Chapter 141: Scheming

The next morning, Li Luo opened his eyes, filled with anticipation for the Resonance Power Tree at the Astral Sage College.

He washed up and went downstairs.

Seeing Xin Fu as focused as ever in front of his easel on the second floor, Li Luo put away his naive captainly concern this time and went straight downstairs with a blank expression.

In the first-floor living room, Bai Meng was busy in the kitchen, her lithe figure meticulously preparing breakfast.

Looking at the young girl's pure and lovely face, Li Luo sighed softly; while beauty is a feast for the eyes, eating this kind of thing every day was not a sustainable situation.

Just as Li Luo was feeling gloomy, a knock sounded at the door. He went to open it, and a familiar, stunning face came into view.

"Sister Qing'e?" Li Luo said, pleasantly surprised, a smile appearing on his face.

Jiang Qing'e stood tall and graceful, her delicate figure well-proportioned, her slender, straight legs visible beneath her combat skirt, and her golden eyes radiating an indescribable charm that made one's gaze involuntarily linger on her.

The morning light fell upon her pretty face, and a faint, jade-like luster seemed to flow across her delicate skin.

At this moment, she held a small bag in her jade-like fingers, and upon seeing Li Luo, she smiled and handed it over.

"This is the most famous red sticky rice cake from the Astral Sage College cafeteria; it's the best thing to have for breakfast."

Li Luo hurriedly took it, his eyes brimming with tears: "I'm saved!"

"If you had come any later, I would have been tortured again." He pointed quietly toward the room inside.

Jiang Qing'e glanced over, seeing the petite and cute figure of Bai Meng, and said with a half-smile: "Are you trying to have your cake and eat it too?"

"You'd know if you had to eat it once," Li Luo lamented.

Jiang Qing'e didn't bicker with him, saying: "Come walk with me."

Seeing her demeanor, Li Luo knew she had something to tell him, so he nodded, turned to give Bai Meng a word, and then walked out of the small building with Jiang Qing'e.

In front of the small building lay a lake as clear as a mirror, wreathed in faint mist.

On the path by the lake, students wearing devil suits would occasionally whiz past, and inevitably, many gazes fell upon Li Luo, who was walking side-by-side with Jiang Qing'e.

Those gazes were filled with intense, masculine jealousy.

After all, Jiang Qing'e was already a student of the Three-Star Hall at the Astral Sage College; in terms of fame, there was likely no one in the college who didn't know her, and it was said that in terms of popularity, Jiang Qing'e was not at all inferior to the Grand Princess, who was now a student of the Four-Star Hall.

Li Luo had long since become immune to these gazes. He took a bite of the red sticky rice cake and asked: "What did you want to say, Sister Qing'e?"

Jiang Qing'e looked at him with her golden eyes, was silent for a few moments, and said: "Your mentor should have already told you about the King-level Battlefield, right?"

Li Luo's hand, reaching for another cake in the bag, paused. His expression became much more complex, and he nodded gently.

"No wonder Sister Qing'e didn't tell me before," he sighed.

"Knowing this in advance would only place undue pressure on you; there was no need," Jiang Qing'e said.

"Actually, it's more like there was nothing to be done, right?" Li Luo said with a bitter smile.

"It's not just you who is helpless; I am too."

Jiang Qing'e said softly: "However, there is no need to belittle yourself. Having a goal is not a bad thing."

Li Luo nodded, was silent for a moment, and said: "I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing now..."

"They will definitely be fine. We don't need to worry needlessly, and rather than worrying about their safety on the King-level Battlefield, perhaps we should be the ones to be more cautious," Jiang Qing'e said slowly.

Li Luo raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Qing'e walked into the shade of a tree by the lake, her gaze fixed on the water. At this moment, Li Luo felt her expression turn much colder.

"You should know how the spots for the King-level Battlefield are selected, right?"

"The Life-and-Death Draw," Li Luo said.

"There aren't that many Marquis-level experts in the Great Xia, but a rough count puts them at several dozen... Yet, for Master and Mistress to both draw the black lot at the same time, wouldn't that be... a bit too coincidental?"

In the morning, Jiang Qing'e's calm voice reached Li Luo's ears, yet it made him shudder violently, his face turning grim in an instant.

"You mean... they were schemed against?" Li Luo said, enunciating every word.

Jiang Qing'e reached out to catch a falling leaf and said: "I have no proof; this is just a guess and my intuition."

Li Luo said in a deep voice: "But you should also know that to tamper with the Life-and-Death Draw is not something an ordinary person can do. Who could have such great ability?"

Jiang Qing'e was silent for a moment, then said: "If we really had to guess, there are three forces in the Great Xia that possess this capability."

She looked at Li Luo.

"The Astral Sage College, the Royal Court, and the Long Baoxing."

Li Luo was stunned. These three were indeed the most powerful forces in the Great Xia, but if they really wanted to scheme against his parents, what would be the motive? Was it really necessary?

"I know this speculation sounds like a fantasy, which is why I never said anything. But now that you've come to the Royal City and entered the Astral Sage College, you've begun to enter the eyes of various forces. So, I have to share these guesses with you. Whether I'm overthinking it or not, we must be careful," Jiang Qing'e said.

Li Luo nodded and sighed: "In the end, it's just that our strength is insufficient."

Jiang Qing'e felt the same. If she had already reached the Marquis realm, she wouldn't have to be so constrained and could safely and boldly investigate the things that puzzled her.

Just then, the two heard footsteps approaching from the side and simultaneously stopped talking.

"Haha, Senior Sister Jiang, I thought your back looked familiar, and coming over to see, it really is you." A laugh rang out. Li Luo turned to see a tall, well-built young man walking over with a smile.

The young man was not bad-looking, with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. He was wearing a heavy devil suit, yet even in such heavy gear, he remained composed, showing his strength was not poor.

On the young man's robe were two stars, indicating he was a student of the Two-Star Hall, one grade higher than Li Luo.

As Li Luo sized up the young man, the latter also looked at him and smiled: "You must be Junior Brother Li Luo, right? I've heard a lot about you."

"My name is Ye Qiuding, a student of the Two-Star Hall."

Li Luo returned the smile: "Hello, Senior Brother Ye."

"Is there something you need?" Jiang Qing'e asked, looking at Ye Qiuding with a calm gaze.

Ye Qiuding hurriedly waved his hand: "We just finished training and were resting here. I happened to see Senior Sister Jiang and wanted to come over to say hello. I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

Li Luo glanced at the path behind him, where, under the shade of the trees, he did indeed see dozens of people sitting idly, all wearing devil suits, sweating profusely and panting.

Judging by their clothes, these people were all students of the Two-Star Hall.

At this moment, some of the resting students were also casting glances this way, and when they saw Ye Qiuding talking to Jiang Qing'e, they all began to chuckle softly.

Jiang Qing'e shook her head: "I'm just bringing Li Luo some breakfast."

Ye Qiuding glanced at the red sticky rice cake in Li Luo's hand and said with some envy: "This is the first time I've seen Senior Sister Jiang buy breakfast for someone. Junior Brother Li Luo is quite lucky."

"Haha, I won't disturb you any further. Senior Sister Jiang, if you have any tasks that need me in the future, just ask; I will definitely do my best."

He gave Jiang Qing'e a somewhat obedient smile, then waved his hand and turned to leave in a carefree manner.

Li Luo watched Ye Qiuding's retreating figure, sighed helplessly, then pointed at Jiang Qing'e with the hand holding the red sticky rice cake, his voice stern.

"You tell me, what is going on here?"

"I've just arrived at the Astral Sage College, and it's one old lion, one big wolf dog, and now one little puppy after another... Each one is a different type... Jiang Qing'e, are you trying to get yourself disciplined by family law?"