New Era (II)

By the time Linyin and her group arrived, the entire Fantasy Beast Hall had been reduced to rubble. Reporters frantically filmed from the periphery with their cameras, while countless onlookers stood on tiptoe to peer in, their voices buzzing with discussion.

"Hello, please move aside." Black mist spread around Fei Rui, which was extremely cold. The crowd of onlookers finally spontaneously made way for them to enter.

Lucien knelt on the rubble, his hands dug deep into the rubble; Pinkie Pie was not far from him, mechanically repeating the same searching motion.

Seeing Fei Rui coming over, Bi Qi stopped and looked at him with disdain, "Now you know why I'm here?"

Lucien looked at Fei Rui calmly, and this time he did not stop Pinkie.

"What a bullshit Young Palace Master! You are not the Palace Master's biological child at all. If the Palace Master had not saved you at that time, you would have starved to death in some corner." The shocking secret was announced by Biqi without any care.

The whispers around suddenly became louder.

"Later, when you joined the Shadow Guard, you were also arrogant. Not only did you pick on missions, but you also betrayed the Palace Master..." Bi Qi gritted her teeth and squeezed out another bombshell from between her teeth -

"Whether you're Song Baiyue or Fei Rui, you've never been a good person!"

Fei Rui's breathing stagnated, and he almost thought he had heard it wrong: "Me? Song Baiyue?" He subconsciously looked at Lin Yin and met her curved eyes.

"This time, I recognized you before you did." She smiled, "Although it was only a little earlier."

"I..." Fei Rui's mind went blank.

Linyin hugged him and said, "It's okay. If you can't remember something, I will tell you bit by bit later."

Crystal and Yuzhu exchanged a look of shock at the turn of events. Relatively speaking, Belle, whose Infinite Qi had already taken shape, was more receptive. "I was wondering why he gave me such a strange vibe. Turns out he's Song Baiyue." The man who had snatched Linyin away had finally returned after a long journey.

After Bi Qi finished what she was about to say, she froze in her tracks for a moment. Suddenly, she turned around and grabbed Lucien by the collar: "Palace Master, didn't you mention me in your last words? How is that possible?"

Lucian, being held captive, slowly raised his head, the bloodshot eyes startling. He opened his mouth, but only a gasp came out. Pinkie Pie stared at him intently, not letting go until she was sure she couldn't get any other answers. She felt as if all her strength had been drained from her.

The kitten jumped off Rin's shoulder and trotted lightly to the top of the ruins. She lowered her head and sniffed, then sent a message to Rin:

[It seems someone is still alive.]

Linyin used her infinite Qi and came to the same conclusion as the kitten, "Crystal, let Stone help!"

The crystal and the stone man immediately understood. The stone man pressed his hands on the ground, and some rubble from the ruins flew out, forming several small rock puppets.

"Dig!" Crystal shouted.

Once again, dust and rubble filled the air. Beneath the layers of rubble, a scarlet vine emerged. Crushed to the point of breaking, it still beat faintly, like a dying heart.

Lucien rushed over and snatched the vine. When he felt the faint pulse at his fingertips, he knelt down in front of Rin and buried his face in the ground in front of her, not caring about the gravel cutting his face.

"Flora...it's her, this is her! She's alive!"

Fei Rui, no, it's time to call him back to his original name, Song Baiyue. Seeing Lucien's expression, he felt a little reluctant.

"Save her... please... only you can save her..." Lucien's voice was already difficult to distinguish whether it was breathing or speaking. Linyin had difficulty understanding it and asked Song Baiyue, "Do you think I should agree?"

Song Baiyue shook her head. "Seeing him like this, it hurts me... But, the rift between you and the Fantasy Beast Palace is deep. You shouldn't make any such decision because of me."

Linyin imitated his shaking head, "At least half of the rift between me and them is because of you." She looked at him, as if she couldn't see enough, "Now that you're back, I can let go of a lot of things." Ever since he came back, she was so happy that she felt a little dizzy - as long as he was happy, there was probably nothing she couldn't give up - of course, including hatred.

"Let them go?" Belle, who had been silent the whole time, looked at her in disbelief. "Didn't Aunt Wanran tell you what they did to my mother?"

"Your mother is Lady Cecilius Lan, right?" Lucien raised his head and looked at Belle with his heartbreaking eyes. "It was the previous Palace Master who killed her, and Flora..." He called Flora by her name, "killed him with her own hands."

His expression calmed down again. "The Fantasy Beast Palace has indeed become a criminal organization, but as you can see, it has now been destroyed. Please stop blaming Flora for your mother's death."

If it were the Lucian of the past, facing a woman who lost her mother at a young age, he would at least say a few polite words like "I'm deeply sorry for what happened to your mother." But now he was completely exhausted, with only a divine consciousness supporting him. After he regained his composure, only biological instinct remained - he touched the ground with his head again and begged Rin.

This time, Linyin used Wuji Zhenqi to lift his head up.

"I'll do everything in my power to save her," she whispered, "but there's a price. Are you sure you want to pay it?"

Lucien nodded without hesitation, his eyes frighteningly determined.

"Any price?"

"Any price."

…………

Two months later, Black Swamp.

Lucian was wearing loose ramie clothes with his sleeves and trouser legs tied tightly. He knelt on one knee beside the soft soil and looked at the newly grown scarlet vine tenderly.

The vine seemed to be thicker than a few days ago, and it actually glowed with a healthy luster under the dim skylight of the black swamp.

"Rinyin has taken a day off today. I'll give you double the amount of Life-giving Breath next week." He spoke to it patiently in a low voice, took out a gold-embossed invitation from his pocket, and carefully placed it next to the vine. "This week she's busy preparing for her engagement party with Song Baiyue."

The leaves of the vine curled up slightly.

Lucien couldn't help but laugh. "You really do care." He reached out and tapped the shivering leaf. "Rin said your consciousness had long since revived, but you just didn't bother to pay attention to me."

The vine slapped the back of his hand in anger, but it didn't hurt. It was like being scratched by a baby bird's feather, and it softened his heart.

"The Fantasy Beast Protection Association is running smoothly," he continued, his wrist bare and the terminal nowhere to be seen. He fished a small notebook from his pocket. "Last week, the Federal Parliament passed the Civilian Fantasy Beast Subsidy Act. Belle led the Lan family in voting in favor, while Song Baiyue abstained on behalf of the Frost family, which was considered a disguised support."

He looked at the vines mischievously. "Rin Yin used the basic Wuji Qi technique as a bargaining chip, and actually made the parliament compromise. It seems your daughter-in-law actually did it, the 'Commoner Fantasy Beast Palace' that you failed to achieve."

The vines gently wrapped around his wrists, as if to comfort him that he couldn't bear to witness such a scene.

"I'm fine. I really like my life now." Lucien lowered his eyes and looked at the vine. "It's just you and me in the world. This is the life I've always dreamed of."

The evening breeze blew by, and the vines stretched out in the twilight. Suddenly, the tender buds on the top lifted up and touched Lucien's lips, like a clumsy kiss.

…………

The big silver egg of Thorn Flower Academy.

The huge main stage was as chaotic as a fantasy beast's lair swept by a storm.

"Yuzhu! The wreath is hanging crookedly!" Shuijing shouted while standing on the ladder, holding a bunch of messy ribbons in her hand.

"Can you please hang your ribbon more crookedly?" Yuzhu glanced back and immediately pointed it out, "Hey, hey, hey, the cake is going to fall!"

Han Jiangxue's Clouded Leopard flew past like lightning, firmly supporting the tray before the cake fell.

"You're really versatile." Linyin couldn't help but praise him again, "But, it's okay if it falls off."

Because the cake is actually a model, otherwise how could the Dream Mammoth not even take a look at it?

The mammoth's owner, Su Lian, was standing in the corridor on the second floor, arms folded, grabbing a reporter disguised as a waiter and saying, "This is the seventh one today."

"Oh, oh, oh, I'm sorry." The reporter begged, "We are all here for work..."

"He's not doing this for work." Belle saw through it clearly. "But I'll let you go this time, and it won't happen again."

After letting the reporter go, Belle walked over to Su Lian and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Just let her go. Linyin is a hot new star now. All the news about her attracts special attention. It's normal for them to sneak in." Su Lian looked at the black-haired girl on the stage from a distance. The distance between them became farther again.

"Yes, that's normal. But you know that's not what I'm asking." Belle smiled, "Don't get me wrong, we're not that familiar with each other. I'm not here to explore your innermost thoughts. I just think you might be a little upset too."

Su Lian also laughed, "We must be upset with the same person."

The man who had upset the two was being measured by a group of tailors. Even with his impeccable expression control, he couldn't help but tremble with fear. "Why does the dress need to be altered so many times?"

"Because your fiancée grew another two centimeters yesterday. I simply changed the style of her dress." The old tailor gestured. "You said, Wuji Zhenqi is really magical."

"I think this one is good enough. No need to modify it, right?" Linyin rushed into the fitting room, followed by Kaia who was chasing her with three more dresses in his hands and asking her to try them on.

She suddenly stopped moving.

Bang.

The diamond-covered dress fell to the ground, and in the horrified eyes of everyone, Linyin fell down like a puppet.

Black Rose caught her before her forehead touched the ground, but dark red blood still gushed out of her nose.