Abyss Plane

Forget it, I'll just consider this marriage alliance as accumulating merit and doing a good deed for Linyuan.

Zhu Yu, oh Zhu Yu, the benefits of my Molong Duke Mansion are not so easily taken.

Just as Xia Yanqing and the Duchess were discussing the details of the marriage alliance, Xia Linyuan would tease the little girl who was being treated as a sacrificial pawn every chance he got. He acted just like a model husband, showing his wife every good thing he had first, a sight that made the Duchess's teeth ache with hatred.

At first, Dai Yunjin felt somewhat flustered by Xia Linyuan's sudden "kindness," but upon seeing the Duchess—who always loved to target her and her mother—looking like she was about to go insane, she suddenly felt a sense of cathartic pleasure. Gradually, she learned how to play along with Xia Linyuan's performance.

You wicked woman, that's for bullying my mother every day!

The seeds of hatred had been planted in young Dai Yunjin's heart long ago; Xia Linyuan was merely taking this opportunity to make those seeds sprout early.

Seeing the well-hidden pleasure beneath Dai Yunjin's blue eyes, Xia Linyuan couldn't help but smile slightly. His sharp canine teeth were secretly revealed, making him look like a predator baring its fangs.

The seeds of hatred had sprouted; now, he would wait for the future, when these seeds grew into towering trees, and then... strike back!

On the way back to the Molong Duke Mansion.

Xia Yanqing did not ride his beloved Tianlin Horse, but instead squeezed into the same carriage as Xia Linyuan.

"Linyuan, do you like the child Yunjin?"

Xia Linyuan thought for a moment, then said calmly, "Perhaps... she's alright."

"I saw that back at the White Tiger Duke Mansion, you seemed to like Yunjin quite a bit."

"Oh, that was just a performance I put on to annoy the White Tiger Duchess."

Hearing Xia Linyuan's words, Xia Yanqing was stunned for a moment.

"The White Tiger Duchess's jealousy is too obvious. I don't like being treated as a bargaining chip, but I was in a good mood today, so I played along with her little drama."

"After all, such idiots are rare to come by. Since I happened to meet one, how could I not have some fun with her? Don't you agree, Father?"

Xia Yanqing broke into a cold sweat.

Is this child really only six years old? To have such deep schemes and city at such a young age—what will he be like when he grows up? If others were to find out about this...

Not to mention other nobles, even the Xingluo Imperial Family would likely be wary of him...

Thinking of this, Xia Yanqing gripped Xia Linyuan's shoulders tightly, forcing him to meet his gaze, and said sternly, "Linyuan, you are not allowed to let a third person besides you and me know what you just said, do you understand?"

"Yes, Father." Xia Linyuan replied with some helplessness.

By the time the sun was setting behind the mountains, Xia Linyuan had finally returned to the Molong Duke Mansion.

However, while they were still some distance away from the mansion, Xia Yanqing emphasized to him again and again not to tell anyone else about what he had said earlier.

After Xia Linyuan promised repeatedly, Xia Yanqing finally felt at ease.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Xia Linyuan felt that after Xia Yanqing was summoned by the Xingluo Emperor, he had become much more silent and serious, his soaring sword-like brows always knitted together.

"Linyuan, did you see your future little wife? How was it? Is she pretty?" Zou Yihan pinched Xia Linyuan's cute cheeks.

Xia Linyuan smiled slightly, "I saw her, she's a very cute little girl."

Cute?

Hearing Xia Linyuan describe Dai Yunjin like that in front of Zou Yihan, the guards following behind couldn't help but secretly grumble.

We clearly remember that not long ago, Young Master, you didn't describe the girl that way at all.

Skinny as a rail, looking like she hadn't had a full meal in days, a little girl with bony, unsightly features...

Young Master, have you forgotten who those words came from?

"Little girl?" Zou Yihan pinched his cheeks hard again, "You're so young, why are you acting like a precocious brat? If she's a little girl, then what are you? A little kid?"

Xia Linyuan smiled slightly and said nothing.

Xia Yanqing signaled the butler beside him with his eyes.

The butler immediately understood, "Young Master, you must be tired from the journey, please go and rest for a while."

Watching Xia Linyuan being led away by the butler, Zou Yihan seemed to think of something and asked with some concern, "What's wrong, Qing?"

Xia Yanqing took a deep breath and said, "Today, His Majesty summoned me."

Zou Yihan's expression suddenly turned grave, "His Majesty summoned you? Could it be that His Majesty wants to..."

Xia Yanqing nodded, "There is no time to lose. I will rest briefly tonight and set off tomorrow. At that time, the situation on the front lines will be unpredictable, so I will have to trouble you to take care of the affairs in the mansion and Linyuan."

"Tomorrow, so soon?" Zou Yihan said hurriedly, "Can't you stay in the mansion for a few more days?"

Xia Yanqing shook his head and said, "The soldiers on the front lines are still waiting for me."

Zou Yihan sighed, knowing her husband's mind was made up, and didn't want to persuade him further, so she said, "You must take care of your safety. If it really comes to it, retreat to defend; don't try to be a hero."

"I know. After all these years, don't you know my strengths and weaknesses? Just rest assured."

In Xia Linyuan's small courtyard.

Although Xia Yanqing had the butler take Xia Linyuan away immediately, his divine sense was not for show. The moment he turned around, his vast, ocean-like divine sense had already spread to every corner of the Molong Duke Mansion, and the conversation between Xia Yanqing and his wife was naturally heard by him, word for word.

War?

Xia Linyuan immediately understood the cause and effect.

Six years ago, when he descended upon the Douluo Continent, even in the form of an avatar, his power remained far too immense. This caused a partial collapse of space on the Douluo Planet, prematurely opening the spatial rift between the Douluo Planet and the Abyss Plane that was originally destined to form thousands of years later due to tectonic movements triggered by the collision of two continents.

At that time, Xia Yanqing had been urgently dispatched to station troops in the Endless Mountains to fend off the Abyssal Creatures attempting to invade the Douluo Continent, which was how he happened to encounter the avatar of Xia Linyuan. It was precisely because he had descended near the spatial rift that he received such "special" treatment earlier.

Hmm... Fate is truly a marvelous thing.

However, in the eyes of Xia Linyuan, this Abyss Plane was merely a small plane that possessed the name of an abyss in name only. The abyss he hailed from was neither a plane nor a world, but an indescribable existence.

Some say that R'lyeh created the abyss, others say that R'lyeh was born from the abyss, and still others say that R'lyeh is the abyss and the abyss is R'lyeh. Various theories emerge one after another, yet none can confirm what the abyss truly is.

Returning to the main topic.

Because the spatial rift is not yet stable, only Abyssal Creatures at the Emperor Rank and below have been able to pass through the spatial rift to reach the Douluo Continent so far.