32 The Grandmaster

The long-lived pine stands as tall as two men, its trunk gnarled and twisted, all its needles shed, leaving the bare branches to amplify a sense of desolation.

One could guess without much thought that when Mom spoke of dining out, it would inevitably be at a Michelin-starred restaurant where a meal costs thousands and a bottle of wine tens of thousands. Travel would certainly be by plane, and strictly first class at that. As for gifts, they would undoubtedly be various luxury goods. By that measure, it was indeed a considerable expense.

Luo Fu was chatting with Tiedan while holding her cat when she looked up and saw Sima Chao walking into the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back.

Sima Chao finally fell silent, but he did not leave, opting instead to lie down on the bed.

It seemed that forcibly taking on such a high-difficulty research commission had indeed placed a burden upon them.

"Uncle, I toast to you. My father said that from now on, I am half a son to you; if you ever need anything, just come to me." Su Mingming clinked his glass against his uncle's.

Xu Moyan could not hear a word of it; assuming Su Mo was trying to struggle, he grabbed her by the arm and flung her onto the bed.

The village chief signaled for everyone to stop, then said to Gu Yi and the others, "Though we travel a thousand miles together, we must eventually part. I wish you boundless prospects. Take care." With that, he bowed to bid them farewell.

The Princess’s wild spending spree even prompted the chief manager of the Fan Tower to personally escort the Mountain Puppet Princess to her carriage.

Jun Mochen, standing tall as a pine, his presence commanding the world with a disdainful gaze, was the one truly in control, the one who held the upper hand.

The RNG team seized the opportunity to quickly engage the Master; the members of the White Phoenix Pear team resurrected one after another, but none dared to approach to steal the objective. Only Galo fired an arrow from a distance toward the Master, as if leaving it to luck.

Pei Shangqian naturally appeared graceful and gentle, though those eyes lacked the vivacity she displayed on set, carrying instead a hint of her usual dullness.

Mo Ran supported Yue Qing. Feng Qing wanted to help his own silly girl, who was already drunk, but Mo Ran refused him.

He hated it—he hated Wang Caiqi’s sudden change, hated her cold, domineering nature that had made him fall hopelessly in love with her, and hated her resolute temperament even more. If not for that, he might not have ended up in such a state.

***

Because she would forever remain thirty-six, no one would ever have the chance to witness her growing old. Thus, in everyone’s memory, she would never be an old lady; she would always be that sexy, alluring enchantress.

Fu Sang crouched down, reaching out to touch the putrid corpse while performing an appraisal in her mind.

Hearing this, the old locust tree obediently lowered Du Feng to the ground and released the branches that had been pinning him. Du Feng rolled his eyes and prepared to relieve himself. In an instant, the old tree’s drunken gaze fixed on the bottom, staring longingly at a protrusion on Du Feng’s body.

Yu Wuxia lifted her robes and sat beside the green-eyed old man, directly across from Hua Xuanji and her son. She gave a helpless, bitter smile as she watched the old man stuffing his mouth with steamed buns.

The expressions of Qin Jiyong and the others turned strange, but when they considered Wang Nuo’s investments in charity, they could only give a thumbs up.

Luo Yuntian’s mother and grandmother sat down beside Tang Yaxin, and the others took their seats in the hospital room as well.

People like her could not simply go to a hospital. If word got out that Qin Qinlan had been hospitalized for poisoning, it would likely cause an earthquake across the entire Magic City.

The Empress took a look, then traced a gesture in the air. All the information began to converge, forming an animation that began to play automatically.

Tuoba Yu pondered; he had indeed been thinking of Qiao Mingyue constantly. Moreover, Yun Ling possessed considerable ability, and with her help, things would likely be much easier.

But such an invitation was hard to decline. Putting other factors aside, Qin Jiyong’s status as a guest professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics was enough to keep Wang Nuo firmly in check.

She had heard of Yuanhong Industrial, as her husband had been running to that company for days.

Up ahead, Gu Qinghuan and He Yue continued their own conversation, He Yue responding to Gu Qinghuan with great enjoyment.

Things in her heart began to clarify, but only when Bai Yan’s grip tightened did she snap back to reality. What time was it? How could she be thinking about such irrelevant things?

In a way, he had wronged the old man; he had only added the restriction because he was afraid Chen Tian would wander off.

***

Mo Qiwei felt very embarrassed. She had already troubled her advisor enough abroad, and she never expected to have to trouble him again upon returning home.

Gu Qi immediately complied, releasing his chains to form a shield. He waited specifically for the Mad Horse to disappear before moving, but he was just a split second too late. The chain shield was struck, causing it to explode into thousands of chain-link fragments.

She thought she had entered the password incorrectly, so she put down her things and tried again, carefully, but the system still prompted that the password was wrong.

Dean Bai, standing to the side, saw Shui Wuling leave, his expression softening slightly. The Shui family’s coercion of King Kuangwu was a perfect opportunity for the Imperial Family to win over the family behind him. After all, the Shui family was notoriously insubordinate, and isolating them was the best course of action.

At this moment, the transportation Yan Qingcheng had in mind was lying diagonally on a branch extending from a large tree opposite her, though one could not detect a hint of exhaustion on that handsome face.

"About how far away?" Gu Qi said, using his chains to tear apart the clothes and backpack he had taken off.

Although she was long accustomed to such behavior from him, it was nonetheless embarrassing to be in front of so many people. Knowing he would not listen even if she spoke up, she simply lowered her head, remaining silent.

For the Peach Fur Beast King, this was also true; the arrows fired from afar had lost most of their force, so the King easily blocked them with its sharp claws, batting the arrows shot by Haitang aside.

Fengyin City was the gathering place of the four great families and the location of the largest auction house in the Wind Spirit Kingdom, making the city even more prosperous than the capital itself.

"Hard to say. In any case, stay behind me. Don't act rashly; let’s observe for a while first," Wu Fei said, taking the peach-wood sword back from my hand.

As I hurried out, I wondered whether my feelings for Han Rong were those of a friend, a lover, or perhaps a backup. I could never figure out exactly how I felt about her; I wanted to let go, but I couldn't bear to. I wanted something to happen, but I didn't dare.