Chapter 129: Chapter 126: Utter Disgrace Is Not Enough

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"It was me... I... planned it. Everything... it was all me... Ling Xiao... was framed by me."

Xie Xiaoyan’s gaze was vacant and her eyes were a lifeless gray. Like a walking corpse, she uttered these words with a wooden expression.

The entire auditorium erupted. The young men who had always admired and pursued Xie Xiaoyan had veins bulging on their foreheads as they roared in fury, "Miss Xie, we believe you! You must have been forced! Tell us... who forced you to say this? We’ll tear them to pieces!"

Some were shocked, unable to believe it. These were the people who had originally sympathized with Xie Xiaoyan’s plight. They knew her strength far surpassed Ling Xiao’s at the time, but not everyone had the courage to stand up to a noble. Commoners were naturally at a psychological disadvantage when facing the aristocracy.

Meanwhile, many who already disliked Xie Xiaoyan wore gloating expressions, some even whistling in excitement. They didn’t understand why she would suddenly say such things out of the blue. However, there was no shortage of clever people among the nobility. The Imperial Academy’s grand hall was rarely used outside of the opening ceremony, so its sudden availability now was enough to set minds racing.

But regardless of whether someone had forced her, from this day forward, Xie Xiaoyan’s reputation at the Imperial Academy would be utterly ruined. She might not even be able to remain here.

Some couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. A few months ago, she herself had created the scandal of breaking her engagement, winning the sympathy of the masses. Who would have thought that just a few months later, in another scandal, she would become the one everyone despised?

The dramatic ups and downs of life were truly something else!

After she finished speaking, Xie Xiaoyan completely ignored the crowd’s reaction and walked, step by step, backstage.

Ling Xiao, Yisha, Ye Wen Ni, Chunlan, and Qiuyue were all waiting there. The venerable Uncle Fu sat by the entrance. Though his hair was a bit thin, it was impeccably combed. His clothes were neat and clean. And while his hands were withered and wrinkled, his fingernails were perfectly trimmed. The old man showed none of the casualness he had displayed at Elder Qiu’s. In his own words: "The young master is a noble, a man with a title. I certainly cannot bring shame upon him."

"Third Young Master Ling, are you satisfied now?" Xie Xiaoyan said as she returned backstage. It was as if her soul had just returned to her body. As her dull, wooden eyes fixed on Ling Xiao, they seemed to hold a new, complex emotion, and deep within them, a trace of hatred was deliberately concealed.

"Can I go now? Don’t worry, I won’t say a word about what happened last night." Xie Xiaoyan gave a self-mocking smile. "The Xie Family is small and insignificant. We cannot afford to face the Ling Family’s retaliation. So please, Third Young Master Ling, rest assured!"

"Hmph, don’t act so pitiful. You brought this entirely on yourself!" Chunlan couldn’t hold back her anger, sneering as she spoke. "What were you thinking back then? You selfish woman! When you did what you did, did you ever consider anyone else’s feelings? Because of your selfishness, the entire Ling Family was disgraced, and my young master..." Chunlan’s eyes suddenly reddened. She bit her lip hard and clenched her fists, fighting the urge to march over and slap the woman across the face.

As if she hadn’t heard Chunlan at all, Xie Xiaoyan stared at Ling Xiao with a blank expression and asked again, "Can I go now?"

A verdant, glistening pill suddenly appeared in Ling Xiao’s hand. He looked at Xie Xiaoyan, his expression indifferent. "Swallow this."

"Ling Xiao! You’ve gone too far!" Suddenly like an enraged lioness, Xie Xiaoyan’s pretty face twisted as she roared and lunged at him. "My reputation is already in tatters! What more do you want?"

"Don’t worry, the young master won’t kill you. Killing you would only dirty his hands," Chunlan sneered. She had learned last night about the elixir her master had stayed up to refine, so she took the opportunity to mock Xie Xiaoyan and vent the frustration she had been holding in for so long.

Xie Xiaoyan ignored everyone else, her beautiful eyes shooting daggers of fury as she stared fixedly at Ling Xiao.

"This elixir will seal your meridians for three years. After three years, I’ll give you the antidote," Ling Xiao said with a casual shrug.

Stumbling back as if struck by lightning, Xie Xiaoyan wanted to bolt. But a glance at Uncle Fu by the door made her freeze. She remembered how last night, her own master and martial uncle hadn’t lasted a single exchange against him before being subdued. Afterward, two Hall Masters from the Baihua Sect’s outer sect had been killed by Ling Xiao, each with a single strike. It was only then that Xie Xiaoyan fully understood: all this time, she had vastly overestimated her own charm.

This was not the useless weakling she remembered. He was decisive, ruthless, and his power had grown immensely... If it weren’t for his unchanged face, Xie Xiaoyan would have sworn this wasn’t Ling Xiao—at least, not the Ling Xiao she knew.

"If I don’t take it... will you kill me right here?" Xie Xiaoyan’s face was flushed with anger and agitation as she stared at Ling Xiao.

"I will annihilate your entire family," Ling Xiao said with an air of indifference, as if discussing a trivial matter. With the last trace of obsession in his heart now gone, he saw her as nothing more than a stranger.

Xie Xiaoyan took the pill and swallowed it in one gulp. Two streams of tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes. She could still vividly recall the disdainful, mocking expression she used to wear whenever she spoke of Celestial Vein Masters. She never imagined it would be her turn so soon.

The moment the elixir entered her mouth, it dissolved instantly, not even giving her time to hide it under her tongue. It turned into a liquid that flowed down her throat like water, filling her mouth with a fragrant, sweet taste. If she hadn’t known its purpose, Xie Xiaoyan would have had an absurd thought: ’This is even tastier than the candy pills I had as a child!’

’Maybe he’s just trying to scare me!’ The thought filled Xie Xiaoyan with a sudden surge of hope, and a spark returned to her eyes. ’Don’t legendary stories always have plots like this, where someone uses a mysterious pill to frighten someone, only for it to be fake in the end?’ she thought, her heart full of anticipation. She asked, "Can I go now?"

Ling Xiao nodded. Xie Xiaoyan turned and walked away, an endless hatred brewing in her heart. ’Ling Xiao, I, Xie Xiaoyan, will never forget the humiliation of this day. You’ve done well. You’ve finally let me taste what it’s like to be a Celestial Vein Master. You’ve ruined my reputation and made me suffer the world’s scorn... As long as I live, I will never forget this grudge!’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The moment she stepped out of the grand hall, the piercing sunlight made Xie Xiaoyan’s pupils contract. She was met with the sight of countless Imperial Academy students swarming the entrance. She could even faintly make out a few teachers from the academy hidden in the crowd.

"Xie Xiaoyan, you were coerced by Ling Xiao, weren’t you? Don’t be afraid! Be brave and tell us!" one of her fanatical admirers shouted.

"Xie Xiaoyan, to think you’re such a despicable, venomous woman! We were all so wrong about you!"

"You shameless wretch, trying to climb into the ranks of the nobility! Keep dreaming! The gates of the aristocracy will never open for the likes of you!"

"Go back to the countryside, you upstart!"

"..."

Xie Xiaoyan moved through the surging crowd with a blank face, the endless curses, taunts, and accusations ringing in her ears, interspersed with the encouragement and comfort from a handful of supporters. She pushed her way out, ignoring everyone. ’A Tier Six Sword Master doesn’t rely on meridians, so my strength is still intact,’ she thought. ’I refuse to believe there’s a drug in this world that can turn someone into a Celestial Vein Master. I’ll go to the Baihua Sect. I was just accepted, and I have their token.’ She resolved to cultivate with everything she had. Xie Xiaoyan was confident that with the backing of those ancient, thousand-year-old families, she would soon be back on her feet.

She certainly wouldn’t reveal the cause of her master’s and martial uncle’s deaths. She could only pretend she didn’t know. She still cared about her family, and she could tell that Ling Xiao hadn’t been joking. If she truly exposed him, the Xie Family would undoubtedly suffer the Ling Family’s frenzied retaliation. It was a risk she dared not take.

And she also believed that one day, she would have her revenge with her own two hands.

After everyone had left, Yisha curiously asked Ling Xiao, "Brother Ling Xiao, is there really such a magical elixir that can seal a person’s meridians?"

Ling Xiao shook his head. "No such thing exists."

"Ah! Then... the elixir she took was a fake? You were tricking her?" Yisha furrowed her delicate brows and said to Ling Xiao with uncharacteristic gravity, "Brother, you’re just giving her an opening to get revenge!"

Ling Xiao smiled faintly. "Her meridians aren’t sealed... they’re completely destroyed." He left one thing unsaid: in this world, no one besides him could ever heal them.

And would he ever cure Xie Xiaoyan?

’For a woman like that, living out a quiet, ordinary life and marrying into a decent family is probably the best fate she can hope for.’

...

In his secluded villa, Ling Xiao was sorting a large pile of medicinal herbs by category. Yisha watched with rapt attention, asking a few questions from time to time. Ling Xiao didn’t hide much from her, explaining the properties of each herb.

Refining elixirs was a magical process, as it was impossible to discern the final effect from any single ingredient. Ling Xiao didn’t mind Yisha’s family learning about a few more high-quality herbs. ’It’ll be more convenient for me if I need them later, won’t it?’

It was clear His Majesty the King was very concerned about his health. Of the long list of herbs Ling Xiao had requested, nearly all of them had been found in just one month. Every day, Ling Xiao would send an elixir back with the person who delivered the herbs. After taking them, His Majesty the King could feel his body clearly recovering.

Most miraculously, the King’s outward appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest!

This was the real reason the King was willing to let Ling Xiao "extort" him. ’This young man is a tremendous talent!’ His Majesty the King had secretly decided. ’I must win him over. Even if I have to defy everyone’s objections, I will make him a prince of the realm to keep him by my side!’

As for Ling Xiao, besides refining Antitoxic Pills for His Majesty the King and Beauty Pills for Yisha, he also spent large sums of Gold Coins to purchase Crystal Cores through Yisha’s channels.

He had originally planned to leave the Imperial Capital for a while, but these matters had delayed him, so he remained.

He also had a feeling that the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon egg—the one that had absorbed two of his Tier Five Crystal Cores and over a dozen Tier Two Crystal Cores—was about to hatch. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log on to www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)