I Became the Devil Queen's Heart Demon-Chapter 294 - 138 Empress: Despicable little thief, I will ignore you from now on! Fallen fairy! _2
"It seems something is wrong with my body..."
"It’s all because of Chen Mo! That rascal, every time we meet, he torments me... And to think I was worried about his safety, I should’ve never gone to the Chen Mansion..."
Ling Ningzhi’s mind was in turmoil, feeling a bit annoyed, but more so an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Ultimately, it was her own choice, and she couldn’t blame anyone.
In a certain sense, she even had to thank Chen Mo for giving her hope to save her grandfather.
Gratitude, shame, powerlessness, curiosity... a myriad of complex emotions intertwined, making her feel like she was trapped in a vortex, being pulled into an abyss by an irresistible force.
"Since that’s the case, might as well let myself fall further! There’s no other choice anyway, right?"
A ridiculous thought emerged in Ling Ningzhi’s mind.
Once the thought took root, it grew wildly like weeds, no matter how many times she recited the Heart Clarity Spell, it couldn’t be eliminated. Instead, it continued to spread, occupying her entire mind.
The candlelight flickered, casting a soft glow on her exquisite face.
Her cheeks were flushed with an intoxicating redness, her eyes drooped as if covered with a thin mist, she hesitated for a long while, and her slender fingers slowly reached downward.
Knock, knock, knock —
Suddenly, the window lattice was knocked.
Ling Ningzhi snapped back to reality, hurriedly withdrawing her hand, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, "What am I doing? I must be crazy..."
She quickly calmed her emotions, got up, went to the window, and pushed it open. A snowy white hawk falcon flew in, landing on her shoulder, a piece of jade clutched in its beak.
Ling Ningzhi reached out to take the jade, stroked the smooth feathers, and let the hawk falcon fly away. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Primordial Qi injected into it, lines of text appeared before her eyes.
Before descending the mountain, she had entrusted the sect steward to investigate any information related to Immortal Materials and to periodically convey it to her.
However, the information was too scattered, mostly unfounded rumors needing to be screened by herself. Ling Ningzhi memorized all the content and then crushed the jade into powder.
She secured the window and sat back on the meditation mat.
Recalling her ridiculous actions earlier, she couldn’t help feeling embarrassed, expelled all distracting thoughts, and continued her cultivation.
Yet she was completely unaware that the Dao Heart, once as hard as ice, had already quietly developed cracks.
...
...
In the following days, Chen Mo remained at the mansion to recuperate.
After refining the Xuanxue Guiyuan Pearl, the depleted Qi-Blood was fully replenished, even several times stronger than before, yet the damaged Divine Soul was not as easy to heal.
During this time, Eunuch Jin came to announce an edict, officially promoting him to Fire Deputy Thousand Households, and also delivered the Martial Arts Champion rewards — Spiritual Marrow, Alchemy Pills, jewels... almost filling the entire courtyard.
In addition, there was a black plaque with golden letters, inscribed with "Heavenly Element Martial Champion" in four big characters, with a vigorous and sharp writing style that penetrated the wood!
According to Eunuch Jin, this was personally written by the Empress, something unprecedented for Martial Arts Champions of the past.
Upon hearing this, Chen Mo could already imagine the Empress standing at the Imperial Desk, wielding a writing brush with an air of ease, with a big chest bouncing around.
Along with Eunuch Jin was Li Yuanshi from the Imperial Hospital, who carefully examined his body, confirmed it was fine, and left several prescriptions for recuperation.
These were prescriptions given by a saint in Medical Dao, worth their weight in gold!
Such generous rewards would have made anyone else ecstatic and willing to serve the Empress loyally, yet Chen Zhuo was filled with confusion and concern.
While Chen Mo undoubtedly brought glory to the court at the Heavenly Human Martial Exam, this reward was excessively generous!
Especially that plaque personally inscribed by the Empress, the implications went far beyond the scope of a Martial Arts Champion... What did the Empress mean by this? Was she trying to divide the Imperial Consort Faction?
But such a simplistic tactic clearly wouldn’t work, it seemed purely to praise Chen Mo...
...
"During these days in the palace, how was the Empress’s attitude towards you? Did anything unusual happen?" In the Dining Hall, Chen Zhuo asked.
There were indeed many unusual things...
What struck Chen Mo most was Lin Jingzhu’s Flying Dragon Riding Face.
If it weren’t for Lin Catcher’s quick wit, he would’ve been torn to pieces by the Empress!
Speaking of which, now that his body has mostly recovered, it’s time to help her remove the Chill Toxin. Previously delayed due to the Martial Arts Exam for more than half a month, and further delay might waste the earlier efforts.
With countless thoughts in his mind, Chen Mo simply said, "Everything is normal."
"Is that so..."
Chen Zhuo frowned tightly, feeling a vague sense of unease.
His intuition told him that the Empress surely had some untold purpose...
After dinner, Chen Mo leisurely rode towards the Six Gates.
The storm from the Martial Arts Exam had not yet subsided, and his name could still be heard from the taverns and tea houses along the way.
Apart from winning first place, Lin Jingzhu also achieved an excellent third place result.
Two military officers entered the top tier, something unimaginable before, serving as material for storytellers in the city for half a year.
Chen Mo had just crossed Anyuan Bridge when he heard commotion ahead.
Looking up, he saw Lin Tanhua holding a long stick, and in front of him, a man with a thieving look squatted on the ground, his voice trembling, "Lin Catcher, spare me, I won’t dare again!"
Lin Jingzhu’s face was expressionless, his voice icy, "According to Da Yuan Law, those who break into houses to steal goods shall be flogged forty times with a ruler. Do you have any objections?"
The two Assistant Officers behind him were already accustomed to this.
When Lin Catcher caught criminals, as long as the evidence was conclusive, except for those who must be imprisoned, they were generally punished on the spot.
