Chapter 225: Ding Lingdang's Secret
Translator: Ash Editor: Millman97
Intoxicating Immortal Vine was a demonized plant species and contained special neurotoxins which had extreme anesthetic effects. In the Star Glory Federation, it was one of the main raw ingredients for manufacturing narcotic agents.
For cultivators, the Intoxicating Immortal Vine had another use.
Ordinary liquors could hardly get cultivators intoxicated because of their sturdy body and firm spirit.
But even the cultivators had seven emotions and six desires, they too have the time when they want to get drunk and forget their sorrows or get good and drunk.
At that moment, cultivators would mix the powder of Intoxicating Immortal Vine into their wines and get drunk.
However, Li Yao had never seen Ding Lingdang do so.
She was a pure martial arts maniac. She would absolutely not let anything numb her body or spirit. Usually, she wouldn't even take a drop of alcohol, so how would she mix an intoxicating substance as intense as powdered Intoxicating Immortal Vine in her drinks?
"Is someone drugging her?"
Once this thought crossed his mind, Li Yao could not help but break into laughter.
Not to mention Ding Lingdang herself was a ferocious dragon in human skin, this was the faculty area of the Grand Desolate War Institution and had many Combat Department professors leaving all around. All of them were ruthless characters in or above Foundation Building Stage.
Who would dare come here to drug someone? They would have to be tired of living.
Besides, although the Intoxicating Immortal Vine had intense anesthetic effects, its smell was also strong and unique, which was hard to conceal no matter what methods were used.
Even if someone was drugging someone else, they wouldn't be so stupid as to use Intoxicating Immortal Vine.
"Does she want to get drunk?
"This is weird!"
Li Yao's curiosity was piqued immensely. Having walked around the villa twice, he found an open window.
All around the villa, defensive array glyphs were installed. Even if the door was open, outsiders could forget about ever sneaking inside.
However, Li Yao had frequently entered Ding Lingdang's house, and occasionally when Ding Lingdang wasn't home, but he alone would go to Billowing Star Sea to train.
Ding Lingdang was a careless girl and had long given him the authority so that the defense array glyphs would treat him as one of their own people.
Li Yao stuck his ear to window sea. The room was quiet but a faint crying could be heard coming from far away.
"She- she is crying? Impossible!"
Li Yao was so surprised that the fine body hair that grew on the back of his neck was now all standing on their ends as a scene appeared in his mind: a dozen meter long T-rex with the gap between its fangs still laden with blood was very sad and dejected as it broke into tears, it was simply...
Unimaginable!
Li Yao swallowed a mouthful of saliva before turning his head to look and discovered the parrot and small snake gazing at him with bright and shiny eyes.
"You must act as my witness, I am only going in because I think that something happened to Ding Lingdang!"
He could not resist anymore as he lightly pushed opened the window and rolled inside.
The parrot and small snake took a glance at each other before they too followed him furtively and went in to see the status of their mistress.
The living room was empty but the smell of alcohol and Intoxicating Immortal Vine was even more intense. Under the dim moonlight, Li Yao discovered a dozen bottles randomly lying around on the table and on the ground as well.
He grabbed a bottle to check and it was the most alcoholic Baijiu[1], and some residue of Intoxicating Immortal Vine was still stuck on the inner wall of the bottle.
He grabbed another bottle and it was same for it too.
"She drank so much!"
An inexplicable fire aroused in his heart; even he could not understand why he would be so angry.
Holding his breath, he listened attentively and the intermittent weeping became clearer and clearer in the dark.
And the cries were filled with sadness, grief, and some fear as well, which for Li Yao felt as though a car had lightly scratched his heart.
"What the hell!?"
Li Yao followed the sound and slowly he drew closer and closer to the source. Finally, he came to the back of the stairs, at the entrance of the underground basement.
"Is it here?"
Li Yao hesitated.
Ding Lingdang had given complete access to him, he was even free to enter and exit her bedroom, except the basement whose entrance was always locked with a huge rusty iron lock; it had seemingly never been opened.
Everyone had their own secrets, and perhaps the underground basement was the secret of Ding Lingdang.
At this moment, the door of this secret was completely open.
Through which, flickering mottled lights could be seen, and in addition to the sobbing, voices of a man and a woman laughing and talking intermixed with bell-like laughter could be heard coming.
"Are there other people inside?"
Inexplicable feelings arose in Li Yao's heart as he hastened his footsteps and went down the stairs.
The basement was not too big. There was a faint musty smell in the air. Various bits and bobs were randomly lying around, there were also some children toys as well.
At the center of the basement, there was a hologram projector which was projecting a 3-dimensional image of a middle-aged couple along with a very cute little girl.
Apparently, the voices that Li Yao had heard a moment ago were coming from the hologram projector.
"So it was a video."
Li Yao heaved a sigh of relief. He gazed around and discovered Ding Lingdang huddled in a corner, embracing her knees. A tattered blanket covered her body. She seemed to be in trance, her eyes were blurred as she shivered while she choked with sobs.
Li Yao was stupefied. His heart was like it had been ruthlessly scratched by invisible claws; his eyes twitched with pain.
He had never seen Ding Lingdang in such a weak and helpless position.
She was the very Ding Lingdang, who could smash a demon beast to death with just a punch, who could finish entire five legs of lamb in one sitting. This was the very Ding Lingdang who was the former president of the Iron Fist Club, who had routed countless hulks who were no different than T-rexes in human forms!
"Are...you okay?"
Li Yao gingerly walked over to Ding Lingdang.
Ding Lingdang was already dead drunk. She was completely immersed in her own world and took a long time to distinguish the source of the sound.
When she found that someone had rushed into the basement, a panicked look appeared on her face.
It was as though a ten-year-old girl was facing a cruel demon beast.
However, in the next second, she seemed to have recognized Li Yao before the panic and fragile look in her eye turned into a dazzling aura in the blink of an eye.
It was like a drowning man had discovered a floating piece of wood. Li Yao had turned into her entire hope.
Ding Lingdang immediately rushed up to him!
Although she was dead drunk, at the end of the day, she was still a Foundation Building Stage expert. Li Yao was caught off guard and didn't know how to dodge. She pushed him down on the ground and tightly held him like an octopus.
Suddenly, Li Yao's face was flushed red to his ears.
It wasn't that he was shy or excited, no, no, no, he was completely out of breath.
As she was all alone in her home, Ding Lingdang only had thin pajamas draped over her body, and a lot of her cleavage was wide open on display. She also generally cultivated all year round, as such she had an exquisite body, along with her long and slender legs...
Painted an exceptionally sexy scene.
Nevertheless, not the slightest bit of evil intentions aroused in Li Yao's mind.
It was not that he was abnormal or anything, in fact, Ding Lingdang was too tightly wrapped around him!
As a matter of fact, drunks are a bit stronger than they normally are, not to mention, there are all kinds of strangulation techniques which a martial arts fanatic like Ding Lingdang had learned, she was as tightly wrapped around Li Yao like a beautiful python that was as thick as a bucket. Not only was he out of breath, even his bones were making "crunch, crunch" sounds. Sooner or later Li Yao's body would be minced by her.
"Let me go! Quickly, let me go!" Li Yao wanted to cry but had no tears. The two rolled on the ground. Somehow, Li Yao seized the opportunity and found a gap and retreated two steps, but yet again, his ankle was grabbed by Ding Lingdang and was pulled ruthlessly, dragging him back as she tightly wrapped herself around Li Yao. Apparently, she was not willing to let him go.
If someone who was completely oblivious to the whole situation saw them, he would definitely think that the two had deep-seated hatred and were fighting desperately at close-quarters.
The parrot and the snake hid at the entrance, quietly watching.
"You are leaving me with no choice!"
Realizing that Ding Lingdang was going to hold him tighter and tighter as stars began revolving around his eyes, his ears began ringing, even his heart was soon about to be crushed, Li Yao clenched his teeth as he began to release the spiritual energy as he began increasing his level, bursting forth with the real power of a cultivator!
"2nd level of Refinement Stage!"
"3rd level of Refinement Stage!"
"4th level of Refinement Stage!"
Ding Lingdang didn't use any spiritual energy, she was only hugging Li Yao with pure brute force, so of course, she wasn't his opponent. Soon, Li Yao was about to break free.
Ding Lingdang seemed to have realized that the floating wood was about to drift away as tears gushed out from her eyes and an aggrieved and terrified look appeared on her face. She said, in a quivering voice, "Don't leave me again."
This sentence stupefied Li Yao.
He never knew that Ding Lingdang's voice could be so gentle and fragile that it could give birth to a desire to protect her in anyone's heart.
'You aren't Ding Lingdang, you must be a demon beast in disguise!' Li Yao shouted in his heart.
A word in the Ding Lingdang's words seemed to have aroused the subtle emotions in his heart.
'Don't leave me 'again'? In other words, someone has left her, who could it be? Is it her ex-boyfriend?'
Although Li Yao had not drunk the wine mixed with Intoxicating Immortal Vine, nevertheless, he was feeling somewhat drunk. One after another, ridiculous ideas kept on popping up in his mind.
Before his brain could issue a command, he body had already reacted.
He didn't struggle to escape anymore and let Ding Lingdang tightly wrapped around him as her burning hot cheek tightly stuck to his chest.
He maintained his level at the 1st level of the Refinement Stage and used his spiritual energy to barely ensure his breathing as he gazed at Ding Lingdang's crimson face.
Ding Lingdang narrowed her eyes, as though she was a cat who had returned to her nest as she showed a completely satisfied smile
She had already been crying for a few hours, her spirit had reached the limit. In addition, she had drunk so much when she was alone that she was ready to hug Li Yao in grief and fear as her support.
At that moment, she quickly fell asleep in Li Yao's arms.
She began to snore in an extremely harsh and completely loud voice; she was not the slightest bit like a lady.
"Who the hell are they?!"
Li Yao was rather baffled as tens of thousands of questions marks appeared in his mind.
Having been tightly hugged by Ding Lingdang, Li Yao was completely unable to move and was bored to death. He could only raise his head to look at the middle-aged couple and the little girl in the hologram.
Following which, he discovered that the middle-aged couple's faces somewhat resembled Ding Lingdang, and the little girl was simply a copy of a younger Ding Lingdang.
"So it was Ding Lingdang's family video. This little girl should be about ten years old, and the middle-aged couple must be her parents."
Li Yao didn't know much about Ding Lingdang's family. All he knew was that her parents had departed from this world a long time ago.
Her mother was a professor of the Grand Desolate War Institution and this villa was left to her by her mother. As for what her father did, he didn't know anything.
In the video, Ding Lingdang's father wore a black military uniform; surprisingly, he was a soldier.
The video was playing the scene of a family of three having a picnic on the lawn.
The ten-years-old Ding Lingdang was still a chubby girl. She was chasing the parrot and the snake, her laughter was filled with innocence.
After a while, she ran to her father's side and keenly gave a kiss before speaking in a crisp voice, "Papa, the puppet warbeast refined by you is truly too good!
"In the future, I want to be like papa, I want to become a super powerful refiner!"
"What?"
Li Yao was so scared that he almost bit his own tongue.
Among all the horrors he had experienced tonight, none of it was worse than this.
"The dream of Ding Lingdang, this T-rex in human skin, this martial arts fanatic, this professor of Grand Desolate War Institution Combat Department, was actually to become a refiner?"