Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Always the Last to Know_1
Mu Huanqing's sudden embrace wiped away all the pettiness and anger in Fang Ren's heart, replacing it with warmth.
He gently stroked Mu Huanqing's hair and softly said, "It's okay, silly Qing'er, we won't be separated."
He was now a cultivator as well, but his ability wasn't strong enough to go to any battlefield. Moreover, he still didn't know the strength of his own talent.
If Mu Huanqing regained her strength too soon and his talent proved to be very weak, then it would be difficult for the two of them to see each other for many years to come.
"Even if there is a pill that could restore my cultivation ability, I don't want to take it anymore..." Mu Huanqing felt a tender spot in her heart prodded, and her eyes began to redden.
If she really restored her cultivation ability, then given her cultivational talent, Fang Ren would certainly not be the final choice for a spouse.
Because even if Fang Ren started cultivating now and even if he had high talent, he would still be unable to catch up with those geniuses from big families. They were already more than twenty years ahead of Fang Ren, and some even thirty years ahead.
Such a huge gap was simply not something he could bridge.
Moreover, her talent was too high. The gap between them would only grow larger and larger. As of today, on the entire Earth, only Princess Bai Xi from the Bai Family could hope to surpass her, and even that was just a possibility, not a certainty...
"Why are you suddenly saying this?" Fang Ren hugged her tighter. "Didn't you say last time that if you recovered your ability, you definitely wanted to go to the battlefield to protect humanity?"
"I'm afraid we won't be able to be together..." Mu Huanqing said.
When facing the choice between love and societal responsibility, her heart truly reached an extreme dilemma. To choose love meant she had to harden her heart and not think of her comrades dying on the battlefield; to protect her comrades meant leaving the person she loved the most.
Fortunately, there wasn't a way for her to regain her strength in the present world, so she didn't have to agonize over making a choice. She could justifiably spend every day in happiness with the boy she loved.
Only like this did she not feel the sin of abandoning her comrades.
"What if I cultivated and could join Qing'er on the battlefield?" Fang Ren said with a smile.
Mu Huanqing's brows furrowed slightly, and she seriously said, "No!"
"Why not?"
"Because I won't cultivate."
Seeing her attitude so firm all of a sudden, Fang Ren's heart was filled with warmth. He smiled happily, leaned close to whisper in Mu Huanqing's ear, and his hands started to sneak under her clothes, ready to tease her.
Buzz—
However, just at that moment, a rush of air suddenly moved within the living room, and Lin Bozhong walked towards the steaming kitchen with a serious and stern face.
As he walked, he called out, "Young Master, there's a message from Tianjiang saying..."
Before he could take two steps, upon seeing the scene inside the kitchen, Lin Bozhong's solemn expression instantly petrified on his face.
What... What is this situation!
Are young people these days so open-minded!
Flirting in the kitchen while cooking?
Fang Ren, who was about to tease Mu Huanqing in the kitchen, was even more stunned. Why had this old man barged in without knocking?
He retracted his hands in a panic, while Mu Huanqing was so flustered she covered her face and crouched in front of the small rice cooker, staying silent.
Smack—
Lin Bozhong snapped back to his senses and immediately slapped his forehead, quickly turning to walk out of the room with a confused expression on his face.
It was unthinkable that Madame Xuan, revered by all humanity, could exhibit such a demure appearance in front of their Young Master, and even...
Ah, these young people...
Lin Bozhong hurried into the living room, sat on a couch with his back to the kitchen, and rubbed his temples continuously, his old face somewhat at a loss.
"Couldn't you knock?"
Fang Ren walked out of the kitchen, speaking with visible annoyance.
"Well, Young Master, I really didn't expect to encounter this," Lin Bozhong said with an innocent face. Even though it was late at night, who knew something like this would happen in the kitchen...
"Could you knock next time you come in?"
"Yes, yes, of course."
"What's the matter that you're so rushed about?" Fang Ren sat down on a sofa nearby, his mood still visibly irritated. No one would be in good spirits after such an interruption, no matter who it was.
"Young Master, here's the situation. Tianjiang has just sent a message that those people from the right faction of the Fang Family are preparing to take action a second time. You should be extra careful these coming days," Lin Bozhong said.
"After all, it's hard to guard against enemies lurking in the shadows."
Fang Ren, upon hearing this message, immediately gestured for him to keep his voice down, so as not to worry Mu Huanqing with his family background.
After all, he had only told Mu Huanqing that an old man had saved him, but he hadn't mentioned his family background, and he had depicted those two assassins from the Fang Family's right faction as "terrorists."
Seeing his gesture, Lin Bozhong was slightly puzzled and frowned, "Young Master, have you not been honest about your background with Miss Mu?"
"Of course not. Qing'er wants a normal life; how could I possibly bring up such matters?" Fang Ren said in a low voice, looking back toward the kitchen.
"Well… okay then."
Fang Ren continued to ask, "About what level are those people coming?"
"Based on the current situation in the Battlefield of Seventh District, where the Void Monsters frequently appear, the right faction of the Fang Family simply has no spare experts to send over. The best they can dispatch is someone at the early stage of the Xianyun Realm," Lin Bozhong said.
After hearing this, Fang Ren couldn't help but clench his teeth.
He had learned about the various Realms of Cultivators, starting from the lowest Concentration Realm to the Intense Concentration Realm. These were the levels typically attained by high school students.
Above that was the Yuanxin Realm, where the majority are ordinary college students, and even higher is the Ruoshui Realm, occupied mostly by nobles with exceptional talent from prestigious universities.
Above the Ruoshui Realm is the Chongshan Realm, and only above the Chongshan is the Xianyun Realm that Lin Bozhong mentioned, which was the Realm of the enemy who came to assassinate him.
For many Practitioners, the Chongshan Realm is extremely difficult to surpass. There are hundreds of millions of Cultivators on Earth who can't break through it in their lifetimes, and those who can enter the Xianyun Realm can make it into the special forces in the central battle zones.
However, as Lin Bozhong said, those of the Xianyun Realm are not even the top experts of the Fang Family's right faction; they're just the ones currently available. Indeed, it's a large family from Tianjiang; the real masters of the family must be from the much more terrifying Blue Sky Realm!
As for that uncle who wants his life, he's probably at the Yingyue Realm that countless people look up to!
Such a person could cause great upheaval on their own.
These past two days, Fang Ren also attempted to cultivate, but he couldn't even break through the very initial stage of the lowest Concentration Realm. The gap between him and the experts of the Xianyun Realm is vast, spanning five major Realms!
It was true that the enemy could crush him with just a finger.
Seeing him worried, Lin Bozhong spoke up, "Young Master, you don't have to worry. Although I'm not the strongest among the left faction, I still possess the strength of the mid-Blue Sky Realm. As long as I am here, a bunch of people from the Xianyun Realm won't be able to harm you.
The main reason why I mentioned this is that I hope you can guard against the people around you. Since they don't dare to confront me directly, I'm afraid they will resort to more sinister methods."
"Okay, I'll be more careful," Fang Ren said. "But I'm really worried—is that damn uncle of mine really in such a rush to kill me?"
"There's no helping it. The internal strife within the entire family is very intense right now. Whether you and Princess Bai Xi end up together or not will directly affect the final outcome of both parties' power, and besides, your marriage is drawing near," Lin Bozhong said.
"So, if I don't marry Bai Xi, does that mean your left faction has no chance of winning?" Fang Ren asked.
"Almost no chance," Lin Bozhong replied.
"Wasn't Uncle Han on very good terms with my father... I mean, with the Old Master of the Fang Family?"
"Very good. When Shang Han was young and reckless, he got into a lot of trouble, and it was always the Old Master who stood up to resolve them, saving Shang Han's life more than once," Lin Bozhong said.
"Then why does Uncle Han want me to be with Qing'er? Wouldn't that ruin the Old Master's advantage?" Fang Ren asked.
"Exactly, he wants to ruin your marriage with Bai Xi. It's not that he wishes to repay kindness with ingratitude towards the Old Master, but because he cares for you. He fears that once you return to the Fang Family, you may never come out alive.
He would rather disrupt the Old Master's position than let you risk your life," Lin Bozhong explained.
"..."
Fang Ren clenched his teeth; the trouble that had descended from the heavens involved far more than he had expected.
Suddenly, Mu Hui, who had been in the kitchen, came out with a solemn expression and looked at Lin Bozhong: "My father is doing the right thing. Ah Ran shouldn't have to deal with those matters."
Seeing her come out abruptly, Fang Ren was taken aback.
Their conversation had been so quiet, and with the sound of fish bubbling in the pot, it was noisy in the kitchen. Supposedly, she could not have heard their discussion; yet what she had just said made it clear that she had indeed caught every word of their conversation.
As soon as Mu Hui came out, Lin Bozhong immediately stood up from the couch, bowed, and greeted, "I, Lin Bozhong, pay my respects to Miss Mu."
"No need for such formality," she retorted.
Mu Hui then went over to Fang Ren's side, looked at him with some displeasure, and said, "Why did you lie to me about what happened that day?"
Fang Ren also stood up, speaking with some distress, "I didn't want you to worry. We both want to live a normal life, and with such a huge disaster suddenly upon us, of course, I didn't want you to know about it."
"Then..."
Mu Hui suddenly felt unwilling to blame him, but she still continued, "You should have told me though. We're about to be married; what can't we face together?"
Fang Ren shook his head helplessly, "Alright, my fault."
"Actually, I've known for a long time that you are the Master of the Fang Family," Mu Hui confessed.
"Uncle Han told you?"
"Yes."
"Why is that old man the only one who didn't tell me?" Fang Ren said, feeling helpless.
"He was just worried that the Young Master would be restless, so he didn't say," Lin Bozhong added, glancing at Mu Hui before continuing, "There are also some matters that he seems not to have mentioned."
"What else?" Fang Ren frowned.
"This..."
Mu Hui immediately gave Lin Bozhong a look, cutting off what he was about to say.
Revealing her identity would make Fang Ren worry too much. Even today, without knowing her status, he was already guessing many things. If he knew her identity, he would surely be even more anxious.
Seeing that Mu Hui didn't want to reveal her identity, Lin Bozhong then said, "These matters will naturally become clear to the Young Master and Miss Mu as you spend time together."
"How is that any different from not saying anything?" Fang Ren scratched his head in frustration.
After all this, it turned out that he was the last to know everything.