FRGNM -Chapter 12 Boy, This Is a Lust Robbery

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so utterly heartless. She should actually be grateful for the sudden change to her left face—it had completely severed whatever remained between her and Nangong Mo.

“Peaceful?” Ling Huiru sneered and called out sweetly, “Father!”

Ling Hu immediately understood and said in a deep voice, “Ling Ruoxi, you still want to live peacefully in the Ling residence? Let me tell you—back then, I only tolerated you because you were the future Crown Princess. Now that you’ve been divorced by the Crown Prince, hurry up and leave the Ling residence!”

“What?” Ling Ruoxi suspected her ears were malfunctioning. “Are you sure I’m your biological daughter? You can actually say something this cruel?”

Was she really so despicable, so inferior in these people’s eyes?

“Hmph, what do you think?” Ling Huiru mocked. “You’re just the cheap daughter of a lowly maid. You really think you’re something special? For all we know, you’re some bastard from outside. Father raised you for fifteen years—that’s already more than enough!”

Touching her nose helplessly, Ling Ruoxi shrugged and smiled. “Fine, fine, I’ll go. But before I leave, can I take a few things with me?”

“You’ve eaten, worn, and lived off the Ling residence all these years. Now that you’re leaving, you still want to take gold and silver with you?” Ling Huiru snapped immediately.

Ling Roudan, standing to the side, couldn’t bear it anymore. Frowning, she said, “Eldest Sister, Father, don’t be so harsh. Ling Ruoxi has just come of age—if you drive her out like this, who knows what people outside will say about us behind our backs…”

“Silence! She’s come of age, so it’s time for her to go out and gain experience. Ling Ruoxi, you—”

“That’s enough. Stop talking.” Ling Ruoxi interrupted impatiently. “If you want to kick me out, just do it. Why all this useless nonsense? I’m not a cripple—I won’t die just because I leave you. Before I go, I want to take this medical book with me. Do you agree?”

Returning to the study, Ling Ruoxi took out that bloodstained medical book, along with several scrolls on formations and similar texts. Anything that might be useful, she was taking with her.

Money? What was that worth? The world was vast—she wouldn’t starve to death.

Xiao Yu was crying even harder now, clutching Ling Ruoxi’s wrist. “Miss, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. This is all Xiao Yu’s fault, I was the one who harmed you…”

“Alright, alright, stop being so fragile.” Ling Ruoxi said calmly. “I’ve said everything that needed to be said. I have nothing now—if you follow me, you’ll suffer. You’re better off staying here in the Ling residence, living comfortably. I’m leaving. Remember, your choices matter. Sometimes, a choice can affect your entire life.”

Placing the medical book back into her robe, the free-spirited figure strode out of the Ling residence.

Those left behind stood there, stunned, staring at one another in the wind.

“She… she just left like that?” Ling Huiru couldn’t believe it, staring in shock at the empty gate. Ling Ruoxi—that useless girl who didn’t even dare step outside her own room—actually left the Ling residence of her own accord?

Ling Hu responded with a hum, holding Ling Huiru’s small hand and smiling. “What’s so strange about that? It’s better this way. From now on, the position of Crown Princess will be yours alone.”

Upright and unburdened, sleeves empty and heart free.

She left just like that, without taking even a wisp of cloud with her.

Humming “A Laugh Across the Vast Sea,” wildly off-key, her singing even made the people around burst into laughter. Ling Ruoxi didn’t care. With a few books tucked under her arm, she wandered into a ruined temple, lit a fire, roasted sweet potatoes she’d dug out of the ground, and flipped through the books in her hands.

To condense Dou Qi, one needed a complete dantian. She vaguely sensed that her own dantian was defective—learning this so-called Dou Qi would be harder than ascending to the heavens.

Opening a formations manual beside her, Ling Ruoxi bit into a sweet potato, her eyes glued to the words on the page, so absorbed that she didn’t even notice sparks from the fire landing on her skirt.

She didn’t know how much time passed before she heard a loud boom. Raindrops the size of soybeans began to fall, and a chilly dampness seeped in.

Ling Ruoxi shivered slightly, pulling the nearby straw beneath her, padding herself with the softest things she could find to avoid hurting herself.

She was still only a fifteen-year-old girl now—soft-skinned and tender—nothing like the body she’d trained for over twenty years before, which she could abuse at will.

“Whew, what heavy rain…” A black figure rushed in, clearly not expecting to find someone else inside such a dilapidated temple.

Lowering his head in confusion, he said, “Miss, I am—pfft! A ghost!”

The instant Ling Ruoxi lifted her head, the newcomer’s legs trembled in fright, nearly collapsing onto the ground. His eyes went wide as he stared at her face, swallowing hard.

“What ghost?” Ling Ruoxi raised an eyebrow. “If you’ve done nothing wrong, you needn’t fear ghosts knocking at your door. Which girl were you eyeing to get scared like this when you saw me?”

She tucked the book back into her robe.

“Not a ghost?” The young man patted his chest, then cupped his hands and smiled. “Miss, may I know your name? I’m Fang Xu, a Red-rank Dou Qi practitioner.”

“Ling Ruoxi. A complete good-for-nothing.” She curled her lips into a faint smile. “I like handsome men the most. Judging by your looks, you’re not bad at all—aren’t you afraid I might rob you of your chastity?”

She smiled lightly. In her current state, no one wanted to get close to her—not even the old pancake vendor, who took her money with a sidelong glance and handed her two pancakes as if in disgust.