Early the next morning, Lin Li saw Ning Yang and his six guards at the city gate.
There was no other luggage. Given Ning Yang's status, it was only natural for him to have a Storage Soul Tool.
"Brother Lin, sorry to keep you waiting."
"I just woke up too."
After exchanging pleasantries, the two set off together.
Ning Yang had also brought out an extra horse for Lin Li to ride.
Bearded Boss stared wide-eyed once again at Ning Yang as he spoke with Lin Li.
If he was not mistaken, that was the uniform of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, right?
How did this young man of his manage to make acquaintances everywhere he went?
It was also Lin Li's first time riding a horse, but fortunately, his physical condition was good enough, and the horse had a gentle temperament, so he did not make a fool of himself.
As they traveled together, Ning Yang took the opportunity to tell Lin Li about the various powers in Heaven Dou City and the things he needed to watch out for.
Though Ning Yang was not in Heaven Dou City often, he knew it extremely well.
"Once you enter the city, you only need to watch out for the Princes and Imperial Princes I just introduced, as well as the Nine Hearts Ye Family and Dugu Manor. Other than that, there is nothing much to worry about."
Lin Li more or less understood why he needed to be careful around most of those factions. Aside from the Nine Hearts Ye Family, he was fairly familiar with the rest.
The Nine Hearts Begonia Martial Soul of that family was passed down through a single line, and its support abilities differed from those of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. One specialized in healing, while the other focused on enhancement. Lin Li truly could not say which was stronger or weaker; they simply had their own strengths.
"Although only two people with their family's Martial Soul can exist at the same time, Old Master Ye Renxin accumulated virtue through good deeds in his early years. Many people from the older generation, and even the generation before that, now protect the Ye Family. Their strength is not weak."
After introducing those factions, Ning Yang spoke of the last person in Heaven Dou City—and the one who absolutely could not be provoked.
"Once you enter the city, be extremely careful of Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. He is Father's disciple. He may look like he has no ulterior motives, but everyone who has provoked him has disappeared."
Xue Qinghe... was that not Qian Renxue?
The moment Lin Li thought of that name, he recalled the figure he had seen in Star Dou Forest, as well as that unusual Martial Soul resonance.
"Before Xue Qinghe became Crown Prince, the Second Imperial Prince and Third Imperial Prince repeatedly opposed him. Yet before the two Imperial Princes died, Xue Qinghe, who had always clashed with them, made no moves at all. He was so clean it was as though he had deliberately cleared himself of any connection."
"There is one more thing..."
At that point, Ning Yang looked around, then leaned close to Lin Li and said:
"Rumor has it that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe does not like women. He likes men!"
"!"
Lin Li looked stunned. Could something like that even become a rumor?
"Someone as handsome as you should be careful, Brother Lin." Seeing Lin Li's expression, Ning Yang thought he was interested and continued.
"The position of Crown Princess has been vacant for years, yet no candidate has ever been chosen. On top of that, the Crown Prince never gets close to women, no matter the occasion, so..."
She is a woman. It would be strange if she liked women!
Though he kept mocking her inwardly, Lin Li still showed a suitably shocked expression on the surface.
So Qian Renxue had not only become foolish after ending her disguise. She had been somewhat foolish even before that.
She might have studied countless schemes and political strategies, but she did not understand men. Even if she kept a Crown Princess as a canary, it would not matter much. No one would pay attention to a consort hidden deep within the palace.
In this era, if a woman did not become a Soul Master, her status was still far lower than a man's, due to labor.
As long as there was no second productive force, women's status would remain that way. Cultivation was another path, but it would also hinder technological development and prevent the emergence of a second productive force.
Seven Treasure City was extremely close to Heaven Dou City. In less than half a day, the group arrived at Heaven Dou City.
When they parted ways, Lin Li handed Bearded Boss the letter he had written the previous night. He reminded him to be careful in the city and to spend money to solve problems rather than stubbornly fight to the death.
Bearded Boss surely knew all that already, but Lin Li said it anyway.
Not long after Lin Li's group entered the city, two investigation reports were delivered separately to the Crown Prince's Residence and Spirit Hall.
Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Crown Prince's Residence.
"Your Highness, there is news of the person in the portrait. He entered the city not long ago."
Xue Qinghe, who had been reading nearby, walked over to the messenger and took the report that recorded when Lin Li had entered the city, who he had come with, and where he had gone.
"Very good. You may leave."
After the servant left, Xue Qinghe returned to her seat and unfolded the report.
From the first time she had seen that youth, Qian Renxue had been curious about him. She had even specifically ordered someone to check the Martial Soul awakening reports to see whether there was one named Mahoraga.
Only then did she discover that one awakening report was missing from Spirit Hall's yearly records. It was the report from Nuoding City from the year Lin Li awakened his Martial Soul.
It was normal for awakening reports to be lost. After all, all sorts of accidents could happen along the way.
But losing the report of an entire city was far too excessive. The matter had also enraged Bibi Dong.
It was too obvious. Someone had deliberately done it to conceal something!
The awakening reports were sent to Spirit Hall only as backups. No one normally looked at them, and anyone with talent would have long since been reported separately. That was why no one had discovered the issue until now.
The only thing that puzzled Qian Renxue was that after Bibi Dong sent people to Nuoding City, she strictly forbade anyone from investigating information about Nuoding City. No one knew why.
Unable to obtain the information she wanted and unable to suppress her curiosity, Qian Renxue ordered people to keep watch for Lin Li's arrival in Heaven Dou City while also sending people to Nuoding City to inspect the situation.
Qian Renxue was also intensely curious about the information her good older sister—who was actually her mother—wanted to hide.
After reading the report, Qian Renxue casually tossed it into the brazier beside her.
"It seems the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has also set its sights on my prey..."
Spirit Hall.
After receiving the news, Bibi Dong said nothing. She merely ordered people to continue watching him.
Bibi Dong understood Qian Renxue's pride extremely well.
If there was someone Qian Renxue was willing to ask her to relinquish authority to investigate, Bibi Dong could not possibly ignore it.
Her investigation led her to Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang in Nuoding City. She also learned that he had accepted a disciple named Tang San, whose Martial Soul was the useless Blue Silver Grass.
Knowing what her former lover had in mind, Bibi Dong did not choose to stop him. Instead, she continued sealing off the information.
As for the person Qian Renxue was watching, Bibi Dong did not investigate him.
She had no interest in him at all.
What Bibi Dong truly cared about was that Qian Renxue was investigating a man!
No matter the reason, no matter what connection they might have, no matter what they might become in the end, Bibi Dong knew she only needed to keep watch on Qian Renxue.
Whether he was a genius or trash, whether he was a theoretical Grandmaster or a disciple of a great sect, so long as Qian Renxue gave even the slightest bit of genuine emotion, Bibi Dong would crush it.
As for why?
Whenever Bibi Dong thought of the love that had been crushed within her, she could barely restrain the wicked thoughts influenced by the Rakshasa God. She could only calm herself by desperately recalling Yu Xiaogang's appearance from her memories.
"The happiness I cannot have... no one from the Angel Clan will have it either!"
Before you continue