Panic.
For the first time in many years of strategic planning, Shan Er felt uneasy under someone’s gaze. Although the person before him was barely twenty years old without a single whisker, he still felt uncomfortably exposed. For a moment, he couldn’t answer.
Indeed, in the eyes of the world, Ming Xian had always been a meritorious official of Chaoyang City, in some ways even more representative than the incumbent Da Si. Why would he betray her?
His eyes darted around as he fell silent for a few moments, abandoning any attempt to fabricate an answer. Silence meant defeat; whatever he said next, Ji Bozai wouldn’t believe him.
“So, may I assume that Ming Xian’s exile to Muxing City was your doing?” He smiled.
Shan Er instinctively shook his head. “It wasn’t me. If I had harmed her, I wouldn’t have let her leave Chaoyang City.”
“In other words, you knew about her departure from Chaoyang City but didn’t stop her, seemingly bearing no grudge. Yet now you’re willing to sacrifice her without a second thought, showing no sense of gratitude either.”
“To feel neither enmity nor debt towards someone who brought glory to the city for seven years—it seems Your Excellency’s heart is filled only with self-interest, with no room for others.”
Ji Bozai spoke slowly and deliberately, while Shan Er’s back gradually began to sweat. He hastily barked, “Enough!”
“It’s just the two of us here, yet you’re so afraid of me continuing. This suggests the person behind you holds a significant position, at least not someone you could easily silence. You dare to harm Ming Xian, but you don’t dare silence your backer. Could it be that this person isn’t some mere follower, but your true master?”
Shan Er: “…”
This man not only possessed an enviable innate talent but was also incredibly astute.
If he were to go to Chaoyang City, what place would there be for King Yong?
His fear gradually turned to irritation. He said hatefully, “Your Excellency speaks so fervently for Ming Xian. Could it be that she has long since committed treason and colluded with you?”
“You’d have to ask Zhueyue City about that. After all, they’re this year’s champions, not Muxing.”
“You!”
Withdrawing Xuanlong and Mingyu, Ji Bozai glanced at him. “It’s because of people like you that high-level duelists are becoming increasingly rare.”
His tone was calm, but for some reason, Shan Er reacted as if his tail had been stepped on, shouting angrily, “Duelists are all brutes! What do they know? If cities were governed by brute force alone, the people of Qingyun Realm would surely suffer!”
Ji Bozai was unmoved. As he turned to leave, he waved the scroll in his hand. “Your Excellency should prepare for compensation. The items in my residence are priceless.”
Even if there weren’t truly priceless items, he could have someone draw up a lengthy list.
Shan Er’s face turned ashen as he glared at Ji Bozai’s retreating figure. After fuming for a while, he turned to look at the person behind him.
King Yong Mingxin stared at him in bewilderment, somewhat at a loss.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Shan Er bowed. “Your Highness need not heed his words. Ji Bozai is a vicious and cunning individual; every word he utters is meant to entrap this humble servant. My calculations for Your Highness naturally wouldn’t concern the life or death of a useless person like Ming Xian. This doesn’t conflict with my loyalty to Chaoyang City.”
“Of course, I believe you,” Mingxin frowned. “But Ming Xian isn’t dead, and neither is Ji Bozai. This…”
“Even if Ming Xian lives, she can’t return to Chaoyang City under her true identity. She’s no threat. As for Ji Bozai…” Shan Er paused. “There will always be another opportunity.”
There was still plenty of time before next year’s Six City Tournament. The future was long.
Ming Yi casually practiced some techniques from the cultivation manuals she had seen in Ji Bozai’s study. The pain in her meridians limited her progress; she could only practice for a while before stopping, frowning as she looked at her wrist.
“Sister, have some candy,” Situ Ling returned from outside, bringing her another sugar figurine.
Today’s sugar figurine was in the shape of Chang’e, exquisitely crafted. Ming Yi’s eyes lit up as she took it, examining it closely. “How can sugar be molded so perfectly?”
“It’s all about practice,” Situ Ling smiled. “In this world, everything becomes more refined with time and experience.”
It was as if something cool had touched the crown of her head. Ming Yi had a sudden realization. Holding the sugar figurine, she focused, no longer forcing her Yuan Power quickly through her damaged meridians. Instead, she let the remaining Yuan Power flow slowly, like a thin stream, through the broken parts of her meridians.
Flowing like this would consume a lot of Yuan Power, but it would gradually accumulate like ice forming at the broken ends of the meridians.
After trying it and finding it feasible, she relaxed her brow and stopped, smiling at Situ Ling. “Young Master truly is my destined benefactor.”
“It is I who should say that about Sister Ming,” he waved his hand. “If it weren’t for you, I might have given up on life when those people were bullying me.”
Ming Yi was startled, her brows suddenly furrowing. “How old are you to be thinking of ending your life?”
Her tone was unusually serious. Situ Ling shrank back slightly, lowering his head in apology. “I was young then, stuck in a narrow mindset.”
“Being alive allows you to do many things, go many places, meet many people, and eat many foods,” Ming Yi said earnestly. “People have no afterlife. Once gone, you’re gone forever, dispersed into the universe never to be reborn. So don’t die easily.”
If anyone else had said this, Situ Ling wouldn’t have listened. Anyone can preach, but living is truly difficult, with all sorts of troubles that can crush a person.
However, hearing Ming Yi say this made his throat tighten.
“I understand,” he said softly. “No matter what, I will fight to stay alive.”
Only then did the person before him smile, taking a bite of the sugar figurine and mumbling, “This afternoon I want to go see Zhangtai. I heard she’s opened a shop recently and business isn’t bad.”
“Yes, she opened an embroidery shop. It’s good that she can be self-sufficient now,” Situ Ling nodded. “But Sister, you’d better not go out yet.”
Why? Ming Yi was puzzled.
Situ Ling didn’t say directly, only sighing, “Sister’s injuries are so severe, yet Lord Ji only knows how to be upset with you. Unlike me, who only feels concern for Sister.”
Feeling a warmth in her heart, Ming Yi smiled, “I don’t have a blood brother, I didn’t know having a brother could be such a good thing.”
“Hearing Sister say this makes all my efforts worthwhile,” he grinned, revealing two tiger teeth that gleamed brightly.
As they were talking, a servant came in to announce, “My Lord, Ji Manor’s carriage is heading this way.”
Ming Yi raised an eyebrow, instinctively looking around. “Do you have any secret passages here to escape?”
Situ Ling found this amusing. “Why would Sister need to run?”
“Nothing good ever comes when Ji Manor’s people arrive. Either Ji Bozai wants to use Twenty-Seven to threaten me and take me back to work for him, or he thinks leaving me alive is too dangerous and plans to come eliminate me. I don’t want either option.”
He chuckled softly. “Lord Ji truly isn’t a good person.”
Then he pointed to Fu Yue. “Sister, go with him. There’s a hidden room where you can hide.”
“Alright,” Ming Yi stood up and left immediately.
Fu Yue followed behind her, finally understanding what his lord had meant earlier.