“Hey, Little Fuzi, what on earth is so urgent on Father’s end that he had to call me back at this very moment? Don’t you all know I’m busy with one of life’s biggest events right now?”
Within the borders of Lixun, atop a maple leaf-shaped artifact, Qin Luoyi looked back at the Hundred Demons receding into the distance, her face turning ashen.
She regretted leaving before they had even gotten thirty miles away.
Honestly, after thinking it over, she really couldn’t figure it out—what could possibly be something that Qin Junyin, the ruler of a nation, couldn’t handle, yet would need the help of her, a mere Second Transformation pinnacle kid?
“Your Highness, this Old Servant is merely the one entrusted by His Majesty to deliver the letter. As for why it was sent, I truly do not know.”
The old, worn-out reply only made the girl feel all the more frustrated.
You know, according to the original plan, even though she didn’t need to help Yun Mu train anymore, she could have spent the whole day alone with him today.
At the time, she’d even jokingly called this her “decisive moment,” and she had prepared quite a lot for it.
Now, just when the moment had finally come, she had to bail out at the last second.
With things like this, never mind “decisive”—she didn’t even make it to the final round.
Honestly, it was kind of ridiculous.
“Damn it! If that bastard Qin Junyin called me back for some trivial nonsense, I’m going to tear him limb from limb!”
With both fists clenched, the girl spat out her frustration.
Beside her, the old man watched silently, saying nothing. In his mind appeared the gentle image of a woman who resembled the girl by seven parts—a soft sigh escaped him.
That woman was the girl’s mother, long since passed away, and the girl he himself had watched grow up.
Only, their personalities couldn’t be more different—
One was gentle to the extreme, wanting to save every poor soul drowning in misery, always dreaming the impossible.
The other was forceful to the extreme, challenging the heavens, the earth, and even the emperor—whether she saved people or not all depended on her mood, acting on a whim.
Yet, the power they possessed was strikingly similar. Both had been either blessed or cursed by the Nan Dou Six Stars.
In fact, compared to her mother, Qin Luoyi’s abilities were even stronger—a case of the student surpassing the master.
Of course, with such fortune came disaster—so the girl bore an even fiercer backlash.
“Your Highness, has your power… been suppressed for now?”
The old man had noticed it from earlier, but hadn’t pointed it out.
He’d observed for a while, and only after confirming he hadn’t seen wrong did he finally ask.
“That’s right, Little Yun… Yun Mu has been by my side day and night these past days, absorbing a lot of my power,” the girl curled her right index finger, letting a wisp of Nether Fire dance up and down, “I figure it’ll suppress things for about two months. That’s pretty long.”
“Is that so… Then, Your Highness, are you sure you want to leave Yun Mu in the Hundred Demons? In this Old Servant’s impression, most of those demons are barbarians—hardly better than demonic cultivators or monsters. If they turn on us, we’ll have no choice but to fight our way in.”
“That’s not something you need to worry about. I have my own way in. As for war, the less, the better. Otherwise, it’s more suffering, more innocents harmed. My mother hated that, and so do I. Besides…”
She paused, then smiled lightly:
“With our current strength, even with those Ancestors in seclusion, we probably still can’t beat them.”
“Can’t beat them? Your earlier words may have merit, but on this point… this old minister cannot agree. Lixun’s national strength has surpassed the Hundred Demons since a thousand years ago, and the gap has only widened. If a fight broke out…”
“Little Fuzi, I’m telling you, we can’t beat them.”
The girl’s tone grew serious as a pair of gold-flecked black eyes appeared in her mind.
“At least for now, we must not provoke the Hundred Demons lightly, or there will be trouble.”
“But—”
“Hmm?”
“Forgive me, Your Highness. This Old Servant was out of line. But, could you at least tell me why you say so?”
“No.”
“Yes, this Old Servant understands.”
Seeing the girl rarely argue back, the old man was first slightly taken aback, then gave a relieved smile.
He didn’t ask further.
Qin Luoyi’s temperament matched what he expected of a ruler’s child—speak seven parts, keep three hidden.
And as a subject, he knew: what he ought to know, he’d be told; what he shouldn’t, he should know to keep away.
So, he didn’t feel offended. In fact, as a minister who had served three emperors, he even felt a bit happy.
The maple leaf artifact picked up speed, streaking like a shadow across the sky in a trail of orange-red light, only stopping when it neared the imperial city.
After that last conversation, Qin Luoyi hadn’t spoken again.
At a glance, she immediately noticed Qin Junyin waiting on the Observatory—and with him, a very familiar figure: her nominal teacher, Lu Qi.
Huh?
What’s this about, why is Lu Qi here too?
And why is he putting on that loyal-minister look?
How strange.
Thinking of Lu Qi’s eccentric ways all these years, the girl felt a bit puzzled, but she didn’t dwell on it—she didn’t want to waste energy on irrelevant things.
She only glanced back at the old man, who was smiling with narrowed eyes, and said seriously:
“Little Fuzi, who knows when we’ll meet again after this, so… there’s something I need to make clear to you now.”
“Your Highness, please speak freely. This Old Servant is all ears.”
“Not much, just one thing—I just want you to know I am not my father, nor do I want to be Lixun’s future ruler. So, I don’t need you correcting me about anything. I respect you because you’re my elder, but that doesn’t mean I like being lectured.”
“Your Highness, this Old Servant has learned his lesson.”
The old man bowed humbly—this was what he had expected.
“Mm, as long as you know.”
Emphasizing her last words, the girl stopped wasting time.
With a leap, she left the artifact, and the old man shot off elsewhere in a flash of light.
In the blink of an eye, the huge maple leaf vanished without a trace.
“Luoyi! Oh, my precious girl, you’re finally back!”
Before Qin Luoyi had even steadied herself, Qin Junyin’s shout rang out from afar.
She looked up and saw the middle-aged man, who just moments ago was standing with his hands behind his back, now rushing at her like an arrow from a bow, arms wide, ready to hug her.
“Qin Junyin! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
In a flash, seeing her father about to grab her, the girl reflexively raised her fist—a fist the size of a sandbag—and hammered it down on his head, sending the emperor sprawling face-down on the ground.
“You, you unfilial girl, how dare you…!”
Qin Junyin, trembling, raised an arm and pointed a finger at her, his voice shaking, “How dare you attempt patricide! I’m… I’m heartbroken… ah!”
Seeing this, the girl cursed inwardly.
Without thinking, she stomped on his finger—grinding it a few times before stopping.
“Look, just get to the point, will you? A four-word letter with the Family Seal—don’t tell me you called me back just because you missed your daughter.”
No reply came—just a dramatic, lifeless figure sprawled on the ground before her.
“Hey! I know you’re fine. With that peak Seventh Transformation body of yours, even ten of me couldn’t kill you, right?”
Still no answer.
In fact, Qin Junyin started deliberately convulsing, and the finger she’d stomped on stuck straight up again.
He seemed to be saying, “Does being Seventh Transformation mean I can’t get hurt? This poor old father’s heart is truly shattered!”—like some kind of vengeful spirit refusing to rest.
Alas, the girl wasn’t buying it.
She looked up at the sun high in the sky and rolled her eyes at him.
“Honestly, wasting my precious time—I’m leaving.”
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t go! Your father knows he was wrong! I just got sad thinking of my precious daughter getting snatched by some pig out there, couldn’t help myself!”
Seeing her about to turn and leave, Qin Junyin finally stopped faking.
He pushed himself up, dusted off his clothes, then looked around, his expression turning serious as he lowered his voice:
“Luoyi… that boy didn’t come back with you? I was planning to give him a proper welcome.”
“You already know what’s going on, don’t you? Didn’t Little Fuzi tell you?”
“You didn’t bring him back?”
“What else?”
“Hey! Was it that brat who didn’t want to come, or were the Hundred Demons being rude? It’s fine, I’ll go get him for you…”
“I’m the one who told him to stay.”
“…Go find some peach blossom cakes to eat. No! With your power so stable, it must have something to do with him, right?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Then why? My precious girl, that boy is a real treasure—how can you just hand him over like that?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll go find him if I need him. For now, just tell me why you called me back, okay?”
“Go find him? That means you’ll leave your old father behind every time? No way, I can’t accept that.”
“If you keep this up, I’m really leaving.”
“Alright, alright, whatever you say. I’ll tell you now.”
Seeing the girl about to summon her artifact, Qin Junyin finally gave up fooling around.
He gazed helplessly at the one remaining treasure his beloved wife had left him in this world, coughed a couple of times, and changed his tone.
“Luoyi, the reason I called you back this time is to tell you something important.”
“Okay, and?”
“I… plan to send you to the Ancient Kingdom Academy for further studies.”
“Ancient Kingdom Academy… Wait, why do you suddenly want to send me there?”
Qin Luoyi was puzzled.
She was no stranger to the Ancient Kingdom Academy—it was a sacred cultivation ground established to promote peace among the four ancient nations, nurture talents, and serve as a place to showcase each nation’s strength during peacetime.
But a few years ago, she’d refused to attend the academy, and Qin Junyin had agreed, letting her have her freedom until now.
To the girl, unrestrained freedom was more important than almost anything.
Now Qin Junyin suddenly brought this up again, so of course she couldn’t understand—it was basically going back on his word.
“I know you’re opposed to this, but I have no choice…”
“No choice?”
“Yes. If not for the possibility I discovered—of a chance to bring your mother back—I wouldn’t even consider sacrificing your freedom.”
“What did you say?”
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