Before Xia Rui dismounted his horse, Xia Jingning had whispered a few words in his ear.
It seemed that Xia Jingning had told Xia Rui that the person in front of them was the one they wanted to rescue.
"Junior Xia Rui pays respects to the grand ancestor," Xia Rui said.
Zhao Shuning felt a bit embarrassed. At first glance, Xia Rui was a highly respected person. How could she let him bow to her? Moreover, Zhao Shuning was not the kind of person who liked to put on airs.
Facing this situation, she could only heave a sigh. Since they called her grand ancestor, she couldn't disgrace the "grand ancestor" in front of so many people.
"Get up quickly," she said.
"Grand ancestor, my unfilial son has offended you. I will surely punish him severely when I get back," Xia Rui said.
"We'll discuss this later. You must be Xia Rui. Get up first," Zhao Shuning said again, preparing to help the old man up.
The old man couldn't bear such treatment from the grand ancestor and quickly stood up, placing his hands in front of him, looking extremely respectful.
Zhao Shuning found it a bit funny. She scanned the crowd and said, "What are you all doing here?"
"To rescue the grand ancestor," they replied.
"It's okay. You can all go back now," Zhao Shuning said.
The tense hearts of the crowd gradually relaxed.
"Senior, what about the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon?" someone asked.
Zhao Shuning opened her mouth to answer, but her words were cut off.
"Needless to say, since the duke calls the senior grand ancestor, the senior must be extremely powerful. Without a doubt, the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon must have been subdued by the senior," someone said.
"Didn't the senior say on the mountain that she couldn't defeat it?" another person questioned.
"She must be being modest. These hermits are always very low - key. I suppose she didn't want to reveal her true strength in front of everyone," someone else guessed.
"You're right," someone agreed.
"Alas, we were deceived by the senior before. It turns out that the senior is truly hiding her strength. She sent us away because she wanted to fight the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon alone. Judging from her current situation, she must be planning to leave quietly after achieving success," someone sighed.
"She is truly a master," someone exclaimed.
"Yes, she is far beyond our reach," another person added.
"I've been so lucky to have met the senior in my lifetime," someone said.
"My Zhu family feels the same way," another echoed.
Zhao Shuning stared with her mouth agape, listening to the serious discussions below. Then she looked at Xia Rui and his son. Why did they look so proud?
And what was this? Did she look like someone who would act low - key and not show her skills in such a situation?
However, people's words were powerful. It was useless for Zhao Shuning to say anything at this moment. If she denied it, people would think she was still being modest. If she admitted it, people would think they were right.
People's words could be really intimidating!
Zhao Shuning covered her eyes with one hand.
Previously, because of the noise, Buran had temporarily put her down. Now, seeing that these people meant no harm, he also let out a sigh of relief.
In Yan Ruyu's opinion, it was quite a matter of pride that Ning'er could attract so much attention.
"But who is this cold - looking young man beside the senior?" someone asked.
"He is really extremely handsome," another commented.
"I suppose he is also a hermit master and must have a very deep relationship with the senior," someone guessed.
Xia Rui asked, "Grand ancestor, what about the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon?"
"It has indeed been killed. You don't need to worry," Zhao Shuning replied.
"And this young man?" Xia Rui continued.
Yan Ruyu naturally took Zhao Shuning's hand, his face expressionless.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Everyone understood. They were really a perfect match.
"Grand ancestor, cough, cough... You're injured. Please come with me to the duke's mansion for treatment," Xia Rui said.
"Okay, that's fine," Zhao Shuning agreed.
It was just that she had a lot of things to deal with.
Zhao Shuning turned to look at Yan Ruyu. "Buran, you can go back first. With them here, my injury should not be a big problem."
"I'll wait until you're better before leaving," Yan Ruyu said, holding Zhao Shuning's hand and walking in the front.
The crowd was stunned for a moment and then quickly followed. They were afraid that what they had seen and heard today would surely be written into a wonderful story by the storytellers.
True to his word, Yan Ruyu accompanied Zhao Shuning to the duke's mansion. He didn't feel relieved and was ready to leave until he was sure that she was really okay.
Before Yan Ruyu left, no matter how hard Zhao Shuning tried, her spiritual power just couldn't break through to the ninth rank.
In response, Yan Ruyu just stroked her head and told her not to be impatient.
In this world, there were countless alchemists who had spent hundreds of years but still couldn't reach above the sixth rank. Not to mention a rare rank like the ninth. If it were so easy to advance to the ninth rank, there wouldn't be such a strict hierarchical system on the Nine - Province Continent. And the powerful would not be so highly regarded.
Zhao Shuning naturally understood this truth. However, in Zhao Shuning's impression, the Qi Pill was really an extraordinary thing. With the help of this holy object and her diligent cultivation, breaking through to the ninth rank should not be a big problem.
But now, she was in a bottleneck. No matter how anxious she was, she just couldn't advance.
Originally, Zhao Shuning had planned to reach the ninth rank before Buran left so that he could be at ease. But reality was so disappointing.
Zhao Shuning was brought back to the duke's mansion by Xia Rui. The duke's mansion was truly extremely prosperous. It really deserved to be the number one family in the Hailing Kingdom.
Since returning to the mansion, Xia Jingning had changed his old ways. He knelt in the ancestral hall all day long, sincerely repenting. He was also waiting. He was waiting for the grand ancestor to recover so that he could accept the punishment he deserved.
During Zhao Shuning's recovery period, even the young monarch of the Hailing Kingdom came to visit her. But at that time, Zhao Shuning was in a bad mood, so Xia Rui didn't let the young monarch disturb her.
However, after the young monarch returned to the palace, he became even more curious about the mysterious grand ancestor in the duke's mansion. He came to the duke's mansion every now and then.
Later, when Zhao Shuning got better, she took the time to meet him. When they met, the young monarch was like a child, happily walking back and forth on the spot. He didn't look like a monarch at all.
He said, "I've long heard from the grand tutor about the elegance of the Xia family's grand ancestor. I thought you would be an old man with an otherworldly appearance, but I didn't expect you to look like this."
After saying that, he felt that he had said something wrong and quickly changed his words. "I have no intention of being disrespectful to the grand ancestor."
"What I mean is, grand ancestor, you..."
"It's okay," Zhao Shuning said with a gentle smile.
The young boy's nervousness was much soothed. He whispered, "The grand ancestor of the Xia family is really gentle, like a character walking out of a painting. You're even better than all the immortals in the storybooks I've heard."
Hearing this, Zhao Shuning was even happier. This young monarch was a bit similar to that brat Ji Qinglin.
However, time had changed everything. The events and grievances were so complicated. She didn't know how to resolve them.