Zi Guochang's retreating figure, carrying a sense of desolation and loneliness, made Zi Linling's eyes ache.
"Lin'er, he loves you!"
Ye Lingyuan looked at the figure in the darkness and said thoughtfully.
"I know!" Zi Linling said with a wry smile.
It was precisely because she knew that she couldn't face him.
She was like a thief, stealing the most important thing in Zi Guochang's life, yet still enjoying his care.
Ye Lingyuan asked with confusion, "Why don't you tell him?"
Zi Linling shook her head and said, "He has only just regained this long-lost paternal affection; let him indulge in it for a while longer!"
Ye Lingyuan dotingly flicked her pert nose and said, "You little thing! You just don't know how to say it, do you?"
Zi Linling nodded and said, "That's also part of the reason!"
Ye Lingyuan smiled helplessly and said, "Then tell me about this feeling you had, of being summoned by something when you arrived here?"
Zi Linling frowned and said, "I can't explain that either, but I can feel that what is summoning me is in the deepest part. And as time goes by, the summoning is getting stronger."
Ye Lingyuan raised an eyebrow, his fingertips twitching subconsciously, and said, "Since that's the case, I agree with your father-in-law's suggestion. After the demon dragon finishes its molt, we'll go take a look together!"
Zi Linling nodded and said, "Of course, that's what I was thinking too!"
"It seems we have a telepathic connection!" Ye Lingyuan said with a playful smile.
Zi Linling's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said shyly, "Perhaps!"
"Lin'er, you are so beautiful!"
Ye Lingyuan suddenly uttered this sentence and then lowered his head to cover her red lips.
"Mmmph..."
Zi Linling was like a startled rabbit, her whole body stiffened for a moment, but she quickly responded.
They only gradually separated, reluctant to part, when they were both slightly breathless.
In the darkness, an ambiguous atmosphere spread.
The long wait and guardianship became incredibly swift because their loved ones were by their side.
Nine days later, Ao Xiang finally emerged from the demon dragon's lair.
"Thank you for your guardianship these past nine days. This is the reverse scale you wanted, as a token of my gratitude!"
As he spoke, he tossed the shed reverse scale to Zi Linling.
Zi Linling put away the dragon scale and smiled, saying, "Not bad, your cultivation has increased again! Congratulations, congratulations!"
"Thanks to you!"
Ao Xiang smiled, the gloom on his face vanishing.
"By the way, are you planning to leave?" he asked further.
Zi Linling smiled enchantingly and said, "Not for the time being, we still have some matters to attend to!"
Ao Xiang nodded and said, "Then when you leave, could you take me with you?"
Zi Linling was stunned, clearly not expecting him to ask that.
Ye Lingyuan, however, readily replied, "Yes, if we can leave, we will definitely take you!"
"Then I thank you in advance!" Ao Xiang said, his eyes shining.
Although Zi Linling didn't know why Ye Lingyuan had agreed, she knew that Ye Lingyuan did things with great discretion.
Moreover, this fellow Ye Lingyuan, like herself, never acted without a purpose.
As expected, Ye Lingyuan continued, "However, we can't be sure when we will leave, so if you want to leave here, you'll probably have to come with us."
Ao Xiang clearly hadn't expected Ye Lingyuan to turn the tables so suddenly and froze on the spot.
"What do you mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ye Lingyuan said expressionlessly, "It doesn't mean anything. It's just that we'll have to trouble you to go with us to the deeper parts!"
Ao Xiang's expression changed drastically. "What did you say? You're going to the deeper parts?" Soudan Novel Network
Zi Linling nodded and said, "Indeed!"
Ao Xiang quickly stopped them. "No! You absolutely cannot go! Those deeper parts are a place of certain death; there is no possibility of survival once you enter!"
Zi Linling asked in surprise, "Have you been there?"
Ao Xiang nodded and said, "Yes. A thousand years ago, shortly after I accidentally entered this place, my cultivation broke through to the Emperor Realm. To find a way out, I went in once.
But that one time, I almost died in there. The demonic aura on that reverse scale was something I got when I was desperate and used my reverse scale.
Later, I tried everything to remove it, but I didn't succeed. Of course, if it weren't for the demonic energy on the reverse scale, I would have been buried there."
Recalling that experience, Ao Xiang still felt a chill.
"Since that's the case, we must go in and take a look," Zi Linling replied after some thought.
This time it was Ao Xiang's turn to be surprised. "I've already told you it's a place of certain death. Why do you still want to go in?"
Zi Linling was about to state her purpose when Ye Lingyuan interrupted her. "We suspect that there is an entrance to the demonic realm there, but it's been sealed. Therefore, we must go and see. If the seal loosens, we can make preparations."
It wasn't that Ye Lingyuan didn't want Zi Linling to tell the truth, but one had to guard against others. Who knew if Ao Xiang would do something detrimental to them out of jealousy?
Of course, Zi Linling wasn't foolish or unguarded; she had a hunch that Ao Xiang was not a bad person and could be a friend with whom she could build a genuine connection.
However, since Ye Lingyuan had already acted, it was not good for her to undermine him.
Ao Xiang thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll accompany you gentlemen to the death! Please wait a moment, I'll go inside and get some things, and then we'll depart!"
He said this and, without waiting for Zi Linling and Ye Lingyuan to stop him, turned and went back into the cave.
Zi Linling transmitted her voice, "Are you trying to trick a combatant?"
Ye Lingyuan replied, "It's not exactly tricking. At most, it's a willing victim and a willing perpetrator!"
Zi Linling rolled her eyes and transmitted her voice, "Then, is what you said earlier about it possibly being a demonic realm entrance also false?"
Ye Lingyuan shook his head and said, "Although it's not true, I have a feeling that it might indeed be related to the demonic realm."
"The evidence?"
"Can't the demon dragon's reverse scale be evidence?"
Zi Linling was speechless.
Ye Lingyuan was right. If this place had nothing to do with the demonic realm, then how could the demonic energy attached to the demon dragon's reverse scale be explained?