The Spirit World

Chapter 968 Shadow Falling (IV)
"It's rude to stare at someone. Especially! A girl!"

The blue fish spoke up for its master.

She kept staring at Ning Ji, and this guy's eyes never left his master!

Ning Ji was still in shock, and was scolded by Yu'er for not paying attention. He laughed with interest.

"Hey, your pet? It's pretty cute."

Ning Ji was no longer shocked and regained his composure. He then wanted to touch the fish, but the fish opened its mouth wide, revealing its rare "goldfish teeth". Chang Yinglan saw this and stopped him softly.

"Xiao Lan, don't be unreasonable."

Only Ning Ji could understand her words, but Xiao Lan's ferocious and then regretful calmness made everyone present know what had happened.

"But! Him!" Xiao Lan angrily returned to the veil, pressed close to Chang Yinglan's face, and looked at Ning Ji with resentment.

Ning Ji stood up with a wicked smile and put his hands into the pockets of his clothes. It was only the peasants in the empire who would do this. Because the pockets were inside the sleeves, when the weather was cold, the peasants without spiritual power could only put their hands in their pockets.

It is autumn and winter now, but Bailing Mountain is not cold at all. Ning Ji's action of pure interest has been criticized by the Emperor himself.

"You sound like you're in trouble...how can you still be so laid back?"

Chang Yinglan suddenly looked at Ning Ji who stood up. There was no doubt on her face, but rather a bit of teasing.

It seemed like they were meeting for the first time. They were both about eleven or twelve years old. Chang Yinglan was obviously more mature, while Ning Ji seemed a little off the mark.

But Chang Yinglan obviously knew that Ning Ji was not as superficial as he seemed. Unlike the other people she met, he was not as mysterious as could be seen by the naked eye. Instead, he was hiding a secret from another angle.

For example, it seems that the most capable person here is Ning Qing who is standing behind him, but Ning Qing has always been following behind Ning Ji and has no more say.

Furthermore, it only took him three seconds to save a dying person in front of her, which meant that he really had extraordinary skills, and they were by no means limited to medical care.

"No, I'm not in trouble, and my brother won't be in trouble either. It's you who are in big trouble."

Ning Ji glanced at the girl in blue, then looked at Chang Yinglan again.

He started to be serious and earnest, which made his mystery more prominent.

"One is a stranger of unknown race, and the other is a dying citizen of the Principality. They appeared in Bailing Mountain, the most confidential place in the empire. Three months after the end of the war, such a thing happened. I think everyone would find it strange. Moreover, the young master of Bailing Mountain and the director of Wutong Division had a direct conflict with them for two months. Ning Qing, cough cough, the director of Wutong Division almost lost the battle..."

Ning Ji glanced at Ning Qing, who couldn't stop coughing. The girl in blue supported him without knowing what was going on, thinking that he was feeling unwell and wanted to pat him on the back.

"How wonderful, how wonderful, how wonderful, how wonderful."

Ning Ji clapped his hands, as if he was discussing with Chang Yinglan alone, and kept staring at him. The confusion on his brows might just be because this sentence required too much help from the tone.

"Do you think the Emperor of our Empire believes in you? Or me? The Lord of Bailing Mountain, or an unknown person?"

Ning Ji would not think that Chang Yinglan was a "nobody" because she almost defeated Ning Qing, but Chang Yinglan had no emotions at all now, and he wanted to try to stimulate her.

It is common for a person with great abilities to be described as unknown and to get into angry quarrels. He wanted to see whether Chang Yinglan's character was worthy of her martial arts skills.

"The Sky-reaching Viper Prison is the most terrifying prison in the empire. It is guarded by the offspring of the World Pavilion Snake, the Yanyanzhiwu Snake. Its flames will burn the spiritual power of practitioners, causing all practitioners to lose their spiritual power in an instant. The spiritual power core explodes in the body and is burned by its divine fire."

As the Lord of Bai Ling, Ning Ji naturally could not exaggerate the Yan Yan Zhi Wu Snake to be so ferocious. However, when he said this, Chang Yinglan was actually a little scared, but her eyebrows flickered for a moment and then she calmed down again.

She grabbed the hem of her white silk dress and was seen by Ning Ji, who instantly became even more excited and shouted loudly.

"Just think about it... the spiritual power that I have cultivated for most of my life is destroyed, the spiritual power core explodes and I can no longer cultivate, and I even have to endure endless burning of my body. It's terrifying just to think about it. Even in the Sky-reaching Viper Prison, this is just the beginning of purgatory. The more terrifying things are still to come!"

Ning Ji's voice became calmer and calmer. His "intimidation" worked, so he was very happy and became more and more serious.

"Then... you are also going to be tortured by the Yanyanzhiwu snake, aren't you?"

Chang Yinglan's tone became much calmer, which was precisely the panic beneath her calm appearance. She was not that scared. After all, she had seen a lot of things along the way.

Ning Ji didn't say anything particularly bloody or disgusting, he just used "gentle intimidation" so that she didn't really feel guilty.

At worst, I can just run away now.

"Me? You have to understand clearly. First, I am the Lord of Bai Ling and the Patriarch of the Ning Family, one of the five major families. It is not my turn to go to the Sky-reaching Viper Prison."

"Ning Qing is the second in command of the Ning family and the director of the Wutong Division. No matter what, His Majesty cannot touch the two of us."

"But you guys..."

Ning Ji shook his sleeves.

"Now, we just need to file a secret report saying that you two are spies of the enemy country! You are a gang of thieves! You are the embodiment of terrible demons! Then this matter will be settled without exception! You go to the Sky-reaching Viper Prison, and we go to sleep soundly!"

Chang Yinglan listened carefully to what Ning Ji said. She thought that Ning Ji, the Lord of Bai Ling, told her these things because he was "arrogant after his evil intentions came true." The way he smiled evilly just now had an indescribable badness, which made her shocked and suspicious, and very uncomfortable.

But if he really wanted to do that, he would have done it long ago without informing her. It was actually very difficult to guess what Ning Ji wanted to do or what he was thinking.

What does he want?
"Why are you telling me this?"

Chang Yinglan smoothed the wrinkled hem of her skirt and tightly grasped the sword at her waist.

"hiss……"

Ning Ji paused and took a breath. He felt that he should have acted well and should not have ruined his performance. However, Chang Yinglan did not seem to care about his "tricks". When she asked him this, it seemed as if he was going to tell her everything.

"what do you want?"

Chang Yinglan gripped the sword tighter and tighter, Xiao Lan's eyes also became serious, the atmosphere suddenly became serious, they looked at each other with surprise and threat, they were no longer relaxed.

Ning Ji obviously didn't want the atmosphere to be serious. He put his hands in his sleeve pockets, stood in front of Ning Qing, with his back to him, and looked down at Chang Yinglan.

He looked down at Chang Yinglan with his chin facing her.

"We two brothers feel that you and her pose no threat, and we are not spies from the enemy country, or even bandits."

Ning Ji still explained the whole story.

"We can help you avoid being pursued by the enemy country, so that you won't die without a burial place."

Ning Qing said something at this time, and the woman in blue next to him looked at the three serious people blankly.

She was still confused. This duchy man was always on the verge of emergency because of the language barrier. She was about to be thrown into the Sky Adder Prison by the Empire. Just thinking about it was terrifying and she was at a loss.

"Why?" Chang Yinglan has always been concerned about Ning Ji's words.

After all, he was the only one who could understand her. She didn't know what Ning Qing said. She was asking Ning Ji why he could get rid of her suspicion. And Ning Qing answered her only through Ning Ji's words.

She was not a threat, an enemy, or a spy. But now, she needed to prove that she was not these terrible troublemakers.

"Because we are not fools." Ning Ji seemed to be answering Ning Qing, and also seemed to be answering Chang Yinglan.

"When we met you, the first thing you said was to save people. Saving a Principality is a very dangerous thing. No matter which imperial citizen you are, you know that you should not get close to a Principality or any suspect shortly after the war ban is lifted. This will drag you into a vortex, not to mention a Principality covered in blood."

Ning Ji looked at the girl in blue, then turned back.

"There is no need to save people from threats, no need to save people from bandits, and no need for spies to hold the "dying scourge" in their arms and ask for help."

"Moreover, the worthless duchy people."

The outfit of the girl in blue was dissolute enough in the eyes of both the imperial people and the people of the principality. The girl in blue here was wearing a gorgeous dress. In front of people who had never met her, she was just a person from the principality. However, in the eyes of people who met her for the first time, she was "lowly" enough and would not be the object of attention of "big shots" like Ning Ji and Ning Qing.

Not to mention, they don't speak the same language.

"This surprises me. Is it just because of this?" Chang Yinglan certainly knew that she was not the people Ning Ji said, but she had a mouth on her body and had to listen to the words through her ears.

What matters most now is how others see her.

This veil cannot stop other people's doubts and "slander".

Ning Ji just said that as long as he wanted, he could make Chang Yinglan suffer in the Tongtian Viper Prison at any time.

Not only will all the spiritual power be wasted, but the spiritual power core will also explode and be damaged, and all the efforts along the way will be in vain.

This was something she could not tolerate or accept.

Xiao Lan could also feel Chang Yinglan's fear. If she was just a little frightened by Ning Ji's intimidation just now, now she was really worried.

Ning Ji and Ning Qing obviously knew better what it meant to break into the Viper Prison, after all, they were imperial citizens.

Chang Yinglan wanted to escape, but she also wanted to know what this eccentric but confident young man was going to say next.

Could it be an unreasonable request?
This frightened her even more.

Although Ning Ji said that he would help her avoid this investigation or the even more horrific imprisonment, if Ning Ji said anything more outrageous or made any more outrageous demands, she must, immediately, pick up her sword and kill Ning Ji.

Then he ran away.

In the sky, another group of wild geese flew south.

This may be the last batch of wild geese passing by Bailing Mountain.

"Of course it's not just because of this, but also because you look like a pervert. That person and I probably, maybe, are old acquaintances. You look a lot like her, and you reminded me of her, so I decided to help you."

Ning Ji's irrelevant words made Chang Yinglan frown rarely.

Even just now, she felt that Ning Ji would make another unreasonable request, or even a worse situation.

However, Ning Ji's answer obviously surprised his brother.

But before she had time to think, Ning Ji's gaze met hers.

Ning Ji didn't know how, but he suddenly got close to her hat and veil.

Clearly, he looked her in the eyes with his black eyes.

When the obsidian eyes met the azure starry ones, she suddenly dodged. Ning Ji was confirming something, and she was stared at by his searching gaze, so she actually dodged a little. His eyes also moved, forcing her to turn away.

The fiery heat on her face and the coldness of Xiao Lan burned her, and she spoke very solemnly.

"Lord Bai Ling! Please respect yourself!"

Xiao Lan'er was so angry that she felt as if a treasure she had cherished for a long time was coveted by others. She could not hold it in any longer and rushed out of the veil again, trying to swing her tail on Ning Ji's face.

Ning Ji stared at Chang Yinglan and got too close to her. His breathing and heartbeat quickened in an instant. When Chang Yinglan turned her face away, he was hit on the forehead by Chang Yinglan's hat. He stood up in pain and happened to avoid Xiao Lan's tail swing.

Xiao Lan suddenly pushed herself into Ning Qing's clothes, and then fled back into Chang Yinglan's veil in shame. Ning Qing felt strange and couldn't react for a long time, and just stood there in a daze.

Ning Ji cried out, and a red mark appeared on the side of his forehead. Compared with the red mark on his forehead as Lord Bai Ling, it looked very strange, like a moon falling into the ground.

"Ah...Okay, that's what you said, but you don't have to hit me."

Ning Qing's ambiguous words actually made Chang Yinglan anxious.

"I do not!"

"Okay, okay, I know, I know."

Ning Ji waved his hand and rubbed his forehead.

"We are helping you because, firstly, we see that you are kind, and secondly, we see that you really should not be subject to that level of investigation, and thirdly, it is because of the reason I mentioned."

Ning Ji added deliberately: "Of course, the third reason is the main one, otherwise, I would not intervene in this matter. Just let Wutong Division investigate. If Your Majesty does not trust Zhengfa Division, you must also trust Wutong Division."

Ning Ji returned to his seat.

The white phoenix above his head flew up into the clouds, somewhat like a wild goose, and eventually returned home.

"Anyway, we will help you. Thanks to you, this guy, now should be the second time I saved her."

Ning Ji looked at the woman in blue and motioned for her to sit next to Chang Yinglan.

"To be honest, there is another reason. Do you want to hear it?"

It seemed as if Ning Ji's eyes really couldn't leave Chang Yinglan.

His eyes were on her from beginning to end.

Even Xiao Lan was so angry that his whole body was puffed up.

Chang Yinglan didn't say anything.

Because the three reasons Ning Ji mentioned were all sufficient, it was difficult to speculate further.

She never expected that she would remember Ning Ji's next words for the rest of her life.

He spoke in a language that only she could understand.

With a calm and composed manner, he spoke every word clearly, with a sense of importance and urgency.

"Because it was love at first sight, Chang Yinglan."

If you don't understand why Ning Ji is so out of tune, it's actually very sweet. If you understand it, it's even sweeter (for example, if you understand the setting of the Lord of Bai Ling...)
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(End of this chapter)