Chapter 2268 Luo Jia’s Refusal

The virtually flying treasure carriage screeched to a halt.

A fair, smooth, slender hand lifted the curtain, and a beautiful face that should belong to a painting peeked out from it. Her red lips were slightly parted, her sparkling eyes full of surprise as she looked at Lin Xun who was on the side of the street.

A burst of gasps and exclamations echoed from the crowd around. Many men revealed amazed, even intoxicated expressions.

Meanwhile, those who recognized Luo Jia were startled.

What brought this goddess to the city today?

At the same time, Lin Xun was stunned as this also took him aback. “Miss Luo Jia?”

Luo Jia immediately smiled. She then quickly glanced around before waving at him. “Mister Lin, please come. Let’s talk inside.”

Lin Xun happily agreed and walked straight over.

He had come to Thousand Flame Imperial City this time to find people from the Celestial Phoenix Clan. Running into Luo Jia here had undoubtedly saved him a lot of trouble.

However, as he boarded the treasure carriage, the middle-aged man in purple clothes driving it frowned with a cold glint in his eyes and said, “Young Miss...”

Luo Jia's soft voice came out from the carriage. “Uncle Rong, Mister Lin has been a very good friend of mine for decades. Don't treat him as an outsider.”

Uncle Rong gazed at Lin Xun for a moment before nodding. “Please get on.”

Lin Xun didn’t think badly of the other party for this. He smiled and entered the carriage .

The carriage continued on its way and quickly disappeared into the bustling street.

“Mister Lin, what brings you to the Celestial Phoenix World?” Inside the carriage house that was permeated with a faint fragrance, Luo Jia looked at Lin Xun with pleasant surprise.

She was sitting cross-legged in a relaxed manner. She wore her long, black hair in a casual bun. Her skin was almost glistening, and her delicate body was clad in a light-blue, feathered dress.

Compared to before, Luo Jia's temperament had become much more refined and gentle. With jade-like skin and a heavenly natural beauty, she was like a blooming wild orchid.

As she spoke, she picked up a jade pot and poured a cup of aromatic Mist Tea for Lin Xun, delivering it to him with both hands.

“I didn't expect to see you so soon either.” Lin Xun accepted the tea with a smile.

Then, he gave her a brief version of his journey in the True Dragon World, and in the end, he stated his purpose of coming to the Celestial Phoenix World.

Getting the full situation, Luo Jia lightly pursed her lips and couldn't help but smile. “In that case, our meeting is indeed quite a coincidence.”

Lin Xun nodded in agreement. Speaking of which, the last time he saw Luo Jia was all the way back in the Kunlun Dominion.

After a few decades flying by, he was already a supreme Great Emperor, while Luo Jia herself was a supreme quasi-Emperor expert.

Luo Jia thought for a moment and said, “Mister Lin, you can leave the matter of returning to the Ancient Nebula Road to me. It’s just that...”

The purple-robed middle-aged man's low voice suddenly came from outside, “Young Miss, our clan’s passage to the Ancient Nebula Road requires the joint force of three supreme elders to open. This is...no easy matter. Moreover, your current situation...”

Luo Jia interrupted him, “That’s enough, Uncle Rong. I have my own plan.”

Saying that, she turned to Lin Xun, looking somewhat helpless. “Uncle Rong is my father’s trusted confidante. He has been by my side for many years, always treating me like his own grandchild. You don’t have to take his words to heart.”

Lin Xun smiled, then mused, “Luo Jia, are you in trouble?”

Luo Jia was stunned that he asked. She blinked innocently and laughed, “This is the territory of my Celestial Phoenix Clan. What can possibly trouble me?”

Lin Xun put down his teacup and sighed softly, “If you really consider me a good friend, then stop trying to hide it from me. Who knows, maybe I can offer some help.”

“Sir, you are an outsider. Please don’t intervene with our young lady’s matter,” Uncle Rong's voice rang out again. “If you really want what’s best for Young Miss, then I suggest you leave now, lest you needlessly get caught up in this storm and become a burden.”

These words were spoken in a calm tone, but they were unceremonious.

Lin Xun furrowed his brows, but he wasn’t angry and instead looked at Luo Jia. “It seems that you’ve really encountered something very tricky.”

Luo Jia's gaze was complicated. She smiled bitterly, “When good friends meet, I, as the host, should have properly welcomed and entertained you, yet I've got you concerned about my affairs before I could do any of those things.”

After a pause, she calmly and seriously said, “Brother Lin, what I’m dealing with is extremely problematic. It's not that I don’t want your help, but that it involves not only my Celestial Phoenix Clan but also the White Tiger and Black Tortoise Clans. It will...deeply upset me if you get caught up in this because of me.”

Uncle Rong once again spoke up, this time with urgency, “Miss, there's not much time left. We need to hurry to True Spirit Palace. The longer we drag on, Young Master...”

Luo Jia cut him off, “I know, stop the carriage.”

She took a deep breath and flipped her hand. A purple jade talisman appeared, which she handed to Lin Xun while transmitting, “Brother Lin, hold on to this. When my business is settled, I’ll find you so we can catch up.”

With that, she pushed Lin Xun off the carriage without warning, her expression apologetic but resolute. She clearly had no intention of letting him get involved.

Lin Xun sighed in his heart and didn't insist. He went with the force and got off.

“Brother Lin, I will properly apologize to you on another day. Please don’t be angry.” Luo Jia couldn't help but transmit again, her voice full of guilt.

Meanwhile, the purple-robed man had already driven the carriage away.

This meeting was brief as it had ended so hastily.

Lin Xun stood in place and thought to himself.

You treat me as a friend, so how can I just stand by and watch?

Swish!

He quietly vanished on the spot.

Before a bustling restaurant several thousand feet away from his original place, a black-clothed man who was drinking wine seemed to sense something. His pupils shrank, revealing an astonished look.

Almost at the same time, a large hand pressed on his shoulder. He stiffened from head to toe and subconsciously wanted to resist.

However, he only felt his whole body go powerless as a force had firmly locked up his energy. His face sank drastically. “Friend, what do you mean by this?”

He was an Emperor expert, but he had been restrained in the blink of an eye! This was simply terrifying!

Standing next to him, the owner of that hand was none other than Lin Xun.

With one hand on the black-clothed man's shoulder, he quickly moved toward a distant, remote corner and casually asked, “Why were you so sneaky before, tailing that carriage?”

From the moment Lin Xun had boarded the treasure carriage, his spirit sense had already noticed that someone had been secretly trailing it.

This was also a basis on which he determined that Luo Jia was in trouble.

“Friend, you can't afford to meddle in this matter. Take my advice and don’t intervene, or else you’ll find yourself in a great disaster.” The black-clothed man quickly calmed down despite being confined. “Also, you probably don’t know who I am yet. If you did, you certainly wouldn't dare to treat me like this.”

His voice was now fearless and even laced with threats.

Crack!

The black-clothed man suddenly heard the sound of his bones shattering. Right after, he felt his spirit being viciously grabbed and pulled out.

Not good!

He was scared out of his wits.

Who the hell is this, getting right to a fight at the drop of a hat? Is he not afraid of offending someone he shouldn't?!

The man nearly screamed out when he felt a stabbing pain in his consciousness. A horrifying spirit sense was drilling into his spirit like a sharp cone.

It was soul search!

Instantly knowing what was happening to him, the black-clothed man was taken over by incomparable fear.

The other party never asked who he was nor cared one bit about his threat, and hadn’t even spared him a word after that first question before directly going to search his soul. Just how strong must this guy be to be so unscrupulous?

Before the black-clothed man could delve into this, his vision went black and he lost all consciousness.

A moment later, Lin Xun narrowed his eyes in a frown.

He had gotten the information he wanted.

The black-clothed man, named Xiu Rui, was a second realm Emperor from the Black Tortoise Clan. He was here as a guardian of a young master of the clan called Wu Fatian in his trip to Thousand Flame Imperial City.

The reason why he had tracked down Luo Jia was because some days ago, Luo Jia's younger brother had broken a treasure and offended Wu Fatian.

Wu Fatian had then threatened to execute him three days later if Luo Jia couldn't come up with appropriate compensation!

Of course, this matter certainly could not be so simple.

In Xiu Rui's memory, the damaged treasure was nothing precious nor was it worth much in money.

Wu Fatian had thrown such a tantrum to execute Luo Jia's younger brother simply because Luo Jia had rejected his pursuit at a banquet the other day. This had caused him to lose face, and he just couldn’t let it go.

However, the inside story still left Lin Xun a bit puzzled.

This was the Celestial Phoenix World, and Thousand Flame Imperial City was the territory of the Celestial Phoenix Lineage. What gave a young master of the Black Tortoise Clan the guts and arrogance to bully Luo Jia, a descendant of the Celestial Phoenixes here?

Recalling Luo Jia's distraught look and the purple-robed middle-aged man's constant urging, Lin Xun was more and more sure of his conclusion that things were not as simple as they seemed.

“True Spirit Palace... I'd like to see what kind of storm is waiting in there.”

At this thought, Lin Xun jumped right into action, rapidly moving in the direction that the carriage carrying Luo Jia had driven through.

Located in the northeastern area of Thousand Flame Imperial City, True Spirit Palace was an ancient building that only the most honored guests of the Celestial Phoenix Clan were qualified to stay in.

The area around it, too, was not something that just anyone could approach, restricted by various arrays set up by the Divine Forge Imperial Clan and stationed with many powerful guards.

However, in the eyes of experts on Lin Xun’s level, these measures were as good as useless and could be completely ignored.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

It didn’t take him long to quietly appear outside the ancient palace. Not rushing to enter, he first spread his spirit sense to probe into it.

At the moment, the atmosphere inside True Spirit Palace was quite tense.

Uncle Rong stood on the side of the hall entrance, while Luo Jia stood alone in the center of the great hall.

Her eyes were emotionless, carrying a bit of frost, as she looked at the ink-robed man who was sitting leisurely on the main, central seat.

She asked, “I’m here now. Where is my younger brother? Where are you hiding him?”