46. Hawthorn and Black Plum Soup

“With so many eyes watching, and An Ran having no wings, how could she possibly fly away?” Knowing where Sima Yan was mostly stationed, she no longer bothered to negotiate with the man, gave Master Jinghui a reassuring glance, and turned to leave.

At the end of July, the Empress Dowager and Consort Xing Tai returned. Upon receiving the news, Gu Jinzhi led the other concubines to wait early outside Shoukang Palace.

Gazing at Haoyue on the bed, although they were twins, the recent days had marked a significant difference between them.

Hu Xue had wanted to say, “But I think you’re reluctant to part,” yet in the end, she only uttered three words: “Rest assured.”

“If the princess worries about the prince, I can escort her out of the city; perhaps we can have a word or two,” said Feng and Baizhu, who accompanied An Ran.

Grandma remained silent throughout the journey, and I dared not ask much. Only after we had walked far did she finally exhale, releasing me and wiping the sweat from her brow with her arm.

Yet, nothing in this world is absolute. She still intended to let Xuanyuan Wu grow gradually, gaining the ability to protect himself first. In other words, she must follow the original path laid out by the former owner.

Pain flickered in Haoyue’s eyes; bitterness spread from her lips, and her heart felt as though it was being painfully clenched.

Sima Jin was momentarily stunned; he hadn’t heard of this before, but it seemed a good experiment for him. He concealed his worries, only stiffening his body, walking somewhat unsteadily.

I tried hard not to think about those things, but after taking a few steps, something suddenly tugged at my ankle.

For them, even without a throne, they must have a son to inherit the family’s pots and pans.

Not to mention a thin-skinned person like Xie Yichen, even Yang Songnian, who was used to grand occasions, found it hard to bear.

Compared to the risks, these cultivators valued the rewards more. The Xu family cultivators responsible for task allocation calculated the task’s value based on the highest-level mission.

The demon’s clone discerned that this old man was merely a mortal, physically healthy and perhaps possessing some mundane martial arts, but insignificant before an immortal cultivator.

---

Whether attending school or work, those who had never written such things found themselves locked onto by two gazes and four eyes.

Xie Yichen was truly pitiful—being a henpecked son-in-law, dragging them all down, forcing them to humble themselves to please their wives.

The talks with Hanmo Military Industry were going well; Justin Hanmo was extremely welcoming to the big boss’s visit.

The youth stared bewildered at the folding screen for a long while but found no clue, then shifted his gaze elsewhere.

Not changing? The entire group had to halt for so long and then handle a new set of humanoid monsters plus three blue chubby creatures, putting great pressure on group health. Change? But he lacked past experience to support this and was unsure if he could reliably defeat them.

It was unclear whether the meaning was immunity to all mortal spells of water, fire, wind, and thunder or only immunity among peers of the same realm.

When a top scholar meets another, especially a beautiful member of the opposite sex, a natural fondness often arises.

At the moment of death, Xiao Jing, in a soul-body state, was expelled by the rules of the otherworldly zone, and the next second found himself thrown out at the gate of that zone.

Judging by the size of Tianyun Grotto, it could house only a few hundred people at most, and the Zhao family was the city lord’s family. If they quietly withdrew and hid during difficulties in Xiyun, it would be utterly unforgivable.

He narrowed his eyes. If the Blood Fox King truly intended to kill Bai Nihong, why would he announce it with such fanfare?

Xia Fanxing gazed at Su Qiao’s fervent eyes. Though somewhat inappropriate, he felt immense heartache upon hearing what he had just overheard. In this vast universe, though he couldn't yet understand the struggles and pain Su Qiao had endured, he knew they needed each other.

After taking a few steps, Xia Fanxing was amazed to see white silk-like spiritual energy connecting the few beams of light surrounding the ancient tree on the ground. The next instant, his vision darkened; the bright, clear sensation vanished—the effect of the Jade Pure Stone Spirit Sword had ended.

Xia Fanxing gave a bitter smile. Since yesterday’s bone refining, much of his strength had yet to recover. Fortunately, the spiritual energy in the fairyland was exceptionally abundant, allowing him to continue flying on his sword without issue.

Gong Changjue opened her eyes. The firewood in the stove trembled at the mouth of the hearth, the flames casting light upon her face.

---

“Hey, you’re not deaf, are you? Didn’t you hear him just say no further pursuit?” Lin Fan said impatiently.

This old man was Xu Maogong—same name as the military strategist Xu Maogong of Wagong Village in Earth’s history, but a different person.

“W-why am I here?” Ye Fan withdrew his confused gaze and stared at the man beside him, dressed in uniform and desperately smoking.

“Come on, try if you dare. Let’s see who dies first,” Zhao Jun snorted coldly again. “If I’m to die, Guo Zixing will go down with me!” Saying so, he turned and walked back into the military tent, hands behind his back.

Thinking of how precious his time was, wasted here pointlessly, his anger flared. He pulled the Seven-Star Sword from the coffin lid, twisted off the candle, then kicked the coffin lid. With a loud clatter, the lid fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

“Mr. Shen, if there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave. We don’t want to take up your time,” before Shen Beicheng could finish speaking, Lu Nanxian directly led Lu Youchen away.

Han Lianyi reached up to touch her reddened cheek, smiling faintly like a gentle breeze—her smile ethereal, elusive.

Before Ye Chen could even smile, a large black hand shattered the spirit stone and reached to grab him.

Letting you be buried is a kindness; not letting you be buried is a duty. Giving your family a place to rest, even without a tomb mound, is a favor.

Some say that place is now a secret experimental zone, forbidden to ordinary people. That ten-square-kilometer hill has long been a restricted area; others say a large team entered later but, like their predecessors, never returned.

“All right, you can hold on as long as you want, lean on me as much as you need.” Her fingers slipped into his hair, gently combing through it, as if caring for a weary child.