Chapter 220 “Goddess or a Witch”

It was late into the night by the time Ling Yue arrived at the Lan residence, even so, the light remains to be bright inside the manor as the family awaits her return.

“Father, why hasn’t Ling Yue come back yet? Can it be something happened to her in the palace?” Lan Caier asks, her eyes constantly peering out the door for signs of the familiar figure.

Like their daughter, the general and his wife were also concerned about their god daughter’s welfare, so much so that even the food on the table were cold to the touch at this point of time.

“Sit down, you think Ling Yue is as hot headed as you? Her brain is much better than yours so quit pacing around.” Lan Ying Wu sends an eyeful to her impatient daughter.

As parents, they know their daughter far too well. If they don’t try to calm this impulsive girl, it’s a certainty Lan Caier would dash off for the palace.

Since today was Ling Yue’s first day reporting to the royal hospital, all three members of the Lan House were tight on their edges. As a result, the first image to welcome Ling Yue after stepping through the doorway was the anxious trio waiting in the main hall.

“God Father, God Mother, Sister, why haven’t you all eaten yet?” A genuine warmth swelled inside her heart, because Ling Yue knows, this family has thoroughly accepted her into their fray.

Not missing the beaming smile on the girl’s face, only now does the rest of the Lan family place their heart at ease. Then again, how can Ling Yue not be smiling after making a killing today? Whether it be openly or secretly, she had taught both leading figures of the hospital a lesson. And to add icing to the cake, she raked in forty thousand gold on top of breaking into the fifth cauldron level with her spirit force.

“Aigh, how come you came back so late Ling Yue, you nearly scared me to death you know? Humph, looking at your happy face, I’m guessing you were busy running off to scourge others again.” Dearly holding onto Ling Yue’s shoulder, Lan Caier leads her sister into the hall to sit while Madam Lan happily orders the servants to reheat the dishes for everyone.

Using this brief opening, Ling Yue roughly explains the details of what happened during the daytime. Of course, she made sure to omit the part of her cauldron sucking up the old man’s spirit force. Towards the comedic story, Lan Caier did her usual thing and burst out laughing while the parents could only shake their heads helplessly at Ling Yue’s thuggish behavior.

But when the story came to the part about the birds running off to pay their homage to Little Crow, Lan Ying Wu suddenly stopped his drinking and showed a startled face.

“So the ruckus with the birds in the palace is caused by you?”

“Father, what do you mean by that? Did something happen in the palace that I’m not aware of?” Due to being hard at work during the daytime, Ling Yue remains oblivious to everything else that occurred in the other locations.

Earlier in the morning when Lan Ying Wu was just coming out of his usual court meeting, that’s when the incident with the birds occurred.

In the entire history of the kingdom, it can be said this was definitely the first to find a flock of birds taking flight at once and then disappearing from sight.

To deal with the matter, the king urgently gathered the officials to re-engage their meeting. Even the senior members of the alchemist tower were involved in the end after being summoned.

“While we were all trying to figure out what the omen meant, Hong Feng suddenly burst in on the meeting and claimed it’s a vision of the earth and heavens. The meaning is that Da Xia will soon experience a huge calamity.”

Without exception, the generals on Lan Ying Wu’s side dismissed the notion immediately, believing Hong Feng was merely being superstition.

Unfortunately, the king thought otherwise and believed the nonsense – the incident with the rainbow peony was still lingering in the man’s mind.

“What nonsense! Father, it’s just Little Crow’s doing.” Finding it hilarious after listening to the general’s story, Ling Yue almost had trouble believing those in such high places would be so foolish.

“I know it can’t be true, so when I wanted to refute the claim in front of the king, that’s when a palace maid came rushing in to report Lady Yao had fainted. They say a mysterious earth class artifact suddenly appeared in the lady’s hand after she awoke. It’s called the Brilliant Star Astrolabe from what I heard.”

Earth class artifact?

Ling Yue became shocked because her premonition had become true, that Lady Yao doesn’t give up. Though the earth class artifact was a tad beyond her expectation.

“Ling Yue, I don’t how to say this, but the prophecy by that woman is not false. It was noon when it occurred. News came quickly that a giant earthquake shook the land north of the capital and caused major damage to its biggest city. Using that as evidence, Hong Feng then led a bunch of his goons and claimed Lady Yao is possessed by a goddess and can now predict the future through the stars. As a result, the king was convinced and immediately ordered the construction of a stargazing tower.” Due to this matter, Lan Ying Wu’s mood became quite agitated the entire day.

This Lady Yao was definitely no pushover. After having her fragrance pill ruined at Ling Yue’s hand, she’s been losing the king’s favor ever since. But now, the woman suddenly pops out with this whole earthquake prediction and turned the tide around in full swing.

In the king’s eye, Lady Yao was no longer a concubine, she’s an object of worship now and can practically get away with any of her demands.

“This is clearly a trap! How can the king be so muddleheaded? That woman is clearly using Little Crow’s power to put one over everyone’s head.” After keeping quiet until now, Lan Caier suddenly throws this bomb out there and caused her mother to freak out.

In a rush, Madam Lan cover’s her daughter’s mouth to keep the girl from saying more for fear of eavesdropping. Speaking ill of the king was punishable by death if it becomes known!

“No, this matter is not so simple. Perhaps that Lady Yao really does have the ability to predict the future, but being possessed by a goddess, I say that is most likely the act. As to why Lady Yao would suddenly have such a miraculous ability, I’m assuming it has something to do with that earth class artifact.”

After some pondering, Ling Yue figured the earthquake must be a natural disaster for its too big for one person to fabricate. Besides, from what she heard from Master Longyu, its said that some of the more advanced level alchemists really could calculate some of the future through astrology.

It appears the one behind this Lady Yao is finally losing their patience after I ruined that fragrance pill.

“This matter will certainly affect Yun Xiu.” Madam Lan sighs, “why is her life so tragic. From what I heard she and the king was just getting better in their relationship, but now…”

They say the most heartless relationship was that of a king’s. Through this, it’s likely Queen Liu’s last strand of feelings for the man will be burned away.

“God Father, God Mother, don’t worry, we can leave the matter for now. Let’s observe and wait. Whether or not its truly a goddess at work, we will know once its put to the test.” An uncomfortable feeling of being caught in the light while the enemy hides in the dark was creeping up on Ling Yue’s mind.

Rather than saying she’s currently fighting with Hong Feng and Lady Yao, it’s more correct to say she’s fighting the one manipulating everything in the background.

With the fact that an earth class artifact now lies in the enemy’s hand, Ling Yue has come to a decision. She will speed up the expansion of her Ghost Sect and find a way to buy an earth class artifact of her own from the underground auction. Only like that can she feel confident about gaining victory.