Chapter 298 - Conversation

Chapter 298: Chapter 53 ConversationQing Ling took action and the crisis was resolved in just a few minutes, after which she returned to the castle.

Dai Tianwei said to Lu Hong, "Remember, don’t forget." After speaking, he turned and left.

Lu Hong looked at the potion in his hand with an indifferent expression.

As he walked down the terrace, he happened to run into the butler carrying a large amount of Shattered Magic Crystals toward the young lady’s room.

"You come along and help me share the burden."

"Oh!" Taking the Magic Crystals, he entered the young lady’s room where the once tender-skinned girl now had a disastrously pallid complexion that truly tugged at one’s heartstrings.

"Miss, hurry and absorb the Magic Crystals to regain some Magic Power," the butler said with tears streaming down his face, "For Raoxue, you really have sacrificed too much."

The girl, lacking even the strength to speak, weakly held the Magic Crystals the old butler placed in her hand and thirstily absorbed the Magic Power, replenishing what was depleted.

Only when all the Magic Crystals they had brought were used up did the girl’s complexion recover slightly, allowing her to say, "I’m all right, Uncle, sorry to have worried you."

"It’s good that you’re all right, good that you’re all right," the old butler’s suspended heart finally settled.

At that moment, Qing Ling looked at Lu Hong and asked, "What did Dai Tianwei tell you?"

"He told me to slip this poison into tonight’s drinks."

As soon as he finished speaking, both sets of eyes widened in shock, looking at Lu Hong as if he were a fool.

"You’re not an idiot, are you?" the old butler exclaimed, "Who would outright reveal their schemes like that?"

Lu Hong rolled his eyes, "Do I look like that kind of person? Would I just poison because he asked me to? Killing you would do me no good."

Qing Ling’s expression eased, "Then what do you plan to do? Since you have taken this poison, Dai Tianwei won’t let it go if you do nothing."

"Heh!" Lu Hong chuckled, "It’s as if he would let me go if I did."

"Kid, it looks like you’re not that foolish after all," the old butler nodded in approval, "I admit I was wrong about you before."

"Let’s not waste time talking, how should we handle this poison?" Lu Hong threw the question to Qing Ling, "The Dai is obviously targeting you; he wants the family heirloom jade. Can’t you just give it to him?"

"No," Qing Ling shook her head, "That’s a familial heritage item; I can’t give it to him."

"What should we do then? Now that you’re incapacitated, Dai Tianwei will definitely take this opportunity to make things difficult for you."

"I don’t know," Qing Ling shook her head again, "Since I chose to intervene and help the people of Raoxue City, I’ve essentially made myself vulnerable for Dai Tianwei to deal with. However, as a Knight of the Holy Court, he wouldn’t dare kill me himself; he’d need to involve others."

"That still sounds risky," Lu Hong quickly pondered, "How about this? Give me the pendant on your chest, and if I regain my strength, I can definitely ensure your safety through this peril."

"Heh." Qing Ling scoffed, "That pendant and the family heirloom jade are no different. If I gave you the pendant, I might as well hand over the jade to Dai Tianwei and earn some favor from his teacher."

"Alright, have it your way," Lu Hong rebutted and walked out of the bedroom with his head down. Then he noticed he was still clutching the poison in his hand. What if...he really did use it?

Just kidding, just kidding. At most, he might try to obtain the pendant after the girl’s demise, but hurting someone who had saved his own life? He was not that kind of person.

Despite only having interacted with the pair for a short while, Lu Hong gradually noticed their hardships. To subsidize the residents of the city, the young lady indeed took on many tasks each time she crossed realms and left, exchanging completed adventurer tasks for Gold Coins to bridge the deficit. She offered residents’ goods at a discount, at least twenty percent off—such a good person, how could Lu Hong possibly bring himself to harm her, especially when she was his savior?

"Alas! Without regained strength, there’s nothing I can do to help. Let her handle it, why should I worry unnecessarily? I’d better get dinner ready."

Meanwhile, Dai Tianwei returned to the tower, with Kaif and his son Kaila at his side.

"Lord Kaif," Dai Tianwei began, "how many are willing to rise up against Qing Ling?"

"All of them," Kaif replied.

"All of it?!" Dai Tianwei was stunned, then burst into laughter, "How ironic indeed!"

"Lord Dai, every year Qing Ling takes so much silver coin and magic crystal from us, trapping us in this dimension, making us slaves of the Raoxue family generation after generation, to help them make money. The moment you exposed this, no one will continue to feel grateful towards the Raoxue family. The only thought now is to eradicate them quickly!"

"Good, very good." Dai Tianwei agreed, "As a righteous man, Young City Lord, it is up to you to overthrow the Raoxue family’s rule."

"Kaila will surely take the lead and seek justice for the citizens of Raoxue City!"

Seeing his son’s spirited tone, Kaif was reluctant to agree and subsequently asked Dai Tianwei, "Lord Dai, although Qing Ling is injured, she is still a Third Transition power. My son is merely at the mid-Second Transition, nowhere near her match. This glory should belong to you alone. For generations to come, our Raoxue dimension will regard you as our leader, obeying your commands." The old man was open-minded, thinking that even by overthrowing the rule of the Raoxue family, the threat facing Raoxue City wouldn’t diminish, it was always going to need a powerful backer, and Dai Tianwei, who could promise great benefits, was the ideal and only choice.

"Me?" Dai Tianwei sneered, "You think I don’t want to? If I could make a move, Qing Ling wouldn’t have had the chance to return to the castle today."

"Then..." Kaif’s thoughts stirred, wanting to understand the inside details of why Dai Tianwei couldn’t make a move.

The other party didn’t conceal anything and spoke directly, "The Raoxue family Clan Leader has a record in the Holy Court’s tribunal, succeeding the position of Sunlight Knight generationally. The badge bestowed to a Sunlight Knight is engraved with a skill that traces back time, able to send the scene before the knight’s death back to the tribunal’s headquarters. With a family and mentors behind me, killing a tribunal’s Sunlight Knight would cause huge trouble."

"This..." Hearing Dai Tianwei say so, Kaif panicked. If even Dai Tianwei, with his significant background, feared trouble from the tribunal, wouldn’t their small family be crushed in an instant?

"Hahaha." Seeing Kaif’s worry, Dai Tianwei explained, "You needn’t worry. If you kill Qing Ling, it will merely be seen as the failure of the dimension’s lord, self-inflicted destruction. There’ll be no pursuit from the tribunal over this. Of course, even if the tribunal insists on investigating, I can assist from the side. Being an outsider, it is more convenient for me to mediate."

"So that’s how it is." Kaif wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, relieved.

Dai Tianwei stood up, looking down from the city tower at the demon beast carcasses turned into ice sculptures, slightly extending his palm. The piercing cold increased his confidence, confirming that the girl had used her skill with all her might, thus the victory tonight was certain.

As night began to fall, Lu Hong finally prepared the last supper for his benefactor.

Since the girl had difficulty moving, the dining area had to be moved to the bedroom. A square table was set up on the girl’s three-meter wide bed, causing her to protest continuously, "I’m telling you, tomorrow you’re washing the sheets!"

"Sure, sure, it won’t even last until tomorrow, why worry so much," Lu Hong replied, his lips curling. "You know that too."

"I don’t care." The girl cut off a slice of beef, "I’ve decided, as long as I have a clear conscience, it’s good enough. If I meet my parents after death, I can stand tall and speak." As she spoke, she cut off a small piece of beef and put it into her mouth, "Honestly, your cooking tastes pretty bad!"

"It’s good enough to have something to eat, isn’t it Mr. High-and-Mighty?" Lu Hong asked curiously, having not seen the old butler since lunch.

The girl’s eyes dropped, and she sighed helplessly, "He might be guarding the gate."

"What do you mean?" Lu Hong was puzzled. "Guard the gate? Why?"

"Are you an idiot!" the girl snapped angrily.

"Alright." Lu Hong understood and said no more, quietly watching the girl finish her dinner.

After cleaning up and tucking the girl in, Lu Hong stood up to leave.

"Wait..."

Suddenly, the girl called Lu Hong back.

"Your Majesty, do you have anything else to add?" Lu Hong turned around.

The girl hesitated for a moment, pressed on her chest for a few seconds, and took off the pendant she was wearing.

"You?" Lu Hong was somewhat surprised. "Aren’t you unwilling to let your family heirlooms out?"

"I thought about it... you are a servant I welcomed into the family, strictly speaking, not an outsider. This necklace is a reward I give you, a reward for making a decent dinner for once." The girl’s expression was calm, "I don’t know how capable you are, but if you can, please do your best to save my uncle’s life. He has dedicated his life to the Raoxue family without a wife or children; I don’t want him to die a miserable death."

Lu Hong quickly stepped forward to receive the pendant and promised, "Don’t worry, if I can regain my strength, I will protect you all."

"Never mind, I don’t expect much." The girl shook her head. "Even if the power contained in this necklace can dispel the corruptive force, the magic power won’t recover quickly. Look after yourself then, consider this your half-month salary for working in my Raoxue family."

Little thing.

Lu Hong shook his head helplessly; though she was young, her demeanor matched that of the old family elders.