Chapter 40

Ji Xinyang's heart skipped a beat—she had indeed said those words to Ji Nuanyi, but only to escape her clutches, fabricating them on purpose. Zheng Xiaoyue was thrilled with the outcome; she wanted Lu Mengfei to lose face in public, to remember her humiliating state every time she saw Ji Yanzhe, breeding inferiority and keeping her at bay. Ye Feng marveled at the（extremely rare）treasure's power, brimming with potent spiritual energy. He knew patience was key—the refining of the five-colored grass was a tedious process, and the idea of instant（elixir）was laughable. Ah Jiao, clever and eloquent, with a sweet tongue and generous hand, had won over everyone in the Lu family within a month of arriving. Rumors in the capital linked Xue Mingrui with Princess Xue Baolin or the Marquis of Dingyuan's Xu Yuanzhen, neither of whom Lin Nuannuan favored. Ah Jiu suddenly realized that her abduction might signal the barbarian tribe's full-scale invasion. Holding Ah Jiu's hand, she spoke softly, "Go explore the lotus pond nearby; the flowers are in full bloom, such a beautiful sight. But don't wander off—stay right there, and I'll come find you soon." Ah Jiu agreed excitedly and ran off like a bounding rabbit. I could only rely on my instincts to decide whether to rest or continue searching for the snow-white, icy beast—the Nether Snow Beast, the only one capable of saving my child's life. The Seal Cloud Platform would appear in this realm for one month; after which the barrier would close, making entry and exit impossible. Thus, Yun Chi had to find what Yu Zhen sought within a month, though she was still clueless. Huo Yilan thought spending money on that was impractical—she'd rather plan a vacation. Tang En, upon hearing this, began to doubt his earlier judgment—could this tiger cub really like cheetahs? When the final sword strike returned, a holy, radiant mark shot out from the blade and flew toward the gate. "Someone needs to rein them in; their behavior is utterly unruly, a trait they seem to have inherited from that madman." Comparing tigers to bears or crocodiles, creating（fans）for both and pitting them against（sane ones）added layers of conflict. Weren't they supposed to have coordinated with GI Company for an inspection? Why did they cancel all appointments today? Gu Chong's five thousand men, initially just（showing off）to the bandits of Wagang Fort, were stunned when they arrived. According to plan, their"allies" should have reached the upper cave of the Guo Kun beast by now. Despite her reservations, she felt overwhelmed—if this calamity couldn't be averted, her brother's painstakingly built martial alliance might vanish. She suddenly realized why her mother spoke so highly of Qingming—no wonder she always brought up marriage topics. But with a letter from Dapeng Town, she had no choice but to return and see what had happened. Sheng Xue hesitated before approaching and confessed to Lan Tong about the eye-swapping surgery—she could no longer hide the truth. After all, Zhou Shen was riding a motorcycle, and no matter how skilled he was, he couldn't make a sudden turn. When Zhou Shen broke through the cover, his back would be completely exposed to his enemies' gunfire. Then, on the sales side, a battleship was listed for sale—a rare opportunity. The couple hurriedly washed up and ate breakfast, though they didn't see the busy Magistrate Wang again. Instead, they were startled by two fully loaded carts at the back door of the county government office. Su's family's cauldron was enormous, filled with freshly pressed soybean oil. When chopsticks were inserted and bubbles rose, Xu Yaoshi threw in the cake from years past. "Alright, alright," Uncle Hu said excitedly—though calling it"protection"was an exaggeration, having someone care about the young master was the best outcome. Tong Fanyuan couldn't be bothered with his fuss, simply giving some precautions to the bedridden Lu Fang. "Meow!" Startled by a stray cat, the young master ran off, and Li Ce chased after him, both laughing and exasperated. There were so many items, many of them perishable. The previous night's rain and cold temperatures meant they might spoil if not dealt with promptly—she would be heartbroken to waste the citizens' gifts. Then, a spatial force burst from the teleportation ring, enveloping Mu Yun and vanishing from sight, with Hedy Welly being transported away at the same moment. Taking one last look at that most familiar face in her memories, Chen Fei filled in the grave. He found a wooden block, carved it into a rectangle, and inscribed two lines of text. Yuan Jin, a soldier through and through, immediately radioed to accept their surrender. Through their conversation, Lin Xuan deduced that the portly, black-clad masked man was none other than Luo Yingqing, the manager of the Mu（prince's residence）.