Chapter 97: Lu Qingming Wants To See You
Chapter 97: Lu Qingming Wants To See You
Over the next few days, Ling Yi’s life finally returned to peace.
The classmates in the class group also expressed their gratitude to Ling Yi one after another.
Cheap flattery like “Our Class Monitor is so awesome” and “Ninth Brother is so domineering” flooded in without much skill.
Ling Yi’s early warning had indeed helped them a great deal.
It not only saved countless people but also greatly benefited their personal futures!
Although they came from Zongwu, and none of their families were bad, in a place like the Military, what was valued was personal ability. To get a promotion, you still had to rely on solid military merit!
Having a good background didn’t mean you could easily rise to the top.
After all, you weren’t the only one with a good background.
In times of war, even the son of a Monarch needed to go to the battlefield to gain military merit and win support from the Military.
So this time, each of Ling Yi’s classmates was guaranteed a big military credit.
Ling Yi spent these days refining his Golden Body.
The little fox spirit was very familiar with all the steps and prepared everything perfectly every day.
She was quite content in her role as a little maid.
After being scared, You Baofeng ran back home that very day.
Actually, he shouldn’t have come to Spring City in the first place.
The Fox Clan’s plan to integrate into the Mortal World was also intended to start from Jiangshui City.
After all, that was the You family’s stronghold.
The days passed one by one like this.
In the blink of an eye, it was November, and Spring City welcomed a not-so-cold winter.
The previous Blood Vine was almost used up.
His realm successfully broke through to the peak of the third layer of Golden Body.
After spending this time together, Hu Xiaoxian had grown somewhat accustomed to the various miraculous things Ling Yi displayed.
Things like the Blood Vine, or breaking through from Golden Body zero-layer to the peak of the third layer in just a few months… in her view, these were all to be expected!
If he didn’t have these skills, how could he become the Young Master of a beautiful Dao-Entry Grade Fox Spirit like her?
On November 15th, 2020 of the Great Qin calendar, big news suddenly came from the northern border—
A roughly three-hundred-man elite battalion from Chu State suddenly crossed the border and was discovered by a unit of the Black Tortoise Legion. A fierce conflict broke out during the confrontation, causing casualties on both sides.
When this news came out, it shocked the entire nation!
The whole of Great Qin was seething with anger!
The Beast Tide that swept across the continent had just passed not long ago, and there were still many Demon Beasts scattered all over the world, constantly threatening human safety. At a time like this, Chu State’s active provocation touched the sensitive nerves of countless people.
Back when people like Sun Qingbo controlled the court, if something like this happened, it would basically be suppressed immediately.
Not even a whisper would be let out.
Then, a few weak condemnations would be made through diplomatic channels. They might even generously give the other side some benefits, pay some “medical fees” or something, and finally turn a big issue into a small one, and a small one into nothing.
If rumors did get out, they would use “focusing on economic development” as an excuse and then use the City Guard Army to suppress the small number of people who dared to cause trouble.
Well, that settled it.
In a word—they wouldn’t give you soil for passionate fervor!
That way, even if a small portion of the Great Qin populace was filled with indignation, they could do nothing about it.
But now it was different.
Those people like Sun Qingbo had already fallen from power. High-ranking officials who were surrenderists either died or knelt. The remaining ones either laid low for the time being or barely clung to life, and it would be hard for them to stir up any waves in the short term.
From top to bottom, Great Qin finally had a unified voice regarding foreign affairs.
“Get out, Great Chu invaders!”
“Great Qin soldiers, kill them!”
Hu Xiaoxian, wearing an apron, served the freshly made breakfast—
Recently, the Fox Spirit girl’s cooking skills had improved rapidly. The things she made… could be eaten now!
While calling Ling Yi over to eat, she glanced at the TV in the living room and said, “Senior sister said that Chu State has the support of powerful Sects behind it, and it seems some figures from the Demi-Human Race are involved too. So, sooner or later, they will show their claws to the surrounding countries. Your Qin State, geographically speaking, is the juiciest piece of meat.”
Ling Yi looked at her, a bit surprised. “You understand this stuff?”
Hu Xiaoxian gave him a sideways glance. “In Young Master’s eyes, am I just a soft and cute little maid who only knows how to make delicious food?”
He wouldn’t comment on the ‘soft and cute’ part, but the ‘delicious food’ was a bit hard to take.
Ling Yi looked up. “Do you perhaps have some misunderstanding about what delicious food is?”
Hu Xiaoxian shot him another sideways glance, looking displeased. “I’m trying very hard, okay? It’s Young Master who is too picky! My cooking skills are top-notch in the Fox Clan! I absolutely have a firm grip on this!”
“In your Fox Clan, does being able to cook food until it’s done count as being a great chef?”
“Of course not!”
“I feel sorry for you all for one second.”
“Hmph!”
Just then, the phone rang. Ling Yi answered it, listened for a few sentences, and his brow gradually furrowed.
“When did this happen?” he asked.
After a few more words from the other side, Ling Yi’s frown deepened. He silently hung up the phone.
He looked at Hu Xiaoxian. “Pack some things. We’re going on a trip.”
Hu Xiaoxian was stunned for a moment, then asked with a bit of joy, “Are we going out to play?”
Ling Yi looked at her. “Play with your head!”
Hu Xiaoxian immediately shrank her neck, looking weakly at Ling Yi. “How do you play with a head?”
“…”
This rookie Dao-Entry fox.
On the plane.
Hu Xiaoxian sat by the window, looking curiously at the scenery outside.
After watching for a long time, she turned her head and leaned close to Ling Yi’s ear, whispering, “The noise is so loud. It’s not as comfortable as flying by myself!”
“…”
Is being able to fly something to brag about?
Ling Yi gave her a sidelong glance and didn’t want to talk to her.
This little fox spirit was a bit like that Enchantress in some ways.
Except the Enchantress could boast, while the little fox was truly timid.
The plane landed at Capital City airport.
As soon as they walked down the airstairs, they saw Gu Tong standing below, along with a stretched-out limousine behind him and a sharp-looking young driver standing by the rear door.
Gu Tong glanced at Hu Xiaoxian. Although he already knew a mysterious beautiful girl had appeared by Ling Yi’s side, seeing her in person still gave him a feeling of being dazzled.
Ling Yi’s Taohua luck… was truly enviable!
Thinking about his own impending burial, he felt a sudden, inexplicable sadness.
The warm sunshine could not warm that wounded heart.
“Why such a big fuss?” Ling Yi looked at the car and gave Gu Tong a somewhat helpless glance.
“If you weren’t so low-key, sending a Private Jet to pick you up would have been fitting.”
Gu Tong laughed heartily, stepped forward, and gave Ling Yi’s shoulder a firm pat.
But a Golden Body’s shoulder wasn’t so easy to pat. Gu Tong’s hand instantly stung with pain, and he grimaced, muttering under his breath, “You freak!”
How long had it been since they last met?
Why did it feel like this guy’s cultivation level had advanced by leaps and bounds again?
People really couldn’t be compared. Before seeing him, I was still an elite; after seeing him, I’m just a useless rich kid…
Ling Yi didn’t introduce the little fox spirit to him either, directly taking her into the car.
The people who disembarked from the same flight behind them all watched with curiosity and envy as the young man and woman got into the eye-catching car. Many who took out their phones to take pictures were immediately stopped by other ground staff at the scene.
Only then did someone belatedly recognize the young man as Ling Yi, a once-hot topic in the news who had disappeared for a long time.
Watching the car slowly drive away from the airport, people reacted differently.
Calm, indifferent, envious, jealous, bitter… well, such was the Mortal World.
Inside the car.
Gu Tong briefly filled Ling Yi in on the situation.
“Thanks to your early warning this time, even though we didn’t have much time, it still reduced a lot of casualties. The damage this Beast Tide caused to humanity was much more severe than everyone imagined.”
“The losses suffered by the other six countries were also quite shocking.”
“Great Chu took this opportunity to stir up trouble. While it exposed their ambitions, at the same time…”
Gu Tong looked at Ling Yi. “This is also an opportunity for us to rise!”
Remembering what the Demoness had once said, Ling Yi looked at Gu Tong and replied, “Actually, the most important thing is still cultivation resources. As long as we can solve this problem, improving Great Qin’s foundational combat power… won’t be difficult.”
Gu Tong lowered his voice. “There’s already a lead on the resource issue. We’ll talk about that… later!”
Ling Yi was momentarily taken aback, then nodded.
The limousine drove all the way into the Imperial Garden.
Ever since Sun Qingbo’s interest group collapsed, the officialdom of Great Qin experienced a massive upheaval. Struggles and purges had been going on ever since.
And they might continue for a while longer.
But for the young Crown Prince Qin Hao, the current situation was extremely advantageous for him.
As long as nothing went wrong during this process, his implementation of various new policies would be much smoother once he ascended the throne.
For him, this brief, painful period was something he had to go through.
There might be great figures in this world who sailed smoothly through life, but they were few and far between.
Without experiencing pain, how could one truly understand the meaning of happiness?
When Ling Yi saw Qin Hao, he could clearly sense that Qin Hao’s aura was much stronger than before.
But before him, Qin Hao remained largely unchanged, just like old times.
“Ninth Brother, you’re finally back!” Qin Hao stepped forward enthusiastically, greeting Ling Yi with a happy hug.
After releasing him, Ling Yi brushed off his clothes with a look of distaste.
Qin Hao felt a bit helpless but was used to it.
Ling Yi entered the living room and took a seat.
The little fox spirit stood obediently by Ling Yi’s side.
Qin Hao raised an eyebrow, looking at the little fox spirit dressed in office lady attire, and asked Ling Yi, “Ninth Brother, aren’t you going to introduce this young lady?”
Ling Yi said, “My maidservant, Hu Xiaoxian.”
The little fox spirit offered Qin Hao a polite but distinctly distant, artificial smile.
Qin Hao: “…”
It wasn’t exactly disrespectful, but there was certainly no special regard either.
The young Crown Prince of Great Qin felt a bit frustrated. Even a maidservant by his Ninth Brother’s side was this arrogant?
“Oh, I forgot to mention, she has reached Dao Enlightenment,” Ling Yi said, looking at Qin Hao.
Qin Hao: “…”
Gu Tong: “…”
Now they were truly speechless.
Dao Enlightenment?
A maidservant?
Gu Tong couldn’t help but stare at Hu Xiaoxian for a long time, unable to see how this slender, pink-tinged, soft, and cute-looking girl was a Dao Enlightenment Master.
But they had no choice but to believe Ling Yi’s words.
This guy… never seemed to have lied to them.
“Let’s get down to business. What exactly happened that made me indispensable? Also, how can you be sure that Lu Qingming won’t make a move against me?” Ling Yi asked Qin Hao directly.
The previous phone call had been from Qin Hao.
He had told him that Luo Xue was in trouble.
And she had been taken away publicly during a class at the Great Chu Academy!
This move was highly unusual. Even though the two countries had declared war on each other, such an action wouldn’t be taken lightly.
After all, it wasn’t just students from Qin State studying at Great Chu.
After she was taken away, word soon came through private channels –
If you want to resolve the current border dispute, no problem, we can talk.
At the same time, they subtly hinted that Luo Xue was taken away because she was highly suspected of stealing high-level secrets from Great Chu… but even this issue wasn’t non-negotiable!
In short, send an envoy over, and let’s talk.
They didn’t specify who the chief envoy should be, but they insisted that Ling Yi must be among the members of the envoy delegation!
“As for why they insist on you going, they didn’t hide it. They were quite clear…” Qin Hao looked at Ling Yi with a wry smile. “Lu Qingming wants to see you.”
“Lu Qingming… wants to see me?” Ling Yi felt a sense of absurdity.