Chapter 297: The Last Item
Chapter 297: The Last Item
Xiang Ling’s eyes opened as the morning arrived. Climbing out of the bed, she put a spell on the bed to keep Zhe Yuan’s scent from disappearing before she walked out of the room and headed toward her own bed-chamber to get ready for the day.
An hour later, everyone was gathered in the dining hall for breakfast. With so many members in the family, the Chen Manor was always buzzing with life. And since Wu Tian and others came to attend the inauguration of the Academy, they all were also staying in the Chen Manor.
"Xiang’er, where is Zhe Yuan?" Madam Sheng asked when she noticed the absence of Fifth Young Master at the dining table.
Xiang Ling immediately put down her chopsticks before she answered. "Mother, Ah Yuan recieved a letter from his childhood friend last night. It seems like his friend’s family is in some kind of trouble. So, Ah Yuan left for Wuhan County last night. He wanted to wait until morning to inform you all before leaving, but I saw how worried he was. That’s why I told him to leave immediately."
"That kid never talked about his past relationships after the tragic death of his parents. It’s a surprise that he has such a close friend." Magistrate Chen spoke with a serious look on his face. There was no denying that he was worried about Zhe Yuan, not only because the young man was the only child of his best friend, but also because he was Xiang Ling’s husband.
"Still, he shouldn’t have left during nighttime. It’s not safe to travel alone during dark, and he’s traveling all the way to Wuhan County." Madam Sheng also appeared worried.
"Mother, father, please don’t worry. I have sent our men to protect him in secret. He will be alright." Xiang Ling tried to dismiss her parents’ worries.
"Let’s hope that everything goes smoothly and he returns safe and sound." Madam Sheng spoke as she signaled everyone to resume eating.
"Your Highness, how long are you staying here this time?" Magistrate Chen asked couple of moments later and directed his question at Wu Tian.
"The Academy will be enrolling students for a week from today onwards. I will oversee the entire procedure and will return to Capital after the culmination of the first day of classes.
Magistrate Chen nodded his head in approval once he got to know that the Crown Prince was going to stay in Dongzhi City for a while. Ever since they resolved the previous misunderstanding, the Crown Prince had became friends with the Chen family. It was a friendship that was more about feelings and loyalty instead of benefits. Having such a genuine relationship with the Crown Prince of the Realm made Magistrate Chen feel proud and secured.
Once breakfast ended, everyone started making their way out of the dining hall as they all had to start with their daily works. While all the women of the house headed to the Inn and the shops, Xiang Ling made her way toward her courtyard where she found Xin Cheng and Dao Ming waiting for her.
"What is this about?" She asked as she approached them, but instead of answering her immediately, the Spirit Beast King took hold of her arm and pulled her inside his bed-chamber with Xin Cheng following after them.
Once they were under the protection of spells, Xin Cheng finally spoke, "We have gathered all the items we need to make the elixir that will mend the broken seal... except for one."
"Which one?" Xiang Ling asked, already being aware that whatever this item was, it was the rarest and most important among all.
Xin Cheng and Dao Ming shared a quick look between them before the former answered, "Blood of a True God."
A gasp of shock left Xiang Ling’s lips as she stared at the Demon Emperor. "That’s impossible. All the Gods... they are dead." The words felt bitter as she spoke them. The fall of the God Realm was such a heart-breaking tragedy of their past that even talking about it felt wrong.
"But the Heaven Realm’s treasury have a vial of a True God’s blood. Right?" Dao Ming suddenly asked, leaving Xiang Ling stunned. It took way too much effort on her part to keep a straight face and not show her shock.
"I... I don’t know what you are talking about." She hurriedly dismissed the question , or at least tried to. However, it was the way she too quickly denied that caught the men’s attention.
Dao Ming grabbed both her hands as he made her focus on him. "Stardust, I know that even confirming the existence of this secret item is a huge crime as a Supreme Immortal. But you know exactly what we are facing at the moment. That blood... we need it to stop the Shadow Lord. We don’t need you to do anything or get involved in this any further. Just tell us whether this piece of information is true or not. Please?"
Xiang Ling hated feeling so trapped, and everytime she was facing these two men, this feeling of being trapped only intensified. She was trapped between her loyalty to the Upper Realms and her love for these two men. "Are you sure there is no other substitute for this particular one?" She asked.
"Do you think there’s anything in this world that can work as a substitute for a True God’s blood?" Xin Cheng asked as he stared right at her with his unreadable eyes. "And if there had been one, we would have done our best to get it so that we didn’t have to involve you in this mess."
A long sigh escaped Xiang Ling’s lips before she once again made her decision, one with heavy consequences just like the previous one. "There is indeed a vial of a True God’s blood in the Heaven Realm."
She watched as both the men visibly relaxed as if the confirmation brought them the utmost relief. But for her, she had once again done something against the high rules.