Since Rongrong didn't want to leave, and seemed to have gained a great fortune, forcing her to go would only make things worse.
"Forget it."
Chen Xin let out a long sigh and took a deep look at Lin Qiu, as if he wanted to etch the boy's appearance into his mind.
"Since Rongrong is willing to stay, we'll impose on you for a few days. Ning and the sect master will come pay a visit tomorrow, at the banquet."
With that, he didn't linger any longer. He turned on his sword and vanished into the horizon as a streak of light.
Lin Qiu watched Chen Xin's departing figure, his expression calm.
The Platinum Hotel, top-floor suite.
Ning Fengzhi paced back and forth before the window with his hands behind his back. His usual refined composure—the kind that wouldn't change even if Mount Tai crumbled before him—had vanished without a trace.
"Fengzhi, stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."
Gu Rong sat on the sofa, turning two smooth jade balls in his hands. Though he offered words of comfort, his sunken eyes betrayed the same anxiety.
"Uncle Bone, Uncle Sword has been gone so long without sending any word. How can I not worry?"
Ning Fengzhi stopped and stared fixedly toward the Pope Palace.
"That's the Spirit Hall's stronghold, after all. That woman Bibi Dong has grown more and more domineering and capricious over the past few years. If Rongrong has fallen into her hands..."
"Don't worry."
Gu Rong set the jade balls down on the table with a sharp clack.
"Though that old Chen Xin spends his days practicing swordsmanship and seems as wooden as a block, no one in this world has been born who can hold him back once he starts fighting.
"Besides, who in this world wouldn't give the Seven Kill Sword some respect?
"However mad Bibi Dong may be, she still has to think carefully about the consequences of completely falling out with our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
Ning Fengzhi gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
He understood all that, but the one who had been taken was Rongrong—his only daughter, and the future hope of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Such was the way concern clouded judgment.
Just then, a gust of air suddenly swept in from outside the window.
A figure in white silently landed in the middle of the room.
Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong rose almost at the same time.
"Uncle Sword!"
"Chen Xin!"
They hurried over, only to see Chen Xin standing there empty-handed, with no sign of the familiar Little Demoness behind him.
Ning Fengzhi's heart lurched, and his face instantly paled.
"Uncle Sword, where's Rongrong? Could it be that Bibi Dong really..."
Gu Rong's hair and beard bristled. Soul Power surged around him, and the space behind him began to twist, revealing phantom white bones.
"I knew that madwoman was up to no good! Chen Xin, did she take Rongrong captive? Come on! We'll tear down her Pope Palace right now!"
"Calm down."
Chen Xin raised a hand to press down on Gu Rong's shoulder, his expression so grave it was alarming.
He drew a deep breath, went to the table, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and drained it in one go. Only then did he slowly begin:
"Rongrong is fine. In fact... you could even say she's doing very well."
"Very well?" Ning Fengzhi froze. "Then why didn't you bring her back?"
Chen Xin set down the teacup, a complicated look flashing through his eyes. It was as if he were recalling that earth-shattering sword strike, and marveling at the boy's monstrous talent.
"It's not that I couldn't bring her back. She simply didn't want to come."
Chen Xin recounted everything that had happened in the side hall, from beginning to end.
From the Grass Character Sword Qi—faint though it was, yet powerful enough to sever the void—to the peak Level 98 pressure Bibi Dong had unleashed, and finally to Rongrong clinging stubbornly to that boy's sleeve and refusing to let go.
Silence fell over the room.
After a long while, Ning Fengzhi finally managed to speak.
"You're saying... that twelve-year-old Holy Son made you feel threatened with just a single sword-finger strike? And Bibi Dong was even willing to fight you head-on for his sake?"
"The intent behind that sword surpassed anything I've ever witnessed in my life."
Chen Xin closed his eyes. The grass blade swaying in the void remained vivid in his mind.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed such swordsmanship existed in this world. That boy is unfathomable."
Ning Fengzhi sank into a chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously against the armrest.
"A twelve-year-old boy has Bibi Dong protecting him so fiercely that she's even willing to offend one of the Upper Three Sects... It seems the secrets he's hiding are far greater than we imagined."
"What about Rongrong, then? Are we just going to let her stay beside that boy?"
Gu Rong asked, sounding somewhat reluctant.
A fierce glint flashed in Ning Fengzhi's eyes. He clenched his fists.
"Rongrong may fool around, but she knows better than to act recklessly.
"How could she give up the comfortable life she had at home just to stay beside a strange boy and serve as his maid?"
"The Spirit Hall must have used some evil spell, or threatened and intimidated Rongrong somehow!"
"..."
At the thought of his pampered daughter possibly suffering inhuman torment in the gloomy Pope Palace, Ning Fengzhi's heart twisted as if a knife were cutting through it.
And she might even be forced to curry favor with that so-called Holy Son. The thought made his heart ache.
"Outrageous! This is too much!"
Ning Fengzhi slammed a hand down on the armrest. His usually refined face was covered in frost.
"Tomorrow is the Spirit Hall's banquet. In front of all the heroes of the realm, I'll demand an explanation from Bibi Dong!
"If Rongrong has so much as a hair harmed, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will spend every last coin we have to make the Spirit Hall pay!"
At the same time, in a side hall of the Pope Palace.
The Ning Rongrong whom Ning Fengzhi imagined to be "suffering inhuman torment" was kneeling on a cushioned footstool, her small, pale hands curled into loose fists as she energetically pounded at a long, shapely leg.
"Big Brother, how's the pressure? Is it too hard?"
Ning Rongrong tilted her head up. Her lively eyes were full of ingratiating warmth, and her smile was sweet enough to make anyone's teeth ache.
There wasn't the slightest trace of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Little Demoness and her usual arrogance.
She was more obedient than the best-behaved little maid in the household.
Lin Qiu was half-reclined on the bed, casually flipping through an old book. He didn't even raise his eyelids, merely letting out a lazy "Mm."
"A little higher. Yes, right there."
"Got it!"
Ning Rongrong answered briskly, pounding even more enthusiastically. As she worked, she watched his expression carefully.
"Big Brother, I've been massaging you for so long that my hands are getting a little sore..."
Lin Qiu closed the book and gave her a faintly amused look.
"Trying to slack off?"
"Of course not!"
Ning Rongrong immediately straightened her back and declared righteously,
"Being able to serve Big Brother is Rongrong's good fortune! I just... I just think your legs are so perfectly shaped that I'm afraid my clumsy hands might hurt them."
That flattery had been delivered so smoothly, you could hardly see the seams.
Lin Qiu chuckled softly, without exposing her little scheme.
Ever since the girl had eaten the Nine Wonders Ganoderma and tasted the benefits, all she could think about now was how to wheedle more good things out of him.
Before you continue