Luo Bingfeng remained dazed for a while. He then said with a gloomy expression, “It’s impossible for Qianye to not know these problems, yet he never explained them. He clearly intended to cheat us!”

The lady consoled, “Bingfeng, don’t forget that you’re the one who insisted on this trade.”

“The situation has changed. Now, these three records are useless for both of us, what’s the use of trading for them? Besides, if you can’t cultivate Venus Dawn, everyone else can forget about it!”

“You’re just being prejudiced.”

“I can’t be magnanimous,” Luo Bingfeng said coldly.

The lady sighed. “I sensed a familiar aura on their airship during this transaction. If I’m not wrong, it should be Eunuch Liu.”

Luo Bingfeng was astonished. “Which Eunuch Liu?”

“Of course the one from the imperial palace.”

Luo Bingfeng broke into a worried frown. “Did he figure out your identity? But it’s fine even if he did. I’ll find a way to protect you even if they come for past matters. Humph! So what if he’s the number one expert in the imperial palace? If worse comes to worst, I’ll just take him down with me.”

The woman shook her head. “I don’t know whether he’s aware of my identity, it has been so many years after all. But what I do know is that he intentionally allowed me to sense his aura as a warning, telling us not to mess around. He didn’t attack on the spot, which means he might be pretending not to know about me. Won’t we be walking straight into his grasp if we go knocking on Southern Blue at this point?”

Luo Bingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn. “When will we be free of these imperial bastards? I shouldn’t have promised the heavenly monarch that I would guard the city, now I can’t even leave. In my past state, I could still put up a fight even if Eunuch Liu was here. Heh! I can put my life on the line for you, but I refuse to believe that the great general of the empire back then—the number one character in the palace today—will go all out for a bunch of kids.”

The woman said in a gentle voice, “Bingfeng, you promised not to do such pointless things. Have you forgotten?”

“But…” Luo Bingfeng found no outlet for the frustration in his heart. He couldn’t help but wave his sleeve in anger, pulverizing everything inside the study.

…

At this moment, Qianye had returned to Southern Blue and finally escaped the stifling atmosphere of the airship. Li Kuanglan and Song Zining left the vessel with wooden expressions and fled in different directions. Only Eunuch Liu remained inside the airship, enjoying the scenery of the neutral lands in leisure. He finally disembarked after a good while and, with the help of his servant, walked toward the car that would take him into the city.

Neither Song Zining nor Li Kuanglan managed to escape calamity, however. Eunuch Liu summoned them immediately to discuss matters once he had returned to the city lord’s manor. What made them even more restless was the fact that Qianye was also present, along with the city lord who had been hiding all this time.

At this point, Eunuch Liu had no intention of disguising himself or retracting his aura. Just the overflowing power was enough to pressure Qianye and Ji Rui into great discomfort. Eunuch Liu’s mantra was fairly profound and powerful—the more powerful the recipient, the greater the threat they would feel. Without the appropriate mantra to counter it, one would be at a disadvantage before even doing anything.

Li Kuanglan and Song Zining both possessed the means, but they were preoccupied with their own worries. They were caught so badly off-guard that they couldn’t even stand up from the shock.

A young servant stood behind the eunuch, massaging his shoulder at a steady pace. The old man narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, “My trip to the neutral lands has been quite productive. In addition to the scenery, I also managed to see a lot of outstanding people. I’m sure the empress will be satisfied when I go back.”

Ji Rui was quite restless, to begin with. Although he wasn’t certain about Eunuch Liu’s origins, he was very clear about the man’s strength. Despite his sluggish perception, he had already gotten a taste of the old man’s powerful aura just now. After hearing these words, how could he not realize that the latter was a major character from the imperial palace?

The empire was situated far away, but this Eunuch Liu didn’t need to rely on his background—he could simply trample over the city lord like he would an ant. Ji Rui was shocked out of his wits and almost felt like leaving his seat to fall on his knees.

He was just about to move when a formless power pressed down on his body, immobilizing him like a giant thousand-kilogram rock. Eunuch Liu remained motionless, speaking nonchalantly, “I came here on the empress’ orders. Now that I’ve done most of the work assigned to me, it’s about time I head back. Before I leave, however, I wish to talk about certain things. There’s only a small difference between completing and almost completing this matter, but that little gap is usually what makes or breaks things. Let me make it clear… if you ultimately fail to seal the deal, then I’ll be forced to come again. Those who make it so that I can’t explain things in front of the empress can forget about justifying themselves in front of me.”

Eunuch Liu’s hidden threat baffled Qianye entirely. Li Kuanglan and Song Zining, on the other hand, felt extremely uncomfortable because they understood what the old man was referring to.

Song Zining started sizing Qianye up from head to toe, seemingly calculating in his mind. Being stared at in this manner gave Qianye the goosebumps, but he just couldn’t find the opportunity to interrogate the seventh young master under Eunuch Liu’s suppressive might.

Only the shrewd Ji Rui was relatively relaxed after realizing that this matter was unrelated to him. That being said, the fear and trepidation on his face were even more exaggerated than Li Kuanglan and Song Zining.

Eunuch Liu spoke again, “The world is no longer as peaceful, and there are wars raging everywhere. The neutral lands will also be disputed over very soon, but that has nothing to do with me, nor is it related to that business. All of you better mark my words, don’t even think about glossing over this matter. Things will get pretty ugly if I’m forced to use the methods I use in the imperial palace.”

Li Kuanglan and Song Zining smiled wryly. Only Ji Rui was nodding repeatedly.

Eunuch Liu shifted his gaze onto Ji Rui and said with an insincere smile, “City Lord Ji…”

Ji Rui was extremely capable of adapting to the situation. “My city lord position is only nominal, I obey the commands of the young nobles Li, Song Zining, and Qianye.”

Eunuch Liu nodded. “It’s rare to see someone so observant of the bigger picture, then I won’t say anything more about it. A fair number of people have come to pry on the city during my presence, and I’ve given all of them a friendly greeting. So, I expect the city will be quite peaceful for a while, no true expert should come to cause trouble for the moment. Nonetheless, my departure can’t be kept hidden for very long, and those who will come will eventually come.”

Ji Rui responded immediately, “Please rest assured, I’ll protect the three young nobles even if I have to fight to the death.”

Eunuch Liu replied, “Very well, I’ll remember the city lord’s sincerity.”

Ji Rui was delighted. “Thank you for the support, Your Excellency.”