Chapter 119: Miko

“You’re from the ancient martial arts world?!” Yamamoto’s expression changed immediately and darkened, seeing the dense chi surrounding Gu Xiqiao’s body. After coming to N City for so long, this was only the third time he had seen someone from the ancient martial arts world.

The system spirit floated around Yamamoto, shaking its head. [Although you’re a bad guy, I really pity you. I hope when you die later, it won’t be too ugly…]

Xixi stared at Yamamoto for a short while, its jet-black eyes full of sympathy. This man was obviously not as powerful as it was, but he was so full of himself. Foreseeing Gu Xiqiao’s aggressive actions to resolve this, it couldn’t help but shed (fat) tears of pity for him.

A white light flashed in the slender fingers, and Yamamoto’s arm was numb from the impact, his grip on the middle-aged man loosening till he fell to the ground. The middle-ageed man shot a grateful look at Gu Xiqiao, and she waved him into the crowd.

Without the presence of another person in the field, Gu Xiqiao didn’t hold back. She gestured with both her hands, drawing a formation to trap Yamamoto inside. She had wanted to beat him up directly, but with a crowd behind her, she felt slightly embarrassed and awkward about the situation.

The system spirit could read the thoughts on her face, and it opened its mouth to speak, [Beauty Qiao, you can try using the smokescreen technique that you were practicing in the virtual arena last time.]

‘Bingo!’ Gu Xiqiao snapped her fingers, and with speed that was visible to the naked eyes, the space around them started to twist, with them being at the center.

Yamamoto looked on in stunned silence. It wasn’t like he hadn’t fought against any other martial arts practitioners before, but it was always him that would end up at the top. Not to mention, most people in China were ordinary people, he could easily squash any one of them with just a flick of a finger.

Just as he said, his position was special, even if he killed one or two people, the government of China wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. That was how his personality had been warped to this extent, killing anybody that showed him even the slightest hint of disagreement. And since it was people from China, he didn’t feel a hint of remorse from his actions at all.

However, all this was useless in front of Gu Xiqiao. After accepting the mission, she had clearly studied the information on these three people.

The ninjas in Japan were divided into the ranks, from the lowest Hatsunin, Genin, Chunin, Jounin, Hitonin, Jinin, to the highest which was Tennin. Yamamoto’s strength could be said to be just average, being only a Genin at the age of twenty-eight. Gu Xiqiao could easily end his life with just a twitch of her finger.

The system spirit had already hacked into the network, pulling out the list of every single one of Yamamoto’s crimes for Gu Xiqiao to see.

“You’ve been in China for ten days, and you’ve killed two murderous fugitives, but you’ve also injured four ordinary citizens, indirectly killed one, and outright killed two…” Gu Xiqiao stated all of this with a sharp smile on her face, her eyes not betraying any emotions. “We can solve China’s affairs on our own, we don’t need your intervention.”

Yamamoto had been inattentive to her words in the beginning, but by the time she had listed all his actions, he was shell shocked, because she had not missed any details, while he himself had forgotten all the small things.

“I don’t care what kind of trouble you stir up while in Japan, but once you arrive here in China, you follow our rules. We will handle our own people, you don’t need to take any action, do you understand?” Gu Xiqiao cracked her knuckles, her smile was unusually wide.

Yamamoto couldn’t move, and he looked up at Gu Xiqiao with horror on his face. He felt a flow of energy coursing through his entire body, and then a pain that seeped into his bones bursting out from within suddenly. Gu Xiqiao had sealed off his acupoints, he wasn’t able to scream nor raise his head, but he could see a slender fist coming at him.

“This is for the abuse you’ve piled on the people of China!”

Boom!

“Proud of bullying ordinary citizens, aren’t you?”

Boom!

“Do you know why blood is red?!”

Boom boom boom!

Five minutes later, Gu Xiqiao waved her hand lightly, and Yamamoto felt his body lighten, the acupoints that were sealed washed away like water flowing into a stream. However, the pain was engraved into his mind, he never wanted to experience that sort of pain ever again in his life. Such a petite girl was already so strong, China really lived up to the saying of ‘crouching tiger, hidden dragon’.

Gu Xiqiao dispelled her smokescreen, scanning the surroundings with an indifferent expression on her face. She was only about seventeen years old, yet she had stunning features, a real beauty that was flawless.

Just a few minutes have passed since then, but the people around her suddenly couldn’t spit out any more words of accusation which they had been doing previously. It felt like this petite girl had changed into a completely different person in an instant, and the person she was now made it hard for them to look at her.

Gu Xiqiao pulled out a few silver needles, poking it into the girl who was still lying on the ground. After a few beats, the girl woke up slowly. Gu Xiqiao pulled out the needles. “Did this mister knock you down just now?”

The girl shook her head, her voice weak as she replied, “It’s just low blood pressure, nothing to do with the mister.”

“You hear that?” Gu Xiqiao said, turning around and getting to her feet. No one dared to meet her eyes, and Yamamoto was even more ashamed of his actions, shrinking into himself as he slipped to his sister’s side, not daring to make even a sound.

The mister wiped the tears that had slid down from his eyes, his voice hoarse as he spoke, “Thank you, miss.”

He was in a hurry to send money today, his wife was waiting for the money for a life-saving operation in the hospital, but he was unlucky to be caught up in this situation. Being held by the neck by the Japanese made him feel like he was going to die in that moment, and he didn’t expect to meet and be rescued by such a righteous person.

“It’s alright, hurry up and go, Aunt is still waiting for the money. Don’t worry, your family is safe, don’t do anything rash.” Gu Xiqiao patted his shoulder lightly.

The uncle felt his shoulders lightened, but thinking about how his wife was waiting, he didn’t linger on those thoughts, instead hurrying to get back on his motorcycle towards the hospital.

Midway to the hospital, he suddenly realized that he had never mentioned his wife in the hospital, how was it that the girl had known?

Gu Xiqiao glanced at the siblings with a cold expression on her face, turning to grab the painting materials on the ground and wanting to head back to the car that was parked at the hospital. As soon as she picked up the materials, her phone rang.

Pulling out her phone to see that the caller was Jiang Shuxuan, her face brightened, and people would mistake her for a goddess with the radiance that she was emitting, “Hello, Brother Jiang.”

“Mm, look to your left.” A deep velvet voice came through, and Gu Xiqiao looked over in the direction that he had said, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Why are you here?” She asked, staring unblinkingly for a moment before coming back to herself.

Jiang Shuxuan put down the phone, cutting through the crowd, he slowly walked towards her. He was wearing a sleek, white shirt, with the top two buttons on top undone. His sleeves were rolled up halfway, revealing a thin, slender arm. The clothing was meant to be simple and casual, but on him, it gave off a flare of elegance. His defined face looked to be sculptured, standing out like a sore thumb among the sea of people. It seemed like only the words magnificent and phenomenal could be used to describe him.

“Brother Jiang, why are you here?” Gu Xiqiao repeated her question, staring at him in stunned silence until he stopped in front of her. She reacted only then, reaching up to touch her nose awkwardly.

Elegant eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a slender finger twitched. Jiang Shuxuan was feeling slightly resigned. He had been intending to drive to the base, but then he suddenly felt a familiar fluctuation of energy, as well as a faint ninja aura. Though he knew that Gu Xiqiao would be fine, he still couldn’t help but stop the car.

Xixi saw Jiang Shuxuan, and it started flapping its wings and flying around in circles around him. Jiang Shuxuan felt himself getting dizzy from the motion, and with a smooth gesture a frost blade appeared and he used it to swat the bird away.

Xixi who had suffered 100 million points of damage: Jiang Shuxuan is even more cruel than Beauty Gu! Break off friendship! Break off friendship!

As it was a commercial street, there were many people coming and going. Jiang Shuxuan narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “Let’s go, where did you park the car?”

“The hospital.” Gu Xiqiao followed Jiang Shuxuan’s side, often getting shoved and pushed as people rushed past them.

Just when Gu Xiqiao was about to be shoved away again, Jiang Shuxuan grabbed her hand with a pensive face, saying calmly, “Follow closely.”

“Mm,” Gu Xiqiao said, but her attention was on their clasped hands. He emitted a chilling aura, yet the temperature of his hands was warm. She could also clearly see the smooth and sharp outline of his jaw when she raised her head slightly. The two of them had their attention on their hands, and they didn’t hear the Yamamoto siblings in the distance.

***

“Miko, look at that, isn’t that the person you’re looking for?” Yamamoto pointed towards Jiang Shuxuan with a look of surprise as he turned to his sister. “I heard that he would be in N City, but I didn’t expect that we would be fortunate enough to see him!”

“Brother, who is that person next to him?” Miko smiled, but then she saw Gu Xiqiao beside him, and became anxious again. “They look very close.”

Miko was Yamamoto’s younger sister. She had been weak from birth, and her body had not recovered to this day. Even though her health wasn’t good, she was very talented. Yamamoto was just a Genin, and his sister was younger than him by five years but already at Jounin level. In Japan, she was also recognized as a genius, and she was here to compete for a spot in the Ranking List.

“No matter who she is, she will die.” Yamamoto was a sis-con, as long as it was something his sister wanted, even if it was the stars in the sky, he would take it for her. “I’ll bring you to someone, they will definitely have a way.”

Yamamoto had a friend in China, and that friend was someone in a high place. In his view, there was nothing that his friend couldn’t do, and it so happened that his friend was also currently in one of the secret bases in N City. His friend’s abilities were also decent, and not long after Yamamoto passed on the message, his friend had managed to find Gu Xiqiao’s identity.

“Miko, don’t worry. My friend is an administrator of the ancient martial arts world in China. It won’t be a problem for him to clean up one of their own. Just wait for his good news.” Yamamoto said, giving her the good news. “Mr. Jiang is also in N City, haven’t you been admiring him for a long time? I’ll ask my friend for help, and ask to arrange a meet up for you.”

“Really? I can really meet Mr. Jiang?” Miko’s face had a disbelieving expression, looking at her brother with a bright smile on her face. However, her heart had doubts, afraid that Yamamoto was just pulling her leg.

“Really.” It was rare for Yamamoto to see his sister like this, and he thumped his chest with a fist, “Believe in your brother, you’ll see. My friend is calling now.”

He accepted the call with a beam on his face, but just as he was about to speak, his friend’s voice came through, cursing, “Ida Yamamoto! I consider you to be a good friend, a brother even! I arranged everything that you wanted when you came to China, even covered up for the killing spree that you went on, and this is how you repay me?! Do you know who Gu Xiqiao is?!”

“Who… who is she?” Yamamoto was still in shock over the scolding that he received, and couldn’t help but stutter. This was the first time his friend had spoken so harshly to him.

“The forums lists her as a confidential person, with only two words on her profile, a formation master! Do you know what it means to be a formation master? The number of formation masters in the entire China can be counted on one hand, and they are China’s last line of defense. You’re asking me to kill a formation master, is it you or me that is stupid? Forget it, don’t contact me anymore in the future, and you better find the opportunity to leave China quickly. Otherwise in a couple of days, you might not be able to leave even if you wanted to!”

The ancient martial arts world was big, and management of it was very strict. All registered people had an identity level when they first registered, and they were split into ordinary, intermediate, advanced, and hidden levels. The higher the level, the stronger the person. This was also the reason why Yamamoto’s friend was afraid, he had actually investigated a person on the hidden level. He feared that the top brass of the ancient martial arts world would come and arrest him in the next second.

Yamamoto didn’t have time to say anything before his friend cut off the call, and when he called again, no one answered. He must have blocked his number.

“Brother, what has happened?” Miko looked at her brother, asking cautiously.

Yamamoto forced a smile on his face. “Miko, we’ve been out for so long. Do you want to return home?”

Hearing this, Miko was startled, and there was a flash of disappointment in her eyes. “I…I’m still okay.”

“I’ll head down to get you a meal and book the tickets, once we’re done eating we’ll leave.” Yamamoto didn’t give Miko a chance to reply, heading downwards once he was done talking. They were staying in a hotel in the city, and they had no luggage, easing their coming and goings.

Yamamoto went down and grabbed a meal, and trudged up to the room. When he reached the room, he found it completely devoid of life, Miko had gone from where she was sitting on the bed!

***

Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan had yet to eat, and they didn’t want to trouble Mrs. Zhang by going back at this time, so they found a nearby private restaurant.

After entering the place, Jiang Shuxuan didn’t ask her what she wanted to eat, and proceeded to order a few dishes from the menu.

[Beauty Qiao, I found something.] The system spirit didn’t dare to materialize in front of Jiang Shuxuan, so it stayed in the void space and played games with its leg crossed in the air.

‘What?’ Gu Xiqiao asked disinterestedly as she watched Jiang Shuxuan place their order.

The system spirit knocked on the virtual keyboard, [Ah, here it is. Look at this, Beauty Qiao, Master Gu picked up the paper that you threw the other day, the one into the rubbish bin.]

Hearing this, Gu Xiqiao’s eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘You’re saying Master Gu picked up the evaluation result that I threw into the trash?’

[That’s right, Beauty Qiao. What do we do now? He’s looking into Luo Wenlin, do you want me to destroy all the information?]

Gu Xiqiao looked disgusted. ‘He actually picked up something from the trash, how disgusting.’

When she had thrown the paper, she had clearly seen baby diapers with yellow stains on it in the rubbish bin, and there were a lot of other unknown things in it. How could they still pick it up in that condition?

System: Although I don’t want to say anything, I can’t help but want to vomit blood right now. Aren’t you focusing on the wrong parts again, Beauty Qiao!

The dishes came quickly. First, there was a bowl of some soup, then sweet and sour ribs, mixed vegetables, spicy crawfish, and stir-fried mushrooms. The portions of the dishes weren’t big, but there was a big enough portion of the spicy crawfish, and everything was what she loved to eat.

“You look like you don’t like to drink soup.” Jiang Shuxuan commented after he watched as Gu Xiqiao closed her eyes and gritted her teeth before drinking the soup. “If you don’t like it, you can just say it.”

“If I say it, will you agree for me not to drink it?” Gu Xiqiao shot back, looking at Jiang Shuxuan expectantly, her eyes bright and clear

Jiang Shuxuan paused, slowly arranging his chopsticks as he had dismissed the waiter. “Of course not.”

“Then you’re just teasing me.” Gu Xiqiao knocked her head against the cup in her hands lightly in frustration. “Brother Jiang, if you continue like this, you’re gonna lose me.”

“Nonsense.” Jiang Shuxuan said, looking at her with his ink black eyes, warmth dancing in them.

As the two conversed, Xixi was sitting to the side silently. After being injured by Jiang Shuxuan’s ice blade, it had quieted down, not flying around them anymore.

Seeing Xixi quiet for the first time, Jiang Shuxuan felt surprised. “What did you do to Xixi?”

Gu Xiqiao peeled a crawfish efficiently with her hands. “Well…mountain kids have their secrets, it’s something Brother Jiang won’t be able to learn.”

“You’re quite skilled at peeling crawfish.” Jiang Shuxuan changed the subject then, watching those slender pale hands move quickly. Within three seconds, the piece of white flesh of the crawfish had been pulled out completely.

“That’s, I used to do it for my mother a lot…my adoptive mother, I mean.” Gu Xiqiao lowered her eyes. “The village chief would send a lot of crawfish to us during summer.”

Talking about the past, Gu Xiqiao felt conflicted. This time when she went back, she had managed to resolve the issues there, and that made her feel better about it.

Jiang Shuxuan glanced at her, before taking up another crawfish, peeling it clumsily. His motions were unfamiliar, and this was his first time peeling one. You didn’t need much skill to peel a crawfish, as long as you had hands, you could do it.

Without much effort, Jiang Shuxuan had also peeled off the shell from the crawfish, and he placed it in Gu Xiqiao’s bowl.

“Brother Jiang…” Gu Xiqiao lifted her head, looking at Jiang Shuxuan warmly.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Shuxuan said, looking back at her.

Gu Xiqiao opened her mouth, but then closed it and smiled instead after a while, “Nothing, it’s just that it’s ugly.”

“…Don’t talk while eating.” Jiang Shuxuan glanced at the crawfish he had peeled, and indeed it didn’t look good compared to the ones that Gu Xiqiao had done. Instead of peeling it out in one whole piece, it had broken into a few pieces. He pursed his lips, and finally said, “I can still practice.”

“Pfft, there’s no need,” Gu Xiqiao said, picking up the pieces of meat. She dipped it into the gravy, and took a bite. The fragrance was overflowing, mixed with the spicy taste, she didn’t need to mention how delicious it was. “I like it this way.”

Jiang Shuxuan was taken aback, and he hung his head down without a word. However, the hard lines on his face softened, the affection continued to dance merrily in his eyes. If you looked properly, you could even see the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly in a smile.

As the two ate, Xixi looked on with a deadpanned expression. It felt like its teeth were all forcefully glued together, and since it currently couldn’t speak to express its feelings, it lay at Gu Xiqiao’s feet, pretending to be dead.

***

When they returned home, Xixi found that Haha was eating from that bowl that was worth a few million. Feeling annoyed, it went and poke at Haha.

“Chirp chirp chirp!” (I went out and had a big meal with Beauty Qiao today!)

“Woof woof woof!” (So what, do you have a bowl that is worth a few million?)

“Chirp chirp chirp!” (Beauty Qiao has never taken you out!)

“Woof woof woof!” (Do you have a bowl worth a few million?)

“Chirp chirp chirp!” (I am a very, very powerful divine beast!)

“Woof woof woof!” (Do you have a bowl?)

Xixi’s heart: Haha this vicious bitch, there will come a day when it will take this stupid dog’s place!

Haha’s heart: Xixi this stupid bird needs some treatment.

After another hour, Xixi’s prohibition for talking had come to an end, and it flew upstairs in excitement. “Beauty Qiao, Beauty Qiao, time is up. Hurry and give me the pill, the pill, the pill!”

Xixi’s voice was shrill and sharp, Gu Xiqiao was trying out the paint that she had just bought. When Xixi shouted, her hand slipped in surprise, and a good picture was gone just like that.

Xixi froze for three seconds after entering, and then it started wailing like a ghost. The drawing board in front of Gu Xiqiao held a drawing of a flaming bird, its feathers were gorgeous and vivid, but there was a long scratch on its mouth.

With one look, Xixi knew that it was the one who had disturbed Gu Xiqiao. It felt so painful, it had always been jealous of Haha’s collection of sketches for a long time, and had tried to steal them several times without success as Haha had hidden them well. Knowing that Gu Xiqiao had painted them, it had vaguely hinted so many times at her, and unexpectedly, Beauty Qiao was actually painting it, and it had ruined it!

“Get out!” Gu Xiqiao said, rubbing her temples as she felt a headache building. A white light flashed in her hands, a pill appearing. She flicked it into Xixi’s mouth, and waved her hand, sending Xixi out the door with a gust of wind.

The elixir melted in Xixi’s mouth, and the strong profound energy swept through its entire body. However, Xixi didn’t care much for the pill that it had gotten after so much hard work, beating its wings against the door. “Beauty Qiao, Beauty Qiao! Let me explain!”

Gu Xiqiao had drawn up an array that prohibited entry and sound, so no matter how much Xixi called out or how sore its throat became from it, she couldn’t hear it.

Haha had come upstairs after hearing the commotion, letting out a cold laughing bark before turning around to head back downstairs slowly.

Xixi had been watching TV with Mrs. Zhang recently, and it had learned a few things. Seeing that Gu Xiqiao was not answering the door, it started again, “Open up, open up, open up! Gu Xiqiao, if you can paint then you can open this door!”

The system spirit had materialized in the room, not affected by the formation and could hear everything Xixi was saying, and it could only snicker. […silly bird.]

Gu Xiqiao wasn’t painting in the room anymore, painting was like composing a story. Losing it after you finish writing, even if you remember the contents you wouldn’t want to continue writing it anymore, because you have lost interest.

Gu Xiqiao sighed, let’s give it a rest for a few more days before drawing Xixi again.

The most important thing at the moment was the matter with Luo Wenlin. Even if it was an unethical thing to do, she contacted Mu Zong to hire a private investigator to investigate Luo Wenlin’s mother.

Knowing Master Gu’s character, now that he knew Luo Wenlin was part of the Gu family, he would do everything in his power to bring him back into the family. The Gu family currently had no successor, and suddenly a descendent appeared, and it was his grandson to boot! How would he let go of this rare opportunity!

The private investigator that Mu Zong had hired was very reliable, and the price was high. The matter was investigated in two days.

Luo Wenlin’s mother used to be a waitress in a bar, and Gu Zuhui had taken a fancy to her. She had Luo Wenlin later on, when there was already no news of Gu Zuhui. Luo Wenlin’s mother didn’t go to the Gu family, she gave birth to Luo Wenlin alone, and raised him alone.

Unexpectedly, she was diagnosed with leukemia soon after. There was practically no cure for this disease, and so she placed everything she owned in the baby’s name, and left him at the orphanage gate. There was no news of her after that, and based on the information, it was most likely she had died.

Gu Xiqiao had read through the information many times, [Beauty Qiao, Digusting Gu has gone to find Luo Wenlang.]

Since Gu Xiqiao was able to dig up the information on this, then it was natural for Master Gu to be able to do the same. Not only that, the system spirit had also heard the conversation between Master Gu and the butler. “He grew up in an orphanage, which orphan doesn’t want a home? And he has leukemia, he would have no one else but our Gu family that has the money to pay for the treatments, then give Luo Wenlang a sum of money. I heard that he’s got good grades, if he’s willing, I can take him in as a godson too.”

“Master, this Luo Wenlang has some connection to people in the Imperial Capital. They have announced before that no one is allowed to help Luo Wenlang, otherwise they would not get along with whoever it was.” The butler reminded him.

Mater Gu was silent for a while, though he didn’t like the feeling of being told what to do by others, he also didn’t dare to provoke the people from the Imperial Capital. “Then forget it. When he comes, just give him one million.”

Recently, the Gu family business hadn’t been doing well, and they had insufficient funds to go around. This one million was from Master Gu’s own private stash.

“One million, I believe that Luo Wenlang will definitely not refuse. He probably would never see such a big sum of money in his entire lifetime.” The butler was bowing at the side, he probably didn’t know that Luo Wenlang was currently working on a big order in a business that was earning tens of millions of dollars, and this one million was nothing in his eyes.

Master Gu felt reassured at the words of his butler, and this was the first time he had felt happy since the day that Gu Xiqiao cut all ties with the Gu family.

The two of them waited in the private box for a while, the meeting time with Luo Wenlang was set at 10 o’clock. Master Gu had been impatient and didn’t bother putting on any airs, and had eagerly arrived early at nine thirty.

When 10 o’clock came around, a waiter opened the door, and Master Gu looked over, immediately getting stunned. Because the person standing there was not Luo Wenlang, the person that they thought they could bully into accepting their conditions, but Gu Xiqiao, who they thought they would never see again.

Gu Xiqiao walked in and sat opposite Master Gu without hesitation, she lowered her eyes. “Why are you looking for Luo Wenlang?”

She saw the cheque next to Master Gu’s hand, and her gaze sharpened.

Seeing her giving him the look, Master Gu had the butler put away the cheque, feeling slightly embarrassed. He looked into those clear eyes, feeling like all his secrets were laid bare for her to see.

He knew that Gu Xiqiao wouldn’t return to the Gu family no matter what happened, she didn’t even want to see any members of the Gu family. Judging by the fact that she had come to see them regarding Luo Wenlin’s matter, it told them how important the Luo brothers were to her. If that was the case, then it was all the more reason he needed to bring Luo Wenlin into the Gu family no matter the cost, “Luo Wenlin belongs to the Gu family, he is my grandson.”

“He isn’t.” Hearing Master Gu’s words, Gu Xiqiao smiled coldly, “So he won’t be going to the Gu family.”

“He is.” Master Gu said, taking out a new evaluation paper. After he went back, he had done a new paternity test and found that the results were accurate.

Gu Xiqiao squinted her eyes at the paternity test result, and suddenly laughed, placing both hands on the table, “I say he’s not, so he’s not. Believe me, the next time you do another paternity test, it won’t be.”

“You!” Master Gu gasped, clutching his chest. He looked at Gu Xiqiao who had a fearless expression on her face, and he knew that she wasn’t lying. She really had the capability to do it, and Master Gu felt extremely bitter.

The person in front of him was originally from the Gu family, and with her capabilities, the Gu family could have soared to new heights. Such an excellent heir was chased out by his own hands, and up till today, Master Gu had trouble breathing when he thought of it. “Qiao Qiao, if you’re willing to return to the Gu family…”

“If that’s all, I’ll be leaving first, Master Gu.” Gu Xiqiao slid out from the chair, heading towards the door.

Seeing her determined figure walking away, Master Gu stood up, his hand still clutching his chest, his eyes getting dimmer, his voice hoarse and pitiful, “Wait, Qiao…Miss, Miss Gu, please give us a way to survive.”

Hearing what he said, Gu Xiqiao wanted to laugh, a way to survive? Wasn’t letting the Gu family live in peace till now considered to be that?

After a slight pause she continued on her way, Gu Xiqiao sighed. “Master Gu, when have you shown me the same courtesy?”

In the box, Master Gu was gasping for air, his face turning a slight bluish color. Seeing this, the butler immediately gave him the medicine pills that he had brought.

After taking the medicine, Master Gu slumped down in distress. He had clearly heard Gu Xiqiao’s parting words, and he recalled the incident of forcing her to publicly apologize in front of the media. No matter how good a person, if they were treated like this, they wouldn’t forgive so easily.

But Master Gu was unaware that Gu Xiqiao was talking about her previous life, and he would never understand how such a gentle, big-hearted person like Gu Xiqiao could be so chillingly cold towards the Gu family.

***

Gu Xiqiao left the building, and although the sun was shining brightly above her, she felt her mood plummeting. She took out her phone to see that Yin Shaoyuan had sent her a message, informing her that Tang Yanling had bought a lot of things for her to take to use in college. Thinking about the fact that there were only a few more days left before she was leaving for school, she put away her phone and headed towards the car park to her pink car.

She had slept late yesterday, and it was already 9 o’clock when she woke up. Jiang Shuxuan had left early in the morning, and she didn’t have time to call for a cab, so she had to drive her own pink car. Actually, it was the type of color that you would eventually get used to after driving it a few times.

Tang Yanling had prepared a lot of food for Gu Xiqiao early on, when she thought about how Gu Xiqiao was going to college soon and wouldn’t be able to visit so easily, she had to make full use of the time that they had left. Sigh, the child was so thin, letting her go to the Imperial Capital to study, with the non-nutritious food in the school, it really didn’t do anything to ease her worries.

Jiang Shuxuan and Yin Shaoyuan returned in the afternoon. These two were both busy people, especially Yin Shaoyuan, he hadn’t come home for dinner for a whole two months already.

Tang Yanling glanced around to see the table full of people, and her heart felt joy and sorrow at the same time. Within the next few days, they would be leaving again.

Ever since she started wearing the accessories that Gu Xiqiao had given her, her skin had become fairer and lighter, and her spirits were also better. Even the old pains that were left from Yin Shaoyuan’s birth had disappeared.

Eating well and sleeping well, the more she aged the younger she looked, all the other noble ladies outside were extremely envious of her.

“Or, should I go with you to the Imperial Capital, Qiao Qiao?” Tang Yanling opened her mouth suddenly.

“No!” Gu Xiqiao didn’t manage to speak yet, and Yin Jinian denied her immediately.

Yin Shaoyuan raised his head lazily. “Mom, was I brought into the world by you?” When he had gone to the Imperial Capital, Tang Yanling didn’t even say a word, which made him seriously doubt now, was he really Tang Yanling’s son by blood?

“You were picked up!” Tang Yanling said without lifting her head, she was occupied piling a lot of vegetables on Gu Xiqiao’s plate.

Yin Shaoyuan: If this goes on, I’ll want to run away from home just to prove my existence!

“Shuxuan, are you also going to the Imperial Capital with her?” Tang Yanling asked suddenly. Thanks to Gu Xiqiao, she could now look at Jiang Shuxuan without being overly cautious.

Jiang Shuxuan nodded his head slightly, naturally, it didn’t need to be said. If it wasn’t for Gu Xiqiao, he would have left N City two months ago. The affairs in Imperial City had been delayed for so long, if he continued to drag it out, he was afraid he would find someone dead at his door.

“Then you have to take good care of Qiao Qiao, make sure she drinks soup every day. Mrs. Zhang called me the last time to tell me that Qiao Qiao had given half her soup to Haha.” Although Tang Yanling couldn’t imagine Gu Xiqiao doing something that didn’t fit her image, she was inclined to believe Mrs. Zhang’s words.

Hearing that, Jiang Shuxuan glanced at Gu Xiqiao. He had just joked about how all the soup she drank was in Haha’s stomach.

Gu Xiqiao had a guilty look on her face, if she said that she just wanted to also fatten Haha up since it was thin, would anyone believe her?

She let out a sigh, it was obvious that no one would believe her. She ignored Jiang Shuxuan’s pointed and dissatisfied gaze, lowering her head and continuing to eat. ‘If you want to look then look, I’ll just ignore you!’

Jiang Shuxuan knocked on the table, and Gu Xiqiao immediately picked up the piece of meat that she had pushed to the side a while ago.

Yin Shaoyuan felt like he had been fed dog food, the food in his mouth tasting like cardboard. His face looked distressed, and he could no longer muster up the feeling to be playful. He set down his bowl, and dragged his feet into the kitchen with difficulty, “Mom, I have something to ask you.”

“Ask away.” Tang Yanling was busy, and replied to him half-heartedly.

“Am I really your son?” Yin Shaoyuan asked sourly.

“Get out and turn left!”

That was their pet cat’s sleeping place, Yin Shaoyuan thought, and then he understood.

“Although I’m not yours biologically, I still love you.” Yin Shaoyuan leaned forward. “And there’s something Brother Jiang wanted me to tell you.”

Yin Shaoyuan then proceeded to inform his mother about what had happened in the military base as per Jiang Shuxuan’s instruction, careful to include all the details and not omitting anything.

Tang Yanling listened and was silent for a while, before opening her mouth to say, “Don’t worry, son. This will never happen again.”

Hearing this, Yin Shaoyuan raised his eyebrows. “Awww, Mom, so I turned out to be really yours!”

Tang Yanling: My son is most likely stupid with no cure.

Once Tang Yanling had left the kitchen, Yin Shaoyuan straightened up slowly, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. It looked like his mother was uncomfortable when he had brought up the issue? And it seemed like Jiang Shuxuan also knew what was happening, was it only him that was unaware about what was going on?

“This… kinda hurts.” Yin Shaoyuan threw a cherry tomato in his mouth, chewing it slowly as he turned to walk out.

***

When Gu Xiqiao left, she brought back a lot of things with her. Her car was filled to the brim, so was Jiang Shuxuan’s car, it was a full load of two cars. While they had been loading the things, she was tempted to pack it all into her inventory. However, it was impossible to do it in broad daylight, she was afraid that she would be caught and brought in to be dissected, so she held back.

After loading everything, Gu Xiqiao was about to climb in her car when Jiang Shuxuan stopped her. He pulled the keys from her hand and handed it to the butler, then he bundled her into his own car.

“What’s up?” Gu Xiqiao said, reaching up to touch her nose awkwardly. Was it because the color of her car was too pink? But he had chosen the color himself, and said that it was a good color, but now he was disliking it?

Jiang Shuxuan glanced at her, “You didn’t bring Xixi out today?”

“Xixi is busy fixing and stabilizing its cultivation energy, I couldn’t bring it out. I’m afraid that it won’t be able to control its power and burn down the entire N City.” Once Xixi had taken the elixir, it had advanced soon after.

“So soon?” Jiang Shuxuan said, feeling astounded. According to his initial estimation, it should have taken at least two to three years for it to advance a level.

Speaking of this, Gu Xiqiao took out a gray pill from her inventory, stuffing it into his mouth. “Have a candy.”

Jiang Shuxuan felt a warm sensation running from his mouth through the meridians in his body, the rich dense energy dispersing through his limbs. He was flabbergasted, this seemed to be the elixir that had been described in the ancient texts, but wasn’t it just a legend and myth? How could it be here?

Gu Xiqiao waited for a long while, but there was no indication of Jiang Shuxuan advancing another level, “That much profound energy and its still not enough to advance to the next level?”

[Beauty Qiao, why do you insist on underestimating Big Jiang. He’s already above Fleet Foot level, and the amount of chi he needs to advance is enormous. That small bit that you gave him is probably just enough to pick his teeth with.]

‘I know, it’s just so unbelievable.’ Every time when she thought that he was already incredible, he had to show her that time was ever-changing and that he kept evolving with it.

[Beauty Qiao, when you talk about him, how about taking a look at yourself? Training to this level in just a short three months, who can be more insane than you?]

Gu Xiqiao touched her nose and stopped talking, and the car slowly came to a stop. She looked out at the surroundings, and it was an…amusement park?

“Brother Jiang…”

“Let’s go.” Jiang Shuxuan had only bought two tickers for the Ferris wheel, and when they got there, there was no one else around. “What happened today?” He asked, once they were seated inside and off the ground.

Gu Xiqiao was startled when he asked. She thought that she had managed to pull off being cheerful enough that even such a sharp observant person like Tang Yanling had not noticed it, but he had seen through her.

“I…I’m just a bit lost.” Gu Xiqiao watched as the wheel took them higher into the sky, the buildings below them gradually getting smaller. “I went to see the Gu family today, was it wrong?”

Jiang Shuxuan felt his heart clenched at the lost and confused look on her face, “You did the right thing. The Gu family is destined for ruins, and it has nothing to do with you. You have already drawn a clear line with them.”

“I know, but I still feel a bit sad.” The mister that she had met the other day who was on the way to deliver the money to his wife, he was an employee of the Gu family. The Gu family had reached a state where they needed to lay off workers, and the mister was one of them, even the money for his wife’s treatment was painstakingly pulled together.

“You could buy Gu Enterprise.” Jiang Shuxuan glanced at her, “I know you don’t want it, but you could hand it over to Luo Wenlin.”

“There’s potential in that.” Gu Xiqiao said, rolling her eyes. With the current situation in the Gu family, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to step in and sweep the entire thing into her hands.

The Ferris wheel had completed its round, and the both of them came down. Gu Xiqiao still feeling a bit excited from it. “Brother Jiang, stay here and don’t move, I’ll go get an ice-cream cone!”

“Alright.” Jiang Shuxuan rarely saw her radiating such happiness, so he stood patiently to wait for her under the shade of the tree.

His figure was tall and eye-catching, his face looking as though it was carved from jade with it being flawless and smooth. The skin that was exposed held a slight ethereal glow, while his features were delicate and mesmerizing. Just by standing there, he was garnering a lot of attention from the people all around, especially from the women. However, his demeanor was ice cold which made him unapproachable. Many of them contented themselves by just looking at him from afar, not daring to come any closer.

Suddenly, a girl appeared in front of the crowd. She was not very tall, with a lovely, cute, delicate face. Her expression was timid like a baby deer and she wore a pink uniform. She walked slowly towards the tall figure.

“Mr…Mr. Jiang, my name is Miko, I’m very happy to meet you!” Miko bent down in a low bow, her face flushed red. She stretched both hands outwards. ‘The etiquette in China is shaking hands, right? It should be right! Come on Miko, you have to grasp this opportunity!’

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