Qing Lei knelt on the ground, his heart in turmoil. Although he didn't understand why the Prince had kept him behind, he had a bad premonition.
After Qing Yu and Qing Dian left, Ye Lingyuan began to process the official documents on his desk. He sometimes frowned in deep thought, and sometimes his lips curved upwards as he wrote and marked. He seemed to have forgotten that Qing Lei was still kneeling on the ground.
The study was so quiet that only the sound of documents being flipped could be heard. This made the already restless Qing Lei even more agitated.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Qing Lei could no longer bear it and whispered, "Your... Your Highness!"
"Mm."
Ye Lingyuan responded faintly, not even looking up, and continued to review the documents on his desk.
Another incense stick later, Qing Lei couldn't stand it anymore and whispered again, "May I know what Your Highness requires of your subordinate?"
Ye Lingyuan, seeing that enough time had passed, finally put down his vermilion brush, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I heard you were interested in my clothes?"
Qing Lei was startled. Had the Prince overheard his conversation with Qing Yu just now?
"Coincidentally, I need a fur cloak. Go hunt ten Silver Moon Heavenly Wolves in Wolf Valley for me!"
Ten Silver Moon Heavenly Wolves!
On the Tian Yuan Continent, beasts were categorized from low to high as ferocious beasts, demonic beasts, and spirit beasts.
Ferocious beasts had nine levels, lacking sentience, corresponding to the nine realms of body tempering in humans. Demonic beasts had three levels, possessing nascent sentience but unable to speak, corresponding to the Qi Gathering Realm, Spirit Gathering Realm, and Yuan Transformation Realm in humans.
Spirit beasts, as their name suggests, had full sentience, could communicate with humans, but could not shapeshift, corresponding to the Saint King Realm in humans.
The Silver Moon Heavenly Wolves mentioned by Ye Lingyuan were the crème de la crème of demonic beasts, equivalent to peak cultivators of the Spirit Gathering Realm in humans. Furthermore, beasts' physical cultivation was even more formidable than human cultivators of the same level.
Qing Lei stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. He silently lamented, wishing he could slap himself twice.
He was only at the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm. Dealing with demonic beasts of the same level was already difficult, let alone the wolf pack, which was known for its pack behavior!
"Your Highness, this..."
"Twenty!"
"Your Highness,"
"Thirty!"
Qing Lei was on the verge of tears. He knew that if he dared to say another word, given his master's cunning nature, the number would only increase.
He regretted it deeply, silently vowing never to gossip about the Prince's affairs again.
"Yes! Your subordinate obeys!"
With that, he quickly disappeared from the study.
Watching the spot where he vanished, Ye Lingyuan's lips curved slightly. "Perhaps he can break through to the Yuan Transformation Realm this time?"
After leaving the study, Qing Lei saw Qing Yu waiting there.
"Got punished, didn't you? See if you dare to gossip about our master in the future!"
Although Qing Yu's face remained stern, his amusement was evident.
Seeing his schadenfreude, Qing Lei gritted his teeth and said, "Qing Yu, how did I not realize before that you were as cunning as the Prince?"
"Fifty Silver Moon Heavenly Wolves! Pure white! Not a speck of other color allowed!"
Before Qing Yu could speak, Ye Lingyuan's cold voice reached his ears.
"Ah!"
Qing Lei looked as if his life had lost all meaning.
Fifty of them. With his abilities, even if he hunted five a day, he would be utterly exhausted. Even so, it would take him ten days to stay in Wolf Valley.
Moreover, they had to be pure white, without a hint of other colors. Those were the royal bloodline of the Silver Moon Heavenly Wolves! Fifty of them, it was almost like asking him to completely clear out the Silver Moon Heavenly Wolves in Wolf Valley. Was that reasonable?
This meant he would have to stay in Wolf Valley for at least a month or two! Was Wolf Valley a place for humans?
He furiously slapped himself twice. "You gluttonous tongue! You gluttonous tongue!"
Qing Yu, of course, knew the Prince's good intentions, but he couldn't help but enjoy the spectacle one last time.
Qing Lei dared not delay. Who knew if the Prince would have a sudden whim and ask him to clear out other wolf packs in Wolf Valley?
He shot Qing Yu a hateful glare and turned to gallop towards Wolf Valley.
...
Zi Linling woke up feeling refreshed. If her meridians hadn't been damaged, she would have suspected she had cultivated all night.
Because the poison had been dispelled, her complexion, though pale, was no longer greenish. This made her, already exceptionally beautiful, even more stunning.
When she saw that her wounds had only left scars, she was greatly surprised.
Amidst her surprise, she felt as if she had forgotten something important, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn't recall what it was.
She couldn't remember, and Old Du wouldn't pry. Some things were destined. Since she hadn't memorized the scripture, it simply meant the time wasn't right.
Soon, Xue Ying brought breakfast. She stared at the plain white clothes Zi Linling was wearing and froze.
Although the clothes were still old, the young lady today gave off an aura of a noble lotus, exuding a subtle majesty.
Seeing Xue Ying staring at her, Zi Linling frowned slightly.
Ancient clothing was not as convenient as modern clothing. She had studied it for a long time before putting it on. Was she wearing it incorrectly? Su Dan Novel Network
"Xue Ying, is there something wrong with my clothes?"
Asked by her, Xue Ying snapped back to reality and quickly said, "No, Miss. Xue Ying is simply stunned by your beauty."
Zi Linling was surprised and a smile appeared on her face. "This little girl knows how to talk!"
"That's also because Miss is naturally beautiful!"
Xue Ying said with a smile, praising her as she arranged the meal. After Zi Linling sat down, she naturally stood to the side.
Zi Linling, being from modern times, couldn't stand being watched while she ate. "Xue Ying, you sit down and eat with me."
Xue Ying was overjoyed. "No, Miss. Please eat first. I've saved some food for myself."
"Sit down and eat together!"
Zi Linling's face turned cold, and her voice carried a hint of frost. Of course, she just wanted to startle Xue Ying, not truly angry.
She knew that Xue Ying saying she had saved food for herself was a lie.
Ever since Madam Wang became the matriarch, the two of them had barely had any food. Occasionally, when Xue Ying managed to get something to eat, she gave it all to Zi Linling. As for herself, she only drank some clear water to stave off hunger.
Seeing that her young lady was angry, Xue Ying dared not say anything more and sat down trembling.
Zi Linling divided half of the rice from her bowl to Xue Ying. After watching her finish, she nodded with satisfaction and said, "Tidy up, we're going out!"
Soon, the two of them appeared on the street.
It must be said, the ancient marketplace was very prosperous, with a completely different flavor from modern times.
Zi Linling's main purpose today was to find herbs to refine the Muscle-Shaping Pill and the Marrow-Cleansing Pill.
She had already asked Xue Ying before. To buy herbs, one had to go to the merchant shops, and almost all of them were located on East Street.
Therefore, she casually wandered around the street for a bit before heading towards the bustling East Street.
"Wuwuwu... Young master, young master, wake up quickly! Wuwuwu... Someone save my young master! Wuwuwu..."