She never expected that a random person she bumped into would turn out to be so entangled with Gu Qiaoqiaoâs familyâand not just any entanglement, but a bloodâdeep lifeâandâdeath feud.
But that was a grudge between the Gu Family and the Chang Family; she wasnât interested, and for the time being she didnât want to get involved.
So Liu Ling pushed aside all stray thoughts and started cultivating again; raising her cultivation was what mattered most.
She hadnât expected that in the afternoon, Chu Chengfeng would come again.
His face looked awful when he came in; Liu Ling had no idea what was going on, so she just quietly watched him without speaking.
Chu Chengfeng was getting more and more out of line these days.
She had no intention of indulging him.
Some men were just asking for a lesson, but she hadnât expected Chu Chengfeng to open his mouth and demand, "Ling Ling, about that matter with the Qi Familyâtell me the truth. What exactly is going on?"
Liu Ling never imagined that what Chu Chengfeng would ask about was actually the Qi Family.
Her mind spun rapidlyâwho had told Chu Chengfeng?
Sima Xiaowen, or Gu Qiaoqiao!
Sima Xiaowen might not be willing to talk to Chu Chengfeng; after all, Sima Xiaowen was a proud, highâstrung womanâthat much she certainly understood.
Could it be Gu Qiaoqiao who told him?
"Brother Mo Li, who told you?" Liu Ling still asked in that soft, gentle tone.
"...Donât worry about who told me. Iâm asking youâwhat exactly is going on with the Qi Family in Yanjing?"
Chu Chengfengâs face was very unsightly; he hadnât expected that he would actually be deceived by Liu Ling.
Back when Liu Ling told him about those experiences, he had truly felt heartbroken.
And along with the heartache, heâd been furious; if Liu Ling hadnât said she only wanted to repay their upbringing grace, he definitely would have gone to settle accounts with that family.
Was this how you treated an adopted daughter, or was she a bought maidservant?
But under Liu Lingâs persuasion, he had swallowed it down.
Then he used his own resources and connections to handle the matter quickly, to restore Liu Lingâs former identity. He never imagined that everything Liu Ling had told him was false.
Though there was one thing that was trueâthe Qi Family was very poor, truly poor.
But that wasnât a reason for Liu Ling to lie.
His gaze on Liu Ling was complicated; there was disappointment in it.
Liu Lingâs expression also worsened, her eyes glistening with tears as she choked out, "What is wrong with you? You suddenly barge in here and question me like this. Who on earth has been talking nonsense to you? Brother Chu, whatever you wanted me to do, I did it. You told me not to call you Brother Mo Li, so I changed how I addressed you. You told me to stay here and cultivate in peace, so I stayed here quietly and never disturbed you. But you canât take advantage of that and then blame me without distinguishing right from wrong. Havenât you noticed how much youâve changed? If Iâd known it would turn out like this, why did you even bother finding me? Wouldnât it have been better to just let me fend for myself?"
As she spoke, Liu Ling burst into sobs, crying very sadly. Though it was half real, half pretended, in many ways it was also how she truly felt.
Although Chu Chengfeng had promised her that once people from the Phoenix Clan returned, they would go search for the Divine Land and then hold a wedding with her.
She had originally looked forward to that, but things were getting more and more off. The soâcalled marriage seemed to have changed flavor, and that was not what Liu Ling wanted.
Seeing Liu Ling crying so sadly, Chu Chengfeng sighed and sat down on a chair; the sharp edge heâd had just now was gone, but he still said in a low voice, "Ling Ling, I just got back from the police station. I originally went to ask a friend about what happened to you yesterday, but there I found a report of a caseâthe Qi Family from Yanjing, filing a missingâperson report for their adopted daughter..."
The Qi Family had filed a report in the Imperial Capital as well, because the matter had only been resolved yesterday. Right now the Qi Family was still in grief and indignation and hadnât yet thought to go to the Imperial Capital to withdraw the case. After all, now that the person had been found, they couldnât let the police keep searching everywhere.
But as fate would have it, Chu Chengfeng just happened to come across it. Heâd originally gone to check on the incident with that cab driver; he didnât want Liu Ling to leave any bad mark on her record. Even though he also agreed with what Liu Ling had done, it would be bad if the fire burned back onto her.
Yet he unexpectedly saw a report there.
Only then did he realize that apart from the Qi Family being poor, everything Liu Ling had told him was false.
Chu Chengfeng was both angry and heartsick. In his heart, the kind, lovable Liu Ling shouldnât have done something like this.
Although the Qi Family wasnât wealthy, they had cherished her as if she were their own daughter as she grew up.
Even now that her bloodline had awakened and she wanted to sever the ties of gratitude with them, there were many ways to do thatâbut none of those ways was the way she had made him choose.
Because of Liu Lingâs disappearance, nothing could be found at the scene; after all, all traces had been wiped clean by Chu Chengfeng. As a result, over these past few months the Qi Family had been through too much, almost breaking apart this already impoverished family.
If it had truly come to that, Chu Chengfeng would have been unable to shirk responsibility; he would have been an accomplice to evil. He couldnât understandâwhen things could have been handled so simply, why had Liu Ling chosen that method, and even dragged him into an unrighteous position.
But looking at Liu Ling now, she felt very unfamiliar to him.
It seemed Liu Ling didnât feel sheâd done anything wrong; instead, she felt deeply wronged.
He felt a bit powerless.
"...As for the taxi driver, donât ever bring that up with anyone again. No matter what, you had no right to deal with him on your own."
"What do you mean, Mo Li? Are you saying I should have just let him bully me?" Liu Ling demanded furiously. "Have you never thought about what would have happened if the person riding in that car wasnât us from the Mystic Sect, but an ordinary girl?"
Chu Chengfengâs head ached. What he meant was that Liu Lingâs action was right, but it depended on how you framed it. The driverâs death was his just deserts, but he didnât want Liu Ling to start acting with no restraints from now on.
"Iâm not blaming you, donât twist my words. Iâm just speaking from the standpoint of how things should be handled. After all, we live in the Imperial Capital; of course we have to follow all the rules here.
I already said this matter should never be mentioned again, treat it as if it never happened. But about the Qi Familyâcan you tell me how you dealt with them yesterday?"
He only knew that the Qi Familyâs situation wasnât as Liu Ling had described, but as for what Liu Ling had done in Yanjing yesterday, he still had no idea.
Liu Ling turned away in a huff and said angrily, "Why should I tell you? This has nothing to do with you."
"How does it have nothing to do with me? Iâm the one who erased your tracesâotherwise they wouldâve found you long ago, and their eldest daughter wouldnât have had to quit her job to search for you."
Seeing that he couldnât talk sense into her, Chu Chengfeng was getting a bit frantic and exasperated.
Liu Ling still stayed silent, simply refusing to tell him.
Chu Chengfengâs expression gradually darkened. Sitting in the chair, he stared at Liu Lingâs back, bathed in the glow of the setting sun outside the window, and a faint sense of powerlessness and defeat suddenly rose in his heart.