Chapter 970: My Man Prepared Them for Me

　　Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

　　Silence set in.

　　Seemingly oblivious to the change in atmosphere, Jun Jiuqing curved his eyes, making them resemble crescent moons with red glowing dots. “Unfortunately, the Taiyu Dynasty’s people are so useless that they fled after failing to defeat a legendary fiend.”

　　As Chu Liuyue slowly unclenched her fists to reveal her sweaty palms, Mu Hongyu and the others inwardly heaved sighs of relief as well. Thank goodness…

　　“Did you just say that the Taiyu Dynasty’s people… fled from a legendary fiend?” questioned the girl in Jun Jiuqing’s team suspiciously.

　　Jun Jiuqing scoffed. “Can’t you guys even recognize a red-tailed phoenix?”

　　His team members looked in Chu Liuyue’s direction, and sure enough, they saw a palm-sized red fiend perched on her shoulder. From its size and shape, they realized that it was indeed a legendary red-tailed phoenix.

　　“Oh yeah, there was a rumor from a while ago saying that… Shangguan Yue contracted a legendary fiend…” said a young man softly.

　　Although the Beiming Dynasty was rather far away from the Tianling Dynasty and both seldom interacted with one another, they would still more or less know some of the major happenings in these neighboring dynasties.

　　Not to mention that people got even more curious about the Tianling Dynasty after knowing that Jun Jiuqing had invited them to Ancient Phoenix Mountain’s opening. There were a lot of private discussions about this matter, and the most widely discussed subject was this young lady in front of them—the Tianling Dynasty’s new ruler, Shangguan Yue. After all, everything about her was simply too amazing.

　　Knowing that the Tianling Dynasty’s people had the help of a legendary fiend, the Beiming Dynasty’s people weren’t too surprised that the former had managed to defeat the Taiyu Dynasty’s people.

　　Upon hearing that, the lady in the Beiming Dynasty’s group took a closer look at her surroundings.

　　“Qing Dai, these marks do seem to be left behind by a red-tailed phoenix…” whispered a young man next to her.

　　She nodded, although her eyebrows were tightly knitted together as she felt that something was amiss. However, she reckoned that there was nothing to be suspicious of since Jun Jiuqing had already given an explanation, so she pushed her suspicions aside.

　　…

　　“It was just a small fight. I apologize for making a joke of ourselves,” said Chu Liuyue politely as if she were a completely different person from the person she was moments ago.

　　Although she’s smiling and acting all polite, she must be cursing me out on the inside right now. There are a lot of things that she has to pay attention to when being in front of so many people. At the thought of this, Jun Jiuqing’s mood improved considerably, and his smile deepened. “No such thing. It just so happened that I was feeling bored from staying in the mountain, and this matter happened to relieve my boredom.”

　　He’s probably the only person here who can say such stuff so easily. Knowing that Jun Jiuqing was referring to her, Chu Liuyue narrowed her eyes but ultimately kept her temper in check. After several brief exchanges with him, I can basically confirm that the Beiming Dynasty’s Crown Prince has a problem indeed. A huge problem, in fact. It’s better for us not to come in too much contact with him.

　　She raised her eyebrows and smiled. “I’m glad that you didn’t take it to heart. It’s just that we still have some matters to attend to which can’t be delayed any longer, so we really have to take our leave now.”

　　Following this, she cupped her fist in obeisance and swiftly left with Mu Hongyu and the others without so much of a head turn.

　　Jun Jiuqing let out a soft snort. She wants to get rid of me? Not so easy.

　　Qing Dai was slightly taken aback by the look she saw on Jun Jiuqing’s face from the corners of her eyes. The latter was watching the Tianling Dynasty’s people leave. Although he looked as lazy and wicked as before, his alluring eyes were focused on one of the five people.

　　It only took a split second for Qing Dai to know that Jun Jiuqing was looking at Shangguan Yue. In fact, she had sensed right from the beginning that his attitude toward Shangguan Yue was very different. He seemed to have known her since long ago, and he was extra forgiving toward her. Had it been someone else who spoke to him in such a manner, his reaction certainly wouldn’t be like this. That person might even very likely lose their life if he so much as found them to be an eyesore.

　　However… it was different for Shangguan Yue. Everyone could tell that she was somewhat keeping her distance from Jun Jiuqing despite her respectful attitude. But still, the latter didn’t seem to mind it at all and was even somewhat indulgent toward her. Furthermore, he had never looked at anyone with such a gaze before.

　　Qing Dai couldn’t describe this feeling, but she could clearly sense it. Don’t tell me that…

　　“What’s on your mind, Qing Dai?” asked the person next to her out of curiosity.

　　Her eyelids quickly fluttered down as she hurriedly pushed her thoughts aside and eked out a smile. “Nothing. I-I was just… envious that she managed to contract with a legendary fiend.”

　　The people around her didn’t notice her peculiar behavior as they nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Owning a legendary fiend is extremely rare even in the Beiming Dynasty! She’s so lucky!”

　　“I heard that she was killed by someone, but she somehow managed to come back alive! I don’t think the word ‘luck’ is enough to describe it…”

　　“I’ve heard some rumors too. It seems that her fiancé and younger sister drove her to the brink of desperation, and she eventually decided to die by burning herself… It’s quite tragic, actually…”

　　“Have you guys finished talking?” Jun Jiuqing’s frigid voice interrupted their conversation.

　　When they looked up and saw Jun Jiuqing’s glacial expression and stiff smile, fear struck their hearts, for it was a sign of anger. “Y-yes! We made a mistake! We shouldn’t have talked so much!”

　　“Please forgive us, Your Highness!” Upon realizing that something was wrong, the four people hurriedly admitted their mistake and apologized to him.

　　It did nothing to appease him though, as he still appeared to be sullen. “If I hear such things coming from you guys again… I’ll make sure that all of you lose your tongues!”

　　“Y-yes!” Having never expected Jun Jiuqing to fly into such a huge rage, they were feeling quite flustered at the moment. But at the same time, they finally realized that Shangguan Yue wasn’t someone to be trifled with and wondered why Jun Jiuqing treated her the way he did.

　　Qing Dai pursed her lips and looked down, her eyelids covering the dimming of her eyes.

　　Meanwhile, Jun Jiuqing’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took a look at the sky. “It’s almost time…”

　　…

　　It was only after covering quite a good distance and making sure that they were completely separated from the Beiming Dynasty’s team that Chu Liuyue and her group stopped to rest by a river.

　　She then helped the rest to treat their external injuries and gave a pill to each of them. It was a good thing that she had a lot of reserves in her Cosmic Ring, so it made things quite convenient for her now.

　　“Liuyue, how come you carry so many pills with you?” Mu Hongyu couldn’t resist asking after she consumed the pill and felt better after following Chu Liuyue’s instructions to circulate her force and adjust her breathing. Even for a heavenly doctor, she has way too many pills on her!

　　Chu Liuyue blinked and gently turned the Cosmic Ring on her finger as her lips bloomed to a smile. “Actually, I didn’t pack too many things. It was Rong Xiu who helped me prepare most of the stuff..”