But it was this same man, who after he had saved Shui QianRou, she had given a harsh slap!

He might have arrived earlier, or he might not have, but he possessed enough power to save all her guards, it was just that he chose not to! If he had acted, even if he couldn't have saved more people from the green-robed man, he would have at least prevented the deaths of her two elders! Upon thinking of the tragic deaths of the two Zheng elders, Shui QianRou lamented, Why?! Why didn't you act earlier?!

Did he really act late? If he had waited a while longer, let alone Die'er, even she would have found it difficult to leave alive. He just needed to save himself at the critical juncture, but she didn't even have a hint of appreciation!

As to why Ling Tian would actually save her, there had to be a reason. Was he in love with her? Shui QianRou couldn't help but laugh coldly to herself. Definitely not! There had to be a greater scheme somewhere!

Indeed, she had once been prideful of her intellect and charm, but upon meeting Ling Tian, all of those flew out of the window! He wouldn't drool at her beauty and didn't even develop thoughts of taking her for his own! Or else, he wouldn't have sat on the sidelines and watched, only taking action at the end and leaving the two elders to die!

However, Shui QianRou had actually neglected a very important point in her a.n.a.lysis, and that was the fact that she had always been at odds with Ling Tian! From start to end, while she had always seemed friendly, they never were allies to begin with, but instead mortal enemies! Just like how she dared to plot against Ling Tian, he could naturally do the same to her!

Ladies, their line of thought was just so illogical at times! Even the intelligent Shui QianRou wasn't an exception!

"Young n.o.ble Ling, this lady here thanks young n.o.ble for saving my life, and I'll find a way to repay it. If you have nothing else for me, then we'll bid farewell here. The mountains are high and rivers long, there will be another time where we cross paths." Holding onto the lapels of her clothes with a hand, she calmly stated. While her tone sounded calm and even, her heart was trembling. Now that she had put out all her cards, it was time to see what Ling Tian was going to respond with!

Escape was never an option to begin with!

In this time period, Ling Tian was gathering fallen pine needles into a pile, away from the forest. He then lit up some tinder, and set the dry needles on fire, causing a huge plume of smoke to rise. Without any breeze present, the smoke rose unhindered up to the sky.

Seeing the fire, Shui QianRou coldly smiled. That was the signal to his subordinates, right? In his eyes, I'm already his prisoner!

"Oh? Brother Qian is too polite. This is only a coincidental meeting, and it's nothing worth mentioning. However," Ling Tian smiled and purposely dragged the next few words, "Brother Qian, oh no, it should be Miss Shui, you want to leave so soon? Don't you think you left something unfinished?"

Shui QianRou immediately became more vigilant. He indeed had a motive! She cautiously asked, "As a lady, it is inconvenient for me to roam the pugilistic world and so I disguised myself as a male. I didn't mean to fool young n.o.ble, and as for unfinished business? I don't understand, can young n.o.ble please explain further?"

Ling Tian laughed jovially, but the expression in his eyes was as cold as a drawn blade, "With Miss Shui's intellect, did you actually forget that I, Ling Tian, am the son of Ling Xiao?! In that case, what do you think I'm referring to?"

Shui QianRou's heart leaped, thinking in a panic, Does he already know something? Or did someone reveal something to him?' If someone has exposed this situation, then there would be no room for retreat! Her facial expressions bore no signs of her inward struggle as she softly replied, "Young n.o.ble Ling is indeed Great General Ling's son, this is a fact known to all. This lady here definitely understands that, so why is young n.o.ble trying to joke with me? This is making me confused!"

Ling Tian laughed again and changed the topic. He spoke with a light tone, "As everyone knows, the little miss of the Yu Family, Yu BingYan has a relations.h.i.+p with me, and furthermore, I'm good friends with Third Master Yu. The Yu Family is also the number one martial arts aristocratic family, with deep roots, and it definitely has the power to destroy my family! However, Miss Shui actually moved to a.s.sa.s.sinate Yu BingYan and me in Smoky Thea Tower!"

He then smiled mockingly as he raised his head, "Yet today I, Ling Tian, not only saved the lady that tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate me but ended up killing two elders of the Yu Family, creating a blood feud! Does Miss Shui know why?"

Shui QianRou's heart sank, and the wound at her chest also started to hurt as she forcefully replied, "This lady here thanks young n.o.ble for your graciousness once again. As the saying goes, 'Meeting injustice in the road, a man roots it out. Meeting the weak being bullied, he extends a helping hand'. The Yu Family elders were tyrannical and unreasonable, bullying a lady like me. Because young n.o.ble is soft-hearted and righteous, he saved me! This lady here has only this thought of you as my savior with no other thoughts."

Shui QianRou was indeed a worthy successor of Water of Heavenly Wind. Not only was her intellect above others, she was able to speak in a calm tone despite being in an awkward situation. With just a few words, she portrayed Ling Tian as a hero who was upright and responsible, and refused to deviate from her stand!

Sadly, her opponent was Ling Tian!

Ling Tian snorted coldly, "I am friendly with Yu ManTian and have a liking for Miss Yu, and furthermore the Yu Family is not someone I can resist singlehandedly. However, I actually went out of my way to kill two Yu Family elders just to save a mortal enemy. Don't you think that is odd? Or did you really imagine that I'm some sort of hero?"

Shui QianRou replied in a firm manner, but with an even gentler tone, "Young n.o.ble has a remarkable ability and is exceptionally talented. Thus, how could the things that he does be explained by mortal's logic?"

Ling Tian laughed and just stared at her. His eyes seemed to pierce right inside her, and after a while, he lowered his gaze, but spat out directly, "Northern Wei and Sky Bearing seem to have given the Shui Family quite a few benefits, right? Or else, how could they ever persuade the Water of Heavenly Wind?" This simple sentence, though softly spoken out, resounded like thunder in her ears!

If it were an ordinary day, then Shui QianRou wouldn't have felt anything, but with a serious injury and the lack of internal energy, Ling Tian's energy-infused voice made her head spin and muddled her thoughts. She closed her eyes to focus before answering, "This miss here really doesn't know what young n.o.ble Ling is talking about. Your words to me are like the wind and clouds, mist and fog; ephemeral and unknowing. Thus, I cannot answer."

Ling Tian burst out into laughter at her act, but one could hear the coldness in it! "Miss Shui, then I'll let you know and also let you understand, and even more let you answer all my questions!" He ruthlessly continued, "I really want to know if this plan will still succeed without an important character like you. Without the support of Water of Heavenly Wind, can the stupid b*st*rd Northern Wei Crown Prince as well as the good-for-nothing Long Xiang actually still pull something off!"

Shui QianRou's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed, and hesitatingly bit on her lips, refusing to answer.

The sounds of rustling came from afar. Obviously, there were many people rus.h.i.+ng over.

Ling Tian stood up and coolly spoke, "It doesn't matter if Miss Shui is willing to cooperate or not. The Ling Family is also very appreciative of you and allowing Miss Shui to be a guest for an indefinite time at our house until you feel like speaking is an easy thing. This young n.o.ble is not worried at all!"

A cold light shot through Shui QianRou's eyes as she retorted, "Just now you were saying how your family couldn't resist the Yu Family. However, the same applies to my family! While you can hide me for a while, but after a long period, the Ling Family will definitely get caught!"

Shui QianRou had decided to use the prestige of Water of Heavenly Wind to pressure Ling Tian, but they were all alarmist threats, with nothing of substance!"

Ling Tian coldly smiled, "Water of Heavenly Wind; Jade of Heavenly Star. Both are existences this young n.o.ble cannot provoke..."

Shui QianRou didn't show any expression as she knew Ling Tian had not finished his sentence. For someone who dared to kill a Yu Family elder, how could he be afraid of retaliation?

Indeed, Ling Tian continued, "But Miss is mistaken of one fact. You were pursued your whole journey, in danger of being killed, and luckily, the Yu Family Elders decided to lend a helping hand. However, in the face of the supreme expert, their skills were lacking, and you still got kidnapped in the end! If the Yu and Shui families would want to pursue the matter, they would look for that green-robed man, so why would they bother searching my Ling Family? But does either family have the capability to go after that green-robed man?"

A look of despair finally surfaced in Shui QianRou's eyes! Ling Tian was indeed ingenious, even dragging the frighteningly powerful expert into his calculations! With the strength of that green-robed man, the Yu and Shui Families would sound the drums for retreat instead, unwilling to make an enemy out of someone whom they couldn't afford to offend!

Ling Tian definitely was aware of the plans of the Shui Family and indeed didn't save Shui QianRou out of goodwill! However, he left out something in his calculations.

"Ling Tian, you shameless beast! Is this how you treat my family's little princess?!" Die'er's furious voice sounded. "The little princess is only doing this because of the orders from her family. I've already lost count of the number of times she was looking at you in secret. Our family's young miss has taken a liking to you, but you treat her this way? Where is your conscience? Ling Tian, you're worse than a beast!"