On the fifth floor of the Flowing Cloud Pavilion.
Li Shu drank his tea, in front of him were the top-grade pills sold to him by Ling Luo Yi yesterday. His personal guard, Han Li, stood respectfully by his side, recounting the day's events to him in detail.
After Han Li finished speaking, Li Shu put down his teacup and smiled, "This Eldest Miss Ling is truly clever!"
"But, Young Pavilion Master, Eldest Miss Ling exposed top-grade pills in public. Isn't this putting herself and the Ling family on the chopping block?"
"Yes, this way they are in danger, and yet they are also safe."
"Young Pavilion Master, this subordinate does not understand, could you explain it a little?"
"Do you still remember what happened to the Ling family ten years ago? Would Eldest Miss Ling let them off?"
"How could she not! Eldest Miss Ling's parents also died then. Eldest Miss Ling will definitely seek revenge, and this subordinate believes that Eldest Miss Ling's return this time is also for revenge."
"That's right. If not for today's incident, the Ling family's actions couldn't be too significant, and everything could only be done slowly."
"However, with Eldest Miss Ling's temperament, she wouldn't choose to take things slowly."
"With Eldest Miss Ling's temperament, she should choose to cut the Gordian knot quickly, rather than boiling a frog in warm water. That's why she needs to find allies, allies who can protect the Ling family. And to maintain this alliance, they must know how much benefit they can gain."
"But, Young Pavilion Master, those who have enmity with the Ling family will never sit idly by. They will definitely find ways to stop her."
"So she needs to offer a chip that others don't have, a chip that they cannot refuse, a chip that makes them overlook other things and not develop a desire to snatch it."
"A chip? It's the top-grade pills."
"It should be more than that. This alone is not enough to achieve these things."
"Could it be that Eldest Miss Ling has something more precious than top-grade pills?"
"It's hard to say. After all, none of us understand her, not even the Ling family."
"But, Young Pavilion Master, this news will eventually spread throughout the continent. At that time, those desperate individuals might disregard everything, and then Eldest Miss Ling would be in danger."
"Han Li, do you think there are many people who want to get good things from her?"
"Of course, there are many. It can be said that everyone wants them."
"Yes, everyone wants them, and everyone hopes others don't get them, and everyone hopes they get more than others."
"Therefore, as long as Eldest Miss Ling is alive, they might be able to get more. So, they will definitely protect Eldest Miss Ling. Perhaps, Eldest Miss Ling might give them more out of gratitude for their protection."
"At least for now, Eldest Miss Ling is not an unreasonable person, nor is she a bloodthirsty one."
"But, Young Pavilion Master, if the masters of those great clans come, and if they want to kill her, others might not be able to protect her."
"Han Li, you've overlooked three words."
"Three words?" Han Li recalled, "'Not entirely'? Young Pavilion Master, what does this mean?"
"'Not entirely' means that at least two people refined those pills. That means Eldest Miss Ling has at least one more person behind her. If that person is Eldest Miss Ling's master, and if this guess is correct, it means there are at least two people on this continent who can refine top-grade pills. But this person had no news before Eldest Miss Ling. Therefore, to find him, one can only go through Eldest Miss Ling."
"So, to obtain two alchemists capable of refining top-grade pills, Eldest Miss Ling cannot die!"
"So Han Li, do you think the people from those great clans can't think of what we can think of?"
"But, Young Pavilion Master, what if this guess is not true?"
"If it's not true, being able to help her refine so many pills shows that their relationship is not too bad, perhaps they are friends. But similarly, we have no way to investigate this person."
"So, no matter which guess it is, the final result is the same: Eldest Miss Ling cannot die!"
"Han Li, let's think bigger. What if there's more than one person helping her refine pills?"
"Then that would be...!!"
"Han Li, we can even guess in a bigger direction, in an impossible direction."
Han Li stared blankly at his Young Pavilion Master.
"Eldest Miss Ling disappeared for ten years, she disappeared in the Falling Sunset Forest. The top-grade pills of the院长 of the Ancient Spirit Academy were only obtained seven years ago, and at that time, he was only a first-rank alchemist. If the top-grade pills of the院长 of the Ancient Spirit Academy were refined by Eldest Miss Ling, then..."
"That's unlikely, isn't it? Eldest Miss Ling was only eleven years old at the time. Ordinary people start cultivating at this age. Even if she wanted to learn alchemy, even if she could refine it successfully, it should be low-grade or mid-grade. Top-grade pills were not even refined by the Medicine King, and the Medicine King refined pills his entire life!"
"Can ordinary people produce top-grade pills?"
"No, but that doesn't prove that the top-grade pills of the院长 of the Ancient Spirit Academy were refined by Eldest Miss Ling. This is too..."
Han Li's voice gradually weakened.
"As far as I know, the院长 of the Ancient Spirit Academy went out nine years ago and had no news for a year. The following year, when he returned to the academy, he announced to the outside world that he had taken a disciple with extremely astonishing talent. However, no one has seen this disciple he spoke of to this day, leading some to believe that the院长 of the Ancient Spirit Academy was in an illusion, until he produced the top-grade pills refined by the disciple he spoke of, that people reluctantly believed him."
"Young Pavilion Master, according to what you said, Eldest Miss Ling disappeared in the Falling Sunset Forest ten years ago, and met the院长 of the Ancient Spirit Academy a year later. This means that Eldest Miss Ling was in the Falling Sunset Forest for that year. She hadn't started cultivating yet, how did she survive..."
He forgot, Eldest Miss Ling was alive and well now! If she was still alive now, it meant she didn't die back then...
Li Shu looked at him strangely and said, "Do you still think she's an ordinary person?"
Han Li subconsciously shook his head. To survive in the Falling Sunset Forest without any cultivation was not ordinary! Moreover, he had also heard the pursuers at the time say that they personally watched Eldest Miss Ling fall off a cliff. If she could survive that...
No! There was no "if"! Because Eldest Miss Ling was alive now! Alive and well!
Han Li said tremblingly, "But, Young Pavilion Master, these are all just guesses."
"Yes, they are all guesses, but if I can guess like this, so can they. As long as they can guess this far, they will be more or less intimidated by the Ancient Spirit Academy."
"What if they don't guess in this direction?"
"The Ling family still has five enrollment quotas personally granted by the院长 of the Ancient Spirit Academy. Do you think they won't guess in this direction?"
"That's right. At that time, no one understood why the quotas were given to a declining family, while prosperous families did not receive them. If, as Young Pavilion Master guesses, a master taking care of his disciple's family and giving five enrollment quotas is understandable. But, Young Pavilion Master, even if all your guesses are plausible, without evidence, they are still just guesses."
"But there is no evidence to prove these guesses are false, and moreover, what if they are true?"
What if, they, were, true!
Han Li shook his head vigorously, throwing these guesses away.
"Young Pavilion Master, please don't think any further." The more he thought, the more terrifying it became!
"Indeed, there is no need to think further. It is enough to stop here. So Han Li, do you think there are more people who want her to live, or more people who want her dead? Perhaps I should ask, are there more people protecting her, or more people who want her dead?"
Are there more people who want her to live or more people who want her dead?