Chapter 122: Su Ling Returns (2)

Hawk-like eyes and cold eyes refused to give way to each other, secretly contending, the air thick with the scent of gunpowder. The two long swords behind them began to tremble more and more restlessly. The abnormal sound made Gu Yun secretly surprised; just as she was about to turn her head to look, her shoulder was tightly gripped by a large hand.

Although he did not understand why Ice Refinement and Red Blood were so different tonight, he did not want an outsider to know the secret of the two swords. His cold, stern gaze passed over the top of Gu Yun's head to glare at the restless long swords on the stone table. Seemingly sensing Su Ling's fury, the increasingly bright flowing light gradually dimmed, and the incessantly vibrating sword bodies tended toward stillness.

The pain in her shoulder made Gu Yun knit her brows, but she did not cry out, only saying in a low voice, "Let go." Damn Su Ling, he actually resorted to force! Although her voice was soft, her hand was already gripping the Dagger at her waist; if he did not let go, she would not be polite!

Seeing that both Ice Refinement and Red Blood had returned to their usual state, Su Ling did not make things difficult for Gu Yun again and released the large hand that was restraining her shoulder. At this moment, Su Ling finally had the opportunity to carefully examine the woman's incredibly strange attire. The long hair that should have reached her knees had been cut to her waist, there were no hair accessories on her hair tied up high, and that form-fitting black clothing looked strange no matter how one looked at it, not to mention that she was still carrying a Long Bow in the middle of the night.

Since when did the General's Mansion become a place where she could walk around at will? What were those night-patrol soldiers doing! Even as cold and arrogant as Su Ling, he could not help but feel curious, "It's so late, with this attire of yours, where do you want to go?"

He let go of his hand, and Gu Yun also lowered the hand that had been resting on her waist. "I just came back from hunting." Still curious about the strange sound from earlier, Gu Yun answered perfunctorily while looking back. Behind her were the usual stone table and stone stools, and the pine trees around the courtyard were still swaying gently in the wind as they always had; there was nothing unusual.

Hunting? Su Ling clearly did not believe her. Gu Yun turned back around, just in time to meet Su Ling's increasingly icy eyes.

Gu Yun shrugged and smiled, "I could have caught a big rat, but it ended up running away." She was stating a fact; whether he could understand it or not depended on his own comprehension.

Su Ling stared at that cunning, lively, and beautiful face for quite a while, and unexpectedly, he raised the corners of his lips, which were always cold, and laughed in a low voice, "Are you sisters of the Qing Family all so strange?"

What did that mean? Had he met other sisters of this Qing Family? Even if he had, he didn't need to use the word "strange" to describe them! Feeling vaguely that there was something fishy about this, Gu Yun deliberately replied in kind, "By comparison, I think I am relatively normal."

Su Ling's hawk-like eyes lifted slightly, and he actually nodded and replied, "That is true, the skillful posture of your elder sister when dissecting a corpse was truly something to be admired." Having fought on the battlefield for many years, he had seen many terrifying corpses, but like today, examining a person's internal organs one by one was truly something he had never seen before. And the person who did this was actually just a slender woman; her skilled techniques and calm, clear analysis made it impossible not to be shocked and impressed.

Dissecting a corpse! Gu Yun's heart skipped a beat, joy and excitement filling her inner being, but in order to fish for more information from Su Ling's mouth, Gu Yun could only forcefully suppress the joy in her heart and ask with a look of confusion, "How do you know my sister can perform an autopsy?"

Su Ling replied indifferently, "Tonight, in the main hall, she stole the show." It wasn't just him; the civil and military officials probably all had a deep impression of that newly appointed Prime Minister's wife.

The main hall? Could it be that Qing entered the body of the Qing Family woman who was selected to enter the Palace? Gu Yun asked urgently, "Where is she now? Is she still in the Palace?"

"She should have already returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion." Su Ling clearly had lost interest. Gu Yun did not ask any more questions. She had already learned the basics of what she wanted to know: it was highly likely that Qing had also entered the body of one of the Qing Sisters, and now her location was the Prime Minister's Mansion; that was enough. She would find an opportunity to see her.

Now she needed to resolve the matter between her and Su Ling. Taking a step back, she walked to a stone stool and sat down. Gu Yun said calmly and in a friendly manner, "I have a matter I would like to discuss with you properly."

A moment ago she was acting like a shrew, but at this moment she was unusually calm. Su Ling wanted to hear what she had to talk about, so he sat down opposite her and replied in a deep voice, "Speak."

Gu Yun did not drag things out and said directly, "I know that the Qiongyue Emperor sending me into the General's Mansion is not something you are happy about, nor do you want me. And my appearance seems to have disrupted the normal life of the General's Mansion. Since that is the case, I propose a solution. I will stay in the General's Mansion for a period of time, and once the Emperor no longer pays attention to this matter, you can just find some excuse to kick me out of the mansion. This way, the life of the General's Mansion can return to how it was, and you can go back to living your original life."

Skilled at reading facial expressions, she could naturally tell that Su Ling did not like her at all. Even if he occasionally showed curiosity toward her, it still could not cover up the disgust in the depths of his eyes. Since that was the case, she was offering to leave on her own; he should be happy about that.

Unfortunately, there was not a hint of joy on Su Ling's face. His eyes stared at her coldly. A bad premonition rose in Gu Yun's heart, but since he kept not speaking, Gu Yun could only ask, "What do you think?"

Just as she had expected, Su Ling only replied with three words, "Impossible."

"Why?"

Women really are troublesome. Su Ling ordered in a cold voice, "Since you have entered the General's Mansion, do not harbor any delusions of leaving. As for the arrangements for you in the future, I have my own plans; you need not concern yourself with it."

Don't women value their reputation most of all? The outcome for a woman who has entered the General's Mansion only to be kicked out is self-evident. He detested the trouble women caused, but he would not ignore her life or death. If she was not used to living in the General's Mansion, building a separate courtyard outside the city for her to live in by herself would be fine—out of sight, out of mind.

Gu Yun naturally did not know what he was thinking, but after hearing his words, Gu Yun suddenly sneered and replied, "Simply put, your meaning is that regardless of whether you want me or not, and without needing to care about my feelings, even if I am just a piece of furniture, I must be trapped in this General's Mansion for the rest of my life waiting for your arrangements?"

Simply ridiculous, who does he think he is?!

Gu Yun's sharp retort made Su Ling even more displeased. He did not need to explain to a woman what he was going to do. Su Ling replied arrogantly, "Yes."

"No room for negotiation?" Gu Yun asked finally.

Su Ling's deep, cold black eyes already said everything. Gu Yun stood up. Su Ling thought she was going to start throwing a tantrum, yet he only saw her reply faintly, "I understand." There was simply no need to continue talking with a man like this. Since the negotiation had failed, she could only act according to her original plan. In any case, wanting to trap her for a lifetime—impossible!

Gu Yun's overly calm posture, and the disdain and determination in her eyes, all made Su Ling feel inexplicably uneasy. Just at the moment she stood up, Su Ling actually stood up abruptly as well, his tall figure once again blocking Gu Yun's path.

"Move—aside—" This time Gu Yun did not have such a good temper. The Dagger at her waist was drawn simultaneously with her low growl. Gu Yun only wanted to force Su Ling back to leave early. The Dagger in her hand had just approached Su Ling when he had already agilely stepped back. Gu Yun was just about to take this opportunity to leave when Su Ling suddenly pressed forward and entangled her. Although Gu Yun held a Dagger, Su Ling was, after all, an expert who had practiced martial arts for many years and possessed profound internal energy. After a few moves, Gu Yun already knew that she was no match for Su Ling.

She actually drew a blade. Su Ling's hawk-like eyes turned cold, and his strikes became increasingly ruthless. After the two exchanged over a dozen moves, Su Ling relied on his powerful arm strength to grab Gu Yun's wrist. Gu Yun only felt a pain in her wrist, as if it were being tightly clamped by an iron pincer. The force was so great that Gu Yun could no longer hold the Dagger steadily, and with a clatter, the Dagger fell to the ground.

Even though her hand hurt so much it felt like it was about to break, Gu Yun still insisted on not making a sound. If her skills were inferior, she had nothing to say, but if he wanted her to beg for mercy—don't even think about it!

Su Ling had not expected that she would actually know martial arts, and that her skills were not weak, only slightly lacking in strength. Seeing that beads of cold sweat had already seeped out on her forehead, yet she still stubbornly refused to admit defeat, Su Ling hardened his heart and applied more force. He wanted to see just how fiery she could be!

So painful!

Her entire right arm began to ache because of the twisting of her wrist. If he applied any more force, her wrist bone would probably break. Gu Yun gritted her teeth; she was in so much pain that she had to support herself on the stone table with her other hand to keep from losing her footing. Even so, Gu Yun still refused to compromise by even half a word.

Sweat dripped down her forehead, drop by drop, onto the stone table. One drop of sweat happened to fall onto the blade of Ice Refinement. What was unexpected was that the moment that drop of sweat landed on the sword body, it was as if it had been immediately absorbed, disappearing without a trace.

And as Gu Yun's hand hurt more and more, Ice Refinement, which had finally quieted down, actually began to vibrate again. After a dazzling white light, there was no longer any shadow of Ice Refinement on the stone table.

The mysterious white sword body streaked toward Su Ling like flowing light. Su Ling was greatly alarmed and hurriedly released Gu Yun's hand, retreating several steps, only just managing to dodge the extreme cold energy of Ice Refinement!

What exactly is Ice Refinement doing! Does it not recognize who its master is?!

Su Ling was still cursing in a low voice, but the next moment, his heart turned cold with shock.

He saw that Ice Refinement was actually standing straight in front of Gu Yun, in a posture of protecting her. Could it be—this woman is its choice?! What a rotten sword indeed!

"Ice... Ice Refinement?" Gu Yun also stared at the long sword in front of her with extreme surprise. This—what on earth is going on? Why could the sword move on its own, hang in mid-air, and emit such strange light? Ice Refinement would approach her from time to time, as if trying to curry favor with her, and whenever Su Ling moved even slightly, it would immediately rush forward, in a posture of protecting her.

Someone tell her, how—how is this to be explained with science?!

Under the moonlight, a man and a woman stared blankly at a long sword that was entirely snow-white and suspended in mid-air, unable to move for a long time.

Just as Gu Yun was astonished, Su Ling, annoyed by Ice Refinement's defection, took a step forward, wanting to grab the hilt and take it back. Who would have thought that Ice Refinement, which had never resisted Su Ling's approach, would suddenly flip its blade and simultaneously emit a white light. Su Ling only felt a blast of extremely strong, bitter cold wind rushing toward his face and could only be forced back again. What happened next surprised Gu Yun even more...

(End of chapter)