Seeing that figure, Long Chenâs body instantly stiffened, and he even forgot to breathe.
âMeng⊠QiâŠâ
The person who had come had willowy eyebrows, eyes like limpid autumn waters, and shapely lips. A waterfall of black hair cascaded down to her waist. She seemed like an immortal who had descended amongst mortals, filled with a transcendent, untainted charm. That woman was Meng Qi.
Meng Qi looked at Long Chen with eyes filled with delight. Two scarlet clouds appeared on her otherwise jade-like face.
In the blink of an eye, they had been separated for over a year. Long Chen had grown far too much during that time. Meng Qi could sense the berserk energy hidden inside his body.
It was as if Long Chen was a dormant volcano. Normally, you wouldnât be able to see anything, but once it erupted, it could exterminate the world.
The thing that made her heart tremble the most was that in this year, all the immaturity on Long Chenâs face had disappeared, replaced by a determined smile.
âLong Chen, itâs been a while.â
A bit of panic appeared in Meng Qiâs eyes. She had opened her mouth and had had no idea what to say, in the end saying a simple, standard greeting.
âYou must be senior sister Meng Qi? Sister really is beautiful.â Chu Yao now spoke out. Even as a woman, she greatly admired Meng Qiâs beauty.
Meng Qi possessed a unique mannerism that was able to make all living things admire her, making people unconsciously form a good opinion of her.
âYou must be junior sister Chu Yao? Iâve heard of you.â Facing Long Chen, Meng Qi was a bit nervous, but facing Chu Yao, she was much more relaxed.
Chu Yao was delighted. Long Chen had already told her about Meng Qi, and now seeing that Meng Qi didnât have any negative reaction to her allowed her to sigh in relief.
She had just been about to reply when a voice rang out, âMeng Qi, do you know her?â
Only now did Long Chen realize there was a long-haired man behind Meng Qi. With his delicate features, he truly was extremely handsome. But it seemed he was displeased that Meng Qi was talking to them.
âOh, Long Chen? You are that Long Chen?â That manâs expression suddenly turned cold.
âCorrect, I am Long Chen. And you would be Feng Xiao-zi?â Long Chen became slightly irritated because he had guessed this personâs identity.
âArrogant. Do you think the name of this junior pavilion master can be spoken by you?â The long-haired manâs expression sunk.
As Long Chen had thought, this fellow was Feng Xiao-zi. His fury immediately soared. If his hand wasnât still injured, he would have definitely given him an especially big slap in the face.
Although the flesh of his hand had grown out at this time, this new flesh was still tender like a babyâs. If he did slap him, it wouldnât cause any damage to Feng Xiao-zi, but it would definitely mangle his flesh.
âJunior pavilion master, Long Chen is not a member of the Wind Spirit Pavilion, and he doesnât need to call you by your title,â interrupted Lu Fang-er.
Feng Xiao-zi was the pavilion masterâs son, and as a person, he was arrogant and aloof, stubborn and self-opinionated. He enjoyed using his status to suppress others. In the entire Wind Spirit Pavilion, other than those people who deliberately sucked up to him, there was not a single person who liked running into him.
Lu Fang-er was Meng Qiâs good sister, and the two of them were even closer than real sisters. In order to give Meng Qi a good impression, Feng Xiao-zi didnât wish to offend Lu Fang-er.
As for Lu Fang-er, because Feng Xiao-zi constantly pestered Meng Qi, causing her to be constantly distressed, she naturally had nothing nice to say to him.
Although Feng Xiao-zi hated Lu Fang-er, he could only put on a âmagnanimous and open-mindedâ act for the sake of Meng Qi. And so he had always endured.
But now Lu Fang-erâs words caused his expression to sink. If this had just been in front of Meng Qi, that would have been one thing. But now she was contradicting him in front of this many outsiders. Many of those distant spectators were experts who were secretly watching, immediately putting him on the spot.
Meng Qi suddenly interjected, âLong Chen is my friend. I hope the junior pavilion master wonât make things hard on him, or everyone might end up affected.â
Her words were extremely flat, but it was obvious she was taking Long Chenâs side, which caused Feng Xiao-zi to become even more infuriated.
Feng Xiao-zi glared at Long Chen without saying anything. He had placed all his hatred on Long Chen now.
Long Chen sighed in relief inside when he saw Meng Qi take his side, and he was filled with delight. This feeling was much better than giving Feng Xiao-zi a slap in the face.
âSister Chu Yao, how did you end up here together?â Meng Qi amicably asked Chu Yao.
Chu Yao was an amiable person with a warm temperament, which was similar to Meng Qi. The two of their temperaments were very similar, and so it was easy for Meng Qi to form a good opinion of her.
âItâs because I noticed this Seven Heartsea Cherry-Apple tree-heart.â Chu Yao already felt that Meng Qi was one of them, and so she didnât hide anything.
Both Meng Qi and Feng Xiao-zi were surprised by that ancient tree. There were many kinds of tree-hearts, but this particular one was definitely top grade. It was absolutely priceless.
âIâve taken quite the liking to this tree-heart. How about you give it to me? You can ask for any price,â suddenly said Feng Xiao-zi.
Chu Yaoâs expression immediately changed. This tree-heart was a must-have treasure for her cultivation. How could it be given to others? She turned to look at Long Chen.
Seeing that Chu Yao didnât reply and instead looked at Long Chen, Feng Xiao-zi was a bit irritated and said, âIt seems like you, Long Chen, can decide. So? You wouldnât refuse to even give me this little face, right?â
Meng Qi and Lu Fang-erâs expressions were icy. Feng Xiao-zi was truly an intolerable bully. They were about to speak when Long Chen took the lead.
âYour face really is worth pretty much nothing. At least, in front of me, itâs not even worth a single piece of dogsheet.â
âYouâŠ!â Feng Xiao-zi raged. In the Wind Spirit Pavilion, not even Elders would dare speak to Feng Xiao-zi in that manner.
âDonât be in a rush. Iâm not finished yet. I have a really good temperament, and anything can be discussed. As long as sister Fang-er helps me out a bit, then I can decide to give this tree-heart to you,â said Long Chen.
Chu Yao and Lu Fang-er were both confused. That was especially true of Chu Yao. She understood Long Chen the best, and he definitely wouldnât take her things to give to others.
âWhat help?â Lu Fang-er was at a complete loss.
Long Chen glanced at Meng Qi and bashfully said, âIâve been doing pretty well in the Xuantian Supermonastery during this time, and Iâve made a little bit of money. Iâm preparing to take a wife.â
Being stared at by Long Chen, Meng Qiâs jade face reddened. According to the secular worldâs standards, Meng Qi was essentially already Long Chenâs wife. She had just yet to take that final marriage step.
âIn order to marry a wife, I first have to buy a house. Iâve purchased a cave in the monastery and decorated it extremely luxuriously. There is only one matter that fills me with regret.â
Arriving here, Long Chen sighed extremely dramatically, appearing extremely sorrowful.
âWhat matter?â Lu Fang-er had no idea what drug Long Chen had taken.
âMy cave is extremely lavish. Gold covers the ground, gems are piled like mountains, and even the dozens of miles of stairs that lead up to the entrance are tiled with spirit stones. There are over eighty levels that are embeddedâ
âWhat nonsense! Thatâs absolutely impossible. Using spirit stones just for stairs? Over eighty levels? Who are you trying to trick?â Feng Xiao-zi wasnât able to endure it any longer.
Let alone an insignificant monastery disciple, even he, the Wind Spirit Pavilionâs junior pavilion master, didnât have that many spirit stones to play around with. Just how many spirit stones would it take to tile dozens of miles of stairs?
Furthermore, what kind of cave had stairs that were dozens of miles long? Then just how big was this cave?
âI have money, and I am willing to spend it. So what?â Long Chen glared at him, looking as if he might bite him if he refused to accept this.
Meng Qi was bitterly holding back her laughter. Long Chen was obviously just shooting off his mouth. However, she didnât know just why Long Chen would act so senseless, so she just continued listening.
âFine, then just keep bragging,â sneered Feng Xiao-zi.
âSo in this extremely luxurious cave, everything is complete, but I am just lacking something good to place in front of the entrance. Sister Fang-er, I want to ask if your Wind Spirit Pavilion has anything suitable and can help me out.
âI just need something suitable for the front of my cave. The best option would be something along the lines of a Junior Pavilion Pig or Junior Pavilion Bull. Just name your price; in any case, I have plenty of treasures, and even if you want this tree-heart for it, I wouldnât mind.â Long Chen said this all with a straight face, putting on an attitude of a businessman who would treat anyone fairly.
Meng Qi, Chu Yao, and Lu Fang-er finally understood that Long Chen had babbled all kinds of nonsense all to curse Feng Xiao-zi. This fellow really was mischievous.
âJunior Pavilion Pig? Junior Pavilion Bull? What are those? Magical Beasts? My Wind Spirit Pavilion doesnât have any low-grade trash. Hmph, bumpkins really are bumpkins; you donât even know how to ask for anything good. If you just need a dog for your gate, I can give you a fourth rank Magical Beast. Howâs that?â sneered Feng Xiao-zi.
Long Chen couldnât help being stunned. Just how stupid was Feng Xiao-zi? He had already said everything so clearly, and yet he still didnât understand.
Lu Fang-er was the first to be unable to endure it. Covering her mouth, she turned away. She could no longer face Feng Xiao-ziâs haughty face.
After her, Meng Qi and Chu Yao also turned away, their shoulders constantly trembling. That was because when Feng Xiao-ziâs haughty expression was added in with Long Chenâs astonished expression, it was simply unbearable.
Seeing the three of them turn around, Long Chenâs stunned expression of disbelief, and recalling what Long Chen had just said, Feng Xiao-zi finally understood.
âGo to hell!â A translucent sword suddenly stabbed towards Long Chen.
Long Chen was about to block when Meng Qi pointed a finger. A powerful wind whistled, causing the sword that Feng Xiao-zi had condensed from Spiritual Strength to explode.
âIâve already said that Long Chen is my friend. Donât force me junior pavilion master.â Meng Qiâs expression was slightly icy.
âMeng Qi, youâŠ! Heâs just a notorious pervert and traitor! Why are you friends with him?â Feng Xiao-zi was unable to endure it anymore. He had been putting in a supreme effort to control himself in front of Meng Qi, but seeing her protect Long Chen was the last straw. A powerful Spiritual Strength shot out, and even those distant spectators felt a sharp pain in their souls as if needles were stabbing them.
However, the four people present all had powerful Spiritual Strength and were able to resist this spiritual pressure.
âFeng Xiao-zi, Iâve had to put up with you for a long time. Now Iâm going to go out with my friends. If you donât like it, you can leave. Donât try to smear others.â Meng Qiâs tone now held a trace of fury.
âGood, good, good! Youâre all targeting me, fine! Iâll leave.â Feng Xiao-zi ground his teeth in fury. In the end, before leaving, he pointed at Long Chen. âBrat, just wait! By opposing me, you definitely wonât have a good ending!â
Long Chenâs fury soared, but at this point, he couldnât fight. He could only smile silently as Feng Xiao-zi left.
Long Chen knew that sometimes just a smile had far greater destructive power than words.
And as he had expected, seeing Long Chen just smiling as he looked at him, Feng Xiao-zi practically went crazy with rage. He snorted and left without looking back.