All three Enforcers begged Xuan Tian to stop.
Xuan Tian sighed. And he stopped.
The room fell silent again. This time, it felt heavy.
"Erm… There is something I want to add." Ling Yu broke the silence cautiously.
Everyone looked at her.
Being the center of attention was nothing new to Ling Yu, but this time she felt awkward. This wasn't when she wanted to have everyone's attention.
Xuan Tian's gaze became gentler.
"Go on," he said encouragingly.
"Captain Bai asked me to relay something to ICEB. She said… Erm… She said to be careful with the Crown Prince."
Ling Yu was looking at the four ICEB members in turns. She knew it would be devastating for them, but they had to know the truth.
Wu Zhenhai swallowed hard, "Did she… did she say why?"
Ling Yu shook her head, "She didn't have time nor the energy to do it. She was held in a cell at the lowest level. She… she was barely breathing. And when we were surrounded, before Iron… I mean Xuan Tian saved us, she was ready to kill herself. She didn't want to be a burden to me or ICEB."
Wu Zhenhai was still in denial, "Maybe she meant something else. Maybe she meant be careful when saving the Crown Prince. Maybe…"
"Captain! Are you listening to yourself?" Luo Heng exploded.
"It is clear what Captain Bai was warning us about! Haven't you been listening to Xuan Tian Shengzun?! And…"
"But, we can't just take the information at face value! At ICEB, we've been taught that…"
"To hell with that!" Luo Heng shouted and jumped up.
"Enough!" Han Zhaofeng stopped them before things escalated even further.
"Enough." He repeated in a softer voice.
"Luo Heng, sit back down."
"I apologise, Shengzun." He saluted to Han Zhaofeng. Them turned to Xuan Tian and saluted. He did the same to Wu Zhenhai and the rest of the room. And sat back down.
Han Zhaofeng sighed, "It is clear that everyone is tired. Unless there's another information that should be shared now, why don't we all go rest? It's almost dawn."
Xuan Tian could see, their discussion had taken a toll on Han Zhaofeng. He was still recovering from qi deviation.
He nodded, "I agree. Let's rest." He got up.
Wu Zhenghai got up and rolled Han Zhaofeng out of the room, into the bedroom.
Everyone else scattered, and the room was soon emptied.
------------------------------
Xuan Tian stood alone in the empty room.
"What are you thinking, General?" Jing Xue approached him slowly.
Without looking at Jing Xue, "You've heard the discussion. And during the rescue, you were observing from the shadows. Noticed anything? Is the Crown Prince really corrupt?"
Jing Xue sat like a well-trained dog, "Nothing that you haven't said already. But I did smell something else in the Eastern Palace. Not in the dungeon, but from Lingxu's cultivators."
"From Lingxu cultivators?"
"Yes."
"What did you smell?"
"Debauchery."
"Huh? Debauchery?"
"Yes. Bodily fluids. Sweat, saliva, pee, se..."
"Got it. I got it! I understand what you mean by debauchery." Xuan Tian stopped Jing Xue before he could finish his sentence.
"Then why did you ask…?"
Xuan Tian pinched the bridge of his nose, "What I wanted to ask was, you said from Lingxu's cultivators, as in, more than one."
"Yeah. More than one."
"How many?"
"Most of them?"
Xuan Tian snapped his head to Jing Xue, "Most of them?!"
Then he realized he was speaking out loud, and covered his mouth. "What do you mean most of them?!"
"Exactly that. Every cultivator from Lingxu carried the scent of other people's bodily fluids. It is most likely because they don't stick with one partner."
Xuan Tian was speechless. He knew that some cultivators chose the path of dual cultivation, and how they would practice that, but to hear that most of the disciples of one Peak of Lingxu were involved…
He remembered something, widened his eyes in horror, and turned to Jing Xue, "Then what about…"
He couldn't finish his sentence. He realized it wasn't his business. But Jing Xue didn't have the same restraint as he did.
"Ling Yu and Li Ran? Nope. They're both clean. But there's this smell from Ling Yu that's familiar to me, I just can't remember where I smelled it before."
"You really need to stop smelling Ling Yu. That's very impolite." But Xuan Tian felt relieved inwardly.
Jing Xue looked up to Xuan Tian, giving him the eye, "Ge, I've got nothing else but smell. I can't help it. How can I not smell? It's not like I can shut off my nose."
"Stop giving excuses."
"Be reasonable, Ge."
They fell silent.
Jing Xue broke it first, "Look, over there. By the lake, that's Ling Yu."
He looked at Xuan Tian, teasingly, "I approve." And grinned.
Xuan Tian glared at Jing Xue, "Watch it!"
But he also wanted to approached her. He had already noticed Ling Yu before Jing Xue pointed her out.
Before he stepped out, he glared at Jing Xue, "You better behave or I'll send you back home."
Jing Xue rolled his eyes and left.
------------------------------
Ling Yu was standing alone by the lake. She circulated her spirit energy gently, and produced tiny light orbs, swirling around her like fireflies.
Xuan Tian walked silently toward her, observing her.
Her spirit energy circulation is stable. She's about the same strength as Mid Immortal 1. She advances quickly. Xuan Tian smiled.
Ling Yu felt someone approaching, but she didn't show it. Her Shixiongs were often sneaked up behind her, testing her. They have an ongoing agreement that they would help Ling Yu improve her senses.
When Xuan Tian was about 10 steps away, Ling Yu's dagger – Yue Ya – suddenly appeared in her hand, and she turned to attack Xuan Tian.
Xuan Tian hadn't expected Ling Yu to attack, but he didn't falter. He didn't want to hurt Ling Yu, so he simply moved slightly to avoid the attack.
Ling Yu noticed that it was Xuan Tian, they locked eyes, but she didn't stop. She changed her attack trajectory, chasing Xuan Tian.
Xuan Tian avoided Ling Yu's attacks easily. Every time, she only missed by one finger. Making her anxious to keep attacking.
Ling Yu kept attacking and kept missing by one finger.
Then her dagger was replaced by a sword. Yue Ya moved to her left hand, now she was wielding two weapons, attacking Xuan Tian.
It didn't really matter for Xuan Tian. He kept evading the attacks perfectly.
Jing Xue was watching from the porch. He was excited. Those two looked like they are dancing under the moonlight. So romantic. General really knows how to flirt.
Xuan Tian could have ended this 'sword dance' a while ago, but he chose not to. He was feeling a little overwhelmed seeing Ling Yu again and was taken by surprised when he realized he didn't know how to react around her.
But this… sparring, he understood it best.
It was perfect for their second meeting.