Chapter 4039 — Han Jingyi's Beloved

As the young master of the Chongtian Pavilion, Xu Lingchong had only ever been on the receiving end of flattery; when had he ever stooped to flattering anyone himself? But when you are under someone else's roof, you must bow your head. In a situation like this, if he failed to read the room, he would only bring misery upon himself.

Yet no sooner had Xu Lingchong called out "Brother Pao" than the mysterious man sent him flying into the corner with a single kick, nearly injuring him internally.

"Brother Pao? Is that yours to say? Are you suggesting you and I are equals?" The mysterious man's tone was unfriendly.

Startled badly, Xu Lingchong ignored his pain and hastily corrected himself: "Lord Pao..."

"Mm, your aptitude isn't bad, and you harbor hatred in your heart—just right for cultivating my unique art, the Chrysanthemum Treasure Manual." This Junior Brother Pao nodded. "Actually, you needn't worry too much. The ultimate secret of the Chrysanthemum Treasure Manual is possession and rebirth! Though you are currently incomplete, an imperfect man, so long as you cultivate diligently with me from now on and reach the requisite level of power, you will one day be able to possess another's body and be reborn!"

Possession and rebirth—even in the cultivation world, where masters gathered like clouds, such a thing was exceedingly rare. For all his breadth of experience, Xu Lingchong had only ever heard rumors of it and never truly encountered it.

He had never imagined that the Chrysanthemum Treasure Manual the mysterious man wanted him to cultivate would actually contain such a legendary divine technique!

"Wonderful! Wahahahaha, I'm going to possess Wei Zhao!!!" Xu Lingchong's gloom of recent days was swept away in an instant. No man truly wished to be a eunuch; given even a sliver of hope, he would clutch at it as his last lifeline.

"Mm, hatred is good." A cold smile flickered at the corner of Junior Brother Pao's mouth, and he handed Xu Lingchong a sheet of paper. "These are the notes I've compiled from my own insights—they'll be of great benefit to your cultivation of the Chrysanthemum Treasure Manual. Take them for reference! Also, swallow this pill; it is meant to complement the cultivation of the Chrysanthemum Treasure Manual. As for this Star Ink Stone, I've used a small portion of it—you may take the rest. This mysterious senior brother of yours will teach you how to use it!"

"Thank you, Lord Pao! Thank you so much!" Xu Lingchong, suspecting nothing, took them and nodded his thanks repeatedly. His mind was now consumed by a single thought: possession and rebirth!

Watching Xu Lingchong's performance, Junior Brother Pao and the mysterious man exchanged a glance and smiled silently together.

West Island. Having just returned from the auction on the Far North Island, Ning Xuefei could hardly wait to summon her closest confidante. Had Wei Zhao been present, he would have been astonished to see this good friend of hers—for it was none other than Han Jingyi!

Ever since coming to Cloud Stair Island, Han Jingyi had kept up her hobby from the mortal world, forever fond of tinkering with strange mechanisms, and Ning Xuefei, the young miss of the Ning family, shared the same interest. After a chance meeting, the two had taken to each other at once and soon became the closest of friends.

Unfortunately, technology on Cloud Stair Island was limited, and without electronic components, Han Jingyi could no longer build her automated cauldron, and thus could no longer refine pills. The two could only study other ingenious mechanisms together.

Ning Xuefei might not care for cultivation, but like the Rubbish King, she was a bona fide artifact forger!

While chatting with Han Jingyi, she had inadvertently discovered that the two of them actually shared a common "master"—Sun Jichuan. To varying degrees, both had received his guidance.

With this unexpected connection between them, their relationship grew even closer. They shared almost everything, and whatever happened, they wanted to be the first to tell the other.

"Jingjing, Jingjing, quick, look! These pills are the greatest harvest from my trip to the Far North Island—what do you think of their quality?" Ning Xuefei said, her face alight with the air of showing off a treasure.

"Huh? The quality of these pills would be rare even among the very finest. This is the first time I've seen pills this good since coming to Cloud Stair Island—just like the ones Brother Wei Zhao used to refine back in the mortal world!" Han Jingyi exclaimed in wonder.

"Hee hee! My eye for treasures is sharp, isn't it? Want to know how I got these pills?" Ning Xuefei said, feigning mystery.

"How did you get them?" Han Jingyi played along.

After hearing the story, Han Jingyi's big eyes flickered, and she asked, "Feifei, that young shop assistant—what's his name?"

Ning Xuefei was taken aback and scratched her head. "I don't know either. I forgot to ask."

"Then what does he look like?" Han Jingyi pressed.

"Huh? Jingjing, why are you asking so carefully?" Ning Xuefei eyed her up and down suspiciously, then suddenly threw her arms around her and giggled. "Ah! I know! Jingjing, did my story make you fall for that young assistant? Want me to play matchmaker when I get the chance?"

Han Jingyi's pretty face flushed red at once, and she wrinkled her nose. "Forget it. You know perfectly well I already have someone I like!"

She and Ning Xuefei shared everything—matters of the mortal world, and especially anything concerning Wei Zhao, were known to Ning Xuefei in complete detail.

"Haha, all right, let's drop it for now. Today we'll keep working on that automated forging mechanism—I've been dying of impatience these past few days..." After a bit of horseplay, Ning Xuefei dragged Han Jingyi toward a secret chamber, a private base set aside especially for their research.

"Mmhm, about that automated forging mechanism, I've come up with a new approach these past few days—we can give it a try..." Han Jingyi promptly put the young assistant out of her mind and began discussing the matter with relish.

Wei Zhao, of course, remained completely unaware of all this. After returning to North Island, he too heard about Xu Lingchong's affair. Though somewhat unexpected, it was still within the bounds of reason.

The attempted rape was a fact. Even if Shangguan Lan'er had not come forward to denounce him, Xu Lingchong would never have dared show himself rashly. Judging from the circumstances at the time, his present situation remained unknown, and as for his going missing—that was only natural.

What Wei Zhao had not expected was that even someone with Xu Lingchong's backing could be kicked while he was down. The Enforcement Hall, under Gongyang Jun, certainly had plenty of nerve.

"Just as well. The Enforcement Hall's actions have saved me no small amount of trouble." Wei Zhao smiled knowingly at the wanted notice.

Even though Xu Lingchong's disappearance was confirmed, Wei Zhao still could not let his guard down! R1152