Feeling a bit unnerved by the stare, Lin Qingge braced herself and spoke,
"Uh...
Miss, do you need something from this official?"
The woman didn't answer Lin Qingge's question, instead continuing to glare at her with the intent to kill.
Finally, Leng Ningyue stepped forward, clasped her hands in a bow towards the young woman, and then uttered two words:
"Grandmother."
Immediately, the aura around the young woman shifted from a biting winter chill to a scorching summer heat. She took Leng Ningyue's hand and said with a smile,
"Ningyue, is it? Come, let your grandmother get a good look at you!
You look exactly like Shu Ying, as if cast from the same mold, though your disposition is a bit colder than Shu Ying's.
But the way you look at people is just like Shu Ying's. You like those frail, effeminate pretty boys, and ones with full of cunning tricks to boot!"
As she spoke the last words, the woman's voice suddenly turned cold.
Lin Qingge, belatedly guessing the identity of the woman before her, realized she was the second disciple of the Demon Mountain Old Mother, Leng Lanxi, also known as the Nine Heavens Profound Maiden.
Having learned from Long Yunfeng's experience that they practiced a technique called 'returning to youth,' Lin Qingge quickly accepted this fact after a moment of surprise.
However, she couldn't understand why Leng Lanxi harbored such hostility towards her.
Where was the promised frostiness and pure heart?
It was completely off the mark!
If Leng Ningyue hadn't been present, she was certain the woman would have killed her without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Leng Lanxi, retracting her gaze, pulled Leng Ningyue's hand and said affectionately,
"Ningyue, I intended to see you when I went to the capital, and also to take care of your damned father.
But I missed you both, as one of you was away and the other had retired.
Fortunately, I met Leng Shuang and saw Mo'er.
Mo'er is good, a lovely child.
As for Mo'er's father, it's better to endure a short pain than a long one. Let grandmother take care of him for you."
What?!
Although Lin Qingge wholeheartedly approved of the idea of getting rid of the father and keeping the child, she couldn't help but wonder why the grandmother was looking at her when she said that?
Just as Leng Lanxi was about to make a move, Leng Ningyue said solemnly,
"Grandmother, she is good."
Unaware that "she" was not "he," Leng Lanxi immediately put on a look of heartbroken grief,
"I knew it, you child take after your mother, stubborn as a mule, and on top of that, you're blind!
A few sweet words whispered in your ear, and you're devoted to them, unable to see the rotten heart hidden beneath that shiny exterior!"
Hearing more and more that something was amiss, Lin Qingge frowned and asked with some uncertainty,
"Grandmother, do you have some misunderstanding about me?"
"Misunderstanding?
I, a mere nobody from the martial world, how would I dare to have opinions about an official of the court?
However, you are quite an interesting person.
Not long ago, you had that person devoted to you, willing to defy his sect to beg me. And then, you hooked up with my Ningyue. Truly remarkable."
Vaguely understanding what was happening, Lin Qingge rubbed her throbbing temples. If she wasn't mistaken, she was taking the blame for her good-for-nothing elder brother again.
This meant Leng Lanxi had met Lin Jingxing before.
More accurately, she knew her peculiar sister-in-law?
Thinking of this, Lin Qingge looked around and clasped her hands towards Leng Lanxi,
"Grandmother, there seems to be some misunderstanding, but this is not the place to talk. Shall we move somewhere else?"
As soon as Lin Qingge finished speaking, Leng Ningyue had already put her arm around her waist and was flying away with her.
Seeing this, Leng Lanxi hurriedly followed.
Not long after, the three arrived at a secluded, uninhabited place outside Jingzhou City.
To save her own life, and since Leng Lanxi wasn't an outsider, Lin Qingge roughly explained how she disguised herself as a man and how Lin Zimo came to be.
As Lin Qingge had expected, after hearing this, Leng Lanxi's attitude towards her did a complete 180-degree turn, and her target for elimination also changed.
"No wonder Mo'er is in the palace, so it's imperial blood.
But the new emperor not only tolerates Shangguan Yu Yan taking over the nest but also entrusts his own son to others, completely neglecting his paternal responsibilities.
Such a dog man, better to be rid of him!"
"Grandmother is absolutely right!"
Lin Qingge, having found an ally, nodded heavily, then asked seemingly casually,
"Grandmother, have you met my elder brother and sister-in-law?"
"About half a year ago, I received news from an old friend, asking me to meet at Dalin Village.
So I went.
However, I didn't see the old friend there, only their disciple.
And your brother Lin Jingxing was standing beside him.
He said his master was in seclusion and wouldn't appear for eight to ten years, so he could only ask me.
I asked him what he needed me for.
He said they would face a mortal peril soon, and they would most likely die, but there was something they possessed that absolutely could not fall into the hands of the other party.
Therefore, they found me to temporarily entrust that item to my care.
If we were to meet by chance in the future, I would return the item to them."
After speaking, Leng Lanxi took out a handkerchief from her embrace, carefully opened it, and inside lay a fragment of sheepskin, the size of a palm.
Seeing the extremely familiar object, Lin Qingge's heart sank.
As far as she knew, anything connected to this sheepskin fragment ended badly.
So, her good-for-nothing elder brother and sister-in-law's deaths were not due to Lin Moyuan, but because of this damned sheepskin fragment?
But that wasn't right!
This sheepskin fragment was a map to the treasure of the previous dynasty, and her Lin family, as remnants of the previous dynasty, should not have been silenced even if they possessed wealth.
There was something she didn't know in between.
Just as Lin Qingge fell into thought, Leng Lanxi complained with a pout,
"It's not that I'm complaining about Old Qiao, but his disciple is truly detestable.
I said guarding things was too much trouble.
But I could break their mortal peril for the sake of his master, Old Qiao, yet they stubbornly refused.
I find it strange, how could Old Qiao, such a slovenly, eternally single old man, take on such an ambiguous and bewitching disciple?
He was clearly a man, yet he wore women's clothing.
What's even more infuriating is that he was more beautiful than any woman.
And that Lin Jingxing, calling her 'niang zi' [wife/woman] with every other word, as if afraid I wouldn't know their unnatural relationship!"
"Wait!
Grandmother, you, you just said what?"
Lin Qingge, who was in thought, raised her head in disbelief. Leng Lanxi patiently repeated,
"I said your brother Lin Jingxing is truly something, calling her 'niang zi' with every word."
"No, the next sentence."
"Oh, I said they seemed afraid I wouldn't know their homosexual relationship, so clingy, their eyes practically laced with affection!"