Chapter 24: Is This the Grotto Abode You Left Back in the Day?
Chapter 24: Is This the Grotto Abode You Left Back in the Day?
After the plane landed, Ling Yi declined Qin Jiuyue’s offer to drive him and quickly walked away along the corridor.
Qin Jiuyue watched Ling Yi’s retreating back with a smile and called out, “Let’s meet up later!”
Ling Yi waved a hand behind him without turning his head.
The two had agreed that Qin Jiuyue would take him along when she attended an auction in a few days.
It was an invitation-only private auction. Without an invitation, one could only enter if brought by an invited guest.
Ling Yi didn’t know if Qin Jiuyue originally planned to bring anyone else, but after he merely mentioned wanting to broaden his horizons, she agreed without hesitation.
When he reached the exit, Su Qingqing was already waiting there. Upon seeing him, Su Qingqing revealed a happy smile.
Both of them were good at hiding the sadness and hatred brought on by their adoptive father’s passing.
On the way, Su Qingqing asked, “Should we go home first or get something to eat?”
Ling Yi said, “Let’s go home first. How has Ling Yun’s mood been lately?”
“She seems okay, going to school as usual. But sometimes she secretly cries alone in her room at night. Our younger sister has grown up; she’s starting to keep many things to herself,” Su Qingqing sighed. “It was just too sudden. It’s hard for everyone to accept.”
Ling Yi nodded.
Silence fell in the car for a while.
After a moment, Su Qingqing said, “Zhao Tianping took a fall this time and has been keeping a much lower profile recently. But we still can’t let our guard down. Someone like him hiding in the shadows is more dangerous than him openly picking fights.”
Ling Yi nodded. “Don’t worry. The graduation ceremony is in a few days. If they don’t cause trouble, I won’t take any rash action.”
Su Qingqing smiled. “That’s good. I noticed you’re more steady than before.”
Ling Yi glanced at her. “I wasn’t someone who went looking for trouble before either.”
Su Qingqing said, “It’s not the same.”
She didn’t say what was different, but it was clear Su Qingqing was quite happy with Ling Yi’s current state.
“By the way, Qingqing, my seal is broken.”
While waiting at a red light, Ling Yi looked at Su Qingqing and said.
Su Qingqing was stunned for a second, her eyes showing disbelief and delight. “Really?”
Ling Yi nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know how it happened either. It just recovered on its own.”
Su Qingqing didn’t even think to ask why. Her lively, beautiful eyes were full of joy, and then, they grew slightly red.
“Great! Wonderful! This is fantastic!”
The light turned green, but Su Qingqing didn’t react.
“Drive!” Ling Yi reminded her helplessly as impatient honks sounded from behind.
Su Qingqing, grinning foolishly, started the car.
“I shouldn’t tell you important things while you’re driving anymore,” Ling Yi said.
“This is just too wonderful…”
“Sis, see that guy on the bike ahead?”
“Huh?”
“Let’s hit him!”
“Can’t do that!”
“If you know you can’t, then drive properly!”
“Just too wonderful…”
“…”
Su Qingqing grinned like an idiot the whole way, making Ling Yi almost suspect she had turned into a fool.
Luckily, she got back to normal after they got home, though she still giggled occasionally, as if she had found money.
Ling Yun wasn’t home from school yet, so the two of them chatted in the living room.
It was a three-bedroom apartment, about 150 square meters. Owning such an apartment within the fourth ring road of the Capital City, where land was extremely valuable, was a dream for many young people.
Although Su Qingqing’s salary was high, buying a place here still wouldn’t be easy based on her income alone.
This apartment’s down payment was paid by their adoptive father after Su Qingqing started working.
The old man was truly honest. When he paid Su Qingqing’s down payment, he used up all his savings at the time.
Even then, it was only after Ling Yi went behind Su Qingqing’s back and secretly sold a Second Order Demon Beast Core, giving the hundreds of thousands he got to their adoptive father, that they managed to scrape together enough.
They couldn’t let Su Qingqing know about this. She never allowed Ling Yi to sell any Demon Beast Cores.
Su Qingqing chose a three-bedroom apartment back then, thinking they could each have a room. However, Ling Yi had always lived in the villa on the Zongwu side before and rarely came over.
Su Qingqing knew Ling Yi’s habits; he was the type who brought his own bedsheets even to hotels. So this time, as soon as he returned, she took him straight home.
To her, at least half of this house belonged to Ling Yi. The other half was for her and their younger sister.
In the afternoon, when Ling Yun returned from school and saw Ling Yi, her face immediately lit up with surprise.
The siblings had never been apart for so long before. After meeting, she immediately started chattering to Ling Yi about interesting things that happened recently.
While Ling Yun wasn’t paying attention, Ling Yi and Su Qingqing exchanged a glance. Their younger sister had really grown up!
She knew to carefully avoid sensitive topics and had learned to hide her sorrow.
“Brother, Sis, I have an idea. I don’t plan to take the domestic university entrance exam. I plan to directly apply for the overseas enrollment exam of Great Chu Academy. I want to go to Great Chu!”
After chatting for a while, Ling Yun suddenly said something startling.
“Straight to Great Chu?” Ling Yi frowned slightly.
“Yes. While things are relatively stable now, I want to go learn some of their advanced knowledge and bring it back,” Ling Yun said, a confident smile appearing on her delicate face. “I want to learn something useful so I can help Brother in the future. It can’t be helped; the world’s best schools are in Great Chu, so I have to go there.”
Ling Yi pondered. Although his sister’s attitude seemed like she had already made up her mind, he wanted to convince her not to go to Great Chu.
Su Qingqing also disagreed. She looked at Ling Yun. “Do you know that our dad… because of meeting Lu Qingming, he…”
Ling Yun nodded softly. “I know. But what can we do about it? He’s a powerful Dao-Entering Expert. Would he really bother targeting a young girl like me? Besides, I asked Luo Xue, and she said the security system at Great Chu Academy is very strong. As long as I don’t leave the Academy, there shouldn’t be any danger.”
Ling Yi felt a bit helpless inside. He had just thought she had grown up, but she was still an innocent girl.
Ling Yun smiled sweetly. “Alright, Brother, Qing Jie, don’t worry about me. I’ve grown up. I understand what I’m facing.”
Ling Yi took a deep breath and sighed softly. “Just a few days ago, an underling of Lu Qingming’s, a Fourth-Order Golden Body Expert, went to Spring City to assassinate me.”
“Fourth-Order Golden Body?” Ling Yun was startled, her little face instantly paling. She looked at Ling Yi. “Then, Brother, you…”
Ling Yi shook his head. “I’m fine. Aren’t I right in front of you, perfectly fine?”
As he spoke, he felt a pair of thoughtful eyes watching him from the side.
Ling Yi said somewhat helplessly, “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you on purpose. There just wasn’t a very good chance to mention this before.”
Su Qingqing thought about it and reluctantly accepted Ling Yi’s explanation. The trip back a few days ago was indeed rushed; there really wasn’t a good opportunity to talk about this.
Besides, under normal circumstances, Ling Yi could definitely not be a match for a Golden Body Expert.
The fact that he was unharmed after an attack by a Golden Body Expert meant there must be a problem with that situation.
He also thought about how Ling Yi’s strength had miraculously recovered. It probably had a direct connection to this incident!
Thinking about this, Su Qingqing, who worked at the Military Headquarters intelligence department, immediately understood. If Ling Yi wasn’t talking about this, he must have his reasons.
She shifted the topic away, looking at Ling Yun. “Given the current international situation, going to Great Chu isn’t really an issue. But because Lu Qingming exists, we all hope you’ll carefully consider this before making a decision.”
“You must understand, the enemy will not show you any pity or sympathy just because you’re a girl. You also must never overestimate the moral standards or integrity of those powerful figures.”
“After what happened to your brother this time, isn’t that enough to make you see things clearly?”
“In fact, everything you want to learn can be taught at Jing University. Even though there’s still a gap compared to Great Chu Academy, that gap, in our eyes, is far less important than your life.”
After hearing this, Ling Yun fell silent for a while, then showed a helpless smile and said with some sadness, “After Dad died, I always thought I had grown up, that I matured overnight. I didn’t expect I’m still me, still that little burden from back then…”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened.
Su Qingqing took her hand. “What silly talk is that? Who dares to call you a burden? The three of us have depended on each other since childhood; our lives have long been intertwined. Your life is our lives, and the same goes the other way around. Actually, we both don’t want you to be affected by Dad’s grudge. We’d rather you live according to your own wishes.”
Her own wishes?
Impossible!
What she wanted most was to enter Zongwu Academy!
How could she go to Zongwu now?
Ling Yun showed a well-behaved smile and nodded. “Don’t worry, sis, I’ll work hard!”
But her heart was filled with regret. It seemed she couldn’t go to Great Chu Academy. What even her brother and Qingjie didn’t know was that what she most wanted to study was forging!
This subject was only taught best in the entire continent at Great Chu Academy.
Within Great Qin, only Zongwu offered such a relatively niche and tedious, difficult subject.
She wanted to help her brother forge the most powerful armor in the world in the future!
So that when facing strong opponents again, it could block all vicious attacks.
Ling Yi understood his own younger sister quite well. Although he didn’t know she wanted to study a niche subject like forging, he did know she wanted to enter Zongwu!
He thought for a moment and said, “Actually, Zongwu is still a possibility.”
“Ah?” Su Qingqing and Ling Yun exclaimed in unison, then turned their faces together, looking at Ling Yi in surprise, their eyes full of confusion.
Ling Yi said calmly and lightly, “There’s still a year before Xiaomei’s college entrance exams. As long as within this year, we eliminate Zhao Tianping and uproot all his lackeys along with him, this matter will be resolved.”
Su Qingqing couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “You make it sound easy. Eliminating Zhao Tianping seems much harder than studying safely at Great Chu Academy.”
Ling Yi said, “Anyway, there’s still a year. Maybe there will be a turn of events.”
Ling Yun whispered from the side, “If it could be like that, that would naturally be best…”
After all, Zongwu was the place she most wanted to go!
Early the next morning, Su Qingqing had to go to work and would drop Ling Yun off at school on the way. Only Ling Yi remained at home.
He tidied up simply, then went out and left.
However, the Ling Yi who walked out of Su Qingqing’s apartment might not even be recognized by those closest to him.
His original height of 185 centimeters had changed to about 178 centimeters. His originally young, handsome face had become ordinary, looking like he was over forty.
He was dressed in outdoor clothing, carrying a large fishing gear bag.
His posture was slightly hunched, making him look like a middle-aged uncle with elderly parents and children to support, nearly crushed by life, living humbly day to day, using a bit of rest time to go fishing alone, trying to catch a brief breath of relief.
After leaving the residential area, Ling Yi hailed a taxi right at the entrance, gave the destination, and the driver quoted five hundred.
Because even taking the highway all the way, that place required over an hour’s drive.
Ling Yi didn’t haggle and took the driver’s phone number, saying he’d need a ride back later and would call ahead to arrange it.
The driver was naturally very happy. This kind of job was relatively easy, and the money was comfortably earned.
Long after Ling Yi left, in a room across from Su Qingqing’s building, two people who had been constantly watching the exit of Su Qingqing’s building finally gathered their wits a bit.
One asked, “Have you seen that person who went out carrying fishing gear before?”
The other shook his head. “Haven’t seen him…”
“Don’t you think that person is quite suspicious?”
“Suspicious? What’s suspicious about going out fishing?”
“Would someone living here go fishing without their own car?”
“Isn’t it normal not to drive with Capital City’s traffic jams?”
“What you say seems to make some sense too…”
So, the two continued to painfully keep watch and monitor from there.
By this time, Ling Yi was almost reaching his destination for this trip—Jingyun Reservoir.
The Enchantress said the Grotto Abode she left behind back in Great Qin was in that area.
Two souls who had parted unhappily multiple times finally reached an agreement on profit distribution—
For achievements belonging to the Enchantress, split fifty-fifty; for achievements belonging to Ling Yi, split twenty-eight.
Enchantress twenty, Ling Yi eighty.
The Enchantress wasn’t happy with this result, and Ling Yi also felt wronged.
Other systems try their best to nurture their hosts, help them grow, ask for no return, work hard without complaint, like model workers.
But this one on him was petty, calculating, unwilling to yield an inch, desperately trying to gain benefits from its host!
To fight for a bit more profit, the Enchantress had almost exhausted all tricks.
Throwing tantrums, acting unreasonable, making threats, acting coquettishly—as long as she could gain an extra point, she’d call him grandpa or daddy without hesitation.
That previous aloof, cold elegance was just a disguise.
In the process of contending with Ling Yi, her integrity had long shattered into pieces, not even a magnifying glass could find it all, and her persona had collapsed beyond repair…
Claiming to have a great background? Who’s she fooling?
She definitely wasn’t from any proper origin.
After getting out of the taxi, Ling Yi walked along the reservoir bank for quite a while and finally found a suitable fishing spot. He set up his fishing gear, put up the sunshade, prepared the bait, then threw an empty hook into the water. Only then did he stroll away with his hands behind his back. In a short while, he disappeared deep into the dense forest.
Even if someone came here, they’d mistake it for the angler being temporarily absent.
Actually, not many people came here to fish anyway.
Jingyun Reservoir was surrounded by a vast primeval forest spanning hundreds of miles. Ordinary people hardly dared to come here for fishing casually.
Even though powerful troops were stationed around Capital City, it couldn’t change the fact that Demon Beasts often appeared here.
It wasn’t worth risking one’s life just to catch a few fish.
Ling Yi wasn’t afraid. The strongest Demon Beast that could appear here wouldn’t exceed third tier.
Over the years, he had ventured into this area many times and was very familiar with the terrain.
After trekking through the dense forest for over an hour, he finally arrived at an open area. Ahead was a large mountain.
The Enchantress said in his mind, “Here, here! I can already sense the aura of the Formation Array I left back then!”
Ling Yi also grew excited. He then began climbing the mountain. When he reached halfway up the mountainside, the Enchantress told him to stop.
“Alright, right here. Now I’ll teach you an incantation…”
She then babbled on, teaching Ling Yi an incantation like a chant in his mind. Ling Yi silently learned it several times, then softly recited it—
The next moment, the scene before his eyes instantly changed!
A surge of majestic spiritual energy rushed toward him!
Then, not far ahead, amidst swirling clouds and mist, a huge mountain gate came into view.
Above the mountain gate was a massive stone plaque exuding an ancient, weathered aura. On it, written in an ancient script, were three powerful, vigorous characters—Heaven’s Gate Sect!
“This is the Grotto Abode you left back then?” Ling Yi was truly shocked.
It felt like entering a completely different space!
“Huh?”
An exclamation also came from Ling Yi’s mind. “How did it become like this?”
Ling Yi: ???