Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Fate Brings Peach Blossoms
Chapter 140: Fate Brings Peach Blossoms
//Enough readers asked for it, so I've delivered! The first 5 chapters of my second project, "DD2: Glory of the Unrivaled Angel," have been published on the platform.
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At the same time, situated at the junction where the borders of the Jia Ma Empire and the two neighboring empires met, an ancient academy with a far-reaching reputation quietly stood. With its immense prestige and unparalleled strength, even the three great empires had to treat it with utmost respect and dare not show the slightest disrespect or negligence toward it.
On a remote mountain peak of the ancient academy, a young lady in a light green dress stood gracefully by the cliffside. The gentle wind blowing against her caused her waist-length, silky black hair to flutter gently, and as the hem of her skirt swayed, it faintly revealed the perfect contours of her figure.
It had been over a year since Xiao Yan left Jia Nan Academy. The freshmen of the past had now become senior students, and even those senior students of the Xuan Class whom Xiao Yan had defeated had already entered the Inner Academy to cultivate.
Xun Er quietly gazed in the direction of the Jia Ma Empire. Every time she looked that way, a warm current flowed through her heart, for in that direction was the person she cared about.
After a long silence, the young lady suddenly spoke. Her ethereal and pleasant voice gave people a strange feeling of having their souls cleansed.
"Old Ling."
A black-robed figure mysteriously appeared behind Xun Er, kneeling on one knee and respectfully saying, "Miss, what are your orders?"
The black-robed figure was none other than Ling Ying, who had once been discovered and driven away by Xiao Yan after his Spiritual Strength reached the Late Mortal Stage.
"I would like Old Ling to make a trip to the imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire. It's been over a year since Xiao Yan ge-ge left. Calculating the time, he should have arrived at the imperial capital to fulfill his agreement," Xun Er said in a clear and cold voice.
Ling Ying was silent for a moment before he said, "Miss, with Young Master Xiao Yan's spiritual perception abilities, I'm afraid he will detect me within several hundred meters, even a thousand meters."
He felt helpless! Xiao Yan's Spiritual Perception was too strong, even surpassing that of an average Dou Emperor.
He himself possessed dark-attribute Dou Qi. This made him especially adept at concealing his presence. Yet, he had been discovered by a young Dou Grandmaster, an eighteen-year-old boy.
Frustrating, truly frustrating!
"Then don't get within a thousand meters," Xun Er said indifferently.
Ling Ying was silent for a moment before saying, "Miss, in my opinion, Young Master Xiao Yan doesn't like being monitored."
It was actually very simple. Xiao Yan had discovered Ling Ying's presence before and directly drove him away. This proved he was extremely sensitive and disliked being followed or investigated.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"So this time, I hope Old Ling won't be discovered again. Xiao Yan ge-ge doesn't like me sending people to protect him," Xun Er said. She naturally understood Xiao Yan's personality well after spending many years with him.
Although Xiao Yan usually joked around and got along well with people in the clan without putting on the airs of a Little Clan Leader, he valued his dignity very much. Secretly sending someone to protect him was something he would definitely dislike.
"Miss, forgive me for being blunt, but with Young Master Xiao Yan's talent and strength, I fear that in the entire Jia Ma Empire, those who can pose a fatal threat to him are few and far between," Ling Ying said.
Xun Er's lips curled into a small pout upon hearing this, her expression tinged with a hint of displeasure and grievance as she said. "Xiao Yan ge-ge has a peach blossom fate that easily draws in bees and butterflies."
TL/N: "Peach blossom fate" refers to a person's natural charm and ability to attract romantic entanglements.
"Uh... I understand," Ling Ying replied with a wry smile. If word got back to the clan that Xun Er was troubled by such matters, the entire clan would probably be thrown into chaos.
If Hai Bodong and the others had heard Xun Er's words, they would surely have said, "Hah, she sure sees right through him!"
...
At this moment, in the Nalan Mansion's main hall, Nalan Su, the head of the Nalan Clan, sprang to his feet upon hearing the servant report that Xiao Yan had arrived!
In the spacious hall, besides Nalan Su, there were over a dozen alchemists dressed in robes of the same color. Without exception, they all wore 3rd-tier alchemist badges on their chests. However, most of these 3rd-tier alchemists were middle-aged, and two of them even had graying hair.
Originally, Nalan Yanran was also here with her father to receive the alchemists who had come from various places. However, after some discussion, she was sent to the Miteer Clan to seek help from the Miteer Auction House, which had branches in various cities across the empire, to help find an alchemist possessing a Heavenly Flame. She had just happened to leave. "Master, Master, Young Master Xiao Yan is here," a servant came running in to report. "Invite him in immediately," Nalan Su instructed. He then turned to the bewildered alchemists sitting opposite him and said, "Dear guests, I apologize for the inconvenience, but we have successfully found an alchemist. Nevertheless, we will still provide compensation to all of you."
All the alchemists looked at one another but were in no hurry to leave. They all wanted to see who could possibly have the ability to treat the Searing Poison that even Gu He was helpless
against.
Before long, Xiao Yan, who had been pulled along in a rush, was brought into the inner hall by the old steward. His previously neat hair had become messy like a bird's nest.
Upon seeing Xiao Yan appear, even though they hadn't met in eight years, Nalan Su recognized him at a glance. He rushed over, grabbed Xiao Yan's hands, and asked urgently, "Virtous nephew, I heard from Yanran that you possess a Heavenly Flame, is that true?"
The Nalan Clan had known about Xiao Yan being an alchemist for over two years, as his public alchemy display back in Wu Tan City had become known throughout the city.
Xiao Yan looked at Nalan Su, who was much more robust than himself, and nodded, "Mm." Upon seeing Xiao Yan nod, everyone in the Nalan Clan became excited, exclaiming, "The old master finally has hope!" Nalan Su's eyes brimmed with tears, and he said with some apology, "I know that Yanran did some things in the past that wronged your Xiao Clan. I apologize on her behalf. In the future, as long as it's within our Nalan Clan's power, we will not refuse any
requests."
Xiao Yan was immediately bewildered upon hearing this and said awkwardly, "It's a small matter to me. But may I ask, what exactly has happened?"
Nalan Su was momentarily stunned by Xiao Yan's words and asked, "Didn't you come because
you received the message we sent?"
Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "I just happened to arrive in Jia Ma Sacred City and came to visit Uncle Nalan on behalf of my father to extend our greetings."
He even lifted the fruit basket in his hand to indicate that he was truly here for a visit and was unaware of what had transpired.
"Come with me, and I'll explain as we walk."
After Nalan Su's explanation, Xiao Yan finally understood the situation. It turned out that
several years ago, Nalan Jie had been poisoned with the Searing Poison and had been relying
on his Dou King's Dou Qi to barely suppress it. Recently, the Searing Poison suddenly flared up and nearly claimed his life.
Even Pill King Gu He was unable to treat it and could only provide some pills to prolong his life. He mentioned that to completely eradicate the Searing Poison, it would require a Heavenly Flame to enter Nalan Jie's body and burn the poison away.
Not long after, when Nalan Yanran returned and learned about this matter, she recalled the flame that Xiao Yan used when fighting Mo Cheng in Yan City, which resembled a Heavenly Flame, and thus sent people to find him.
But they could not find him after searching everywhere. They hadn't expected that Xiao Yan was actually in Rock Desert City and assumed he was deliberately avoiding them.
So when the old steward saw Xiao Yan arriving at the Nalan Mansion, he was so excited, thinking that he had finally forgiven them and had come to save Nalan Jie.
Xiao Yan let out a wry laugh after hearing this. Although Nalan Yanran's annulment of the engagement had been very rude, it didn't affect the Xiao Clan at all, and he had even beaten
her in the end.
As he slowly approached the large bed, his gaze fell on the figure lying on it. The once
imposing Nalan Jie in his memory was now thin like a bamboo stick, skin clinging to bones.
His face was faintly tinged with large patches of grayish-black, actually carrying a hint of
deathly aura.
"It's very serious indeed."