Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Fickle Favorability
Lan Zi Yu refused so fast that Ye Cong Xin was stunned.

He steadied her and half squatted down in front of her, meeting her eyes. His brows knotted together as he said: “Junior Sister, I really need it urgently.”

After a moment, his brows slowly relaxed and his tone also became lighter. He suggested: “How about this, Junior Sister. If you cannot find it, I will help you look. Did you leave it in your cave dwelling or in your storage space?”

His intent was far too clear. It looked like he would rush into Ye Cong Xin’s cave the next second and turn it upside down.

A chill ran through Ye Cong Xin’s heart. It seemed Lan Zi Yu would not give up this time until he got what he wanted.

She pretended to be weak. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she said: “Second Senior Brother, I do not feel well. Let me rest for a bit.”

Lan Zi Yu could only nod. He said: “Alright, just try to be quick.”

He agreed out loud, but inside he felt as if his heart was on fire.

How had he never noticed before that Junior Sister was so troublesome? She did not even know where she kept her own things.

Besides, the Purple Cloud Bamboo Flute was not even hers. It was only being kept with her for safekeeping. Surely she had not really lost it, right?

[If that flute is really gone, will Little Six still forgive me?]

In just a few breaths, a hundred different thoughts flashed through Lan Zi Yu’s mind.

With her eyes closed, Ye Cong Xin still felt that Lan Zi Yu’s burning gaze was about to bore a hole through her.

She was in a bad mood, so she followed her temper and let him suffer a little longer.

Only when Lan Zi Yu was so anxious he was about to snap did she finally move. She slowly took out the Purple Cloud Bamboo Flute.

She had just opened her mouth and said: “Second Senior Brother, I found…”

Before Ye Cong Xin could even finish, Lan Zi Yu snatched the Purple Cloud Bamboo Flute from her hands. His fingertips stroked the flute’s body with practiced familiarity. Then he threw his head back and laughed loudly: “I found it, I found it!”

He hugged the flute and shouted happily: “Little Six, here I come!”

Hugging the Purple Cloud Bamboo Flute to his chest, Lan Zi Yu ran off like a madman.

Ye Cong Xin was so angry that she nearly ground her teeth to pieces.

She clenched her fist and called out in her mind: “System, help me check Lan Zi Yu’s favorability.”

The System replied: “Ding. Lan Zi Yu’s current favorability is 60 points.”

Ye Cong Xin was shocked. Her hand slipped and knocked over the wine pot on the table. Her face filled with panic as she cried out: “What?”

Yesterday, when she checked Lan Zi Yu’s favorability, it had clearly still been 70 points. In just a short while, his favorability had dropped another 10 points.

[Was it really just because I made him wait a bit longer?]

Ye Cong Xin regretted it so much she wanted to cry.

Because she had gotten into a fight with Yu Zhao and fought over a Starry Sky Stone in the secret realm of Dragon Roar Valley, Lan Zi Yu’s favorability for her had already dropped from 80 points to 70.

She had not even thought of a way to raise that favorability back up yet, and Lan Zi Yu’s favorability toward her had dropped another 10 points.

[Is he crazy or what!]

Ye Cong Xin was so angry she felt like her lungs were about to explode.

Lan Zi Yu’s temper was stubborn and mean. The moment something did not suit his tastes, he would immediately turn hostile.

To gain Lan Zi Yu’s favorability, she had always lowered herself and tried to please him in every way. She did not even dare throw a small tantrum in front of him.

It had looked like her days of suffering were almost over, but everything was ruined at the last step.

Because her emotions were fluctuating too much, Ye Cong Xin’s old illness came back. That familiar feeling of suffocating swept over her again.

She clenched her hands so tightly that her fingertips dug into her palms, trying her best to steady her breathing.

She forced herself to calm down and said in her heart: “System, help me check the favorability of the others on Lone Moon Peak.”

In her heart, Ye Cong Xin kept telling herself that losing one mission target was not a big deal.

She still had other people she could choose.

The System replied: “Ding. Fang Cheng Lang’s current favorability is 70 points.”

“Ding. Cui Jue’s current favorability is 70 points.”

“Ding. Quan Ye’s current favorability is 65 points.”

“Ding. Master Qing Yan’s current favorability is 50 points.”

Seeing that the others’ favorability had not changed much, Ye Cong Xin was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she realized she had only heard four names.

She narrowed her eyes and asked: “System, why did you not show Su Ming’s favorability?”

A faint bad feeling rose in her chest.

The System replied: “Ding. Su Ming’s favorability is fluctuating heavily. The final value cannot be determined for now.”

Ye Cong Xin gritted her teeth and asked: “What is his lowest possible favorability value?”

The System answered: “Ding. Su Ming’s lowest favorability value is 20 points.”

Ye Cong Xin’s body swayed. She grabbed the edge of the stone table just to stay standing.

“20 points?”

“20 points!”

She had only seen that number back when she had just met Su Ming and the others.

Everyone said that a woman’s heart was like a needle at the bottom of the ocean.

But in Ye Cong Xin’s eyes, men’s hearts were no less deep.

It was just like how she could not guess why Su Ming’s favorability toward her rose and fell so much.

If Su Ming’s favorability really settled at 20 points in the end, it would almost mean this mission target was a failure. All the time and effort she had poured into Su Ming would be wasted.

“Why? Why!” Ye Cong Xin swept everything off the stone table and collapsed over it, crying her heart out.

…

“Senior Brother Fang! Senior Brother Lan!”

“Greetings, Senior Brother Fang. Greetings, Senior Brother Lan.”

“Greetings to the two Senior Brothers.”

The Five Elements Dao Sect disciples ran into Fang Cheng Lang and Lan Zi Yu, both with cold faces, on the road. They hurriedly bowed and then quickly stepped aside, not daring to speak to them at all.

Yu Zhao being expelled from under Master Qing Yan’s name had already become the hottest topic in the Five Elements Dao Sect, and Lone Moon Peak had been pushed into the eye of the storm.

Although they did not know what Fang Cheng Lang and the others thought about it, just looking at the expressions on the two men’s faces was enough to see that they were not in a good mood. The disciples naturally did not dare step forward and risk getting caught in their anger.

After the two men left, the disciples who had been scattered here and there gathered again and started whispering to each other.

One disciple lowered his voice and said: “Senior Brother Fang and Senior Brother Lan look really angry. That should not be, right? Without that rat, Yu Zhao, on Lone Moon Peak, there is no one to drag them down anymore.”

Another disciple shook her head and said: “But I heard from the Senior Sisters who went out to train that Yu Zhao was not as annoying as the rumors said. She was even the one who saved First Senior Sister.”

A third disciple frowned and said: “I have not heard that news, but judging from the direction Senior Brother Fang and First Senior Brother are heading, it looks like they are going to the Inner Court. Are they going to look for Yu Zhao?”

“I do not know. Want to follow them and see?” another whispered.

“Let’s go!”

The disciples looked at each other. In the end, curiosity got the better of them and they sneaked after Fang Cheng Lang and Lan Zi Yu.

When other disciples saw a crowd gathering, they curiously went over. Once they heard that they were following Senior Brother Fang to the Inner Court, they immediately chose to join. The line grew bigger and bigger.

…

In the Inner Court, Xiu Luo was practicing Body Training Arts on the open ground.

Her spiritual roots were Fire, Wood, and Earth triple spiritual roots, with the earth spiritual root being dominant. She had an absolute advantage in strength and defense.

So when she chose her cultivation techniques, she first considered magic arts that would maximize her advantages.

Body Training Arts was one of them.

Her figure was petite and delicate, her limbs thin. She looked soft and weak, but every time she swung her arms or legs, a series of terrifying sonic booms exploded in the air.

“Hm?” Xiu Luo had only just started warming up when her expression shifted. She suddenly stopped and narrowed her eyes, looking into the distance.

The land at the foot of the mountain was flat with no tall buildings blocking the view. As one of Master Qing Yan’s most devoted admirers, Xiu Luo recognized the two figures walking toward the Inner Court at a glance.

She muttered softly: “Why are they here?”