"Is Your Excellency going to drive me away?"
Xilan opened her eyes in disbelief, unconsciously tightening her grip on the celestial dew in her hand.
"You don't belong to the Cangling Hall. It's inappropriate for you to stay here for long."
Chongming remained aloof, looking as emotionless as a wooden or clay statue in the temple.
At this moment, Xilan realized that all her flattery in the Cangling Hall had fallen on deaf ears.
She once thought she was about to become the second mistress of the Cangling Hall, only to have all her illusions shattered by the god's words.
"Does Your Excellency... really have no feelings for me at all?"
"Why would you think so?"
Although Chongming didn't answer directly, his rhetorical question stabbed into Xilan's heart like a sharp awl.
"If Your Excellency has no interest in me, why have you been so kind to me these days?"
"Have I been kind to you?"
A look of confusion flashed across Chongming's eyes.
During Xilan's stay in the Cangling Hall, he had never initiated a single conversation with her, nor had he asked the maids to take special care of her. In fact, they rarely even crossed paths.
Where did this so - called kindness come from?
His expression said it all. Xilan was in low spirits and was about to ask more questions when Chongming's cold voice cut her off. "You may leave."
After saying that, he fell into deep thought.
Just now, he was a bit tired and had just closed his eyes to rest when a sudden chill swept over him, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Then, he seemed to see... a wounded iron - eating beast?
No, that wasn't right.
Chongming lowered his eyes. Thinking of the dream, he unconsciously took out a piece of paper.
The scene in the dream appeared on the paper. Slowly, Chongming realized that it wasn't just a dream. Instead, it was because...
Yaohua was really in big trouble. She had used the red ribbon he had once given her, so he could sense it.
And that place...
Chongming's expression grew solemn.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
After the master disappeared, Yaohua saw the iron - eating beast lying not far away, unconscious.
The commotion just now must have come from it.
Fairy Ziying walked over to thank Yaohua. Seeing her in low spirits, she wisely kept silent and went to check on the iron - eating beast.
Upon inspection, she discovered something astonishing.
"So the iron - eating beast has already recognized its master."
Her surprised tone made Yaohua couldn't help but look over.
She saw a faint rune on the iron - eating beast's paw, as if it had grown there.
Fairy Ziying put down the iron - eating beast's paw. For the first time, there was a hint of panic on her face. "Let's go back to the village quickly!"
"What about it..." Yaohua's gaze was still fixed on the iron - eating beast.
"It is the spiritual pet of the Sword - Heralding Fairy, a sinful fairy from the north. Even if it's knocked out by you now, it has nothing to do with us."
Yaohua wanted to correct that it wasn't she who had knocked out the iron - eating beast, but obviously, that wasn't the point now.
"Who is the Sword - Heralding Fairy?"
"She is the most powerful of the sinful fairies from the north."
An image of a powerful fairy immediately popped into Yaohua's mind.
"Since the iron - eating beast is her spiritual pet, it's no coincidence that it ran towards the village."
Fairy Ziying took out a token and asked Yaohua to keep it.
"What is this?"
"There are five such tokens in total. They belong to the village head. You take this one for emergencies."
The token immediately became hot in Yaohua's hand.
She wanted to return it, but Fairy Ziying had already turned around and walked towards the bamboo forest.
Yaohua hesitated for a moment between going back to deliver the message and following her. In the end, she decided to go with her.
When they reached the bamboo forest, they first saw a large area of signs of a fight, and then they found a pool of blood on the ground.
They followed the trail of blood to the end, but didn't see anyone.
Just as Yaohua was feeling strange, a sudden gust of wind blew behind her head. The sudden killing intent gave her goosebumps all over.
She quickly dodged to the side and barely avoided the sword strike.
"Sword - Heralding!"
Fairy Ziying immediately recognized the attacker.
"We had an agreement that the north and the south would not interfere with each other. Why did you leave your village and show up here? Are you going to break your promise?"
Fairy Ziying tightened her grip on the sword, staring intently at the seemingly delicate woman in front of her. It seemed that if the woman said something she didn't like, she would draw her sword and kill her on the spot.
"Don't put it so harshly."
The Sword - Heralding Fairy not only looked weak but also sounded weak. She was half - covered in blood, and her footprints on the snow were full of blood. Yaohua even worried that she might suddenly die in the middle of speaking.
"There's some commotion in the northern village. They're afraid of you. I have nowhere else to go for refuge but to you for the time being."
"Aren't you guys fond of being violent?" Fairy Ziying was sarcastic. "Why do you come to me, a peace - loving person, for help?"
"If it weren't for survival, who would want to be violent?" The Sword - Heralding Fairy sneered. "If you're not willing to help me, I'll just find somewhere else."
In the end, Fairy Ziying agreed to help the Sword - Heralding Fairy. The three of them went back together. The villagers had never seen the Sword - Heralding Fairy but had heard of her deeds. To avoid any negative impact, the Sword - Heralding Fairy stood meekly behind Fairy Ziying, looking extremely obedient.
"Fairy, you're finally back!"
Seeing them return, the villagers heaved a sigh of relief and bombarded Fairy Ziying with concerns.
Fairy Ziying lifted her chin and motioned for them to look at Yaohua.
"We owe this to Yaohua this time. She saved me."
Then she told everyone what had happened in the snow forest.
"Miss Yaohua is so amazing! She can even defeat an iron - eating beast!"
"Miss Yaohua looks so gentle, but she's so ruthless when she makes a move. You really can't judge a book by its cover."
Two different voices came from the crowd. Even the Sword - Heralding Fairy couldn't help but frown at one of them.
"Ziying, it seems your village is not that well - managed."
Fairy Ziying couldn't refute. The smile on her lips was a bit stiff, but she still glared at the Sword - Heralding Fairy.
"Fairy, who is she?"
Finally, someone noticed the Sword - Heralding Fairy. Yaohua felt a bit nervous.
Because their father was from the northern village, Bailu and Qingshi had been looked down upon since childhood. Even now that they were grown - up, they had no home to go back to.
Would these villagers really accept the Sword - Heralding Fairy?
"This is the Sword - Heralding Fairy."
Yaohua thought Fairy Ziying would try to conceal it, but she spoke straightforwardly.
"The Sword - Heralding Fairy has been expelled from the northern village. You should treat her well. Don't bully her behind my back."
Fairy Ziying's tone was rather meaningful. Yaohua always felt that although on the surface, she was protecting the Sword - Heralding Fairy, in fact, she wanted the villagers to teach her a lesson.
Apparently, Yaohua wasn't the only one who had this feeling, because the Sword - Heralding Fairy also gave Fairy Ziying a half - smiling look.
"Don't worry, Fairy. We will definitely show the utmost respect to the Sword - Heralding Fairy."