Huang Quan squinted her eyes. “Third Brother, were you hurt?”
Nangong Mian nodded. “The High Priest and the others arrived in time. I got a bit injured, but it wasn’t serious, and I’ve already recovered.”
“What about him?”
“He was captured by the High Priest,” Nangong Mian replied. “After the High Priest captured him, I believed he could handle it, so I didn’t intervene.”
Huang Quan listened, nodded, and said nothing more.
She had heard about the incident before leaving. She had thought that Qin Yang’s master wouldn’t come so quickly, and since it was she who killed Qin Yang, if he wanted revenge, he should’ve come after her.
She didn’t expect him to take his frustration out on Third Brother when he couldn’t find her.
Tsk…
I wonder if the High Priest has dealt with him yet?
If not, she could handle it herself. She’d make sure he couldn’t even wish for death.
“Quan Quan, I’ve left the matter to the High Priest,” Nangong Mian said, noticing Huang Quan’s somber expression. He knew she was probably thinking about the situation and added, “I believe the High Priest can handle it.”
“With Qin Yang’s master captured, our grudge with the Qin family is over.”
“Over?”
Huang Quan let out a light laugh. “Let’s hope so.”
If Qin Yang’s master entered the academy on his own, then yes, the matter could be considered over.
But if someone helped him get in…
Heh, it wouldn’t be that easy to end.
“By the way…”
While Huang Quan was lost in thought, Nangong Mian said excitedly, “Quan Quan, there’s something I forgot to tell you.”
“I’ve leveled up!”
“I’m now a level nine spirit master,” Nangong Mian said. “It’s only been a little over two months since my last promotion, and I’ve already advanced. Ever since we came back from the ruins, my cultivation speed has been unusually fast.”
Huang Quan smiled faintly. “That’s a good thing.”
Nangong Mian nodded and then said, “Quan Quan, there’s still something else.”
Huang Quan asked, “What is it?”
“We’ve become the talk of the town regarding our relationship with the Nangong family…”
Huang Quan wasn’t at all surprised by this.
She, along with Third Brother and Second Brother, were unwilling to return to the Nangong family. While Nangong Yi and Nangong Qiu respected their decision, Nangong Gan didn’t necessarily feel the same.
Given his desire for an alliance with the royal family and knowing how close she was with Qin Qin, he surely would have brought it up.
Furthermore, even if Nangong Gan hadn’t spoken of it, when the incident with the Dragon Spirit Fruit happened, Nangong Yi had already mentioned her identity when he visited the Cloud Auction House, so it wasn’t surprising that it spread.
“Everyone is so curious,” Nangong Mian sighed. “Curious about our relationship with the Nangong family, and even more curious why you, clearly the Nangong family’s daughter, weren’t the one publicly known, but instead it was Qing Le.”
“Don’t worry about them,” Huang Quan said. “It’s normal for people to be curious when the news first breaks, but after a while, they’ll lose interest. As for Qing Le…”
Huang Quan spoke in a calm tone. “She knows what to say and what not to say.”
“Mm,” Nangong Mian nodded, understanding.
“Quan Quan, you should freshen up. I’m going to Second Brother’s place,” Nangong Mian said.
“Alright,” Huang Quan nodded.
…
After half an hour of tidying up, everyone had finished cleaning up the room and themselves.
Nangong Mian and Nangong Yan went out to buy some food. Since their identities were now known, as soon as they appeared in public, they would attract countless curious gazes.
However, the two didn’t pay much attention to it and soon returned to the courtyard with food from the canteen.
“I’ve brought the food back. Everyone come eat,” Nangong Mian called out.
Upon hearing this, the others gathered around.
Huang Quan sat down, picked up her chopsticks, and was about to start eating when the communication stone on her wrist suddenly lit up.
403
“Is it Di Qin?” Nangong Yan asked as soon as he saw the communication stone light up on Huang Quan’s wrist.
At first, Huang Quan also thought it might be Di Qin, but after seeing the name, she shook her head. “It’s the Grand Priest.”
“The Grand Priest?” Nangong Mian looked puzzled. “Why is he contacting you suddenly?”
Huang Quan shook her head. “I don’t know.”
She then channeled her spiritual energy into the communication stone, connecting the call.
“Huang Quan.” As soon as the communication stone connected, the Grand Priest’s voice came through.
“Mm,” Huang Quan responded. “What’s wrong?”
The Grand Priest didn’t waste time with pleasantries. He immediately asked, “Have you returned to the academy?”
“I’m back.”
“I’ve sent Yong Zhou to pick you up,” the Grand Priest said. “Stay in the courtyard and don’t go anywhere. Yong Zhou will arrive soon.”
After hearing the Grand Priest’s words, Huang Quan’s expression grew serious. “Has Di Qin encountered something?”
The Grand Priest didn’t say much more, only stating, “Wait for Yong Zhou to arrive. He will explain everything.”
With that, the glowing light from the communication stone stopped flashing.
Huang Quan set down her chopsticks and said, “You guys continue eating.”
“It seems like something’s happened to Di Qin,” Nangong Mian said with a furrowed brow. “If Di Qin were fine, the Grand Priest wouldn’t have sent Yong Zhou to pick you up. But what exactly happened to Di Qin?”
Huang Quan furrowed her brows and didn’t answer.
Although the Grand Priest didn’t say it directly, Huang Quan had an idea in her heart.
For the Grand Priest to contact her, likely it had to do with the death aura.
Based on the timeline, Di Qin had suppressed the death aura while in the Buddhist Capital, and it had only been a month since that time. There were still two months before it was expected to erupt—how could something have gone wrong so suddenly?
“Second Brother, Third Brother, I’m going with Yong Zhou for a bit. If Di Qin is fine, there’s no need to worry. I’ll be back soon,” Huang Quan said.
Nangong Yan looked at her and sighed inwardly.
This is really about being abducted.
When it came to Di Qin’s situation, she didn’t hide her concerns at all.
“Alright,” Nangong Yan said. “Go ahead.”
“Mm.” Huang Quan nodded, then walked out of the courtyard.
Feng Jiuyuan held his chopsticks, staring at Huang Quan’s departing figure for a long while before finally looking away.
…
Not long after, Yong Zhou arrived, driving a Winged Snow Lion carriage above the courtyard.
Seeing the carriage appear, Huang Quan didn’t wait for it to stop. She leaped into the carriage immediately.
“No need to stop, just go,” Huang Quan said to the driver, Yong Zhou.
Yong Zhou nodded and didn’t make the Winged Snow Lion stop. He drove off without hesitation.
Inside the carriage, Huang Quan asked, “What happened to Di Qin?”
Yong Zhou had already gotten used to Huang Quan’s way of addressing his master and replied, “Master suddenly couldn’t control the death aura; it exploded and went out of control.”
“Has Di Qin encountered anything these past few days?” Huang Quan furrowed her brows. “Or been injured?”
This…
Yong Zhou didn’t know how to answer, so he could only say, “I’m not sure.”
Huang Quan, after hearing this, didn’t press the issue further.
The Winged Snow Lion carriage flew across the empire’s sky, heading towards the royal palace.
The carriage didn’t stop when it entered the royal palace’s airspace, continuing until it reached the Priest Hall.
Huang Quan stepped out of the carriage and saw Yong Ye waiting outside.
When Yong Ye saw Huang Quan, he stepped forward. “Miss Nangong, Master is inside the Priest Hall. Follow me.”
“Mm.” Huang Quan nodded and followed Yong Ye into the main hall.
Before entering the Priest Hall, Huang Quan looked up at the sky above the hall.
In the dark of night, a denser, darker blackness covered the sky above the Priest Hall, like a dangerous, massive beast lurking above.
