Villains: Starting with the Landlady

Page 118

Although she was always the stronger party in her struggle against the Heavenly Child Granny in the original novel, she adhered to certain rules more strictly than the Heavenly Child Granny. The Heavenly Child Granny was an absolute egotistical personality, whose creations included the Life-and-Death Talisman, which made life worse than death. She enjoyed torturing others and had a twisted and perverse personality.

Tong Piaoyun in this world seems to be much better, but she is still far inferior to Li Qiushui.

Of course, Ling Yun was looking at their inner thoughts without considering their outward appearances. If she only looked at their appearances, Ling Yun would have sided with Li Qiushui without hesitation, especially with that sparkling "☆" on her eye.

Name: Li Qiushui

Age: 90, ☆

[Value: 172, D]

[Rating: 97]

[Combat Strength: S-]

[Affection: Falling in Love (Beautiful and Friendly Attraction Up+)]

"Senior Wu Yazi is currently in my Gusu Imperial Palace. I wonder if Senior Li Qiushui would be interested in settling down in Gusu with me?"

Ling Yun stepped forward, took her small hand, and pulled her up from the ground.

Under such close contact, coupled with Ling Yun's powerful abilities, Li Qiushui, despite her equally strong will, still developed a great liking for him and subconsciously wanted to nod, but she held back.

"Sect Leader, Western Xia still needs me..."

"Hmph, Li Qiushui, when has the Western Xia palace ever needed you? Are you perhaps the current king?"

Tong Piaoyun immediately mocked Li Qiushui, but she remained calm and composed, instead smiling faintly and saying, "I'm the one who manages this harem. Zuo'er is busy with state affairs, how could he possibly have time to manage this harem?"

Her words were cleverly chosen, avoiding Tong Piaoyun's subtle attack. Even though Li Qinglu was standing nearby, she couldn't understand what she meant.

Tong Piaoyun's face was serious. Her gaze swept back and forth between Ling Yun and Li Qiushui several times before she finally sighed, walked to the side, and decided not to get involved.

"Senior, may I speak to you in private?"

Ling Yun gave Li Qiushui a wink, and the latter nodded in understanding, following him into the depths of the ice cellar.

Li Qinglu naturally wanted to go with them, but she was startled by Tong Piaoyun's fierce little face.

"Go back to your room!"

Tong Piaoyun showed no kindness whatsoever to the granddaughter of her former love rival, even though she wasn't her biological daughter.

Li Qinglu was startled and ran away with her head down. She knew in her heart that Li Qiushui had been attracted by her and had almost ruined her lover's big plan.

Ling Yun and Li Qiushui stopped at a corner. Ling Yun said softly, "Wu Yazi is still alive and well, but Ding Chunqiu..."

Listening to Ling Yun's description, Li Qiushui's mood was as uneasy as if she were on a roller coaster, especially after learning that Wu Yazi had been thrown into a cliff by that beast Ding Chunqiu, she couldn't help but want to go and find out more about him. However, when she finally heard that he was dead, she felt as if she were Wu Yazi herself, and the exhilarating feeling of revenge made her face flush.

"As for Li Liangzuo, you don't need to worry about him. From now on, he will only obediently govern his Western Xia and will definitely not interfere with you."

“How come you see?”

"Just because of this..."

Ling Yun smiled mysteriously, and then Li Qiushui felt a strange light emanating from the young man's eyes. Immediately afterwards, she began to feel dizzy and did not know how long it took before she regained consciousness.

"Don't worry, I didn't impose any conditions on you, but you should know that I have the ability to do it."

Li Qiushui's face turned pale. This was the first time she had experienced such a terrifying life-or-death situation since breaking through to the Transcendent Realm. The feeling of utter helplessness was so suffocating that she didn't want to experience it a second time.

"I underestimated the Prince of Yan." Li Qiushui dared not meet his gaze, afraid that he would give her another taste of his own medicine. "To be able to restore the country in the heart of the Manchu territory, he is indeed no ordinary man!"

"What is your opinion, senior?"

Li Qiuping calmed herself down, mustered her courage to meet his gaze, and smiled faintly: "Okay."

She still loved Wu Yazi, though the feelings were complex, not simply "love," but a blend of kinship and friendship that made them inseparable.

If it were truly a matter of treating each other with complete sincerity, neither Li Qiushui nor Tong Piaoyun would likely be able to accept it.

When Ling Yun came out holding Li Qiushui's hand, Tong Piaoyun snorted again and said sarcastically, "Heh, doesn't he feel disgusted? Getting involved with a promiscuous woman like that makes me feel sick!"

Li Qiushui frowned, subconsciously ignoring the somewhat inappropriate behavior of the young man beside her. Hearing Tong Piaoyun's words, she would normally ignore them, but for some reason, she felt uncomfortable that Ling Yun had taken them to heart. She cleared her throat and said, "Senior Sister, I have remained chaste for so many years, otherwise how could I have crossed that realm before you?"

"You..." Tianshan Tonglao was so angry that her teeth itched. She wanted to go back to Suzhou with this woman, and all her original joy was gone.

Damn Li Qinglu!

She cleverly trapped the fish in the dark, yet she herself was the one who got caught!

"Alright, stop arguing. We'll set off back to Suzhou in a week at the latest."

"Then I'll go back first."

Li Qiushui winked at Ling Yun, smiled, and left the ice cellar.

Seeing that Ling Yun was still staring at her back, Tong Piaoyun said unhappily, "I think that bitch really wants to spend the night with you, why don't you follow her?"

"Grandma Tong, I, Ling Yun, am not that kind of person. Don't slander me out of thin air."

"Tch, you had so much fun playing with that little princess, and you still have the nerve to say that!"

Unexpectedly, after she finished speaking, Ling Yun used his Wind Chasing Technique to appear beside her, his handsome face close to hers: "This matter was arranged by Granny Tong, wasn't it? And why is Granny Tong so concerned about my private affairs?"

"You... I don't care about you!" Tong Piaoyun turned her face away and huffed, "But why did you change the time again? We clearly agreed on a month later!"

"It's time to get some things done. I don't feel at ease staying in other places, so it's best to go back sooner rather than later."

Chapter 288 The three women meet

About a week later, Lingyun and the others prepared to return to Suzhou.

Information traveled slowly in this era, but the Western Xia royal palace still heard some of the major commotion in the Central Plains.

The biggest event was, of course, the Qing Dynasty's abandonment of its encirclement and suppression of the Yan Kingdom. Although it wasn't officially declared legitimate, everyone knew the truth. The original view of Ling Yun as just a military man completely changed, and people began to speculate about just how terrifying the power he, the King of Yan, truly possessed.

All of the Qing Dynasty's forces were transferred to fight against the Liao Dynasty, and they successfully repelled the Liao's attack. After receiving Ling Yun's message, Qiao Feng also led his troops back to the Liao Dynasty.

[Xiao Feng has fulfilled his predetermined destiny; his luck value has reached zero!]

[Congratulations, Master, on successfully capturing the 17th "protagonist," Xiao Feng! The reward is an upgrade of the "Beauty Affinity" ability to LV4. When any beauty with a rating of 80 or higher is in close proximity to the Master, their affection for the Master will remain constant at the "Infatuated" level and will not decrease upon separation! If the beauty's combat power significantly surpasses the Master's, the effect will weaken, at worst maintaining the "Like" level.]

This time, the power of [Beauty Affinity] has been explosively enhanced. Literally, it means that as long as Ling Yun has met a beauty once, he can basically bind her firmly.

Of course, men can't do it.

However, Ling Yun was busy with important matters at the moment and naturally didn't pay attention.

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Li Qinglu originally wanted to go too, but Ling Yun and Li Qiushui dissuaded her. On one hand, it was impossible for Feidian to carry four people, and a carriage would be too slow. On the other hand, the capital city of Gusu was not particularly stable at the moment, and if a weak woman like her, who was powerless to even kill a chicken, were surrounded by that group of mysterious people, she would be a burden.

The three of them headed towards Suzhou with Lingyun in the middle, Tonglao in front, and Li Qiushui carrying him from behind.

During this time, the old woman blushed from time to time, which was undoubtedly because someone couldn't control their gun.

"Pervert!" Tong Piaoyun muttered under her breath.

"I'm really not a pervert, Granny Tong, you have to believe me!"

"Humph!"

Tong Piaoyun looks just like a little girl now, so Ling Yun certainly wouldn't be that perverted. But there's still the dazzling Li Qiushui behind him, and she's quite happy to see Ling Yun in this state.

"No, Li Qiushui, do all people with the surname Li have this kind of hobby?"

"Huh?" Li Qiushui was a little confused, not knowing what Ling Yun meant.

“Li Qingluo, Li Mochou…” Ling Yun stroked his chin, “It seems that there are quite a few beauties with the surname Li in my harem.”

"Oh ho, showing off now?"

Li Qiushui wrapped her arms around his waist, a dangerous glint in her eyes: "Don't sleep too soundly tonight, darling."

Ling Yun shivered, a reaction that made Tong Piaoyun in front of her spit out twice more under her breath.

The three of them traveled a long and bumpy road to Suzhou. In the past few days, because of the retreat of the Manchu troops, the city was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, making it feel like the New Year.

After entering the city, Ling Yun stopped riding a horse and walked along the road with the two women. When the common people saw his face, they knelt down in a large group. They only dared to steal a few glances after he left, and then stood up one after another.

Tong Piaoyun and Li Qiushui thought this was perfectly reasonable, but Ling Yun remained silent until they were almost at the palace, at which point he sighed and said something.

Do you think this is right?

"What's right?" Tong Piaoyun asked, frowning slightly.

"They kneel down when they see me, and don't even dare to look me in the eye?"

“If they dared to look you in the eye at this moment, the patrolling soldiers would probably think they had the intention to assassinate you and would have arrested them long ago,” Li Qiushui replied calmly.

Do you believe that the future Yan Kingdom will be a wonderful world where everyone is equal and there is no class distinction?

"Are you kidding me?" Li Qiushui, having been the Princess Consort of Western Xia for so many years, chuckled. "How will those meritorious officials or those who currently hold power be dealt with? Would they be happy?"

"What if I used my own methods to win the favor of those ministers?"

"What kind of equality is that? They're nothing but your dogs, Lingyun."

Seeing the large procession that had come to greet him, Li Qiushui took his arm and said, "Your idea is wonderful, but I doubt you can even treat your own harem fairly, let alone the whole country. As long as you are on the throne, there will never be absolute equality. It's not that I look down on you, but your ambition is too great, you are not the kind of selfless person."

"Haha, you're right."

Ling Yun pulled his hand away and wrapped it around her slender waist: "I can't compare to some selfless great people. After all, I'm just a villain."

The Imperial Guard Commander's martial arts were personally taught by Ling Yun. Although they couldn't compare to the likes of Qiao Feng, they could easily defeat someone like Chen Jinnan.

He led a group of soldiers and quickly ran to Ling Yun's side, then knelt on the ground and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Your Majesty, we are late in protecting Your Majesty! Please forgive us!"

"Alright, enough of this nonsense." Ling Yun patted Fei Dian's horse on the shoulder, and the horse neighed and galloped off to play at the palace. "Let's go back to the palace!"

Inside the palace, Ning Zhongze and the other women wanted to welcome Ling Yun back, but when they heard from the palace maids that Ling Yun had taken two women to Wu Yazi's palace, they all showed their dissatisfaction and secretly thought that they must extort him tonight.

Wu Yazi was sitting cross-legged and adjusting her breathing. She was still some distance from her peak condition, but even without Ling Yun's help, she could recover to her original state within a few years.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has returned!"

The little palace maid who served her ran back excitedly. The fact that Ling Yun went to see Wu Yazi as soon as she returned showed that she held a higher position in Ling Yun's heart, and the little palace maid was also honored.

"Oh~ so fast?" Wu Yazi knew what he had gone to do, so he must have succeeded. He was also a little excited. "I'll go see him!"

"No need, I've already arrived."

The young man's voice came, and Wu Yazi stood up and looked over. Two women, whose age seemed to have been frozen by time, looked at her. For a moment, all three women were stunned.

"You may all leave now," Ling Yun said to the palace maids beside her, and they all understood and left.

"Senior Sister, sixty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and you still look the same." Li Qiushui suppressed her excitement and slowly walked to Wu Yazi's side, carefully examining her appearance. Wu Yazi was still the same Wu Yazi, but her appearance seemed to have changed somewhat, and she was even more beautiful than she remembered.

However, considering that she had become a little prettier after that incident, Li Qiushui immediately understood that Ling Yun had naturally taken good care of her beautiful senior sister.

"None of you have changed."

This sisterly bond is much better than that of the two from the Ancient Tomb next door. Even with Ling Yun mediating between them, Xiaolongnu and Li Mochou still sometimes clash, giving him a real headache.

Wu Yazi subconsciously grabbed Li Qiushui's hand, then looked at Tong Piaoyun beside him, wanting to smile but unsure if it would anger his junior sister who was a few years older than him: "Junior sister, are you still angry with me?"

"If I were still angry, I wouldn't have come here."

Chapter 289 The Summit of Mount Hua

Tong Piaoyun walked up to Wu Yazi, pursed her lips and thought for a long time, then grabbed her other hand: "We will never leave again."

"You two have made up?" Wu Yazi's eyes gleamed with excitement as he looked up at Ling Yun, wondering how he had managed to do it.

"Ahem, I never said I would make up with this bitch."

“I’m different. I’m more magnanimous. For Lingyun and my senior sister’s sake, I can still tolerate it a bit,” Li Qiushui said sarcastically.

These words angered Tong Piaoyun again, but Wu Yazi was still there, so she couldn't say much. She could only silently hold her anger and prepare to spar with Li Qiushui in private after her martial arts recovered.

Seeing that the three women seemed to have a lot to say, Ling Yun quietly left and went to Li Mochou's palace.

As soon as he entered, several cold glints flew towards him. Ling Yun reached out and grabbed her unpoisoned Ice Soul Silver Needle in his hand. He lifted his robe and smiled, "My beloved concubine, why do you do this?"

"Tch, you're starting to talk like those dog emperors now."

Li Mochou, dressed in magnificent palace attire, walked over with a cold smile.