Luo Qingying's voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable authority, like a cold blade scraping across the entire Earth-Ranked Stone Garden.
The raucous laughter and chatter froze in an instant, and even the air seemed to grow heavier.
Dressed in a blue robe, Luo Qingying approached at an unhurried pace, his face stern and his gaze sharp as an eagle's.
Beside him walked Jiang Wei in his signature cloud-patterned robe. His aura was restrained yet unfathomable. His calm gaze swept over everyone before lingering briefly on Luo Yue, and he nodded slightly.
The faces of Li Huan and his pack of disreputable friends turned paper-white in a flash.
Luo Qingying, the Luo Family's Third Master, had displayed astonishing talent since childhood. Barely in his fifties, he had already reached the Dragon Transformation Realm. As one of the Luo Family's decision-makers, he was notorious throughout Qingyun Province for his iron-fisted methods and ruthless cunning.
His strength rivaled that of the older generation's Dragon Transformation experts!
He was fundamentally different from wastrel scions like them, who spent their days idling about and gambling on stones.
His demand that their sect bring money to ransom them was no idle threat!
"Th-Third Master..."
Li Huan's voice trembled, and his legs went weak. Only sheer effort kept him from collapsing. "We let our youthful hotheadedness get the better of us and took a joke too far. As for the hundred thousand jin of Source, could you allow me to report to my sect elders before we discuss it further?"
He tried to wriggle free, blaming youthful hotheadedness and a joke in the hope of buying time.
"A joke?"
Luo Qingluan's willow-leaf brows shot up. She stepped forward, pointing at the shattered stones on the ground and the two treasures before Luo Yue, and sneered:
"First you swindled me out of eight hundred jin of Source with Counterfeit Filled Stone, then you set up a tenfold wager to hunt me down. Now that you've cut open an empty stone, you think you can brush it all aside by calling it a joke?"
"Li Huan, do you think Qingyun Province is your Fire Cloud Palace's backyard, and my Luo Family a soft persimmon for anyone to squeeze?" The Luo Family's young aunt was as fiery as ever. Her words came like a barrage of cannon fire, each striking at the heart and laying their schemes bare.
"Exactly! Do you think Qingyun Province has no one to stand up to you? You lost the bet, and now you want to welch?"
The followers behind Yao Li rallied once more, their voices shaking the sky as they unleashed a torrent of accusations at Li Huan and his companions.
After all, they had just lent Yao Li their own Source. If she could not repay them in the end, they would suffer a tremendous loss.
Yao Li herself watched quietly, her gaze shifting thoughtfully between Luo Qingying and Jiang Wei.
Luo Qingying raised a hand, silencing his sister and the crowd. His lightning-sharp gaze locked onto Li Huan, and his voice was utterly cold, brimming with killing intent:
"You agreed to the wager. You set the rules. You yourself proposed the tenfold payout. In all our dealings, the Luo Family has always honored its word."
"Now, you have two choices."
He held up two fingers:
"One, hand over one hundred and ten thousand jin of pure Source immediately, and you may leave Luo City unharmed."
"Two, if you cannot produce the payment, do as I said. Send word to the Fire Cloud Palace's sect master and have him personally bring enough Source Stone to Luo City in Qingyun Province to ransom you. Our Luo Family's dungeon may be humble, but it does have a few quiet chambers-enough for our esteemed guests to stay awhile."
"Third Master! Th-this one hundred and ten thousand jin of Source is really..." Li Huan was nearly in tears.
His companions behind him were utterly ashen, and some were already trembling like chaff in a sieve.
One hundred and ten thousand jin of Source might not cripple a major sect, but it was enough to make even some great sects wince. Even if the Fire Cloud Palace could afford it, its fury would be inevitable. Scions like them, who had been used as shields to take the shots, would certainly come to no good end.
"So you've chosen the second path."
Luo Qingying snorted coldly and stopped looking at them. Turning to the steward of the Great Evolution Stone Workshop, he commanded, "Go prepare brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for these distinguished disciples of the Fire Cloud Palace. Have them write their pleas for help in their own hands."
"Remember, they must clearly state the cause, the amount, and their current predicament. Once they're finished, send someone to deliver the letters to the Fire Cloud Palace immediately."
"Yes, Third Master!"
The steward of the Great Evolution Stone Workshop broke into a cold sweat. Not daring to delay, he hurriedly sent people to make the preparations.
Even the stone shop backed by the Great Evolution Sacred Land did not dare intervene now. The Luo Family's Third Master had come in person, with Jiang Wei, the Jiang Family Holy Lord's eldest grandson, standing beside him. They had clearly come to lend their support and establish their authority.
Li Huan and his companions fell into utter despair. Like defeated roosters, they were escorted aside by the Luo Family's people to write their letters, each looking utterly lost, without a trace of their earlier arrogance.
Meanwhile, Luo Qingluan had already gleefully stowed away the essence of Geng Metal and crimson rosy Source she had won. Patting Yao Li's shoulder, she beamed. "My dear sister, don't worry. Once we've collected everything they owe, you'll get your share!"
Yao Li smiled gently at that. Then her eyes shifted, and she said, "In that case, please give my entire share of the winnings, along with my original stake, to the young gentlemen who lent me Source just now."
Her gesture immediately drew another chorus of wolfish howls from her suitors behind her.
Seeing that Yao Li had not forgotten to look out for their interests, every besotted admirer had only one thought: The fairy really does have me in her heart!
"You're incredible!"
Looking at the young noblemen howling around them, Luo Qingluan could not help clicking her tongue and giving her dear friend a thumbs-up.
Even Luo Yue could not help glancing over.
No wonder the fairy always had a pack of besotted admirers trailing behind her. Just look at her methods, her breadth of vision-she had them trained beyond belief.
In response to her dear friend's thumbs-up, Yao Li smiled softly, but her gaze lingered more on Luo Yue beside her.
This seven-year-old silver-haired girl had been far too composed from beginning to end.
While Luo Qingluan rejoiced, Li Huan crumbled, and Luo Qingying and Jiang Wei dominated the gathering, she had merely stood quietly to one side. Deep within her ice-blue eyes lay something like an unchanging glacier, an aloofness and insight utterly at odds with her age.
Occasionally, her gaze swept over the old-pit stones in the garden, shrouded in primordial qi that concealed their interiors, revealing the faintest trace of contemplation.
Only after dealing with Li Huan and his companions did Luo Qingying approach Luo Yue. Some of the sternness melted from his face, revealing a barely perceptible gentleness:
"Yue'er, you did well. You brought no shame upon either the Luo Family or the Jiang Family."
He deliberately stressed the words "Jiang Family" and glanced at Jiang Wei, who smiled upon hearing them.
Luo Yue nodded slightly, maintaining her icy little-girl persona as she returned his courtesy. "You flatter me, Third Uncle."
She understood it all as clearly as a polished mirror. Luo Qingying and Jiang Wei's appearance was no coincidence. Neither was an easy man to deal with, and they had very likely been watching from the shadows all along, both protecting and observing her.
Well... of course, there was also the element of using her unusual status as bait to catch offenders in the act.
"The trouble here is settled. Qing Luan, take Yue'er home."
As Luo Qingying spoke, he addressed Jiang Wei again:
"Brother Jiang, as for
the remaining matters here, sorry for the trouble, but I'll need you to oversee things a little longer."
"It's my duty." Jiang Wei nodded in agreement.
Just as Luo Qingluan gleefully took Luo Yue's hand and prepared to leave.
Little Yao Xi, who had stayed quietly beside her older sister all this time, suddenly pulled free of Yao Li's hand and trotted up to Luo Yue. Tilting her little face upward, she looked at her with wide, blinking eyes and asked in a clear voice:
"Hey! Silver Hair! Aren't you going to cut open your third stone?"
The unexpected question drew curious looks from the crowd, which had been about to disperse.
Even Yao Li watched her younger sister and Luo Yue with interest.
Luo Yue shook her head and said, "I'm not betting on the third stone. I plan to take it home and cut it open myself."
"Then how exactly did you see through those stones? Can you teach me?" Little Yao Xi continued.
Luo Yue lowered her head and looked at the exquisite little girl before her, whose eyes brimmed with pure curiosity and a hint of unwillingness to admit defeat. A slight ripple passed through her ice-blue pupils.
She recalled the phantom halls of the Guanghan Palace that the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu had once revealed through deduction, rising and sinking in a sea of stars, linked to Yao Xi's aura.
Meeting little Yao Xi's expectant gaze, Luo Yue's lips curved upward by the faintest, almost imperceptible degree. Her voice lost some of its distance and gained an indescribable significance:
"You want to learn? I can teach you."
She extended her cool little hand. A barely perceptible wisp of chill, as though capable of freezing thought itself, curled around her fingertip as she gently touched Yao Xi's smooth forehead, leaving an ice-blue mark that vanished almost instantly.
"Come find me when you've grown up."
With that, before Yao Xi or the astonished onlookers could react, Luo Yue withdrew her hand and turned away. Her silver hair traced cool arcs beneath the rising sun as she followed Luo Qingluan toward the Luo Residence.
Only Yao Xi remained, holding her chilly yet unhurt forehead, her large eyes round and her little mouth slightly open as she stared blankly at the receding figure.