Chapter 390

Chapter 390: Rumor has it that Mr. Xu’s wife passed away due to illness?

Xu Ming’s fishing hook landed right next to Ao Jin.

Ao Jin turned his head, glanced at this man, and slightly furrowed his brows.

Ao Jin felt that this man seemed to have discovered something and was deliberately targeting him.

But Ao Jin thought it made no sense.

He didn’t believe this guy could uncover his intentions.

Not even Xu Ming, nor any cultivator who had reached the Xiānrén Jìng stage, would be able to detect the abnormality in the air above this lake unless the Dragon Empress herself came.

Xu Ming sat there gripping his fishing rod, as if entering a state of enlightenment, without uttering a single word.

Actually, Ao Yiner really wanted to talk to Xu Ming.

Xu Ming wasn’t aware how famous he was across the Four Seas—more famous than he imagined.

Because of a poem he wrote as a child, all sorts of rumors about Xu Ming circulated throughout the Four Seas.

In general, Xu Ming had become the representative of “devoted men,” much beloved by secluded young ladies, especially those of noble rank.

Even Ao Yiner, though not particularly interested in literati like Xu Ming, had heard his name countless times during gatherings and tea parties.

“Rumor has it that Mr. Xu’s wife passed away due to illness?” Unable to hold back any longer, Ao Yiner took the initiative to speak to Xu Ming.

“Huh? Did I hear wrong?” Xu Ming blinked, doubting his ears.

“Wife? Did I mishear?” “I heard that after Mr. Xu’s wife passed, he wrote that poem,” Ao Yiner explained.

Xu Ming twitched his eyebrows.

First off, I don’t even have a wife.

Even if I did…

Isn’t it a bit rude to ask so directly? One can only say that this princess of the Dragon Clan is indeed quite self-willed and capricious, because obviously, she doesn’t consider your feelings.

“I’ve never been married; I wrote that poem when I was six years old.” Xu Ming calmly replied.

“Six???” Ao Yiner blinked her eyes. “That’s not too young! We can get married at six!”

Beside her, Ao Jin couldn’t bear to listen anymore. “Yiner, don’t be impolite! A human life spans a hundred years, while dragons grow one year every hundred. When Brother Xu says ‘six,’ he means his sixth year of life.”

“Ah???!!!” Ao Yiner stared blankly at Xu Ming.

At first, Ao Yiner thought this man was kind of annoying, but now her eyes were full of admiration.

Could he really write such good poetry in his sixth year of life?

When I was six, I was still riding dragon shrimps around the Dragon Sea!

“Brother Xu, I apologize.” Ao Jin’s manners clearly surpassed his spoiled sister. “My sister is ignorant and has always stayed in the Eastern Sea. The farthest she’s ever gone is this time to the Northern Sea. If I’ve offended you, Brother Xu, please forgive her.”

“No problem.” Xu Ming smiled. “The princess is pure and innocent, which is truly rare.”

Ao Jin: “…”

Listening to Xu Ming’s words, Ao Jin felt like he was criticizing his own sister.

“Do you really not have a wife?” Ao Yiner still seemed unconvinced. Could all those rumors be false? Xu Ming didn’t get angry, calmly replying again: “No, among our human race, we can only marry and have children at sixteen.”

Ao Yiner: “Wasn’t there a cloud of white mist swirling around when you were born, with divine beings blessing you?”

“…” Xu Ming didn’t know where she heard that from but shook his head. “No, my birth was just like anyone else’s.”

Ao Yiner: “Did you hear that you could break a mountain with one punch?”

Xu Ming thought for a moment: “If you’re talking about my childhood, then no, that wouldn’t be possible. But if you’re referring to now, it shouldn’t be a big issue, depending on the size of the mountain. Small mountains are fine. Actually, not just me—warriors at my level generally can destroy a small hill with one punch.”

Ao Yiner: “I also heard that you originally couldn’t cultivate, but once fell into a cliff, obtained some sort of treasure, and then started cultivating.”

Xu Ming’s brow twitched: “Initially, I couldn’t cultivate, and yes, I did gain an opportunity to start cultivating, but I didn’t fall off any cliff.”

Ao Yiner’s eyes became even more curious: “Then what’s the real reason?”

Xu Ming shook his head: “Sorry, that’s confidential.”

“Such a miser!” Ao Yiner pouted.

But Ao Yiner didn’t expect much to get the real answer anyway. These kinds of things are usually very secretive, so it’s normal that he wouldn’t tell her.

Afterward, Ao Yiner asked Xu Ming several other bizarre questions.

For example, when Xu Ming broke off his engagement, was it because the princess was too ugly?

And another question was whether the men Xu Ming trained with at Blood Floating Pagoda were all broad-shouldered and robust.

Xu Ming answered most of the questions he could.

On the side, Ao Jin listened to his sister’s conversation with Xu Ming, wondering if he was being overly suspicious. This Xu Ming seemed pretty normal.

Ao Jin gradually let down his guard and focused on his own tasks.

Zhu Cici, who occasionally glanced at Xu Ming, frowned and wanted to throw a stone at him.

“Bad guy! Why can you chat so happily with that unfamiliar Dragon woman?”

Zhu Cici was unhappy inside and wished to shove the Dragon woman aside and sit next to Xu Ming herself.

Of course, good upbringing prevented Zhu Cici from doing such an immodest thing.

As time passed, Ao Jin felt he was ready and quietly chanted a spell.

In the next instant, the scholars of White Deer Academy, including Zhu Cici, felt a strange sensation.

They felt their spiritual energy being drained, but upon inspecting their bodies internally, it seemed like it wasn’t their spiritual energy.

It was like some kind of illusion.

When Yu Wen Xi and others began to feel puzzled, Xu Ming clearly saw the spiritual energy flowing out from Zhu Cici and others, bit by bit, merging into the water, then moving toward Ao Jin’s fishing rod.

Ao Jin’s fishing rod was enveloped in the power of literary cultivation.

And at the bottom of the lake, Xu Ming saw a figure swaying continuously…