Chapter 357: Chapter 357

The Illusory Palm swallowed the Pill, leaped onto Ding Fan's shoulder with its short legs, and then incessantly rubbed its little body against Ding Fan's cheeks.

You see, when the Illusory Palm was with its previous owner, that Old Demon,

it would have been remarkable for the Old Demon to even give it some medicinal herb powders, while Ding Fan was quite generous, giving it a Second Grade Pill right off the bat.

The Illusory Palm was overjoyed, feeling it had finally found a good master!

"From today on, you will be called Duorou," Ding Fan said to the Illusory Palm.

From a distance, the Illusory Palm, plump and cute, seemed well suited to the name "Duorou."

"Alright, Duorou greets master..." Duorou quite liked its new name and immediately clung to Ding Fan's cheek with its tiny arms and legs, affectionately nuzzling him.

Duorou could transform into the appearance, body shape, and voice of others—a perfect shapeshifting Magic Artifact.

Moreover, Duorou could easily enter and exit magical storage items, and if possible, Ding Fan could use it to steal treasures from others' Storage Bags.

The most important thing was that Duorou could also decipher and heal, with methods to treat even poison that reached the heart.

Duorou was indeed a treasure.

After getting affectionate with Ding Fan for a while, Duorou obediently returned to his storage ring to absorb the Spiritual Energy from the Second Grade Pill that Ding Fan had given it.

After Duorou retreated into the storage ring, Ding Fan checked the time, realizing it was now past five in the evening.

The previous night, Ding Fan had healed Ye Ningbing and then returned to his room to replenish his True Qi, unexpectedly spending a whole day and night in seclusion.

Knock, knock, knock...

Just then, there was a series of knocks at the door, and from the sound of it, the person knocking was in a bad mood—their knocks were heavy.

Using his Divine Sense, Ding Fan found that the person knocking was none other than Ye Ningbing.

Ding Fan was taken aback; he couldn't understand why Ye Ningbing would be seeking him out at this time. He had instructed Mu Zi and the others not to tell Ye Ningbing about his treating her illness.

So, what did Ye Ningbing want with him at this time?

There and then, Ding Fan got up and opened the door.

Today, Ye Ningbing's cheeks were flushed with much better health, evidently benefiting from Ding Fan's detoxifying treatment the previous night.

"Ding Fan, you bastard!"

Ye Ningbing immediately swung her hand towards Ding Fan's cheek as soon as he opened the door.

Ding Fan frowned and caught Ye Ningbing's wrist before her slap could land on his face. Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝙣𝙚𝙩

"What do you think you're doing?"

"You... let me go!" Ye Ningbing tried to pull her wrist free, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break Ding Fan's grip—it felt as though her hand was welded to his.

"Sister Ningbing, what's wrong?" Xian Shui noticed the situation and hurried over.

Seeing Xian Shui's arrival, Ding Fan gently shook off Ye Ningbing's wrist and let go.

"Ding Fan... You've gone too far!" Ye Ningbing said, and tears began to fall.

Xian Shui quickly took hold of Ye Ningbing. "Sister Ningbing, what exactly is the matter?"

Ye Ningbing's tear-reddened eyes fixed on Ding Fan. "I told you that as long as you spared the Ye Family, spared my brother, I would be willing to stay by your side... but... but yesterday you still struck against the Ye Family..."

Ding Fan guessed the situation—Ye Ningbing must have found out about his visit to the Ye Family.

Ding Fan couldn't be bothered to explain what he had actually done at the Ye Family. For one thing, he didn't need to, and for another, he didn't want to. "I don't provoke those who don't provoke me... There's no need for you to stay by my side; I've told you before, you're free to leave whenever you want."

Ding Fan's face bore an indifferent expression.

"You..." Ye Ningbing was stunned, having not expected such words from Ding Fan.

In her view, having left the Ye Family to follow Ding Fan, if he didn't want her, where else could she possibly go?

"I have other matters to attend to. You may leave whenever you wish," Ding Fan said and then, strikingly, ignored Ye Ningbing entirely, turning and striding away.

Watching Ding Fan's receding figure, tears streamed down Ye Ningbing's face.

"Sister Ningbing, could it be that you've misunderstood Brother Fan?" Xian Shui said from the side.

Ye Ningbing shook her head slightly, then let out a bitter smile. "He promised me, as long as I stayed with him, he wouldn't touch the Ye Family, but yesterday Ding Fan caused a bloodbath at the Ye Family..."

"Yesterday?" Xian Shui pondered for a moment. "If it was something that happened yesterday, then Sister Ningbing, you truly have misunderstood Brother Fan; he didn't go to provoke the Ye Family, he went for..."

"Don't say it..." Ye Ningbing took a deep breath. "From now on, I don't want to hear any news about Ding Fan!"

After saying this, Ye Ningbing turned and walked briskly to her room, followed by the sound of her packing up.

Xian Shui stood there, for a moment truly unsure what to do.

After leaving the military compound's guesthouse, Ding Fan, having nothing else to do, went directly to the Liuli Factory.

At this time, Cheng Bufan should be at his antique shop. With the date of the Longxi auction drawing ever closer, Ding Fan was thinking of discussing with Cheng Bufan to see if there was anything that needed to be prepared in advance for the auction.

"Little brother, did you go to the Forbidden Area a while back?"

As soon as Ding Fan and Cheng Bufan met, Cheng Bufan immediately asked, unable to contain his urgency.

Since there were no other people in the shop at the time, Ding Fan didn't hide anything. He nodded. "I did go. What has happened?"

Seeing the anxious look on Cheng Bufan's face, Ding Fan asked.

"It was you indeed, little brother. Do you know, there's been quite a stir about you on the outside now."

Ding Fan was taken aback, looking at Cheng Bufan.

Cheng Bufan continued, "Someone said that a young man with incredible cultivation acquired the Forbidden Area's Treasure. At that time, I thought that person might be you."

Ding Fan just smiled nonchalantly. After all, the other party didn't know his name, and even if they did find him, he had at least the capability to escape and protect himself, even if he couldn't win.

"Big brother, for our trip to Longxi, when do we set out?"

Seeing that Ding Fan did not wish to talk more about the Forbidden Area, Cheng Bufan didn't go on further.

"I'm thinking, we'll set out the day after tomorrow at the latest. It's better to get to Longxi early and scout the situation. Otherwise, we'd be going in blind..."

Ding Fan nodded. "Then let's make it the day after tomorrow. I still have some mundane affairs to take care of. We can leave together the day after tomorrow."

Cheng Bufan had no objections.

The two then discussed some matters. Since Cheng Bufan also had some things to tend to, Ding Fan left early from Cheng Bufan's place...

Ye Ningbing stomped out of the military compound with anger, standing at the entrance to the compound, momentarily lost.

The world so vast, yet she, Ye Ningbing, had no place to call home.

The Ye Family was now somewhere Ye Ningbing could never return to. Ever since she left the Ye Family, they had branded her as the family's sinner.

It was no longer possible for her to stay with Ding Fan either. How could she continue living with someone who could slaughter at will within the Ye family?

Where could she go now?

Suddenly, Ye Ningbing remembered someone.

Her best friend, Mary.

The two had been close friends since they were little, and within their circle, Mary and Ye Ningbing had always been particularly close.

Having made up her mind, Ye Ningbing, dragging her luggage, marched down the road.

Ye Ningbing had lost her phone, and hadn't bought a new one during this time, so she planned to walk along the road until she found a public telephone booth to call Mary and then wait for her to pick her up.

Just then, a woman in her fifties approached, walking unsteadily toward her.

"Young person, I come from the countryside, and I'm here in the city looking for my son and daughter... but I don't know my way around, could you help me? If you can take me to my son, I'll give you money..." the woman in her fifties pleaded earnestly.

Her attire was plain and rustic, with even a patch on her upper garment. The woman's face was filled with simplicity. In that instant, Ye Ningbing felt a surge of sympathy.

Wasn't she herself lost in confusion at this moment? This old lady was just like her—if she couldn't find her son and daughter, where would she eat and sleep tonight?

"Old lady, where do your daughter and son live?" Ye Ning asked.

"Xinghe Road..." The woman in her fifties started to explain, taking out a slip of paper from her person.

Ye Ningbing took the paper and glanced at it; indeed, it listed 38 Xinghe Road.

"Auntie, this place isn't far from here. I'll take you there," Ye Ningbing said to the woman.

"Thank you so much, I've finally found a good person. I haven't eaten all day. If you help me find my son and daughter, I'll have them give you money!" the woman in her fifties said.

Ye Ningbing gave a faint smile. "I don't need money to help you. Let's go, while it's still light, I'll help you find your relatives first."

"Yes, good..." the fifty-year-old aunt nodded, but a sly glint flickered unnoticed in the corner of her eye.

Ye Ningbing then accompanied the fifty-year-old woman towards an alleyway.

As Ye Ningbing and the woman went on their way, Ding Fan appeared behind Ye Ningbing. Watching the backs of Ye Ningbing and the fifty-something woman, Ding Fan's brows furrowed...