Chapter 212: A Further Step in the Relationship

Li Luo's words actually made the Eldest Princess pause for a moment, then she came back to herself, covered her lips with a light chuckle, and said, "My apologies, that was indeed an oversight on my part."

Li Luo was only at the Resonance Master realm, and the single drop of energy liquid he had previously condensed had already taken everything he had; right now, the resonant force within his body should be nearly eighty to ninety percent depleted.

He really had been wrung dry.

However...

A trace of apology surfaced in the Eldest Princess's beautiful, bright phoenix eyes, and she said in a gentle voice, "Junior Li Luo, although my request is a bit excessive, this matter truly is very important. We must confirm whether the earlier treatment was truly because of you or some other cause."

"Please, could you help one more time."

"If you truly can cure His Majesty, we will all owe you a favor..."

The Eldest Princess paused at this point, then her gaze looked at Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e, and after a few seconds of silence, she slowly said, "At certain moments in the future, should you need assistance, we will extend a helping hand to repay this favor."

Both Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's gazes subtly sharpened at this moment. The Eldest Princess's words were veiled—was she referring to something specific?

Or perhaps she also knew of certain perilous situations that the House Luolan Mansion would face in the future?

But this was not all that surprising. After all, the Imperial Court was the legitimate authority of the Great Xia Kingdom, with deep foundations and formidable strength, and naturally possessed an extremely powerful intelligence network. The House Luolan Mansion was one of the Five Great Mansions of the Great Xia Kingdom, so it would inevitably be under the Imperial Court's constant watch. Therefore, it was quite normal for the Eldest Princess to know of certain matters.

It was just unclear whether she knew of that mysterious great hand targeting the House Luolan Mansion, or perhaps... within it, there were even certain shadows of the Imperial Court itself. Until everything was thoroughly clarified, any faction carried this suspicion.

After all, who could blame them? The House Luolan Mansion possessed that kind of wondrous treasure capable of touching upon the secrets of the King-level.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e exchanged a glance. Although they said nothing, they both read the answer in each other's eyes: they truly did need a powerful ally.

The Eldest Princess before, although she had been inclined to befriend Jiang Qing'e and promote their relationship, that kind of connection actually had many limitations. At the very least, before Jiang Qing'e had truly been ennobled, both sides would hold some reservations about this relationship.

This couldn't really be called being too realistic or mercenary. After all, one side represented a portion of the Imperial Court's authority and power, while the other could represent the much-watched, storm-tossed House Luolan Mansion.

To reach a certain kind of relationship, naturally one needed to offer enough benefits and conditions.

But probably no one today had expected that Li Luo, who originally came merely to be a tool, would, in his final move, suddenly produce an accident so great that it caused the Eldest Princess to lose her composure...

He actually might truly be able to treat the young Emperor's congenital defect?

Although until now, let alone the Eldest Princess, even Li Luo himself didn't quite believe this matter, but judging from the grey-robed elder's attitude, they couldn't help but hold a few absurd hopes about it.

Therefore, under the temptation of possibly truly being able to cure the young Emperor, the Eldest Princess's promise undoubtedly caused the relationship between both sides to suddenly warm up.

A promise to extend a helping hand when the House Luolan Mansion needed it—this already counted as an attitude of treating them as allies.

One could see how important the Eldest Princess regarded the matter of treating the young Emperor.

"Your Highness the Eldest Princess, I will try again."

Li Luo nodded, then said, "But it may take a few hours, because the resonant force within my body is indeed nearly exhausted."

A few hours was neither long nor short, but for the young Emperor who had left the Imperial Palace, this was clearly a troublesome matter. If he couldn't return to the Imperial Palace on time, there would be even more trouble.

So the Eldest Princess thought for a moment, took out a jade bottle from her sleeve. Inside the jade bottle were several emerald-green, perfectly round pills. She took one out and said, "This is a Energy-Returning Pill. It can greatly accelerate the recovery of resonant force. I think it's very suitable for you right now."

Li Luo glanced at it, wanting to say he could manage without medicine, but after considering his own condition, he could only sigh and accept it, taking out a pill and swallowing it.

After swallowing the Energy-Returning Pill, Li Luo sat cross-legged to one side to recover the resonant force consumed within his body.

The young Emperor on the bed had been watching all along, as if still a bit dazed. At this moment, he stared blankly at Li Luo, then said in a slightly trembling voice, "Elder Ying, he... can he really cure me?"

The grey-robed elder showed a kindly smile to the young Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, in the previous examination, a wisp of the Black Lotus energy at one of your lotus marks was indeed dissolved somewhat. Although very faint, this is genuinely true."

"However, this matter cannot yet be fully confirmed as being because of Young Friend Li Luo, so we still need to wait for him to make another attempt."

The young Emperor's expression was stunned, and he looked at Li Luo with somewhat complicated eyes. This result was something he had never imagined. After all, the Imperial Court had previously invited many masters skilled in treatment, some of them even Marquis-level strong practitioners, yet even they were helpless against his congenital defect.

Yet now, a Li Luo who was merely at the Resonance Master realm might actually be able to cure him?

This guy—was he really that miraculous?

Because of his excitement, a flush of red rose on the young Emperor's fair, clean cheeks, then he immediately broke into a violent coughing fit. An intense pain transmitted through his body, contorting his small face considerably, and his hands tightly gripped the edge of the bed.

Seeing this, the grey-robed elder knew that his emotions were too agitated, triggering his condition, so he immediately took out a medicine bottle, pulled out a pill, and handed it to the young Emperor to swallow.

The Eldest Princess also quickly stepped forward to soothe the young Emperor. After his emotions had stabilized, she turned to Jiang Qing'e and said softly, "This result is something I had never anticipated before."

Letting Li Luo treat the young Emperor—both sides knew perfectly well it was merely an opportunity, yet no one had expected that this unintentional act would produce a result that caught everyone off guard.

A smile also rose on Jiang Qing'e's exquisitely beautiful face as she said, "On him, one can always see many miracles."

The Eldest Princess gave a gentle, charming smile and said, "In the past, I might have had some doubts about this, but after tonight, I suppose I'll believe it."

"Before the final confirmation, Your Highness should not harbor absolute expectations, lest in the end..." Jiang Qing'e, however, calmly reminded her.

If Li Luo truly possessed this ability, that would certainly be good, but the fear was that in the end it would only be a false alarm. Under such great joy and great sorrow, the other party's mindset might become somewhat unbalanced.

Although based on her understanding of the Eldest Princess, the other's character and composure would not be to such an extent, it was still necessary to offer a reminder and suggestion.

The Eldest Princess nodded lightly upon hearing this, then said no more, quietly waiting for Li Luo to fully recover his resonant force.

This wait lasted nearly an hour.

When Li Luo opened his eyes again, he could feel several gazes in the room instantly settle on him, and the atmosphere quietly became still.

Li Luo did not utter a single word of nonsense, directly rising and coming to the young Emperor's side.

Resonant force gathered between his palms, and finally, with all his might, he condensed a single drop of resonant force liquid containing powerful healing power, which dripped onto the lotus mark on the young Emperor's back.

Everyone held their breath.

After the resonant force liquid dripped down, it still did not cause any movement, just as before—calm and undisturbed.

But the grey-robed elder beside him, his narrowed eyes, gradually widened at this moment, and then even his breathing quietly grew somewhat heavier.

"Elder Ying, how is it?" The Eldest Princess's hands had unknowingly clenched tightly. Her voice sounded calm, but carried a rare tremor.

Elder Ying's expression was solemn. He nodded heavily toward the young Emperor, who was looking at him with a face full of expectation, and toward the seemingly calm Eldest Princess.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness..."

"Although this old man also finds it utterly inexplicable, with Young Friend Li Luo's drop of resonant force liquid, a wisp of the faint Black Lotus energy on Your Majesty's back lotus mark... has indeed been dissolved."

When Elder Ying's final words fell, the Eldest Princess could no longer restrain her surging emotions, and slowly sat down on a chair nearby.

Those usually noble and dignified, beautiful phoenix eyes were, at this moment, unmistakably welling up with layer upon layer of red rims.