Spiritual Locust Bead

"I'm terribly sorry, City Lord. I already know what happened. My idiot was far too rude last night and caused you trouble!" The moment Wei Qianqian saw Lu Jingming, she hurried forward with a sincere look of apology on her face.

Her blue hair flowed as smoothly as a waterfall. She was youthful and beautiful, looking barely over twenty—making it impossible to associate her with being the mother of two children.

As she spoke, she did not forget to shoot a fierce glare at Lan Yu, who stood to one side with an embarrassed expression.

"It's all right, Sister Wei. It was just a misunderstanding. I haven't taken it to heart," Lu Jingming replied politely.

From Wei Qianqian's introduction, Lu Jingming learned her identity.

Seeing her distinctive blue hair, Lu Jingming guessed that Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo had most likely inherited their martial souls from her.

Moreover, this seemingly young mother faintly exuded a powerful aura, one even stronger than her husband Lan Yu's. She was clearly an extraordinary Soul Sage, and not a low-ranked one at that.

When she heard Lu Jingming warmly call her "Sister Wei," Wei Qianqian immediately beamed, and the look in her eyes grew gentler still.

White hair, red eyes, stunning looks, exceptional talent, noble status, and only two years older than her daughters—so many virtues gathered in Lu Jingming, and the more Wei Qianqian looked at him, the more satisfied she became. Her gaze was exactly that of a mother-in-law looking at her future son-in-law: the more she looked, the more delighted she was.

This infuriated Lan Yu. His heart turned sour, and a trace of displeasure unconsciously appeared on his face.

But before he could act up, his wife shot him a sharp glare that instantly cowed him. Like a defeated rooster, he obediently stood to the side without daring to make a sound.

"Regardless, we were discourteous last night. Please accept this as our apology. And if you ever have any need of the Lan family in the future, just give the word." As Wei Qianqian spoke, she handed over an exquisitely wrapped gift box.

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Jingming reached out and accepted it.

He understood that only by accepting this gift could the Lan family truly set their minds at ease and believe he would not hold last night's incident against them.

Seeing Lu Jingming readily accept the apology gift, Wei Qianqian's face immediately lit up with delight, her smile growing even brighter.

After chatting briefly, Wei Qianqian rose to take her leave.

Only then did the two little girls, who had been standing obediently to one side like little quails, dare to speak.

"Goodbye, big brother," Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo said in clear, sweet voices like silver bells.

"Mm, goodbye." Lu Jingming smiled at them.

He found it secretly amusing. These two little ones clearly feared their mother just as much as their father did.

Beside Shrek City's busiest street stood an exquisite three-story building in quiet elegance.

On the signboard atop the building, the three words "Qunyu Pavilion" gleamed brilliantly, radiating a distinctive charm beneath the caress of sunlight.

Ningguang stood atop Qunyu Pavilion with graceful poise, idly turning an exquisite smoking pipe in her hand. Her gaze casually swept over the bustling crowd below before finally settling in the direction of Shrek Academy.

She slowly extended a hand, as though trying to gather all of Shrek Academy into her palm and bring everything under her control.

"You merchants really are greedy." A crisp voice abruptly broke the silence.

The speaker was a petite Black Tower Puppet. It stood quietly nearby, the seams where its joints had been pieced together clearly visible, silently declaring that it was not a real person but an exquisite doll.

Ningguang was not angered. The corners of her lips lifted slightly in a calm smile. "And is Lady Black Tower any different? I merely covet wealth and money, while what you pursue is endless knowledge."

The Black Tower Puppet did not seem surprised by the answer and replied evenly, "That is not wrong."

To The Great Black Tower, unknown knowledge was like a magnet, possessing an irresistible allure.

But once the unknown was uncovered and became known, her interest swiftly faded.

After a brief silence, the Black Tower Puppet spoke again. "For that little fellow's sake, I'll leave this puppet here. If anything comes up, you can contact me through it. Whether I respond, however, will depend on my mood."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Black Tower Puppet seemed to lose power, instantly becoming lifeless, stiff, and motionless, as though it had never spoken.

"She really is willful." Ningguang shook her head helplessly, silently sighing to herself.

The Great Black Tower's personality was indeed difficult to fathom. If Ningguang were not about to take control of Haiyuan City's financial authority and provide an endless stream of funding for The Great Black Tower's experiments, The Great Black Tower likely would not have paid her any attention at all.

In all of Haiyuan City, only Lu Jingming could meet The Great Black Tower's true body and speak with her at length.

Others, even someone like Jing Liu, rarely had the opportunity to interact with The Great Black Tower.

Still, The Great Black Tower was not entirely unfathomable. Whenever there was a need, she would take the initiative to appear—just as she had this time, seeking out Ningguang, who was about to become Haiyuan City's "money bag."

After all, her enormously costly experiments would rely on Ningguang's financial support in the future.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Haiyuan City, Ju Zi stood at the city gates, looking back at the city one last time.

A determined light shone in her eyes. She knew that she would not return here for a very long time.

"According to the intelligence, Xu Tianran, the Sun Moon Empire's new crown prince, will arrive at the border soon. I don't have much time."

Ju Zi murmured softly. She had changed into plain clothing and wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses that concealed much of her originally striking beauty.

The task Wuchang Division had given her was to infiltrate Xu Tianran's side and earn his absolute trust.

If necessary, she was even to sacrifice her life to protect Xu Tianran.

She did not know why Wuchang Division had entrusted such an important mission to a twelve-year-old girl, but in order to gain the power to kill the White Tiger Duke and overthrow the upper echelons of the Sun Moon Empire, she had accepted it.

She subconsciously touched the spot between her brows, where her source of confidence was hidden—a Class 9 Soul Tool, the Spiritual Locust Bead.

This Soul Tool had only one function, but it was incomparably powerful. At the instant her physical body died, it could immediately transfer her soul back to Haiyuan City.

And as long as she returned to Haiyuan City, White Flower in Lu Jingming's possession, who wielded the Power of Creation, could reshape her body for her.

Therefore, Ju Zi was not worried about becoming a pawn to be discarded at will. After all, the Class 9 Soul Tool between her brows was worth far more than her current life.

This was also her greatest trump card for gaining Xu Tianran's trust. After all, she truly could risk her life to protect Xu Tianran.