122: Chapter 121: Did he break his head?

The smile at the corner of Yun Ming's mouth froze on his face.

Subconsciously, his fingertips were already pinching a blood-transforming eerie glow needle. If this woman made any suspicious move, he would strike immediately without mercy.

Seeing him come out, Qin Wan immediately beamed with joy: "Ming'er! You're finally out! Come, come, sit down and rest. Are you hungry? Mother will cook for you."

She stood up, walked quickly to greet him, looked him up and down, and said distressedly: "You've gotten darker; this Alchemy really wears a person down. Just wait, Mother will make you something delicious."

Yun Ming forced a smile: "Mother, there's no rush..."

"What do you mean 'no rush'? Just wait!"

Qin Wan had already hurried into the kitchen.

Yun Ming looked away and turned his gaze toward Jiang Yueling.

Jiang Yueling stood where she was, looking at him with a beaming smile. There was an indescribable meaning in that smile—like a cat catching a mouse, or a hunter who had dug a trap and was waiting for the prey to jump in.

Yun Ming walked to the stone table expressionlessly and sat down opposite her.

"Sit." He pointed to the stone stool across from him.

Jiang Yueling sat down gracefully with an elegant posture.

Yun Ming didn't waste words and spoke directly: "What are you doing here again? Looking for trouble?"

Jiang Yueling raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean 'what am I doing here again'? Am I not just chatting with your mother to keep her company? Your mother likes me very much; she praised me for being beautiful and well-spoken, and even asked if I had a Dao Companion."

As she spoke, a hint of smugness flashed in her eyes: "When I said no, she became even happier and held my hand while telling me many things about your childhood. Tsk tsk, I didn't expect you to be quite cute as a child."

Yun Ming's mouth twitched.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the urge to throw her out, and said coldly: "Just say what you want. Don't forget, you still have the Dream-Soul Tether curse seal on you. You wouldn't want to make a fool of yourself in public, would you?"

Jiang Yueling's smile froze for a moment.

She glared at Yun Ming and lowered her voice: "I'm here because of that. Hurry up and undo it for me!"

Yun Ming shook his head: "I will naturally undo it when you leave the Qingxuan Sect. Right now, don't even think about it."

"You—"

Jiang Yueling was choked with anger, but she soon regained that look of having the situation under control.

She leaned back in her chair and said leisurely: "Fine, if you won't undo it, then so be it. However..." She changed the subject, "That outfit you got for your mother is quite extravagant."

Yun Ming raised an eyebrow slightly: "Good eye. And?"

Jiang Yueling sneered: "Could a Golden Core True Person really bring out such things? xuan shuang protective gauze, spirit essence heart-guarding pendant, a fifth-rank jade bracelet—do you know what a fifth-rank Spirit Treasure represents? My Master, a grand Late Nascent Soul Stage expert, only has two fifth-rank items and usually can't bear to use them. Yet you, a mere Early Golden Core Stage Cultivator, just casually give one to a Mortal to wear?"

She leaned in closer and lowered her voice: "These aren't things a Golden Core True Person should be able to produce. You must understand the principle that 'possessing a jade ring becomes a crime,' right?"

Yun Ming was stunned.

He only then realized—he had been so focused on getting Qin Wan some protective Magic Treasures that he forgot to use the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record to conceal them.

The aura of the fifth-rank jade bracelet was too conspicuous; this girl had recognized it at a glance.

His gaze darkened slightly, and a hint of danger appeared in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Yueling.

Should he...

just finish her off?

Jiang Yueling felt a chill down her spine from that look and quickly waved her hands: "Hey, hey, hey, don't do anything rash! I won't tell!"

Yun Ming stared at her without speaking.

That gaze made Jiang Yueling feel extremely uneasy.

She quickly added: "I still have the Dream-Soul Tether on me! I don't want to make a fool of myself while sleeping. What good would it do me to tell anyone about this?"

Yun Ming said indifferently: "Then just don't sleep. For a Golden Core Cultivator, not sleeping for half a year or a year is nothing."

Jiang Yueling gritted her teeth: "What if you knock me unconscious?"

Yun Ming thought for a moment and said seriously: "I won't."

Just as Jiang Yueling breathed a sigh of relief, she heard him continue: "In the future, I'll only beat you to death."

"You—!"

Jiang Yueling trembled with rage, her chest heaving violently. She pointed at Yun Ming, her finger shaking, unable to speak for a long time.

After a while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You... you wouldn't dare!"

Yun Ming remained expressionless: "How do you know I wouldn't dare?"

Jiang Yueling took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. She organized her thoughts and resumed her confident expression:

"You definitely aren't just a Golden Core True Person. At the very least, not an Early Golden Core Stage one. You're hiding in the Qingxuan Sect, so you must have some unspeakable secret. You wouldn't want me to expose you, would you?"

She stared at Yun Ming, her eyes flashing with smugness: "Obey me, and I won't tell my Master. If you don't..."

She drawled, the corners of her mouth curling up: "Your good days will be over."

Yun Ming didn't speak.

He just looked at her with a strange expression.

In that gaze, there was pity, helplessness, and a hint of sympathy as if he were looking at an idiot.

Jiang Yueling felt uncomfortable under that gaze and snapped: "What's with that look!"

Yun Ming sighed.

He silently reflected in his heart: Did I punch her too hard that night and make her stupid?

Otherwise, how could he explain this woman's current behavior?

She clearly still carried his curse seal, had clearly just been beaten half to death, and even her yuxu condensing light bead had been taken by him, yet now she actually came over to threaten him?

How was her brain wired?

Yun Ming stood up and looked down at her:

"Obey you? Impossible. At worst, we'll both perish. I might not be able to kill your Master, but I can still manage to kill you."

His tone was flat, as if he were saying the weather was nice today.

But it was precisely this flatness that made Jiang Yueling realize with absolute clarity—he was telling the truth.

If she really spoke out about those things, this person would definitely kill her. And he would do it cleanly, without giving her any chance to regret.

Jiang Yueling subconsciously shrank back a little.

But she still held her ground and said: "I... I won't use this to blackmail you into doing anything excessive. I am, after all, a Disciple of the Shenduan Sect; I keep my word."

Yun Ming chuckled: "Would a Disciple of the Shenduan Sect casually kidnap someone's mother?"

Jiang Yueling said righteously: "She's just a Mortal! Aside from hindering your pursuit of the Dao, what use is she?"

Yun Ming fell silent.

He looked at the woman before him and suddenly realized one thing—communicating with her was futile.

In her eyes, Mortals didn't count as people. His mother's life was merely a tool that could be used. She couldn't understand at all why a Cultivator would care about the life and death of a Mortal.

There was no point in saying more.

Yun Ming turned and walked toward the kitchen. As he walked, he said: "The curse seal will naturally be undone when you leave the Qingxuan Sect. For now, don't even think about it. Leave, I won't see you out."

Jiang Yueling sat where she was, glaring indignantly at his back.

She opened her mouth to say something but found that she couldn't say a word.

Finally, she could only stomp her foot in hatred and get up to leave.

Qin Wan came out of the kitchen with a dish, just in time to see Jiang Yueling's departing back.

She was stunned for a moment and asked Yun Ming: "Eh? Why did that girl leave? You didn't ask her to stay for dinner?"

Yun Ming took the dish and said casually: "She had things to do, so she left early."

Qin Wan looked at him reproachfully: "You child, you don't even know how to ask someone to stay. I think that girl is quite nice—pretty, with a good temper, and she even gave me a back rub..."

Yun Ming's mouth twitched.

Good temper?

Mother, you have no idea what she's really like.

He silently took out the beauty preserving pill, dissolved it in the tea, and handed it to Qin Wan: "Mother, don't be angry, have some tea."

Qin Wan took it, had a sip, and continued nagging: "You're not young anymore; it's time to find a good girl. I think that Miss Jiang is quite good, you should hurry up..."

Yun Ming lowered his head to eat, pretending not to hear.

Even in cultivation, one still gets nagged about marriage.

What a world.