"Rongrong, you've been away from the sect without permission for days. Your Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone and I rushed out this time without making proper arrangements, so the sect may already be buried under a mountain of work."
The smile on Ning Fengzhi's face remained gentle, but his tone left no room for argument.
"That's right, Rongrong. Don't make trouble. You'll have plenty of chances to come out in the future!" Sword Douluo added at just the right moment.
"Grandpa Bone~" Seeing that her usual tried-and-true trick wasn't working, Ning Rongrong turned and grabbed Bone Douluo's sleeve, wheedling at him.
"Oh, my little princess, this... this..." Bone Douluo was terribly torn, but in the end he said nothing.
At this, Ning Rongrong's expression instantly turned cold. Since the three of them wouldn't give in to a soft approach, she'd have to play hardball. "I'm not going back! If you can, tie me up and lock me away like a prisoner!"
"Hmph!"
After saying that, she folded her arms and turned her head away from them.
Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo exchanged glances. They couldn't bear to do that to her, so they both turned to Ning Fengzhi, silently asking him to figure something out.
Ning Fengzhi looked at them and thought, Oh, I see. You two grandfathers want to play the good guys, and you're leaving me, her actual father, to play the villain?
But there was nothing he could do. She was his own daughter, after all.
"Rongrong, stop making trouble. You've been away from home for so long. Your mother misses you very much!"
At the mention of her mother, Ning Rongrong's expression softened a little. But then she looked toward Tang Yin, who'd been acting like he wasn't even there.
"But Lan Yin just helped me get my Soul Ring. Am I supposed to just leave him behind?"
"Little friend Lan Yin has already helped you get your Soul Ring. You should keep your word. Why do you keep clinging to him again and again?" Only then did Ning Fengzhi turn his gaze to Tang Yin.
Though he'd already labeled Tang Yin a Little Blondie in his mind, his refinement as the sect leader kept his expression warm and elegant.
"I-I'm not clinging to him..." Ning Rongrong blushed at Ning Fengzhi's offhand remark, suddenly becoming bashful. She lowered her head and kicked at a little stone by the roadside.
The sight made Ning Fengzhi's heart skip a beat. Beside him, Sword and Bone Douluo looked at Tang Yin with increasingly dangerous eyes.
Tang Yin, who'd been standing off to the side with nothing to do with any of this, felt the resentment of two Titled Douluos and shrank his neck.
Why are you all looking at me?
Your little darling ran off on her own and doesn't want to go back. What's that got to do with me?
Tang Yin was baffled himself. He'd figured that after he'd used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to put her firmly in her place, Ning Rongrong's little demoness personality would make her seek revenge.
But after spending these past few days together, he couldn't help wondering if the Ning Rongrong in front of him had been possessed during the time they'd known each other. Where had the bratty little devil from their first meeting gone?
In the end, Tang Yin could only shake his head and sigh, attributing it to his irresistible charm and peerless looks, inherited in full from his cheap mother!
Love Continent really lived up to its name. People followed their eyes instead of their values. It seemed Ning Rongrong had the hots for him.
What about Oscar, then? And wouldn't that mean no Martial Soul Fusion Skill to bring someone back to life later?
Tang Yin's mind went into a frenzy in the blink of an eye. He didn't hear a word of the conversation around him.
"Little friend? Little friend Lan Yin?"
"Huh?" Ning Fengzhi's voice abruptly interrupted his train of thought. Tang Yin looked up in confusion and saw that the group, who'd been bickering among themselves just moments before, had all turned to look at him.
"Little friend, what do you think of Rongrong's suggestion?"
"I think her suggestion is very constructive. I completely agree," Lan Yin replied instinctively.
However, as soon as he'd said it, he noticed Ning Fengzhi and Sword and Bone Douluo looking at him even more coldly.
Oh no! My old habit from meetings in my previous life has kicked in again!
Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, was delighted. She hopped over to Tang Yin and grabbed his wrist.
"Yay! Lan Yin, then come with me to Heaven Dou City!"
"Ah, go to Heaven Dou City?" Tang Yin opened his mouth. Weren't they talking about going home?
He'd figured that both sides had a point, and family matters were too complicated for an outsider to judge. Whatever, everyone's having a hard time. He'd agreed with whoever was speaking, so how had it suddenly turned into him going to Heaven Dou City?
"What? Are you going back on your word?" Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes, looking ready to make him regret it if he dared.
"Heh." Tang Yin laughed disdainfully to himself. Without Ning Fengzhi and Sword and Bone Douluo backing her up, Ning Rongrong's threats were nothing but hot air to him.
The main story was only a few years away, and he still had to focus on leveling up. He didn't have time to play house with some young miss.
Thinking this, Tang Yin looked toward Ning Fengzhi and the others. On this matter, he was on their side.
Ning Fengzhi's heart stirred when he saw that. Good lad. So you're on my side!
He was puzzled as to why this boy wasn't rushing to curry favor with Rongrong like everyone else, but he couldn't afford to dwell on that now.
Once certain things showed the first signs of taking root, they had to be nipped in the bud.
"Ahem. Rongrong, stop making trouble." Ning Fengzhi cleared his throat and feigned displeasure. "Little friend Lan Yin is clearly a diligent child who devotes himself wholeheartedly to cultivation. If you put even half as much effort into cultivation as he does, your two grandfathers and I would be overjoyed in our dreams."
"Dad, what are you even saying?" Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. She was caught completely off guard by this sudden comparison to someone else's child.
She'd only suggested taking Lan Yin to Heaven Dou City to broaden his horizons, and Lan Yin had agreed. Why were they all jumping around, worrying that she'd distract him from cultivating?
"Grandpa Bone, you're the one who loves Rongrong the most. You decide what to do!"
Bone Douluo's eyes lit up.
Brilliant!
After all these years of rivalry with Old Sword Man, he was finally reaping what he'd sown. Sure enough, Rongrong liked her Grandpa Bone best!
At the thought, Bone Douluo couldn't help grinning. He shot Sword Douluo a smug glance, then bent over like a lackey and hurried to Ning Rongrong's side, looking eagerly at Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo.
"Fengzhi, Old Sword Man, Rongrong only wants to take a friend to Heaven Dou City to broaden his horizons. If the sect really has too much to do, you can go back first. I'll stay here and keep an eye on things."
"Old Bone, do you have any principles at all?" Sword Douluo's temples throbbed. He was both unhappy with what Rongrong had said and furious that Old Bone had no scruples when it came to currying favor with her.
"Fengzhi, I'm done with this. You deal with it yourself!"
After all these years of rivalry with Bone Douluo, he couldn't believe that the shameless old man had beaten him to it over something like this. He was furious!
"Ah, in that case, Rongrong, go to Heaven Dou City first. I happen to have a letter for your senior brother, too." Seeing how Bone Douluo's lack of principles had ruined everything, Ning Fengzhi let out a deep sigh.
But it wouldn't do to favor one of the two guardian Douluos too much. He had to keep things balanced.
Ning Fengzhi took a letter out of his Soul Tool. Without drawing attention to it, he glanced at Bone Douluo, who was ingratiating himself with Ning Rongrong, and twitched his mouth. As he handed the letter to Ning Rongrong, he added, "Uncle Bone, since Rongrong says you're the one who loves her most, it looks like I can't let you accompany her on this trip."
"Ah! Fengzhi, what do you mean?" Bone Douluo panicked at once. This wasn't how they'd agreed things would go!
"Because you're the one who loves Rongrong most, that means you usually indulge her the most. So let Uncle Sword go with her instead."
Ning Fengzhi thought this arrangement was perfectly reasonable. Rongrong was destined to inherit the sect, so the two Douluos, Sword and Bone, had to remain impartial. They needed to be careful even with little matters like this.
More importantly, although Uncle Sword doted on Rongrong, he still had more limits than Uncle Bone. Ning Fengzhi held a bit of a grudge, too.
"So nobody's going to ask what I think?" Tang Yin spread his hands.
"Didn't we just ask you?" Ning Rongrong said, confused.
Tang Yin: "..."
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