"It—it's you..."
Su Xiaobai stared blankly at Ye Ling as he approached, flustered and disoriented. The scene of Ye Ling flying through the sky, traversing the earth, and tearing apart demons was still vivid in her memory. They were from entirely different worlds! Su Xiaobai couldn't fathom why Ye Ling would seek her out.
The other students also showed clear fear towards Ye Ling, lowering their heads and keeping their mouths shut, terrified of drawing his attention.
Ye Ling glanced at the other students and then smiled at Su Xiaobai, "I can help you deal with these gossipy fellows. What do you think?"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, the students' legs turned to jelly, almost causing them to collapse. Deal with them? What did that mean?
The Dragon Department's operative nearby, seeing Ye Ling about to act, changed his expression slightly and quickly said, "Senior, these students, though gossipy, haven't committed major offenses. Their crimes don't warrant death. What do you say..."
Ye Ling casually glanced at the Dragon Department operative, who trembled all over, his face turning pale! While the death of these students here would result in severe punishment for him, he had a premonition... if he dared to speak another word of persuasion, he would die right then and there!
The Dragon Department operative dared not speak further, and the other students became even more terrified. Some even knelt before Ye Ling, begging for mercy, "Immortal, spare our lives! We know we were wrong! Please don't kill us!"
"What you are asking for is not me," Ye Ling said indifferently. The students then turned to Su Xiaobai, pleading, "Xiaobai! President! For the sake of being fellow alumni, please be magnanimous and let us go!"
"We swear we will never gossip behind your back again!"
Su Xiaobai was still somewhat dazed, unable to fully process the situation. Why was Ye Ling helping her? Suddenly, the lives of a group of people were in her hands, filling her with apprehension. However, despite her dislike for her classmates' earlier behavior, she didn't believe they deserved to die. Seeing them kowtowing and kneeling, Su Xiaobai suddenly felt they were pitiable and couldn't help but plead with Ye Ling, "Could you… could you let them go?"
Seeing Su Xiaobai's plea, Ye Ling sighed slightly, "Since that is the case, I shall spare their lives."
"However..." Ye Ling then looked at the Dragon Department operative, "After you take them back, do I need to instruct you on how to treat them?"
The Dragon Department operative instantly understood Ye Ling's meaning and patted his chest, "Don't worry, Senior! I understand!"
"Professionally!"
Their purpose in taking the students to the Dragon Department was primarily to erase their memories of the day's events. As long as they were guaranteed to survive, nothing else mattered. As for how the staff would conduct the psychological counseling and memory erasure, or whether there would be "excessive use of force," the higher-ups were not particularly concerned.
With Ye Ling sparing the students, the Dragon Department operative, fearing further trouble, quickly escorted all the students from the sports field away. However, they wisely left Su Xiaobai behind. Being looked after by Ye Ling automatically made her an insider, thus no memory erasure was necessary. Many Dragon Department operatives showed envy in their eyes as they saw Ye Ling's special attention towards Su Xiaobai. Whether Su Xiaobai had caught Ye Ling's eye or it was for some other reason, for an ordinary person like Su Xiaobai to be connected with a powerful异士宗师 (Yi Shi Zong Shi - roughly translated as Mystic Master or Esoteric Grandmaster) meant her future would be exceptionally bright! If Su Xiaobai possessed cultivation talent, she might even make a name for herself in the circles.
After the Dragon Department operatives, along with the students from the sports field, departed, leaving only Ye Ling and Su Xiaobai, Su Xiaobai became even more uneasy, unable to meet Ye Ling's gaze.
Su Xiaobai asked tremblingly, "Why… why did you help me?"
"The more I look at you, the more familiar you seem," Ye Ling said, scrutinizing Su Xiaobai. "Do you know Su Ruoxue?"
"Sister Ruoxue?"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Su Xiaobai was startled and looked up at Ye Ling, "Immortal, you know my sister?"
"Know her? More than just know her," Ye Ling chuckled. When he first saw Su Xiaobai, he thought she bore some resemblance to Su Ruoxue. Later, upon hearing her surname was also Su, he took notice, intending to help her out after dealing with the Hong Chen Pavilion matters. Of course, even if Su Xiaobai turned out to have no relation to Su Ruoxue, Ye Ling found her agreeable and wouldn't mind bestowing some opportunities upon her.
"Sister Ruoxue is my cousin. I'm from the Su family of Dao City, and we're relatives with the Su family of Jiang City!"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Su Xiaobai became excited, her eyes beginning to sparkle. When she was young, the Su family of Jiang City and the Su family of Dao City had frequent interactions, and Su Ruoxue was her best childhood playmate. Although the relationship between the two families had gradually distanced in recent years, she still often contacted Su Ruoxue. She never expected her cousin to know such a powerful individual!
"It seems I didn't misidentify you," Ye Ling said, seeing that Su Xiaobai was indeed Su Ruoxue's cousin, and smiled warmly. "Quite fortunate." Ye Ling had previously heard Su Ruoxue mention her close cousin, but he had never had the chance to meet her. He never expected to encounter Su Xiaobai in such a setting.
"Are you Brother Ye that Sister Ruoxue mentioned?" After learning that Ye Ling knew Su Ruoxue, Su Xiaobai also became more lively and asked Ye Ling again.
"Oh? Does Ruoxue mention me to you often?"
"Mhm... In the past few years, whenever I chatted with Sister Ruoxue, she would mention Brother Ye Ling constantly. A few days ago, she told me that Brother Ye Ling had returned and become very powerful, so I wondered if you were Brother Ye Ling."
"That girl..." Hearing Su Xiaobai's words, Ye Ling shook his head and smiled, Su Ruoxue's image reappearing in his mind, a hint of tenderness flashing in his eyes. Seeing the fleeting tenderness in Ye Ling's eyes, Su Xiaobai was also taken aback, her heart suddenly pounding twice. She hadn't expected Ye Ling, who had seemed like a demon just moments ago, to possess such a gentle side!
After staring at Ye Ling for a few seconds, Su Xiaobai came back to her senses and asked, "By the way, Brother Ye Ling, can I have your phone number?"
Ye Ling nodded, "Of course, give me your phone."
Su Xiaobai blushing, handed her phone to Ye Ling and asked softly, "Can I contact you in the future?"
"Feel free to reach out to me if you need anything." Ye Ling said as he saved his number, "It's quite late today, I'll take you back first."
"Thank you, brother-in-law!" Seeing Ye Ling agree, Su Xiaobai excitedly took back her phone and repeatedly thanked him.
"Brother-in-law?" Hearing Su Xiaobai suddenly call him that, Ye Ling was slightly taken aback, not expecting the girl's thoughts to jump so quickly! How could she call him that? However, Su Xiaobai seemed to have already decided that Ye Ling was her brother-in-law, even changing his contact name. In Su Xiaobai's eyes, Su Ruoxue was her sister, Ye Ling and Su Ruoxue were a couple, so Ye Ling was her brother-in-law. With such an incredibly powerful brother-in-law looking out for her, Su Xiaobai felt a sense of security.
Ye Ling smiled wryly and didn't dwell on the title. After escorting Su Ruoxue back to her dormitory and confirming her safety, he then flew towards Long Dao Mountain. Although the new branch of the Hong Chen Pavilion had been resolved, there were still remnants of the Hong Chen Pavilion on Long Dao Mountain. From the confidential information dug out of the Hong Chen Pavilion branch, Ye Ling had learned about "Number One" and the mole within the Zheng Yi Sect. This time, he planned to take down the Hong Chen Pavilion on Long Dao Mountain in one go. Furthermore... the secret that Zhang Muya was hiding... Ye Ling also wanted to delve deeper into it!