Zhu Lingyun was innocent and carefree, and she didn't like being confined to this small courtyard to cultivate, but she seemed unable to refute her father, so she had no choice but to accept her fate.
Shi Xuan had always thought of Zhu Yi as a "kind father" based on their previous interactions, but it seems that his opinion was somewhat inaccurate.
"Is the city lord really that strict?" Zhu Lingyun complained, and Shi Xuan went along with her.
“Actually, he’s very good to me,” Zhu Lingyun said, spreading her hands with a hint of helplessness. “He gives me whatever I want, but he just won’t let me have any contact with the outside world. He probably cares about me too much.”
Shi Xuan nodded. She had heard that some parents were very controlling and couldn't let their children out of their sight, which she could understand.
But then there's one thing she can't explain.
Thinking this, Shi Xuan asked, "Since you haven't had any contact with the outside world, why did you injure your dantian? And why was it so badly injured?"
"This..." Zhu Lingyun seemed somewhat troubled. She lowered her head and said softly, "My father told me never to mention the reasons for my injuries again..."
"Oh," Shi Xuan said, seeing her expression, but didn't press further. Her expression simply faded slightly.
The two walked a few more steps together, but no one spoke, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Zhu Lingyun was extremely annoyed at this moment. She felt that Shi Xuan was the one who had healed her dantian, yet she refused to tell her the reason for the injury. It seemed that Shi Xuan was not being sincere at all.
She constantly talks about wanting Shi Xuan to come see her, yet she hides even this small thing from her...
Zhu Lingyun glanced at Shi Xuan. Her expression seemed normal, but Zhu Lingyun could tell that she was somewhat unhappy.
Zhu Lingyun gritted her teeth, looked at Shi Xuan, and said, "Actually, it's not a big deal. I don't know why Father forbids me from mentioning it again, but I thought I'd tell you it's alright."
"Hmm?" Shi Xuan finally turned to look at Zhu Lingyun, her eyes filled with curiosity: "Are you really alright? If it's difficult, then forget it."
That's what she said, but her expression was one of "Great, you have to tell me." Naïve as Zhu Lingyun was, she didn't understand the deeper meaning behind it at all. She just thought that Sister Shixuan was really nice. She was thinking of me and even told me whether I told her or not. If I didn't consider her a good friend, who else in this world could I trust?
So Zhu Lingyun leaned closer to Shi Xuan and whispered, "I'm telling you, but you can't tell my father that I told you this."
Shi Xuan gave her a reassuring look.
Zhu Lingyun said, "Because I saw a small fruit in my father's room and I ate it. I had eaten a little bit of this kind of fruit before. My father would always cut a small piece for me to taste and eat the rest himself. I thought the fruit was delicious. After eating it, I felt warm all over and full of spiritual energy, so when I saw that fruit, I just ate it."
"You ate them all?" Shi Xuan asked, already vaguely guessing the truth of the matter.
Zhu Lingyun nodded and said, "I ate it all. I knew it was edible; I'd seen my father eat it, and I'd even tasted a little myself. But who knew that after I ate that fruit that day, my spiritual energy surged, and I couldn't control it at all. My father wasn't around at the time. After that spiritual energy entered my dantian, it accumulated more and more, and I felt like I was about to burst. Finally, it exploded, bursting my dantian, and then it dissipated."
"What a powerful fruit!" Shi Xuan exclaimed, her expression revealing her utter shock. She then asked, "What's the name of this amazing fruit? What does it look like?"
“I don’t know what it’s called either,” Zhu Lingyun said, frowning. “My father just calls it Holy Fruit. It’s small, about this size.”
As Zhu Lingyun spoke, she gestured with her hand to indicate the size of the sacred fruit, and then said, "The skin is not very smooth, and it is yellowish in color."
That's it! Zhu Lingyun's words completely confirmed Shi Xuan's guess. She had eaten the Cixi Fruit and her dantian was burst by the spiritual power! And her father was indeed related to the underground [New Life] organization. It was very likely that he provided them with protection because of this "sacred fruit".
Therefore, Luo Qin's injury to his dantian can also be explained; it must have been caused by eating the Cixi Fruit.
They were both in Cloud City when they heard that Zhu Lingyun had healed her dantian at the Lianfeng Sword Sect. They wanted to replicate Zhu Lingyun's method and have a "father" accompany them to auction off a spot to heal Luo Qin's dantian as well.
However, the subordinate chosen by this "father" was too reserved, which made Shi Xuan realize something was wrong and see through their disguise. This led to Luo Yisheng's death and Luo Qin being teleported to an unknown place.
Luo Qin's father, Xin Shi, somehow learned that Luo Qin was in the outer realms, and thus opened the gate to the outer realms so that Luo Qin could return.
The gate to the outer realms is not easily opened; the energy required is immeasurable. What price they paid for this gate is unknown.
With that, everything became clear, and that's how it was!
Zhu Lingyun still worriedly reminded him, "Sister Shixuan, you can't tell my father about this. Just pretend you don't know anything."
"Don't worry," Shi Xuan patted her hand and said, "I will definitely pretend I don't know anything and I will never tell your father! Even if you didn't tell me, I still wouldn't tell your father!"
Shi Xuan was telling the truth, and naturally she wouldn't tell Zhu Yi; she only told her own master.
In the evening, Zhu Lingyun went back to rest. Shi Xuan went to Lin Daozi's place and set up a soundproof barrier before telling his master everything that had been sorted out in the afternoon.
Lin Daozi frowned and said, "So that's how it is! No wonder."
No wonder such a massive underground palace as [New Life] could be built in the bustling Cloud City for so many years without being discovered; it must be under the protection of the City Lord's Mansion! Therefore, the fact that those people were able to escape so quickly after they stormed the underground palace must also be due to the City Lord's cover.
"Xuan'er, what do you think we should do next?" Lin Daozi asked.
"Let's pretend we don't know." Shi Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "We'll proceed as normal for the next few days, and then return directly to the sect. Since the City Lord's Mansion is connected to [New Students], someone might come looking for him later. We'll keep an eye on him and follow the clues."
Lin Daozi nodded: "That works, let's do it that way."
The master and apprentice hit it off immediately, and in the following days, Shi Xuan and Zhu Lingyun spent all their time together, treating it as a normal outing. However, Shi Xuan would occasionally reveal a look of careful observation when outsiders were present, giving Zhu Yi the feeling that she suspected Yunzhong City but did not yet have evidence.
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