Madam Ye, You Don't Want This Either

Gu Qingshan watched the carriage pull away, then turned his gaze toward Ye Lingling.

"Let's go. I'll take you to your mother."

Ye Lingling looked at him, her emerald eyes filled with absolute trust.

"Mm."

The inn Ye Lingling mentioned was the only one in the small town, making it easy to find.

However, as Gu Qingshan stood at the entrance, his perception swept through the building, and his brows furrowed slightly.

In a room on the second floor by the window, there was a faint, flickering aura.

That life force was incredibly weak, like an oil lamp nearing the end of its wick, ready to extinguish at any moment.

Gu Qingshan glanced at Chrysanthemum Douluo, who gave a slight nod, indicating he had sensed it as well.

Gu Qingshan took Ye Lingling's hand and walked up the stairs, with Chrysanthemum Douluo following behind.

Reaching the door, Gu Qingshan knocked.

"Who is it?" A woman's voice came from inside—weak, yet one could still discern its original clarity.

"Mom!" Ye Lingling called out happily.

The door opened.

The person who opened the Space Gate was a woman who looked to be around thirty, dressed in a plain white long dress covered by a light cyan thin coat.

Her features were seventy percent similar to Ye Lingling's, delicate and soft, with a gentle, graceful temperament in her expression.

Her complexion was terrible.

Her face was pale, her lips lacked color, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked like someone who had just recovered from a severe illness, or perhaps someone who had been ailing for a long time.

Yet, her figure was stunning. Even in the loose dress, one could see her voluptuous curves, a slender waist, and a generous bust. Most striking were her legs—long and straight, their superior proportions still evident beneath the fabric.

But Gu Qingshan's attention was not on her figure; it was on her life force.

He activated Life Perception.

Madam Ye: Life Force 1200.

The side effects of the Nine Heart Begonia were far more severe than he had imagined.

"Lingling, where did you go? Mom has been looking for you for so long! Why did you wander off?" Madam Ye pulled her daughter into a hug, her voice choked with emotion.

"I didn't wander off... I waited for a long time, but when you didn't come, I wanted to find you... then I met bad people, and Brother Gu Qingshan saved me."

Only then did Madam Ye notice the two people standing at the door.

A half-grown boy in a black robe, chewing on something, his demeanor casual and natural.

A middle-aged man, tall and thin, with an effeminate appearance, thick powder on his face, and his hands tucked into his sleeves.

Madam Ye's body stiffened slightly.

She recognized the emblem on the middle-aged man's clothing.

Martial Soul Hall.

Madam Ye's face turned even paler. She stood up, shielding Ye Lingling behind her, and looked at Gu Qingshan and Chrysanthemum Douluo with wary eyes.

"Thank you both for saving my daughter." Her voice regained its composure, though it carried a hint of coldness. "May I ask who you are..."

"From Martial Soul Hall," Gu Qingshan admitted generously. "My name is Gu Qingshan, and this is Elder Chrysanthemum Douluo."

Madam Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

Chrysanthemum Douluo.

A Title Douluo.

She had heard the name—an elder of Martial Soul Hall, a powerhouse above level ninety-five. How could such a figure appear in this remote little town?

"Lingling," Madam Ye looked down at her daughter, "are you hurt?"

"No," Ye Lingling shook her head. "Brother Gu Qingshan beat the bad guys away."

Madam Ye looked at Gu Qingshan, then at Chrysanthemum Douluo, the vigilance in her eyes not diminishing in the slightest.

"Thank you," she said again, but her attitude was clearly distant. "It's getting dark. If you don't mind, you can stay in town for the night and continue your journey tomorrow."

This was a dismissal.

Chrysanthemum Douluo raised an eyebrow and looked at Gu Qingshan.

Gu Qingshan stood at the door, watching Madam Ye, his expression calm.

"Madam Ye, Lingling says she wants to attend Martial Soul Academy."

Madam Ye's expression changed instantly.

"Lingling is still young; we can talk about such things later." Madam Ye's voice remained calm, but Gu Qingshan noticed her hand holding Ye Lingling's tighten slightly.

"Mom, I want to go." Ye Lingling looked up at her mother, her emerald eyes filled with anticipation. "I want to go to school with Brother Gu Qingshan."

Madam Ye lowered her head, looking into her daughter's eyes, her lips trembling slightly.

She knelt down and cupped her daughter's face in her hands: "Lingling, I have already contacted the Heaven Dou Royal Academy for you. The teachers there are excellent, and the environment is wonderful; you will surely like it."

Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Gu Qingshan clicked his tongue in his mind.

Following that, he signaled to Elder Chrysanthemum with his eyes.

Chrysanthemum Douluo understood.

An invisible aura was released from his body, instantly filling the entire corridor. The paint on the walls peeled slightly under the impact of this aura, and the window glass emitted a faint, trembling sound.

That was the aura belonging to a Title Douluo.

Madam Ye's expression changed. Could it be that Martial Soul Hall intended to force her?

Chrysanthemum Douluo's aura lasted for only a single breath before he withdrew it.

"Madam Ye," Gu Qingshan began, "could we step aside to speak?"

Madam Ye glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.

At the end of the corridor was a window overlooking the street scene of the small town. The sun was about to set, and only a streak of orange-red afterglow remained on the horizon.

Madam Ye leaned against the window. She was quite tall; even wearing flat cloth shoes, she stood at one meter ninety.

She looked down at the child who only reached her waist: "What do you want to say?"

Her voice remained cold.

Gu Qingshan looked into her eyes and spoke slowly.

"Madam Ye, you wouldn't want your daughter to know that your time is running out, would you?"

Madam Ye's pupils contracted sharply, and her breathing became rapid.

Her lips parted and closed, closed and parted, several times over, until she finally managed to squeeze out a single sentence.

"Are you threatening me?"

Her voice was trembling, but her gaze remained hard.

Gu Qingshan shook his head and pointed to his own eyes.

"I can see a person's life force. Madam Ye, your life force is only at 1,200, equivalent to that of a level 12 Spirit Master. But it is impossible for you to be only level 12, so there is only one explanation: your life force is constantly draining away."

Upon hearing this, Madam Ye's face turned as white as paper.

She did not speak, but her silence was the best answer.

Gu Qingshan continued: "At your current rate of life force depletion, you have at most three years left to live. By then, Lingling will lose her mother."

"Enough." Madam Ye's voice was hoarse, and her eyes were already red.

"Madam Ye, I have no intention of harming you. I only want to tell you that the flaw of the Nine Heart Begonia can be resolved."

Madam Ye's eyes widened abruptly.

"What did you say?"

"I said, the flaw of the Nine Heart Begonia can be resolved."

Gu Qingshan said every word clearly: "I know of a celestial herb that can heal the life force deficit of a Nine Heart Begonia inheritor and even break the 'curse' of the Nine Heart Begonia."

"You... are you telling the truth?" Madam Ye's voice trembled.

"Of course. You wouldn't want Lingling to end up like you, dying because of the martial soul 'curse', would you?"

Madam Ye took a deep breath: "What do you want?"

Gu Qingshan did not beat around the bush.

"Lingling joins the Martial Soul Hall Academy. I guarantee she will receive the best training, and I will also find a way to resolve the flaw of the Nine Heart Begonia."

Madam Ye looked at Gu Qingshan for a long time.

In the eyes of this six-year-old child, she saw something that did not belong to his age.

Furthermore, she had no other choice.

The Heaven Dou Royal Academy might be good, but it could not resolve the flaw of the Nine Heart Begonia.

And she no longer had the time to slowly search for answers.

"Fine, I agree."