In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

Pan Ling patted her sister's hand, signaling her not to interrupt, "Now that you know what happened, there's no point in saying anything like that."

“I’m not afraid to tell you, I despise both the Papacy and the royal family equally, after all, you pushed my father to his death back then.”

"So I wholeheartedly support Master and you guys going all the way... As for Brother Luo Yu, after all that has happened, he is still devoted to the Holy See. Do you think I should pity him?"

Hearing her words, the three eavesdroppers nearby couldn't help but sigh.

"Okay, your little apprentice has really gone dark."

Xie Qingyan clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Some people should be careful, lest one day they are betrayed by a traitorous disciple and have nowhere to cry."

"I'd lend them both my courage."

Xu Shi didn't care about the woman's jokes at all, but he was quite pleased with his apprentice's growth.

"I think it's possible too."

Jiang Chengcheng, unusually, didn't speak in favor of Xu Shi. "Our apprentice really does resemble you now... He always brings quite a few surprises."

This is a heartfelt praise. Thinking back to when everyone was still in Night City, wasn't that the feeling Xu Shi gave her?

At first, she thought the other party was just a precarious playboy... but he kept surprising her and eventually became the uncrowned king of Night City.

“If she couldn’t even do these things, I would have kicked her out of the sect long ago.”

Hearing her say that, Mr. Xu became unusually proud.

Men's arrogance is like this: praising his silly apprentice is just praising him, isn't it?

Hurry up, if you can talk, say more!

“Miss Ling is right, then I won’t bother you any longer.”

Lu Baiyan had nothing to say; since things had come to this, he could only leave in a hurry.

"Take care, Knight Lu."

Pan Ling nodded slightly, but seemingly casually muttered, "However, I believe more that you are the former, rather than representing the Holy See."

"...Why do you think that?"

The man with squinty eyes stopped in his tracks and couldn't help but turn around and ask.

"Because I feel that you are actually quite different from other people in the Vatican."

Pan Ling said calmly, "You are probably the only one among the Templar Knights who truly wanted to be friends with my master. Being caught in the middle now is certainly not your intention."

"That's why you keep trying to get the two sides to make peace, because it's not good for you to fall to either side."

"...I'm glad Miss Ling understands this, I'm very grateful."

His furrowed brows relaxed, and hearing her say that, Lu Baiyan's mood improved slightly.

"You're welcome. I'm just stating the facts."

The silly apprentice waved his hand, "Although your idea is also naive, just based on this alone, you're already ahead of many others."

"Innocent?!"

The squinty-eyed man was dumbfounded, his eyes wide open in surprise.

No matter what, he was a Knight of the Templars, and much older than Pan Ling. It was simply unacceptable for a young girl to call him naive.

"Isn't it?"

Pan Ling laughed, "Now that things have come to this, do you think the Vatican would prefer to negotiate with my master, or do you think my master would let you go? No matter how beautiful the expectation, if it can't be realized, it's just a joke."

"..."

Lu Baiyan remained silent.

"Actually, I think you don't have to worry about this at all."

The foolish apprentice pressed his advantage, saying, "Your Lu family is a hereditary noble family appointed by the royal family. You yourself were a royal knight before, and you have only been a Templar Knight for three years now. This is not your own intention, but more of a pressure from your family."

"Such favorable conditions are hard to find even with a lantern; you, being in this position, should see them even more clearly."

She continued, "It's nothing new for royalty to like to gamble on both sides, but you've seen the current situation... Instead of doing thankless work for the Papacy, perhaps trying to make some changes is a better option?"

"You knew I did it?"

Squinting eyes understood her subtext; it was obvious that the other party knew that those reform suggestions from the Vatican were put forward by him—you know, putting forward suggestions is one thing, but when implementing them, they will only be done in the name of the Vatican as a whole, and will not be broken down to individuals.

"In short, I think your master is really good to you."

Pan Ling gave an irrelevant answer, "You want to be friends with him, but you also want to go against him, which shows that you are not sincere... But not only did Master not mind, he did not refuse your visit. Do you know, Knight Lu, other princes and ministers do not have this privilege."

Only after she said that did Lu Baiyan realize that it seemed to be true... You know, Xu Shi is now a favorite of the Empress, and in theory, his doorstep should be worn down by people coming and going.

However, his residence was unusually quiet. This was not only because others lacked political sensitivity and were indecisive, but also because Xu Shi had given prior instructions.

Looking at it this way, it would be heartless of Xu Shi to say that he didn't value him enough.

"Furthermore, if I remember correctly, the title of Knight Templar is also bestowed by the royal family... Is it difficult for you to return to where you belong?"

Although that's the logic, Lu Baiyan knew that no one would think that way. The Knights Templar and the Papacy had been bound together for eight hundred years, and the reason of "royal decree" was not convincing at all.

"...Those in positions of authority should fulfill their responsibilities; Miss Ling, please refrain from further discussion."

But he had no intention of explaining to Pan Ling, because he sensed that the topic was becoming increasingly dangerous. "I'll take my leave now, goodbye."

"Since that's what you think, why are you visiting your master in a personal capacity today?"

Pan Ling didn't stop him, but asked a meaningful question.

Ultimately, wanting to make friends might be one reason, but the real reason is that he's indecisive and still wants to continue maneuvering.

Lu Baiyan left without saying a word.

“Xiaoling…”

After squinting eyes had been gone for a while, Pan Feng cautiously spoke.

"What's wrong, sister?"

Pan Ling's expression changed instantly, and she smiled innocently and adorably.

"It's nothing, I just feel... you've become..."

"Ok?"

"I think you're amazing now!"

Pan Feng said very seriously, "It's completely different from when I was a child!"

When she said "when we were little," she was actually referring more to the time before they left Silver Pine Island—her younger sister was really different now. Her aura had completely changed. She used to be melancholy and taciturn, but now she was eloquent and articulate. She had truly transformed into someone even more admirable.

Anyway, she was lucky if she understood about 30% of what I said earlier, and her eyes are still swirling with confusion.

The transition was so smooth! Just an hour ago, the two of them were out eating, drinking, and having fun. The younger sister was innocent and childlike, and she was upset for a long time because she didn't hit any toys while playing ball.

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, who would believe that it was the same person throughout? As sisters who grew up together, Pan Feng felt this even more deeply.

Unfortunately, she doesn't like studying and has a low level of education, so she can only describe it as "amazing"... If the other person wasn't her own sister, she probably would have said "Holy crap".

"No, not really, right?"

Little Ling felt embarrassed and scratched her cheek shyly. "I just said a few words to him... It's not as serious as you think, sister."

"I just can't say that."

Pan Feng pinched her cheek and muttered, feigning dissatisfaction, "You want Versailles with your own sister too, right?"

"But my sister is better at fighting than me."

Pan Ling didn't cry out in pain when she was pinched, but instead smiled and said, "To be honest, if my sister hadn't been here, I wouldn't have dared to say these things to him... What if he did something bad to me?"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true."

"Sounds good, I'll take it."

Even if Pan Feng was oblivious, he knew that even without him, Lu Baiyan would never have attacked Pan Ling. He would be crazy to act so aggressively. Otherwise, his master would have skinned him alive.

But she couldn't help but like hearing those words, and they were her own sister, so what else could she say?

Pan Ling rubbed her face and didn't say anything more.

She was just a little disappointed that her master wasn't there; if he had seen her, he might have praised her.

Just then, Xu Shi's voice rang in her ear.

"Well done! Your teacher is very satisfied."

"master?!"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 279 Master, do you still like men?

2023-10-01

Pan Ling turned around abruptly, and Xu Shi, Jiang Chengcheng, and Xie Qingyan had already appeared behind her.

Although the silly apprentice in front of her still looked somewhat timid, Xu Shi, who had witnessed everything, felt that she had grown up a lot in an instant.

"Master, when...when did you get back?"

"In short, I know everything you did."

Xu Shi smiled and said, "You did very well too, your teacher is very satisfied."

"Oh...no, I think I still have a lot of areas to improve..."

Pan Ling was modest, but the joy in her voice was impossible to hide, and she even blushed a little because of shyness.

This is a reaction that even her sister wouldn't give when praising her—it's all because Xu Shi is so unfair. No matter how Pan Ling performed before, he never really expressed his approval. He mostly pointed out her shortcomings while still being positive. From this perspective, he is actually quite strict in teaching his apprentice.

That's why a simple expression of approval is so precious, not to mention that Pan Ling herself was thinking, "What would my master do?" Now that her dream has come true, it would be a lie to say she's not happy.

"What I'm more interested in is what you just said to Lu Baiyan... was it a spur-of-the-moment decision or something you planned in advance?"

Xu allowed her to remain proud for a little while longer, but also asked an additional question, "And what is your purpose in doing this?"

"Well... it's because you said you admired him and even wanted to recruit him, right?"