Mingyi held the gold nugget, momentarily dazed.
"I... my Essence Power is now so weak I can't even defeat Ji Qing."
"This master knows."
"My meridians... there's little hope of repairing them."
"This master knows."
"The poison in me might give me less than a year to live."
Taking a deep breath, She Tianlin's throat tightened. "This master knows that too."
She glared at him in confusion. "Then why did you still acknowledge me? I'm just a useless waste."
She Tianlin smacked the back of her head. "Who taught you such nonsense?"
Mingyi yelped in pain and clutched her head. "The Sunrise Matriarch and the instructors all say so!"
"Don’t listen to their drivel! People are born to be people, not tools!" She Tianlin fumed, eyes blazing. "Even without Essence Power, you're still a person—still my disciple, still with friends."
The pain at the back of her head brought tears to her eyes. Mingyi sniffled and turned away.
"This master will find a way to deal with your poison. But for now, you stay at the Situ residence. When there’s a chance, we’ll return to Sunspire City. I’ll pick some gentle, sweet-talking men for you—as many as you want—better than the one you chose."
Mingyi fell silent, thinking, The man I chose was gentle and sweet to me at first too.
Men were simply unreliable—well, except for Old She, and Twenty-Seven.
With a long sigh, she finally spoke. "Master."
She Tianlin’s fingers trembled. Pressing his lips together, he forced a stern "Hmm," his eyes glistening.
But the little brat’s next words were: "I don’t want to go back to Sunspire City."
His palm itched again. "That’s your homeland. If not there, where else would you go?"
"Sunspire City has nothing but people waiting to silence me—permanently." She looked out the window. "I was raised as a boy, truly believing I was one. Who knew it was all just the Sunrise Matriarch’s scheme for power?"
"Now that Meng Shi has uncovered my identity, the Sunrise Matriarch wants me dead—with no trace left. So I can’t go back. But I don’t want to. After seeing Star Yearn City’s starry skies, I want to see Flying Blossom City’s petal storms, Azure Snow City’s summer frost, and Moonchase City’s silver sun."
She Tianlin was moved, yet felt something was missing. "Why not visit Newgrass City too?"
"See what?" Mingyi pondered. "Watch their newly built palace get toppled by overgrown trees?"
She Tianlin paused, tactfully steering the topic away from Zuo Ping. "Then how do you plan to get to Flying Blossom City?"
"Once I’m free here, I’ll buy a beast-drawn carriage." Mingyi tossed the gold nugget in her hand and grinned. "Thanks for the funds, Master."
His disciple had grown up and made her own decisions. She Tianlin didn’t intend to force her, but— "Aren’t you going to find out who poisoned you?"
Who else could it be?
Mingyi shook her head.
In Sunspire City, she had been under constant surveillance since childhood. Every meal and drink was inspected by the Alchemist Official—except for the pastries in the Empress’s courtyard.
A poison planted years ago... only the Empress could have done it.The Sunrise Matriarch probably didn’t withhold the antidote on purpose. Perhaps she simply didn’t have any at the time, or there might have been other reasons. After all, when Mingyi’s poison flared up, the Matriarch had panicked a little—though mostly for the sake of her own position and life—but at least it proved she wasn’t the one who had poisoned her.
She Tianlin saw through her thoughts and patted her shoulder. "You should still be wary of Dan Er."
"Dan Er?"
"He has too many Following Beasts under his command. If you try to buy a high-quality beast-drawn carriage for crossing cities, nine times out of ten, he’ll know your whereabouts. And he… has always been close with Meng Shi, supporting the idea of making Prince Fuyong the heir."
"But when I saw him last time, he didn’t try to kill me."
"Dan Er is a man of deep schemes. If he keeps you alive, it’s because you’re useful to him. But if he decides to kill you, he’ll spare no effort." She Tianlin sighed. "If not for the information you provided, I wouldn’t have agreed to travel with him."
Remembering the fire at the Ji residence, Mingyi suddenly straightened. "Master, if you ever encounter Ji Bozhai at the Six Cities Tournament, don’t be too hard on him."
She Tianlin bristled at the name. "I’m an examiner from the Divine Artifact Hall. Why shouldn’t I make things difficult for him?"
Mingyi waved her hand. "Not for sentimental reasons, just… I owe him something. Consider it as repaying my debt."
What debt could she possibly owe him? A beautiful girl like her had traveled thousands of miles to become his concubine, only to be abandoned. How was she the one in debt?
"Just trust me on this," she shrugged. "If you can keep him in Sunspire City when the time comes, there might be an unexpected reward."
What unexpected reward? At most, he was just strong in Essence Power, comparable to Ming Xian back in the day. But he was still a man of Star Yearn City—what use was there in keeping him in Sunspire City? This child was too naive, still worrying about Sunspire’s glory even in her current state.
She Tianlin dismissed the thought. "I’ll stay in Star Yearn City a while longer and try to craft some suitable Divine Tools for you to protect yourself."
"Thank you, Master."
She Tianlin left, but not before leaving Situ Ling a more fitting Flying Feather as a token of gratitude.
Situ Ling toyed with the Flying Feather and sighed to Fu Yue. "The only person I like in Sunspire City is Sister Ming. Who knew Master She was such a decent man too? But why is it that good people like them always have such turbulent fates? Might as well be a villain like Ji Bozhai—life seems to go smoothly for him."
He pressed the mechanism, and the light yet razor-sharp golden feather shot out, embedding itself an inch deep into the courtyard wall ten zhang away.
Fu Yue nodded approvingly at the Divine Tool but remarked, "How do you know Ji Bozhai is a villain?"
"He framed others for murder, schemed against Da Si—isn’t that villainous?" Situ Ling raised an eyebrow.
"Everyone has their own stance. There’s no law stating Da Si must be the good guy." Fu Yue lifted his Kaleidoscope, channeled Essence Power, and pressed the trigger.
With a deafening boom, the entire courtyard wall opposite collapsed.
Situ Ling: "..."
So annoying, these Essence Power monsters.
But in this world, those with Essence Power ruled supreme. Even knowing Ji Bozhai had his issues, the first thing Da Si did after recovering from his injuries was personally visit the Yan residence to see him.
Ji Bozhai had healed quickly, but since Da Si had come all this way, he wrapped his wounds and lay in bed, feigning weakness."It is the incompetence of the city patrol that has caused you such suffering, dear minister," Da Si said angrily. "I have already dismissed the patrol captain for investigation and have selected a new official residence to bestow upon you."
Ji Bozhai nodded. "Thank you for your grace, Minister Superior, but I still prefer my old residence."
The Ji residence had burned severely, leaving only half of the Cyan Tile Courtyard inexplicably intact, while the rest had turned to ashes.
Da Si hesitated for a moment. "Move into the new official residence for now, and I will order the old site to be rebuilt for you."
Only then did Ji Bozhai smile. "Thank you, Minister Superior."
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