Chapter 366: Better a Short Pain than a Long One

Qin Ming was locked on by the mountain and river Luck of this imperial palace.

Qin Ming was a bit panicked.

Mainly, Qin Ming didn’t know what she had done wrong.

Wasn’t she just coming to the Qian Kingdom’s palace to take a family of three to the Zilin Holy Land to participate in the selection process?

But why did it feel like this Empress had an irreconcilable grudge against her?

“Your Majesty?”

Qin Ming called out tentatively.

“Has Daoist Qin mistaken something?”

Xia Xiaomeng smiled with curved eyes, but in Qin Ming’s eyes, this smile made her spine feel cold.

This was the first time Qin Ming had ever felt this way.

“Mistaken? There shouldn’t be…”

Being questioned by the Empress of Qian Kingdom, Qin Ming was actually no longer so sure.

A family of three going to cultivate immortality together was indeed a bit too fantastical.

But since it was a mission from Her Highness the Saintess, there shouldn’t be any mistake.

However, under Xia Xiaomeng’s pressure, Qin Ming didn’t know how to speak.

It felt as if the moment she spoke of this matter again, she might not be able to walk out of this palace.

For a moment, Qin Ming was very conflicted.

She had never encountered such a situation before.

To the side, Le Sha watched Qin Ming’s at-a-loss, conflicted, and helpless appearance.

Then she looked at the young girl sitting on the soft couch, her eyes serious, as if her whole gaze wrote “no matter what, I will not hand over Lin Xun.”

Le Sha couldn’t help but sigh.

Le Sha emerged from the shadows, walked in front of Qin Ming, and bowed to Xia Xiaomeng:

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty may have forgotten that Attendant Official Lord Lin, his wife, and child are currently in the palace. Fellow Daoist Qin Ming is likely looking for them.”

Le Sha’s sudden appearance gave Qin Ming a start.

From the moment she entered the Imperial Study, she hadn’t sensed the other’s presence.

Regardless, looking at Le Sha beside her, Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief, and her eyes brightened again.

This person must be that legendary Enshrine of the Qian Kingdom.

Rumor had it that the founding Emperor of the Qian Kingdom had done her a favor, so she promised to protect the monarchs of the Qian Kingdom for a hundred generations.

Although Qin Ming didn’t know why this great expert was helping her, the other party had ultimately spoken up for her.

“It should be those three,” Qin Ming followed Le Sha’s lead. “I wonder if Your Majesty could allow Qin Ming to meet them?”

Listening to their words, Xia Xiaomeng’s chest heaved slightly, and her pearly teeth lightly bit her red lips.

Xia Xiaomeng wanted to stall for time as much as possible.

As long as Lin Xun left a little later, then in Xia Xiaomeng’s heart, she could stay with Lin Xun for one more day.

And Le Sha naturally knew what her Disciple was thinking.

But, no matter what, Lin Xun would eventually have to leave.

Better a short pain than a long one.

Instead of being reluctant to part, it was better to just let him go.

Furthermore.

After Lin Xun became a Cultivator, the time he would have would be much more than a Mortal.

The feelings between a man and a woman need not be confined to every morning and evening.

Within the Imperial Study, silence fell once more.

Cold sweat had already broken out on Qin Ming’s forehead. It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen monarchs of the Mortal realm before.

But none were as oppressive as this one.

Even if the other party was the ruler of the most prosperous era of the largest Dynasty in the Qianye Continent, she shouldn’t have such pressure.

The other party was merely looking at her, yet her heart was filled with dread.

Qin Ming even had a feeling.

The emperor sitting before her was not just an emperor of the Mortal world, but an emperor of Cultivators.

But soon, Qin Ming dismissed this absurd feeling.

Finally, Xia Xiaomeng sighed slowly and called out softly, “Xiaoqin, have Lord Lin and the others come to the Imperial Study.”

“Yes.”

Outside the Imperial Study, a maidservant responded.

Just as Lin Xun was about to take Qinger and Yaya to the palace gardens, he received the maidservant’s notice, stating that he should go to the Imperial Study.

Lin Xun, confused, led Qinger and Yaya toward the Imperial Study, feeling that something had happened.

And he was required to bring Qinger and Yaya along.

But at this moment, Jiang Qingshang already understood everything in her heart.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Qin Ming must have arrived at the Qian Kingdom’s palace.

Entering the Imperial Study, Lin Xun saw a strange woman.

As soon as this strange woman saw him enter, she stared intently at him and Qinger.

“First Stage of the Qi Refining Realm, the flow of spiritual energy is very smooth, and his bone structure looks quite good.

The other little girl is actually in the Second Stage of the Qi Refining Realm and even has some Demonic Qi. What’s going on? Well, it doesn’t matter; it’s what Her Highness the Saintess requested anyway.”

Using a simple Qi-Observation Technique to check the three’s bone structures, Qin Ming already had a vague judgment in her heart.

What Qin Ming didn’t know, however,

was that both Lin Xun and Jiang Qingshang had hidden their true bone structures, making them appear only above average.

At the same time, Xia Xiaomeng and Le Sha were also observing Lin Xun.

Feeling the flow of spiritual energy within Lin Xun, they knew he had already swallowed the rootless fruit and had truly stepped onto the path of cultivation.

“Lord Lin is likely the person Daoist Qin Ming is looking for,” Xia Xiaomeng spoke softly, though her tone still carried a heavily suppressed reluctance.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Qin Ming bowed to Xia Xiaomeng and then walked up to Lin Xun’s family of three.

“Greetings to you both,” Qin Ming first gave a bow.

“And you are, Daoist?” Lin Xun asked.

“Oh, I am an Elder of the Immortal Seeking Hall of the Zilin Holy Land, named Qin Ming.

Yesterday, our Immortal Seeking Hall observed the celestial phenomena and discovered a ‘lost pearl’ within the Qian Kingdom’s palace.

The Hall Master specifically ordered me to come and find them.

I see that Mr. Lin and your family all have immortal roots and bones. I wonder if Mr. Lin is interested in stepping onto the path of cultivation?”

“Huh?”

Lin Xun was a bit stunned.

Was the Immortal Seeking Hall of the Zilin Holy Land really this powerful?

Qinger had only just generated a Spiritual Root last night, and someone was already here looking for her?

But on second thought, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

After all, it was a Spiritual Root formed by a rootless fruit; there were bound to be some anomalies.

And since the Zilin Holy Land was very close to the Qian Kingdom’s capital, it was normal to be noticed.

“Is this Daoist mistaken?”

Jiang Qingshang’s eyes flickered as she stole a glance at her husband beside her.

“We as a couple are already twenty years of age; how could we still have Spiritual Roots?”

“No, no, Madam is mistaken.”

Qin Ming waved her hand.

“While most people have Spiritual Roots from birth, there are many whose roots are only discovered later in life.

Although a late start has some impact on cultivation,

there are many Cultivators who are late bloomers.

The fact that you two could trigger a celestial phenomenon proves you are chosen ones!

And this child of Mr. Lin and Madam has an even better bone structure.”

As if afraid these two wouldn’t follow her up the mountain, Qin Ming’s tone was extremely sincere:

“If possible, I ask that you both come up the mountain with me. I believe that in the future path to immortality, there will certainly be a place for the two of you!”