Chapter Ninety-Six: The Secret Is Revealed

After hearing Moben’s analysis, Meiya nodded as well. “Indeed, as far as I can remember, there does not seem to be a single Battle King in the empire surnamed Zuo... If he truly came from the continent beyond, then who knows what his purpose here may be. You should know that the three great empires, in truth, have very little contact with the people of the continent...”

Moben gave a soft murmur beside her and then fell silent. For a moment, the atmosphere seemed to freeze again.

“Forget it.” Meiya suddenly smiled, lowering her lashes as if to conceal the wavering gleam in her eyes. “There’s no need for us to make wild guesses here. Didn’t that elder say he would come pay a visit to our auction house? I suppose those questions will be answered then...”

“Ah, I had originally hoped to meet him in private, but since Miss says so, then so be it.” Moben let out a faint sigh, his tone faintly wistful.

Hearing this, Su Yi was at a loss for words. Just what level of cultivation would one need to casually speak of meeting a Battle King in private?

If it were him, even meeting Lie Chen or Aoben Shan alone would leave him somewhat tense and uneasy. After all, without strength as a foundation, not to mention standing before a Battle King of that caliber.

It seemed that in the end, it still came down to one’s own strength. If he were an Earth-tier cultivator, what would the Lie family or the Aoben family amount to?

Even when facing a Battle King, he would not feel that same oppressive sense of restraint. Su Yi believed this could not be explained by temperament alone. Even if one had excellent composure and could remain expressionless before a powerful enemy, without strength it would still be utterly meaningless.

He knew this all too well from personal experience. Take his matter with Di Yuan: back when his strength had been lost, he might not have shown fear toward Di Yuan, but if Di Yuan had truly attacked him, Su Yi would have had no power to resist at all and would have been reduced to nothing more than a helpless target.

Now, however, Su Yi’s strength had surpassed what it once was, stronger than Di Yuan’s, and naturally he no longer had to stand in a position of weakness.

In the end, strength really did decide everything. The rest was empty talk.

...

While Su Yi was wandering in such idle thoughts, Meiya suddenly smiled faintly and looked at him with a hint of deeper meaning. “Little brother Su Yi, I heard that during this time you’ve been getting rather close to the young lady of the Lie family, Lie Feifei?”

“Eh?!” Su Yi was startled. He had not expected Meiya to ask about that all of a sudden. The way he and Lie Feifei had been acting lately did indeed seem somewhat unusual in the eyes of others. Could it be that Meiya already knew about those matters?

A faint unease and an inexplicable sense of guilt rose in him. Lowering his head slightly, he did not dare meet Meiya’s gaze and murmured, “We’ve just seen each other a few times recently... nothing much...”

“No need to explain. The more you explain, the more it sounds like concealment.” Meiya lifted her delicate chin a little and gave a soft hum, her bright eyes fixed on him. “Could it be that you would deny that something happened between you two?”

Su Yi froze at once, his heartbeat quickening. Why was Meiya asking this? Did she mean something by it? Had she already found out about what happened between him and Lie Feifei that day?

Otherwise, why would she ask such a thing?

In truth, whether he had been with any woman had no direct bearing on Meiya, but for some reason Su Yi simply did not want her to know. It felt as though he would be doing something wrong to her if she found out.

“This...” Su Yi hesitated, visibly struggling. After a long while, he finally asked cautiously, “Could Sister Meiya be a little more specific?”

“You still want me to be more specific?” Meiya’s lovely brows arched slightly, and she suddenly gave a soft, alluring laugh, raising a slender jade finger to wag it lightly.

“I saw Lie Feifei today at the martial trials. If I’m not mistaken, she shouldn’t still be a virgin, should she?”

She could even tell that much? Su Yi was secretly shocked, and at a loss for words.

Meiya’s words carried far more implications than they seemed to on the surface. If what he suspected really was true, then should he admit it, or should he deny any connection?

Meiya was sharp-minded and unpredictable, her thoughts impossible to read. How, then, should he explain this in the best possible way?

Seeing Su Yi’s astonished and speechless expression, the smile on Meiya’s face deepened, but she did not continue pressing the matter. She only glanced at him and said, “Since I can tell, then others may be able to as well. Little brother Su Yi, I’m afraid trouble will be coming for you very soon...”

Those words, seemingly meant as a warning, instantly made Su Yi’s heart tighten.

That was right. Since Meiya had already seen that Lie Feifei was no longer a virgin, it very likely meant that this matter would not remain hidden for long. After all, there had been quite a few prominent figures at today’s gathering, and it was not impossible that someone had already noticed something amiss.

If this matter were ultimately to reach Lie Chen’s ears...

The consequences would not be good.

His daughter had been taken advantage of without even understanding what had happened, so how could a father possibly do nothing? Especially a father as fiercely protective as Lie Chen. The Su and Aoben families were already nearly at each other’s throats—was another Lie family to be added to the mix?

Su Yi thought this with considerable helplessness.

With his current strength, if the Aoben family simply sent one expert to deal with him, he would already be in serious trouble. How much more so if the Lie family, no less immovable than the Aoben family, were added as well?

Although the strength Meiya had revealed today offered him tremendous protection in another sense, setting the Aoben family aside for the moment, if the Lie family came looking for trouble because of this matter, Meiya’s position would make it inconvenient for her to intervene.

After all, this could already be counted as a matter of private affection between a man and a woman. If the Lie family sought an explanation for Lie Feifei, and Meiya stepped in to stop them, it would inevitably give people a very delicate impression...

Of course, the more important reason was that Su Yi did not wish to rely on Meiya’s protection in a matter like this. It would be like some feckless man who caused romantic trouble outside and then had his wife come forward to clean up the mess. Such cowardly, unmanly behavior was not something Su Yi thought he would ever do.

As he was fretting over this, he suddenly heard Meiya smile again and say, “All right, that will be all for today. Little brother Su Yi, you may go down first. When you return, have a good rest...”

Hearing this, Su Yi could only nod. He slowly withdrew, and even he himself could not tell whether he felt lighter or more burdened. He had barely taken a few steps, thoughts still in turmoil, when Moben’s voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Su Yi, I’ll see you out.”

“This... how could I dare accept such kindness?!” Su Yi was startled and turned around at once. Seeing the calm-faced Moben had somehow already come to stand beside him, he quickly bowed and said. In his eyes now, Moben was already a formidable figure no less than a Battle King. How could he possibly trouble such a person to escort him?

“It’s nothing. I was heading out myself for some matters anyway, so chatting with you along the way is no inconvenience.” Moben waved a hand slightly and said indifferently.

Seeing that Moben insisted, Su Yi did not speak further. After a pause, he asked, “Uncle Moben, may I ask what you wished to speak to me about?”

“Su Yi, although your current strength is not as great as the young lady’s or An Xiang’s, when it comes to true cultivation talent, I believe you are the strongest of all. Do you know why?”

“Because of the speed of your battle qi cultivation!” Without waiting for Su Yi to answer, Moben continued, “An Xiang’s talent is also quite good. Though she is still some distance from the young lady at present, An Xiang is after all still young, and has cultivated for several years fewer than the young lady...”

Before Moben could finish, a few coughs suddenly came from the air, cutting off the rest of his words in mid-sentence. Pausing slightly, Moben then shook his head and gave a faint, wry smile.

“It seems I just said something I ought not to have said...”

With a sigh, Moben started walking forward. Su Yi hurried after him, and the two of them began speaking as they walked.

Su Yi had naturally heard Meiya’s cough just now and had been somewhat puzzled by it. But after hearing Moben’s explanation, he gradually understood.

It seemed that no woman liked being spoken of as old...

“In any case, even An Xiang reportedly became a fighter at fifteen... Becoming a fighter at fifteen and becoming one at sixteen may look like only a year’s difference, but in truth it is a world apart. You should be able to see some of that difference from the current strengths of the young lady and An Xiang.”

“But you, Su Yi, had already reached the fourth stage by the age of fifteen. If you had been in the same environment, your achievements would certainly have been much greater!”

Moben fixed his eyes on Su Yi. “Even so, simply serving as a small guard here in Changling City, without relying on any outside help, you still managed to rise from the fourth stage to the tenth stage in just two years. In my eyes, that is no small feat either...”

After hearing this, Su Yi fell silent for a moment.

Indeed, with the handful of coins he had, he could neither buy medicinal ingredients nor battle techniques, and he could not afford a teacher either, so he could only cultivate slowly on his own.

Although he had recently vaguely come to understand that the jade pendant he wore was no ordinary object, what could he do with it? His soul had crossed over here; he knew nothing at all about the former owner of this body, so how was he supposed to make use of the jade pendant?

“Right, Su Yi. With the young lady’s abilities, she could originally have helped you on your path of cultivation, but for certain reasons she did not do so—” Moben turned his gaze away, as though looking toward the imperial capital from afar, and gave a soft sigh.

“You won’t resent the young lady for that, will you?”