After Honored Tian Yun came over to discuss things over with Ling Xian"er, her bellyful of grievances dissipated. Too bad that a man-made storm was about to rip into the Desolate Region despite its calm and peaceful exterior.

Bai Luochu felt that it was better for her to make preparations in advance. The current Lu Wenshu was just like an unreasonable maniac who wouldn"t stop at anything to achieve his goals. It was better for them to be prepared for anything that might come their way.

As soon as her eyes recovered, Bai Luochu didn"t stop concocting elixirs. She never slowed down her cultivation progress either.

At nightfall, a shadow suddenly flashed into Bai Luochu"s room. Sensing that it was someone she knew, Bai Luochu"s heart seemed to calm down. She circulated the spirit qi in her body and slowly opened her eyes.

"You are truly getting increasingly bold. Can"t you let me know in advance before jumping out to scare me in the middle of the night?" Even though she seemed a little angry, a smile broke out on her face as she addressed the mysterious presence.

The visitor scratched his head in embarra.s.sment as he spoke, "I didn"t have the time to inform Mistress in advance. Please forgive me." The mysterious presence was none other than Ying Lan.

When she realized that there might be an urgent report, a serious expression appeared on her face. Bai Luochu sat upright and waited for Ying Lan to start speaking.

"Mistress, I heard your discussion with the Second Prince and the First Prince. It seems like the battle is about to start soon. Is Mistress really planning to go?" Ying Lan"s tone didn"t change and his expression didn"t falter. He already knew her decision and he was merely here to go through the formalities before starting to plan his next course of action.

Bai Luochu"s eyebrows arched upwards and she asked, "You don"t want me to go?"

Ying Lan suddenly cupped his hand and lowered his head, "This subordinate doesn"t dare to. I merely wish to hear Mistress" plan."

"Alright. Tell me what you will do if I refuse to head over to the ruins." Bai Luochu leaned forward and used her hand to support her chin as she stared at Ying Lan with an amused smirk.

Ying Lan immediately straightened his back and said, "If Mistress doesn"t wish to go, I will stay here and protect you at all costs. If you wish to head over to the ruins, this subordinate will carry out the original plan of contacting the Qing siblings and gathering as many of the remaining members of the temple as possible."

"Who do you want to protect me from if I fail to head over?" Bai Luochu wished to know if Ying Lan was guarding against the same person as she was.

"Mistress must be jesting. The greatest threat to Mistress in the Desolate Region is definitely Lu Wenshu." Ying Lan spoke indifferently.

"He is a lunatic." Bai Luochu shook her head helplessly.

"Therefore, I need to make sure that his actions won"t be able to harm Mistress."

Bai Luochu let out a gratified smile and said, "Don"t worry, he isn"t able to touch me now. Even if my strength isn"t at its peak, Pei Qingfeng and His First Highness are here to protect me. I"m more concerned over his objective. After the commotions over at the ruins the other day, I can confirm that Lu Wenshu has lost his mind.” After she spoke, Bai Luochu let out a helpless sigh.

"Mistress, you haven"t answered my question. Will you be going to the ruins?" Ying Lan wasn"t going to give up.

"What do you think?" Bai Luochu looked at Ying Lan with an amused expression. "I am determined to obtain the treasure in the ruins. Since I"m already here, I have to obtain the Field Pearl Flower! Otherwise, all the pain and danger I experienced along the way would be in vain.”

"Mistress is right. This subordinate understands. Since Lu Wenshu has taken the risk to visit you, he should be ready to spring into action. It will be great if we can complete our preparations right now to prevent ourselves from being caught unprepared.”

"I have already thought of these things. Since I am pretty free at the moment, I will start to cultivate after concocting the last batch of medicine." Bai Luochu replied before pointing to the empty bottles on the table.

Ying Lan turned and shook his head in defeat. "I was worried for nothing. Mistress is always one step ahead of me.”

"What are you saying?" Bai Luochu obviously didn"t approve of Ying Lan"s words, "You are my secret guard and there is no need for you to think so much about it. If you"re worried, it"s going to be because of your concern for me. I am very grateful that I have people like you by my side!”

"This is all due to Mistress" actions. You never treated us badly and you respected us as though we were close friends. Apart from completing the tasks given to us, none of us wants to see you getting hurt.”

Ying Lan was speaking the truth. Most people would order their secret guards around as though they were dogs. Compared to those people, Bai Luochu was tens to hundreds of times better! 

After looking at each other silently for a moment, Ying Lan broke the silence. "Even though Mistress is prepared, this subordinate still has some things to say. I hope you can listen to my rambling…”

"Fine, fine. Speak your mind." Bai Luochu waved her sleeve and indicated for Ying Lan to continue talking.

"There are still plenty of unknowns within the ruins and if Mistress encounters any problem, please do not act recklessly. Mistress is no longer the undefeatable evil dao witch. Despite His Second Highness" impish personality, he will definitely protect you if anything were to happen. Mistress should stay near him during the expedition and remain alert. Also, I"ve already done some investigation and I"m pretty sure there will be other people heading over to the ruins as well. It will be better for Mistress to keep a low profile. If a battle really breaks out, let the others fight.”

After Bai Luochu heard Ying Lan"s advice, she laughed out loud.

Ying Lan was stunned by Bai Luochu"s sudden laughter. "Mistress, why are you laughing?"

Bai Luochu froze and turned to stare at Ying Lan with a look of amus.e.m.e.nt, "Why didn"t I realize that you were such a great schemer? Even though nothing has happened, you have already thought of all the things I should do…”