Ling Chuxi walked unhurriedly to the front of the assessment monument, then bent lightly at the waist to put Little White down by her feet. Then, she rose to her full height and calmly placed her hand into the groove of the monument. She felt a tinge of cold breath exhale across her palm. It was unclear to her what material the monument was made from. All she knew was that the monument had been passed down for generations within the Ling family.
Just as Ling Chunxi went onstage, shadows marked the entrance doorway of the Ling ancestral court. Qin Xiruo, Qin Yumei and their posse had come to observe the tail end of the Ling clan's assessment ceremony since their own had concluded. The Ling family's servants didn't forbid their entrance as the Qins and Lings were known to maintain good relations and even a trend of marriage alliances. Bearing this in mind, of course none of them could prevent any of the Qins from walking in to observe the ceremony.
Naturally, Qin Yumei rushed to look for Ling Xiaoting. She managed to find him in the crowd, but a bad hunch arose in her heart upon seeing his pale face. 'No way. Could it be that Elder Brother Xiaoting didn't pass the assessment? It can't be, right?'
On the other hand, Qin Xiruo's eyes were drawn to the sight of Ling Chunxi onstage. She looked on with a frown. Her heart was ill at ease though she couldn't say why. There was a niggling feeling that this wasn't the same Ling Chunxi.
Ling Xiaoting's downcast look greatly worried Qin Yumei but she didn't dare go and ask him about the outcome of his assessment. Aha! She would ask Ling Yuanhong about it instead. After much craning of her neck, she spotted Ling Yuanhong a short distance away. As she usually did, she waved to beckon him over, but Ling Yuanhong paid no heed to her as his eyes were transfixed onto the stage. Qin Yumei tried and waved to Ling Yuanhong again only to get no response once more. This upset Qin Yumei. She rushed over to Lung Yuanhong, tugged him by the arm and angrily barked, "Are you blind? Didn't you see me calling you?"
"I didn't. I'm very busy," replied Ling Yuanhong distractedly without even turning to look at Qin Yumei. With dewy eyes, he continued staring at Ling Chunxi who was onstage channeling her Battle Qi into the stone monument.
"Who is that? Ling Chunxi? What are you gazing at that ugly monster like that for? Are you sick?" asked Qin Yumei in disbelief when she saw who Ling Yuanhong was staring at.
"You're the ugly monster! Get lost!" Ling Yuanhong's temper flared when he heard Qin Yumei speak of Ling Chunxi as such.
"How dare you?! Say that one more time, Ling Yuanhong!" shrieked Qin Yumei in shock. Quickly, she realized the people around them were glaring at her for making a scene. Her shouts must have been louder than she thought. Qin Yumei continued berating Ling Yuanhong in an angry whisper, "You must have gone mad. Do you even realize what you're saying?! Don't you dare show your face in front of me ever again!" Qin Yumei found it hard to believe that Ling Yuanhong who was usually so pedantic to her, had spoken to her so rudely.
"Fine. Just get lost now, I don't want to see you," mumbled Ling Yuanhong without looking at her. He waved her away impatiently as though he were shooing a fly.
Qin Yumei was so angry, her body trembled in rage and her lungs felt like bursting. Since when did Ling Yuanhong dare to treat her in such a manner? All she wanted was to ask him if Ling Xiaoting had made it through the assessment, but instead, Ling Yuanhong has spoken to her so rudely before she even had the chance to ask.
All Ling Yuanhong cared about right now was if the monument would react to Ling Chunxi's Battle Qi. Would it light up? Would it?
A gust of wind blew around the silent courtyard. The tinge of cold breath Ling Chunxi had felt upon her palm had now surrounded her.
The wind began to blow stronger as clouds gathered in the sky!