does he need any precious elixirs?” The empress wiped tears off her cheeks as she looked at the white-bearded old man who had just finished taking Ming Xi’s pulse.

The old man frowned as he thought about the illness in Ming Xi.

573, 574

573: Feng Wu’s First Meeting with Her Future In-Laws

“Prince Ming Xi overdrew his strength and his foundation suffered. There are no other problems. There is no need for anything like special elixirs. Prince Ming Xi will slowly recover after bathing in the Imperial Moon ointment.” The high priest stroked his beard.

“What?! Isn't his foundation being damaged a serious problem?! How could Ming Xi have overdrawn to the point of damaging his foundation? How could this happen? My poor son!” The empress held a handkerchief to her eyes. Her crying was so pitiful, you would have thought Ming Xi was on his deathbed.

The high priest looked at the empress speechlessly while the corners of his mouth twitched feebly.

For ordinary people, damage to the foundation was indeed a serious issue, but this was Prince Ming Xi. He grew up bathed in the Imperial Moon ointment and had the protection of divine blood in his body. How was he an ordinary person? This latest injury wasn’t even as serious as the arm injury from last time!

The high priest complained in his heart, but he didn’t dare say it out loud. He was afraid if he did, Her Royal Highness would drag him away and cry endlessly, complaining that he wasn’t taking her son’s injury seriously.

The Moon emperor wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and tried to soothe and comfort her. Even though his schedule was busy, he needed to find time for someone to prepare medicinal soups for Ming Xi.

It didn’t alleviate the Moon empress’s tears. She was still crying like a waterfall. But as she cried, she saw a beautiful girl with black hair walk up. The girl held Ming Xi’s hand and touched his head. She looked at Ming Xi expressionlessly, but her concern for Ming Xi was clear in her eyes.

“You are...?” Just now the empress was solely focused on Ming Xi and had failed to notice there was another person in the room. The empress suddenly had a good guess who the girl was.

“You are Feng Wu, right? Ming Xi often talks about you.” The emperor had noticed the little girl a long time ago, but his wife had been so good at crying, and he had been so preoccupied with comforting her that he just didn’t have the time to consider the girl.

The Moon emperor looked at the girl whom his son loved, and he could tell from a glance that she was pure and clean. It turned out his son liked this type of girl! No wonder he didn’t like Hua Jin. But what about Diane? The youngest daughter of the Dai house was also lovely and pure, plus they had grown up together. Why didn’t Ming Xi fall in love with her but fell in love with this girl named Feng Wu instead?

He felt both girls belonged in the same clean-minded people category. Why his son took a fancy to one but not the other the emperor couldn’t figure it out.

“I am Feng Wu and I will marry Ming Xi in the future. Are you Ming Xi’s parents?” Feng Wu blinked her big eyes and asked. With her completely blank expression, she exuded cuteness to the extreme.

What kind of introduction was this? Was this what young people say when meeting their boyfriend’s parents for the first time?

The Moon emperor and empress were both confused. Young people these days, what a mystery. Or maybe this girl was a special case?

“I am Ming Xi’s father. I did not expect us to meet so soon.” The emperor sighed. He had asked Ming Xi to bring his future daughter-in-law back so they could meet, but Ming Xi only said he would naturally do so when the time was right.

Unexpectedly, they met in such a way.

“Hello, I heard that you need to prepare a gift when you visit someone’s house for the first time. This fruit is for you.” Feng Wu took out the fruits she thought were the most delicious from her dimensional space ring and handed them to the emperor and empress.

Back when Sister Tian Yue[notes] found out she and Ming Xi were dating, Sister Tian Yue told her she needed to prepare a gift because it wouldn’t look good to visit empty handed. Bringing a gift would leave a good impression on the elders and the elders would be less likely to oppose her marriage to Ming Xi.

Feng Wu had firmly remembered the advice, but she wondered what to do if she had no gift prepared. Feeling uneasy, she decided to use her favorite fruit and hoped Ming Xi’s parents would like her gifts and agree to let her marry Ming Xi.

She didn’t understand why she needed their consent since she was the one marrying Ming Xi, but Sister Tian Yue had to have a reason for saying what she did, so Feng Wu followed her words obediently.

Feng Wu handed the gift over with some trepidation. These were her favorite kinds of spiritual fruits and were a gift from the beasts she met in the god tombs.

Jier told her the fruits were rare, high-level type of treasures that would attract people to fight for them.

In short, Jier was telling her the fruits were precious and she should not casually give them away.

Feng Wu thought about it seriously. Since these were Ming Xi’s parents, then it was not casually, and therefore was OK.

The Moon empress was at a loss. The fruits seemed to be eighth-order spiritual fruits. There were many exceptional and rare things in the Moon kingdom so it was natural she wouldn’t be shocked to see them. She was just speechless because Feng Wu’s way of presenting it caught her off guard.

Was there anyone who gave away things in such a manner? Although the gifts were good, why did it feel so awkward?

“Don’t you like them?” Feng Wu blinked her big eyes, her expectation clear and easy to see.

Neither the emperor nor the empress wanted to disappoint Feng Wu. They nodded their heads like they were pounding garlic and expressed their pleasure at receiving the fruits.

“Of course, we like them very much.”

“Yes, these are lovely.”

“Then why aren’t you eating them?” Feng Wu asked suspiciously.

Eat?! You want us to eat these on the spot? When did this become a rule? The emperor and empress widened their eyes in astonishment.

“Eat, eat! We’ll eat them right now.” The couple had no choice but to hold the fruits up and bite into them.

The high priest watched the entire show gleefully. It was rare to see the emperor and empress be so helpless. If he had some melon seeds, he would have definitely grabbed a stool and sat down munching.

The husband and wife chewed away on the fruit helplessly but they had no ill will towards Feng Wu. She was so innocent and touching; it was almost certain their son was going to suffer a lot of heartache in the future.

“Ming Xi! Ming Xi! Auntie and Grandmother have come to see you. Why did my poor child get hurt so badly! What happened? Who would be so cruel to hurt him like this?!”

Before the people in the room could react, two gorgeously dressed women rushed in and threw themselves on Ming Xi’s bed while crying loudly. Those who didn’t know would have thought Ming Xi was about to die...

574: The Moon Empress’s Extremely Annoying Maiden Family

“Mother! Elder Sister! Why are you here?!” The Moon empress was startled by the two of them rushing in and was only able to awkwardly ask them this after recovering from the surprise.

The Moon empress understood she wouldn’t be able to satisfy the desires of her mother and elder sister, so she had given up on trying. She avoided them as much as she could while maintaining a firm stance on Ming Xi's marriage. She never expected to be caught up with them now of all times. Helplessness overwhelmed her again.

She had been taking care of her maiden family all these years. She even loved her niece, Hua Jin, like her own daughter. She never expected her considerations for her maiden family would raise their expectations so much. Perhaps she had done it wrong from the beginning.

“Why? Are we not allowed here? Something happened to my precious grandson. Is it that I, his grandmother, is not allowed to see him?! The two of you are too shameful! My grandson is lying here and all you care about is eating fruit!” The Moon empress’s mother, Old Madam Cuiya, pointed at the Moon emperor and empress with an incredulous and disappointed expression, as though she was talking to two cruel parents who didn’t care about the lives of their children.

The corners of the emperor’s mouth twitched. He didn’t know what to say to this old lady who had nothing to do every day other than try and make her presence known.

“That’s right, little sister and brother-in-law. While Ming Xi isn’t your only son, he is the successor to the throne. He is precious and you must take care of him so that there are no accidents.” Madam Hua, the Moon empress’s eldest sister rebuked the husband and wife team.

The emperor sneered in his heart. This woman didn’t regard herself as an outsider at all. She was his wife’s elder sister, but he was the emperor, and as such, it was impossible for him to refer to her as elder-sister-in-law.

But she seemed to forget his identity as emperor. Every day it was brother-in-law this or brother-in-law that. She behaved too familiarly with him and rarely addressed him with the proper respectful address as emperor.

Don’t think he didn’t know. Madam Hua relied on her status as his wife’s elder sister and never showed the proper respects to the empress or his children. He remembered every faux pas Madam Hua made against them. Unfortunately, instead of being grateful for his patience and forbearance, the other party took it for granted and became even more entitled.

They became greedier and more ambitious, wanting Hua Jin to be the next empress. Ha! Don’t even think about it. Even if Ming Xi hadn’t fallen in love with anyone, he would never approve a marriage between Ming Xi and Hua Jin. That girl was never going to be the next Moon empress.

“Who is this? Why did the person serving Ming Xi change? This court lady is too unruly. She does not even know to properly salute when she sees Mother and me come in. How can someone who doesn’t know proper etiquette have the right to serve Ming Xi? She looks dishonest. Little Sister, you should replace her as soon as possible so Ming Xi doesn’t have to be troubled with this kind of lax behavior.”

Madam Hua stared at Feng Wu vigilantly and with disdain, wishing that her little sister would immediately send her away out of the palace.

She had already dismissed all the other more attractive court ladies around Ming Xi. How did another one sneak in? Her own daughter had not won Ming Xi’s heart yet, and the little vixen who seduced Ming Xi hadn’t been taken cared of either. They couldn’t allow more problems in.

“What did elder sister say? This is the girl Ming Xi likes. Her name is Feng Wu and she is the daughter of Feng house from the ancient eastern countries. The emperor and I have already agreed to the marriage. We only need to wait for Xiao Wu to graduate from Xingguang Holy academy to hold the wedding ceremony.”

The Moon empress took a deep breath. Her elder sister was getting more and more bold. Her elder sister didn’t have to salute her, she didn’t care, but the emperor was a different story.

He was the most noble and honorable person in the empire. Her mother and sister actually relied on their relationship to her to disregard proper etiquette and disrespect him.

One had to know, even the emperor’s own uncles had to salute when they met, never mind his in-laws! How could her mother and sister be so bold?!

The Moon empress had a headache trying to understand her relatives. How did they become so entitled? Maybe they were like this before and she just never noticed?

Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but turn to look at the emperor with an apologetic face. It was because of her ambition to raise up her maiden family.

The Moon empress felt guilty so it was hard for her to meet the emperor’s eyes.

The emperor’s expression looking back at her said it was nothing. He didn’t bother to deal with women like Old Madam Cuiya and Madam Hua, so he tolerated their rudeness and let things be.

He hadn’t reprimanded them before because it would have impacted his wife. They were her maiden family and if he reprimanded them, then rumors about him and his wife not getting along would start. The emperor didn’t want to damage his wife’s reputation so he had refrained.

But now, the emperor felt that he may have approached it wrong. He should have communicated with his wife properly instead of enduring the entire time.

They were trivial matters, but if it weren’t for his repeated concessions in such matters, how could the Hua family dare think they had a say in the next Moon emperor’s marriage?

Fortunately, though he didn’t care about trivial things, he never gave in on larger matters, and hadn’t let the Hua family take advantage.

“She is that Feng Wu girl? I have heard a lot about her. Little Sister, don’t let her deceive you. She has already given birth to a child, and at such a young age too! The father is unknown as well. It can be seen that this girl is wild and unruly, to already have intimate relations with men at her age. Her private life is too complicated. How can she be empress of the illustrious Ancient Silver Moon kingdom? Such a shameless woman can not marry Ming Xi. I won’t allow it,” said Madam Hua decisively and sharply.

The emperor and empress exchanged a look. When did they say they needed her to agree to Ming Xi’s marriage?

“Your sister is right. This marriage is unacceptable. I can not agree to it either. As Ming Xi’s grandmother, I can not watch my precious grandson marry such a dishonorable woman. Our Ancient Silver Moon kingdom will be a laughingstock.”

Old Madam Cuiya spoke indignantly to the emperor and the empress. She knew her status was because of her relationship with her daughter. She dared be presumptuous in front of her daughter but she didn’t dare confront the emperor. . . yet anyway.

“Your name is Feng Wu, right? If you really want what’s best for Ming Xi, you should leave him. How can a woman like you, with a ruined reputation, be the next empress of our Ancient Silver Moon kingdom? For your own good, and for Ming Xi’s sake, you should leave.”

575, 576, 577, 578

575: Stinky, Superficial Relatives

Madam Hua thought because of Feng Wu’s age, that if she coaxed her a little, Feng Wu would leave Ming Xi on her own accord. It would save them all a lot of time and effort.

Feng Wu blinked. She had watched Madam Hua’s performance expressionlessly without saying a word.

It was hard to tell what she was thinking.

The Moon empress was afraid Feng Wu would be moved by her sister. If Feng Wu seriously considered what her sister said and left, Ming Xi would be mad!

“Xiao Wu, don’t listen to my eldest sister’s nonsense. You are Ming Xi’s chosen person, the girl he likes. No one can deny who you are. Our Ancient Silver Moon kingdom has rules. In the future, the Moon emperor is qualified to choose his own wife, and no one can intervene. Even us parents have no say in the matter, so do not worry. As long as Ming Xi has you in his heart, then you are Ming Xi’s future wife. No one can shake your position.”

The Moon empress hurried to explain the situation as she reached out to hold Feng Wu’s hand in a gesture of reassurance. She was afraid her future daughter-in-law would be told away by her unreliable sister.

“Little sister! What nonsense are you talking about?! How can you let Ming Xi marry such a dirty woman? I absolutely do not agree! If Ming Xi wants to marry a wife, it can only be Hua Jin.

The two of them grew up together and Hua Jin loves Ming Xi so much. They will get everyone’s blessings and be very happy together. Having them marry is the only correct choice.” Madam Hua spoke righteously.

Only you would think that. . .  The high priest, who had been ignored the entire time, rolled his eyes. These two women. . .  they really did leave him speechless.

The past few years had seen the Hua family become more and more unsightly. Relying on the blood relationship with the Moon empress, they put on airs all day long and thought themselves superior to everyone but the emperor.

They were even dreaming about making Hua Jin empress. But with that girl’s virtues, the high priest knew Prince Ming Xi wouldn’t acknowledge her. . . and he was right. Prince Ming Xi found a girl he liked and she was clearly better than Hua Jin, that duplicitous woman, in every way.

“Elder Sister, stop talking nonsense. Ming Xi doesn’t love Hua Jin. It’s impossible for the two of them to have that kind of future.” It was the first time the empress used such a harsh tone in front of her maiden family.

“Luili, what did you just say? That is your elder sister you are talking to. Don’t you ever dare speak to her like that again!” Old Madame Cuiya was so angry that she called the Moon empress by her given name.

The Moon empress’s given name was Sheng Luili and she was the daughter of the Sheng family in the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom. However, after she married the emperor and ascended the throne to be empress, it was no longer proper to call her by her given name. No one dared call her Sheng Luili anymore.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. The one person who dared was the Moon emperor.

“Mother, must you make it difficult for this daughter?” The empress spoke with difficulty as she tried to hide her sadness. She understood that it wasn’t easy for her mother to raise her and her sister. Because of this, she had tolerated both her mother and sister’s behavior, but now they were behaving as though that tolerance was their natural entitlement. They took it for granted and dared get involved with Ming Xi’s marriage. Sure enough, she had handled her maiden family wrong.

The empress’s eyes filled with pain but Old Madam Cuiya turned a blind eye and didn’t acknowledge her sadness.

“How am I making it difficult for you? How dare you speak to me that way. Do you still think of me as your mother? You forgot who raised you. If I hadn’t worked so hard to bring you up, how could you enjoy the status you have today? You ungrateful child!”

Old Madam Cuiya behaved the same way she always did and immediately brought up old scores as soon as her daughter expressed any kind of dissatisfaction. She wouldn’t stop until the empress was speechless and admitted defeat.

The Moon empress hung her head and shut her mouth. She knew that once her mother started digging up old debts, it wouldn’t end until she apologized. But she didn’t want to apologize today – she hadn’t done anything wrong! She didn’t want to admit fault like she habitually did; it didn’t matter if she was really at fault or not!

The emperor and high priest stayed out of it and didn’t help the empress. The emperor would only be able to properly take care of the scheming mother and sister, who interfered every day, once they pushed the empress too far and she stopped interceding on their behalf.

Until then, he had no choice but to let his wife suffer a little injustice. It was the only way to help her be stronger and come to a firm decision about her maiden family.

“Aren’t you. . .  those stinky, superficial relatives Jier mentioned?” Just as Old Madam Cuiya was about to take advantage of her victory and force her daughter to apologize, Feng Wu, who had been silent the entire time, spoke up.

Feng Wu spoke seriously and her big eyes were shiny and bright.

The single sentence nearly choked Old Madam Cuiya and Madam Hua to death.

“You uneducated, unruly girl, what nonsense are you spouting?!” Old Madam Cuiya was so angry that the wrinkles on her face trembled. She reached out and jabbed a bejeweled finger at Feng Wu’s forehead.

A seed of admiration for Feng Wu sprouted in the empress’s heart. At the same time, she hurriedly pulled Feng Wu away, fearing her mother would hurt Feng Wu.

The empress had been afraid of her mother since she was a child. She never dared say a harsh word in her presence. Her mother was an unusual woman who had the knack of making people feel so stifled they wanted to vomit blood. Now the shoe was on the other foot and it was her mother who looked like she wanted to vomit blood.

It was unfilial to think this, but the words stinky, superficial relatives also appeared in her heart.

Moon emperor: I see it too.

High priest: Here, here.

And in that moment, all three were completely in sync.

It was easy to see how unlikeable Old Madam Cuiya was.

“Jier said that every family will have a few stinky, superficial relatives. You are those relatives Jier talked about, right?” Feng Wu had been curious about what they were since learning the word from Jier. He said most people had them, so how come she never saw one? She was really curious about these stinky, superficial relatives.

Jier said that she would know the type when she met one. Sure enough, as soon as the mother and daughter duo rushed in, the words “stinky, superficial relatives” flashed through her mind.

Jier said not to be entangled by them. Otherwise, it would be impossible to get rid of them later on. Staying away from them was the best policy.

She finally got to meet stinky, superficial relatives today! Feng Wu was very happy!

576: The Moon Emperor’s Forgiveness

“You are. It turns out stinky, superficial relatives look like this.” Feng Wu nodded seriously.

“Irreverent girl! Liuli, are you going to just stand there and let this girl be rude to your own mother?!” Old Madam Cuiya wished she could rush over and slap Feng Wu in the face. But her son-in-law, the emperor, was in the room, and she didn’t dare provoke him.

In front of the emperor, she could be a little rude, but she didn’t dare be too presumptuous. It was precisely because Old Madam Cuiya didn’t go overboard that the emperor gave his wife face and tolerated the old lady.

The Moon empress laughed awkwardly and then said, “Mother, Xiao Wu is still young. You should not let a child bother you.” It was rare to see someone who could make her mother so angry. Going to Feng Wu’s side to fight her mother, it was refreshing!

“This girl is beyond rude. You won’t let her go? Just look at her. She hasn’t already started yet and she dares treat me and your sister like this. I am Ming Xi’s grandmother but she is just a wild, unruly, uneducated girl with no manners. She is simply too much! Relying on her conniving and scheming to behave shamelessly!”

Old Madam Cuiya’s face was distorted in anger as she yelled loudly at the empress.

No, it was obviously you who is shameless and relying on connivance.

Both the emperor and empress had the same thought at the same time.

High priest: Hahaha. . . 

“It’s rare for Xiao Wu to come as a guest, so Mother should not bother her.” The empress didn’t even talk about driving Feng Wu away.

“You. . .  you girl, you are amazing. You dare not give me face as your mother anymore, do you? Okay, I’ll teach her lesson in your place then!”

Old Madam Cuiya was so angry that she forgot herself. She reaching into her dimension ring and pulled out a sword, aiming it directly at Feng Wu. Clearly her intent was murder.

“Hump!” The emperor snorted softly. Old Madam Cuiya felt an invisible pressure pressing in on her on all sides.

With a bang, she dropped her sword and nearly fell to the floor herself. She looked really weak with the color drained from her face.

Once the sword fell to the floor, the pressure eased, then fully disappeared. Cold sweat broke out on her head. Her mind, which had muddled from anger, cleared up. She actually dared draw a sword in front of the Moon emperor. How could she have made such a mistake?!

She knew the emperor wasn’t an undisciplined, unprincipled monarch who could be led by the nose by a woman. If he was, she would have controlled the entire Ancient Silver Moon kingdom ages ago through her daughter as proxy.

Since that failed, she had been grooming Hua Jin to be the next Moon empress. This way the Hua and Sheng family would get even more benefits and privileges.

“Mother!” Madam Hua was so frightened she hurried forward to support her mother to keep her from slipping to the ground.

“Bold, to dare draw a weapon in front of His Royal Highness, Old Madam Cuiya has committed the crime of irreverence!” The high priest had waited so long to deal with Old Madam Cuiya and now here was a rare opportunity. He didn’t let it slip by and immediately pounced, declaring her crime clearly and quickly with a selfless face.

When Old Madam Cuiya heard this, her legs, which were already jelly, went limp. Madam Hua was shocked to the core. Their ambitions were high, but unfortunately their intelligence had not caught up. They were both scared.

Madam Hua fell to her knees and nervously spoke while subtly winking at the empress. “Your Highness, forgive my mother. She was confused and did not mean it.” She wanted her sister would speak up on their behalf.

The Moon empress turned her head away and pretended not to notice. Her mother and elder sister had become too outrageous recently. This was a good opportunity to teach them a little lesson and reign them in. It was better for her not to interfere on their behalf.

Madam Hua became even more anxious when she saw the empress ignoring them. She secretly scolded her little sister for being a white-eyed wolf with a black heart, but she didn’t dare show dissatisfaction on her face.

“Forget it. From this emperor’s perspective, I do not care about the matter. Old Madam Cuiya seems to be unwell. Madam Hua should help her return home to rest. During that time, neither of you should enter the palace. Old Madam Cuiya should take good care of her body.”

The emperor waved his hand and spoke generously.

Old Madam Cuiya was dissatisfied but she didn’t dare say anything more, so she let her eldest daughter lead her out.

The two left the palace and boarded their carriage and rushed to the Sheng estate. Inside the carriage, Madam Hua was cursing her sister out while wiping the sweat from her mother’s brow.

“Liuli, that white-eyed wolf, she doesn’t want to think about how mother raised her anymore. How can she do this to us today? She didn’t say a word to support us at all. It’s chilling. . . ” Madam Hua was really unhappy with her sister’s attitude and behavior.

How was it possible her sister become the empress of the Moon kingdom, while she was only the wife of the Hua family head? On top of that, she had to curtsy when she saw her little sister. How stifling! But it wasn’t like she could beat her sister up. All she could do now was curse in her heart.

Hearing her daughter’s words made Old Madam Cuiya uncomfortable. “Do you think your sister has changed? She never contradicted either of us before. But today, she not only contradicted me, she also looked away as the emperor humiliated me.”

Old Madam Cuiya thought of her youngest daughter’s unfeelingness, hating her for not living up to expectations. If this had happened before Sheng Liuli got married, Old Madam Cuiya would have broken her legs. But now that her youngest daughter was married, even if she wanted to do something to her, it was impossible. Punish the empress of the empire? Old Madam Cuiya didn’t have the audacity.

“She has already become the Moon empress; how can she still be the same? Since little sister became empress, she stopped listening to us. She isn’t even willing to help Xiao Jin with Ming Xi’s marriage. It seems that she dislikes us and doesn’t want to pay attention to us anymore.”

Madam Hua had harbored suspicions about her little sister since she rose above her and became empress. Her little sister forgot where she came from after climbing high. Madam Hua wanted Hua Jin to marry Ming Xi, which would be good for the entire family. With the Sheng and Hua family’s support, wouldn’t it be easier for Ming Xi to carry the burdens of that position in the future. Why wouldn’t her little sister help?!

After thinking about it, Madam Hua came to the conclusion that it wasn’t because her sister didn’t want Hua Jin to be the next Moon empress, it was because her sister didn’t want her to Ming Xi’s mother-in-law.

577: Ming Xi Wakes Up

The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt about her little sister.

“Your sister shouldn’t be that kind of person.” Old Madam Cuiya knew the personalities of both her daughters very well.

Her eldest was competitive, courageous and ambitious. They were similar and got along very well. In contrast, her youngest took after her dead husband and was soft-hearted, was overly gentle and disliked conflict. She didn’t like this kind of personality when her husband was alive. Seeing it in her daughter didn’t make her like it any more so.

Well, if they couldn’t see eye to eye, then they couldn’t see eye to eye. There was nothing for it. Both of them crawled out of her and there wasn’t a reason not to love them; it was just that her youngest was not as pampered as her eldest.

“You can know a person for a long time but not understand their true nature. After little sister married out and became the Moon empress, how can she still have the same temper as before she was married?” Madam Hua snorted coldly with disdain.

“That’s enough, don’t talk about it anymore. Just remind Xiao Jin[notes] to get things done quickly. If this Feng Wu isn’t eliminated, our Xiao Jin will miss out on the throne.” Old Madam Cuiya didn’t want to talk about her youngest anymore and changed the topic to her granddaughter, Hua Jin, instead.

“This daughter knows. I will have a good talk with Xiao Jin.” Madam Hua nodded as she massaged Old Madam Cuiya’s shoulders.

Back at the palace, the Moon empress patted her chest after Old Madam Cuiya and Madam Hua left. She had been suppressing the fear in her heart and keeping it from showing on her face. She had always been afraid of her mother, and this was the first time she confronted her like that. It was no wonder her heart was pounding.

“I was scared to death.” The Moon empress said in shock.a

“Don’t be afraid. I will protect you.” Feng Wu looked at the empress seriously.

The emperor’s mouth twitched at the corners. Little girl, shouldn’t that be my line?

With the rotten relatives gone, Ming Xi finally had a stable environment to recuperate.

He wasn't injured; just severely worn out. In order to find Feng Wu, he had used a secret technique that he shouldn’t have used with his current strength. This exhausted the power in his body and his consciousness went into a coma to protect itself.

The high priest said that if Ming Xi wanted to get better, all Ming Xi had to do was bathe in the Imperial Moon ointment.

Speaking of, it really was a good thing. Every three months, golden energy descended from the sky onto the kingdom. This energy was the Imperial Moon ointment. It could heal bodily diseases, improve the potential for physical fitness and had a very good warming effect on damaged qi.

Trees and grass bathed in the essence could even develop spiritual wisdom and obtain cultivation methods specially made for grass and trees. From there, they could even get rid of their plant forms and take on human shape while embodying their plant essence.

The Imperial Moon ointment was a good thing, but it only came every three months. There were so many people who wanted it, but few lucky enough to get it.

This wasn’t a problem for the Moon emperor though. As long as the celestial moon was willing, he could draw down the Imperial Moon ointment and let Ming Xi use it.

The ability was unique to the Moon emperor so Ming Xi couldn’t do it yet. Each of the four emperors on the continent had special abilities. The Moon emperor’s ability related to the moon; basically, things that had to do with the moon were within his domain. Ordinary people could not do the same even with a lifetime of practice.

With the Moon emperor there, the issue of the Imperial Moon ointment was not a problem. The Moon emperor asked someone to come and help Ming Xi to the window. He pointed to the moon, and at the light gesture, the celestial moon seemed to feel his intent. A golden streak flew out from the moon and into the bottle the emperor took out.

The thread, if closely inspected, was actually liquid. This liquid was the Imperial Moon ointment.

After the bottle filled, the Moon emperor withdrew his power and the flow of ointment stopped. It was as if the scene just a moment ago never happened.

Ming Xi’s damaged foundation quickly healed after soaking in the ointment.

Being able to bathe in so much Imperial Moon ointment was something no one could dream of. Even those born in the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom could only encounter the ointment once every three months.

In fact, even though the ointment came every three months, there wasn’t much of it. Getting a drop was considered lucky. Anything more than that was a dream.

You have to understand, the Imperial Moon ointment could enlighten plants. Who would be willing to use it to for a bath? The extravagance of doing that would be unreal.

The ointment absorbed into Ming Xi’s skin upon contact and the amount in the tub disappeared visibly.

Ming Xi’s vitality improved and his formerly bloodless face became rosy. His heartbeat, which was so slow as to be nonexistent, became powerful and heavy, thumping strongly.

Ming Xi slowly opened his eyes after absorbing all the liquid.

He could tell from a glance he was in his own room. He was sitting in a tub, but he wasn’t soaking in anything; he was just sitting naked.

Standing directly opposite him was the high priest from earlier. Ming Xi’s face turned dark. Fortunately, he had spare clothes in his space ring. He pulled some out and dressed in the blink of an eye.

Naked and face to face with an old man, it wasn’t a feeling he wanted to feel ever again.

“Your Highness! You’ve finally woken up!” The high priest laughed happily. He secretly admired his little prince’s figure. Yes, the little girl Feng Wu would be pleased.

It was a good thing Ming Xi didn’t know what the kind-faced high priest was thinking. If he did, he would have kicked the old man out for sure.

578: Confession

The high priest laughed. He was in a very good mood.

Ming Xi didn’t have the heart to drive him away since it looked like the high priest had healed him. He couldn’t very well turn his back on the old man as soon as he recovered.

“The girl who was by my side, where is she?” Ming Xi frowned when he thought about recent events and found Feng Wu not by his side.

“Do not worry, Your Highness Ming Xi. Miss Feng Wu is eating in the garden with the empress.” The high priest laughed.

Ming Xi heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the words. He stepped out of the tub and put on his shoes before walking out of the room.

“Your Royal Highness, please wait! Your body is still healing, please don’t run around so much!” The high priest chased after Ming Xi. His old legs were still nimble and he shouted as he chased, attracting the attention of the surrounding maids and guards, who gave both sidelong glances.

Ming Xi pretended no to hear and kept onwards to the garden without pausing.

As he reached the pavilion where people liked to rest, he saw his mother sitting with Feng Wu around a table filled with delicious, exquisite food.

The Moon empress helped Feng Wu pick up vegetables, while Feng Wu focused on eating. The two, one feeding, one eating happily, were cooperating very well.

Ming Xi was instantly hit with ten thousand points of damage. Were they taking him seriously at all? While he was being treated in the tub, the two women he loved most were enjoying a leisurely get together.

“Ming Xi!” His mother noticed him first. Upon seeing her son properly walking, the joy that filled her face was also evident in her voice.

Feng Wu stopped eating and turned her head to look. Her eyes lit up when Ming Xi’s beautiful figure came into view. She immediately got up and flew into Ming Xi’s arms like a happy bird, wrapping him in a tight hug. There was a trace of obvious joy on her normally expressionless face.

The force of her hug knocked Ming Xi back a couple of steps. He had just recovered and his consciousness was awake, but his strength wasn’t all there yet. To fully recover his essence and vitality, he would have to take medicinal tonics for several days.

He immediately stabilized his body so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself in front of everyone.

“Be careful!” Watching as Ming Xi nearly topple over made the empress worried.

“It’s OK.” Ming Xi smiled and shook his head slightly in his mother’s direction. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” He lowered his eyes and gazed at the top of Feng Wu’s head. His eyes became as gentle as water.

“Does it hurt?” Feng Wu asked.

“No, it’s just I don’t have much strength right now. A few days of rest and I will be good as new.”

“Don’t be afraid! If you have no strength, I’ll carry you on my back. I have a lot of strength!” Feng Wu said earnestly as she looked up at him with her big black eyes.

“Uh. . .  that’s OK.” Ming Xi coughed lightly, feeling a little helpless.

As they were talking, the empress had walked over and was pulling them toward the pavilion where the meal was set.

“Ming Xi, eat a little. This chicken soup is made from spirit ingredients. It is very nourishing. Drink more.” The empress pulled the two of them down to sit. A clever little maid immediately served Ming Xi the soup.

Ming Xi, sitting between his mother and Feng Wu, took a sip. The soup was indeed made with extremely precious and rare spirit fruits and snow chicken. It was absolutely delicious. A comfortable feeling pervaded his body as the soup slid down his throat and warmed up his dantian.

“This is not bad.” Ming Xi appreciated it with a smile.

“Of course it’s good. Imperial Mother personally picked the snow chicken for you. And Xiao Wu donated the spiritual fruit. The fruits Xiao Wu brought are all treasures and extremely valuable. You should thank her well. Only Xiao Wu could have done it.” The Moon empress liked Feng Wu very much. She saw so many people with hidden motives come and go and it had been a long time since she saw someone so clean and pure.

“You’re welcome.” Feng Wu said expressionlessly.

Ming Xi had a gentle smile on his face as he stroked Feng Wu’s head.

This was the happy scene the high priest saw upon finally catching up the Ming Xi: a family of three happily sitting, eating, and chatting together. Forget it. He wouldn’t disturb their family reunion. He would just go home and read a book.

The High priest stroked his beard before sighing and turning around to leave.

After the lovely lunch, the Moon empress took Feng Wu to rest while Ming Xi went to the emperor’s study to account for his actions.

It was unavoidable, and sooner or later, he would have to confess.

“Tell me how you got yourself into this.” The emperor put down the half read official documents and looked at his youngest son helplessly. He was proud of his son but also frustrated.

Ming Xi had no choice but to reveal everything that happened after he entered the Duke of Blue Moon’s territory. He was like this because he wasn’t strong enough to use his powers to the limit in his present stage, so his body was injured and he suffered serious physical repercussions. If it weren’t for the protection of the divine blood, it would not have resulted in just exhaustion and falling into a coma, he would have directly used all his life force and died.

The emperor didn’t know what to say after hearing the story. He originally though the Duke of Blue Moon had attacked Ming Xi, but it turned out Ming Xi’s injuries were self inflicted.

This child, if he couldn’t deal with the duke, why couldn’t he have come to his father for help? Why did he have to be so brave? Didn’t he know his safety was related to the future of the entire kingdom? He really didn’t know how to properly cherish himself.

The emperor had no idea Ming Xi had tried so hard to find the duke’s location. The only thing he knew was that something had happened to Ming Xi’s sweetheart, that she had fallen into a dangerous situation. That was why Ming Xi was in such a hurry to rescue her. That child had even borrowed his ancestral sword. Had he known, he would never have agreed to let Ming Xi go alone.

The duke was an ancient monster. Who knew how long he’d existed? Was a person like that someon Ming Xi could handle alone?

The emperor was so angry with Ming Xi. He gave his son a stern lecture before letting him return to his room to rest. He felt so helpless. Did his son’s IQ drop after falling in love?

Obviously, Ming Xi was very smart before. But now he was like a fool, insisting on rushing forward even though he knew he wasn’t invincible. If the duke hadn’t given the kingdom face, he doubted Ming Xi would have returned from Blue Moon.

Under the care of the empress and Feng Wu, who brought him soup and tonics every day, Ming Xi’s body recovered perfectly without any residual effects.

Even his hand injury was nearly fully healed. As long as he didn’t use the injured hand to do any difficult martial arts or move physical objects, he would fully recover after resting for another half month at most.

579, 580, 581, 582

579: The Situation at School

Deep in a certain mountain thousands of miles away from the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom, Mei Luo slowly descended.

Her body roiled with demonic energy. Her eyes, lips and hair were jet black and a seductive charm exuded from her body. It was obvious she wasn’t an ordinary person.

A voice suddenly rang out from nearby. Mei Luo smiled coldly and a great change happened. The demonic energy in her body disappeared and the color of her hair, eyes, and lips returned to their normal human color, while the seductive charm became noble and elegant. It was clear she was an aristocratic girl from a big background.

“How strange. There’s someone here!” Surprise sounded from a lively voice.

“Hello! Are you adventurers going into the mountains for a mission? I had an accident and ended up stuck here. If it’s convenient, can you lead me out of here? Of course, it won’t be for nothing. I’ll repay you all!” Mei Luo looked eagerly at the adventurers who appeared, her eyes imploring.

The adventurers didn’t believe a random stranger. After asking her several questions to confirm her identity, they agreed to take her down the mountain with them.

They knew Mei Luo was the real deal and truly was the granddaughter of an elder of the Adventurer’s guild. In other words, she was rich. Earning a few less gold in exchange for earning her favor was worth it! They treated her very well and didn’t even mention the reward.

The team Mei Luo temporarily joined was a five-person team made up of one teenage girl named Wei Wei and four older men. Their ages were varied but the oldest of the men was the girl’s father. The youngest was twenty-seven or twenty-eight while the other three were all over thirty. The group took missions together often.

Wei Wei fawned on Mei Luo once she learned Mei Luo’s identity.

Mei Luo had grown up surrounded by people trying to curry her favor, so how could she not recognize the telltale signs? Mei Luo didn’t reveal the disdain in her heart. Instead, she kept a noble demeanor, was gracious and ignored their faux pas.

The men sighed, admiring her good upbringing.

The only man in his twenties flirted with her several times, but how could she take a liking to such a weak adventurer? She kept a neutral attitude toward him and didn’t display any signs of favor or disfavor.

The other three watched Wei Wei and the man fawn over Mei Luo. They didn’t say anything about it. There was no loss so why complain?

Under the team’s escort, Mei Luo finally made it off the mountain that had trapped her for several days.

The team booked several rooms from a hotel at the foot of the mountain to acclimate to the elevation change.

Early the next morning, Mei Luo came down alone from the second floor and settled the accommodation fee with the front desk.

“How strange. I remember six of you came together yesterday. Where is everyone else?” The innkeeper chatted casually as he counted the money.

Mei Luo’s pupils shrank slightly. She said, “They had something to do and left in the night. I was asked to take care of the fees.”

“That urgent?! Wow.” The innkeeper was surprised but he didn’t think too much of it.

Mei Luo silently nodded. The innkeeper saw she wasn’t interested in chatting so he didn’t say anything more.

After leaving the inn, Mei Luo smiled brightly against the warm sunshine. Anyone who cared to check would have seen her strength improved a lot overnight.

“There is nothing wrong with becoming a demon. Now I have a faster way of gaining power. Prince Ming Xi, Feng Wu, wait for me. Wait for me to get stronger. I will definitely pay the two of you a visit and get my revenge for what happened in Blue Moon. . . ”

After muttering to herself, Mei Luo walked forward and left town without a backward glance.

Feng Wu and Ming Xi had no idea they were being targeted. They didn’t even remember who Mei Luo was.

Somehow, ten days passed in the blink of an eye and Feng Wu and Ming Xi returned to school.

On campus, Hua Jin was unhappy despite doing well and being praised and fawned by a growing number of people. The two people she had her eye on disappeared at the same time. The discovery nearly made her crazy as her mind filled with images of the two playing hooky and having a good time together.

It wasn’t until she received news from her family that Ming Xi and Feng Wu were in the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom that she settled down.

And upon learning Ming Xi was seriously injured, she had wanted to go back immediately go back, but her mother disapproved of her doing so. Her family kept assuring her there was nothing she could do to help heal Ming Xi. What she needed to do was take care of things on her end, to lay the foundation for dealing with Feng Wu so that when Feng Wu returned, she could finish her off in one blow. She needed something that would force Feng Wu never appear in front of Ming Xi ever again.

Hua Jin already came up with several evil ideas, which, if executed properly, would make Feng Wu lose so much face Ming Xi would hate Feng Wu forever.

Little Bun had been unhappy recently. A few days ago, he felt something serious happen to his mother. It worried him a great deal. But then, just as suddenly, the heavy feeling in his heart disappeared. He didn’t know what happened but knew his mother was fine.

Rui Baby[notes] followed Little Bun and had recently been hanging out with the assistant principal.

Since Little Bun learned to walk more steadily, his range of activities had greatly increased. Sometimes if the assistant principal wasn’t paying attention, Little Bun ran to other parts of the school looking for something fun.

Fortunately, it was easy to find Little Bun because he was so memorable. The assistant principal, relying on witness testimonials, found Little Bun without much effort. In fact, most of the time, the assistant principal just sent trustworthy seniors to find him and bring him back.

580: The Ever Popular Xiao Ye

Little Bun lived very comfortably at the assistant principal’s residence. The assistant principal loved him very much and the senior brothers and sisters worked as full-time babysitters. He ate nutritious and delicious food made specially by the third-floor cafeteria chef every day.

Despite living the good life, Little Bun wasn’t completely happy. His mother had been gone nearly half a month – so long! Little Bun loved his mother even if she was irresponsible and constantly disappeared.

“Xiao Ye, you’re running around again.” Theresa, a seventh year, walked up behind Xiao Ye with helpless expression. She reached down and scooped the little guy up in a hug.

Xiao Ye was hefty from all the good eating and quality sleeping he had since being born. His cute, puffy, white cheeks were so tender they melted everyone’s hearts.

Xiao Ye knew Theresa was his current babysitter so he didn’t resist and obediently stayed still when she reached down to pick him up.

All the high achieving students on campus with a decent character basically worked as his babysitter. Xiao Ye was familiar with the aunties and uncles who watched him so he never ran away from them.

“The assistant principal asked a bunch of us to go searching as soon as he discovered you were missing. You’re the only little kid in school who gets so much face.” Theresa scratched the little guy’s nose and smiled helplessly.

“Go and play. Xiao Ye wants to go out and play.” Little Buns’ soft sweet and adorable voice was so cute.

Theresa couldn’t help stealing a kiss on Little Bun’s face. This little guy was too cute! How did Feng Wu give birth to such a cutie?!

Theresa couldn’t refuse. She held Little Bun and thought for two seconds before saying, “Well this senior sister doesn’t have anything to do today, so we can go shopping together.”

“Auntie Theresa, you are so kind.” Little Bun’s spoke excitedly.

Auntie. . .  Theresa felt ten thousand bolts hit her. She was in her early twenties OK? How could she be called an auntie?!

“I say, Xiao Ye. We need to talk. How about in the future you call me Sister Theresa?” Theresa contacted the assistant principal and told him her plans to take Little Bun as they walked.

Little Bun shook his head and blinked his big eyes. His voice was soft and sweet when he said, “No, Mother said I can’t be a rude child. Auntie, you are older than Mother, if I call you sister, others will think you are pretending to be young.”

Bam! Straight through the heart. Theresa would have fallen to the ground and vomited blood had she not been holding him.

To say she was pretending to be young. . .  she really was young OK?! How was this her pretending? Theresa wailed in her heart.

“But I’m only in my early twenties. If you call me auntie, people will think I’m very old.” Theresa said pitifully.

This little guy. . .  how did Feng Wu teach him? He could shoot critical hits at such a young age and he was so hard to fool too.

“Auntie Theresa, you are twenty years older than Xiao Ye, how can Auntie be considered a sister?” Little Bun was not affected by Theresa’s pitiful appearance at all. He gave her an angelic smile while using words like daggers.

Theresa was at a loss. What could she say to such logic? Unable to change his mind, she resolutely shut up to save herself from being angry.

She carried Little Bun all the way out of school. Along the way the little guy scored countless delicious snacks and his pink face was kissed and pinched by countless girls as they walked.

“Xiao Ye, why don’t you come to play in our class today?” This came from a fourth year.

“Xiao Ye, Big Sister made you some snacks. If you like them, let me know and I’ll bring more next time.” Another girl had run over and stuffed a sack of snacks into his hands.

Of course, Little Bun couldn’t carry the heavy sack of food so he immediately stuffed it into his space storage.

“Xiao Ye, do you want to play with this brother? Do you want to eat at the student cafeteria together? They have your favorite creamy mushroom soup.”

Creamy mushroom soup?! Little Bun’s eyes lit up. He liked this dish very much. The cafeteria would make it every now and again because he loved to eat it.

Who knows if it was because he was the elf king in his previous life, but despite his memories not awakening, he still preferred to eat vegetarian dishes. He didn’t hate meat, but he didn’t like it much.

Little Bun was the complete opposite of Feng Wu who loved to gorge on meat.

Little Bun thought about it but he didn’t want to give up on playing outside. “Thank you uncle, but I can’t go with you today. Let’s try another day. I’ve already made an appointment with Auntie Theresa to play outside so I’ll eat out later.”

He had been stuck on campus for half a month and had done nearly a full circuit of the entire campus since his mother was away.

He was obviously a little toddler but he spoke like a mini adult. Combined with his serious face, it really melted the heart.

“Wow! So cute!”

“How can you be so cute?!”

“I really want to take Xiao Ye home with me!”

“I’ll be satisfied if I can have a cute child like Xiao Ye!”

“Xiao Ye, I’ll like you even more if you stop calling me uncle.” This came from the brother who made the lunch invitation.

Seeing the helpless look on his face made Theresa feel so much better. Sure enough, seeing others be put in a hole made her feel less unlucky. It was like being unfortunate, but then feeling better because you met someone even more unfortunate than you.

After saying farewell to everyone who had gathered around and shared their candies and snacks, Theresa and Xiao Ye finally left through the school gate.

The old man watching the gate also gave Xiao Ye a big fruit. As for Theresa, probably because she wasn’t as cute, nothing was given.

It was the first time Theresa felt unattractive. The group of juniors and seniors just now had also paid her no mind. All their attention was focused on Little Bun. It wasn’t that she was unpretty, it was just Little Bun was so eye catching. Or so Theresa tried to console herself.

Theresa carried Little Bun to the street where they played tricks for children to watch. Then she took him to eat some delicious food suitable for his age. Little Bun, finally stuffed and feeling satisfied, agreed to go back to campus.

581: Giant Waves

“Xiao Ye, aren’t you afraid of getting a tummy ache after eating so much food?” Theresa was honestly a worried about whether the little guy’s stomach would be OK with so much food. If he got sick from overeating, the assistant principal would not spare her.

Thinking of being targeted by the assistant principal made Theresa regret not being stricter with Little Bun. She wished she hadn’t been swayed by his smile and allowed him to eat so much.

“Mom doesn’t take Xiao Ye out to play, so I can only heal my wounded heart with food.” Xiao Ye said seriously with a poker face, the spitting image of Feng Wu’s expression.

The corners of Theresa’s mouth quirked up involuntarily a few times. When did his heart get hurt ah? He ran off nearly every day and the assistant principal had students go out and search for him. He walked nearly everywhere on campus and played with the students, who inevitably always gave him snacks. With all the food he got, it would take him years to finish everything.

With such a leisurely life, how could he have a wounded heart?

Speaking of which, who taught him those words? Who talked so randomly in front of such a small child? It was easy to turn a good child bad you know.

Theresa, who was rushing back to campus, made up her mind to find the person who spoke so carelessly in front of Little Bun and give the person a good warning. Let’s see if the person dared talk like that again.

Suddenly, a tremor rocked the city.

“What is going on? Was that an earthquake?”

“It’s terrible, why did it shake so violently just now?!”

“My boy! Be careful, don’t step on him!”

“Mom! Where are you? Mom!”

“Don’t jostle my booth! I just baked a cake here!”

“My fruits! Don’t step on them!”

It was a mess everywhere, but fortunately the quality build of the houses in the city were good and there were no large scale collapses.

“Look, the sea water! The sea water is flooding over!” A burst of terrified shouts suddenly sounded.

Theresa looked back sharply to see dozens of huge waves cresting against the city walls. It was unusual for waves to build up so suddenly and fiercely.

“Attention, all water magicians in years six and seven, immediately fly up and stop the waves! This is a test.” A majestic voice suddenly made an announcement. It was the school principal.

What to do? Theresa was a water magician so she had to follow orders and stop the waves, but there was Little Bun to consider.

What should she do with him?

Just then Little Bun yawned and his eyes squinted shut cutely.

While Theresa was hesitating, water magicians from the academy flew to the sky and blue lights flashed bang, bang one after another.

So many people were already up fighting against the waves, Theresa couldn’t hesitate any longer. She told Xiao Ye she was sorry but that she had to leave him behind. She turned around and handed him to a kind-hearted lady who knew she was a senior from the academy. The old lady promised to take care of Little Bun until she returned.

With Xiao Ye settled, Theresa didn’t dare delay and took directly to the sky to battle the heavy waves.

The waves were tall and gigantic with astonishing momentum. There were over three hundred water magicians from both years fighting the waves. It would have been impossible for any one of them to do it alone – they had to work together as unit.

There was strong water magic within the waves too, so despite all of them working together, their hands holding their staffs trembled and they were sweaty and pale from exertion.

What was under all that water? Why was it so powerful that even three hundred higher level academy students couldn’t withstand it?

“Come! Everyone! We can’t lose!” roared a powerful water magician from the seventh year.

It was true; they couldn’t lose. This was a test arranged by the head of the school himself. It would be shameful if they lost. How could they face the principal? How could they hold their heads up as water magicians? They would be severely ridiculed by the other divisions.

Thinking about all this immediately firmed their resolve and their eyes filled with determination. Their power output increased as they scraped every last reserve they had to fight the waves.

The two sides were in a stalemate and everyone watching wondered if the water magicians had what it took to succeed.

“If they can’t do it, then we’ll go. Even a single person would be able to stop those waves. Honestly, those water magicians are useless.”

“You talk big for a fire elemental. It’s the gold magicians who will go. Our gold element is the most lethal amongst the five elementals.”

“Don’t forget earth elementals. For something like this, earth elementals are better suited. We can create walls of earth to stop the waves.”

“Every one of you are out of your minds. I can’t believe you don’t realize there is something weird about the waves. There’s got to be something extraordinary inside it all.”

“What? You mean under the water?”

“There’s no way the principal would dispatch all the water magicians in the sixth and seventh years just for an ordinary wave. There’s got to be something special about it. I wonder if there are big shots hidden inside. Anyways, you can see the water magicians are afraid. It’s definitely trouble.”

While the students were discussing the water magicians, the city residents had worried expressions on their faces as they watched the waves.

“Can those students do it? We won’t drown in the waves, will we?!”

“What are you panicking about? If they can’t do it, there are other people who will. We have so many powerful forces in Zhongyang. What could possibly happen?”

“Exactly.”

Among the people watching the water magicians fight the waves, no one noticed that somewhere in the city, a kind-hearted old lady fell to the ground with a bleeding head wound. She muttered something about a child. A pity, everyone was concerned with the waves and no one saw her lying in a pool of her own blood. . . 

582: Xiao Ye’s Disappearance

The huge waves were eventually repelled through the joint efforts of all the students. Theresa excitedly clapped her hands in celebration. She thought Xiao Ye was still with the old lady so she immediately went back to find her.

Before she reached the old lady, she heard a panicked cry.

“Something happened! Something happened!”

“Is there a wood type, water type, or light type magician?! Or pharmacist?! An old lady has had an accident and needs to be treated!”

“What happened?!”

“It looks like an old lady was seriously injured and is bleeding a lot up ahead. I don’t know who did it. They even dared lay their hands on an old lady.”

“Scoundrels! To dare harm people in Zhongyang! They must have some guts!”

“I’ve lived here for so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen something so bold.”

“Did anyone see who did it? There should be people who walk by this street; someone must have seen something, right?”

“Normally yes, and this would have been discovered immediately, but didn’t you see the unusual wave just now? The waves were so big, we were all focused on them. Who would have been paying attention to anything else? There are no witnesses I’m afraid.”

“Then the perpetrator is lucky. If caught, the person would have been stoned to death already. Now we can only hope the old lady saw who it was that hurt her. The city law enforcements will definitely help her seek justice.”

“Yeah, I don’t know who did it, but I know the old lady. I’m a regular customer of hers. She sells these delicious sugar cakes at her booth every day. I’ve never heard of anyone with a grudge against her. Who would hurt her so badly? Was it a burglary? But how much money could a small sugar cake vendor make? Too strange!”

Theresa had a bad feeling when she heard the discussion. No way it could have been the same old lady right?

She pushed her way through the crowd and ran to the place where the old lady was. People cursed at her but she didn’t care. She saw the old lady in a large pool of blood. Her breathing was shallow and her heartbeat weak.

Theresa’s own heart skipped a beat. She didn’t care about anything else and immediately poured a bottle of recovery and another bottle of healing potion into the old lady’s mouth.

After the two bottles, the old lady looked like she was about to wake up. Her heartbeat regained a normal rhythm and her pale face flushed with some color as well.

“This old lady met a good person. Those two bottles are worth a lot!”

“Yeah, that girl is kind. She shoved me away just now so I thought she was a jerk. But it turned out she was just trying to save people. I feel so embarrassed for scolding her earlier.” The person shouted over to Theresa, “Hey girl! I’m sorry for cursing you out earlier!”

“Me too, me too. I apologize. But if you had just said you were trying to save people, all of us would have given way. There was no need to shove so hard. . . ”

“You can’t say that. People were in a hurry.”

“The old lady’s waking up but those are some expensive potions though. Us ordinary people would never be able to afford them.” Someone sighed enviously.

The value of a single bottle was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Just one would have cost a family several years of savings, so in their world, a potion was a rare and elusive thing.

“She’s awake! The old lady is really wake!”

Theresa didn’t care what the crowd was saying. She focused on helping the old lady.

The old lady opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Theresa’s anxious face.

Thinking about what happened, the old lady couldn’t even speak before her eyes clouded over with tears.

“The child! Someone kidnapped the child!” The old lady had been kind and responsible all her life, but a good child was taken right in front of her under her watch. She felt immeasurably guilty.

“Who did it?” Theresa clenched her fists. Who dared take Xiao Ye? No matter who it was, she would make them regret ever being born.

“I do not know. I was standing here holding his hand waiting for you to come back. Suddenly I felt dizzy and my mind became fuzzy. I felt someone try to pull the child from me. I tried to stop them, but I was pushed away. Then my head seemed to have hit something hard. After that, I don’t know what happened.”

The old lady, trying her best to recall what happened, had a regretful look on her face.

“I don’t blame you for this matter. It may have been a magician who made the move. Don’t feel guilty about it. You were implicated because I asked you to look after the child. Please take this money and purchase some supplements to heal yourself.”

Although Theresa had taken cared of the immediate wounds, the old woman still needed to nourish her body well to be completely healed.

Thinking about how the old lady was an innocent who suffered a disaster while caring for Little Bun, Theresa took out her money bag and gave it to the old lady. There were about fifty gold coins inside, and though it was a pittance for her, for ordinary people, it was an extraordinary sum.

The old lady blamed herself for losing the child so she refused the money. Theresa didn’t force her and gave up.

She was anxious about Little Bun so she didn’t stay long with the old lady once she found out what she could. She said farewell and hurried back to campus after promising to tell the old lady if the child was found.

Xingguang Holy Academy, Assistant Principal’s Office.

“What are you talking about?! How is Xiao Ye is gone?! How could you have let him run off on his own?! How old are you and you can’t even keep track of a little baby who’s not even two yet. Girl, you can’t even watch a small child. . . ” blah blah blah. . . 

The assistant principal was so angry his beard huffed nonstop. Every time his mouth open, a series of accusations came out. Theresa couldn’t get in a single word.

She finally couldn’t bear it anymore after a full five minutes of his scolding. She interjected and told him about how it was actually a kidnapping.

“Xiao Ye didn’t get lost by himself! He was kidnapped by someone! Assistant Principal, you have to think of a way. The kidnapper, we don’t know what they want with Xiao Ye. If something happens to Xiao Ye, how are we going to explain it to Junior Sister Feng Wu?!”

Theresa finished speaking with a sad face.

The assistant principal was taken aback. He never expected someone to dare kidnap Feng Ye. I mean who was Feng Ye? This was the elf king we’re talking about. How bold was this person to dare fight against the elf king? The guts!

583, 584, 585, 586

583: Everyone’s Reactions

“Kidnapped?! Someone has the courage to kidnap Feng Ye? Their courage is commendable!” The assistant principal couldn’t help feeling some admiration for the fools.

Theresa felt a headache coming on. Xiao Ye was missing! It was no time to admire people! The assistant principal, who usually loved Xiao Ye the most, still had the heart to praise the villains!

“Assistant Principal, now that Xiao Ye is gone, what should we do? Think of a way please! What if something happens to Xiao Ye?!” Theresa couldn’t help yelling out in frustration.

She would never have had the guts to yell at him under normal circumstances, but right now Xiao Ye was missing, and the assistant principal was behaving unreliably. She couldn’t bear it.

Unexpectedly, the assistant principal waved his hand. “Don’t worry, that kid will be fine. You go back to your dorm and wait for news. The kid will come back soon enough.” The assistant principal spoke confidently.

This was the elf king. He would remain alive and well even if everyone on the continent suffered an accident. The elf king perished after saving the world so the world’s consciousness would definitely be partial to the reborn king and keep him safe.

Theresa was kicked out of the vice principal’s office, but she couldn’t be as laisse faire about it as the vice principal; after all Little Bun went missing on her watch. Have her sit and wait for news? Absolutely not! She had to find Little Bun!

Determined, Theresa returned to the seventh-year section and gathered several classmates to search for Little Bun together. All of them had been Little Bun’s babysitter at one time or another.

Because of Theresa’s movement, most of the school knew about Little Bun’s disappearance by midday, including Jier, Ink, Elena and the others. Little Bun’s disappearance was a huge deal.

Elena tried to get a hold of Ming Xi, but had no luck contacting him.

Jier and Ink knew Ming Xi had gone to rescue Feng Wu from the Duke of Blue Moon and was currently recuperating in the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom with Feng Wu. The two had to have suffered a lot. It wasn’t a good time to make them worry.

Considering all this, Jier and Ink decided not to contact Feng Wu about the problem. Instead they organized fellow classmates, who were willing to help, to go and search for Little Bun.

Within half a day, most of the students in school were devoted to finding Little Bun.

Those students who had no connection to Little Bun stopped paying attention to the story after expressing a few words of obligatory concern, while those who hated Feng Wu gloated upon hearing the news.

Yifu was obviously amongst the latter. Who knew how many boys were turned off by her behavior? Even if they didn’t say it, they preferred kind and cute girls over cruel and vicious ones. It was fine if Yifu didn’t care about Little Bun’s disappearance, but to gloat about it was too much. To not tolerate a child and to show such a vicious mind, Yifu was too ugly and her undisguised feelings were off putting.

She didn’t know, because of her undisguised feelings, many students chose to keep their distance from her. She didn’t notice their reactions to her because she was so overjoyed about Little Bun’s disappearance.

As for Jasmine, though she wished unhappiness upon Feng Wu, she wasn’t so perverted she would wish misfortune upon a child. Little Bun stayed in their dorm for nearly two years and she had watched him grow from being a baby that barely crawled to a little toddler that ran on nearly limitless energy.

Jasmine never showed Little Bun physical affection and often called him a bastard, but she didn’t actually hate the little guy.

Other than a pervert, who could truly hate such a beautiful and cute child?

“I heard Xiao Ye is missing. What should we do? Xiao Wu isn’t here. If Xiao Wu doesn’t see Xiao Ye when she comes back, she’ll be so sad!” Annika was worried.

Everyone in the dorm had watched Little Bun grow up, and when Feng Wu was busy, Annika provided a lot of free babysitting.

Xi slapped the table and stood up, announcing solemnly, “We can’t just sit and watch. Let’s all go out tomorrow morning and help find Xiao Ye together.”

Annika immediately nodded in agreement. It was so late already. Even if they went out, they wouldn’t be able to search very well. Waiting until tomorrow was best.

“How are you going to find him?” Jasmine asked calmly after taking a sip of freshly squeezed juice.

“It doesn’t matter; even if we have to turn the city upside down, we will definitely find Xiao Ye.” Xi said firmly.”

“Yes.” Annika nodded in agreement again.

“You’re looking so aimlessly, how long is it going to take you to find him?” Jasmine frowned.

“How we find him has nothing to do with you, so you can stop gloating.” Xi was displeased.

“I’m not gloating!” Jasmine pointed at herself, her eyes wide in shock.

“Aren’t you? Who doesn’t know you can’t wait for something bad to happen to Xiao Wu? Now that Xiao Wu will be sad because of Xiao Ye’s disappearance, I’m sure you’re just dying of happiness.” Xi rolled her eyes at Jasmine as if to say, “Hello, I can see right through you.”

“Believe it or not, although I hate Feng Wu, I don’t hate the little toddler. If you want to find Xiao Ye, you must not work so aimlessly. Going blindly will only waste time and energy. Why don’t you go to the place where he was last seen and see if anyone saw anything? You’ll find better clues with a target in mind, is all I’m saying.” Jasmine walked upstairs to her room with her juice after speaking her piece.

After Jasmine left, Xi turned to Annika and asked, “Is she really so kind?”

Annika smiled, “Jasmine isn’t as bad as you think she is. Even if what she says aren’t nice, she has no ill intentions toward Xiao Ye.”

“Who knows what she’s planning.” Xi wasn’t convinced. She didn’t think Jasmine would suddenly be so helpful.

“Well, whether Jasmine really wants to help or not, what she said does make sense. Instead of looking around blindly, it’ll be better if we look for witnesses.”

“That’s the best thing to do. If she is sincere, then she isn’t as bad as I thought.” Xi said reluctantly.

584: The Secret Plan Is. . . 

Jasmine wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Many smart people also organized groups to find witnesses for the attack and subsequent kidnapping.

A pity, despite the countless people they asked, no one had any clues. Finally someone found a beggar who saw something. The beggar said he saw someone attacking the old lady, and the person was wearing a white cloak. The face was obscured, but from the figure, it was probably a woman.

Knowing only the gender didn’t help much.

Now what was Little Bun doing while everyone was out searching for him?

In a certain room in a certain house in Zhongyang, a beautiful woman with a creepy smile was holding Xiao Ye in her arms.

“This disgusting child is Feng Wu’s bastard child. Now that we have him, shouldn’t we proceed to the next step?” Hua Jin looked at Little Bun with disdain.

“What’s the hurry? Are you afraid we can’t catch Feng Wu even with this little guy in our hands?” The woman’s smile seemed to have a hidden meaning.

“Mei Luo, don’t forget what you promised me.” Hua Jin frowned in worry.

A few days ago, Mei Luo had approached her to discuss ways to deal with Feng Wu together. She had proposed many ideas.

As the saying went: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Hua Jin didn’t understand why Mei Luo hated Feng Wu so much, but she didn’t care. All that mattered to her was if Mei Luo could help her or not.

They reached a cooperative relationship easily and settled on kidnapping Feng Wu’s child. Once they got him, Feng Wu wouldn’t be able to do anything for fear of harming her child, after which, dealing with her would be as simple as uttering a single word.

They thought it would be easy to kidnap the child, but they never expected the child to catch the vice principal’s favor, or for the vice principal to love and protect him so much.

This made it impossible to stage an abduction on school grounds. Just as they thought they wouldn’t be able to do it, Theresa took the kid out of the academy and a once in a century wave formed at the same time. Everything lined up perfectly and they were successful in kidnapping Feng Wu’s child.

It was Hua Jin’s maid who abducted the child. Because school regulations forbade students from having personal servants on campus, Hua Jin had arranged for the maid to stay at her two-story bungalow.

The bungalow was beautiful and in an excellent location near the temple. It was where Hua Jin often spent her free time.

Feng Wu’s child had been kept in the bungalow since his abduction. It wasn’t an ideal solution. Remaining in Zhongyang, sooner or later, people would track him down. It was imperative they moved him to a different location.

Hua Jin had invited Mei Luo and the perverted guy she made a deal with over to her bungalow to help her with the move.

“Don’t worry, I won’t forget. I heard that Prince Ming Xi likes Feng Wu very much. He even chased her all the way to Blue Moon castle. Even after we get rid of Feng Wu, are you sure Prince Ming Xi will have you in his heart?” Mei Luo pursed her lips into a smile as she put Little Bun into the crib.

“What do you know?! That woman is a vixen. Brother Ming Xi and I grew up together. If it weren’t for her, there would be no reason for him to not choose me.” Hua Jin said with a grim expression.

She gritted her teeth as she thought of Feng Wu. Her wish, ever since she was little, had been to be the next queen, to stand in a high place like her aunt and be worshipped by all the women in the world.

But Feng Wu’s appearance ruined everything – her dreams, her hopes. She refused to let a dishonorable woman like Feng Wu destroy her hopes. She would destroy Feng Wu first.

“Really?” Mei Luo wasn’t really convinced.

After returning to the Adventurer’s guild, Mei Luo explained to her grandfather how she managed to escape Blue Moon castle, but she concealed her new demonic human nature. Instead, she talked about how Ming Xi entered the realm to rescue Feng Wu and that she was able to escape because the duke lost interest in her and had tossed her out after Feng Wu left.

There was nothing wrong with her explanation. It was a bit strange the Duke of Blue Moon would let her go so easily, but since his granddaughter returned, he wasn’t going to investigate too thoroughly.

Mei Luo rested at home for a few days before heading out to Zhongyang under the pretext that it would be a relaxing trip. She then used some of her grandfather’s influence to investigate Feng Wu’s history.

What Mei Luo learned made her even more disdainful of Feng Wu. The future emperor of the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom risked his life and went to Blue Moon to save this kind of a girl? One who had a baby out of wedlock Mei Luo really hated Feng Wu.

She was better than Feng Wu a thousand times over. Why did no one come and save her?!

And that Prince Ming Xi, he could have saved her with just one word, but he didn’t. Instead he let her stay in Blue Moon and die. That man was not a good person.

If it weren’t for the two of them, she would never have become a demonized human. Now she wasn’t a human being anymore. Now she was an extremely rare demonized human.

The power of a demonized human wasn’t that powerful amongst the different types of demons. But she had an ability other demons didn’t have – she could change her aura freely, so unless she was willing to reveal her demon nature, no one would know she wasn’t fully human.

“Don’t talk so much you two. What we should do now is to get this little thing out of the city as soon as possible. Having him stay in the city is too dangerous,” said the man.

A trace of impatience flashed in his eyes. He had no interest in how the two women felt. His only interest was in getting his that item he wanted as soon as possible.

“Feng Yi, do you have a good way?” Hua Jin took a deep breath, suppressing her other thoughts. The important thing now was getting the kid out.

“I’ll make arrangements later tonight.” The brown-haired man said calmly.

“I will wait for your news then.”

Hua Jin smiled in satisfaction. If Feng Yi said there was a way, then there was a way. Based on her understanding of him, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to get what he wanted. It was why he rarely failed.

585: Where is Little Bun?

Feng Yi, the third prince of the kingdom of Wind, was the strongest and the most perverted of the seven princes in the kingdom. His parents were the current emperor and empress.

The empress had two sons with the emperor, the eldest prince and the third prince. The other five princes were born from the emperor’s other four wives.

The eldest prince and Prince Feng Yi were the two most likely candidates to be the next emperor. Hua Jin knew Feng Yi didn’t want his elder brother to ascend to the throne. He would never accept losing just because of their birth order, which was why he hastily developed his own underground influence and even made the deal he did with her.

The three kidnappers left separately after they finished discussing how to transfer the little guy.

Locked in a room by himself, Little Bun sat on a small bed not crying or making a fuss. When a maid came in to feed him, he opened his mouth and obediently.

After everyone left, Little Bun tapped his chin like a little adult thinking deeply.

“Are these bad guys trying to use me to lure mom out? They really are big villains, to even dare kidnap me. How to teach them a lesson. . . ”

Little Bun thought hard but couldn’t come up with a satisfactory way.

“Little White.” Xiao Ye called Little White’s name in a low voice and a white creature appeared in the empty room.

Who was this guy if not Little White.[notes]

Speaking of yesterday’s situation, when Hua Jin’s maid tried to abduct Little Bun, Little White had immediately wanted to stop it. Although Little White’s combat abilities were low, its defensive barrier was top notch and few could break through it.

As long as Little Bun and Little White were together, it would be fair to say they would never be kidnapped.

But Little Bun was curious about what the person wanted so he told Little White not to do anything. The abduction went so smoothly because Little Bun was actively cooperating. Who would have thought a little guy under two would even have such ideas.

They kidnappers thought it was due to their good fortune, but it wasn’t the case at all.

“Little master, do you now when you want to return yet?” Little White sent the sound transmission to Little Bun with an expectant expression.

“No, I want to stay here and see what they want to do.” Little Bun shook his head seriously. He spoke in a soft, childlike voice. These bad guys wanted to do bad things to his mother. As a righteous baby, he had to protect his mother and get rid of the bad guys.

“But Little Master, Master will be worried if you don’t go back.” Little White knew Little Bun’s favorite person was Feng Wu. In order to keep its mischievous little master from dying, it would have to get Feng Wu.

“Don’t worry. Don’t worry. When I catch the bad guys, Mother will praise me.” Little Bun said childishly.

Little White: Master, come back quickly. Little White can’t stop the little master from courting disaster. Little White can’t understand the little master’s thoughts. . . 

“Little White, don’t you think the villain Mei Luo is a bit strange? She smells rotten. So bad. She stinks!” Little Bun frowned as he talked about Mei Luo.

Mei Luo gave Little Bun a bad feeling. Obviously, all three were bad people, so why did he especially dislike the one named Mei Luo. Little Bun couldn’t figure it out.

He didn’t know it was because it was one of his talents as an elf. All elves were pure and kind-hearted. As the king of elves, Little Bun not only saw the good and evil in people’s hearts, he could also see the hidden devil energy as well.

If the assistant principal was there, he would have understood what was going on. Unfortunately, even though Little Bun’s instincts had awakened, the memories from his previous life had not, so there were many things he didn’t understand.

The current Little Bun was still too small and his physical strength couldn’t bear too much power. His powers would unseal slowly in the future.

Little White didn’t understand Little Bun’s ability. It already took all its concentration just to hide from the kidnappers so it hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

Little White shook its head honestly.

“You didn’t smell it? How is that possible? It was so stinky.” Little Bun couldn’t believe it.

Little White shook its head again. It wasn’t lying. It really hadn’t smelled anything.

After Little White’s confirmation, Little Bun finally believed it and dropped the matter.

“Little Master, there are a lot of people looking for you outside. I saw Jier and Ink passing by on the street several times already.” Little White said impatiently.

If it hadn’t been for the little master telling it to stop, it would have already rushed out to tell Jier.

“It’s OK. I’ll write a letter. You help me give it to Uncle Jier and the others. That way they’ll stop looking for me. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Little Bun was confident.

That night, after Jier returned to the dorm, he found a note in his room.

The contents, written in crooked script, were as follows:

“Uncle Jier, you don’t have to look for me. I will return after defeating the bad guys.”

It took Jier a long time to decipher the crooked handwriting.

Little Bun was a very smart child and had already recognized a lot of words at a young age. But whether he could write them legibly was another matter all together.

With such small hands, just being able to hold a pen was already remarkable. Expecting him to have good penmanship, well that was just too much.

“Xiao Ye! When you come back I will definitely spank your little bottom!” Jier was so angry that the crumpled the piece of paper and threw it to the ground.

Then thinking about it, he immediately bent over and picked it up. He took the note and stormed off to the assistant principal.

The principal had been absent for a while and general school affairs were decided by the assistant principal. For example, Little Bun’s disappearance, they news was reported to the assistant principal.

The assistant principal, who had just finished dinner, was about to go back to his study and chew on melon seeds while reading. He didn’t even get a chance to pull out his book when a knock sounded on his door.

586: To Guess Correctly

The vice principal went to open the door, but not before scratching his beard irritably twice. Outside, Jier stood standing with a bad look on his face. This of course confused the vice principal.

“School is already out for the day; even a vice principal needs rest. Student Jier, I must point out to you, your lack of consideration for others is unacceptable behavior,” said the vice principal as he huffed his beard out twice.

Jier angrily handed the note over.

The vice principal glared at Jier but didn’t say a word until after he read it.

“You came to me in such a huff over this?” The assistant principal looked at Jier speechlessly, but unfortunately his white beard made it hard to see his expression clearly.

“I finally got a clue that might be useful. Assistant Principal, isn’t your reaction a little too subdued?” Jier said unhappily. He glared accusingly and a bit suspiciously at the assistant principal.

He had already discovered the assistant principal wasn’t in a hurry to find Little Bun, which was really at odds with how much the assistant principal favored Little Bun.

The assistant principal’s abnormal attitude puzzled Jier. It felt like the assistant principal was hiding something very important from all the students.

“I told you that Xiao Ye is safe but all of you still had to go out and search with so much fanfare. This is just asking for extra work.” The old man had already tried to tell the students, but not only did they not listen, but they even looked at him like he was cruel and merciless.

This group of students didn’t understand how to respect for their old and wise elders. They were surely going to be unlucky.

“Isn’t it because you’ve been unclear? Now we don’t even know where Xiao Ye is, whether his life is in danger or not, and we don’t know what the kidnapper intends to do.

You tell us not to worry and to not go searching for Xiao Ye, but how is that even possible?!

If you want us to be at ease, then you should at least tell us why you are so sure Xiao Ye is fine!”

Jier had wanted to ask for a long time now why the assistant principal was so sure Xiao Ye was fine. How did he know Xiao Ye would come back on his own after he was done playing outside? What a joke! Him, come back by himself?!

“Okay, okay, Student Jier, you just do what Xiao Ye said in the letter. It is getting late and I don’t want to keep you, so you go on back to bed early now you hear? That’s all. Goodnight and goodbye!” The assistant principal didn’t wait for Jier to respond before shoving him out the door and closing it firmly behind him.

Jier scowled at the stinky old man and reluctantly returned to his dorm.

“What happened? What did the assistant principal say?” Jier’s roommates immediately surrounded him and asked before he could even step all the way through the door.

“He says that as long as we do as Xiao Ye says in the letter, everything should be fine. There’s no need to be worried.” Jier snorted.

“How can that be? Xiao Ye tells us not to look for him and we should really do that? He’s barely two for goodness sake!”

“And who knows if the note was really from Xiao Ye? Maybe someone left it to deliberately fool us!”

“Yes! Very possible!”

“Okay! That’s enough.” Jier raised his hand up and made a stop gesture, then he said, “I am at least 90% certain this note is from Xiao Ye.” Besides Xiao Ye, no one could have written such ugly words. It was more accurate to say the words were undecipherable scribbles than words.

Jier didn’t think it was possible for anyone else to imitate Xiao Ye’s handwriting.

“Haven’t you guys wondered? Xiao Ye is just a baby, how did he put the note in Jier’s room?” Ink, who had been standing behind the others spoke out suddenly.

He raised an important point that couldn’t be ignored.

Yes, how did Xiao Ye, who was a baby, manage to not only write the note but to deliver it by himself?!

Don’t kid around. This wasn’t something a baby could do. If he could, then he had to be a god baby or something.

“You’re right! It’s impossible for Xiao Ye to run back to school and leave the note in Jier’s room.”

“It’s true. How old is Xiao Ye? How could he deliver the note and leave school without disturbing anyone? He’s such a small child. No way he could have done it!”

Jier’s roommates discussed it for a long time but no one could come up with a reliable and believable answer.

“I know!” Ink shouted.

His sudden outburst startled everyone, especially Jier, who had been wondering if he had overlooked something. Ink’s shout scattered away the idea that was just forming in his head.

“What did you think of?” Everyone looked to Ink.

Ink immediately said, “You guys forgot about Little White. With Little White around, it would be strange for Xiao Ye to be kidnapped. Xiao Ye followed the kidnappers on purpose. He must have sent Little White with the message.”

Ink’s face was full of pride once he finished his conjecture. Upon turning around to look at everyone, he found they were staring at him wide-eyed.

“What?” Ink took two steps back. Their eyes were strange and a little scary.

“It’s nothing. It’s just we suddenly discovered you’re smart.” It wasn’t until Ink mentioned it that they thought of the problem none of them saw.

Xiao Ye had the Shengmu,[notes] and another unknown beast baby that could talk around him. With these kinds of guardians to protect him, it was unreasonable for him to disappear without a trace. Something was fishy.

“The baby beast is probably not by Xiao Ye’s side. It is very elusive, much like Xiao Wu’s contracted spirit, Lydia. No one knows where to find it unless it wants to be found.”

587, 588

587: Taking a Trip Out of the City

Jier shrugged. When it came to those two, he had no clue. He was helpless when it came to Feng Wu’s contracted spirit and beast.[notes]

If they were his contracted entities, he would definitely let them know how a contracted beast or spirit was supposed to behave. Disobedient? Haha. Jier sneered. If they dared to not listen, he would hit them until they became obedient.

Lydia, who was practicing in a place with strong yin energy, suddenly felt a cold chill. She touched her neck. What was going on? She had a spirit body, why did she suddenly feel cold? Illogical!

Rui Baby was sleeping in a small nest in the spirit world eating fresh fruits and enjoying the beautiful scenery when he suddenly sneezed. “Achoo!” Strange. Who was scolding him behind his back? Just wait for this baby to figure out who. . . 

“Isn’t Little White good? Little White wouldn’t leave Xiao Ye’s side. Don’t forget Little White is a Shengmu that specializes in taking care of children.”

Everyone on the continent knew how much Shengmu beasts loved children. In fact, Shengmu beasts often took better care of children than their own biological parents did. There was no way the Shengmu beast would have stood idle while Little Bun was being kidnapped.

After discussing for a long time, everyone believed it was a letter from Little White.

But that begged the question, when did the Shengmu beast have such a powerful skill, to be able to deliver a letter while avoiding so many people on campus. Was Little White so powerful?

Even though the Shengmu beasts weren’t the worst soldiers to have in war, they weren’t good either. They weren’t good at hiding and weren’t fast.

If it was really Little White, how did it evade so many eyes and manage to deliver the note?

Meanwhile, as Jier was discussing this with everyone, Little Bun was being transferred to a new location.

Feng Yi didn’t know what they smeared on Little Bun’s head, but his hair matched his black eyes and now he looked like a child from the ancient eastern countries.

Hua Jin had her maid feed Little Bun sleeping pills to keep him from talking on the trip.

A pity though, she didn’t know Little Bun’s body was filled with pure elf blood which made him completely immune to harmful drugs.

Little Bun pretended to fall asleep while Feng Yi arranged for a couple of eastern descent with black hair and eyes to take Little Bun away overnight out of Zhongyang.

To avoid attracting attention, they opted to travel by ordinary cargo ship instead of using a teleportation array.

The couple came from the Hound mercenary group. In order to make things look more realistic, they even brought another little boy along with them. They borrowed the little boy, who was about five years old, from his parents for a fee. They had paid more than half the deposit upfront too.

“Mom, is brother still sleeping? When will he wake up and play with me?” The little boy tugged at the pretty black-haired woman beside him cutely.

The little boy was very clever and instantly fell into character. No wonder he could help his parents make money at such a young age.

“Your brother is still too little. He’ll be sleeping a lot. You’ll have to be good and not wake him up OK?” The dark-haired woman’s face was filled with maternal glow. If she didn’t know she wasn’t the mother of these kids, she would have been fooled.

Her acting was so good! It was the opera house’s loss for not accepting her back then.

The other passengers on the boat all laughed heartily as they watched the scene of the loving mother and her young child.

The dark-haired woman acted flawlessly and didn’t reveal any telltale signs when talking about motherhood with the other women on board.

It wasn’t until they returned to their private cabin that they dropped the image. The woman lost her motherly charm and the father lost his strict face.

“The business that the boss took is too strange. Having us pick up this little brat. Where did the kid even come from? Could he be the son of some big shot?” The woman sat on the edge of the bed Little Bun was on.

The other kid didn’t care what they were talking about and started eating as soon as they walked through the door.

“Who knows. We’re just doing what we’re told. Who cares who this brat belongs to.” The man found a roast chicken from his space storage and began eating without even bothering to wash his hands.

It wasn’t satisfying to eat roasted chicken by itself so he got a glass of beer on the side as well.

The cabin instantly filled with the aroma of roasted meat and beer.

“That’s right. After the kid is delivered, we’ll take the money and leave. A new set of magic equipment was put up for sale a bit ago. I can buy it once we get paid.” The woman smiled happily when she thought about the new equipment she had been admiring.

“It just so happens that I’ve also taken a fancy to a new sword. Maybe we can get a discount from the shop boss if we go together.”

“Then let’s do that. We’ll go together when the time comes. Plus, there’s always the old tried and true beauty trick. I don’t believe the boss won’t give us a little discount at least. . . ”

The couple chatted as they ate, completely ignoring the two kids in the room.

The five year old looked like he was used to it. He chewed his food indifferently. The couple had a little bit of conscience, so they shared a couple of wings with him while they ate the larger drum sticks.

Xiao Ye pretended to be asleep as he listened in on their conversation. Where were they taking him? Were these bad guys trying to ruin him? Weren’t they trying to use him to deal with his mother? No matter what they planned, it was wrong to lie to children. Don’t think that just because children were young they could be fooled. . . 

588: Black Mist on Coral Island

No one in school knew Little Bun had been packed and sent out of Zhongyang. They were still frantically searching for him inside the city.

Theresa had thought about the possibility of Little Bun being taken out of the city, so she alerted the guards at the teleportation array, the docks and flying beast stations to watch out for a white haired and black eyed two-year-old boy. Anyone fitting that description had to be detained until she could confirm their identity.

Theresa never expected the kidnappers would already be a step ahead.

As members of Xingguang Holy academy, it was easy for Hua Jin and Feng Yi to figure out Theresa’s plans. Feng Yi’s arrangements had already accounted for Theresa’s block, so before Theresa even got a hint of news, Feng Yi had already moved Little Bun out.

Wherever Little Bun was going, it wasn’t a good place.

Feng Wu was still unaware her little baby had been kidnapped. She and Ming Xi were on their way to a small, scenic island rich in natural resources called Coral Island.

There was a reason Ming Xi and Feng Wu were heading there instead of returning to school for the rest of their break. The Moon empress had received a letter asking for help.

Coral Island was a private island owned by Mrs. Normandy, the Moon empress’s good friend. The two ladies had been best friends when they were younger, but because of their respective marriages – Mrs. Normandy married the owner of Coral Island and lived on the island while the Moon empress became the Moon empress and lived on the continent – contact between the two decreased to the point where they hadn’t seen each other in years.

Mrs. Normandy was a strong woman who maintained the island and raised her children as a single parent after her husband’s death. Her husband had died many years ago in an accident shortly after the children were born. Overall, life wasn’t bad.

But two days ago, bursts of black mist suddenly appeared in the sea surrounding the island. After contact with the mist, many of the island residents became bloodthirsty and cruel. A killing spree ensued. These people were eventually all killed by the experts Mrs. Normandy sent for and the matter was dealt with. But unfortunately, things were far from over. Black mist continued to rise out of the sea and eventually most of the islanders were infected. They became more and more inhumane and the originally calm and peaceful island became a living nightmare. The mist had an affect on every living thing it contacted, including plants and animals. Whatever became infected, lost all rational thought. Even the once ornamental plants became fierce and grew gigantic branches and leaves, snapping at everything that passed by.

Mrs. Normandy arranged a teleportation array for those still unaffected by the black mist, and together everyone left the island.

Fortunately, Mrs. Normandy was a competent manager. Over the years, she had purchased the two smaller islands near Coral Island. This gave the fisherman and other islanders a place to live in the meantime. Otherwise they would have had to borrow land from other people. Who knew how long that would have lasted with so many people displaced?

“That’s the way it is. I don’t know why the black mist is here or how it came about. Ming Xi, this whole incident is too strange. You should go back. How could you be sent here? You’re the next emperor, if something happened to you, even if I die, Auntie won’t be able to pay for her crime.” Mrs. Normandy said after explaining the matter to Ming Xi.

Mrs. Normandy sighed as she tried to persuade Ming Xi to not get involved in the matter.

Although, as the owner of Coral Island, she wanted to save the villagers and all the plants and animals from the black mist, she couldn’t let Ming Xi do it. His identity was too special. She couldn’t imagine the consequences if something were to happen to him.

“Aunt Normandy doesn’t have confidence in me?” Ming Xi smiled lightly. The smile was elegant and pure, as if a layer of golden light was shining on his face.

“You know Auntie doesn’t mean it that way. . . ” Normandy frowned and sighed. She knew Ming Xi wasn’t a child and wouldn’t be persuaded to leave so easily.

“I know that Aunt is worried about me, and I believe Aunt knows I am not someone who will play around. If it is truly beyond my abilities, I will immediately notify Father Emperor and have him send suitable people over.”

“Okay then, you’ve said so. What else can Auntie do? But you must remember what you said. If the situation is wrong, come back immediately.” Mrs. Normandy stepped back and agreed to let Ming Xi leave for Coral Island to investigate the black mist.

While Ming Xi and Mrs. Normandy were talking, Feng Wu was having lunch with Mrs. Normandy’s daughter, Ferri.

Lunch was a rich meal consisting of a rare mix of seafood. Feng Wu ate happily without a care for her image in front of her host.

Ferri had been raised in a strict manner by her mother so she was minutely aware of her image and the importance of maintaining it in front of others. Her movements, when eating, were precise and clean and could practically be measured with a rule. The number of times she had to chew her food was ingrained in her bones. The ladies she came into contact with were all noble ladies like her.

The aristocracy had a common problem. That was, they cared greatly about their image. Fearing other’s would think they weren’t noble enough, they went out of their way to show their elegance, grace, and extraordinary taste.

Ferri had only ever seen noble ladies as noble as her. They were all elegant and graceful, their movements like poetry expressed as a painting. A woman like Feng Wu, who ate and ate like no tomorrow, was needless to say, a shock to Ferri. Disdain bloomed in her heart.

Fortunately, Ferri was well-bred and knew better than to let it show. She would never do something rude or vulgar like taunt or curse the other party.

589, 590

589: The Siblings Ferri and Goffmen

Feng Wu ate very fast and in no time at all finished the delicacies on the table.

Ferri laid down her cutlery silently. She’d only eaten a few bites of the fish and was still hungry.

“I wonder if these foods are to Miss Feng Wu’s taste?” Ferri knew Feng Wu was Ming Xi’s future wife, so even though she looked down on her, she didn’t show any of it on her face or in the way she behaved.

“It’s delicious.” Feng Wu nodded her head seriously. After some thought she said, “The flavor is bit bland. Next time you should add some salt.”

If the grilled fish had more salt, it would have been even more delicious, thought Feng Wu regretfully.

Ferri. . .  was silent. What she expected was a comment along the lines of “The food was delicious, thank you for the hospitality,” but that was not what she got.

Ferri was overwhelmed. It was the first time in her life meeting someone who offered an opinion so seriously.

“Really? When next we have dinner, I must remind the chef to add more salt. My family has become accustomed to lighter dishes so the chef makes dishes that suit our tastes. It was my negligence. I apologize.”

Ferri sincerely apologized to Feng Wu. Had she been talking to anyone else, the other party would have politely answered back, but who was Feng Wu? This girl never understood the subtleties of social interactions so naturally she wouldn’t say anything polite.

“It’s OK, just pay more attention next time.” Feng Wu said.

Ferri was speechless. Was it possible to have a proper conversation? She pressed a hand to her forehead. She was a lady, a noble and elegant lady. She should not get angry.

When her brother Goffman showed up, she promptly tossed the responsibility of their guest to him and went back to her room under the pretext of feeling unwell and needing rest.

Goffman didn’t understand why his sister was behaving so strangely today.

As the future heir to Coral Island, Goffman had no problems entertaining Feng Wu. He took her around the island and quickly discovered Feng Wu was obsessed with food. Her eyes would sparkle whenever he casually pointed out a delicious item. It wasn’t hard to understand her thoughts.

Goffman was a thoughtful young man. He immediately took her to see the many different ingredients that could be made into food, then gave her a tour of all the local dishes. Feng Wu was pleased. She ate so much her stomach became quite plump.

Of course, she didn’t forget to pack a portion for Ming Xi. Goffman, looking at the pile of food, felt Ming Xi wouldn’t need to eat dinner or tomorrow’s breakfast with that amount of food.

After all that eating, Goffman said he was full. And as a responsible host, he took Feng Wu for a constitutional walk on the beach.

Goffman watched silently as Feng Wu caught crabs with a group of children. Looking at her sparkling eyes, he was willing to bet Feng Wu was thinking about all the different ways to eat the crabs.

“Boo. . . ” Someone suddenly appearing next to him surprised Goffman. Could you please make some noise when approaching people? Otherwise you’re going to scare them to death!

Although he complained in his heart, these people were here to help solve his problem, so he couldn’t roll his eyes at the other party.

“Tian Ya, where did you go just now? I didn’t see you when I took Miss Feng Wu around the island.” Goffman asked.

Tian Ya had accompanied Ming Xi to the island as well. He was Ming Xi’s personal guard; it was natural for him to want to be by Ming Xi’s side.

Tian Ya disappeared the moment he got on the island and didn’t even show up to have lunch with Feng Wu. Where had he gone so mysteriously?

“I didn’t go anywhere. I just walked around.” Tian Ya was tightlipped as usual. It was hard to tell what he was thinking with his cold eyes and emotionless demeanor.

Goffman felt the cold air rushing towards his face. Forget, just talk less to him.

“Why are you all catching crabs?” Ming Xi walked over from the other side during the lull in conversation between Tian Ya and Goffman.

Feng Wu glanced at him, then promptly threw herself wholeheartedly back into catching crabs.

“Accompanying Miss Feng Wu to play casually. Have you had lunch yet?” Goffman was familiar with Ming Xi as the two used to play together when they were little, but everyone grew up and pursued their own studies, so their interactions became less and less.

“I snacked a bit already.” After Ming Xi finished speaking, he looked over at Tian Ya again. “Tian Ya, I heard you didn’t go to lunch with Xiao Wu.”

“I was walking around.” Tian Ya said coldly.

Ming Xi didn’t ask the question to mean anything. He was just worried Tian Ya would be hungry. “Did you eat yet?”

“Yes.” Well, since he said so, Ming Xi believed him.

“I intend on leaving for Coral Island early tomorrow morning.” Ming Xi looked up at the sky.

“Okay, I’ll go with you. I am the future owner of the island so it should be expected.” Goffman volunteered himself up for the task. He would go no matter what. Coral Island was his birthright. Wouldn’t it be shameful if word spread that he hid?

“Yes, I had planned to ask you. We are not familiar with the terrain, and it would be difficult to navigate the island without an experienced guide to lead us.” Ming Xi smiled lightly.

“That I am. I grew up on the island you know. Who would be more familiar with it than me?”

It was the truth. Goffman knew many of the island’s hidden nooks and crannies. After all it was private property and there were places closed to the public, so even the islanders didn’t know about them.

590: Xiao Chun’s Warning

Early next morning, Ming Xi took Feng Wu and Tian Ya to eat breakfast, then they waited to go to Coral Island.

Goffman took a few skilled guards to go to the island with them.

Mrs. Normandy sent the extra people because she was worried about Ming Xi’s safety. She was being kind, so it was hard for Ming Xi to refuse.

Fortunately, Coral Island already had an established teleportation array with the island they were on. With thirty people in the group, they had to enter in batches. It took a few cycles to send everyone over.

“Is this Coral Island?” Ming Xi frowned as he looked at the plants covering the sky and blocking out the sun. A chilling roar sounded not too far away. The place could not be associated with the same beautiful Coral Island he knew.

“Yes. Whether plant or monster, everything on the island corroded by the black mist changes appearance. That includes any humans still here.” Goffman answered.

“What is the source of the mist? Do you have any clues? Have you sent anyone to look at the bottom of the sea?” Ming Xi asked.

The appearance of the black mist was so strange that Ming Xi suspected there was something at the bottom.

“Your Highness doesn’t know, but the madam already sent people down to look. The water by Coral Island is too polluted. Everyone sent was eroded by the mist in the water immediately, so much so, nothing was left of their bodies. The madam dared not send more people down in vain.

All of us know the root of the black mist was at the bottom of the sea, but there is nothing we can do. No one can survive submerged in the polluted water, let alone check the situation.”

The person speaking was a close friend of Mrs. Normandy. Mrs. Normandy had specifically sent him to the island along with the group because he was thoughtful and loyal and knew many things about the island. He would be able to stop Ming Xi and the others if they wanted to go anywhere too dangerous.

Mrs. Normandy did not want anything to happen to Ming Xi on the island so she thought of everything.

“Can’t go in the water?” Ming Xi didn’t expect the problem to be so serious that they couldn’t even go into the water to check. It would be troublesome. After thinking about it for a moment he asked, “Has this black mist appeared on the nearby islands?”

Goffman shook his head. “No.”

They had asked, but so far Coral Island was the only island with the black mist.

“Did anything strange happen before the black mist appeared?”

Goffman shook his head again. Things wouldn’t be so difficult now if they detected abnormalities earlier.

“Let’s go look around first. The black mist couldn’t have appeared without a reason. It must be because of something we don’t know about.”

Though there weren’t any clues, Ming Xi wasn’t disappointed. He asked Goffman to lead the way, intending to check around the island first.

Feng Wu obediently followed behind Ming Xi, but as she did so, Xiao Chun[notes] moved inside her dantian.

Leave here now, get out. It’s way too dangerous!

Xiao Chun’s childish voice suddenly sounded in her mind. It was rare to hear tension and anxiety in his voice.

Feng Wu asked what was wrong.

Xiao Chun replied telepathically with: There is something wrong with this place. I feel a strong aura surrounding this island. I don’t know where the aura is coming from, but I know it’s dangerous. You can’t handle it.

Feng Wu: You can’t deal with it either?

Xiao Chun: No, most of my purification abilities are determined by you. The previous things were easily purified because their master’s level was not as high. But the aura of this thing is too high. I can’t purify it. This place is beyond your strength, not until you reach Holy level at least!

Xiao Chun’s voice came urgent and fast, quite out of character for him.

Xiao Chun tried desperately to persuade Feng Wu to leave; whatever was here was beyond their abilities. Feng Wu was his master and she was still in her growth stage so he was limited. His purification powers weren’t at their peak yet.

“What’s wrong?” Ming Xi asked worriedly when he saw Feng Wu’s expression change slightly.

“There is danger here. We should leave quickly.” Feng Wu wholeheartedly believed Xiao Chun’s judgement. She didn’t hesitate to believe those she trusted and Xiao Chun had been a good friend and partner for a long time.

Feng Wu looked seriously at Ming Xi, hoping they could leave as soon as possible.

“No, I promised Mother Emperor I would help Aunt Normandy with the problem on Coral Island. I can’t leave yet. Are you afraid? Do you want me to have someone escort you back to Aunt Normandy?”

Feng Wu shook her head. She wouldn’t leave if Ming Xi wasn’t leaving too. She wanted to stay with Ming Xi!

“Why don’t I send someone to take Miss Feng Wu back to my mother first? The environment here is really not appropriate for young ladies.” Goffman said.

When Ming Xi said he would bring Feng Wu with them, Goffman had disagreed. He heard Ming Xi say during the introductions that Feng Wu was a second-year at Xingguang Holy academy. Her strength couldn’t be very strong and the island was so dangerous. Bringing a girl like that would only get in everyone’s way!

He enthusiastically stepped forward and suggested escorting her back.

Feng Wu shook her head. “No, I will follow Ming Xi.”

Ming Xi patted her little head and didn’t say anything else more about the matter.

On his end, Goffman was really disappointed; just when he thought they could get rid of Feng Wu. . .  The mutated creatures on the island were sensitive to sound and he was afraid Feng Wu would shriek when something unexpected happened. Women were without a doubt the loudest creatures when surprised.

He wasn’t worried about the men he brought along doing anything to arouse the hostility of the mutated creatures on the island. Everyone was briefed on the characteristics of the mutated creatures and plants, so they knew what to be careful of.

The only concern Goffman had was Feng Wu. She didn’t seem like the talkative type, but just because she didn’t talk didn’t mean she wouldn’t scream. She could compromise the entire team's safety.

591, 592

591: Zi Cheng and Ai Lin Arrive

Feng Wu didn’t what know what Goffman was thinking. If she did, she would have had to seriously prove she was not a little girl who cried and screamed. Master said she was brave and brave people did not cry.

While Ming Xi and everyone else were exploring, a beautiful woman in purple stood at the bow of a boat looking toward the island. Her brows increasingly wrinkled as she watched black mist rise.

“Are you sure your arm is under that island?” Zi Cheng stood alone on the boat. Anyone who looked at her would think she was talking to herself.

The crew on board were used to the strange behavior of their beautiful employer. She would, from time to time, murmur strange words they didn’t understand, which would cause them to stop for a second to glance at her before going back to their work.

There was one boy who was different from everyone else. His eyes, which showed a glimmer of obsession, drifted to Zi Cheng often.

“Hey, what are you looking at? That lady is a magician. You had better put away any petty thoughts you have. Offending a magician is no joke.” An old crewman warned when he saw the look in the boy’s eyes. He could tell the boy was fascinated by the beautiful, noble magician that hired them.

“I have no foul intentions toward her. I just want to be Miss Zi Cheng’s follower.” The boy was in his early twenties. He was still very young but his lack of talent meant he could only be a crew member.

He had fallen in love instantly when he saw Zi Cheng for the first time three days ago. As long as he could stay by her side, if he could be her follower for the rest of his life, he would live happy without regrets.

“Hehe. . . ” The old crewman sneered. Another child who couldn’t see reality. “Be Miss Zi Cheng’s follower? Is your strength good? Is your talent high? You have nothing to give. Why would you want to be a follower of a great magician?”

The beautiful dream in the young man’s heart was ruthlessly extinguished by the old crewman. Yes, it was true. It wasn’t easy to be accepted as a magician’s follower. He was just an ordinary man with nothing. Why did he think that as long as he asked her, she would accept? Where did his confidence come from?

The young man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, clarity showed through. “Thank you, I almost overstepped.”

The old crewman patted him on the shoulder and smiled a yellow, toothy smile. “It’s good that you figured it out.” He went back to work in the back cabin and ignored the young man after that.

Zi Cheng didn’t know there was a young man who was suppressing his admiration for her nearby. She was focused on discussing important matters with a demon.

The demon was an unknown creature she woke up when she was doing one of her tasks. Later on, the demon told her how he was being suppressed in the void inside the virtual world.

Zi Cheng was sympathetic to him. It turned out he was a supreme being in the demon world who was robbed of his position by a fallen demon god and forced to flee to the human world where he was beaten and killed by humans in the human world who said he was an invader. He didn’t even have a body anymore. His soul, the only part of him that survived, was sealed away in the virtual world.

After hearing his story, Zi Cheng promised to help him rebuild his physical body and let him return to the Demon realm.

She negotiated with her system for a container that could hold a soul. She explained the item to the demon ancestor and had him go inside. That was how she brought him out to the real world. The Demon Ancestor never expected a little girl, who didn’t even look that powerful, was able to bring him outside so easily.

He was probably another cheat the world consciousness gave to the heroine.

In the latter part of the story, the heroine became a goddess-like a figure admired by everyone on the continent, mostly because of the Demon Ancestor’s efforts.

If she hadn’t believed in the demon ancestor and released him into the world, he would never have been able to slaughter so many people in an effort to take over the human realm.

It was a pity that in the original story people didn’t know Zi Cheng was the cause of all the deaths and ended up idolizing and worshipping her as their savior.

This part of the story hadn’t happened yet though. As of right now, the Demon Ancestor had was in the real world but Zi Cheng was still in the process of rebuilding his body.

“I can feel it. One of my arms is under that island. I must have my arm back.” The voice was charmed with a trace of magic. One could just imagine the Demon Ancestor would be good looking.

There were many naturally ugly monsters in the demon clan, just as there were many naturally handsome and beautiful monsters.

As the first demon born in the world, the ancestor was naturally the latter. He would never have been able to rouse the heroine’s sympathy and have her promise to rebuild his body so he could return to the Demon realm if he was ugly.

“I understand. But how do we get it back? That small island is sealed off and outsiders can’t get in.”

“This king will go in person and get it back. This king’s arm. . . ”

On another boat, Ai Lin, our female villain, was also just arriving. She wasn’t there to keep the Demon Ancestor from getting his arm. With her abilities, she was perfectly aware she was not his opponent. It was guaranteed death.

She was there for Feng Wu’s brother, Juntian.

He had saved her from bleeding to death in the isolated mountain she landed on after she escaped from Blue Moon. He had been on a mission in the area when he found her.

Ai Lin recovered because of his treatments, so every time she saw him, she would feel guilty. She hadn’t tried to take Feng Wu with her when she escaped, which was tantamount to letting Feng Wu die.

Ironically, Ai Lin was rescued by Feng Wu’s brother. She couldn’t help but feel guilty every time she thought about it. She didn’t try to save his sister, but he had saved her. It was a debt she didn’t know how to resolve.

She didn’t dare tell Juntian about it. She couldn’t explain why she was able to escape but Feng Wu didn’t.

She couldn’t really face him anymore, and a few days ago she had decided to leave and go back to school, but as she was about to say goodbye, Juntian received an urgent mission from Star Marshall hall. They needed him to go to Coral Island and investigate the abnormality there.

Ai Lin couldn’t walk away after hearing about the mutations on Coral Island. She knew it was happening because the arm under the island detected its master was free, so it was sending out signals to let its master know where it was.

592: Are You a Necromancer?

Juntian going to Coral Island, odds were high he would encounter the Demon Ancestor. If the two met, odds were also high he wouldn’t make it out alive.

Even if he was lucky and didn’t meet him, the Demon Ancestor’s arm was no gentle docile puppy. It was comparable to a zombie virus in all those apocalyptic stories in the modern day. The miasma it released mutated every living thing.

Ai Lin couldn’t let him go to Coral Island alone.

Ai Lin stood at the bow of the ship and sighed as she looked at the small island surrounded by black mist. Normally she would avoid these situations, but this time she chose to voluntarily wade into the muddy waters. She didn’t know if it was right or not. She could only hope the gods would let her live through it.

Meanwhile, Ming Xi and his group were sailing around the periphery of the island and killing monsters that were once human. Despite killing so many monsters, they still couldn’t find any clues.

Feng Wu followed Ming Xi the entire time and performed as expected throughout the ordeal. She never screamed or cried when fighting the monsters, nor did she ask for help even once. Her hits were all quick and accurate and was no worse than the experienced fighters Goffman brought.

Goffman suggested they go back first to discuss their next move, but Ming Xi felt it was too early to leave; they could spend more time looking around.

In the end, everyone agreed with Ming Xi’s opinion. They decided to make a few more circles around the island, but this time they would investigate the more suspicious and hidden places.

Goffman suggested they go to the edge of the cliff by the sea where a hidden cave nestled on the side. People rarely went there. Perhaps the source of the black mist was related to the cave.

Ming Xi was unfamiliar with the layout of the island, so of course it was impossible for him to know where the hidden places were. The job of leading the way fell to Goffman.

Goffman led everyone to the edge of the cliff where the cave lay. They found nothing after searching around inside.

It didn’t look like the problem was coming from the cave so Goffman started to lead everyone to the next location.

After only ten minutes of walking, Feng Wu suddenly stopped. Two spirits emanating evil aura and aggression appeared wandering in front of her. They had their teeth and claws bared and their bloodshot eyes were devoid of any sanity. They were clearly vicious spirits intent on hurting people, but because there were no necromancers in the group, Ming Xi and the others didn’t notice their presence.

Feng Wu was the only one who could see. Many other mindless souls also hovered nearby wandering around the island aimlessly.

The evil aura from the two bodies in front of her was particularly heavy, much heavier than any on the other spirits.

Feng Wu thought for only a moment before coming to a decision. She pulled out Xiao Chun and raised him high above her head. His dazzling white light spread out and dissipated some of the black mist nearby. The undead seemed to have a natural fear of it and stayed away.

“What’s the matter? Did something happen?” Goffman immediately drew his sword when he saw Feng Wu had drawn hers.

The group went on alert but they failed to find anything suspicious.

“Miss Feng Wu, please do not fool around.” Goffman said angrily as he put his sword away. He waved his hand to let the others know they could sheath their weapons.

“I’m not fooling around.” Feng Wu tilted her head in confusion. She was obviously being serious; why did this person tell her to stop fooling around? She pursed her lips unhappily.

“Xiao Wu, is there something unusual in front of you?” Ming Xi knew Feng Wu very well. And he knew it was impossible for her to joke or fool around. Or more accurately, in all the time he had known her, he had never seen her make a joke.

Feng Wu nodded. “There are many undead ahead. They have turned into evil spirits and want to attack us.”

“Miss Feng Wu, you are a necromancer!” Mrs. Normandy’s chief guard and confident said respectfully.

The other fighters looked at Feng Wu differently upon hearing this. They had thought Feng Wu was a fighter like them! They never expected her to be a double cultivator, both a magician and a sword master. What a genius!

“No.” Feng Wu said.

“You are too humble.” The others obviously didn’t believe her. She could see the undead. Who would she be other than a necromancer? Other than people who used potions, the only people who could see the undead were necromancers.

They had been together for awhile and none of them had seen her use a potion, so the obvious conclusion was that she was a necromancer.

Feng Wu: I’m being humble?

“Miss Feng Wu, those things won’t attack us, will they?” One of the soldiers was obviously afraid of spirits and now his face turned pale in fright.

“They will.” In fact, they were already coming their way.

Upon hearing this, the soldier who asked felt bad all over. He hid in the crowd and refused to show his face.

“Xiao Wu, do you want to purify them?” Ming Xi thought about how Feng Wu pulled out Xiao Chun. He knew how strong Xiao Chun’s purification power was. He had borrowed Xiao Chun and witnessed first hand how powerful the sword was at purification. It was thanks to Xiao Chun that he was able to resolve the situation in Blood Moon forest so smoothly before.

“Yes.” Feng Wu nodded. Xiao Chun would also benefit from purifying the undead.

“Miss Feng Wu, it turns out you can purify the undead. Please do so quickly. If these things attack us, we will be in big trouble.” The soldier who was afraid of ghosts jumped out and spoke up to remind people of his existence.

“I was about to start.”

After speaking, Feng Wu raised Xiao Chun and used the purification power within. She swung her sword down towards the undead and the undead immediately let out sharp mournful screams.

The group couldn’t see the undead, but they could hear the screams. It grated uncomfortably against their ears and left a chill running down their backs. Their bodies felt sick all over. Some even used their hands to cover their ears. The sound was too unpleasant and hard to bear!

593, 594

593: The Thieving Dead Father and Son

It was such a strange sound – they couldn’t block out the noise no matter how hard they covered their ears – it was as if the spirits were screaming from a pain imprinted on their very souls. It was scary even to those just listening.

The screams eventually subsided, then disappeared altogether. The undead regained their senses and looked toward Ming Xi’s group blankly at a loss.

One of them wanted to go up and ask, but when he stepped forward, it dawned o n him that he was dead. The spirits behind him realized the same thing. The unpleasant realization turned their faces black.

Despite this, they thanked Feng Wu politely for purifying their souls before disappearing into the sky one by one on their way to being reincarnated. Feng Wu wasn’t a necromancer but she gained a lot of benefits from helping them.

The two undead with the most evil aura remained. They were hesitant to speak up, but it was clear they wanted to say something.

Feng stared at them with a puzzled expression. It was clear they wanted to speak, but they were hesitating.

Upon seeing Feng Wu’s expression, Ming Xi asked her if something happened.

Feng Wu didn’t hide anything and told him about the two undead who were behaving abnormally.

Ming Xi guessed the men probably knew something so he asked Feng Wu to ask them.

Feng Wu obediently asked them why they didn’t want to leave.

The two men gritted their teeth, a little embarrassed to speak, but eventually they pulled up the courage and explained the situation.

The two men, one in his fifties, the other in his early twenties, said they were a father and son team who fished on the island. They were digging on the island one day, when they discovered a cave that didn’t seem to lead out.

They knew they should have reported it to the authorities, but they were a little greedy and wanted to see if there were any valuables hidden inside first.

They weren’t going to hide the existence of the cave; they just wanted to get what they could first before reporting it.

The two didn’t know their greed would harm everyone on the island.

They walked inside for a long time before they finally reached the end of the narrow passage. By that point they were underground, below the island. There, they found an ornate box two meters long inlaid with many gems.

The two were just ordinary fishermen; the sight of so many precious stones left them dumbfounded.

A white seal imbued with red magic spells laid in the center of the box.

If they hadn’t been greedy and reported the discovery directly, Mrs. Normandy would have known it was a high-level seal scroll, the kind generally used to seal terrifying monsters.

But the father and son didn’t have that kind of knowledge. They were blinded by how valuable the box was. Since the exterior was so amazing, then whatever was inside had to be valuable. It only took them three seconds to decide to remove the seal and open the box.

Now, to use the seal to imprison whatever monster inside had taken a great deal of effort, but removing the seal was not so. The two men easily removed the seal covering the box.

They excitedly opened it to see what was inside only to be greeted by black mist. That was the last thing they remembered.

The two got themselves killed before even seeing what was hidden behind the mist. By the time they regained consciousness, they were already part of the undead. They regained their sanity after Feng Wu purified their spirit.

It was a shocking story.

“What?! It turns out those two ruined the entire island!” The men were so angry they wanted to kill the father and son again with their own hands. It was all because the two men were greedy that so many people died and the island became a living nightmare. They had brought disaster to everyone and everything on the island. No one was sad they two men were dead. In fact, if they hadn’t died, they would have been captured and killed in front of everyone to avenge all those who had perished.

The two men desperately apologized, but unfortunately no one other than Feng Wu could hear them or see them.

“Both of them be damned!” Goffman wished he could cut them to pieces, but unfortunately, they were already dead and who knew if their bodies were still whole after being exposed to the black mist.

“Have them take us to the entrance.” Ming Xi was more rational than the other men. He didn’t waste time cursing them but instead focused on finding the entrance and resolving the issue as soon as possible.

They didn’t know what it was that had been sealed away that could make the entire island turn like this. Whatever it was, it was not simple.

The father and son weren’t villains in the truest sense of the word. Their greed had blinded them but they never intended to harm anyone. Once they found out so much blood was on their hands, they desperately tried to think of ways to make up for their mistake. With such a strong regret in their hearts, even after Feng Wu purified them, it was still impossible for them to reincarnate.

Upon hearing Ming Xi’s request, the two men didn’t even have to think about it. They agreed immediately. They led the group to the entrance then proceeded to lead them to the box.

The father and son were in the front, followed by Feng Wu and Ming Xi. Ming Xi was afraid Feng Wu would be in danger so he held her hand.

Tian Ya followed them. He was responsible for protecting Ming Xi so he couldn’t be too far away.

It was a narrow passage and only one person could fit through at a time. Ming Xi and the others had to slide through sideways one by one.

The island was filled with black mist, but oddly enough, the passageway was completely clear and the air was clean. This was probably why when Mrs. Normandy sent people to search the island, they failed to find the source.

It was natural to think wherever the source was, it would be the place with the densest amount of black mist. Who would have thought the source was actually the cleanest, clearest place.

The group walked for a long time before reaching the end. There really was a box inlaid with precious gems. And the lid was open slightly.

They could see a steady stream of black mist seeping out from the small gap. But the mist didn’t rise upwards, instead it sunk down into the ground and disappeared. This made everyone frown.

“What should we do now? How about we seal it again?!” No one suggested opening the box all the way. It was already scary enough being partially open.

In reality it was useless to close it back up again. The seal was broken so whatever was inside could come out whenever it wanted to, so it made no difference whether they physically closed the box up again or not.

“I will put a new seal to bind it.” Ming Xi said.

As he spoke, he bit his finger and dripped a drop of blood down. Then he formed a complicated hand sign. Ming Xi inherited the power of the Moon emperor’s seal barrier. In terms of sealing methods, no on could compare to those of the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom.

Except for Ming Xi, everyone took a couple of steps back. They waited silently for him to complete the seal.

Tian Ya and Feng Wu stood to the back in order not to disturb Ming Xi’s work.

Who knew what was inside the box, but there was no movement at all. Shouldn’t whatever was inside try to get out and stop the seal process?

They couldn’t understand it. They could never have guessed what was inside was arm. No matter how powerful it was, it wasn’t sentient.

While everyone anxiously waited for the seal to complete, a mysterious man shrouded in black mist suddenly appeared from the ground. He was completely covered in black mist to the point even his eyes weren’t exposed. They could barely even see his figure.

Ming Xi and the others felt he was a formidable enemy. The aura coming off him was so powerful it felt like their innards were being crushed. Those who were able to remain standing lost all the color in their face and blood trickled from the corners of their mouths. It was clear they had internal organ damage.

Feng Wu and Tian Ya were both able to remain up. The corner of Tian Ya’s mouth had a trickle of blood but Feng Wu looked completely fine. This was of course thanks to her having a divine weapon in her body. Xiao Chun had automatically protected his master, so of all the people there, Feng Wu was the most relaxed.

Even Ming Xi, who possessed divine blood couldn’t keep the color in his face.

He and the others believed the mysterious man would attack them. They never expected him to take the box with a wave of his hand then leave, disappearing through the ground.

“What?... What was that? Who was that?” Goffman blinked in disbelief. He for sure thought he would die. What good luck, he managed to survive!

“I don’t know. Let’s talk about it after we get out of here.” Ming Xi said.

No one argued with that idea and the group immediately left the cave along the same route they used to enter it.

Once they emerged, they realized the father and son fishermen had disappeared. No one cared though as it had nothing to do with them whether those two reincarnated or not.

Goffman thought he was showing a lot of self-restraint by not getting a necromancer to destroy them.

With the source of the black mist gone, Feng Wu was able to use Xiao Chun to clear out the entire island. The mutated monsters and plants that were eroded by the mist regained their original appearances, however, the people who were mutated, though recovered, were unable to survive. Their human bodies were too weak and their vitality wasn’t as strong as the plants and animals. They were dead the moment the black mist surrounded their bodies.

594: Leaving for Sin City

Under Feng Wu’s purification, Coral Island returned to its original appearance.

Meanwhile on Zi Cheng’s boat, the black shadow returned without anyone noticing.

“Did you get it?” Zi Cheng asked in surprise.

“Of course.” The Demon Ancestor was in a very good mood.

“It seems like this trip went very well.” Zi Cheng smiled softly. She never doubted the Demon Ancestor’s strength even though he only had a third of his original strength with his body gone.

“I met two very interesting people on this trip. One seems to be a descendant of the four great emperors while the other is also very special. . . ”

Ai Lin and Juntian were about to find a way to land on Coral Island through the teleportation array when a series of changes took place before their eyes.

The black mist that originally shrouded the island disappeared and the mutated plants also reverted back to their original appearances.

The black sea water around the island faded away and returned to blue again. They were able to dock normally.

Once Juntian got on Coral Island he saw his sister, Feng Wu.

The two siblings hadn’t seen each other in a while so they naturally sat together and chatted.

Ai Lin was shocked to see Feng Wu alive and well. She never thought Feng Wu could have escaped Blue Moon alive.

The Duke of Blue Moon was the second biggest boss in the book, second only to the Demon Ancestor. This boss was not easy to deal with. On top of that, Blue Moon was its own realm, so to escape was amazing. Really, the only way to escape was to be blessed by the world like the heroine.

If Ai Lin hadn’t hitchhiked along with Zi Cheng, she would never have been able to escape herself.

Feng Wu didn’t have the heroine aura for protection nor did she get a free ride, so how did she escape? Puzzled, Ai Lin made up her mind to ask Feng Wu about it later. What happened after she and Zi Cheng left?

As for the matter with Coral Island, though no one knew what was inside the missing box, it was essentially considered resolved.

Even if they did want to pursue the box, none of them knew who the mysterious man was or where to find him, but most importantly, none of them had the confidence they could take the box back anyway.

Mrs. Normandy didn’t think too much about it; she was satisfied that Coral Island was back to its normal state.

With the island issue resolved, Feng Wu and Ming Xi decided to return to the academy. This time there would also be Ai Lin with them.

Ai Lin had the same idea about returning to school; in fact she had wanted to do so a long time ago. She hadn’t gone back earlier because of her injuries, then after that, she was worried about Juntian possibly dying on Coral Island. She didn’t return to school and instead had come to the island.

Mrs. Normandy and her son entertained their guests well. Juntian felt too embarrassed to accept the hospitality because he didn’t think he helped much, but when he thought about how his sister was here and how he didn’t want to leave her company so soon, he decided to be cheeky and stay after all. He didn’t forget to send a letter to Star Marshall hall reporting everything that happened on Coral Island.

How the higher ups would react, he did not care. He just wanted to spend the next few days with his sister.

Feng Wu, was of course, very pleased to see her brother.

The next two days saw the two siblings playing everyday by the beach catching fish and crabs. Feng Wu wrought disaster to all kinds of fish on the island. She enjoyed everything very much, but she didn’t forget to pack some of the island’s specialty back home.

Juntian couldn’t stay too long. He was one of the generals and had a lot of responsibilities, so after three days, he had to say farewell to his sister and return to Star Marshall hall.

Feng Wu, Ming Xi and Ai Lin set off the same day. They chose to return to Zhongyang by boat in order to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Feng Wu was still unaware her precious son had been missing for several days and that the entire school was going crazy trying to find him. She lived a leisurely life on the boat and ate good seafood every day.

Ai Lin found an opportunity to talk to Feng Wu alone and ask about what happened on Blue Moon.

Once Feng Wu narrated everything, Ai Lin understood. She was a little envious. Speaking of the girls, Feng Wu and Zi Cheng were time traveling girls like her. Zi Cheng had an endless stream of hotties hanging onto her, not to mention the most excellent male protagonist who strove to take care of her every whim.

Feng Wu wasn’t the heroine but she caught the attention of the future Moon emperor. She did even better than Zi Cheng, who was the heroine of the story.

Then there was the reborn Zo. Ai Lin heard he had a crush, a girl he liked from his previous life.

It seemed like everyone had someone. She was the only single dog! It was heartbreaking!

Ai Lin took out a compact mirror and looked at her reflection from several angles. It was really impossible. She was clearly good looking! Why were there no hotties hanging around her?! It made no sense!

As a single dog, Ai Lin felt she’d been stabbed ten thousand times.

Once they got back to the academy, Ai Lin was about to go out and comfort her heart with some delicious food when she heard the news about Feng Wu’s son. Someone actually dared kidnap the kid!

No one knew who did it even after so many days.

Feng Wu was extremely anxious when she found out. She immediately wanted to go and look for him, but after reading the note Little Bun left behind, she decided not to do anything.

She sat down calmly and went back to eating and drinking like normal.

Her reaction was too abnormal! Was she having a mental breakdown? Jier and the others were worried she was overstimulated.

“Xiao Wu, are you OK?” Ink looked carefully at Feng Wu as she bit a chicken leg.

“Xiao Wu, don’t worry too much. Xiao Ye will definitely come back safely.” Xi quickly reassured.

“Yeah, Xiao Wu, you have to trust everyone. With all of us helping, Xiao Ye will definitely come back.” Annika said with a face that said trust me.

Jasmine was annoyed and her heart was conflicted when she saw how everyone was fumbling. She looked at Feng Wu but refrained from saying anything unpleasant. She sat and drank her tea quietly.

“I believe Xiao Ye will come back. Didn’t he write a letter?” Feng Wu said with a straight face after swallowing her bite of chicken.

No way, did she really believe what the little guy wrote? He wasn’t even two!

Such a little kid, are you sure you should believe his words so readily? Everyone was silent. . . 

Hahaha. . .  Suddenly, they didn’t now what to do. It was a conundrum. Should they persuade her not to believe the letter or should they persuade her everything would be all right? Both choices left them conflicted. Her reaction was too hard to handle!

In the days following that, many senior brothers and sisters familiar with Little Bun came to comfort her. They promised they would find Xiao Ye.

They wouldn’t give up until they found him. He was the school’s mascot! Whoever kidnapped him clearly didn’t want to live anymore!

Wait, what was a mascot?

On the third day, Feng Wu came back, she received a sealed letter. There was no sender address, but her name was clearly written on the envelope. When the old man at the door handed her the letter, Feng Wu had no idea who could have sent it.

The letter answered everything.

The letter, written by the kidnapper, said that if Feng Wu wanted Feng Ye back then she had to go to Sin city alone. If she brought anyone else, then Feng Ye would be killed immediately.

Feng Wu thought for a few seconds before deciding to go to Sin city alone and picking up Little Bun. Children shouldn’t play for too long outside.

Master said good children should return home after playing.

What was Sin city? It was paradise for villains and criminals. There were no laws or restrictions and the only rule was respect for the strong.

While other major cities restricted the use of magic and martial arts and made murder a crime, Sin city had no such restrictions. If someone wanted to kill another person in Sin city, no one would stop it. As long as you were strong enough to do it, you could kill whoever you wanted.

Crimes happened every day; things like theft and abduction were trivial matters. Sin city had its own set of rules and it always revolved around strength. Outsiders going in would be eaten alive if they didn’t know how to fend for themselves.

Sin city took in criminals from other cities who committed serious crimes but for whatever reason could not be killed. Such criminals were not allowed to leave the city. Like everyone else, whether they survived or not, depended on their abilities.

Because Sin city amplified the darkest part of human nature, even little children learned how to get by. Don’t be fooled by their youth; some were as ruthless as adults.

In short, Sin city was an extremely dangerous place. For those too weak, the danger was tremendous.

This was the city Feng Wu would go to alone. Before leaving for Sin city, Feng Wu called back the irresponsible Lydia and Rui Baby.[notes]

The two contracts were living a life of leisure, wandering around all day and playing around all night, never having to answer to their master.

After getting her contracts back, Feng Wu left a note saying she was leaving to go and pick up Little Bun. . .  and that was it.

After leaving campus, Rui Baby suggested Feng Wu go to the Adventurer’s guild to learn more about Sin city.

A delicate girl asking about such a nasty city caused many of the adventurers there to stare at her. Some even tried to persuade Feng Wu to think twice about it. Once a cute girl like her entered, with all the scum in the city, she’d be eaten alive.

595, 596

595: On the Road

Feng Wu sincerely thanked them for their concern, but she needed to pick up Little Bun so she was still going to Sin city.

How could there be a teleportation array in a city filled with criminals? Anyone exiting the array would instantly be cheated and killed by the vicious men guarding it.

Feng Wu would have to teleport to the nearest big city to Sin city that had an array, then use a flying beast carriage from there to get to the closest small city to Sin City, then finally travel by land to Sin city itself.

People from all walks of life were on the beast car. Feng Wu had money so she purchased a private room but she didn’t sleep.

She was well-dressed and traveling alone so she was a natural target. She easily dealt with those who tried to take advantage of her. After that, no one displayed any of the arrogance they showed when they first got on board.

Lydia and Rui Baby weren’t worried about Little Bun at all after learning about the abduction. Baby Rui already guessed Little Bun was the reincarnation of the elf king so he knew no one would be able to kill him. Lydia didn’t know Little Bun’s previous identity but she could tell Little Bun wasn’t an ordinary child. Staying by his side helped her cultivation a lot. Lydia expressed condemnation and anger at the ones who kidnapped her master’s child.

One spirit and one beast talked for a long time before finally agreeing that the kidnappers were people who hated Feng Wu.

Yifu certainly wanted to kill Feng Wu, but she didn’t have the strength or the power. Jasmine also hated Feng Wu, but she wasn’t the kind of woman to attack children. Neither of them had any connections to Sin city.

Rui Baby and Lydia were away for a long time, so they didn't interact with Hua Jin, but they knew who she was.

To be able to kidnap Little Bun, send him out of the city in secret, and deliver him to a place like Sin city, no matter how you looked at it, among Feng Wu’s enemies, the only one who had the resources was Hua Jin. But she was rich and powerful and bent on being the next Moon empress. It was impossible for her to provoke the people of Sin city. If her connections with the city became public, it would be impossible for her to be the next Moon empress. She was the best suspect, but because of this, they couldn’t be sure she was the kidnapper.

Even though they didn’t know for certain, they decided to focus on the most suspicious candidate first.

“So, it’s Hua Jin. It has to be her.” Lydia grabbed Feng Wu’s arm excitedly.

“She is the most suspicious.” Rui Baby agreed.

“Why did she kidnap Xiao Ye?” Feng Wu was confused.

“It’s to see you of course! She wants to lure you out!” This was the explanation Rui Baby came up with.

“We see each other often. Why does she want to see me this way?” Feng Wu was even more puzzled.

What a strange person. They obviously met every day. Why did this person need to use Xiao Ye to lure her out? Feng Wu really did not understand.

“She wants to lure you out to kill you. You meet every day at school, but she can’t kill you in front of so many people. If she doesn’t lure you out, how can she kill you?!” Rui Baby rolled his eyes, disappointed Feng Wu failed to live up to expectations. It had been a while since they saw each other. Why was this girl not making any progress at all?

“Kill me?” Feng Wu thought about that for a while. She didn’t seem to have offended Hua Jin though.

Rui Baby rolled his eyes again. This was too unbearable! He explained how Hua Jin liked Ming Xi and how she wanted to be the next Moon empress. Finally, Feng Wu understood.

“She wants to kill me because Ming Xi doesn’t like her!” Feng Wu pursed her lips.

“That should be about right.” Rui Baby and Lydia both nodded their heads at the same time.

The three didn’t stop discussing Hua Jin until they landed at their terminal.

After getting off the flying beast car, Feng Wu bought a horse and used a map to navigate to Sin city.

Feng Wu didn’t know that when she set off for Sin city, Ming Xi and the others were looking everywhere for her after finding her note. They learned from the gatekeeper that she left in a hurry after receiving a letter.

None of them could figure out where she went, so they defaulted to investigating around the city.

Fortunately Jier was lucky and ran into Wind and Rain.[notes] After the siblings heard about Feng Wu’s disappearance, they started asking around and found out Feng Wu had been looking for information on Sin city.

What the hell? Sin city?! Was that a place a good girl should go?

Ming Xi and the others were very anxious. Ming Xi took Tian Ya and immediately chased her. Jier and Ink left after asking for a leave of absence.

Xi and the others wanted to help too, but Ming Xi politely refused.

Sin city was a very bad place and it would be inconvenient to bring the girls with them. It was likely they would have conflicts with the city residents before they could find Feng Wu which meant they would have to be careful and protect the girls.

It would only hinder the rescue.

Xi and the others reluctantly agreed to stay behind and wait for news once they realized they could delay things.

Although Ming Xi and Jier were chasing as fast as they could, they were still a step behind Feng Wu and didn’t get to fly on the same beast car.

596: Sin City

Feng Wu didn’t know people were desperately trying to catch up to her. At the moment, she was riding a horse towards the city with map in hand.

After ten days on the road, she finally saw the outline of the city from a distance against the sky. Two words were written on top of the gate: Sin City.

“Sin city...” Finally.

Feng Wu nodded and aimed for the gate. There was no gatekeeper, only a sign.

Enter at your own risk, it said.

As soon as she entered the city, a child ran up to her trying to sell guide services. He was about five or six and was dressed in rags. His mouth was as sweet as honey as he called her sister this and sister that.

“Sister, sister, do you need a guide? I grew up here; no matter where you want to go, I can guide you!” The innocent smile on his face was very winsome but contrasted sharply with the distressing poverty.

Feng Wu glanced at the child. “No need.” She promptly jumped over and kept moving.

“Sister, don’t go! We can negotiate the price!” The child chased after Feng Wu, following behind her step by step, his small mouth never relenting for a second.

When Feng wu suddenly stopped, the boy ran forward and fell to the ground. He immediately burst into tears and cried like his heart was breaking.

Other pedestrians on the road didn’t react to the crying child at all and continued on about their business as if nothing happened.

Suddenly, a couple in ordinary clothes appeared and picked the child up. They wailed like the world was ending.

“Oh my god! How could you bully my child? Is it easy for our family of three to make a living in this city?! Even if you didn’t want to hire my baby to guide you, you didn’t have to beat him so severely!” The woman pointed accusingly at Feng Wu while scolding her.

The man wasn’t idle either. As soon as the woman finished speaking, he jumped in with, “You hurt my child like this; don’t even think about leaving without compensating my family!”

What were they talking about? Feng Wu didn’t understand.

The family of three hugged each other and cried miserably while Feng Wu stood watching silently.

The family wasn't sure, but after thinking about it, they felt there was something wrong with her brain. Was she crazy or something? Why wasn’t she reacting?

Feng Wu watched the drama for a full twenty minutes before feeling that she’d seen enough and turned around to walk away.

The family of three, upon seeing this, immediately stopped howling. The husband and wife flanked Feng Wu.

“You hit my son and you want to leave just like that?! Let me tell you, no way is that happening! If you don’t compensate us today, don’t even think about going anywhere!” The man pulled out a knife and his face turned ugly. It didn’t look like he would let her leave unscathed unless she paid.

“That’s right, don’t even think about leaving without paying!” The woman also pulled out a weapon and her face was just as vicious as her husband’s.

“I didn’t hit your child. He fell by himself.” Feng Wu said seriously.

She hadn’t touched the child. Just now, she avoided him just as he was about to hit her, so in fact, she had nothing to do with him falling down. Feng Wu wasn’t about to take blame for something that wasn’t her fault.

“Just because you say so, you think we’ll believe you?! Prove it with witnesses!” The couple’s faces were shifty when they said this.

Pedestrians passing by didn’t even bother to stop to watch the farce play out. They didn’t even give the group a glance.

Feng Wu felt a lot of malice from the couple, and she didn’t like that.

As the couple were thinking of extorting money from her, she made her move. No one saw how she did it, but the couple lost their weapons and were moaning in pain on the ground.

“It’s wrong to scam people with fake injuries. Don’t do this kind of thing again.” Feng Wu left without looking back.

Of course, the concept of an injury scam was something Ai Lin taught her. She had given her many short examples of the scam, so Feng Wu understood what the couple was doing within seconds.

She didn’t say anything early on out of curiosity. She’d never witnessed a live-action injury scam before so she wanted to watch.

After Feng Wu showed her abilities, other than those who were confident in their strength and personal means, no one dared attack her.

According to the letter, Feng Wu was supposed to stay at a hotel called Rose Night. Feng Wu easily found it since there were only two hotels in the city. There were a lot of people in the lobby sitting and drinking together. They didn’t take a second look at Feng Wu coming in.

Feng Wu didn’t care what they were doing either. She registered, got herself a room, then went up and stayed there, waiting for the people who had Little Bun to come to her.

“Xiao Wu, something is wrong with this place. I feel something might happen tonight.” Rui Baby said from Feng Wu’s skirt.

“I feel the same.” Lydia agreed.

Feng Wu didn’t have any special feelings about the place but since both Rui Baby and Lydia said so, then it had to be true.

Feng Wu decided to take advantage of the daylight and sleep well. She would wait until after dark to see what the kidnappers wanted.

“Boss, this is the room.”

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and do it.” A fat man said.

The little brother next to him immediately responded by pulling out a blowpipe and blowing something into Feng Wu’s room through the crack under the door.

“It’s done, boss,” said the younger brother with a triumphant face.

“Good. After I’m done, you can go in and play with her.” The boss said generously as he patted the younger man’s shoulders.

The little brother looked like he was moved, but in reality he was complaining endlessly in his heart. By the time you finish playing who knows if the person will still be alive. Maybe the boss wanted him to play with a corpse! He wasn’t a good person, but his tastes weren’t that extreme.

The boss was about to open the door and go in when several people suddenly appeared next to him.

“It’s not good to play alone!”

“When did you guys get here?!” Taken aback, the boss cursed silently in his heart.

“We were just one step behind you.” The newcomers said with a cold smile.

597, 598

597: More People Coming to Court Disaster

“Why did you all come here? Could it be that those guys called you over too?” asked the boss suspiciously.

“Same as you. We get paid to take care of other people’s problems. Since everyone is here for the same job, why not work together. We can arrange the order of who gets to play first after we go in!”

Since they were doing to do same job, there was no other way to work it out. Who knew who the woman offended that so many men were hired to play with her.

But that wasn’t their concern. How could anyone with power in Sin city have a conscience?

After a short discussion, several big guys opened the door and walked into Feng Wu’s room...

Fifteen minutes later, seven big men were sprawled haphazardly inside. All of them had their special buddies crippled. Feng Wu did not hold back. Bad guys who wanted to take advantage of her like that needed to have their members directly maimed.

Feng Wu struck so quickly and precisely the men had no chance to react. Before they knew what was happening, Feng Wu had already turned them into eunuchs.

They were in excruciating pain when they woke up. In front of them was a little beast with an eggshell floating on its head. The little beast was very cute, but its eyes were filled with glee at their suffering

“Tell me who sent you.” Upon seeing the men wake up, Rui Baby flew over to begin interrogating them.

The men looked at each other in dismay, and for a while, no one spoke. They were all strong men recruited for a job. How were they going to remain in the city if they confessed?

Rui Baby sneered. “If you don’t talk, then there’s no reason for us to keep you alive.” After saying this, he winked at Feng Wu, who then nodded and walked over with sword in hand. There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in her calm eyes. The hair on the men’s body raised all over.

Was this really the same girl from the intel? Wasn’t she supposed to be an ordinary student? A sophomore.

Look at those calm eyes staring at them. Look at that steady hand holding the sword. Not an ounce of tremor. No matter how they looked at it, she was an old hand at murder! If they’d known earlier they were dealing with a pervert, no matter what the patron said, they never would have accepted the job!

The men scolded the guy who hired them and gave them misleading information.

“Don’t! Stop! I’ll talk. We came here after accepting a job. We don’t know who sent it!” The boss talked first. Just because he killed countless people didn’t mean he wanted to die himself. They didn’t say they would let him go if he talked, but if he didn’t talk, he would 100% die!

“You too?” Rui Baby turned his gaze to the other men. Then signaled Feng Wu to hold off on doing anything for now.

Feng Wu stood behind Rui Baby with her sword in her hand without advancing any farther.

The men were relieved. They immediately nodded their heads like bobble heads, afraid that if they were too slow, the girl and beast would kill them.

“What was the job exactly?” Rui Baby asked again.

The men didn’t dare hide anything and obediently told Feng Wu and Rui Baby everything they knew.

It turned out Sin city had a black-market with a dedicated classified section reserved for jobs and requests. There was no such thing as a job too strange. People didn’t care and took what they could. There was a job posted for ruining, but not killing, Feng Wu. It was a simple enough job so a few people accepted it.

Generally, simple jobs with high pay couldn’t be taken by small fries. There were a lot of people who wanted to take those kinds of jobs, but they weren’t qualified to compete for it. These men had some weight to their names and were all famous figures in the black market.

If they'd known that they weren’t facing a lamb but a monster under sheepskin, they wouldn’t have rushed in with so few people.

They thought they were going in to rape a young school girl; they never expected to be imprisoned and beaten to a pulp. Even if they could get out alive, the cost to heal their injuries would be very high. No matter how they looked at it, the job was a bad one!

After Rui Baby finished asking everything he wanted to know, Feng Wu walked over with her sword. There was no killing intent in her eyes but her actions spoke volumes.

“Wait! You’re not keeping your word?! Weren’t you going to let us go if we told you everything we knew?!” A few of the men shouted madly.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t talk nonsense. When did this baby say I’d spare your lives if you spilled the beans? This baby can’t be blamed for anything.” Rui Baby glared at the men.

The men thought about it and it seemed like what the beast said was true. The weird beast and weird, silent girl never said they would go free if they talked. They assumed this all on their own.

Feng Wu stabbed them through the hearts and sent them all to hell. She would never be merciful toward these kinds of villains. Master said letting people like them go would only let them harm more people. It was best to kill them and note give them the opportunity to hurt others.

Feng Wu was an obedient girl, especially when it came to listening to her master. She remembered everything her master said and would review them from time to time.

After killing the men, Feng Wu dealt with the little guys guarding outside the door. Fortunately the men silenced the area with a sound proof spell before entering, so those outside had no idea what happened inside.

Once all her enemies were taken cared of, Feng Wu destroyed the corpses. There were so many of them that came into her room last night; so destroying the bodies wouldn’t have done anything to hide the matter.

Feng Wu and Riu Baby decided to destroy the bodies anyway simply because the sight was too ugly.

Naturally after this, Feng Wu couldn’t stay in the room. She went down to the front desk to change rooms.

Seeing her walk down in the middle of the night, the desk staff looked at her differently.

598: Finding Ming Xi and Little Bun

How difficult was it to find a little baby in a place like Sin city? Feng Wu stayed in the small hotel for several days but hadn’t seen a shadow or heard a whisper of her little baby.

Rui Baby was thinking where Little Bun could be hidden. They came to rescue Little Bun so they couldn’t return emptyhanded.

After three days, another letter arrived telling Feng Wu to go directly to the black market.

Feng Wu obediently did as told and drank the wine prepared for her in a certain restaurant. Not long after drinking the wine, a few wretched looking men came in. They took their clothes off as they walked, all of them bursting with laughter. It was obvious they were thinking filthy thoughts.

They expected Feng Wu to be docile after drinking the wine. But they were in for a surprise. Not only was she fine, but she was alert and stood up easily when they entered. She became a killing god and killed all of them, only leaving two for questioning.

After the two people answered Rui Baby’s questions, Feng Wu sent them off to hell. She walked breezily out of the black market restaurant.

“Xiao Wu, we can’t go on like this anymore. It looks like the person who kidnapped Xiao Ye is not ready to return him to you. It looks like they want to use Xiao Ye to destroy you.

If Xiao Chun wasn’t protecting your body from all the posions, I’m afraid no matter how strong you are, you would have fallen victim to them already,” said Rui Baby unhappily.

Obviously, anyone who was led around by the nose wouldn’t be happy.

“But where do we find Xiao Ye?” Lydia rubbed her chin, thinking hard.

“That’s a good question. It’s not easy to find a child in such a big city like this. We have to find another way.” Rui Baby said.

Probably because they had been schemed against twice already, Feng Wu, Rui Baby and Lydia decided it was best to search for Little Bun themselves.

They didn’t find news about Little Bun, but did find news about something useful. There was a master in Sin city who collected babies. His name was Master Uris.

Apparently, Master Uris got njured in a fight and the injuries he sustained couldn’t be healed through ordinary methods, so now he was looking to use forbidden magic. By sacrificing the flesh and blood of a hundred babies and using them as his own, he could return his body back to its peak.

Sacrificing a hundred babies wouldn’t be hard in any other city, but considering it was Sin city, and considering how rare it was for babies to survive; getting a hundred would be difficult. At most there were twenty babies. Making up the rest was impossible.

In order to heal his injuries, Master Uris posted a job on the black market for babies. The reward was mediocre but that was because kidnapping babies was easy. Any one could steal a baby.

Such a simple task was welcomed by ordinary workers in the black market.

A pervert who collected babies. . .  this person was definitely suspicious. Could Little Bun be in his hands?

To test the theory out, they would have to go to Master Uris’s house and see the kidnapped children for themselves.

It was easier said than done however. They were too conspicuous. Who knew how many people in the city were secretly keeping watching on Feng Wu? Someone might come out to attack her just by them approaching.

In the end, they decided to have Lydia, a spirit, do it.

Lydia obediently ran to Master Uris’s house, did some snooping, and returned several hours later.

“How did it go?” Rui Baby asked as soon as Lydia came back.

“Xiao Ye is really there. But he looks like. . . ” Lydia wasn’t sure how to say it.

“Could it be Xiao Ye was mistreated and is hurt?!” Rui Baby yelled in disbelief.

It was impossible though. Xiao Ye was the reincarnation of the elf king and with his hidden abilities, there was no way someoen could take advantage of him!

Feng Wu also looked all Lydia. Although she didn’t think anything would happen to her baby, as a mother, Feng Wu instinctively worried.

Lydia violently shook her head. “No, no, in fact, it’s just the opposite. I saw Xiao Ye being treated very well at Uris’s place. They treat him like he’s a treasure. If he wanted the stars and moon, I’m sure they would try to get it for him. His treatment is better than all the other babies combined.

But, it’s just strange. Uris’s attitude, the way he looks at Xiao Ye is not normal.”

Uris’s attitude toward Xiao Ye at the time was definitely good. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was Xiao Ye’s father. Especially they way he looked at Xiao Ye, all excited and crazy. It gave her the heebie jeebies just seeing it.

After asking what happened, Feng Wu decided to find an opportunity to enter to Uris’s house and check in on Xiao Ye.

Lydia said, “There is one more thing I forgot to mention just now. I saw Ming Xi, Jier and Ink. They’re all inside Sin city. And they were asking about you.”

It was an accidental discovery on Lydia’s part. After the three of them entered Sin city, they had stayed in the room and rarely went out, so they had no idea that the second day they were there, the boys had entered and were asking about Feng Wu.

Feng Wu stayed in her room every day, so that was why they couldn’t find news about her even after so many days.

Probably because Feng Wu was such a force to be reckoned with, no one dared gossip about Feng Wu to the boys.

“You mean Ming Xi and the others are here?!” Both Rui Baby and Feng Wu’s eyes lit up at the same time.

“That’s great! Things will be much easier now! Go to Ming Xi right now and have him sneak into Uris’s place and get Xiao Ye out.” Rui Baby fluttered excitedly around Lydia.

There were so many people keeping an eye on Feng Wu; they couldn’t make a move even if they wanted to. If they weren’t careful, they would be caught by those outside just waiting for an opportunity. But Ming Xi and the guys were different. Even if people attacked them, after showing their strength, those willing to keep attacking wouldn’t be many. Letting Ming Xi and the others go was for the best.

Rui Baby had Feng Wu write a letter to the boys so they would know what to do.

The only thing the boys knew for certain was that Feng Wu entered Sin city some number of days ago. Where she went and what she did after that, they had no idea. The boys were understandably anxious, and growing more so as the days passed without news. They wondered every day if something happened to Feng Wu.

She was so simple minded. Had she been tricked. . .  or worse?

“Come and see! It’s a letter from Xiao Wu!” Jier called out.

Ming Xi and Ink immediately gathered round. From the tone and content of the letter, they were sure it was Feng Wu. But how did she know they were there? And since she knew, why send a letter instead of coming directly to them?

“Could it be Lydia delivered this? Why didn’t she materialize so we could see her?” Ink scratched his head.

“It should be because of the spirit purification array in the city.” Ming Xi explained that the powers that be in Sin city had created an array targeting spirits so that as long as someone died in Sin city, their spirits would be forcibly purified and sent away.

In this way, there were no ghosts in Sin city. Even if there was one, it never lingered for more than a quarter of an hour before the array purified it.

599, 600

599: Uris

The purified souls were sent to wherever they were supposed to go no matter how vicious they were in life.

Lydia could remain because she was a contracted spirit. But even so, her abilities were greatly reduced. At least, if she wanted to show herself, she wouldn’t be able to. The ruler of Sin city created such a big, powerful formation that it made Lydia feel stifled.

“A spirit purification array? There is such a formation in Sin city? Are these villains afraid of ghosts?!” Ink snorted. He really couldn’t understand how such a group of black-hearted people could be afraid of ghosts.

“As far as I know, the ruler of Sin city found a necromancer friend to create it because people died so often.

The city lord said he didn’t want his city to have more ghosts than people, so he came up with a formation array that would prevent dead souls from lingering in the city.”

It was rumored the city lord of Sin city was a saint level powerhouse magician. It was likely the city would have been overrun by a bunch of crazies if someone powerful wasn’t at the helm.

Ming Xi and the others didn’t gossip about the city lord too much, but they were curious about this Uris mentioned in Feng Wu’s note.

That Uris thought to use babies to heal his injuries showed he wasn’t a good person. Even in a place like Sin city, he would be considered a high-tiered villain.

No matter how they thought about it, for a villain like that to like Xiao Ye was problematic.

The part about Uris’s attitude was added by Rui Baby. Feng Wu would never had added fuel to the fire; she didn’t include any personal opinions and only wrote what Lydia saw.

It was only natural the boys would go and get Xiao Ye from Uris now that they knew where he was. After that, they would return to school with Feng Wu.

Sin city constantly resounded with screams and cries from people being beaten or killed. Based on how calm the residents were about it all, Ming Xi and the guys guessed it was an every day occurrence.

Fortunately, although law and order was not good and there was always people trying to kill each other on the streets, the sanitation was great. Rumor said the city lord was a clean freak and couldn’t stand a messy city, so whether it was from fighting or murder, whoever was involved always cleaned up after themselves.

The streets were so clean even a stray fruit peel couldn’t be found. And if someone accidentally spat on the street, they would clean up after themselves.

Clean streets and villains who cared about hygiene. Were these the only advantages to living in Sin city?

After finding where Xiao Ye was being held, Ming Xi snuck into Uris’s house with the boys in the night. Uris was a well-known figure in the city. He was ruthless to his enemies, keeping them to torture before sending them off to their maker.

Most of the citizens in Sin city didn’t dare talk too much about this pervert. Those who dared gossip were either on par with him or higher ranked.

Uris’s house was essentially a richly decorated mansion that covered a large area.

As long as you were strong and ruthless enough, you wouldn’t have to worry about being poor in Sin city.

Uris was undoubtedly of the group who lived well. He was cruel and strong, so it was expected he would have a big house.

Ming Xi and the guys spent some money to find out about Uris. The informant saw they were only asking about common knowledge, things every one in the city knew, so he happily sold the information to them.

Ming Xi’s group learned that Uris was an outsider sent to Sin city as a prisoner after killing many people, including law enforcements, from his old city.

But Uris came from a powerful family in the area, so they spent a lot of money to turn what would have been a death penalty into exile in Sin city.

It essentially let Uris live in paradise. There was no law in Sin city, so he could kill without ramifications, provided he was strong enough.

Uris did abuse the people in Sin city a great deal. In fact, he seemed to have a habit of abusing people. The more thoroughly he abused them, the more pleasure he got. He was a powerful, perverted scum.

Knowing this, Ming Xi and the others dared not take him too lightly. After entering Uris’s house, they split up to search for Little Bun.

So where was Little Bun? Well he was in Uris’s room telling the pervert he didn’t want to see him.

The fake couple who brought him to Sin city had moved him around from place to place before finally selling him to the scumbag Uris.

Uris had been laughing like a weirdo every since he set eyes on Little Bun, hugging and squeezing the little guy happily. Little Bun didn’t like being hugged by strange villains and would unceremoniously kick Uris whenever this happened. But Uris wasn’t angry. Such a strange reaction, if anyone else saw, their jaws would have dropped.

Uris loved Little Bun in every possible way. But Little Bun got goosebumps every time Uris came near.

Little Bun was afraid Uris had bad intentions. He had to be careful. Where was his mama? Come, quickly save your baby!

Little Bun waved a small fist in his heart.

“Little thing, your vitality is the most vigorous I have ever seen. Although I don’t know where those two idiots got you, I should really thank them for sending you my way. With you here, there’s no need for those other garbage to exist.”

Here we go again. Little Bun rolled his eyes. This scum man liked to watch him and say all kinds of weird things. Even though no on ever responded, he would still talk on and on, getting ever more excited with time. Such a lunatic. . . 

Was it time for him to go home? Little Bun wasn’t sure if he should cut his trip short or not, but he didn’t feel like playing with this crazy man anymore.

But he remembered when he was on the boat, he overheard that the people bullying his mama would try to lure his mama out. So, should he stay a little while longer and wait for his mama to come get him or should he have Little White send him back directly? So many choices, so many options. . .  What a hard decision. . . 

Today, the crazy man was even stranger than usual. Instead of going back to sleep after another one-sided conversation, he picked up Little Bun and he walked to an alter in the backyard.

Once he reached it, he placed Little Bun in the center and began to mutter some stuff. His eyes were actually shining with unconcealed excitement.

Although Uris was always excited everytime he saw Little Bun, tonight was a whole other level. He was so excited he was practically delirious.

Did this guy really go crazy? Little Bun seriously wondered.

Turned out Little Bun was overthinking it. As a bad guy, Uris’s mental endurance had to be high. Of course, he wouldn’t go crazy so easily.

600: Two Years Later

After Uris began chanting more, the entire altar became a little eerie.

“It will be fine. Soon I will be reborn. As long as I absorb the vitality in your body, not only will my injuries fully heal, but my strength and lifespan will greatly increase! You really are a treasure, a tiny baby god! The world gives Uris the best things!”

The pervert must have yarn for brains. Little Bun promptly made judgement.

Not far from Uris, Ming Xi and the others were slowly approaching the altar.

When Ming Xi was upstairs earlier, he discovered Uris had come downstairs with Little Bun. He didn’t dare follow too closely behind and risk being discovered, so he followed from a distance to find out what Uris was up to.

Ming Xi could barely contain himself after he heard Uris wanted to sacrifice Little Bun to gain vitality and life. It was unbearable. Such a cruel practice obviously tested Ming Xi’s patience.

He drew his long sword, but Jier, who was rendezvousing with him there, suddenly appeared and attacked Uris without even saying a word.

A magic circle suddenly appeared behind Uris, protecting him. The sneak attack completely failed.

“It turns out some mice slipped in. Don’t worry, I will take care of you after I finish this sacrifice.” Seeing Ming Xi’s group didn’t phase Uris in the slightest. He went right back to work.

It was clear, for Uris, completing the sacrifice was the higher priority.

Wind blew around the altar as Uris’s chant became more and more complicated. It felt like something was about to descend.

Little Bun stared at the changes around him curiously without a hint of fear in his big eyes.

On the other hand, Ming Xi and the others were wildly attacking the altar, their faces were fierce and ugly with determination. Would Little Bun really be sacrificed? Could such a loveable child really die?

Unfortunately, the altar was already activated.

Just when the boys were despairing, the wind stopped and whatever was trying to descend ran away.

Uris was hit with a backlash and instantly aged fifty years, going from a thirty-year-old young man to an old man in his eighties. He not only aged, but his energy and spirit also drained away considerably, it really was like he was an old man of eighty. A sense of death and decrepitude exuded from every inch of his body.

Panic and despair filled his eyes.

“It was perfect. How could it have failed?! I found the perfect sacrifice!” Uris, who was now an old man, yelled in disbelief, his voice old and hoarse.

“The problem was, it was too perfect. No one dared accept your sacrifice.” Ming Xi calmly walked to the center of the altar and picked up the curious toddler.

This tiny guy, did he know he was nearly sacrificed? If it wasn’t for his special background, things would have ended horribly.

Ming Xi had no sympathy for the pervert. He turned and stabbed Uris through with his sword, ensuring Uris would never harm another child again.

Thus was Little Bun was saved and Uris killed. Feng Wu immediately rushed to meet everyone upon getting the news and the group promptly left Sin city, to the resentment of certain people.

“Failed again! Didn’t Feng Yi say it was foolproof? Why did it fail again?!” Hua Jin screamed in disbelief. Their plan, despite being so well planned, failed.

“That girl is a bit unusual; it seems I won’t be able to deal with her using traditional means. I will think of another way.” Feng Yi said calmly.

Feng Yi originally thought it would be easy to deal with a little girl. He never expected Feng Wu to come out of Sin city unharmed after rescuing her child.

Now they were on the alert and wouldn’t be as easy to fool in the future. But this was good too. It wasn’t any fun killing people who were easy.

Feng Wu and the rest of the group returned to school safely. Theresa blamed herself and was sad Little Bun had to go through such an ordeal. To make it up to him, she brought all kinds of exquisite food as an apology.

Little Bun was like his mother, a complete foodie! He generously forgave Theresa after receiving so many gifts.

On the other side, Hua Jin felt ill all over. Ming Xi visited her earlier, but it wasn’t a pleasant visit. He came to warn her against harming Feng Wu. He would attack her if she tried again.

Ming Xi’s ruthlessness made Hua Jin desperate. The two of the had grown up together; they were a perfect match. Why did Ming Xi want a used woman? Why?! How was she worse than Feng Wu?!

Of course, Ming Xi didn’t bother to answer her.

Ming Xi said that if she didn’t return to the Ancient Silver Moon kingdom, he would use forces under his command to move her. Faced with such a threat, Hua Jin had no choice but to voluntarily go back home.

She couldn’t allow Ming Xi to hate her more. Besides, she knew perfectly well she didn’t have the ability to defend against Ming Xi if he chose to attack. He was ruthless and didn’t show mercy to his enemies.

Heartbroken, Hua Jin left Xingguang Holy academy with a firmer hatred for Feng Wu.

She hadn’t tried to kill Feng Ye or was the one responsible for kidnapping him. She wasn’t even the one who asked Feng Wu to go to Sin city, but Ming Xi didn’t care about the technicality. He insisted it was her doing and he would deal with her if she refused to leave.

Hua Jin understood. She left, but it didn’t mean she was giving up. She would continue, just not at school. It would make things more difficult but she was dedicated.

Hua Jin’s departure didn’t attract much attention. The future Moon empress was only at school to experience life. It was natural for her to return home after doing so.

She wasn’t like them who had to attend classes everyday, practicing their magic and martial arts to have a bright future.

The days continued to move forward.

Soon enough Feng Wu became a third year. During her first semester, the Heart of Earth appeared in the world. This time, Feng Wu wasn’t involved in the matter; she obediently took cared of Little Bun and didn’t go out anywhere.

In her fourth year, the Heart of Gold and Heart of Fire appeared. Feng Wu was still not part of the fun.

The same couldn’t be said of the other students at school.

Zi Cheng and Ai Lin were involved in all three matters. Zo, of course, also tried to make trouble for Zi Cheng whenever he could. As a result, the heroine, Zi Cheng, lost out on all the elements.

With the world’s destruction resolved, Zo only needed to protect his family wholeheartedly.

And at this point, Ai Lin and Zi Cheng were in a bona fide feud. Ai Lin had a grand old time fighting with Zi Cheng every day. With all the sabotaging she did, it was no wonder Zi Cheng hated her.

Jasmine became completely estranged from Zi Cheng’s group. She didn’t even contact Yifu, who she used to be on good terms with. Her mind was a mystery and no one knew what she was thinking.

Another major event that happened in the last two years involved Yifu’s brother.

Even though Ai Lin changed the plot of the original storyline and forced events to be postponed, Yifu’s brother still couldn’t escape his fate and died honorably saving Zi Cheng.

Not long after that, Yifu also died in order to save Zi Cheng. Apparently, the heroine cried for several days, shedding her crocodile tears for everyone to see.

It was a good thing the plot changed so much. Except for Yifu, all the people who should have been brainwashed by Zi Cheng into doing all kinds of foolish and stupid things, were saved.