121: Zhao Qingge is testing the waters.

The road into the city was not long, but for Lu Ming, who had a guilty conscience, it was terrifyingly nerve-wracking.

"Senior Sister, I really owe you for this; this little brat Lu Ming has caused you trouble."

Zhao Qingge supported Bai Qiuyue as she sighed with hidden meaning, deliberately emphasizing the words "caused you trouble."

Lu Ming followed behind the three women, his body stiff as a board, his peripheral vision sweeping toward Bai Qiuyue beside him.

Bai Qiuyue, that usually gentle and dignified Innate widow, also appeared somewhat unnatural at this moment.

Her Junior Sister was truly too sharp. If you removed certain words from her "caused you trouble," it would be infinitely close to the truth.

Bai Qiuyue calmly turned her head to stare at the bustling street scene and replied indifferently:

"Junior Sister, there is no need to be so polite. Not to mention that Lu Ming is Lier's husband, this little brat has made meritorious contributions in reclaiming Linyuan City; I could not just stand by and watch him fall into danger."

"Oh, Senior Sister is right."

Zhao Qingge accurately captured the appreciation in Bai Qiuyue's eyes. As fellow Disciples of Luo Yuheng, Zhao Qingge understood her Senior Sister all too well.

Although Bai Qiuyue was gentle on the surface, she was extremely self-disciplined to the bone, perhaps even having a bit of a mental cleanliness obsession.

Usually, besides official business, she wouldn't even touch a man's hand, let alone lavish praise on a little man like Lu Ming as she was doing now.

Something was wrong! Very wrong! Even if those two hadn't gone that far, something unknown must have happened between them!

Zhao Qingge felt a sudden bitterness in her heart. Watching Lu Ming look around, she became inexplicably angry.

"Lu Ming, did you hear that? Aunt Bai is praising you for being capable!"

Zhao Qingge suddenly called his name, her tone cold and tinged with scrutiny.

Lu Ming's scalp tingled, and he gave a dry cough: "Aunt, Aunt Bai is exaggerating. In the Black Abyss, I had to rely entirely on Aunt Bai for care. Several times when we encountered danger, Aunt Bai... stepped forward and shielded me."

As he said this, certain images of Bai Qiuyue "stepping forward" involuntarily surfaced in his mind. Especially the way she proactively asked to suppress the curse when it flared up.

Zhao Qingge's words were loaded with subtext, full of testing and warnings, making Lu Ming's heart skip a beat. Something was wrong—it was twelve out of ten wrong. Had his Aunt guessed something?

Aunt Bai's words could only fool a simple little girl like Luo Keke. But Zhao Qingge knew he possessed a special Physique; combined with the fact that Bai Qiuyue had been cursed by an Evil God and yet managed to turn danger into safety, it was hard not to make that connection.

Zhao Qingge chuckled softly, her eyes, which seemed capable of piercing through a person's heart, lingering on Lu Ming's face. Lu Ming's heart skipped a beat again.

The saying goes that if you love two people, you must hide it well, but he loved one, two, three, four, five, six. He couldn't hide it; there was simply no way to hide it.

Fortunately, at this moment, a hearty laugh broke the strange atmosphere.

"Hahaha! I was wondering why I heard magpies chirping early in the morning; turns out there really is a happy occasion!"

A burly figure strode out from the shadows inside the city gate. It was none other than the Seventh Realm Venerable who led the Demon Suppression Army to support Linyuan City—Murong Nan.

He walked with the stride of a dragon and a tiger, his dark mysterious combat uniform still carrying the scent of undried blood; he had clearly just returned from clearing out the Black Abyss.

Upon seeing Bai Qiuyue, his weather-beaten face was filled with a rugged smile.

"Director Bai, in the few days you were missing, I nearly turned the Black Abyss upside down! If you hadn't returned, I fear your Commander Luo Yuheng would have come with her sword to dismantle my Demon Suppression Army camp!"

Murong Nan's loud voice made people's ears numb, and it also conveniently dispersed the scrutiny from Zhao Qingge that had almost solidified.

Bai Qiuyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, adjusted her mindset, and revealed a professional, appropriate smile: "I have troubled General Murong with your concern. We encountered some unexpected events, but fortunately, there was no danger."

"Is this the little hero Lu Ming who reclaimed Linyuan City?"

Murong Nan turned to look at Lu Ming, his fan-like hand slapping heavily onto Lu Ming's shoulder, nearly slapping Lu Ming into a crack in the ground.

"Good lad! You've got guts! How many years has it been since our Great Xia produced a newcomer as fierce as you!"

Lu Ming endured the soreness in his shoulder and nodded politely: "General Murong is too kind."

"Eh? Something's not right."

Murong Nan frowned, sniffing around Lu Ming like a big black dog, his expression suddenly becoming rather strange.

"Why do you both have... such a strange scent on you? It doesn't feel like the evil Qi of the Black Abyss, but rather... some kind of high-level life energy Dao essence?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Bai Qiuyue, who had just managed to recover, felt her heart skip a beat.

Zhao Qingge narrowed her phoenix eyes, looking coldly at Murong Nan: "General Murong, when did you switch professions to become a search-and-rescue dog for the Night Watch Division?"

"Heh, Sister Zhao, you're being too formal. This is a soldier's intuition!"

Murong Nan chuckled. Being thick-skinned, he hadn't realized the danger of the atmosphere and continued to speak carelessly:

"But then again, Director Bai, your complexion is a bit too rosy; you don't look like you've suffered at all, but rather like you've eaten some kind of highly nourishing Spirit Pill."

Lu Ming listened from the side, cold sweat streaming down his back. This blockhead Murong Nan, who usually looked crude, had instincts that were deadly accurate.

"General Murong, since you are here, you will be responsible for the subsequent handover of Lu Ming's battle merits."

Zhao Qingge suddenly spoke, her tone brooking no argument, "Lu Ming, come with me. Senior Sister suffered a curse and needs to rest, and you must also undergo a Divine Soul examination to see if you have been branded by the Evil God."

"Hey, don't go yet, I still wanted to take this kid out for a big drink..."

Before he could even reach out, he was forced back by Zhao Qingge's murderous glare.

"Drink what? He is very weak right now and needs to rest."

Zhao Qingge's words were like knives, stabbing into Lu Ming's guilty conscience. His Aunt was definitely speaking with subtext!

Murong Nan scratched his head and muttered: "Weak? I think this kid's energy is quite vigorous."

"Everyone, I really have urgent matters to confirm with you all."

Murong Nan's voice finally lowered, his eyes scanning between Bai Qiuyue and Lu Ming, revealing a gravity peculiar to soldiers.

Seeing him so grave, Zhao Qingge also put away her petty thoughts; in the face of major issues, she, Director Zhao, always knew what was important.

Seeing the look of relief on Lu Ming's face, Zhao Qingge gave him an indignant glare.

But Lu Ming was like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water; while everyone's attention was on Murong Nan, he reached out and grasped Zhao Qingge's fair, delicate hand.

Zhao Qingge's delicate body stiffened slightly. She clearly hadn't expected this little brat to be so bold.

Right under Bai Qiuyue's nose, in front of Murong Nan, a Seventh Realm Venerable, he dared to openly flirt?

The familiar, scorching temperature transmitted from his palm felt like a flickering flame, instantly traveling from her fingertips to the tip of her heart.

Zhao Qingge subconsciously wanted to shake him off, but Lu Ming gripped her tightly, his fingertips even intentionally or unintentionally tracing patterns in her palm.

That suggestive, ingratiating, yet highly aggressive hint made this usually cold and capable Director Zhao's breathing rhythm skip a beat.

"This heartless little bastard..." Zhao Qingge cursed inwardly, but the frost on her face inexplicably melted away a little.

She squeezed back hard, as if in punishment, or perhaps as some kind of tacit response.

This sense of taboo, of tasting forbidden fruit behind her Senior Sister's back, strangely gave rise to a sliver of vengeful pleasure in her otherwise bitter mood.