The Attack of the Wastrel

“Not bad, the taste is very different from the Silver-maned Beast that I ate the last time. Every beast has a different taste. The Eight Treasure Jade certainly lives up to its name,” Rong Yuan praised sincerely. However, he was feeling slightly restless.

This feeling had been following him around but it suddenly became stronger.

It was like something important had happened and he did not know about it. This kind of feeling made him extremely uncomfortable.

“Yuan Zheng.” Attempting to understand why he was feeling uneasy, Rong Yuan called for Yuan Zheng who had always been following him around these few days and asked softly, “Is there any news from Lingzhi?”

“No,” Yuan Zheng replied in a similarly low voice, “There has been no news from the Princess Consort. I think everything is normal, so she hasn’t reported back yet.”

“If this is the case…” Rong Yuan frowned. He glanced at Ding Rou who was looking at him curiously and smiled, “I remembered that I have something on today and will not be able to accompany you.”

The uneasiness he was feeling was enough to convince him to head back. Even if there was not any unusual news, he would only feel settled when he saw Gu Lingzhi.

“What do you have that you must go now?” Ding Rou raised her eyebrows unhappily, “This Eight Treasure Jade was so difficult to get, you should finish it first before leaving. I won’t be able to finish it by myself and it will be a waste.”

She then grabbed a piece of Shadow Leopard meat and placed it into Rong Yuan’s bowl, smiling at him beautifully.

Looking at the palm-size meat in his bowl, Rong Yuan turned to Yuan Zheng and said, “Pack it up and bring it back so that the Princess’ intentions are not wasted.”

Ding Rou’s face hardened, she had yet to open her mouth but Rong Yuan had already left Fuyue Restaurant. Yuan Zheng then worked extremely fast and packed the Shadow Leopard meat up in the shortest time possible. Bidding farewell, he then rushed to catch up with Rong Yuan.

When they left, Ding Rou’s hardened face slowly became menacing, “Good that you left early, so that you can see her corpse earlier and give up on her!”

Rong Yuan rushed back uneasily to the dorm that he shared with Gu Lingzhi. After looking around the whole house, he failed to find any traces of Gu Lingzhi. At this time, Yuan Zheng had also caught up, his hand holding the bag with the meat. He looked at Rong Yuan seriously and said, “Your Highness, the Secret Guards protecting the Princess Consort have all… disappeared.”

“Disappeared? What do you mean?” Rong Yuan whipped his head around and stared at Yuan Zheng severely.

Yuan Zheng could not help but tremble under Rong Yuan’s gaze but forced himself to say, “I can’t contact them.”

Rong Yuan had sent about ten Secret Guards to look after Gu Lingzhi. Did he mean that he was not able to contact a single one of them? Along with the restlessness he was feeling, Rong Yuan did not dare to think what might have happened to Gu Lingzhi.

“Order everyone else that came to the North Qiu Kingdom to start looking for Lingzhi. Before the sky turns dark, I must know where she is!”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Yuan Zheng replied before turning around and was about to do exactly as Rong Yuan instructed, before he caught sight of Tianfeng Jin’s open door on the opposite side. Tianfeng Jin then appeared.

“Su Nian invited Lingzhi to go eat at a nearby village outside the city. They left in the morning. Have they not returned?”

Rong Yuan and Yuan Zheng immediately halted. Gu Lingzhi has been gone for so long? Rong Yuan immediately dashed in front of Tianfeng Jin and looked at her darkly, “You said she went out with Su Nian? Where did they go?”

“I am not sure,” Tianfeng Jin started to sense something was wrong from Rong Yuan’s attitude, “I only know they headed to a manor house outside the city. What happened? Is Lingzhi in danger?”

“…we have lost contact with the people that were in charge of guarding her.” Rong Yuan was troubled.

There was nothing to hide from Tianfeng Jin as Rong Yuan explained his situation and handed a Jade Pendant over to her, “If you have any news on Lingzhi, just activate this pendant with spiritual energy.”

Rong Yuan then turned to leave. Tianfeng Jin immediately rushed to him, “I want to go!”

How could she not do anything knowing that Lingzhi was in danger?

“Okay.” In the North Qiu Kingdom, every person counted.

“There’s me too!” Yan Liang’s voice sounded from the side. His expression was as serious as Rong Yuan’s. Nie Sang was also by his side, “I will go too.”

Rong Yuan nodded, “Okay, let us all go.”

The group of them hurriedly made their way to the entrance of the First School. The minute they entered the school compounds, they were met with Ding Rou. Seeing the anxious looks on their faces, she stopped them, “Rong Yuan, what has happened? Do you need my help?”

“No.” The one who rejected her was Tianfeng Jin who usually kept quiet. She did not forget that this woman in front of her was harbouring different intentions.

“I asked Rong Yuan, who are you to answer?” Ding Rou frowned and claimed unhappily.

“Xiao Jin said exactly what I was thinking. You have yet to recover and should head back early to rest. I will be back soon.”

Rong Yuan then could not be bothered with Ding Rou and hopped onto the wildebeest that Yuan Zheng had prepared. He then called out to Nie Sang, “Come on, you can ride with me.”

“Alright,” Nie Sang said half-jokingly, half serious. With nimble hands and feet, he climbed on behind Rong Yuan and sat on the back of the saddle.

Rong Yuan then tugged the reins and the wildebeest shot off like an arrow, leaving behind a trail of dirt.

Yuan Zheng did the same and called for Yan Liang to share his. Looking apologetically at Tianfeng Jin, he said, “Lady Tianfeng, there will be someone coming later to give you a wildebeest. We shall head off first.”

Just as he finished speaking, the wildebeest let out a neigh and galloped off, leaving behind an indignant Ding Rou and a blurry eyed Tianfeng Jin.

“Tsk, a wastrel with useless friends. Look at Rong Yuan, he doesn’t even want to bring you along,” Ding Rou called out lightly as she turned and entered the First School. Seeing how frenzied Rong Yuan was, she had to pretend to be concerned and ask what was happening. She had to make sure that she was the first one to comfort and console Rong Yuan when the news of Gu Lingzhi’s death reached him. This was the only way that she can leave a deeper impression onto Rong Yuan.

As to whether Gu Lingzhi would come back alive?

Knowing how strong they were, she did not think that they would fail. Moreover, she still had Su Nian…

“Who are you calling a wastrel? It has only been two and a half years since Lingzhi realised her Spiritual Roots and she is already a Peak Level Martial Practitioner. If someone like her, with such a quick ascension rate is a wastrel, then wouldn’t you, who is only a Martial Practitioner after five years, be worse than a wastrel?”

Ding Rou halted in her footsteps. She wanted to walk away but upon hearing this, she turned around angrily only to face Xin Yi. She then turned up her mouth mockingly, “I didn’t know that Rong Yuan’s fiancée would be so well-liked. There is always someone speaking up for her wherever she goes. I have no idea what she bribes you with, since all of you are so willing to do anything for her.”

Ding Rou intentionally lowered her voice, causing people to easily guess what she meant by bribe. Tianfeng Jin could not hold herself back.

“Nonsense! Who do you think you are to talk about Lingzhi?”

“That’s right, unlike someone, Lingzhi isn’t the kind to forget other people’s kindness and steal their fiancé. Shameless.” After angering Ding Rou, Xin Yi then gestured to Tianfeng Jin to ask her to ride with him on the wildebeest.

When he heard that Gu Lingzhi had gone missing, he had searched for a wildebeest as fast as possible but never thought that he would witness this scene just before he left. When Tianfeng Jin was properly seated, he ignored the aggressive stance that Ding Rou’s guards were showing him and pulled on the reins. The wildebeest broke through the circle of guards and galloped towards the Yan Capital’s gates.

On Rong Yuan’s side, as he and Nie Sang reached the city gates, a common looking man went up to him, “Master, the Princess Consort went that way.”

The Secret Guard then pointed in a direction. Rong Yuan instructed him to keep on monitoring Gu Lingzhi’s movements and headed in the direction the guard pointed at. Behind him, Nie Sang closely observed his surroundings as they galloped. All of a sudden, he shouted, “Stop!”

Rong Yuan tightened the reins and the Wildebeest stopped, “Did you see something?”

Nie Sang nodded and hopped off the wildebeest’s back, “I have to investigate further before I am sure.”

Rong Yuan sat on the wildebeest’s back patiently and did not interrupt him.

Everyone in the Xia Kingdom knew that Rong Yuan looked highly upon Nie Sang’s talent and that was the reason why he invited him to the Royal School to study. However they did not know that, it was Nie Sang’s tracking skills and not his cultivation abilities that caught Rong Yuan’s attention.

Taking on the identity of a weak youth, he managed to lead the Third Prince and his men to the nest of a group of bandits that had been causing trouble for tens of years. He had done this with just a few clues. A talent like this was rare to come by.

It was only later on that Rong Yuan realised his cultivational talent and made the move to invite him to the Royal School to study.

In the past few years, Nie Sang never had the chance to utilise this talent of his. To think that when he used it again, it would be in a situation like this.

The sound of another pair of hooves grew nearer as Yuan Zheng and Yan Liang arrived. Seeing Rong Yuan on the wildebeest’s back and Nie Sang on the ground, Yuan Zheng immediately caught on. He stopped Yan Liang as he was about to ask, and explained Nie Sang’s special talent to him. They then waited on the wildebeest back and awaited Nie Sang’s results.

Since the secret guards following Gu Lingzhi was uncontactable, they could only count on Nie Sang to locate Gu Lingzhi as fast as possible.

Before long, Nie Sang suddenly gasped. He then reached out to touch the ground that he was examining. Looking at the direction the grass was leaning, he turned to Rong Yuan and said, “Your Highness, the Princess Consort headed east.”

Headed east? That was in the exact opposite direction of the Yan Capital. Rong Yuan did not have any doubts about Nie Sang’s deduction and immediately rushed towards the direction he pointed at as soon as Nie Sang got on.