Xu Ming’s fishing hook landed right beside Ao Jin.
Ao Jin turned his head and glanced at the man, his brows slightly furrowed.
He had a feeling this man had noticed something and was deliberately targeting him.
But that didn’t make sense.
Ao Jin didn’t believe this guy could have figured out his purpose.
Not to mention Xu Ming—even if a cultivator at the Immortal Realm were to come here, they might not necessarily sense the anomaly above this lake. Only the Dragon Empress herself would be able to perceive it.
Xu Ming just sat there, holding his fishing rod, as if he had entered a state of enlightenment. He didn’t say a word.
Actually, Ao Yiner really wanted to talk to Xu Ming.
What Xu Ming didn’t realize was that his reputation in the Four Seas was far greater than he imagined.
In general, he had already become the symbol of a “devoted man,” someone deeply admired by women in seclusion—especially among noble ladies.
Even though Ao Yiner wasn’t particularly interested in scholars like Xu Ming, she had still heard his name countless times at gatherings and tea parties.
“I heard that Young Master Xu’s wife passed away due to illness?” Unable to hold back any longer, Ao Yiner took the initiative to speak.
“…What?” Xu Ming was stunned for a moment, wondering if he had misheard.
Wife? Did I hear that right?
“I heard that after your wife passed away, you wrote that poem,” Ao Yiner explained.
Xu Ming’s eyebrow twitched.
Putting aside whether or not I have a wife…
Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to just ask so directly?
Clearly, this dragon princess was quite headstrong and willful. She obviously didn’t care about his feelings.
“I don’t have a wife. That poem was something I wrote when I was six years old. At that time, I was just a child,” Xu Ming replied calmly.
“Six years old???” Ao Yiner blinked. “That’s not young! We can get married at six.”
Ao Jin, standing beside her, finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Yiner, mind your manners. Humans live a hundred years; dragons live a hundred years in just one. When Brother Xu says six years old, he means his sixth year after birth.”
“Ah???” Ao Yiner stared blankly at Xu Ming.
At first, she thought this man was unimpressive, but now her eyes were full of admiration.
He could compose such a great poem at just six years old?
When she was six, she was still riding lobsters across the Dragon Sea.
“My apologies, Brother Xu,” Ao Jin said, his demeanor far more refined than his spoiled sister’s. “My sister has never ventured beyond the Eastern Sea. The farthest she has traveled is here, to the Northern Sea. If she has offended you in any way, I ask for your forgiveness.”
“It’s no matter.” Xu Ming smiled. “Her Highness is pure and untainted, which is a rare quality.”
Hearing Xu Ming’s words, Ao Jin felt like the man was subtly insulting his sister.
“You really don’t have a wife?” Ao Yiner still seemed doubtful. Were all those rumors false?
Xu Ming wasn’t annoyed. He simply answered again in a calm tone, “I don’t. In our human race, we can only marry and have children at sixteen.”
Ao Yiner: “Then when you were born, was there a ring of white clouds surrounding you, with divine beings anointing you with ink?”
“….” Xu Ming had no idea where she was getting these ideas from, but he still shook his head. “No, when I was born, I was no different from any ordinary person.”
Ao Yiner: “I heard you can punch through a mountain?”
Xu Ming thought for a moment and replied, “If Your Highness is asking about when I was a child, then definitely not. But if you’re asking about now, it shouldn’t be much of a problem—though it depends on how big the mountain is.
A small mountain wouldn’t be an issue.
But it’s not just me—any warrior at my level could easily punch through a small hill.”
Ao Yiner: “I also heard that you originally couldn’t cultivate, but one time you fell off a cliff and obtained some kind of heavenly treasure, and that’s how you became able to cultivate?”
Xu Ming’s eyebrow twitched. “At first, I indeed couldn’t cultivate, and I did gain an opportunity that allowed me to do so. But I didn’t fall off any cliff.”
Ao Yiner’s eyes grew even more curious. “Then what was the real reason?”
Xu Ming shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t disclose that.”
“So stingy.” Ao Yiner pouted.
But she hadn’t really expected to get a real answer anyway. After all, such matters were usually quite secretive. It was normal for him not to tell her.
After that, Ao Yiner asked Xu Ming a series of bizarre questions.
For example, when he declined a marriage proposal, was it because that princess was simply too ugly?
Or, during his training at Blood Asura, were all the men there burly and muscular?
Xu Ming answered whatever he could.
Meanwhile, Ao Jin listened to his sister chatting with Xu Ming and started wondering if he had been overthinking things. This Xu Ming seemed perfectly normal.
Gradually, Ao Jin lowered his guard and focused on his own task.
Not far away, Zhu Cici kept glancing toward Xu Ming, pouting in frustration. She had the urge to pick up a stone and throw it in his direction.
Scoundrel! Why are you chatting so happily with that dragon girl you barely even know?!
Zhu Cici felt annoyed and wanted to shove that dragon princess aside so she could sit next to Xu Ming herself.
Of course, her good upbringing kept her from doing something so improper. She wasn’t the kind of girl who would behave without restraint.
As time passed, Ao Jin felt that the moment had come. He secretly formed a hand seal.
The next instant, Zhu Cici and the other scholars from White Deer Academy felt something strange.
It was as if some of their spiritual energy had been drained.
Yet when they examined their bodies, they found nothing missing. It felt more like an illusion.
Just as Yu Wen Xi and the others began to feel puzzled, Xu Ming’s sharp eyes clearly saw streams of spiritual energy flowing out from Zhu Cici and the others, gathering little by little in the water before converging on Ao Jin’s fishing rod.
Ao Jin’s rod was wrapped in the aura of literary and scholarly Dao.
And at the bottom of the lake, Xu Ming saw a shadow swaying restlessly.