Facing the ferocious deanor of the adjutant and his n, Lin Tang narrowed his eyes and said, "Who gave you the nerve to speak to like that? Aren't you afraid I'll trigger the residual poison in your system?"
The adjutant scoffed, "Pavilion Master Ning already examined us. There's no residual poison. Who do you think you're fooling?"
"Then I'll just have to poison you again right now," Lin Tang said with a playful smirk.
"Hahaha—" The adjutant laughed maniacally, ripping open his shirt to reveal a bomb strapped to his chest. His subordinates all did the sa.
Pointing to a cara pinned to his uniform, the adjutant declared arrogantly, "I refuse to be made a fool of a third ti! Do you really think your poisons are infallible? Let tell you, this is a remote-controlled bomb! All it takes is one of my brothers a few kiloters away to press a button, and it'll detonate instantly! If you dare poison again, we'll all die together! Go on, try poisoning my n from kiloters away! See if you can make them too weak to push the button! Poison ! Do it!"
Lee Encai was speechless. Is it really necessary to be this desperate?
Lin Tang, however, was quite surprised. "Are you trying to force my hand?"
"So what if I am?" The adjutant would rather die than be repeatedly toyed with and humiliated by Lin Tang.
"Fine, fine. No need to get so emotional," Lin Tang said, waving his hand dismissively. "You just want to go with you, right? Lead the way."
Truth be told, he was not afraid. Even if the bomb did detonate, he was confident he could protect Lee Encai. Besides, he had already compounded the Thousand-Year Yellow Sponge into an ointnt and was about to treat Shen Youling's face. There was no need to let this single-minded fanatic destroy his house.
"Hmph!" Seeing him yield, the adjutant was secretly overjoyed. He had finally gotten one over on that bastard Lin Tang. Let's see him act so arrogant now!
「The Posthouse.」
Xiao Xuanye had originally intended to arrange for Shatana to stay in a better hotel or villa. However, Shatana did not want special treatnt, saying she did not want to give Long Tianji a bad impression. So, Xiao Xuanye had her and her entourage settle in at the posthouse as well, dispatching more of his n to guard the area.
"Pavilion Master Ning, I have a difficult task for you," he said to Ning Yuexi in private.
Ning Yuexi sneered. "Mr. Xiao, is your task to have go head-to-head with that princess? Forgive , but I'm afraid I can't do that."
"...I'm asking you to please, make sure my daughter's face is cured," Xiao Xuanye said earnestly.
After thinking it over, he still felt Shen Youling was his best bet. To be the main force against Shatana, the black mark on her face had to disappear first.
Ning Yuexi was silent. Does he really think I'm inferior to Shen Youling? Fine. It's not like I ever intended to compete with her anyway... How utterly boring. Hmph.
"I will do my best," Ning Yuexi said flatly. She then went to find Shen Youling to begin the treatnt officially.
However, after nurous examinations and attempts, Ning Yuexi finally gave up.
"Removing the toxins from the black mark on her face isn't difficult," she explained. "But making new flesh regrow perfectly is truly impossible... I won't be so bold as to claim no one in the world can do it, but I, at least, am powerless."
This black mark was not a simple scar. The entire area beneath it was completely necrotic, like charred wood. How could that possibly be restored to perfection? As for excising the tissue and using biocompatible fillers and skin grafts, that would leave obvious traces. Anyone could tell she had had plastic surgery. She would never regain her forr beauty. There could even be side effects, like facial paralysis or the spread of infection...
In fact, Lin Tang had already explained all this. But Shen Youling had subconsciously believed that as the renowned Master of Xuanhu dical Pavilion, Ning Yuexi's dical skills must be far superior to Lin Tang's. She thought perhaps Ning Yuexi could handle it.
Hearing Ning Yuexi say once again that it was impossible, Shen Youling was naturally devastated. "It seems I'm fated to look like this for the rest of my life."
Xiao Xuanye's brow furrowed deeply, but he was not ready to give up. He began to rack his brain for other solutions.
After the elders in the capital learned of Shatana's personal visit, they held another eting. Subsequently, every well-known young lady of high society from the major cities—regardless of whether they were interested in the concubine selection or completely unaware of it—received a special "invitation."
The invitation was not to participate in the selection, but rather... to observe the ceremony!
"Do they take for a fool? I know exactly what they're plotting."
"They call it 'observing the ceremony,' but what if that Long Tian-whatever takes a liking to once I'm there? How could a defenseless woman like possibly escape?"
"No way! I'm definitely not going!"
Well, it takes all sorts to make a world. Of course, not every woman wanted to cling to Long Tianji's coattails. A portion of these young ladies simply turned their noses up at the invitation. They just wanted to live their own quiet lives and had no intention of joining the commotion.
Of course, others accepted. And then there were those who did not want to but were forced by their families.
Take, for instance, Li Xinyuan, a prominent young lady from Xinlan City's Li Family. She was already distressed over her company's impending bankruptcy when her family issued several ironclad commands for her to return ho imdiately. Thinking another disaster had struck, she rushed back—
Huh?? They want to participate in so goddamn concubine selection? Are they treating like a toy?
"Dad, Mom, are you insane? I'm already married to Mu Fan! How could I...?" Li Xinyuan protested vehently.
"Hmph! Everyone knows your marriage to that loser Mu Fan is in na only. You've never even shared a bed," her mother scoffed.
"You two don't even have a marriage certificate. Just kick him to the curb," her father added.
"Daughter, don't be a fool," her mother continued. "If you marry this Dragon King, our company will be saved, our family won't fall into ruin, and we could even soar to new heights overnight!"
"This is settled. You're not allowed to object. If you still refuse, then you're no longer my daughter!"
"Go break things off with that loser Mu Fan right now, or I'll have him killed!"
With just a few words, her parents forced her to submit, especially by threatening the life of her live-in husband, Mu Fan. It left her unable to say no.
Dispirited, she left the family's grand villa and returned to the apartnt where she and Mu Fan were temporarily living. Not long ago, Mu Fan had been accused of molesting her cousin and was nearly beaten to death. Li Xinyuan, however, believed he was frad and had moved out with him to let things cool down.
CLICK!
Hearing the door open, a bruised Mu Fan erged from the kitchen, offering a fawning smile. "Honey, you're back! The food's almost ready. We can eat in just a minute!"
Looking at his weak and incompetent appearance, Li Xinyuan was overco with a naless rage, furious at his lack of ambition. "Is this all you think about all day? Trivial nonsense like food and cooking? Can't you have so ambition? If you had even an ounce of talent, if you weren't just a freeloader in my family's house, I wouldn't be in this situation! Do you have any idea how much pain I'm in?"
"I... I'm sorry..." Mu Fan shrank back, stuttering, completely at a loss for how to comfort her.
"I don't want to see you. Get out!"
"O-Okay. Calm down. I'll... I'll go out and buy so more of your favorite food. I'll be back later..."
"GET OUT!!"
Mu Fan got a face full of her scorn. He rushed out of the apartnt in a fluster, so flustered he forgot to even take off his apron.
"Sigh!" He sighed a few tis, but he soon bounced back, as if nothing had happened. He made his way to the market, cheerily greeting the familiar stall owners.
As he was leaving with his bags of groceries, he cut through an alley, and a luxury car suddenly blocked his path.
"Young Master, I beg you, please co back with this old servant!" an old housekeeper pleaded, his voice choked with emotion and tears welling in his eyes.
Mu Fan looked helpless. "Why are you here again? I told you, I don't want to go back. I don't want to see that grandfather of mine who's as terrifying as a monster. I just want to live a peaceful life..."
"But your grandfather... he's dead!"
"What?"
"The base in the Kuntong Mountain Range has been completely destroyed. Everyone inside is dead, including all the ghost slaves..."
"Who? Who's the murderer!?" Mu Fan burst into tears, a storm of grief and hatred swirling within him. No matter how much he disapproved of Mu Jiuzhou, he was still his grandfather. Of course, he wanted revenge!
The old housekeeper sighed. "The investigation is still ongoing, but the pri suspect is the newly ascended Dragon King of Jiangbei, Long Tianji." He had discovered that Mu Yangren had attacked Long Tianji and was killed in retaliation. Shortly after, Long Tianji broke through to the Dragon King realm. He had both the motive and the power to annihilate Mu Jiuzhou.
"A Dragon King?!" Mu Fan's face turned pale.
How could he possibly get revenge? It was like a lowly demon trying to defeat the great Sun Wukong. Mu Fan was just an ordinary person. How could he possibly be a match for a Dragon King?
"Leave alone... don't bother ..." he muttered.
He stumbled all the way ho. The first thing he saw was his beloved wife, Li Xinyuan.
"Honey..." Mu Fan's nose tingled. He desperately wanted so comfort.
But Li Xinyuan expressionlessly took out a docunt and a bank card, stating coldly, "Let's get a divorce. This money is your compensation."
"Divorce? Wh-Why?" Mu Fan jumped as if his tail had been stepped on. "This is so sudden! There has to be a reason! I don't accept!"
"A reason? What reason do you want? It's all because you're a complete loser! You can't do anything, so what choice do I have? I'll be blunt. I'm going to Jiangbei to participate in the concubine selection for a powerful man nad Long Tianji. Whether I'm chosen or not, we are finished."
"Long Tianji? It's Long Tianji again?!"
Mu Fan roared at the sky.
I only wanted to live a quiet life... Why is everyone forcing my hand...?
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