Prince
It was an old man in gray robes and judging from his kind-looking features, it was hard to guess his age. He didnât look like he belonged to the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade either.
This man was actually Gray Robe whom Yang Chen had not met for a long time.
He was one of the elders of the Group of Eight and he had been staying in Beijing to take care of the declining Lin clan ever since Lin Zhiguo left.
Yang Chen guessed that the Yellow Flame Iron Brigade must have invited him over because they were short on hand.
âYoung Master Yang, youâve advanced greatly. Youâre no longer the same as before.â Gray Robe chuckled.
Yang Chen furrowed his brows out of confusion, âThatâs weird, why canât I see through your cultivation level?â
Gray Robe was very different from before, but Yang Chen couldnât pinpoint the weird feeling he felt. It just felt like he couldnât read him.
Gray Robe smiled faintly, âIâm an old man so it wouldnât come as a surprise that Iâve reached a breakthrough. Everyone has different perspectives when it comes to cultivation so itâs not that hard to conceal my cultivation.â
Yang Chen nodded. He wasnât keen on probing further since his words made sense, âYou should catch up with them if youâre supposed to keep an eye on the Sword in the Stone. Iâm going home for dinner.â
Just when Yang Chen was about to get into the house with Xiao Zhiqing, Gray Robe called after him.
âYoung Master Yang, arenât you curious to know why they left in such a hurry? Donât you want to know where theyâre headed to?â
âThat has nothing to do with me, it doesnât matter as long as they donât come to my house.â Yang Chen shrugged.
Gray Robe chuckled, âI received news ten minutes ago that the three generations of blood races from the Camarilla clan, Prince Udinese from the Bruch clan have located the âMagical Girdleâ through the blood raceâs magical blood tracking technique. Theyâre headed towards there now.â
âStop beating around the bush.â Yang Chen replied.
Gray Robe sighed, âThe location is Nanshan.â
Yang Chen froze!
Nanshan?! Wasnât that where Lin Ruoxiâs current house was located?!
Lin Ruoxi must have got home at this hour and although there were more than one mountain in Nanshan, she might still be affected if a battle really broke out over there!
Yang Chen was quick to make a decision and he told Xiao Zhiqing, âQingâer, go inside first. Tell your mom that she doesnât need to wait for me, I need to go over there now.â
Xiao Zhiqing nodded, aware of the urgency of this matter.
Yang Chen was grateful towards Gray Robe, âThanks for informing me, Iâll buy you a drink next time.â
âGo now. Even though sheâs not related to our clan, I still watched over her when she was young.â Gray Robe said in a suggestive tone.
Yang Chen said nothing else and he vanished into thin air within the next second.
Gray Robe stood still and whilst looking at the dark sky, a smirk formed on his lips...
The air in the mountain ranges was cold but the atmosphere in Lin Ruoxiâs place was warm and cozy since she had the heater on.
Lin Ruoxi strolled out of the bathroom dressed in a thick sleeping robe. Her feet were comfortably covered by a pair of panda slippers as she walked to the living room to turn the television on.
She wasnât bothered to switch the channels, turning down the volume subconsciously instead before sitting down on the couch.
A text was opened up on her phone and Lin Ruoxi bit her lip hesitantly at the message.
âDear, Iâm in Beijing now. I donât know if things are good between you and Yang Chen now. Iâm too embarrassed to apologize to you directly but I told Yang Chen to pass the Fengxiang bracelet back to you and I hope that youâll forgive me. I cared about my son too much. Lanlan is having fun with her great-grandfather in Beijing but she misses her mommy and daddy too. She wants to go back to Zhonghai before Christmas and if youâre okay with it, give me a call or text me so that we can set on a time for you to pick up Lanlan from the airport.â
Guo Xuehua texted her during the afternoon, but Lin Ruoxi hadnât decided on a reply.
Her mind was filled with all sorts of thought and she could somehow hear Lanlan call her mommy.
Lin Ruoxiâs eyes reddened at the thought of her daughter. She really missed her since they hadnât met for some time.
They were both at fault for this, but itâd be too harsh for Lanlan to not have her parents by her side.
Lin Ruoxi contemplated it for a short moment before dialling Guo Xuehuaâs number.
Shortly after, Guo Xuehua answered the call with a bright voice, âRuoxi? Have you gotten off work?â
âMmh...â
âYou called just in time; weâre having dinner now. Shall I pass the phone to Lanlan first?â Guo Xuehua sounded natural as if the conflict between them never existed.
Lin Ruoxi was impressed with her mother-in-law. She was really skilled at mind games; all it took was a few sentences for her to resolve the awkwardness.
âEh! My dear! Wipe the grease off your hand before taking the phone! Hey...grandma will give it to you, calm down! Donât fall...â
Yang Gongmingâs laughter could be heard from the side which lightened her mood.
Lin Ruoxi giggled. She could imagine Lanlanâs actions, trying to snatch the phone with greasy hands and lips because she was excited to talk to her.
âMommy! Lanlan misses you...â
Lanlan finally got the phone and she told Lin Ruoxi with a cutesy voice.
Lin Ruoxi stifled a sob and smiled instead, âMommy misses Lanlan too, do you want to come home?â
âMmh! Lanlan ate a lot of roast duck, I donât want to eat it anymore. I want to go home; can you come and pick me up...â
Lanlanâs words warmed her heart and Lin Ruoxi agreed to everything she wanted.
They talked for fifteen minutes before Lin Ruoxi bade Lanlan goodbye reluctantly. The call was switched over to Guo Xuehua and they decided to send Lanlan back to Zhonghai before Christmas and Lin Ruoxi could pick her up when she arrived.
Throughout the whole conversation, Guo Xuehua never mentioned if she was coming back together with Lanlan. Frankly, Lin Ruoxi felt relieved since it would still feel awkward to see her now even though she was no longer mad at Guo Xuehua.
After ending the call, Lin Ruoxi walked towards the kitchen to cook something for dinner. Although she wasnât hungry, she still had to eat something for her health. It wasnât hard for her to make a simple meal since she had been learning to cook from Wang Ma for some time.
However, the doorbell rang when she had just stepped out of the living room.
Lin Ruoxi made her way to the door and turned on the intercom and some strangersâ faces showed up on the screen.
A silver-haired man with pale and smooth skin stood at the front and he was looking through the intercom with an arrogant gaze.
A sense of dread welled up in Lin Ruoxiâs chest and she wondered if she should call the police. They looked nowhere friendly, judging by their gothic fashion â black cloaks and leather coats.
But before she could think much about it, the silver-haired man smirked and touched the door gently...
âBam!!!â
The customized door security burst open as if it was made out of paper!
Lin Ruoxi jumped in shock and ran out of their way while watching them get into her house with a frightened expression.
The silver-haired man glanced at Lin Ruoxi and when he laid his eyes on her neck, greed flashed across his eyes.
âWho...who are you?!â Lin Ruoxi forced herself to calm down.
No one answered her. The silver-haired man ordered the guys in Old English, âItâs around this house, search everywhere! Quick!â
âYes!!â
The men were like tornados as they went through the house with an immense speed!
Lin Ruoxiâs face was void of blood and she stopped herself from talking by biting on her lips as she watched them rummage through her house.
It was at this moment cackles were heard from the outside. Silhouettes made their way past the door, a few more people had joined them.
The handsome looking man at the front had long black hair tied up in a ponytail. It looked as if he was in his twenties or thirties and his extravagant suit with gold embroidery made him look especially classy.
âUdinese, your technique saved us time. Thanks for that.â The man smirked.
Udinese wasnât surprised to see him, âYou have a dog-like nose huh, Heinholtz. Why is your clan the only one here? Whereâs Raphael?â
Heinholtz laughed grimly, âThereâs no need for our leader to show up. The âMagical Girdleâ belongs to us!â