Chapter 469: Mithril
Fortunately, Joanna was by his side and quickly steadied Ling Feng, before asking anxiously, "What’s wrong with you?"
"It’s nothing, I just can’t believe he’s already passed on; without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today," Ling Feng said, his eyes red.
Moved by genuine emotion, Qiao Sanshui nodded silently to himself and then said, "There’s no need to be sad. Although the master has left, his legacy remains, which is still a fortunate matter!"
Ling Feng remained silent, his heart still knotted with a heavy air of melancholy that he couldn’t dispel.
At that moment, Qiao Sanshui said, "Since you are the master’s successor, you are my master as well. Let’s continue this conversation inside the house."
Having said that, he turned and entered the house, while Joanna poked Ling Feng and gave him a meaningful look.
Only then did Ling Feng come to his senses. No longer preoccupied with sorrow, he quickly followed into the house.
"Uncle Sanshui, let’s just stick with that title. And please, don’t call me master, just use my name," Ling Feng said with a wry smile.
"That won’t do. There is a proper order to these things, and statuses shouldn’t be changed!"
After saying this, Qiao Sanshui approached the wardrobe, pressed his hand against it, and the wardrobe split apart, revealing a dark cavern!
"Please wait a moment, Master. I’ll go fetch the mithril for you!"
At this moment, he no longer appeared as the frail old man from before, moving agilely without the need for his walking stick, he easily entered the cave.
Ling Feng watched in astonishment, the situation had turned so suddenly that he was still trying to catch his breath.
A short while later, Qiao Sanshui crawled out of the cave, cradling a round jar with evident care.
"Master, the mithril is inside this jar. I overstate my words earlier; actually, this was left to me by the previous master. I didn’t want to give it away because I hoped to keep a memento, to let it accompany me in eternal rest underground."
"But now it’s not necessary. Handing it over to you is like returning it to its rightful owner!"
"So that’s what this is all about."
Ling Feng finally understood why Qiao Sanshui was reluctant to hand over the mithril, not even granting Joanna a favor.
Holding the jar in his hands, Ling Feng felt a bit awkward, so he asked, "There must be quite a lot of mithril in here. How about I only take a little, and leave the rest for you?"
"There’s no need!"
Qiao Sanshui waved his hand: "Knowing that the master has a successor, I feel less troubled. It’s just that..."
After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "I have an unreasonable request. Could I keep Yellow with me?"
"Ah?"
Ling Feng was taken aback. He hadn’t even considered taking Yellow with him, and was so caught off-guard by the request that he couldn’t immediately respond.
Thinking that Ling Feng didn’t want to agree, Qiao Sanshui quickly explained, "I have less than a year to live. I want to keep it for companionship. After I die, it will naturally return to your side!"
"That’s not what I meant. If you want to keep it, then keep it. Now that I have the mithril, it will be much easier for me to come here in the future!" Ling Feng said.
Qiao Sanshui didn’t quite understand and asked in confusion, "Why?"
"This mithril is just what I need at the moment. With it, I can build a large teleportation array and freely traverse through space!" Ling Feng said with a smile.
This...
Qiao Sanshui was as if hearing something unbelievable, for the previous master had only told him of the preciousness of the mithril, not of its amazing capabilities!
So after his shock, he looked at Ling Feng with an even deeper respect.
And to express his gratitude, Ling Feng took out a few medicinal pills he carried with him: "Stop saying you’re close to death. With me around, dying won’t be so easy for you!"
"What is this? An elixir?" Qiao Sanshui asked cautiously.
Ling Feng felt a bit embarrassed and chuckled, "It’s not an elixir, but it is indeed made from top-grade medicinal herbs. You’ll know the effects once you take it!"
"Thank you, Master. I never expected you to be well-versed in the art of medicine. No wonder you were able to obtain the legacy!" Qiao Sanshui, as if having found a treasure, was brimming with joy.
Ling Feng looked at him curiously and asked, "By the way, how did you make the acquaintance of that senior?"
"That’s a long story..."
Qiao Sanshui didn’t hide anything and started to spill it all out.
It turned out that when he was young, he was not content to stay in Qiao Family Town, so he left to wander the lands and afterwards encountered that senior.
Later, during a journey, they were attacked by a master. To protect the senior, Qiao Sanshui fought with his life on the line, sustaining grave injuries before they managed to escape from danger.
Even though they later took their revenge, his disabilities remained. Knowing he could no longer accompany the senior on his adventures, he decided to return to Qiao Family Town.
Not long ago, that senior visited, staying with him for several days before passing away, leaving Yellow in his care.
Upon hearing this, Ling Feng still found it hard to believe and couldn’t help asking, "The senior really passed away? Given his abilities, it shouldn’t have happened like this, right?"
"I also can’t believe it, but he truly is gone. During his time here, he only talked to me about the past events and left quite suddenly without telling me what happened. This is something that’s been troubling me ever since."
Ling Feng sighed, "What a pity, could it be that he encountered a powerful opponent and was seriously injured?"
"I’m not sure, but if you ever find out the truth in the future, please be sure to tell me!" Qiao Sanshui said.
"Okay!"
Ling Feng nodded. He was about to say something else when he heard Li Fei’er calling from outside, "Uncle, the rain is getting heavier. Should we head back?"
Ling Feng stood up, "Uncle Sanshui, I’ll head back first. After setting up the teleportation array, I’ll come to see you again!"
"Alright, I’ll wait for you!"
When he stepped outside and saw the rain intensifying, Ling Feng said to Li Fei’er, "Let Yellow stay. We’ll come back for him later and bring Da Qiang and Xiao Qiang with us."
"Oh."
Li Fei’er, though reluctant, still nodded her head.
Upon hearing Ling Feng’s words, Yellow also wagged his tail happily as he too seemed to miss his two children.
On the way back to the Qiao family, the two girls walked ahead under an umbrella, laughing and chatting merrily, their bell-like laughter echoing through the alley.
And Joanna walked beside Ling Feng, silent the whole time. He found it strange and asked, "What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking?"
"It’s nothing."
Joanna shook her head, bit her lip, but couldn’t hold back, "Now that you’ve got the mithril, are you going to leave soon?"
Ling Feng was taken aback, apparently understanding what she meant, and then smiled, "Yes, are you going to miss me when I’m gone?"
"Who said that? I won’t!" Joanna quickly shook her head.
Her shy demeanor had already given her away. Seeing this, Ling Feng hehe’d with a smile, "How strange, Miss Qiao usually seems so cold—the last person I’d expect to be shy!"
"Hmph!"
Feeling frustrated, Joanna quickened her pace and walked ahead, not wanting to talk to him any longer.