Mea Empress was flabbergasted. Before she had the time to react, she felt as though her chest was freezing. That layer of thick gauze was already torn away by Long Yi, leaving only a piece of transparent green underwear.
Long Yi’s body trembled and his eyes widened. Instead of an eager expression on his face, Long Yi had a face full of surprise.
Mea Empress eventually came back to her senses and she noticed Long Yi’s shocked expression. She could see that he had a sad expression on his face when he looked at her. Picking up the pink gown, she quietly wrapped it over herself.
“How did this happen?” Long Yi suppressed his shock and asked in a low voice. He was simply unable to imagine Mea Empress, this kind of highest grade fine-jade like woman would have such an ugly appearance underneath. Her skin was a mixture of green and blank, which made her look extremely sick.
Mea Empress’ mouth slightly twitched and she sighed softly, “I knew that this would happen one day. I never had the bloodline of the silver fox running through my veins, however, I still forcibly cultivated the Vanishing Magic and the Thousand Extreme Illusions. This is my punishment.”
“Is there a way to cure it?” Long Yi asked.
Shaking her head, Mea Empress slowly explained, “It’s too late to save me now. Heaven was already kind enough to allow me to live for such a long time. At first, I thought that I wouldn’t be alive to see Bertha return to me. I had even prepared my will in case Bertha fails to return before I leave this world. To my surprise, I was able to see both you and Bertha before my I die. I am already perfectly content.”
Grabbing Mea Empress’ little hand, Long Yi injected his spirit power and internal energy into her. During his examination, he discovered that the meridians in her entire body and five of the major organs in her body had begun to fail. Upon further examination, he found out that they were actually withering. It was already beyond any human’s capability to save her.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to feel sad for me. Your agreement to help our Fox Clan reach a high position among the beast-men clans is enough for me to pass away without any regrets.” Mea Empress shook off Long Yi’s hand and she said with a thin smile on her face. She was completely indifferent when she spoke about dying. It was as though she had already seen through life and death.
Sitting on the sofa, Long Yi didn’t say anything. He rubbed his chin and he appeared as though he was deep in thought.
……………….
As the night deepened, Long Yi lied on a bed of grass surrounded by Wushuang, Nalan Ruyue, Long Ling’er, and Ximen Wuhen. They were enjoying themselves in a remote place in the Mea Holy Magic Academy and there was no one around to bother them.
“My husband, wasn’t our plan to leave today? Why have you decided to stay?” Nalan Ruyue asked while massaging Long Yi’s leg.
“Of course it is for big sister Shui Ruoyan. Am I right, you bad fellow?” Long Ling’er said with a knowing smirk on her face.
“You’re getting smarter. Didn’t you say that that girl is acting mysteriously? If I don’t know what Ruoyan is up to, I won’t be able to leave with a peaceful mind.” Long Yi grinned as he confirmed her words.
“Oh, and here I am thinking about why second brother didn’t look for her in the daytime. So you were indeed trying to find out what big sister Shui Ruoyan is up to. Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be following her?” Ximen Wuhen asked curiously.
“Why would I track her myself? Such labor intensive work should be left to the subordinates. Naturally, someone will help me to track her. All of you don’t have to worry.” Long Yi smiled and he quickly explained to the girls.
“Bad fellow, aren’t you worried about big sister Shui Ruoyan?” Long Ling’er frowned.
“Of course I am worried about her. However, the thing I am worried about isn’t her having a lover’s rendezvous behind my back. I’m more worried for her safety.” Long Yi looked up into the starry skies and he felt as though there was something wrong. He was suspicious that everything wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
All of a sudden, magnificent fireworks lit up the sky. It formed a beautiful pattern in the sky. For everyone else, this might be ordinary magic fireworks. However, it had a completely different meaning for Long Yi.
“I will go and take a look. You should all stay here and continue with whatever you were doing.” Long Yi turned around and rushed in a hurry the moment he saw the fireworks.
Although the four women were unwilling to see Long Yi go, they knew that it was useless for them to persuade Long Yi to stay. Looking at the serious expression on his face, they knew that it was impossible to change his mind.
Long Yi instantly disappeared into the night as he left behind a few afterimages. After few seconds, he quietly appeared outside the grove in the eastern suburbs of Mea Principality.
There was a layer of strong barrier outside this place. Although it was hidden, Long Yi could sense a trace of dark aura surrounding this place.
“Why is there so much dark aura here? Are the people of the Dark Church here as well? This is strange. Why would Shui Ruoyan come into contact with people from the Dark Church?” Long Yi frowned as he muttered to himself.
He couldn’t break this barrier as it would notify the caster of his presence. Although he wasn’t afraid of the people who casted the barrier, he didn’t have any intentions to let them know about his arrival. He only wanted to find out what Shui Ruoyan was up to, and who she was meeting with.
Long Yi used his internal energy of AoTainJue to wrap his entire body up. He used his spirit power to make a fine net in order to contain his aura. Taking two steps forwards, Long Yi touched the barrier. Seeing as there was no fluctuation, Long Yi sighed in relief.
Before long, Long Yi passed through the barrier and entered the grove. The barrier instantly restored itself to its original state.
Inside the woods, there was no other mechanism to detect his presence. Long Yi was like a fish in water as he advanced towards the center of the grove. Using the cover from the darkness, Long Yi quickly arrived at his destination.
“Mother, I have already cultivated the first stage of the Ninth Heaven Dark Magic.” Long Yi was able to hear Shui Ruoyan’s voice in the darkness.
Long Yi was surprised. Ninth Heaven Dark Magic was the magic belonging to the Dark Church. Only the direct descendants of the Dark Pope could learn this magic. Long Yi only knew about this magic because of Feng Ling. He concealed his aura and fully integrated into the darkness. He saw two graceful figures at the center of this grove. One of them was Shui Ruoyan and the other was a blue-eyed beautiful lady. This beautiful lady was looking at Shui Ruoyan with love in her eyes, but Long Yi could feel a kind of bone-chilling coldness coming from her.
Mother? Long Yi was surprised. He knew a little about Shui Ruoyan’s background, but he never imagined that her mother was such a dangerous woman. From the Ninth Heaven Dark Magic she was teaching Shui Ruoyan, he was sure that she was from the Dark Church. Of course, she definitely had a high status in the Dark Church in order to get her hands on the Ninth Heaven Dark Magic. Suddenly, a thought appeared in Long Yi’s heart. Feng Ling also had blue eyes and she vaguely resembled this beautiful lady. Could it be that this beautiful lady was also Feng Ling’s mother? However, Shui Ruoyan was addressing this beautiful lady as her mother. Could it be that Feng Ling and Shui Ruoyan were sisters? Long Yi thought of this possibility and an indescribable feeling appeared in his heart. He began to understand the reason behind Shui Linglong’s behavior. Thinking about how Shui Linglong tried to separate her son from this beautiful woman, he started drawing some conclusions.
“Very good, Ruoyan, your progress is even faster than your father’s.” The beautiful lady caressed Shui Ruoyan’s beautiful face.
“Mother, when can I see my father?” Shui Ruoyan asked. Ever since the time she grew up in Shui Linglong’s care, she was deprived of affectionate love. As a result Shui Ruoyan didn’t distance herself from her mother when she first appeared before her. This was her greatest desire from her childhood.
The beautiful lady sighed softly and said, “In these last few years, your grandmother never forgave your father and me. Your father is always thinking about your grandmother, but he had sworn that he wouldn’t see her unless she forgives us.”
“Why would mother appear before me now?” Shui Ruoyan became silent for a while before asking.
“The oath included me too, but mother was no longer able to bear the pain of separation with you. I wanted to see my flesh and blood no matter what, so even if the oath came through and I die, I wouldn’t regret anything.” The beautiful lady said and she couldn’t help but break down.
“Mother!” When Shui Ruoyan heard about her mother’s sacrifice, she affectionately hugged her.
————
The mother and daughter hugged each other. The beautiful lady gently patted Shui Ruyan’s back and her sad expression slowly turned into a complicated one. Shui Ruoyan wasn’t able to see this change, but Long Yi saw everything clearly.
What does this woman want to do? Long Yi’s eyes sharpened when he thought of various possibilities.
“Ruoyan, your mother has to return now. You must work hard in your cultivation. Also, you can’t forget our agreement. You must not tell anyone about this, not a single soul. Do you understand?” After a good while, the beautiful lady retracted her complicated gaze. She whispered into Shui Ruoyan’s ear as she got ready to leave.
“I understand. However, can’t you stay for a few more days?” The tone of Shui Ruoyan showed her dependence and reluctance to see her mother leave.
“Mother wants to stay as well, but I can’t delay any longer. Mother must return to the church today.” The beautiful lady sighed softly and pushed Shui Ruoyan away.
Holding onto Shui Ruoyan’s face, she stared into Shui Ruoyan’s eyes.
Shui Ruoyan nodded her head and remained silent. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she knew that her mother was going to leave her again.
“Obedient child, don’t be sad. As long as you follow mother’s teachings closely, our family would be able to reunite soon. You’ll be able to see your father and younger sister soon.” The beautiful lady wiped off Shui Ruoyan’s tears and she quietly consoled her.
“Young sister? How is my younger sister now?” Shui Ruoyan asked. She was very happy in her heart. She was happy as she found out that she had a younger sister. She was unexpectedly a big sister! This gave her a pleasant surprise.
“She is doing very well. She makes so much noise about meeting her big sister, and she would be very excited to meet you. You must not disappoint mother, do you understand?” The beautiful lady said.
Nodding her head, Shui Ruoyan strengthened her resolve to get stronger.
“Okay, it is already late. Mother should leave now. Take good care of yourself.” The beautiful lady hugged Shui Ruoyan again as she patted her back. As she released her grip on Shui Ruoyan, she took a deep breath and stared hard at Shui Ruoyan. With a single wave of her little hand, the barrier she erected disappeared into the darkness together with her.
“Mother……” Shui Ruoyan cried and took two steps forward with tearful eyes.
Long Yi turned around and disappeared from his location. He followed her dark aura and chased after the beautiful woman.
After chasing the dark aura for ten minutes, he could see that the figure in the distance.
“Beauty, why are you running away so urgently? How about you stop and accompany this young master for a drink?” Long Yi emitted his powerful spirit power to suppress the surrounding area. Lightning magic element spirits formed a silverish purple barrier around the beautiful lady and Long Yi stared straight at her.
