Things happened too quickly.
It wasn’t until Ling Ye flew away riding a winged horse that she realized what had happened.
Ling Ye!
He used a broken stone to swap her pure gold Demon Subduing Pestle!
Nan Shan felt a wave of dizziness and nearly couldn’t catch her breath.
As Yan Yue hurried past, he saw her standing there like a lost soul.
“How did you get out?” he approached her.
Nan Shan snapped back to reality.
Upon seeing Yan Yue, her eyes turned red.
She shakily lifted the broken stone around her neck and said, “Ling Ye… Ling Ye…”
Ling Ye’s actions were so shameless that it left her speechless, enraged as if someone had stolen her voice.
Yan Yue looked at the stone in her hand and was surprised:
“Ling Ye gave this to you?”
“Yes!” Nan Shan nodded with grief and anger.
Yan Yue smiled: “This is a Chaos Stone, a good item.
With it, your seven souls and six spirits are covered by a protective layer, so you no longer need to worry about evil forces gnawing at them.
I asked Ling Ye for it before, but he refused to give it to me.
I didn’t expect him to give it to you now.
This means the stone serves the same purpose as the Demon Subduing Pestle.”
That means Ling Ye used the same type of broken stone to swap out her pure gold Demon Subduing Pestle!
Nan Shan became even angrier:
“Ling Ye… Ling Ye he…”
She was about to complain, but suddenly noticed the old man with a white beard behind Yan Yue, so she immediately shut her mouth.
Yan Yue followed her gaze, smiled, and said, “This is the ancestor of Kunlun, you should greet him.”
“Greetings, Ancestor,” Nan Shan bowed her head.
The white-bearded old man was broad and fat, with a kind face, but there was an unapproachable divine aura about him.
He didn’t respond to the younger one’s greeting.
Instead, he looked at Yan Yue:
“This is Ling Ye’s mortal fiancée?”
“Exactly,” Yan Yue smiled.
“We originally planned to wait until the wedding date was set before they met you, but it seems they’ve met you early today.”
Nan Shan raised her head and made eye contact with the old man.
The old man clearly froze for a moment.
“Ancestor, is something wrong?” Yan Yue, noticing his reaction, asked.
The old man snapped back to reality, and a trace of awkwardness flashed across his face:
“Nothing, just when I saw her, I was reminded of an old enemy.”
“An old acquaintance?”
Yan Yue asked in surprise.
“I wonder which old acquaintance of yours resembles Nan Shan?”
“Not exactly similar, just that it’s rare to see a mortal and it reminded me of some past events,” the old man said, not wanting to dwell on the subject.
He then praised Nan Shan:
“Your eyebrows are well-shaped, and your eyes are bright. It’s clear you’re a kind-hearted girl.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Ancestor,” Yan Yue said, then turned to Nan Shan and asked, “You were speaking earlier.
What happened with Ling Ye?”
The old man also looked over.
Nan Shan, realizing the situation, wouldn’t complain in front of others.
She pursed her lips and said, “It’s nothing. I just wanted to tell you that Ling Ye gave me a… a stone. I don’t have to stay in the courtyard all the time anymore.”
“I see,” Yan Yue said with relief, “I thought he had been bullying you. As long as you two aren’t at odds, I can rest easy. I’ll be leaving for a while. You two should get along well. If he dares to bully you, go to the Law Guardian’s manor and find Zhi Can’s father. He will help you.”
The complaint didn’t get through, and now the ally was leaving?
Nan Shan anxiously asked, “When will you return?”
“That’s uncertain,” Yan Yue sighed.
“You must have heard about the theft of Kunlun’s treasure, the Wansheng Cauldron. The cauldron was last seen at Canglan Palace, but no clues have been found anywhere, whether in Canglan Palace or the Underworld. The Ancestor and I suspect the thief has already left, so we plan to search elsewhere.”
“What if they haven’t left?”
Nan Shan frowned.
Yan Yue smiled:
“Don’t worry, before the Ancestor and I find new clues, the search in the Underworld will continue.”
“I see…” Nan Shan nodded seriously, looking at Yan Yue.
“Then you must be careful and return as soon as possible.”
“Eh!”
Yan Yue, though having a biological son, had never received such concern when traveling far. He almost teared up but calmed down when he heard the Ancestor’s soft cough.
“Nan Shan, come over here.”
Nan Shan obediently stepped forward.
“Come closer,” Yan Yue beckoned.
Nan Shan, unsure of the reason, took a few more steps closer.
Yan Yue made a hand gesture, and a purple spiritual power entered her forehead.
A droplet-like pattern appeared on her forehead and then vanished in an instant.
Nan Shan reached up to touch her forehead, feeling no difference.
“I don’t know when I’ll be back.
The mountains are high, and the emperor is far away.
If Ling Ye causes trouble and takes you on a wild run, I won’t be able to stop it immediately,” Yan Yue explained gently.
“But I’ve left a trace of my aura on your forehead. As long as it’s there, no matter where you go, I can find you.”
“It sounds a bit like the Soul Guiding Technique from Qingqiu,” the old man with the white beard suddenly spoke.
The thief of the Wansheng Cauldron carried the scent of Qingqiu.
Now, they had appeared and disappeared in the Underworld.
Knowing that the old man was being overly suspicious, Yan Yue smiled:
“The aura I’ve left can’t sense her situation or guide her soul. It can only track her location. It’s much less effective than the Soul Guiding Technique.”
The old man didn’t press further.
Nan Shan obediently saw Yan Yue off and then returned to her residence alone.
She washed up, made her bed, lay down, and closed her eyes.
An hour later, she suddenly opened her eyes wide: “Ling Ye, you bastard!”
Although she was furious with Ling Ye, her biggest support wasn’t around, and she couldn’t give up the freedom she had gained.
So, after sulking for two days in her room, she still went out for a walk with the broken stone around her neck.
As soon as she stepped outside, she ran into Ling Ye.
As before, he wore silver-gray armor, and a group of guards followed behind him, looking both impressive and handsome.
Unfortunately, the moment Nan Shan saw him, she thought of the Demon Subduing Pestle that was taken from her, and she could no longer appreciate his good looks.
Ling Ye didn’t expect her to stare at him like a lost soul after just two days of not seeing her.
Thinking back, he had indeed been too focused on finding the Wansheng Cauldron these past two days, neglecting her a bit.
“Aren’t you wearing the Chaos Stone when you go out?” he asked.
She couldn’t believe he dared to bring it up.
Nan Shan immediately felt the urge to explode, but remembering that her support wasn’t at home, she held back.
“I have it with me,” she replied dully.
Ling Ye’s gaze fell on her neck, where it was empty.
“Where is it?”
he asked again.
Nan Shan lazily glanced at him:
“It’s on me.”
“Where?”
Nan Shan took a deep breath, fished the stone out of her collar, showed it to him briefly, then stuffed it back into her collar along with the inner pouch.
“Did you see it?”
she asked.
She actually carried it on her…
Ling Ye’s eyes flickered:
“The Chaos Stone is rare, but you don’t need to cherish it so much.”
Nan Shan laughed angrily:
“Didn’t you say it was better than the Demon Subduing Pestle just a couple of days ago?”
What had he said a couple of days ago?
Oh, he said the Chaos Stone was more useful than the Demon Subduing Pestle.
Ling Ye thoughtfully met her gaze:
“You still remember what I said a couple of days ago?”
Nan Shan: “? “
“Compared to the Demon-Subduing Mace, the Chaos Stone is naturally a higher-tier item,” Ling Ye said, returning to the topic of the Chaos Stone.
“Oh.”
Nan Shan no longer wanted to talk to him.
As expected, the atmosphere became a bit dull.
Ling Ye was completely unaware of this, and after a long pause, he suddenly said, “Let’s have dinner together tonight.”
Nan Shan: “? “
Ling Ye didn’t say more and directly left with his guards.
Nan Shan watched his tall figure walk away and mumbled, “Is he crazy?”
For the first time, Nan Shan went out for a walk during the day.
Although she encountered the annoying guy, it didn’t affect her good mood.
She wandered around and accidentally ended up by the Mu Yi Lake.
The lake water was clear, and the light shimmered when the wind blew, as beautiful as the companion stone of the Seven-Legged Snake in the snowy plains beneath the lake.
Nan Shan looked at the water’s surface.
Her reflection showed her messy braids, her clothes were rough but clean.
If she stretched out her hand, her sleeves would shorten, revealing the bright red Shen Yue Pearl.
Lately, she’d been eating a lot of meat in the Underworld, and it seemed like she had gained a little weight.
To confirm her suspicion, Nan Shan laid down and used the lake’s surface as a mirror to take a close look at herself.
“My little fiancée… pitiful…”
The teasing tone suddenly appeared in her mind, and Nan Shan’s eyelid twitched.
When she tried to recall more, all she could remember was the slight itch on her cheek.
She must have experienced something when she lost consciousness on the snowy plains, but she couldn’t remember exactly what.
Nan Shan wasn’t one to make herself feel bad, so if she couldn’t remember, she simply let it go.
She walked around the Cang Lan Palace a few more times.
By the time it was completely dark, she hummed a little tune and returned to her residence.
As soon as she pushed open the gate, someone inside startled her.
“What are you doing here?” Nan Shan froze.
Ling Ye had changed into a different set of clothes, a dark-colored robe that made him appear noble and imposing, but his expression didn’t look very good.
“I said we would have dinner together,” he coldly spoke, his commanding presence returning to how it was when they first met.
Although Nan Shan had grown bolder during this time, seeing him in this manner still made her feel a bit timid.
“Ah… I remember, I just didn’t expect you to come so early.”
In reality, she had completely forgotten, and if he hadn’t reminded her, she wouldn’t have recalled a single word.
Ling Ye remained expressionless.
“It’s already late.”
“Late?”
Nan Shan didn’t quite understand.
Ling Ye:
“Dinner time. It’s half an hour late.”
Nan Shan paused for a moment and feigned ignorance:
“It’s not late. Didn’t we talk about this on the snowy plains? I told you I usually eat later, and you even said it was bad for my health.”
Ling Ye hesitated for a moment.
“Did we?”
Nan Shan maintained a calm expression:
“Of course.”
Actually, they hadn’t discussed the time at all.
They only talked about what he ate, and the topic of time never came up.
Ling Ye furrowed his brows as if trying to recall.
Nan Shan immediately turned the tables:
“What’s wrong with you? You forget everything I say, but look at me, I remember everything you say. I even wanted to stay out a little longer today, but because you casually said ‘let’s have dinner together,’ I came back early.”
When Ling Ye heard this, his expression softened slightly.
Seeing her look of grievance, he suddenly felt that he, in comparison, had too many flaws.
“Sorry.” He said seriously.
Nan Shan didn’t expect him to apologize so easily.
She blinked and quickly brushed it aside:
“It’s fine, I forgive you.”
Ling Ye continued to gaze at her.
“Then… shall we go inside?”
Nan Shan asked cautiously.
Ling Ye seemed to have been waiting for her to say that and immediately entered the house.
Nan Shan’s lips twitched, and she silently followed him in.
They both sat down at the table, and once again, there was a moment of silence when their gazes met.
“I heard you’ve been so busy lately you didn’t even have time for medicinal baths?”
Nan Shan proactively poured him a cup of tea and sighed, “What should we do? Uncle Niu will bring the dinner later, but if you’re too busy…”
“I won’t be busy starting today.”
Ling Ye interrupted her, and after a pause, he added, “From now on, speak directly. No need to beat around the bush.”
What she really wanted was for him to spend time with her, so she could just directly ask, there was no need for all this subtlety.
Nan Shan ignored the second part of his statement and asked, “Why won’t you be busy?”
“The aura of the Wan Sheng Ding appeared elsewhere, so the suspicion in the Underworld has been cleared. Starting tomorrow, we won’t need to be so vigilant.”
Ling Ye explained.
Nan Shan understood, and curiosity emerged:
“I heard that the gods on Kunlun Mountain are particularly powerful, but who would dare to steal something from there?”
“Their identity is unknown, but the aura and formations left behind seem to have some connection to Qing Qiu.”
Ling Ye answered without hesitation.
“But it should just be a diversion.”
Nan Shan didn’t understand:
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because…” Ling Ye began to say something, but just then, Uncle Niu arrived with the dinner, and Ling Ye immediately quieted down.
Nan Shan greeted Uncle Niu, her curiosity growing.
“Because of what?”
Ling Ye picked up his chopsticks and started eating seriously.
Nan Shan: “?”
Until the meal was finished, Ling Ye didn’t say another word.
Nan Shan watched as he ate two big bowls of rice with his dishes, then neatly placed his chopsticks by the bowl and took out a neatly folded napkin to wipe his mouth.
Only then did he raise his eyes to look at her.
“Because Qing Qiu was destroyed a thousand years ago, and there are no more members of the Qing Qiu clan in the world.”
He calmly continued the conversation from before the meal.
Nan Shan was silent for a long time before suddenly reaching out to touch his face.
Ling Ye was slightly stunned, but didn’t reject the tender and somewhat cautious affection from his fiancée.
He even thoughtfully leaned his face toward her hand.
Nan Shan: “His temperature is normal, so why does he look like his brain is burning out?”
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