Chapter 0606: The Watchful Eye of Jiang Qing"e
Li Luo spent the next few days in relative ease and comfort.
In the daytime, he would help Jiang Qing"e work on the house"s administrative tasks that had piled up over the past month. In the evenings, he would indulge in the medicinal paste application sessions that he looked forward to recently.
"Ah! That hits the spot, Sister Qing"e!"
Constant moaning could be heard from Li Luo"s quarters every night. Fortunately, there was n.o.body within the vicinity to hear the strange noises, or it would only be a matter of time before scandalous gossip began spreading.
Pa!
A loud smack echoed clearly from within the room.
"Can you shut up?" said a visibly irritated Jiang Qing"e as she retracted her palm from Li Luo"s bare shoulder. "Why are you making those weird noises?"
Li Luo was sitting cross-legged on his bed, wearing nothing but his shorts. His body was fully lathered in a turquoise paste that glittered mysteriously. Jiang Qing"e was sitting behind him, brilliant light resonant energy pouring out from her dainty palms, catalyzing the medicinal power of the miracle paste.
When the curative properties of the miracle paste settled in, wispy emerald halos began to float above the surface of Li Luo"s skin. They honed in on his pores like they had minds of their own, entering his flesh and bloodstream.
"Sister Qing"e, this isn"t my fault! The effects of the miracle paste are too comforting, I can"t help it!"
Li Luo felt slightly wronged, as it was indeed the strength of the miracle paste that had caused him to moan involuntarily. He felt a mysterious sense of fullness, as if a live current was sent straight through his scalp and to his toes, naturally expanding the pores all over his body. Jiang Qing"e"s lips curled slightly as she glanced at the toned and muscular figure seated in front of her. "Well, after cultivating the Thunderpeal Avatar this fellow"s body has toughened up and feels rather pleasant to the touch," she mused to herself.
She did not show what she was thinking deep in her heart, so her resonant power did not waver in the slightest. Wave upon wave of light resonant energy radiated from her hands as she rubbed Li Luo"s body, gradually reacting with every inch of the applied miracle paste.
When the final vestiges of miracle paste entered Li Luo"s body, Jiang Qing"e clapped her hands together, signalling the end of the day"s treatment. Climbing off the side of the bed, she sauntered over to the bedside table and poured herself a cup of tea, which she began sipping on lightly.
Li Luo hurriedly got dressed. Despite being rather thick-skinned, he was still embarra.s.sed at being almost naked in front of Jiang Qing"e.
Although the two shared an uncommon relationship, the last time he was this exposed in front of her was when they were children.
However, the shyness that Li Luo felt was fleeting, and he let go of the sentiment once he realized that Jiang Qing"e seemed indifferent to seeing his bare body.
After putting on his clothes, Li Luo could not resist stretching. He could almost feel his flesh and bones humming with joy. Although the miracle paste had not advanced his cultivation in any noticeable manner, he could feel a wholeness in his core that was previously lacking.
Li Luo knew that his foundation was being replenished.
The debt he had to pay for forging the second acquired resonance would finally be settled.
"This is all thanks to Uncle Biao. The miracle paste is undoubtedly invaluable to me. Without him, who knows how much time and resources I would"ve had to spend searching for the treasures required to repair my foundation." Li Luo couldn"t help but sigh.
The basis of one"s foundation was still a mystery–it could not be compared to physical ailments that could easily be detected. If not for Ox Biaobiao"s careful examination of Li Luo, there would"ve been no way for Li Luo to know just what he had lost from forging the second acquired resonance.
The longer this unknown variable was left unchecked, the more danger it would"ve put Li Luo in.
Jiang Qing"e raised her teacup as she mused, "The method to create the miracle paste must have been largely researched by the Master and Mistress before they left."
Li Luo was doubtful for a moment, but this line of reasoning made sense the more he thought about it. His current cultivation path had been set by his parents after all, so surely they had the foresight to prepare for the pitfalls on his journey too.
He slowly walked over to the window, staring out at the unblocked view of Luolan headquarters. "Sister Qing"e, Uncle Biao said that my parents are not natives of the Xia Kingdom. Where do you think they came from? If it was the inner divine continent...then why would they leave such a prosperous place to come to a remote place like the East Divine Continent?"
Jiang Qing"e moved to join Li Luo"s side at the window. Her clear, golden irises reflected the buildings and pavilions of House Luolan as she said, "To me, their origins do not matter. House Luolan in the Xia Kingdom is my home because there is the Master, the Mistress, and you."
It was apparent that Jiang Qing"e did not care where Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan came from, because it was this very place that held the most meaning to her.
Li Luo chuckled. He felt the same way about House Luolan since it was his birthplace and the place that his father had chosen to lay his roots in. The place should have represented immense power. After all, even Pang Qianyuan, a King, had been deferential towards Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan.
Veins of Heavenly Emperor Li.
Li Luo could not fathom how much weight those few words carried yet. He could only imagine that the Xia Kingdom, the Golden Dragon Bank, and even the Astral Sage College could not compare to the power of a Heavenly Emperor. This was because not even Princ.i.p.al Pang could qualify as one. Still, this did not matter.
He may have been a little curious of his ancestral origin, but it was as Jiang Qing"e had said—this was unquestionably his home.
"That sneaky b.a.s.t.a.r.d Pei Hao has once again retreated into the shadows, I don"t know where he"s disappeared to this time," Li Luo said in a sour tone.
“He is just a mere court jester prancing around. If not for the dark forces backing him, he would lose his life the moment he meets us as we are now," Jiang Qing"e replied nonchalantly. However, there was a hint of killing intent veiled behind her words.
"You have progressed frighteningly quickly over the past year, so he must be scared to face the power of your ninth-grade light resonance now," Li Luo quipped. He still remembered that when Pei Hao had met Jiang Qing"e in the City of Southwind to discuss business a year ago, he was still a step ahead of her in cultivation. However, a year had pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Qing"e was now at the Fiend Finisher Tier, far ahead of where she was before.
Pei Hao would certainly suffer a miserable end at Jiang Qing"e"s hands if he was not able to advance to the Heavenly Pearl Stage by the time they met again.
"Pei Hao is not worth my time, and I have never considered him my opponent to begin with. It"s up to you to end him at the upcoming housemeet," Jiang Qing"e calmly retorted as she looked straight at Li Luo.
"M-Me?" Li Luo stuttered.
"Mhm, it has to be you. The true heir to House Luolan will be decided at this housemeet, and only the three of us are qualified to stake a claim on it. I have no intention of doing so, so it will be between the two of you. If you manage to kill him, all the strife and internal struggles of House Luolan will be laid to rest while your name will soar to even greater heights," said Jiang Qing"e.
"But he"s a Fiend Finisher Tier expert..."
"He might be more than that. I wouldn"t put it past the forces behind him to have something up their sleeves after backing him for all these years," replied Jiang Qing"e calmly.
Li Luo"s eyes glazed over.
"Actually… Sister Qing"e, you don"t have to exclude yourself from claiming the position of house lord. Everything could be settled easily with your strength, and you do not have to back off just to save my reputation," said Li Luo sincerely as he stared at the beautiful face of the girl next to him.
Jiang Qing"e"s reputation within House Luolan had never stopped growing while she was taking care of matters for Li Luo, and she was favored over him to be the true house lord after being in charge for such a long time. If she was willing, the seat of house lord was already practically hers.
But Jiang Qing"e was obviously uninterested in this proposal, or rather, she did not want to overshadow Li Luo any longer.
"Still pushing the load to me after making me carry it for all these years?" teased Jiang Qing"e as she grinned slightly.
She then shook her head. "Li Luo, do not belittle yourself any longer. The role of house lord fits you far better than me. It"s not like I"m washing my hands clean of house matters—I will still be supporting you from behind."
As she continued staring at Li Luo, her gaze turned more serious. "The position of house lord is only secondary. What I want more than that is for you to defeat Pei Hao in front of everyone in House Luolan. I want you to show everybody that you are undoubtedly the pillar of House Luolan and that Pei Hao is just a blind dog who depends on it. He is nothing compared to you."
Li Luo did not know whether to laugh or to cry. He felt like Jiang Qing"e just wanted him to personally exact revenge on Pei Hao for all the trouble he had caused instead of for the right to be called the house lord.
It almost seemed like Jiang Qing"e harbored even more hatred for Pei Hao than Li Luo himself.
This was the first time that he had witnessed this side of Jiang Qing"e.
She shot him a quick glance and lightly pursed her lips, her majestic eyes pondering for a moment before turning to him. "If you manage to kill Pei Hao, I will allow you to cancel our engagement."
As soon as she finished her sentence, Li Luo"s head began rushing with blood.
A terrifying killing intent wafted from his burning gaze.
A haughty voice rang out.
"Drawn or quartered?"