Chapter 272 – Who Knows Where They're Eating

In the sky above the wilderness danger zone.

The weather was clear today, with not a cloud in sight for miles, making it quite suitable for a long journey.

The resplendent alchemical airship flew through the high altitude as if swimming freely in the ocean, its form concealed yet emitting invisible Spirit Fluctuations that caused the surrounding flying-type Phantom Demons to steer clear as if encountering something detestable.

Inside the Ark, Su Ming and his companions had already gone their separate ways, no longer gathered together.

With the Ark serving as their transportation, Su Ming’s group no longer needed to trek long distances, but it would still take several days and nights to reach Tianfeng City.

Therefore, after the initial phase of curiosity had passed, everyone in Su Ming’s group followed Xu Xiayan’s arrangements to find their own rooms within the Ark and began resting.

Su Ming was also in his room.

Of course, he wasn’t alone.

“Meeling!”

The beautiful mermaid girl swayed her lovely fishtail, creating ripples in the water as she swam to the airship’s window. She leaned against it, gazing at the scenery outside, her large aqua-blue eyes filled with curiosity about the unknown world.

“This girl, isn’t she afraid of the Spirit Fluctuations from the Ark?”

Watching this scene, Su Ming was quite happy to let Little Hai’er entertain herself like this, though he was somewhat concerned about whether the Ark’s Spirit Fluctuations might affect her.

The Spirit Fluctuations emitted by the Ark were indeed quite remarkable, capable of making Phantom Demons instinctively reject it and stay away from the area where the Spirit Fluctuations were present.

Even higher-level Phantom Demons would likely subconsciously feel disgust towards these Spirit Fluctuations and avoid approaching this area.

This made Su Ming worry that Little Hai’er might be affected by these Spirit Fluctuations.

When Xu Xiayan was around Su Ming, this girl had been extremely cautious, hardly daring to breathe, doing her utmost to conceal herself for fear of being discovered. If she couldn’t relax even after coming aboard the Ark, that would truly be too difficult for her.

Fortunately, Little Hai’er didn’t seem to be affected by the Spirit Fluctuations, swimming about freely here without appearing like a Phantom Demon at all.

“Is this because of Little Hai’er’s inherent uniqueness? Or is it that Phantom Demons who reach a certain level of strength can ignore the effects of these Spirit Fluctuations?”

Su Ming scratched his head, unable to figure out the answer.

But he didn’t dwell on it, soon putting the matter aside and letting Little Hai’er enjoy the scenery by the window alone while he stood up.

“I’m going out to get some food. Stay in the room and don’t wander around randomly, understand?”

Su Ming gave Little Hai’er this instruction for the time being.

“Meeling!”

Little Hai’er responded with a melodious chirp but didn’t turn to look at Su Ming, continuing to gaze at the scenery outside as if completely captivated by the beautiful view.

Su Ming shook his head with a wry smile and didn’t pay any more attention to Little Hai’er, leaving the room alone to head to the Restaurant.

According to Xu Xiayan, the large refrigerator in the Restaurant stored plenty of food, and if Su Ming and the others had any needs, they could help themselves without standing on ceremony.

Since she had said so, Su Ming naturally wouldn’t be polite.

Thus, Su Ming went straight to the Restaurant to find something to eat.

However, it seemed he wasn’t the only one who had come here.

“Bad guy!”Su Ming had just stepped into the restaurant when a familiar, sharp voice of a young woman rang out, causing his expression to fall. Suppressing the urge to turn around and leave immediately, he narrowed his dead-fish eyes and looked toward a corner of the restaurant. There, three people sat facing each other, enjoying their meal. They were none other than Wang Yihan, Bai Ruxiang, and Bai Xiaoyan.

“Hello,” Bai Ruxiang nodded at Su Ming as a form of greeting. Bai Xiaoyan quickly lowered her head in a similar gesture but made no sound, seemingly a bit shy. Su Ming wasn’t keen on approaching, but since Bai Ruxiang had noticed him, it would be impolite to just turn and leave. After all, Bai Ruxiang had always treated him well—she didn’t reject him outright for being a man of unknown origins, nor did she look down on him because he had a sister who was an Upper-Rank Professional. Plus, her demeanor during the Ruins incident had left a good impression, so Su Ming couldn’t just ignore her. Reluctantly, he moved closer.

“Having a meal? All you lovely Young Misses?” Su Ming forced a smile onto his face, trying to remain polite. Unfortunately, while Bai Ruxiang and Bai Xiaoyan might let it slide, Wang Yihan wasn’t having any of it.

“Stop talking like that, you bad guy. It makes me really uncomfortable,” Young Miss Wang rubbed her arms and bluntly called him out, nearly causing Su Ming’s smile to falter. This silly girl—he really wanted to drag her out and give her fifty lashes to make her backside bloom.

“You two seem quite familiar. Have you met before?” Bai Ruxiang watched Su Ming and Wang Yihan quietly for a moment before tentatively asking. “We’ve only crossed paths once,” Su Ming denied without hesitation, not wanting anyone to think he and Wang Yihan were close. It was true—they had only met that one time at the Ruins and hadn’t seen each other since until today, when she latched onto him again.

“Hmph!” Wang Yihan seemed dissatisfied with Su Ming’s response. She snorted lightly and said to Bai Ruxiang, “Sister Ruxiang, you should be careful around him. He’s really bad!”

“Is that so?” Bai Ruxiang smiled noncommittally. “I actually think Mr. Su is quite polite, and for some reason, he gives me a familiar sense of warmth. He probably isn’t a bad person.” Her words made Bai Xiaoyan lift her head slightly to glance cautiously at Su Ming before quickly lowering it again, remaining silent.

Su Ming’s eyes twitched imperceptibly as he muttered to himself, “Could she recognize me even like this? Is this women’s intuition? Truly terrifying…”

“Since you’re here, why not join us for the meal, Mr. Su?” Bai Ruxiang, unaware of Su Ming’s thoughts, extended an invitation. She did feel an inexplicable closeness to him, as if they weren’t meeting for the first time, which made her unbothered by his presence. After all, as a member of the Bai Family, raised in an environment where women were revered, Bai Ruxiang—though not as blatantly averse to men as Bai Xuefei—would never normally take the initiative to invite a man to dine with her.But this time, Bai Ruxiang made a rare exception, and even the usually shy Bai Xiaoyan beside her seemed to have no objections, which made Wang Yihan puff her cheeks in frustration, stewing alone.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Su Ming found it hard to refuse, so he nodded in agreement.

However, as he sat down, Su Ming added:

“You can just call me by my name, no need for honorifics.”

If factors like strength were disregarded, Bai Ruxiang was undoubtedly of a higher seniority than Su Ming.

Bai Xuefei was twenty-eight this year, while Bai Ruxiang was a year older than her younger sister, making her twenty-nine, nearly thirty.

And Su Ming?

He was still a tender eighteen-year-old youth.

In such circumstances, having Bai Ruxiang constantly address him as “Sir” was indeed inappropriate.

On this alchemy airship, Su Ming, Wang Yihan, and Bai Xiaoyan were in one age group, while Xu Xiayan, Bai Ruxiang, and Bai Xuefei were in another.

Among these three, Xu Xiayan was likely the oldest (whispering quietly), being just over thirty this year, Bai Ruxiang was twenty-nine, and Bai Xuefei was twenty-eight. Though their ages were similar, their strengths were worlds apart.

This meant Bai Ruxiang could only mingle among the younger generation. If he didn’t give her some face, she would probably feel very awkward.

Thus, both emotionally and logically, Su Ming saw no need for Bai Ruxiang to use honorifics for him.

“Alright.”

Bai Ruxiang thought for a moment and agreed.

However, she didn’t directly call Su Ming by his name.

“I’ll call you Young Master Su instead.”

Bai Ruxiang actually said this.

“Isn’t that even more like an honorific?Su Ming’s lips twitched, unable to complain.

Bai Ruxiang also seemed a bit embarrassed, but she didn’t change her mind.

“You’re familiar with Miss Wang, and according to Lady Xiayan, you’re also on good terms with the Xu Family’s Young Miss Xu Qianqian and the Yun Family Estate’s Young Miss Yun Langyue. Given that, it would be impolite for me to address you directly by name. Calling you Young Master Su is just right.”

That was Bai Ruxiang’s reasoning.

It seemed she already knew roughly about Su Ming’s background and status.

“You know about that too?”

Su Ming couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Seeing this, Bai Ruxiang explained.

“Ordinary people might not know of your existence yet, but among some major Families, your presence is no longer a secret. After all, Young Miss Xu Qianqian and Young Miss Yun Langyue are prominent figures in every sense. The fact that you’re on good terms with them naturally drew attention early on.”

That’s how it was.

By now, Su Ming’s relationships with Xu Qianqian and Yun Langyue were no longer secrets.

Even though Su Ming kept a low profile and hadn’t openly revealed his strength, his ability to interact freely with Xu Qianqian and Yun Langyue, and seemingly be held in high regard by them, meant that major Families and powers couldn’t help but notice him.

“Especially the incident where you sought help from Young Miss Yun Langyue for Young Miss Xu Qianqian’s safety, asking her to send experts to protect Young Miss Xu Qianqian. That matter spread quite quickly among the various Families.”

When Bai Ruxiang brought this up, her expression clearly turned somewhat strange.

Even Bai Xiaoyan beside her looked like she had something to say but hesitated, clearly bothered by something.

Su Ming, however, felt utterly uncomfortable.Why does every little thing seem to spread like wildfire among these so-called great Families?

It makes me look like some desperate simp who’s also a heartless scoundrel. Could people actually be entertaining such wild thoughts?

Would they think Yun Langyue has treated me well, yet I callously disregarded her feelings by asking her to send people to protect another woman?

Just thinking about it gave Su Ming a headache.

As for Bai Ruxiang and Bai Xiaoyan’s unusual behavior, Su Ming had noticed it too.

His mind quickly pieced things together, then he smiled and spoke.

“You want to ask me about Ming Wang, don’t you?”

The moment Su Ming said this, Bai Ruxiang and Bai Xiaoyan immediately reacted strongly.

Especially Bai Xiaoyan.

“You… you know Lord Ming Wang’s whereabouts?”

Bai Xiaoyan broke the previous silence, mustering her courage to ask Su Ming.

This was only natural.

To those in the know, Ming Wang was someone Yun Langyue specifically dispatched only after Su Ming went to seek her help.

In other words, Su Ming could barely be considered connected to Ming Wang in some way.

It was precisely because Su Ming realized this that he deliberately brought it up.

But…

“You’re really putting me on the spot here.” Su Ming spread his hands and said, “I merely sought Yun Langyue’s help, and she happened to send that particular person. I don’t actually know Lord Ming Wang personally, nor did I know that the expert I asked Yun Langyue to send to help Xu Qianqian would accomplish such remarkable deeds.”

Su Ming thus completely distanced himself from any connection to Ming Wang.

“Is that so?”

Bai Xiaoyan’s face visibly fell with disappointment.

Bai Ruxiang also darkened her expression and sighed.

Fortunately, she had actually anticipated that they probably wouldn’t get any information about Ming Wang from Su Ming, so she had mentally prepared herself in advance.

“We were being presumptuous. Our apologies.”

Bai Ruxiang then apologized to Su Ming.

“Don’t say that.” Su Ming shook his head, but kept his gaze fixed on Bai Ruxiang as he said, “Forgive my bluntness, but why are you searching for Lord Ming Wang like this?”

If it were anyone else, Su Ming definitely wouldn’t have asked.

Because he knew that currently, everyone in the world had reasons to search for Ming Wang, making such questions unnecessary.

For the Demon Emperor Sword, not just Longyao City, but even major powers and great Families from other Base Cities were conducting extensive searches for Ming Wang, making this matter quite sensational.

Given this, even if Bai Ruxiang and Bai Xiaoyan wanted to find Ming Wang, it wouldn’t be strange.

However, Su Ming felt that their reason for seeking Ming Wang wasn’t for the Demon Emperor Sword.

If they truly wanted the Demon Emperor Sword, these two wouldn’t have resolutely resisted its temptation back in the Ruins and spoken up for Su Ming.

They had already resisted the Demon Emperor Sword’s allure before, so naturally they wouldn’t suddenly become drawn to it now.

Then, why else would they want to find Ming Wang?

The answer was actually quite simple.

“We just want to know if he’s safe and sound.”

Bai Ruxiang said this with a bitter smile.

“Mmhmm!”

Bai Xiaoyan nodded repeatedly.

“……”

Su Ming remained silent.

Looking at Su Ming like this, Bai Ruxiang spoke with considerable seriousness, “That lord is our savior. Without him, we wouldn’t be here anymore.”

Because of this, both Bai Ruxiang and Bai Xiaoyan felt deeply grateful to Ming Wang.For Ming Wang’s ability to easily slay beings of the same star level, his courage to confront Six-Star Underground Professionals head-on, and the charm of being chosen by the Demon Emperor Sword, the female Hunters of the Bai Family almost all held admiration for him, even harboring a faint sense of reverence.

Now that Ming Wang’s possession of the Demon Emperor Sword had been exposed, with the entire world searching for him, his whereabouts unknown, his condition unclear, and whether he was safe or in peril uncertain, Bai Ruxiang, Bai Xiaoyan, and the others naturally felt somewhat worried.

Only Wang Yihan kept glancing frequently at Su Ming, as if blaming him for keeping it a secret.

Su Ming ignored Wang Yihan’s gaze, glanced at Bai Xiaoyan, then at Bai Ruxiang, and smiled lightly.

“Don’t worry, fortune favors the worthy. His strength is not low, so he should be fine. He might even be somewhere having a meal right now.”

Su Ming’s rather flippant remark left Bai Xiaoyan speechless and drew a faint smile from Bai Ruxiang.

“I hope so.”

Bai Ruxiang seemed to share the same wish.

(End of Chapter)