Chapter 196: Chapter 185: Transmission Across a Thousand Miles
Madam Yu didn’t give Chen Ming a chance to refuse. After speaking, she reminded Yu Haitang a few things and left directly.
He asked Yu Haitang in confusion, "Why does your aunt insist on marrying you to me? With your conditions, marrying a prince would be more than sufficient."
Yu Haitang said softly, "You should have heard that when I was born, a Demi Immortal predicted my fate and gave a Seven-star Begonia prophecy, right?"
"Just because of that?"
Seeing his reaction, Yu Haitang knew he didn’t understand the significance of that Demi Immortal.
She spoke in a calm tone, "Since I can remember, any man who gets too close to me encounters misfortune shortly after."
Chen Ming became curious instantly, "What kind of misfortune? Do they die? How close do they have to be for it to count? How long does it take to trigger?"
A series of questions left Yu Haitang stunned. She stared at him, "You... aren’t you afraid?"
"Of course, I’m afraid," Chen Ming said seriously, "That’s why I need to understand how this misfortune is triggered, so I can find a way to avoid it."
Curses like this are the hardest to guard against; saying you’re not scared would be a lie.
He remembered something else, "By the way, Ji Qianxing often follows you. Why is he fine?"
Yu Haitang sneered, "Because he never gets within three feet of me. As for you, the fact that you’re still alive is unexpected. Aunt thinks you have a tough fate, so she insists on you marrying me."
Thinking back, Chen Ming realized that’s true. Every time he saw Ji Qianxing, he kept a certain distance from her. He originally thought it was out of respect; he didn’t expect it to be this reason.
Even her former personal maid would not get too close to her.
As for him, if not for the system, he would have been dead from True Qi depletion. Even if he didn’t die, if Yu Haitang died, he would be hard-pressed to survive.
This curse is indeed something.
Chen Ming asked again, "How long does it take for it to take effect? A quarter of an hour? Or does an instant count?"
He asked a few more questions, but Yu Haitang turned around, ignoring him.
He felt she was a bit annoyed, not knowing which word triggered her.
Next, Chen Ming called Qiuxiang over and instructed, "Go and invite Hong Zilin over."
"Yes."
...
Hong Zilin had been visiting the Chen Mansion frequently these days, somewhat worried.
In the vast Chen Mansion, the master didn’t know Martial Arts, the Protector Gu Junrong was merely a Protector, the strongest Wu Liu lacked worldly experience, and Chunxiang and Xiaxiang were womenfolk...
Only he could take on this worry.
When Hong Zilin was notified and saw a lovely maid, he realized it was someone from next door and cautiously asked, "What’s the matter, miss?"
The maid said, "My master wishes to invite you over."
It was just what Hong Zilin wanted, an opportunity to probe their bottom, and he readily agreed.
He had investigated, only knowing that the neighboring household also had the surname Chen, came from Jiangzhou City, but knew nothing about names or origins, and had not left the mansion since moving in, appearing extremely mysterious.
In comparison, the grandfather and grandson on the other side seemed much more normal.
Before long, Hong Zilin followed the lovely maid through the neighboring gate and asked, "May I ask how to address the elder sister?"
"I am Qiuxiang, the maid."
He laughed, "How coincidental. I know two elder sisters whose names resemble yours quite closely, named Chunxiang and Xiaxiang."
"Oh?" Qiuxiang covered her mouth with a laugh.
Hong Zilin seized the chance to ask, "I wonder what matter your master invites me for?"
"You’ll know when you meet my master—here we are."
Qiuxiang arrived in a backyard courtyard, reported through the door, "Master, the person has arrived."
A voice came from the room, "Hmm, you may leave now."
Hong Zilin’s first reaction was how familiar the voice sounded, then he heard a familiar address, "Zilin, why are you just standing? Come in."
Hong Zilin was both surprised and delighted, exclaiming, "Uncle?"
He pushed the door open, indeed seeing his Uncle Chen Ming sitting inside, extremely excited, "It’s really you! Uncle, why haven’t you returned home?"
After the excitement came doubt.
After asking, he sensed something was off; there were other people in the room.
Chen Ming sat beside a curtain, with his left hand reaching inside it. There was clearly someone sitting beside him; although he could only vaguely see a silhouette, Hong Zilin judged it was a woman.
He was confused, "Uncle, you are..."
Chen Ming said, "It’s a long story; I’ll explain to you later. I’ve called you over for something I need you to do."
Hong Zilin realized the seriousness of the matter, suppressed his doubts, "Uncle, please instruct me."
Chen Ming began instructing him, "I’ll give you a letter; you take it back to my elder brother..."
...
The letter’s content was simple, stating that he had sought advice from an expert in Jiangzhou City. Within the year, the ancestral graves needed to be renovated, and the elder brother’s entire family had to be present.
Sure enough, early the next morning, Chen Rui led the family out of Qingfeng City, heading back to their hometown.
Just as they left the city gates, they encountered a squad of Six Gates constables, who just happened to travel with them, escorting them all the way home.
...
At the same time, Chen Ming also sent Qiuxiang with that token to Shang’an Trading Company.
Then, a middle-aged woman followed Qiuxiang back. Upon seeing Su Zhining’s condition, her eyes flashed with a palpable killing intent, "Who injured her?"
This killing intent made Chen Ming shudder, and he explained, "This is a long story..."
Then, the middle-aged woman’s cold gaze swept over, making his scalp tingle, "A Third Grade expert tried to kill me. She forcefully broke through, causing her Gang Yuan to run amok and her meridians to rupture."
Just hearing this brief description, the woman understood the dire situation and said, somewhat moved, "Suffering such serious injuries, she can still be alive until now?"
Although "Jingzhe Skill" is an incredible secret technique, it also has limitations. With the complete rupture of the meridians in the body, it naturally can’t be performed.
Logically speaking, she shouldn’t have been able to be saved.
Chen Ming said, "I had no time to spare, so I had no choice but to call you over, hoping you could take good care of her."
The middle-aged woman gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and took Su Zhining away.
After Su Zhining was taken away, only Chen Ming and Yu Haitang were left in the room.
He said, "Since you know so many secrets, you should be well aware of what I am about to face. And you seem not worried at all?"
Yu Haitang lazily replied, "What’s the use of being anxious?"
He said, "I can’t hold on much longer."
"Don’t you have the ’Blood Burning Technique’?"
He sighed and said, "To tell you the truth, I’ve overdrawn my life force too much. Less than ten years of life remains, and I can no longer use that secret technique."
"Do you think I believe that?"
"If the lady doesn’t believe, there’s nothing I can do—"
At that moment, a thunderous voice resounded from the sky, gradually becoming clearer, "Chen—Ming—come—quickly—"
"This is—"
Chen Ming lifted his head.
Yu Haitang’s eyes flashed with excitement, "It’s the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Skill, which only someone in the Divine Treasure Realm can perform."
He took a deep breath and said, "It’s Elder Shang. I must go."
Yu Haitang looked at him and calmly said, "If you let go now, I will die."
Chen Ming said, "You should know how dangerous that place is."
Yu Haitang said, "The longer you delay, the more danger your family and friends are in. Those people will try everything to find your whereabouts. If they can’t find you, they will look for your family, your friends..."
Chen Ming knew she was right; Elder Shang’s shout put him in the spotlight.
Without further words, he apologized and carried Yu Haitang horizontally, grabbing the "Mingfeng Sword" with one hand, and jumped out of the window.
"Young Master Chen!"
A voice from the mister behind them called.
Chen Ming didn’t respond, using the "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens" with an extremely elegant gesture, he flew over the rooftops. In no time, he had left the mister behind, invisible.
...
Yu Haitang wrapped her arms around Chen Ming’s neck, her bright and deep eyes gazing at his face with an extremely complicated expression.
At first, she hadn’t believed in the so-called "Blood Burning Technique." With such a cost of ten years of life to instantly recover consumed True Qi and return to full strength, it didn’t sound real.
Until this moment, she was shocked to realize that Chen Ming’s cultivation was indeed profound, not at all like he had just broken through to the Fourth Grade.
His Gang Qi cultivation was no less than hers.
This made Yu Haitang’s heart tremble.
Chen Ming had just broken through to the Fourth Grade, and afterward, he had been healing Su Zhining and her, with no time for practice. Why then, during this period, was his cultivation constantly soaring?
This was simply unreasonable.
She herself had taken three years after breaking through to the Fourth Grade to reach the peak of Gang Qi.
Chen Ming only took half a month.
There could only be one possibility, everything he said was true.
The true purpose of the "Blood Burning Technique" is to exchange life for cultivation!
No wonder his cultivation was skyrocketing.
No wonder he seemed to encounter no bottlenecks...
In an instant, Yu Haitang understood many things.
"Chen—Ming—"
Again, the sky resounded with a thunderous voice, vast and awe-inspiring, causing countless people to run into the streets, searching for the source of that voice.
Some seasoned martial artists realized something and rushed toward the source of the sound.
Along the way, Chen Ming saw many martial artists, almost all of them Fourth Grade or above martial artists.
Fourth Grade ones, like him, flew swiftly over the rooftops.
Those above the Third Grade seemed to fly with the wind, their feet not touching the ground.
Soon, Prince Zhenhai’s Mansion was in sight, with many people stopped outside, seemingly blocked by something.
PS: It’s five hundred thousand words now, noted. Requesting monthly tickets.
