Chapter 10: White-Eyed Wolf

Pei Hao’s words were like sharp blades, each one piercing the heart; the several Pavilion Masters in the living room who supported Jiang Qing’e all wore expressions of anger upon hearing them.

Their gazes could not help but turn toward Li Luo, yet they were surprised to see that his expression did not reveal any fury. This caused them to heave a sigh of relief, while also feeling a sense of admiration; although this Young Master of the Manor was born with an empty resonance, at the very least, his temperament was quite commendable.

Pei Hao also noticed that Li Luo remained indifferent to his words, which he found somewhat surprising, but he immediately understood; he figured that the changes over these past few years had long since made Li Luo understand these cruel facts.

"Are you finished?" Li Luo asked in a calm voice.

Pei Hao smiled faintly.

"Actually, I am quite curious. My parents should have been a great benefactor to you, so why do you seem to harbor even deeper resentment toward them?" Li Luo asked.

Upon hearing this, Pei Hao was silent for a few moments before saying in a flat tone, "Master and Mistress were indeed quite good to me, but they always knew what I wanted. I wanted to become their true disciple, not some so-called named disciple."

"To achieve this goal, I put in so much hard work for the Luolan Manor, yet they never once spoke the word. Do you know how many times I hoped, only for it to end in disappointment?"

Li Luo laughed: "Is this the 'a bushel of grain breeds gratitude, a peck breeds enmity' principle? But looking at it now, my parents did quite well. I don't think that with your ungrateful nature, you would have shown any restraint even if they had truly taken you as a personal disciple."

"Giving you the status of a personal disciple would only have fueled your ambition, making it easier for you to seize the Luolan Manor for yourself."

Pei Hao shook his head, not wishing to entangle himself further with Li Luo on this topic, and simply said faintly, "It seems you are not very interested in my proposal."

Li Luo nodded and said, "Don't waste your breath. The engagement is a matter between me and Sister Qing’e; it will not change because of any threats from you."

Hearing this, Pei Hao let out a soft sigh and said, "Li Luo, greed comes with a heavy price. It is not the past anymore; you no longer have the capital to be willful."

Li Luo stared at Pei Hao. Although he was far weaker than the latter in terms of aura, the content within his gaze made Pei Hao feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Pei Hao, I return these words to you as well." Li Luo’s expression was exceptionally earnest as he said this.

Pei Hao was stunned, then laughed: "Li Luo, do you really think the Junior Sister can protect you forever? You are still too naive."

"However, since you do not agree with my proposal, then so be it. Just as I said before, starting today, the three pavilions under my jurisdiction will no longer submit their tribute to the manor treasury. Likewise, whether or not the three pavilions implement any orders issued by the manor will depend on my mood."

The expressions of the other six Pavilion Masters in the living room gradually turned cold and stern.

Although two of the six Pavilion Masters belonged to the neutral faction, if Pei Hao truly intended to split the Luolan Manor, it would inevitably affect their interests as well.

If that were the case, they would likely have no choice but to follow Jiang Qing’e’s orders and encircle and suppress these three pavilions and Pei Hao.

But once it reached that point, the split of the Luolan Manor would be exposed to the eyes of all factions in the Great Xia Kingdom.

"What? You want to make a move against me?" Pei Hao seemed to sense the chill in their eyes and immediately let out a light laugh.

Looking at the smile on Pei Hao’s face, the six Pavilion Masters including Lei Zhang could not help but feel a flash of apprehension. Pei Hao had said one thing that was true: in the years that the Luolan Manor had risen, he had indeed made significant contributions, and many of the powerful enemies who had blocked the Luolan Manor had died at his hands.

The current Pei Hao was at the late stage of the Earth Fiend General realm, while among these Pavilion Masters, besides Lei Zhang who was at the mid-stage, the rest were all at the early stage.

Among those present, perhaps only Jiang Qing’e, who possessed a ninth-grade Light Resonance, could contend with him.

Of course, most importantly, Pei Hao was not alone; he also had forces loyal to him, not just the three Pavilion Masters who had defected to him.

Once both sides tore off their masks and fought here, it would undoubtedly announce to the world that the Luolan Manor was internally divided, and this would cause the Luolan Manor’s situation in the Great Xia Kingdom to go from bad to worse.

"Everyone, I did not come here today to engage in a war of words. What I do is also to ensure that the Luolan Manor can continue to stand tall in the Great Xia Kingdom."

"If the Junior Sister is willing to dissolve the engagement with the Young Master of the Manor, and you and I join forces, the future Luolan Manor will inevitably reach a higher level." Pei Hao looked around at everyone and smiled faintly.

"Reaching this point now can only be blamed on our Young Master of the Manor being a bit too greedy..."

"But I will not stop."

Having said this, Pei Hao took out a token from his bosom, engraved with the character "Mo," and when the Pavilion Masters saw this object, their expressions could not help but change.

"This is Elder Mo’s token?" Lei Zhang exclaimed.

In this Luolan Manor, besides the nine Pavilion Masters, there were also three Venerable Elders; they were considered the strongest combat power in the Luolan Manor, aside from Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan.

The three Venerable Elders were all at the Heaven Astral General realm.

It was just that these three Venerables did not interfere in the affairs of the Luolan Manor in the past; they would only take action when the Luolan Manor faced external enemies. This was the agreement Li Taixuan had made with them back then.

This Elder Mo was one of the three Venerables.

But no one expected that the person who should have remained absolutely neutral in the Luolan Manor would have his personal token appear in Pei Hao’s hands; the implication was self-evident.

"When Master invited the three Venerable Elders back then, he once said that they possessed the power of oversight. Therefore, during next year’s Manor Festival, if someone gains the support of two Venerable Elders and four Pavilion Masters, then they have the right to compete for the position of Manor Lord of the Luolan Manor."

Pei Hao smiled lightly and said, "So, you don't need to worry that I will split the Luolan Manor, because what I want is a complete Luolan Manor."

In the living room, the Pavilion Masters including Lei Zhang were shocked and angry; clearly, they had not expected that Pei Hao was harboring this intention.

And looking at the current situation, it was not impossible for him to succeed. Clearly, for this day, Pei Hao had likely been making preparations not long after the two Manor Lords went missing.

Pei Hao’s gaze glanced at the cold-faced Jiang Qing’e, then turned to Li Luo at the side, and said faintly, "So, cherish this last year of time. When the Manor Festival arrives, I’m afraid the Luolan Manor will have little to do with you."

"At that time, you will truly have nothing."

When these words fell, Pei Hao turned and strode away, with the three Pavilion Masters following closely behind.

With Pei Hao’s departure, the tense atmosphere in the living room eased, but everyone’s faces were filled with worry.

Although they had some anticipation for this situation, when this scene actually occurred, it still felt extremely troublesome.

However, Jiang Qing’e displayed considerable calmness at this moment. She softened her voice to soothe the six Pavilion Masters, and only after giving some further instructions did she let them withdraw.

After everyone had withdrawn, the living room became quiet.

Li Luo’s gaze was fixed on the floor in front of him until a pair of straight, slender jade legs appeared before him. He then snapped out of it, looked up, and saw Jiang Qing’e looking down at him quietly with her golden eyes.

"It seems that although you are calm on the surface, you are still very angry inside," Jiang Qing’e said in a light voice.

Li Luo gave a bitter smile and said, "How could I not be angry?"

That Pei Hao today had treated him as if he were nothing; that so-called demand for him to dissolve the engagement was even more of an attempt to trample his face into the ground.

"But you performed quite well and did not lose your composure too much." Jiang Qing’e’s red lips curled into a faint smile, her voice carrying a hint of praise.

Li Luo sighed: "Actually, if I could, I would rather have hammered him to death on the spot to clean up the house for my parents."

Not losing his composure was mostly because there was really nothing he could do.

At this moment, Li Luo felt the importance of his own strength once again. The so-called Young Master of the Manor was actually nothing after losing his parents.

Of course, he also understood that it was more importantly because of his so-called innate empty resonance; everyone was convinced he had no potential, so they naturally looked down on him.

"No one’s life is smooth sailing; appropriate forbearance is not shameful," Jiang Qing’e comforted him.

Li Luo nodded and said, "After today’s events, I finally know how much trouble our Luolan Manor is in now. These two years have truly been hard on you, Sister Qing’e."

The Luolan Manor had risen too quickly back then, but precisely because of that, its foundation was so restless. This meant that once the founders, Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan, went missing, this high tower became unstable.

If it weren't for Jiang Qing’e doing her utmost to stabilize the hearts of the people over these two years, I’m afraid it wouldn't just be Pei Hao alone who had developed such thoughts.

Jiang Qing’e sat down to the side, her long, fair legs elegantly crossed, and said, "You don't need to take what Pei Hao said earlier to heart. I will deal with him; it just needs some time."

As she spoke, a faint murderous intent flashed through those pure golden eyes.

"Since you and I have an agreement, I will naturally hand over this Luolan Manor to you in its entirety when the agreement is fulfilled."

"So, you don't need to worry about the affairs of the Luolan Manor for now. What you should be thinking about more right now... is the Southwind Academy’s grand examination next month. If you cannot enter the Saint Xuanxing Academy, all agreements will lose their validity," Jiang Qing’e said, her red lips slightly parted.

Then she paused, tilted her head slightly, and smiled faintly at Li Luo: "However, if you feel the possibility is not high, you can tell me now, and I can treat that agreement as a moment of impulse on your part."

Li Luo blinked, then extended his palm and said, "Give me your hand."

Jiang Qing’e was slightly stunned as she looked at the hand extended before her. If anyone else had done this to her, she would likely have slashed them with a sword, but for Li Luo... after all, their relationship was very special.

Thus, in the end, she extended a small hand without changing her expression and placed it in Li Luo’s palm.

Li Luo slowly gripped that small hand; the delicate sensation made one’s heart flutter. Moreover, perhaps because Jiang Qing’e possessed a Light Resonance, her skin appeared particularly crystalline and white, like beautiful jade, making it hard to let go.

However, Li Luo forcibly suppressed the urge to stroke that small hand, then drove a trace of extremely weak resonant power to surge out from his palm.

Jiang Qing’e’s expression had originally been quite calm, but when that weak resonant power surged over, her expression instantly became solemn.

Her long fingers curled back, directly grabbing Li Luo’s palm. A sense of perception surged into Li Luo’s body, and finally, she discovered that Li Luo’s originally empty resonance palace was now emitting a sky-blue radiance.

Jiang Qing’e looked at Li Luo’s face, which carried a hint of a smile, with some shock. After a moment, she said, "This is... Water Resonance?"

"You have a resonance?!"

After a long while, Jiang Qing’e slowly released her palm and said, "Was it solved by the things Master and Mistress left for you?"

Li Luo nodded.

Jiang Qing’e let out a breath and said softly, "This is truly the best news of the day."

"Your Water Resonance doesn't seem to be of a high grade, but it has a special sense of purity. Perhaps it is due to some heavenly treasures left to you by Master and Mistress."

"But regardless, this is a good start."

It was evident that Jiang Qing’e was in a good mood; her slightly sharp, slender eyebrows had relaxed.

Finally, she even joked with Li Luo: "Congratulations, you are one small step closer to your goal of wanting to dissolve the engagement with me."

Li Luo gave a helpless smile, then was silent for a moment, and said, "How much credibility do you think his words about my parents earlier have?"

Jiang Qing’e blinked her long eyelashes and said calmly, "Although I don't know where he got some information, I just feel that someone as short-sighted as him could never know the strength of Master and Mistress."

"Even if they were temporarily trapped by some reason, I believe they will definitely be safe and sound."

Upon hearing this, Li Luo also nodded slowly and forcefully.

"I think so too."

Jiang Qing’e stood up and walked to the window. At this moment, sunlight poured down, falling on her exquisite and graceful figure. The light moved along her beautiful curves, making one’s heart beat faster.

"I will return to the Royal City tomorrow. If you have any needs, you can speak directly to Sister Cai Wei. She will stay in the Tianshu Prefecture for a period of time to help manage the various industries of the Luolan Manor here."

After giving some instructions, Jiang Qing’e turned her head. She looked at Li Luo with her profile, the sunlight illuminating her perfect contours.

That pair of golden eyes shone brightly in the light, making one’s gaze sink deep into them, hard to forget.

"So... Li Luo, I hope that the next time I see you, it will be at the Saint Xuanxing Academy."

She smiled slightly and whispered softly.

(End of chapter)