Chapter 40

But…

Although Ye Qianli’s footsteps paused for a moment, she still walked towards the north. Just like when she left home previously, she had walked that resolutely.

“I have an idea.” However, Rong Mo spoke again.

Ye Qianli: “…” She wanted to hit someone! Since he had a plan, why couldn’t he just say it all at once? Was he teasing her?

“Come back.” Alas, Rong Mo did not seem to have the slightest awareness that he had made someone feel angry. Instead, he even ordered her to come back. Ye Qianli, who was already very angry from listening, gritted her teeth secretly.

“Li’er, don’t be stubborn. Quickly come back.” Ye Fengtian, who had only just found his voice at this moment, saw that Ye Qianli had yet to turn around and walk back. He was afraid that she would make a mistake and hurriedly called out to her.

Ye Fengtian now knew that this daughter was very stubborn. If she really left, she would really leave without any room for negotiation.

However, he was still in a state of shock because he never knew that his daughter’s methods could be so shrewd and ruthless! She was so ruthless that she could cut open a person’s stomach and crush their internal organs as soon as she said so. Furthermore, her expression did not change at all, as though it was nothing out of the ordinary.

However, she clearly felt so much pity for the commoners in the city earlier on! Seeing that they were injured—even though she knew that she might be in danger, she still had to stop and save them.

Kind and vicious? Exactly which one was the real her? She was so contradictory that Ye Fengtian once again realized profoundly how much he did not understand his own daughter.

Moreover, during these years when he missed out on his daughter’s growth and neglected her, what exactly did she experience? What was it that caused her to disregard life and death and use such bloody methods to interrogate a prisoner without batting an eyelid…?

As her father, how could he not know?

“What is it?” Ye Qianli did not know that what she had done just now had caused Ye Fengtian to sink into a state of self-blame once again. At this moment, she was trying her best to calm herself down to face Rong Mo.

“Go and report at the Gifted Academy first,” Rong Mo said.

Ye Qianli clenched her fists and resisted the urge to hit him again. “But I want to leave earlier! I want to see my grandfather as soon as possible and save him.”

“Stupid.” Rong Mo only said one word to comment on Ye Qianli’s plan of action.

Ye Qianli took a deep breath and told herself over and over again:

“I’m a goddess. I’m not angry. I’m a goddess. I’m not angry.”

Then…

It was only then that Ye Qianli opened her mouth and requested calmly, “Tell me all of your ideas first.”

“The Gifted Academy offers missions to students. The first A-rank mission next semester is to go to the Arctic Ice Realm. The only way to get there is through the Black Tortoise Dynasty’s capital, Black Tortoise City,” Rong Mo explained.

The moment Ye Qianli heard Rong Mo’s words, she understood Rong Mo’s meaning. If she were to head to the Black Tortoise Dynasty alone now, the variables and dangers would be too great. However, if she were to head there in the name of a student from the Gifted Academy, even if the Black Tortoise Dynasty knew who she was; they would definitely not dare to make a move on her openly.

However, this meant that she needed to be a month late before she could head to the Arctic Ice Realm. And within this one month, her grandfather’s safety would also be uncertain.

Of course, with her grandfather’s status in the Vermilion Bird Dynasty, even if he was captured; it would be impossible for him to be killed immediately. However, her grandfather was terribly bullheaded so she was afraid of any unforeseen situation… And he would definitely suffer a lot!

“During this time, can you use this person as a threat and ask them not to ill-treat my grandfather?” Ye Qianli pointed at the half-dead You Ming on the ground and asked. After all, it was said that this person was still quite valuable.

“They will agree to it, but whether they carry it out or not will depend on their mood. They can only guarantee that he will not die,” Rong Mo replied.

Ye Qianli’s eyelids twitched when she heard that, but she also knew that Rong Mo’s answer wasn’t wrong. Just like how she had almost tortured this captive to death just because she was in a bad mood.

“Li’er, you must go to the Gifted Academy. As for your grandfather’s side, I’ll immediately return to the northern region to investigate. Once there’s news, I’ll send a message to you.” Ye Fengtian also understood Rong Mo’s intention at this moment. He naturally did not wish for Ye Qianli to throw her life away either.

As a general who dealt with the Black Tortoise Dynasty all year round, Ye Fengtian naturally knew how dangerous the Black Tortoise royalty was. If it was possible, he did not even want Ye Qianli to participate in any A-grade mission.

However, Ye Fengtian also knew that even if he wanted to stop her, Ye Qianli would not listen to him. Therefore, he could only try his best to persuade Ye Qianli to go to the institute first and then let the Gifted Academy protect her as she headed to the Black Tortoise Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Ye Qianli glanced at Ye Fengtian, but her gaze once again stopped on the broken hand in his hand. An obvious trace of sorrow flashed across her eyes. After a while, she finally nodded and reached out. “Give me the hand.”

Ye Fengtian looked at his daughter’s white hand—that had not been wiped clean of blood—and then looked at the aged palm that he was holding. His heart could not help but ache, and his eyes could not help but tear up.

In fact, Ye Fengtian did not dare to tell Ye Qianli that this ring was more important to her grandfather than his own life! Now that his hand was cut off and his thumb ring was lost, it might mean…

“…” Ye Fengtian suppressed the grief in his heart. After taking a deep breath, he handed the hand to Ye Qianli.

As soon as this gray hand fell into Ye Qianli’s hands, it made her feel a sense of pressure that almost suffocated her. To her, the weight of this hand was far heavier than the imperial jade seal!

This weight caused a layer of mist to gradually form in Ye Qianli’s originally clear eyes. She took a deep breath and placed the severed hand into a pocket near her chest. Then, she blinked again to dispel the mist in her eyes.

This kind of stubborn silence from her made Ye Fengtian find it difficult to breathe as he watched. That’s right…

Actually, this daughter of his had always been so stubborn. Every time she was scolded by her mother or lectured by him, she would just stand there quietly without saying a word or defending herself.

In the past, he used to think that this child’s personality was too gloomy and she was too different from other people’s cheerful and innocent daughters. It made him feel that he could not get close to her at all.

However, he had never once thought about how his daughter’s temperament was formed. It seemed… Since she was very, very young, he had never seen his daughter smile once.

Come to think of it, he really did not remember his daughter smiling before…

On the other hand, it was his niece Hua’er who would often smile sweetly and talk about many family matters in front of him. This only made him—who was constantly on the move outside—feel much more comfortable watching her whenever he was tired after returning home.

At that time, as he listened to his wife’s complaints, he often felt that it would be great if Hua’er was his daughter, too… That was more like a cute daughter.

At the thought of this, Ye Fengtian only felt tightness in his chest. At this moment, the injuries that he had been suppressing hurt so much that he could not suppress them anymore.

“Cough—” Ye Fengtian coughed out a mouthful of blood suddenly, startling the deputy general beside him, whose expression changed completely. “General!”

“No… Cough, cough… I’m fine…” Ye Fengtian covered the open wound from a severed arrow, but blood flowed out from his palm. Anyone could see that his injuries had worsened.

“Lie down,” Ye Qianli said with a frown upon seeing this. Her words made Ye Fengtian shudder from head to toe as he looked at her in disbelief.