71. A Gentleman’s Agreement
The throwing knife shot forward, much faster than her previous two attacks, and she launched it while simultaneously blocking his attack.
With its extreme stealth and speed, the knife became her ultimate weapon.
The uncle, caught completely off guard, had no time to defend, his sword several meters away.
The next moment…
Like a reenactment of the first scene, the knife stopped before his face, held by two hands, one on each side.
Gong Yiling and the uncle, each holding an end of the knife, the victor decided.
“Hahahaha…” The uncle, after a moment of stunned silence, released his grip and burst out laughing. “Interesting, truly interesting, hahaha.”
“You used your hand.” Gong Yiling retrieved the knife and bowed to him calmly. “I’ll accept your concession.”
“What?”
The uncle extended his hand, and the rusty sword flew back to him. “You seemed quite angry earlier. Not angry anymore?”
“Thanks to you, I really wanted to stab you a few times.” Miss Gong shrugged. “But I’m not a fool.”
“In just a short duel, my cultivation has stabilized, and my control over nascent soul power has improved significantly. This is not something I could have achieved with simple cultivation.”
“Although I don’t know why you helped me…”
Gong Yiling bowed to him again. “But I can still tell the difference.”
Hearing this, the uncle snorted dismissively. “Who would help a little girl like you? If you won, then get lost. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Why did even uncles have a tsundere streak these days?
Gong Yiling clearly saw the smile on his lips, and hearing his words—well, it was a classic move.
“Then… I’ll be going?” Gong Yiling asked tentatively.
The uncle waved his hand impatiently. “Go, go, get lost.”
Gong Yiling pouted, then walked towards the entrance.
As she walked, she secretly glanced back at the uncle, who stood with his back to her, looking quite calm.
When she reached the entrance, he finally spoke. “There’s a bottle of ointment on the ground. Don’t leave any scars, young lady.”
“Then why did you use so many sword attacks?”
“Because I felt like it.”
“Pfft—” Miss Gong didn’t know whether to be angry or amused.
She saw the ointment on the ground, picked it up, and left something in its place before silently leaving the cave.
Long after she had gone, the uncle sighed and looked at the empty entrance.
“If my girl were still alive, she’d be about this age.” He casually stuck the sword into the ground and sat down.
He reached for his right waist, intending to take a swig from his wine gourd, but found nothing.
…Right, that girl had tampered with it, and he had poured all the wine out.
“That little brat, I shouldn’t have left her any ointment!” The uncle scratched his head, frustrated. But soon, he smelled a faint aroma of wine.
“This is…”
He stood up and followed the scent to the entrance, where he found a cup of strong wine.
“This girl actually carries this with her?”
He picked up the cup, sniffed it, and then drained it with satisfaction.
The wine was strong and fragrant, with a sweet aftertaste. It burned his throat but not his stomach, a quality only found in the rarest of vintages.
Only a true wine lover would possess such a treasure. He wondered where this girl came from.
—
—
“A cup of Qingli wine for a seemingly ordinary ointment…” Gong Yiling was already far away.
In her hand was the ointment she had taken from the uncle. It looked like a common type, nothing special.
The Qingli wine was something she had specifically sought out for her mother after learning she was here.
She had spent a fortune on this single cup and wouldn’t have given it to anyone else.
But this uncle… he had noticed her lack of understanding of nascent soul power after her breakthrough.
He had probably anticipated that she would become arrogant and neglect her foundation, leading to instability.
The battle had improved her combat skills significantly, and although she wasn’t at the Soul Origin realm, her attack speed was now comparable.
To possess such strength at the Return to Origin realm—perhaps this was the true power of the Heavenly Saint Technique of the Myriad Paths.
“Forget it.” Gong Yiling tossed the ointment into her Universe Ring, found a place to wash off the blood and grime, and changed into a clean set of clothes.
After ensuring her mother wouldn’t notice anything amiss, she returned to the North Courtyard via the crane station.
When she arrived at Lan Suqin’s public courtyard, she saw Gong Muzhi pacing back and forth.
Her mother was walking back and forth, her beautiful long hair now a tangled mess.
“Mmm… should I go find Ling’er…”
She walked to one side and muttered, “Go.”
Then she walked to the other side and muttered, “Don’t go.”
“Go.”
“Don’t go.”
“Go.”
“Don’t go.”
After a while, Gong Muzhi slapped her own cheeks. “What am I thinking? I don’t even know where Ling’er is. How can I just wait here?”
“Yes, find Ling’er, find Ling’er~~”
She started humming a strange tune she had made up herself and was about to leave.
But before she could take a step, she bumped into someone.
“Oomph!”
“Mom, what are you yelling about?”
“I… eh!” Gong Muzhi, rubbing her forehead, finally realized. “Ling’er!!!!”
Gong Yiling, hearing her loud voice, quickly covered her mother’s mouth. “Shh, be quiet! Do you want everyone to know?”
“Of course not!” Gong Muzhi said in a small, wronged voice. “I was just worried about Ling’er…”
“Alright.” Gong Yiling gently rubbed her precious mother’s head. “I’m back now. Where are Qiu Shui and her mother?”
Ooooo Daddy?