“Humph. You killed my snake and haven’t even compensated me, yet you dare to try and kill us?”
Zhong Ling originally didn’t want to get involved in the fight between the two factions, but she couldn’t help but retort when Zuo Zi Mu and Xin Shuang Qing continued to press her.
Gu Han Yuan also scoffed.
“You have little ability, but a big mouth and poor eyesight. Little Sister Ling’er, I think they can’t afford to compensate you for your snake, I’ll teach them a lesson for you.”
“Okay, okay.”
Seeing Gu Han Yuan was going to help her, Zhong Ling was very happy, even though she didn’t know his martial arts skills.
Zuo Zi Mu and Xin Shuang Qing felt like they were facing a formidable enemy after hearing Gu Han Yuan’s words. They focused their attention and decided to strike first.
The two simultaneously thrust out the long swords in their hands toward Gu Han Yuan.
They used various messy sword moves, including “White Rainbow Piercing the Sun” and “Ten Thousand Flowers Contending for Beauty.”
Gu Han Yuan felt that they were all just flashy.
Such swordplay would be extremely powerful in the hands of Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiu Shui.
But what were Zuo Zi Mu and Xin Shuang Qing compared to them? They were just vegetables.
He didn’t want to expose his Wudang martial arts, so he simply used his Grandmaster realm to crush them.
Gu Han Yuan struck out with a palm, simultaneously shattering both longswords into pieces.
The fragments continued on with undiminished force, smashing into the two, sending them flying out.
After landing, Zuo Zi Mu covered his wounds and stammered out an apology.
“Grandmaster! Thank you, Senior, for your mercy. We have offended you, please forgive us.”
He was barely at the Early Innate level, even after years of practice. Killing them would be beneath his dignity.
Besides, the Wuliang Sword Sect would soon be under the control of the Lingjiu Palace. He could indirectly control them after taking over Lingjiu Palace, no need to put in any effort now.
Gu Han Yuan didn’t bother with him. He directly left with Zhong Ling.
Duan Yu quickly followed behind.
Zuo Zi Mu and the others were too preoccupied to stop him.
Leaving the Sword Lake Palace, Zhong Ling chirped like a skylark.
“Big Brother Wu Tian, you’re so amazing!”
“Big Brother Wu Tian, are you really a Grandmaster? You’re even stronger than my father.”
“Big Brother Wu Tian, how old are you? I heard that Grandmasters are all in their forties or fifties. Should I call you Uncle Wu Tian?”
Gu Han Yuan was getting a headache from the noise.
“I’m sixty years old. You can call me Grandpa.”
“Nope, I don’t believe you. You’re lying to me again, Big Brother Wu Tian.”
Zhong Ling refused to be fooled and pouted in dissatisfaction.
Not to mention his jet-black hair, she had seen half his face under the mask before, and he didn’t look that old at all.
Seeing that Zhong Ling and Gu Han Yuan had finally stopped talking, Duan Yu quickly thanked them.
“Thank you, Senior, for saving me, and thank you, Miss, for helping out.”
“I didn’t save you. Don’t just jump to conclusions.”
Gu Han Yuan didn’t want Duan Yu to consider him a savior, that would be too much trouble.
“Hee hee, bookworm, you should thank me, oh. Big Brother Wu Tian wouldn’t have made a move otherwise. He’s a bad guy.”
Duan Yu had a strange expression on his face, is it really okay to call someone a bad guy so directly?
“Bookworm, my name is Zhong Ling. My parents call me Ling’er. What’s your name?”
“Zhong Ling Yu Xiu, a truly good name. This one is Duan Yu.”
Zhong Ling was startled to hear Duan Yu’s surname was Duan, after all, her father hated people with the surname Duan the most.
The Dali royal family has the surname Duan, so there are actually quite a lot of people with the surname Duan in Dali, meeting one wouldn’t be strange.
“Ling’er, you’re so brave. You weren’t afraid in the face of so many people.”
Duan Yu was also thick-skinned, he directly called her “Ling’er.”
It’s no wonder he could follow behind “Fairy Sister” as a lickspittle.
“I’m not afraid of them, you know. I have a lightning ferret, it’s super strong. If they bully me, I’ll let the lightning ferret bite them.”
As soon as Zhong Ling finished speaking, a small, agile ferret head emerged from the cloth bag beside her. Its small eyes blinked, extremely cute.
It was similar to Zhong Ling. As the saying goes, like master, like pet.
Zhong Ling gently stroked the lightning ferret’s small head, her face full of joy.
“Big Brother Wu Tian, do you want to pet the lightning ferret? It’s so cute.”
Gu Han Yuan looked over after hearing Zhong Ling’s words.
The lightning ferret, feeling Gu Han Yuan’s gaze, instantly puffed up its fur and trembled slightly.
Gu Han Yuan thought: Animals are indeed more sensitive than humans. Was it sensing danger, or perceiving the darkness in my heart?
Gu Han Yuan reached out and stroked the lightning ferret’s small head.
He finally calmed it down. After realizing there was no danger, it rubbed its head against Gu Han Yuan’s hand in a fawning manner.
“Heh, interesting.”
Gu Han Yuan smiled.
“Right? The lightning ferret is very cute. It loves to eat poisonous snakes. Unfortunately, its food supply was all thrown out earlier, I’ll have to catch some more later.”
Zhong Ling pouted in complaint, clearly still resentful of Zuo Zi Mu and the others.
Gu Han Yuan shook his head helplessly and said goodbye to Zhong Ling.
“Little Sister Ling’er, I’m going now.”
“Ah, Big Brother Wu Tian, are you leaving?”
Zhong Ling felt exceptionally reluctant.
Meeting Gu Han Yuan felt like gaining an older brother, and there was also a feeling in her heart that she didn’t understand.
“Yes, we’ll meet again. Our fate is not yet over, there will be a day when we meet again.”
After Gu Han Yuan finished speaking, his figure flickered and disappeared from Zhong Ling’s sight within a moment.
“He just left like that? I wanted to take Big Brother Wu Tian to meet my parents.”
Zhong Ling’s mood sank instantly.
Duan Yu’s mood was a little strange. When Gu Han Yuan left, he glanced at him.
He somehow felt like Gu Han Yuan said something like “Don’t make a move on Zhong Ling.”
Gu Han Yuan hadn’t really left, he was secretly following behind them.
If he was present, they wouldn’t be in any danger, and Duan Yu’s storyline wouldn’t develop as he planned.
He also wanted to take stock of his gains from earlier.
Teasing Zhong Ling, obtained A-grade evaluation, 1900 Villain Points.
Destroying the plot of Duan Yu and Zhong Ling’s first meeting, affecting initial favorability, obtained A-grade evaluation, 1300 Villain Points.
Zhong Ling series evaluation currently S-grade, accumulated 3200 Villain Points, currently unavailable for claiming.
The second series evaluation appeared.
Gu Han Yuan originally thought Zhong Ling wouldn’t have one.
But upon closer thought, Duan Yu and Zhong Ling weren’t really siblings. In the New Edition ending, Zhong Ling was also made a concubine, being a female lead of some unknown number seemed reasonable enough.
Compared to Zhou Zhi Ru, Zhong Ling’s favorability for Gu Han Yuan might be even higher.
Besides, Gu Han Yuan also liked this innocent and kind, elfin-like girl.
She seemed to never have any darkness, always running towards the sun.
The more darkness there is in a person’s heart, the more they will yearn for light.
The Great Villain System choosing him, maybe it’s also a kind of fate.
Gu Han Yuan saw in the shadows how Duan Yu indeed started to meddle, wanting to persuade the Shennong Gang.
Then they started fighting without a word.
Zhong Ling released the lightning ferret to bite the Shennong Gang members.
But in the end, they were still captured.
Duan Yu was also given the Broken Heart Powder, being forced to go to the Valley of Eternal Tribulation to find an antidote.