80: Chapter 80 Mission Completed

That slender finger pointed from afar at Chen Fan, carrying an irrefutable resoluteness.

In an instant, the heart that Chen Fan had just let settle in his stomach was once again raised to his throat.

The deck was deathly silent; everyone's breathing had stalled.

This crazy Saintess really wouldn't let him go!

Princess Jingping followed Su Xin's finger with her gaze, her cold, detached face showing not a hint of surprise.

She merely shook her head lightly.

"No."

Su Xin's aura instantly became dangerous; the surrounding mountain wind seemed to freeze.

"What did you say?"

"Imperial Sister, why create more unnecessary slaughter?" Princess Jingping's voice was very soft, yet carried a strange penetrating power. "Chen Fan has a wife and child at home, still in swaddling clothes."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan felt a shiver in his heart.

How could she know?

Princess Jingping seemed not to see Chen Fan's astonishment, merely looking calmly at Su Xin.

"Since I received the imperial decree to inspect Yanzhou, I would naturally investigate the background of every guard thoroughly. Those with unclean roots or ulterior motives—Eunuch Zheng has already taken action in these past few days to clear them out."

Her words were calm, yet they made everyone present, including the Prefect of Yanzhou, feel a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to their crowns.

So, the seemingly normal attrition in the team over these few days was actually this Your Highness clearing them out in secret.

What ruthless methods!

No wonder Princess Jingping didn't care about them knowing the royal scandal; it turned out someone had been watching in the shadows all along.

Those who disappeared were likely loose-lipped or had ulterior motives.

Su Xin's chest heaved, rage surging.

She stared fixedly at Chen Fan, that hatred almost turning into substance.

But Princess Jingping's words had blocked all her excuses.

For a mere traitor, completely falling out with the sister who gifted the ninth-grade soul lotus was not worth it.

Moreover, her biggest goal for this trip had already been achieved.

She had more important things to do; her mother, Imperial Consort Su, urgently needed the ninth-grade soul lotus.

A long while passed.

Su Xin stared coldly at Chen Fan.

"You won't be this lucky in the future!"

She flicked her sleeves violently and turned to leave, her figure turning into a red phantom. In a few leaps, she vanished into the night beneath the cliff.

With her departure, the giant boulder pressing on everyone's hearts came crashing down.

Chen Fan let out a long, long sigh of relief.

He survived; he didn't have to become a woman.

Princess Jingping did not stay longer. She nodded faintly at the crowd, then, under the protection of Eunuch Zheng, turned and left, returning to the Yanzhou city to prepare for the return to the capital tomorrow.

An earth-shattering storm had finally come to an end.

The mission was over.

Chen Fan's heart swelled with an indescribable joy; he wanted to grow wings immediately and fly back to that little courtyard of his in the south of the city.

But he couldn't.

According to the rules, after a mission ends, one must first return to the sect to report.

He suppressed his eagerness to return home, said goodbye to Wang Chong and the others from the Iron Fist Sect, and returned to the Longxing Sect alone.

When he saw Master Liu Cang, Chen Fan could no longer hold back and complained about the frustration of the past ten-plus days, adding fuel to the fire.

"Master, you have no idea! That big shot is simply..."

Of course, he dared not mention the Princess, only saying how that "Hereditary Prince Zheng" was capricious and how he made things difficult, almost causing him to lose his life out there.

Liu Cang listened quietly, his face full of guilt.

"It was Master's lack of consideration that made you suffer."

He patted Chen Fan on the shoulder, turned, and retrieved a small porcelain bottle from a hidden compartment.

"Inside are three 'Qi Condensation Pills'; they are of great benefit for stabilizing your eighth-grade Realm and pushing for the seventh grade."

"Consider it compensation from the sect."

Chen Fan took the porcelain bottle, opened it, and sniffed it; a pure medicinal fragrance wafted into his nose.

The slight resentment in his heart instantly vanished like smoke.

Complaining is one thing, but benefits are the real deal.

He happily put away the Medicinal Pill, chatted a few more sentences with Liu Cang, and then, unable to hold back any longer, took his leave.

He walked the road home very fast.

The last glimmer of the setting sun sank below the horizon.

When he pushed open that familiar wooden gate of the small courtyard, he was greeted by a house full of warm lamplight and the fragrance of food.

Lin Wan was sitting at the table, mending Nuannuan's little clothes by candlelight; hearing the door open, she suddenly lifted her head.

Seeing that familiar figure at the door, she was stunned for a moment, then, on that simple, clean face, a smile bloomed that was even warmer than the candlelight.

"You're back."

A thousand words were all distilled into these three simplest words.

Chen Fan's heart settled completely at this moment.

He walked forward, took off his dusty outer robe, and hung it on the coat rack behind the door.

On the table were three dishes and one soup, all the most ordinary home-cooked meals: a plate of greens, a bowl of tofu, and a plate of sliced cured meat; the soup bowl in the center was still steaming hot.

Lin Wan served him rice and picked up a chopstick-full of cured meat to put into his bowl, her movements gentle and natural.

Nuannuan was sleeping soundly in the cradle, her little mouth slightly pursed, emitting even breathing sounds.

The candlelight flickered gently, casting their shadows on the wall, stretching them out and weaving them together.

There was no heart-stopping slaughter, no pressure from royal nobility, only this warmth as plain as water.

Chen Fan ate his meal in big mouthfuls, feeling that this was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten in his life.

Night fell.

The couple tidied up the bowls and chopsticks quietly, then tucked in the blanket for Nuannuan.

Returning to the bedroom, Lin Wan brought him hot water, wrung out a towel, and carefully wiped his cheeks and hands.

Her fingers were slender and warm; touching his skin brought a wave of reassuring warmth.

Chen Fan grasped her hand and pulled her into his arms.

The oil lamp was blown out.

In the darkness, only each other's breathing remained.

Clothes were shed, skin touched skin.

He embraced that warm, soft body, his nose filled with the pleasant, clean scent of soap on her.

The person in his arms, from initial shyness to current responsiveness, every subtle reaction made him intoxicated.

He suddenly felt that the feeling Lin Wan gave him could not be compared to those women from before.

The previous three wives of Zhao Long, the three bandit wives from the Black Wind Demon time, although equally beautiful, each had their own merits.

But between Chen Fan and them, there was only pure desire.

"Husband."

In the darkness, Lin Wan's voice carried a hint of lazy nasality.

"Hmm?"

"You must have been exhausted on this trip."

Chen Fan didn't answer, only holding her tighter.