The greatest hermits hide in the city, concealing their strength

"Out of town? May I ask when he left?"

Flender breathed a sigh of relief. Good, she wasn't going to attack him.

But when had he left? Had all these days of waiting been for nothing?

"Several days ago, I think. He said he was going out to find materials for making Soul Tools and wouldn't be back for several months."

The subject made Ye Lingling a little unhappy.

She had wanted to go with him, but Ye Xingmeng hadn't agreed.

She had said things like Ye Lingling was still in school, that it wasn't safe for an unmarried man and woman to travel alone together, and that they weren't allowed to spend time alone before getting married.

Didn't everyone already know about her and Mo Lin? Why guard against it so fiercely?

Most importantly, judging by Ye Xingmeng's tone, she wasn't afraid that Mo Lin would do something to her. She was worried that she would do something to Mo Lin.

Was this really her mother? Who treated their own daughter like that?

Ye Lingling now seriously suspected that she was the one who had been picked up off the street, while Mo Lin was her mother's biological child.

"Several months? Soul Tools?"

Flender tilted his head. What did any of this have to do with anything?

He felt frustrated, but it wasn't too bad. At least he had a rough idea now.

It was only a few months. He could wait.

"By the way, Miss Ye, if I may be so bold, is that senior very close to you... no, to your family?"

Flender could tell that Mo Lin took very good care of Ye Lingling and her family. Moreover, with eyes honed by so many years of reading people's expressions, he was certain that the man had taken a fancy to Ye Lingling.

There was also the fact that his name sounded almost identical to that of this shop's owner. Could they be from the same clan?

"I don't know about that. All I know is that he owes my family money."

That single sentence from Ye Lingling made Flender's brain crash.

Owed them money? How the hell were they his creditors?

"Why are you asking? Did he send you to fish for information?"

Flender had come to Heaven Dou City with them because of that man. In Ye Lingling's eyes, he was one of Mo Lin's people.

"Let me tell you, my mother said he could never repay what he owes us, not in this lifetime."

Trying to get out of paying his debts? Not a chance.

She didn't know exactly what he owed them, or why her mother was so certain he would repay it.

But her family must have had something on him. In that case, who cared whether he was a Titled Douluo? He still had to repay his debt to her.

Indeed, even Ye Lingling was now especially assertive, because Mo Lin had told her there was no need to stand on ceremony with him.

Had Ye Xingmeng said that, she definitely wouldn't have believed her. But Mo Lin had never lied to her since they were children, so she believed him.

Holy shit! Talking so tough-the Ye Family is no ordinary family.

He had witnessed Mo Lin's strength firsthand, but he really knew nothing about the Ye Family.

Heaven Dou City really is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

After marveling inwardly, Flender began making roundabout inquiries about Mo Lin.

Then he learned something terrifying.

"Mo Lin is your child bridegroom?!"

What? A child bridegroom? You're telling me that someone even that powerhouse has to be wary of is your child bridegroom?

What kind of game is this? Are city folk really this inventive nowadays?

"Yes. What's wrong? Plenty of people in Heaven Dou City know about it. Is there anything strange about that?"

Ye Lingling didn't understand why Flender was reacting so strongly and found it rather odd.

Is there something wrong with this man? What has he been doing all these days since he got here?

But Ye Lingling had no way of knowing that Flender had spent all his days in Heaven Dou City waiting for Mo Lin. He hadn't had time to inquire about anything else, which also meant he knew nothing about Mo Lin and Ye Lingling's relationship.

Everyone knows? Oh, hell. He's a true master.

The greatest hermits hide in the city, concealing their strength. That's something only the very greatest masters would do.

No wonder His Eminence told me to be careful not to provoke him. He really had good reason.

Sure enough, I've seen too little of the world. Is this the gap between me and the truly strong?

Facing Tang Hao, he had felt only an overwhelming disparity in strength. But facing these two, he felt as though every step he took was within their calculations.

It was too terrifying. Thankfully, he hadn't done anything to Ye Lingling back then.

Otherwise, they probably would have scattered his ashes by now.

Back then, they had actually intended to make trouble for Ye Lingling, but a fight had broken out over there, so they hadn't managed it.

"You're so strange. Is there anything else? If not, I'm leaving."

Ye Lingling felt that Flender's brain didn't seem to work very well. He didn't look particularly bright.

Still, since he had protected her throughout the journey back, she had chatted with him a little longer.

Most people knew the things she had said anyway. She just didn't understand what he was so shocked about. It made no sense.

"Thank you for clearing things up, Miss Ye. Take care, and feel free to come to me if you need anything."

Compared with the two Mo Lins, Ye Lingling was clearly easier to approach.

He had just sorted through the information in his head and discovered that the most crucial point was Ye Lingling herself.

Both of those two seemed to care about her a great deal. In that case, what more needed to be said?

From now on, Ye Lingling's business was his business. He had to cling tightly to this powerful backer. If he waited too long, he would lose his chance.

After hearing him, Ye Lingling merely waved politely, indicating that she didn't need his help.

But whether she said she didn't need it was her business. Whether Flender acted was his own.

After leaving, Flender made a point of investigating the Ye Family and discovered another important clue.

That was Ye Lingling's mother, Ye Xingmeng. After all, she was the one who had taken Mo Lin in.

My heavens, she's the real big shot.

While Flender was marveling at how incredible the Ye Family was, elsewhere...

Inside the Crown Prince's Palace, Zhu Zhuqing had also met Qian Renxue.

With the token Mo Lin had given her, she had come straight before Qian Renxue almost without encountering any obstruction.

Toying with the token in her hand, Qian Renxue looked at Zhu Zhuqing before her and recalled what Mo Lin had told her earlier. A smile couldn't help curling her lips.

She stepped forward, gently lifted Zhu Zhuqing's chin with her hand, and praised her.

"A peerless beauty indeed. Are you willing to become my woman?"

Zhu Zhuqing didn't resist. She merely nodded gently.

She had prepared herself long ago and understood all the consequences.

But she had already been left with no other choice, just as Mo Lin had said.

She was born to be an empress. Since she couldn't become the empress of the Star Luo Empire, she would become the empress of Heaven Dou instead.

When Mo Lin had fought Tang Hao, she hadn't gone far. It could be said that she had witnessed everything.

That battle had also further strengthened her resolve.

Perhaps others would find her actions despicable, but so what? They had betrayed her first.

So she would not regret it, and she would climb to the very top, step by step, then make Dai Mubai and even the entire Star Luo Imperial Family pay.

Looking into her resolute eyes, Qian Renxue read many things in them.

This was a girl with a story, and so was she. They were the same kind of person.

"Very good. From today onward, you are my Crown Princess."

Not a concubine, but her principal wife in the truest sense-the future empress of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Qian Renxue was even crazier than Mo Lin had anticipated. She intended to use Zhu Zhuqing to turn the Star Luo Empire upside down.

Now, as long as Mo Lin didn't interfere, she was confident she could annex both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires.

"Attendants, take the Crown Princess to bathe. I'm going to ask Father for an imperial decree granting our marriage!"