Chapter 1105: Rumors
"What are you thinking about?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Qing Mo and gently shook his head.
Qing Mo grew even more suspicious, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was very problematic. "I was just asking casually. Why are you so nervous?"
Nervous? Where was there any nervousness?
Zhang Ruochen was quite speechless.
Even when facing Qingtian Crown Prince, he had been clean and decisive, charging forward without frowning. Yet, facing this little girl, he actually found her somewhat troublesome.
"Let's leave here first. Once we return to the Scroll World, someone will naturally tell you the reason."
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the opposite side at Princess Bai Li, said nothing more, and performed a Great Space Teleportation, taking Qing Mo and leaving directly.
The Devouring Demon Dragon and the beast kings of the various barbarian tribes were all nearby. Once a conflict broke out with Princess Bai Li, they would surely be drawn over. By then, leaving would be extremely difficult.
With Zhang Ruochen's current strength, there was no longer any need to use Princess Bai Li to restrain the Devouring Demon Dragon. It was best for the two of them to go their separate ways, with no further entanglements.
As for Princess Bai Li's Memory Source Pearl, Zhang Ruochen had no intention of returning it to her for now. Once he returned it and she recovered her memories, it would undoubtedly mean gaining another powerful enemy.
Princess Bai Li was a Primordial Remnant, having absorbed Chaos Qi and the essence of heaven and earth. She was no weakling.
Xiao Hei was also born from the Jiuli Cat Clan, once a Primordial Remnant. If not for being sealed by Xumi Saint Monk within the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and refined into an artifact spirit, he would most likely have been a world-shaking ferocious beast.
From this alone, it was clear that Princess Bai Li was no ordinary figure. Even if she couldn't compare to Xiao Hei, at the same cultivation level, she was a top-tier expert.
After performing seven consecutive Great Space Teleportations, Zhang Ruochen quickly reached several hundred miles away, leaving that region behind. Princess Bai Li and the two Bai Li Cat Clan Half-Saints were no longer visible.
Qing Mo was very curious, tilting her head and asking, "Young Master Zhang, since you weren't nervous, why did you immediately flee when you saw that woman? With your cultivation, you shouldn't be afraid of her. Is there some unspeakable secret between you two?"
"I didn't flee; I just didn't want to invite trouble." Zhang Ruochen appeared very calm.
"Why didn't you return her memories to her? If you had, there wouldn't be any trouble," Qing Mo said, puzzled.
Qing Mo was completely single-minded, always feeling that Zhang Ruochen was abnormal and must be hiding something.
"Zhang Ruochen, return the Memory Source Pearl to this princess. You can't escape."
Princess Bai Li's voice drifted over from afar.
That graceful and moving figure stepped through the void at an astonishing speed, soon appearing within Zhang Ruochen's field of vision.
"Caught up so quickly?"
Zhang Ruochen performed another Great Space Teleportation, sweeping up Qing Mo and vanishing from the spot.
Princess Bai Li executed the Bai Li Clan's innate sacred art, "Inch of Sky Step," crossing a thousand miles with each stride. She pursued alone, leaving the two Bai Li Cat Clan Half-Saints far behind.
"Your Highness, stop chasing. You are no match for that fiend." The white-haired old man was extremely anxious, worried that Princess Bai Li might encounter danger.
Ridiculous. Zhang Ruochen, who could now injure Qingtian Crown Prince, ranked seventh on the "Half-Saint Outer List," was undoubtedly a top-tier ruthless figure. If angered, the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, the white-haired old man and the white-haired old woman had not mastered the Inch of Sky Step to perfection and could not catch up to Princess Bai Li, soon losing track of her.
"Zhang Ruochen, don't think you can escape. Why did you take this princess's memories? Don't you intend to explain? Is the Heir of Time and Space so despicable and shameless?"
Princess Bai Li continued her pursuit, her moving voice spreading across the heavens and earth.
Some passing creatures, sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Princess Bai Li, immediately burrowed underground to hide.
Only after Princess Bai Li had gone far did they crawl out from the ground.
A human Half-Saint wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with lingering fear, "Zhang Ruochen actually took Princess Bai Li's memories? What is he trying to hide?"
All creatures immediately thought that Zhang Ruochen must have done something improper to Princess Bai Li, then erased her memories to sever ties.
In this world, conspiracy theorists were abundant.
"Zhang Ruochen's character isn't so great either."
"This matter will surely cause a huge uproar. The Jiuli Cat Clan has immense power in the Barbarian Secret Realm; they won't stand by while a princess is bullied by a human."
"Princess Bai Li has a Beast Emperor backing her, and she herself possesses extraordinary talent. Zhang Ruochen has really stepped into big trouble this time."
...
Not only human cultivators, but also barbarian beasts of all tribes believed that the human Heir of Time and Space had likely ruined Princess Bai Li's purity and, unwilling to take responsibility, had committed such a shameless act.
"Beast! Princess Bai Li is the most beautiful pearl of the Barbarian Secret Realm. Only Lord Demon Dragon is worthy of her, yet she was defiled by a lowly human first."
"No wonder Lord Demon Dragon offered a Sacred Source as a reward to find Zhang Ruochen's whereabouts. There was such a deep reason behind it."
As the matter spread, it became increasingly absurd, far from the truth.
Some barbarian beasts even claimed to have seen Princess Bai Li with a bulging belly, asking Zhang Ruochen whether to keep the child.
"This is absolutely true; I saw it with my own eyes. At the time, Princess Bai Li indeed had a belly—not very large, just slightly raised, clearly newly pregnant. She asked Zhang Ruochen whether to keep it, but Zhang Ruochen shook his head and cruelly abandoned her."
A half-human, half-beast barbarian spoke with conviction, even raising a hand to swear by the heavens.
When this news spread, it caused an uproar, shocking both the barbarian tribes and humans. All creatures in the entire Yinggema Desert were in an uproar.
That very day, the Devouring Demon Dragon heard similar news. Feeling unprecedented humiliation and fury, he stopped hunting the Qingtian Tribe and called out to Zhang Ruochen from afar: "Zhang Ruochen, no matter where you flee to the ends of the earth, you will die."
"All barbarian beasts, hear my command: whoever reports Zhang Ruochen's whereabouts to me will receive not only a Sacred Source but also an ancestral artifact."
The Devouring Demon Dragon's voice spread, making those humans and barbarian beasts who had doubted the truth even more certain that the matter was real.
Wan Huayu heard the news and was stunned for a moment, muttering to herself, "Zhang Ruochen doing something like this really doesn't seem like his style."
A thousand miles away, on an empty desert, the barbarian beast spreading the rumors gazed toward the direction of the Qingtian Tribe's retreat and said, "Once this rumor spreads, it will surely enrage the Devouring Demon Dragon and the beast kings, turning their spearhead toward Zhang Ruochen. This way, the Crown Prince and the Qingtian Tribe clansmen should be able to retreat successfully."
"Rustle."
Cracks appeared on the barbarian beast's body.
From the cracks, a blood-red light mist emanated, followed by a cracking sound. The beast's skin split open, revealing a pair of blood-red fleshy wings, transforming into an Undying Blood Clan member.
It turned out that this barbarian beast was a hidden agent of the Undying Blood Clan, deliberately spreading rumors to help the Undying Blood Clan members of the Qingtian Tribe escape.
Clearly, this rumor was very effective, hitting the Devouring Demon Dragon's weakness and successfully enraging him.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was rushing toward the blood-red Gobi Desert, unaware of the "earth-shattering" rumors spreading about him and Princess Bai Li.
Great Space Teleportation was indeed fast, but Princess Bai Li's Inch of Sky Step was also formidable, closely following Zhang Ruochen without losing track.
"I underestimated her before. Her speed is enough to rank in the top five below the Saint realm."
Being chased by Princess Bai Li constantly was not a solution. Zhang Ruochen fell into thought, considering whether to return the Memory Source Pearl to her.
In the end, he shook his head, unwilling to gain another powerful enemy out of momentary softness.
Although Princess Bai Li was very strong now, she was not very clever and posed no major threat.
Once she recovered her memories, with her status and influence, she could summon a large number of powerful barbarian beasts to deal with Zhang Ruochen, which would be very disadvantageous for him.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen reached the blood-red Gobi Desert.
Xiao Hei, holding the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, was already waiting outside the Gobi Desert. Seeing Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo return, he immediately showed a smile and said, "See? This emperor said they wouldn't be in danger. Zhang Ruochen is the Heir of Time and Space, blessed by the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree and that old bald monk Xumi's fortune. How could he be easily killed?"
Huang Yanchen stood beside Xiao Hei, her figure very tall, her sapphire-blue hair swaying in the wind. Seeing Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo's figures, a faint smile finally appeared on her cold face.
Qing Mo turned into a blur and rushed to Huang Yanchen's side, her expression somewhat strange. She whispered something to her, very much like tattling.
"Hmm?"
Huang Yanchen's gaze sharpened as she looked toward Zhang Ruochen, a puzzled expression on her face.
Zhang Ruochen could naturally guess what Qing Mo had said to Huang Yanchen, but he remained very calm and smiled slightly. "Don't listen to her nonsense. Xiao Hei knows the truth; he can tell you the reason."
"I'm not talking nonsense. It's you who did something guilty. Otherwise, why would you flee in panic when you saw that woman?"
Qing Mo returned to Huang Yanchen's side, suddenly full of confidence, no longer so timid.
Huang Yanchen gently bit her red lips, a pitiful light flickering in her eyes, as if she had suffered a great grievance.
Zhang Ruochen glared at Xiao Hei and said, "Explain it to them immediately."
"Explain what? This emperor doesn't even know what you're talking about," Xiao Hei said.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and said calmly, "About Princess Bai Li."
Qing Mo immediately added, "Zhang Ruochen must have done something bad to that Princess Bai Li. She came to him on her own, but he didn't dare face her and instead fled with me. Isn't that a guilty conscience?"
"What?"
Xiao Hei shrieked, his black fur standing on end like steel needles. He lunged at Zhang Ruochen, "Zhang Ruochen, this emperor will fight you to the death! This emperor thought it was strange that you sneaked out alone—so you had your eye on Princess Bai Li! Don't you know she's this emperor's reserved consort? Are you bullying this emperor for not having a physical body?"
Zhang Ruochen used his movement technique, retreating like lightning, unwilling to tangle with Xiao Hei.
The situation was getting more and more chaotic, impossible to explain.
"Whoosh."
In the distance, a white dot flew rapidly across the azure sky.
The dot grew larger, turning into a patch of light. As it approached, Princess Bai Li's figure emerged from the light.
She landed on top of a large rock and fixed her gaze on Zhang Ruochen, panting, "Zhang Ruochen, you shameless bastard... why... today... you must... you must give this princess an explanation..."
Huang Yanchen's eyes flickered with doubt as she also stared at Zhang Ruochen, wanting to know what had happened.