Chapter 77  : Lantern Festival

“You are?” Xia Luoran asked with a frown.

The injuries in her body acted up again. The pain was so great that she groaned.

“Don’t speak first. Let me treat your injuries,” Xiao Ran said.

He carried her to the shore and placed her on the ground. He reached out with his right hand and placed it above her chest. The purifying spiritual force surged out of his palm and entered her body.

Although her injuries were very serious, she quickly recovered with the help of the purifying spiritual force.

A few minutes later,

Xiao Ran retracted his hand and asked, “How are you feeling now?”

“Much better.” Xia Luoran replied gratefully.

She stood up from the ground and looked at Xiao Ran in confusion.

“I was entrusted by someone to help you resolve your current predicament,” Xiao Ran said.

“And who might that be?”

“I promised that person to keep it a secret.” Xiao Ran shook his head.

He took out the ‘Iron Blood Dragon Horse’ and the ‘Heavenly Secrets Interlinked Crossbow’ and handed them to her.

“This is?” Xia Luoran viewed them doubtfully.

“Before coming here, I went to the courier station and happened to bump into those people with their plan. I wiped them out on my way out,” Xiao Ran said.

He briefly explained the plot of the Yin Incubation Institute.

After listening to him,

Xia Luoran’s expression turned icy cold, and she was furious beyond words. She clenched her fists tightly. “These bastards! To think that they’re educated people too.”

She gave a fist and palm salute solemnly and bowed to Xiao Ran.

“No matter what, I will remember your great act of kindness, Sir.”

She hesitated, as if she wanted to say something else but didn’t know how to broach the subject.

All these did not escape Xiao Ran’s eyes. “What do you want to say?”

“Sir, if it’s convenient, can you tell me your name?”

“It’s not convenient,” Xiao Ran replied in a straightforward manner.

Pointing to the two scrolls,

“I’ve already destroyed the little trick that the Yin Incubation Institute used on them.”

Xia Luoran opened the scroll and looked at what was revealed. Her big eyes widened.

She had heard some things about the two scrolls before.

It must be activated in conjunction with the Yin Incubation Institute’s special secret technique in order to reveal the contents on the canvas.

She looked at Xiao Ran frantically.

“I’ve checked the items. Only a third of the contents are real. If we nurture it according to the method written on it, the gains won’t be worth the effort required to achieve them,” Xiao Ran said.

“S-Sir, you’re not keeping it for yourself?”

“These things are useless to me.”

After a pause, Xiao Ran said something else unwisely.

“I met the man your Emperor father sent at the courier station.”

“Really?” Xia Luoran’s beautiful eyes lit up.

“Yes.” Xiao Ran nodded his head.

“What was promised to that person is now completed. It is up to you what you wish to do next.”

He took one step forward and vanished from the spot, leaving an afterimage.

“Sir…” Xia Luoran hurriedly called out.

The surrounding area was empty and there was no trace of Xiao Ran.

A gust of night air calmed her down.

She frowned and pondered. “This Senior helped treat my injuries just now. His spirit energy is so familiar, in fact it resembled that of the senior I met at the Mount Flaming Inferno.”

Suddenly,

her attractive eyes twinkled.

“When that senior fought with the Patriarch at the Mount Flaming Inferno, he used the Phoenix Essence Sword Technique and a terrifying sword intent. Could they be the same person?”

When she thought about that,

the answer was obvious.

“No! I’ll go to the Celestial Dungeon now and ask my aunt about it.”

Back home,

Xiao Ran checked the rewards of the Golden Tome of Creation. The other party was at Level 1 of the Profound Realm. There were two items displayed: 800,000 Mastery points and 80 years of Martial Arts Evolution.

This time, he was unlucky and only got this little reward.

He added all 800,000 Mastery points to the Spiritual Clarity Eye.

After the attributes were refreshed,

Spiritual Clarity Eye: Genesis.

He was only 490 years away from breaking through to Level 6 of the Profound Realm.

He took out the Green Essence Jade Pendant and took stock of his gains.

Not surprisingly, the Vice Principal of the Yin Incubation Institute, the envoy of the Great Zhou kingdom, was very rich.

Just banknotes alone, there were 5 million taels of silver in total. There were some other miscellaneous items, and five numinous treasures. Three of the numinous treasures were won from Scholastic Incubation Institute.

In terms of value,

not counting the Numinous Treasures, he had obtained close to ten million taels this time.

He took out the five numinous treasures and absorbed the Immense Righteous Energy contained in them.

After absorbing all the Immense Righteous Energy inside, the Immense Righteous Energy accumulated in his dantian rose to another level. However, these five numinous treasures had fallen in value, turning into ordinary items and were no longer numinous treasures.

He took down the portrait of the Eldest Princess that hung on the wall and placed it on the desk.

He took out the Eldest Princess’s elemental lifeblood and drew this drop of elemental lifeblood with the Finishing Touch Sacred Brush into the painting.

Buzz!

The golden light whirled out and enveloped the entire painting. The Eldest Princess in the painting danced nimbly.

When it absorbed the elemental lifeblood, it became even more agile and contained an air of vitality. Its strength also broke through to Level 1 of the Grand Master Realm.

“Not bad.” Xiao Ran replied with a smile.

With a wave of his right hand,

he hung the painting back on the wall again and turned off the lights to rest.

At the Drunken Immortals Court,

in a luxurious room on the third floor, two young men sat face to face with a table full of food and wine.

Apart from them, there was no one else.

“We just got word that Number Seven is dead,” said the young man in red.

The other one calmly poured a cup of wine. He swirled it around in his hand, and took his time draining it. “Is that so?”

“You’re not angry?”

“Why should I be angry?”

The young man in red thought for a moment and understood. “It doesn’t matter whether he’s dead or alive. The point is that all the people sent by the Yin Incubation Institute have been wiped out. Even if we fail to kidnap the Elder Princess, we have nothing to lose.”

“Our goal is the Great Zhou, not the Great Xia! Unless it’s absolutely necessary, don’t provoke any more powerful enemies. Moreover, Emperor Sheng Wen’s ‘Shadow’ is not just for show.”

The young man in red nodded.

“Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Let our people have a good time here and relax for a while. Don’t cause any trouble. After the festival, we will leave the capital city and return to Great Zhou.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.” The young man in red wondered if he had heard him correctly.

“Everyone has a spot of purity in their hearts. I’m no exception.”

“I understand,” the young man in red acknowledged.

In the Purgatory,

after Xia Luoran left Tranquility Lake, she made her way here in a hurry.

Stopping outside the cell number 1, the lieutenant opened the cell door and tactfully withdrew.

Once she entered the cell,

Xia Luoran took out the two scrolls and placed them in front of her.

Her expression was full of conflicting emotions. “Did you do this?”

The Eldest Princess did not even look up. She was still practicing her calligraphy as if she did not hear her.

Xia Luoran rushed over and snatched the brush from her hand. Only then did the Eldest Princess raise her head to look at her. “Give it back.”

“Did you do it?”

The Eldest Princess glanced at her and walked to the soft couch. She sat on it and closed her eyes to rest. She did not say a single word from beginning to end.

“You did it. Why are you afraid to admit it?” Xia Luoran pressed on.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Didn’t you ask someone else to deal with the Yin Incubation Institute and the others?”

“You’re thinking too much! I don’t have such a great ability.” With that, the Eldest Princess closed her eyes again.

“You…” Xia Luoran was furious.

Her chest thumped furiously with anger. She stared at her for a long time before putting the scrolls away. She poured a cup of tea, took out a slice of white lotus cake and placed it in front of her.

“Whether it’s you or not, I forbid you to get involved again.”

Two streams of tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes. She then turned and ran out.

No one was a fool. The price of hiring a senior expert was way too high.

“She’s not too stupid, but just too inflexible.” The Eldest Princess shook her head.

Looking at the white lotus cake and tea, she smiled warmly.

The lieutenant walked up silently and locked the cell door. He was simply a tool from beginning to end.