Tang San, with a happy expression, left toward the city center carrying Rongrong's money to buy things.
Rongrong watched him leave with a sweet smile, but the moment he disappeared from her sight, her smile instantly vanished. Without hesitation, she turned and left the area.
"Why is she acting like this? Does Tang San have something Rongrong needs, or is she simply playing with him?" Wu Lan pondered her purpose silently.
Meanwhile, the fourth prince's lackey slowly regained consciousness, only to realize he was lying in a dark alley.
"Where am I?"
He looked around in confusion, and as he tried to move, a sharp pain stabbed through his stomach. The memory of what happened returned vividly.
"How dare they hit me! Just wait and see how I'll deal with you," he spat through gritted teeth, clutching his stomach as he endured the pain and stumbled toward the Fourth Prince's palace.
Before long, he arrived and reported directly to Xue Bing, the Fourth Prince.
"Fourth Prince, she rejected your kindness and even cursed you, saying you're a scumbag and worse than garbage."
The lackey exaggerated heavily, adding fuel to the fire, eager to see them punished for humiliating him.
Xue Bing's face darkened, fury erupting at the insults.
"How dare she insult me! Since she's so ungrateful, I'll have her expelled from the academy. Let's go, time to speak with the directors."
Without delay, he stormed toward the academy to carry out his threat against Ye Lingling.
But by the time Xue Bing arrived, Ye Lingling had already packed her belongings and left quietly. She joined Wu Lan's group and moved into their newly purchased house. There, she quickly bonded with Xiao Wu, Zhuqing, Bi Ji, and Zi Ji. Their home soon filled with laughter.
Meanwhile, Tang San wandered the capital, searching for poisonous ingredients and materials for containers.
He successfully acquired herbs for making poison and then stopped at a forge to seek suitable materials for his container for carrying the poison. While browsing, he carefully observed the workers' craftsmanship. If their skills were impressive, he intended to recruit them later to manufacture hidden weapon components.
Noticing their skill was decent, he inquired further and learned they were members of the Strength Clan, whose leader ranked among the top three craftsmen on the continent.
Tang San was impressed. He decided that once the immortal herbs matter was resolved, he would place an order with them for hidden weapon parts. His plan was already forming, he would sell his hidden weapons to Rongrong's clan at a high price, ensuring massive profits.
After selecting the container materials, he returned to the academy.
Once back, he secluded himself in his room, burying himself in creating poison and making the container.
Wu Lan, meanwhile, instructed Orchid to keep a close eye on Tang San.
As night fell and Wu Lan prepared to sleep, Orchid suddenly reported,
"Master, Rongrong is sneaking toward Tang San's place."
All drowsiness vanished instantly, and Wu Lan left to check the situation.
In the darkness, Rongrong moved cautiously, scanning her surroundings as she crept toward Tang San's quarters.
She soon arrived and carefully cracked the door open to peek inside. Spotting Tang San asleep, she relaxed slightly and slipped in, taking care not to make a sound.
As she approached him, a faint strange smell drifted into her nose, but she ignored it and pressed forward. Nearing the bed, her eyes immediately locked onto Tang San's storage belt.
She wasted no time, injecting her soul power into a specific spot, successfully extracting a stack of papers. Her eyes lit up with excitement when she saw the titles written on them: Purple Demon Eyes, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Mysterious Jade Hands, and many others papers. She didn't bother to read the contents, She checked his belt if there any papers and valuables.
After looting valuables, just as she was about to store them in her ring and leave, her vision suddenly blurred. Within moments, she collapsed unconscious.
Wu Lan appeared shortly afterward, glancing at Rongrong, who had succumbed to the poison residue lingering in the air from Tang San's earlier work. His gaze shifted to the papers scattered on the ground.
"Xuan Tian Records," Wu Lan muttered in surprise. Everything was written in full detail.
He quickly recalled how, in the past, when he received Xuan Tian Record techniques as payments, Tang San often forgot key parts. To prevent that, Tang San had compiled a complete written version for reference. Somehow, Rongrong had discovered its existence and tried to steal it after realizing its value.
Analyzing the situation, Wu Lan's mind worked at lightning speed, and a cunning plan took shape.
He hurried back to his own room and began writing descriptions of the Xuan Tian Record's techniques. He filled the pages with elaborate nonsense: what each method supposedly felt like at different stages, vague cultivation sensations, and exaggerated effects. Everything was designed to raise the reader's expectations, but nowhere did he include the actual methods of cultivation. Anyone reading would be endlessly frustrated seeing this nonsense without any content.
After completing his carefully crafted trap, he returned and slipped the altered stack into Rongrong's hands. Then he detoxified her, waking her up.
"What happened to me?" Rongrong muttered, blinking in confusion. As clarity returned, panic spread across her face when she glanced toward Tang San. Still seeing him asleep, she quickly got up, collected valuables and slipped out quietly.
Watching her leave, Wu Lan spoke softly,
"Rongrong, forgive me. As Tang San's brother, I must protect his treasures from outsiders."
Then he turned his gaze toward Tang San.
"Tang San, As a brother, I protected your treasures from leaking to others. You don't need to thank me. I've already taken these papers as payment. Since you consider me as your brother, it's not the same as leaking to outsiders. I'll make good use of them," Wu Lan said with a faint smile.
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Author's Note
🌟 A Huge Thank You! 🌟
I want to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone supporting me on patreon.com/I_SK_I 🙏🔥
Your support means more than words can express, it fuels my motivation to keep writing and pushing Wu Lan's story forward. Every chapter exists because of readers like you who believe in this journey and this world.
Thank you for standing with me and helping this story grow stronger with every step. ✨
]