All The Female Disciples Want To Kill Me-Chapter 712 - 390: Li Er Goes Begging to Get Food for Daddy..._1

Mo Li's cherry lips parted slightly as she simply watched Su Bei.

After a long, long time, when the autumn wind swept maple leaves into her silver-white hair, a graceful arc appeared on her cheeks. The last of the setting sun descended, and the pure moonlight filled the sky, illuminating her face.

That was a smile from the bottom of her heart; she had never smiled so sweetly before.

Her palm touched Su Bei's face again. She looked at her Master, who gazed tenderly back at her—this man she had thought of killing numerous times.

Perhaps even she had never imagined that one day, she could face him so calmly.

And for the first time, his acknowledgment, his recognition of her, truly belonged to her.

"Tee hee hee..."

"How does Master plan to seriously get to know his disciple then?"

With a nation-toppling smile, Mo Li sized up Su Bei. Her fair, delicate fingers rhythmically tapped his cheeks, her beautiful eyes dancing and shining brightly.

Warmth flooded Su Bei's eyes. He reached out, gently tugged, and tore her silk robe, revealing her ice-smooth, jade-like body.

"What are you doing?"

A hint of 'panic' suddenly appeared on Mo Li's face. Faced with Su Bei's bold actions, she seemed genuinely 'flustered'.

"I want to properly understand my disciple's depths..."

"..."

Su Bei held her and stepped into the stream, peeling away the clothes from her body.

The white horse, discreetly, turned away, lowering its head to graze on the dry grass.

MUNCH, MUNCH.

The current here was very shallow. Her smooth, jade-like back, slender without being bony, floated on the stream's surface, following a gentle curve that tightened at her waist... Further down, a pair of long, fair legs.

Just as countless times before, Su Bei braced himself for her resistance and refusal, similar to Nan Ji with Dan Wulan. Instead, he found her giggling.

Then, while Su Bei was distracted, she suddenly pushed him under the water, gazing down at him from above.

The corners of her mouth curved up, revealing a slight smile, pleased with her successful ploy.

"How... can you still turn the tables on me?"

"..."

Su Bei's eyes widened at her.

Licking her vermilion lips, Mo Li deftly tied her silver hair into a ponytail and looked at Su Bei playfully.

"That's because... your disciple was pretending. Let this disciple help Master gauge his length."

Su Bei: "..."

The moonlight deepened.

Nightjars cried out.

After an unknown period, quite a long one it seemed, the nightjars suddenly stopped their calls. Their eyes, unblinking, fixed on the small stream.

Suddenly, someone's loud laughter echoed in the air:

"Hahaha, you didn't expect this, did you? Your Master was pretending too!"

"Disciple... I was truly wrong."

"Disciple will never dare again..."

...

It is said that autumn is a time of many troubles.

At the Northern Border Pass, long peaceful, a temporarily forgotten issue was raised once more.

A common saying goes: a nation cannot go a day without a ruler. The Northern Border Pass, at least nominally, flew the banner of the Eastern Country's orthodoxy, yet it truly lacked a nominal Emperor. Without an Emperor, there is no legitimacy. Without legitimacy, words carry no weight. And when words carry no weight, nothing can be accomplished.

Ultimately, someone had to be chosen.

For nearly three hundred years, Lin Jinyu had only acted as sovereign. But now, Ji Tongzhi, King Fuzhong, had arrived with overwhelming momentum, aggressively pressuring the court. If the Northern Border Pass did not find a leader, the last vestiges of support gathered there might well scatter, their hearts lost.

Currently, the Eastern Country was embroiled in three major conflicts, corresponding to the 'Three Kings' Chaos': King Fuzhong, Ji Tongzhi; King Beiwang, Ji Beiwang; and King An Nan, Ji Pingsheng.

Among them, Ji Tongzhi was backed by the Wilderness Cultivators of the Western Wasteland.

King Beiwang had previously granted his fief, the Northern Border Pass, to Lin Jinyu. With the support of the Northern Sea Dragon Clan's Multi-Bao Pavilion, the Dao Sect, and the Origin Sect, his territory was the most extensive among the three kings. Indeed, since the Blood Disaster, order in his fiefdom was the best in the Eastern Country.

Ji Pingsheng had pledged allegiance to the South Emperor, backed by the Wuhua Palace, the Tianji Sect, the Cang Sect, and other Heavenly Cultivators.

Their overt strengths were largely comparable. Now, whoever could obtain the Eastern Country's Imperial Seal and Lin Jinyu's acknowledgment—she who held the throne in name—could immediately claim legitimacy and ascend as Emperor.

But Lin Jinyu clung desperately to her final line of defense, adamantly refusing to hand over the Imperial Seal. Thus, the stalemate of the Three Kings' Chaos persisted.

Nowadays, Lin Jinyu rarely appeared in the Northern Border Pass's temporary palace. She mostly resided in the rear courtyard of the Multi-Bao Pavilion, dealing with the tangled mess of political affairs.

At this moment, Lin Jinyu, dressed in plain clothes, lay on a rocking chair. Nearby, a low table was stacked high with memorials.

Lin Jinyu reached for the topmost one. It was filled with ornate rhetoric and classical allusions, logical and convincing.

However, after a cursory glance, she closed the memorial and tossed it aside.

This was presented by King Beiwang.

For this king, Lin Jinyu actually felt a trace of gratitude. After all, during her direst crisis, he had given her the Northern Border Pass, allowing her to rely on her maternal family and cling to life.

But she knew in her heart that everything he did had but one sole purpose.

To take that throne.

Moreover, he clearly intended to hold the Emperor hostage to command the feudal lords. However, since the Sword Sect and the Star Moon Sect stood behind her, he dared not act against her for the time being.

For many men, the throne was a place they dreamed of ascending.

Some would even let the common people suffer terribly and plunge the masses into misery just to take that seat—like Ji Tongzhi, who had been silent and obscure during Ji Nanjue's reign, only to make a grand, treacherous move by colluding with the Western Wasteland, willingly becoming a puppet at their disposal.

If it had been before, Lin Jinyu might have considered it. But now that Ji Nanjue had awakened, these matters could be his headache; they had little to do with her anymore.

Ji Nanjue, you damn scoundrel, hurry up and take this mess off my hands! Lin Jinyu sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

...

The setting sun cast a thin layer of light, bathing the mountain pavilions in a curtain of radiance that dazzled the eyes.

Xia Shui Pass was under the jurisdiction of King Beiwang and bordered the lands occupied by King Fuzhong.

After galloping for two days, Su Bei and Mo Li finally arrived at this formidable pass.

Wearing conical straw hats, they dismounted and joined the chaotic flood of refugees pouring into Xia Shui Pass.

Though not overly exhausted from their days traveling through the mountains, they lacked a proper place to rest and recuperate. Moreover, the food they had been distributing to the refugees along the way was nearly gone.

After asking a tea stall attendant about the ferry, Su Bei approached Mo Li with a smile.

"Let's find an inn and stay for a few days first," he said. "The ferry won't arrive for several more days."

Mo Li clutched Su Bei's arm, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly, her eyes arching like two crescent moons. "That long? Then let's just fly over. I don't want to wait."

"Why?" Su Bei asked, slightly startled, reaching out to pinch her nose.

Although he had considered flying directly over the Cang River, the area was often shrouded in unpredictable heavy fog, and with no landing spots on the river, it was easy to lose direction and waste time.

"Of course, because I'm sick of being with you!" Mo Li giggled, then bit Su Bei's chest, leaving a bleeding tooth mark. He grimaced in pain.

"HISS—Why did you bite me?" Su Bei helplessly pushed her away, rubbing the red, swollen spot on his chest.

Mo Li, however, spread her arms wide, hugged Su Bei's waist, and then knelt on the ground. Her eyes shimmered like the sunset glow as she gave Su Bei a sly look.

Su Bei wondered what she was up to. To his surprise, in the next moment, she began to sway her hips and wail loudly:

"Daddy, please, don't sell Li Er!"

"Li Er will be good from now on! Li Er will only eat one pancake a day... Please don't abandon Li Er..."

"Li Er will go begging to get food for Daddy..."

She cried hoarsely, her voice heart-wrenching enough to bring tears to any listener's eyes.

Su Bei's back instantly went numb. He stared in shock at the scene before him, then quickly reached out and covered her mouth. "What nonsense are you shouting?"

He hurriedly looked up, his face contorted in embarrassment, and awkwardly addressed the surrounding crowd, "Uh... it's not what you think. This is my wife; she's just playing around..."

"..."

Su Bei was already tall and stood out in the crowd like a crane among chickens, naturally attracting many gazes.

Instantly, countless hostile eyes fixed on Su Bei.

In these turbulent times, abandoning wives and daughters was all too common.

The crowd, filled with righteous indignation, began to curse loudly:

"Look at him, appearing all respectable, but he can't even protect his own daughter! Pah!"

"Look how starved the child is! Her hair has even turned white."

"And he himself is dressed so finely..."

"..."

Su Bei snatched Mo Li up and, under the multitude of glares, fled towards the inn as fast as his legs could carry him.

Mo Li's eyes gleamed as she watched his embarrassed expression. Letting him carry her, she licked her red lips and, leaning close to his ear, whispered with a playful bite, "What's wrong, Master? Didn't you ask Li Er to call you Daddy last night? Li Er has been very obedient, you know."

"..."

Su Bei: "...***"

...

Under the innkeeper's knowing and suggestive gaze, Su Bei carried Mo Li into their room.

He opened the window, which offered a clear view of the ferry landing.