17 The Young Master's Lover

The air was filled with silence as Xiang Ling stared at the young boy with disbelief written all over her face.

"How old are you?" She asked while staring at the boy.

"Ten," he answered.

Xiang Ling let out a scoff before she crossed her arms across her chest and asked, "You are only ten and you already have a lover?"

The boy suddenly looked up at her with a very unimpressed look on his face. "What does one's age have to do with finding love? Just because you can't find one even at your age, doesn't mean the others can not either."

The personal attack left Xiang Ling stunned. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, causing her to ultimately close her mouth and just accept the bitter truth.

"Fine. Let's say you have a lover. But why is that stopping you from joining the Jingsheng Academy? Shouldn't you take this chance and become a powerful cultivator so that you can protect her in the future?" Xiang Ling asked curiously and waited for the kid to explain.

The young boy stared directly into her eyes as he questioned in return - "And what if she gets into trouble while I will be away? Who will protect her then?"

"..."

Xiang Ling was surprised to see the protectiveness that kid had in his eyes for the girl he called his lover. She could only imagine how protective he would be of his lover after growing up.

"Then why not bring that girl along with you to enter the Jingsheng Academy?" She asked next.

The kid once again gave her that same look from before, the one that said he was unimpressed with her question. Yet, he answered, but not without adding a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Because not just anyone can enter Jingsheng Academy. Even someone like my father wouldn't have been able to get me an entry badge if not for my great cultivation."

The kid indeed was strong compared to other young cultivators of his age. And his current statement only confirmed Xiang Ling's initial guess - he belonged to some really influential family from the capital.

Xiang Ling hummed softly as she understood the entire situation of the young boy. "Looks like your problem is indeed not that simple."

"At least you understood even with that brain of yours." The kid murmured under his breath but Xiang Ling heard every single word loud and clear. She stared at the kid and questioned, "I thought you were impressed after seeing my cultivation powers."

That boy didn't even waste a moment before he replied, "Your cultivation indeed impressed me but the same can not be said about your brain."

It took a lot of self-control on Xiang Ling's part to keep herself from smacking that boy right into one of the walls of the room. No one in her entire life of ten thousand years ever dared to insult her like this.

Putting on her best forced smile, she asked, "Do you want my help or not?"

"Can you help me?" All the childish arrogance and attitude left the kid and he became excited as soon as she offered help. His small doe-like eyes stared at her in hope as he waited for her confirmation.

Taking in a deep breath, Xiang Ling nodded her head in affirmation. She knew that the people outside were getting restless and thus she needed to quickly finish the conversation. "Listen closely and answer some of my questions. Is that girl's family as influential as yours?"

The boy nodded his head immediately in answer as he looked at her in confusion.

"Are your father and her father friends or rivals?" Xiang Ling asked next. This time, the boy took a while to think carefully before he answered - "Though our fathers can't be considered friends, I have always seen them interacting politely at family gatherings and other events."

"Then do you think that if one day in the future you told your family that you want to marry this girl, they will allow you?" She put forward her final question and watched as the kid's eyes almost started sparkling as he hurriedly nodded his head. "Of course, they will," he added enthusiastically.

A deep sigh escaped Xiang Ling's lips as she shook her head while speaking, "When everything is this simple, why have you been making it look so hard?"

"What do you mean?" The boy asked as he was confused by her words.

"Since there is no problem between your families, why don't you just ask your parents to get you both engaged? In that way, no one will bully her while you are away since she will also have your family's protection. Also, if you work hard and become a top student at the Jingsheng Academy, you will be able to bring her into the Academy after a few years." Xiang Ling offered and was surprised to see that the kid looked like he was considering her idea.

If she had to be honest, she knew that her idea was a bad one but as long as it could give her what she wanted, she had no complaints.

The boy remained silent for a few more moments before a bright smile finally broke out on his lips and he looked at Xiang Ling with grateful eyes. "Thank you, elder sister. You really helped me a lot today."

A smile curved the corners of Xiang Ling's lips as she spoke - "What I want from you in return is not your gratitude, Young Master."

"Then what do you want?" The kid asked while looking at her with suspicion-filled eyes.

Xiang Ling chuckled at his expression before she replied, "Dont worry, I won't ask for anything that I don't deserve. Your men promised to award a hundred silver taels to the person who will be able to diagnose your illness successfully. Since I completed the task, I deserve those hundred taels."

The kid nodded his head and looked as if he didn't care at all about giving her those hundred silver taels. "You will get your reward."

Xiang Ling shook her head as she moved her index finger in a negative motion. "Not like this, Young Master. I want you to put on a little show with me."