41 Unannounced Surprise

The Marchioness of Changning had always been accustomed to ruling with an iron fist. As the mistress of the household, she possessed considerable acumen, and her domineering and forceful ways made it easier for her to keep the estate in order. The Earl of Changning was not the sort of man to harbor petty grievances or insist on having the upper hand against his wife, so for the most part, he simply let her have her way.

Despite my internal misgivings, I braced myself and followed her into a building. Just one glance inside made my heart turn utterly cold.

Dong Changlong felt a momentary daze, sensing a fragment of memory vanish from his mind. He remembered making the request, but had no recollection whatsoever of what had transpired afterward.

At that very moment, an imperceptible yet strangely clear and crisp sound echoed within the depths of his consciousness.

Ye Tiancheng was dead? Killed by Lu Yan? Jiang Xiying could hardly believe her ears, wondering if she was mishearing or simply dreaming.

The man was not overcome with shame and anger upon being exposed. Instead, he generously extended his hand, wishing to make the acquaintance of the two.

The red cloth band tied tightly over his eyes was blindingly conspicuous, while the sheer cliff looming directly ahead of the carriage distorted Li Ke and the others' expressions as they let out simultaneous shrieks of terror.

Chu Xiu gripped the jade pendant tightly. The burden on his shoulders for this battle was immense; should he fail to defeat Yuri, the people behind him would face nothing less than death. He took a few deep breaths, his blood surging and boiling. He could not tell whether it was tension or fear, but his entire body trembled uncontrollably.

"Is it because you think my influence is waning that you dare disobey my orders?" Meng Gong asked coldly to Peng Daya.

"That over there is the martial arena. The grounds are quite vast. During the trials, we will need to spar with others, so you must make sure to prepare yourself properly," the staff member said, pointing toward a doorway not far ahead.

Upon starting, Li Yun immediately unleashed the most fierce and rapidly explosive straight-line dashing footwork that Li Yunmu had ever practiced.

"Sis, wake up!" The volume made Ye Wei half suspect that Puma had strapped a megaphone right to the microphone, shocking him into rubbing his ears vigorously.

Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, Liang Hongying, and Fang Baihua were entirely unfazed; having followed Zhao Hao for so long, they were accustomed to such sights. Han Shizhong, however, was struck dumb with astonishment, his eyes holding a profound new layer of respect for Zhao Hao.

After stabbing four or five adjacent bags with the exact same result, the man withdrew his short blade, slipped out from beneath the oilcloth, and tiptoed stealthily to the ship's rail. He hooked a grappling iron over the gunwale, caught hold of the silken rope, and with a single agile vault, slipped swiftly down the side of the vessel.

Sensing the burning gaze fixed upon his back, Ye Zifan turned around with a puzzled look. Zhao Siqi’s stunned expression met his eyes, causing Ye Zifan’s heart to sink. A wave of self-mockery washed over him—just because he was gay, why did he assume every man in the world harbored boundless homoerotic desires?

With this realization, Li Yunmu found that this type of Shield Shadow Demon was exceptionally well-suited for both himself and his shadow to condense.

Had it not been for the sake of smoothly resolving the compensation issues in the old district, Ye Zifan would never have sung Liu Qinggong’s praises, let alone acted submissively to endure his scolding. Yet without doing so, it would likely have been impossible to silence public gossip. Ye Zifan sighed inwardly, filled with helplessness.

Seeing her approach, he reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her close to his side. Only then did Xiao Yuyin notice the trace of suppressed anger lingering on his face; she offered no resistance, standing obediently by his side.

The moment those three words were uttered, the elite cavalrymen, who had previously looked upon life and death with indifference and worn solemn expressions, suddenly grew somewhat unsettled.

Furthermore, Shi Lei would undoubtedly make other arrangements for them later to prevent them from becoming freeloaders at home. However, putting them to work as farmers was clearly impractical. These fellows, accustomed to riding and shooting, were evidently ill-suited for tending the land, and doing so would be an egregious waste of their talents.

Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes slightly. He had put considerable effort into his outward facade; to outsiders, he treated all the imperial princes with absolute equality, and Prince Yu had even benefited from his rescue last time. Why, then, would he suddenly utter such words now?

As the bloody glow completely dissipated and his nosebleeds finally stopped, Ye Zhan could not help shivering involuntarily. Just then—right then—he had actually witnessed with his own eyes a clash between two divine abilities?!

"You—how could you be so unfilial, so utterly humiliating to your grandmother?" Lady Lin asked, trembling with anger as she pointed right at Zhu Linxi's nose in response to his rhetorical questions.

Kang Sheng’s smile finally froze completely. He offered an intensely awkward, dry cough, mumbled that he had matters to attend to, and hurried away, while Yan Junli and Zhou Mu burst into unbridled laughter.

Glancing sideways at her twice, Shen Zaiye turned and walked away, striding all the way out of the palace without a single trace of warmth returning to his eyes.

As long as one has acquaintances at the airport or ticketing agencies, having someone check my ID number would immediately reveal the flight number I boarded, as well as my departure and arrival times.

Although the gnomes returned to the Alliance and the Dark Iron dwarves joined the Horde, both factions still possessed four races each, maintaining a balanced rivalry.

Sparks burst forth and drifted away as Anubisath raised his obsidian greatsword to block his chest. The fireball struck the blade and was instantly dispersed by its inherent properties, failing to inflict even the slightest harm on the creature.

Kron ordered the Kodo rider formation to spread out, neither accelerating nor waiting for the infantry behind, maintaining the marching pace most natural to the beasts.

The Crown Prince Taifeng roared in fury. His current situation was perilous in the extreme, and he was on the verge of being completely engulfed by a locust-like swarm of battle-soul arrows.

"That must have been because you let her win," Mo Yuyan said with a playful smile, her spirit-filled autumn eyes blinking in a remarkably captivating manner.

"How is the enemy situation? Have they fallen into disarray?" Going against the current did not mean he was stubborn; matters that defied immediate understanding were naturally set aside for the moment. The crucial question that followed was whether the enemy forces were thrown into confusion.

The person who had touched her arm the day before to remind Bai Feifei was none other than Liu Xiya. Hearing this, brilliant as her award-winning acting skills were, she still could not entirely suppress a flash of fierce ruthlessness in the depths of her eyes.

Qin Beifeng closed his eyes slightly, opening them a minute later to say, "You have a scent of coconut trees about you, hahaha..." His remark left everyone completely bewildered.

"Hah. She’s just a bit strict with her husband. Even if I want to go out for a meal now, I have to report it in detail. You’ll meet her tomorrow." Speaking of Yue Lan, Li Zhenping’s face beamed with utter happiness—he was clearly exhibiting the classic symptoms of falling head over heels in love, which promptly earned him the unanimous and severe disdain of the other three.