Chapter 49, Message

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The inn

Inside a certain room. Lit by the sunlight coming off from the wooden windows.

A middle-aged lady was present.

Xiao Meifen, the sister of Lihua's father. Her aunt.

She sat down on a bed before saying, "Quite a comfy place if you ask me."

The red-haired princess, Lihua, sat down on the opposite bed before replying, "Indeed, anything beats sleeping in the forest."

Tengfei who was beside her, commented with a teasing look, "Ah~ I could still smell the goat scent and having a watery nose from sneezing. I say cluttered dusts were all around."

Lihua poked his side before replying, "You're making me feel bad in purpose." She then gave a pout.

Meifen smiled at their small mingle. She then asks, "Not even married, but already staying at the same room?" She then showed a smug look.

Tengfei confidently corrected, "One detail is off and that is we're sleepi-" Alas before he could speak any further, Lihua already covered his mouth. Showing him a threatening glare with a smile on her face.

Meifen gave a chuckle before cclapping her hands, "I really love seeing the interaction between the two of you." She paused for a moment before continuing, "If you told me earlier that Lihua could smile with joy, I wouldn't have believed you. Do you know?"

Lihua released her hand from Tengfei before remaining silent. She then showed a downcast look due to remembering something.

Meifen closed her eyes before telling, "Since young, you were always the silent type. Showing joy was a rare sight. At that time your elder sister wasn't there or better to say, never had met." She gave a deep breath, "Well, I guess it changed when you met your soon to be made, best friend."

The princess's mouth quivered before uttering, "Feng Mian."

Tengfei already recalled how Lihua's friend died due to being labelled as a failure. Something he experienced recently but not

Meifen nodded before continuing, "Those horrible Feng people actually drove a young innocent girl to her early grave. Though I am too also to blame for not doing anything but yelling at them when I visited their sect."

Lihua shook her head before saying, "It was not your fault but mine entirely. If I just comforted her at that time, maybe it would have caused a different outcome." She revealed a sad smile.

Xiao Meifen felt bad before she says, "Sorry for reminding you of something bad."

"No, never forgetting it will make me cherish the memories spent with her more. Also, in one way or another, I finally overcame those dreams from comforting Tengfei. When most people ridiculed him."

"That's good to know, since I always wanted to help when you were in that state of depression. Having to lose your only friend." Meifen then continued, "But I guess it all changed when you met your sister."

"...Mn. She was really amazing." Lihua spoke.

Meifen recalled before asking, "You loved to play lots of games with her, didn't you?"

Lihua nodded before replying, "Mn... but more importantly, she pulled me out of the darkness. Finding me warmth and joy." She then showed a reminiscing face.

Tengfei then commented after hearing her words, "And then Lihua's sister pulled all her focus on me and at the same time, neglecting Lihua." His tone resembled a sad tone.

The princess winced before saying with a quiet voice, "Now you're making me feel like digging a hole and hiding in it...."

Tengfei pulled her soft cheeks and appologized at the same time.

Meifen gave a look before asking Tengfei, "When did you first meet with Lihua's sister, Xiao Ling?"

After accomplishing his task of turning Lihua's cheeks pink, he replied, "Oh, thinking about it... this is actually good timing. I nearly forgotten to mention it to Lihua also."

"No, you really have forgotten." She corrected with lazy looking eyes.

He coughed a bit, fixed his voice, before telling, "It all started after weeks of a certain girl's death. A person who was very close to me. Ever since then, I had an issue of trusting peale and became a lone wolf where I would instead of stealing in a group, I would do it myself. It was working out okay, trying my best to survive at that time. Though I questioned a lot as to what was the purpose of living."

He paused a moment, surveying everyone's change in expression before continuing, "There was an incident that occurred, I failed in stealing a poach of money from someone. The issue was not from being caught but instead and also unluckily, the person that I decided to rob was none other than an elite guard. A mistake that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the fact that I was starving for days."

"Later on, I was left on the ground all beaten up. It was then that I... met her. A lady who was about six to seven years older than me. Being obvious, she was none other than Ling. Lihua's elder sister. I had forgotten as to why she was there but the memory of her lending her hand towards me... is still etched deep inside. Though I didn't accept her hand, even stayed away from her."

"But after that encounter, she kept on returning. Handing me food which I rudely declined. Even running away from her. I didn't trust anyone at that time, and thought she really was fishy."

"Eventually, there came a time where she stayed beside me. Ignoring her retainers' words and wouldn't budge away from me. She would refuse to eat or drink until I offer them to her. Though she struggled a lot due being grown up properly. The rough lifestyle was hard on her."

Lihua commented, "...Sister went to such lengths?" She paused for a moment before asking, "But... why?"

Tengfei stopped talking and paused. He then replied, "I too do not know. I even asked her once, but she always used to dodge the question."

Meifen opened her eyes before saying, "So finally it came to this. Now I can explain the things we know about your father, Lihua."

The princess was curious but at the same time, she showed signs of not wanting to hear. Having her hand grasped made her understand that tengfei is there for her. feeling better, she asked Meifen to go on.

Meifen obliged before turning towards Tengfei, "You see... Xiao Ling was tasked by someone to find and take care of you." She then continued after looking at the princess, "That certain someone was none other than your father, Lihua."

The princess started off with a suprised look before turning into something sour.

The gray-haired young man didn't immediately react. Instead he slowly closed his eyes before entering a deep state of thinking.

Tengfei gave out a sigh before asking, "She's the one who told you about this, right?"

Xiao Meifen for a moment widened her eyes sligthly before replying, "Yes, as you specaluted, she indeed told me and my father about it when we asked."

Lihua's expression changed multiple times before remaining silent.

Tengfei thought about something really hard before rembering to breath from feeling Lihua's hand tightening around his.

Giving a look that he never made before, he asked her, "...I'll just say this now. I can't just possibly believe you. Even if I guessed that Sister Ling was the one who told you."

Meifen nodded and replied, "And you have all the rights to not believe my words. But..."

She then revealed a stone, a communication gem.

Both Tengfei and Lihua were familiar with that oval shaped object on the lady's hand.

Lihua then asked, "We'll directly talk... with her?"

Xiao Meifen didn't nod but instead shook her head before giving a chuckle.

She then answered with an explanation, "If we were to have a such a stone, it would be plenty times bigger and not even our treasury could fund it. The price gets steep depending on how far you can communicate you know? And they have limited uses too."

She the tossed the blue on hand up and down before saying, "You see, this gem right here, records any voice for a short amount of time. Ling entrusted me two gems, one for you Tengfei, and the other to you Lihua."

She handed the stone to Lihua before giving another to Tengfei. The princess realized that this was the same gem that she read about a while back. Even seeing some on her father's workplace. She almost forgotten about it.

Meifen handed to each of them a gem. Having a unique symbol for each.

Lihua's aunt then asked the princess, "I presume you already know how to activate one."

The princess for once, arrogantly nodded, before giving the stone a shake.

Slowly after the gem glowed in light blue, someone's voice came out of it. A soft delicate one, filled with maturity. Grief at the same time.

"If you could hear this... then you must be safe. Thank goodness you are. You wouldn't imagine as to what I would become if I knew that my father has his hands on you. Though I don't know if this message would ever come to you, maybe it'll be forgotten. Hopefully, my little sister, you are alright and doing well. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you nor play with you back then. More importantly... I... I didn't give my farewell. Hah... I'm such a horrible sister. Till we meet again..."

Lihua rubbed away the tears on her eyes before giving a look up. She doesn't know whether to show sadness or happiness. All she thought was to have a proper talk with her sister.

Tengfei first felt nostalgic when he heard sister Ling's voice. Then he felt happy as to what Ling said to Lihua was something the princess needed.

He looked at the gem on his hand before giving it a shake.

The small sparks inside glittered in blue before a voice came up. It was unlike the voice meant to Lihua as it was filled with sorrow and grief.

"Tengfei... it has been a while. By now you should have learned the small truth about me." A short pause occurred before she continued, "It is the truth, he told me to look for you. I didn't question it and did as told... Right now, I don't know the reason why he needed you, but it must be something related to mother. Before I go, I must inform you that all those times I spent with you was not entirely an order. I don't know what I dragged into, so please forgive me."

It stopped there.

Tengfei grasped the stone hard as he closed his eyes shut. He then handed over the gem to Meifen.

Meifen then asks him, "How do you feel?" With curiousity.

The gray-haired young man replied back, "Nothing..." He then combed up his hair with the help of his fingers before continuing, "I'm not going to hate someone for doing what has been ordered to them. Whether the person killed a whole family or protected the city. I'll only question the person when he enjoys the henous crimes. But I still wouldn't hate the person. That's just who I am."

He then chuckled, "So when it came to sister Ling's trivial matter, I'll of course forgive her. Even if it didn't require one in the first place."

Meifen gave a nod before replying, "By hearing out what you said, I can feel relieved that Lihua would be safe. As long as she stays close to you."

Lihua glared at Meifen, rebuking, "I can take care of myself; you know."

"Yes, and you showed me clearly." Meifen recalled the moment where Lihua and Li Meixiu fend off the man called Fawn.

She then continued with a rare strict expression, "But that's what I'm worried about since overconfidence leads to demise."

The princess understood the concern from her words. If she would have heard it earlier, then maybe that incident would have been prevented. Though she doubted it.

Lihua gave a wry smile before replying, "That wouldn't be a problem since I learned from a previous mistake."

The princess's aunt then asks, "...Are you fine now?"

Lihua turned to the side due to being caught off guard by the sencere question she asked. She then replied back, "I'm fine, thanks to Tengfei ."

The princess didn't forget to also give her thanks to her master.

Meifen at first was going to say something, but she instead shook her head. Spreading her arms wide, she asked Lihua, "Want a hug?"

Lihua crossed her arms, turned her head with rebuke before replying, "No way!"

"Come on, I'm your aunt after all!" Xiao Meifen whined.

The aunt seemed normal on the the outside, but in truth, she's trying hard to not reveal her murderous intent. Someone did something to her niece and didn't face her wrath.

Seeing that the princess still refused after asking once more, she turned towards Tengfei before asking, "Are you curious about her father's scheme?"

Tengfei gave a faint nod before asking, "More importantly, we would like to know about Lihua's mother." Lihua gave a faint nod and was happy that Tengfei knew what was in her mind.

Meifen gave a frown, "I too do not know much about my sister-in-law. I'm about as clueless as you both." She sighed, "Though I can say that she did went missing... and since ever since then, my brother has... changed."

Lihua showed a change for moment, but thenr everted back to normal. She then asked, "...Missing? I thought she was already confirmed dead."

Meifen then replied, "We all did, until your sister told us about something important. It seems that your father informed Ling particularly about the possibility of your mother being alive."

Lihua took it in slowly before muttering, "Hah, today I get to hear my sister, learn about my father and also know that my mother is presumably alive!" She raised her hands high up onto the air. This caused some type of trigger to the pink snake who was sleeping nearby. It slithered towards her before circling around the princess's feet.

She noticed the small presence of Mini the snake. Allowing the small adorable creature to rest on her lap as she sat down.

Tengfei eyed as to how Lihua was scratching her nail. A sign that he recently learned that she was feeling uncomfortable.

He then joked, "You can always fall on my lap if you want~" Having a grin on his face.

Though he didn't expect that she would do it boldly!

The princess has her eyes half closed as she told him, "I gained a headache from learning all those things. So treat me well!" As if imitating her previous spoiled self.

Meifen was pleased to see them acting like this. Though she too could sense that Lihua was different. A little over-whelmed by the fact that she is not showing any signs of seeking information about her mom. Meifen then asked Lihua, "I expected you to be more different than this... Don't you care about your mother?"

Lihua didn't want to match their sight. Running away by seeing the planked wooden floor. She then replied, "Sure I'm grateful that my biological mother is alive but other than that, there's nothing else. The reason being that I never had an ounce of memory of her." She raised her head before proclaiming, "People can call me cold hearted for all I care."

Meifen thought about something while looking her. She then smiled before standing up. Seeing that she was about to leave, both Tengfei and Lihua stood as well.

The middle-aged lady then asked, "Where are you two going, if I may inquire?"

Tengfei looked at Lihua, and she did the same. They then looked back towards aunt Meifen before saying together, "East!"

Meifen nodded before giving a bow.

She then asked another, "If you both ever want to visit the main branch of Imperial Lunar sect, follow this map." She then removed a scroll from her sleeve before handing it to Tengfei.

Lihua furrowed her eyebrows before commenting, "And here I thought you would encourage us to follow you back to the sect."

Meifen removed a wooden elegant fan, opened it before using it to cover half her face. She then said, "There's a task that needs to be done in Xoplis, so it'll be a very long time till we meet again." A cute giggle was released before she continued, "Besides, I can't force people."

Lihua was busy thinking, 'I really need that type of fan.'

She then, along side Tengfei, gave a bow.

Meifen appreciated their courtesy which reminded her to say, "Oh, and one more thing before I leave. I need to give my apology for not helping you out with that battle."

Lihua was going to rebuke until she saw the bright green glow on her aunt's eyes. Feeling the sense of inferiority from witnessing the depth behind them.

The aunt gave a wave before exiting the room.

The princess then thought, 'No wonder the Feng clan back then was swept over by a hurricane...'

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Inside a store

Reesh levy dipped a drop on a rat's mouth before seeing the small creature slowly start dying. Luckily, he had an antidote.

He then told the couple in front of him, "As you can see..."

The lady crossed her arms before finishing, "It's poison."

The man beside the lady gave a slight nudge before telling her, "Let the man finish, Bingmei."

She gave an irritated glare before replying in a way that betrays her expression, "You know very well that I'm in a bad mood, my dear Peizhi."

Reesh Levy rudely butted in, "All right, all right, enough with the quibble and hand over the money so that I can finally close the damn shop for today."

Li Bingmei surveyed the red eye bags of Reesh before doing as told. Placing a gold coin on the table before sliding it towards him.

Reesh closely inspected the coin before placing it in his pocket. He then rudely gestured with his hand to leave.

Peizhi and Li Bingmei gave their farewell and exited the shop.

The lady who currently has a malicious intent on her eyes then proclaimed, "Our truth serum has been swapped..."

Peizhi gave a yawn before commenting lazily, "I wonder how."

This earned him a good ole submission throw from Li Bingmei.

Almost breaking his back as he heard his fiancé scolding him, "It's because of you sleep a lot that this occurred! how the hell did you become a well-trained beastmaster if you're this clumsy!"

Peizhi didn't reply.

Li Bingmei kicked his body to find that he was already sleeping, making her shriek in anger.

She felt a vibration occur in her sleeve. The lady removed the commination gem, shook it once, before yelling at it, "What do you want!?"

An old voice replied back, "...Indeed what do I want."

Li Bingmei turned pale as she felt her soul leave her.

She then with a scared and apologetic tone replied, "But Elde-"

"Shut up!! And get both of your asses here this instant! Or else... Do you want me to send out that?"

Li Bingmei gulped.

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In a certain district.

Meifen was humming a song before entering a place where people usually don't come that often. She then showed her usual smile before telling her old retainer, "It was you, wasn't it?"

"My apologies, but I don't know what you mean."

She inserted her refined mana into an inscription paper before dropping it on the ground.

Creating a dome made of moving winds around them. Slowly losing the refined mana color of green, making it hard to see by outsiders.

The old retainer then questioned with a joking tone, "What's the meaning of this madam?"

"Answer me first, it was you who swapped the truth serum they prepared... Am I right?"

He gave a devilish grin before replying, "You certainly know me well. Also making the room of princess Lihua silent to everyone else other than the people inside."

"Creating an enclosed silence barrier is simple but making people unaware of it... might be quite challenging." She commented.

Surveying the barely visible wind surround them, made the old retainer comment, "Going all out of wanting me in bay."

She showed her teeth with her smile.

Meifen then asked, "Is my brother really that worth it?"

"You see, he offers something that you and your father could never amass in this lifetime."

"And what that may be?"

"Oh, what the fun is if I expose everything-" He then jumped immediately as he witnessed the very faint green traversing down him. He then thought mid-air, 'No holding back, huh.' Before enhancing and crossing his arm.

Taking the full force from the wind aethereal creature which has been summoned by Meifen.

Slamming him with its horn and if it weren't for enhancement, the sharp point would have easily shattered his bones before skewering him alive.

The old man fell to the ground in an elegant fashion before jumping back up again and kicking chin of the beast. Enhanced leg and the propulsion from the jump caused the beast to be finished in moments.

Though multiple parts of his body were pierced by wind missiles created by Meifen.

Seeing that his body was left with mere bruises. Easily seen due to his clothes being torn off.

He removed his shirt, showing that he's not some pushover with his masculine body. Though his body is old... but all the previous experiences were never forgotten.

Meifen narrowed her eyes as she thought, 'The prime example of what physical cultivators can reach.'

Without delaying even, a moment, she activated the mark on her chest.

Her eyes glowed in green but then, it suddenly reverted back. As she felt the sharp intense pain coming from her stomach.

Though before he could kick, he realized that he was already in a vacuum created by her. He immediately held his breath.

But little did he know that holding his breath would rupture his lungs in moments. Due to the loss of external pressure which would cause the gas inside your lungs to expand, which will rupture through your lungs before releasing air into your circulatory system.

Little moments later he blacked out. A horrible smell coming from him too.

Meifen fell to the ground kneeling before exclaiming, "This technique is so stupidly inconvenient!!" She then fell to the ground breathing in air. Being tired as hell due to transferring a lot of mana. She even felt like vomiting.

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