Chapter 240: Diane's Changes
After a cramped lunch, it was time for everyone to take a break.
Lulans returned to his residence early, while Roning was dragged by Bretton to the yard for a sparring match.
Bretton possessed two major attributes: thunder and water. Although it was unclear how high his affinity was, the fact that he mastered surging thunder within a few days indicated that it was quite strong.
During the sparring, the lightning would travel through his Liuyan Sword, sending waves of numbness through his body.
Although Bretton's current thunder power wasn't strong enough to affect Roning, if it were a Silver Knight with the thunder attribute, the paralysis would be much stronger, requiring more caution.
Fortunately, defending against it was not difficult. All that was needed was to use one's fighting spirit to isolate the opponent's thunder power—no special insulating clothing required.
Over the course of the half-hour competition, Bretton was naturally defeated the whole time, but his spirits were unaffected. Instead, he became even more determined.
Even when Roning suggested taking a break, Bretton remained in the yard, reflecting on the match, analyzing his mistakes, and considering ways to improve.
"He's truly a cultivation maniac," Roning sighed as he wiped his face with a towel handed to him by Hallward, signaling for him to follow out of the yard.
"Hallward, what happened to Diane?" Roning asked. "Why do I feel like she's different from before?"
"I'm not sure what's going on with the lady," Hallward hesitated, clearly pondering where to start.
After a long pause, he finally spoke. "All I know is that Madam hasn't left her room for the past two or three days since returning from Black Python City. When she did come out, her personality seemed to have changed."
Roning nodded slowly, a thought crossing his mind. Could it be that Orson blamed Diane for what happened at Wushan Castle?
That seemed unlikely. Orson had insisted on challenging Lulans. If he remembered correctly, Diane had actually advised against it.
"If you want to know more, young master, perhaps you should ask the Marquis," Hallward suggested. "When the lady left for Black Python City, the Marquis sought her out."
Roning's eyes lit up. Could this be part of Lu Lans's plan?
Meanwhile, Diane, having just finished lunch, was tending to the flowers in the corridor of the courtyard.
After watering the plants, she sat in a chair to bask in the sun. Half asleep, half awake, she reflected on the events that took place in Black Python City.
As Orson's daughter, she had returned to her former home to visit her seriously injured father but was avoided by him. Her brother Barrington, the heir of Black Python City, also accused her.
Roning considered that this accusation seemed somewhat absurd, but it was still a convenient excuse for Barrington to blame Diane.
Barrington even threatened that they no longer wanted to be involved in Bretton's affairs, and they would not interfere if Lulans sought to restore Roning's inheritance rights.
The argument had lasted a long time, and despite Diane defending herself for hours, it was to no avail.
Finally, her uncle, Alan Hyde, had stepped in to separate them and persuade both sides to cool down.
In the end, Alan offered his suggestion: Let Bretton marry Kalima.
This way, Bretton would be both the grandson of Earl Orson and the son-in-law of Barrington, making it more legitimate for him to intervene in the dispute over inheritance rights.
To Diane, this seemingly reasonable suggestion was like a dagger to her heart. It caused her immense pain.
Before she left, Lulans had found her and had a conversation with her.
In addition to asking her to pass on the message "How are you?" to her father, Lulans had predicted the next moves of the Hyde family in front of her.
The plan was for Bretton to marry Kalima and have children. After Lulans died, Wiggins would be killed first, then Bretton, and finally, the baby—who might still be in the cradle—would be made the lord of Wushanling.
After hearing this, Diane felt exhausted.
She had once thought that her father and brother supported Bretton simply because he was their nephew. Wushanling would naturally benefit the Hyde family.
All she had to do was encourage Bretton to train hard, grow stronger, and avoid being controlled by others.
But now, with Lulans's plan possibly becoming reality, she panicked.
She was just an ordinary person, unable to even defeat a fierce dog. She couldn't change anything in front of this group of extraordinary people who fought and killed with ease.
Even if she had to sacrifice her beauty to win over some of her former suitors, the strongest among them would only be a Silver Knight, and that wouldn't change anything.
But fortunately, she still had a choice.
"It's better to take good care of the flowers."
Diane lay back on the bench and fell asleep in the warmth of the sun.
In the afternoon, Wiggins returned to the castle.
When Luo Ning received the news, he paid a courtesy visit.
However, Wiggins was busy discussing the collection and transport of food and weapons with several officials from Wushan City. After exchanging a few words with Luo Ning, he returned to his work.
Seeing Wiggins's focused and busy demeanor, he didn't seem incompetent at all.
Luo Ning left the study room at the right time. As the sunset approached, he thought about sending a small shock to Lulans.
On the mountain path, Lulans called over his Thunder Wind Chaser and slowly rode up the mountain.
When Roning asked about Diane, Lulans did not elaborate. He simply said:
"I just made her aware of her identity. Now, she should first be my daughter-in-law, Wiggins' wife, and Bretton's mother, and only then Orson's daughter."
Lulans looked down at his grandson, who was walking beside him with his head down, and changed the subject. "Do you really have a dragon?"
He had always thought it unlikely and had even browsed through a few books after lunch. The dragons described in the books were all fictional, not holding up to scrutiny, and there were no credible records of real dragons.
But seeing Roning's serious expression made him nervous.
Roning smiled slightly. "Of course, Grandpa. You know I'm a straightforward person—I never lie."
Lulans's white beard trembled. "You tell a lot of lies."
Roning touched his conscience and thought, I really never lie... unless I have to.
"I traveled to many places when I was young, and I saw many monsters," Lulans continued, patting the Thunder Wind Chaser under him. "It's said this creature has the blood of a giant dragon. There are also flying monsters, like the dragon eagle, which are said to be descendants of giant dragons."
He shook his head slightly. "But as for a real dragon, I've never seen one with my own eyes."
"You'll see it soon." Roning had already called Carlos in his mind. He could sense that Carlos was not far off and would likely arrive in less than ten minutes.
Telling Lulans about Carlos seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Next time, when Carlos comes to Wushanbao, he could land directly on this back mountain, avoiding the complications of this trip.
Seeing Roning's confidence, Lulans stopped talking, now about 70% convinced.
He wasn't someone who had never seen the world, so there was nothing truly shocking about seeing a giant dragon. It would just be an extremely rare flying magical beast.
Soon, the two arrived at an open area on the mountainside.
Lulans dismounted and the Thunder Chaser entered the exclusive stable nearby.
Suddenly, its movements froze, and it sharply turned its head to look up at the sky, letting out a low, uneasy growl.
"Here it comes," Roning reminded.
When Lulans noticed the contracted monster's unease, he looked up at the sky.
In the dimming twilight, a black dot gradually grew larger. Although the appearance of the giant dragon wasn't fully visible yet, a faint sense of oppression filled the air, settling in Lulans' heart.
Being well-versed in magical creatures, he recognized this pressure as coming from the bloodline. Only a creature with truly high blood could exert such an effect on a person.
His eyes widened, a look of shock flashing across his face.
"Is this... the dragon?"
---------
Hey guys, VerseX here :)
If you want to support me and the work that I am doing, you can support me on pâtreon. It costs 1 dollar a month, and you get six early-access chapters. I know that it isn't much of an advantage, but I would love your support.
Thank you for enjoying my translation and enjoy.
The link to my pâtreon is: https://www.pâtreon.com/VerseX
You just have to change the â to a