Qin Mo didn't want to pay attention to Lin Zizheng but saw the implicit expectation in his eyes. Eventually, he took the jade cup in his hand and sipped it lightly.
Even if they were surrounded by noise, as long as he looked at the person in front of him, Lin Zizheng's heart was calm. The usual dark and blood seemed to disappear in an instant, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised. A satisfied smile bloomed on his face while he picked the food for Qin Mo.
Looking at this attentive Lin Zizheng, Qin Mo paused and slowly lowered his eyes to hide the complex feelings in them. Lin Zizheng…
"Ppa!" A crisp clap sound suddenly rang out, and the originally noisy hall quieted down. Everyone looked in its direction.
They found a smile on the north palace lord's face as he sat in the same place. He casually said, "Everyone knows that we caught a few cultivators from the boundary of the forbidden mountain a few days ago."
Qin Mo tightly clutched the jade cup and glanced coldly at the palace lord.
Feeling the curious eyes of everyone, the north palace lord's brow raised as he continued, "In fact, the middle demon region ordered this mission."
When everyone heard these words, the quiet hall became heated once more. To the demonic cultivators and inferior demons of the lower region, the middle region was a very special place. They yearned for and feared it at the same time.
"But when the north palace received the news late, we captured less righteous cultivators than others. Who allowed us, the north palace and one of the four imperial palaces, to be the weakest among them?" The palace master's expression darkened, his eyes containing a glimmer of light.
The atmosphere immediately grew heavy, and the once playful and rowdy demonic cultivators had ugly expressions on their faces.
After a while, a strong man sitting opposite Qin Mo spat fiercely and, with disgust on his face, said, "Those f.u.c.kers, we will surpa.s.s them one day."
When the man finished, people started echoing, "That's right, what good are they!" Seeing their indignation, the corner of the north palace lord's lips raised. The once gloomy complexion disappeared as if it never happened.
"Palace Lord, why don't we look at those people. We also want to see what this famous sect is like."
The palace lord was full of smiles, and he glanced from the corner of his eye at Lin Zizheng, seeing that he was still concentrating on the dishes for Qin Mo. Unconsciously, his expression stagnated, then he smiled once again and nodded.
The women in the center slowly retreated, and a group of people soon entered the hall. The ones leading the group were the three demons Qin Mo saw from the Hidden Moon Domain. Many people staggered behind them, including Ling Yun and Wu Suo.
Qin Mo's eyes slowly swept over Ling Yun and Wu Suo, relieved to see that they had not suffered any major injuries.
Acutely aware of Qin Mo's gaze, Ling Yun and Wu Suo turned their heads to him. Although Wu Suo felt that Qin Mo was somewhat different than the rest, he didn't realize it was him. Since he was in the demon's boundary and his safety was unknown, he didn't think much about. However, Ling Yun's eyes flashed, recognizing Qin Mo instantly.
Lin Zizheng was focused on Qin Mo and noticed right away the communication between Qin Mo and Ling Yun through their eyes. The darkness in his pupils deepened a bit as the cup in his hand instantly crumbled into flying ashes. He looked at Ling Yun casually with unclear eyes.
"We are people from the boundary of the forbidden mountain. What are you going to do to us?" A shrill cry rang out in the hall. The sound came from a cultivator who wore yellow clothes, pretending to be calm but he stared nervously at the north palace lord before him.
Since they captured him, he'd been in a panic. When he saw so many cultivators in Soul Solitude and Core Formation stages, he had a bit of conviction in his heart. Their cultivation wasn't high, and this wasn't an upper boundary plane either. As a lower boundary, using the boundary of the forbidden mountain still had a great deterrent force.
"Boundary of the forbidden mountain?" The palace master chewed on these words carefully. A smile suddenly appeared on his face. With a flick of his fingertip, a black ball flew out and directly shot at the man's face.
When it hit him, the man's cheeks swelled up in an instant and several b.l.o.o.d.y teeth came out of his mouth. He tightly covered his mouth and revealed a fearful expression. After stealing a glance at the palace lord, he shrank bank and stopped talking.
The surrounding crowd seemed to have heard a hilarious joke and laughed. A strange-looking demon stood up and circled the group. He sighed, chirping, "Is this really the righteous and famous sect? They have worse strength than Laozi. I really want to eat them."
"Can't eat them. These are middle demon region's people." As soon as the voice fell, the person next to him retorted.
"You think Laozi is stupid? Laozi just wants to scare and frighten them." The man sneered and gave a kick towards them.
n.o.body noticed that Lin Zizheng's fingertip had moved, and the kick that was supposed to hit the man in yellow landed on Ling Yun standing next to him instead. They had sealed Ling Yun's spiritual powers upon capture, so when he was kicked hard, he instantly fell to the ground.
"Haha, interesting." The demonic cultivators laughed again. Pleased with himself, the perpetrator raised his foot to kick again.
Just then, a pleasing laugh came from outside the hall, and a girl wearing black slowly walked in. With a smile on her delicate face, she didn't look ancient and ugly, especially with that enticing figure. The moment she appeared, she attracted the attention of everyone in the room.
She went straight to the palace lord's side and placed her arms around him while smiling, "Daddy, why is it so lively in here?"
When he saw the girl, the smile on the north palace lord's face became more genuine. He patted the girl's head and gently answered, "Qing Hua, you came." Then he pointed at Ling Yun and the others in the middle of the hall, "Everyone's taking a look at the righteous cultivators that we caught a few days ago."
The girl named Qing Hua turned her head and saw Lin Zizheng, who was sitting next to the palace lord. A hint of surprise appeared on her face. Listening to her father, she gave them a glance and noticed their messy clothes, full of dirt. She frowned in disgust, "What's so interesting about a group of smelly men? Take them below."
The palace lord had always favored Qing Hua, so very few people could refute her words. It wasn't long before those people were taken away from here.
Seeing those people disappear before her eyes, Qing Hua smirked. She went straight to Lin Zizheng and cheerfully shouted, "Zizheng Gege."
Upon hearing this t.i.tle, Qin Mo's movements went stiff. The jade cup in his hand trembled, and he choked slightly. He slowly swallowed the spirit wine in his mouth and restored his usual cold demeanor. He only swept his eyes briefly on Lin Zizheng and Qing Hua.
Lin Zizheng's eyebrows wrinkled. Ignoring Qing Hua beside him, he told Qin Mo in a soft tone, "Da s.h.i.+xiong, be more careful."
Clear dissatisfaction showed on her face when she was blatantly ignored by Lin Zizheng. She scrutinized Qin Mo up and down, and her uneasiness grew worse. What gave this person the right to be treated so gently by Lin Zizheng? With a hint of anger, she asked, "Zizheng Gege, is this your Da s.h.i.+xiong?"
Lin Zizheng continued to ignore her, and Qin Mo paid even less attention to her. In his mind, she had been marked as "Lin Zizheng's woman."
Qing Hua's face blackened. She bit her lower lip, and a glimmer of tears appeared in her eyes, displaying a "please pity me" feeling.
As they watched this scene, many people felt a sense of intolerance and their eyes stared at Lin Zizheng fiercely. This kid didn't know what was good or bad for him. The little princess of the north palace was trying to be kind, but he kept dismissing her.
The north palace lord, who had always been protective, remained unchanged. He still had a smile on his face as if he weren't angry at all. It was because he had his own plans in mind. Qing Hua liked Lin Zizheng, and he would be happy if the relations.h.i.+p succeeded, not only for the happiness of his daughter but also for the power behind Lin Zizheng.
As the princess of the north palace, Qing Hua was not a simple person. She breathed out lightly, and a smile once again hung on her face. Even her dissatisfaction with Qin Mo disappeared.
"Zizheng Gege, why haven't I seen you these past few days?" Despite them ignoring her, she went on talking. But the more she spoke, the more her face stiffened. She was a gorgeous beauty standing before him, but from beginning to end, Lin Zizheng didn't look at her all. Instead, his entire attention was focused on that ice-cold Da s.h.i.+xiong.
She gritted her teeth secretly. What kind of care did this big man need? Even if he looked good, what use was there? His strength was only at Soul Solitude.
With a change in her eyes, she picked up a jade cup on the table and poured a gla.s.s of wine. Her slender fingers lined up against the jade cup, and it emitted an unspeakable aesthetic feeling. Unfortunately, Lin Zizheng didn't notice her movements.
Her fingertips rubbed on the mouth of the cup before she smiled and handed it to Lin Zizheng. She said softly, "Zizheng Gege, drink a gla.s.s of wine."
Lin Zizheng's eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced at the north palace lord beside him. Then he took the cup in her hand with displeasure.
Seeing that Lin Zizheng took the jade cup, she was delighted and poured out another gla.s.s of wine for Qin Mo. She laughed, "Da s.h.i.+xiong, I'll also give you a toast."
Lin Zizheng snorted, and a cold light glimmered in his eye, "What gave you the right to call him that?"
Qing Hue's expression froze, her hands awkwardly raised in mid-air with her face turning green then white.
Qin Mo sighed lowly and took the jade cup in her hand, only to place it aside without meaning to drink it. Lin Zizheng naturally wouldn't drink this gla.s.s of wine and placed the cup on the table, ignoring her once more.
Seeing them like this, she lowered her head, and everyone thought Lin Zizheng's att.i.tude had saddened her. But they didn't know that her mouth had been slightly raised.
After staying here for a long time, Qin Mo grew impatient. He coldly said to Lin Zizheng, "Let's go back."
Lin Zizheng naturally wouldn't object to Qin Mo's words. He nodded to the palace lord and left with Qin Mo.
As she watched Lin Zizheng's back, Qing Hua looked a bit anxious. Then she thought about the medicine she'd wiped on the cup would take a while to play its role and slowly felt rea.s.sured. Now, she would go back and change her clothes, then visit Lin Zizheng's room to find him. Thinking of this, the smile on her face became more and more brilliant.