Chapter 34: Unexpected "Guest"

Chapter 34: An Unexpected "Guest"

Leaving the meeting room, Yuan Ting let out a breath, instantly feeling the pressure lighten.

This young master of the Fu family, whether in terms of his personal rank or his illustrious lineage, was someone others could not hope to match. When facing him, one often felt the pressure of confronting a superior, rather than simply viewing him as a rich second-generation heir.

Yuan Ting's gaze swept over two bunny girls passing by, both in their early twenties, with curvaceous figures and pretty faces. There were seven or eight bunny girls in the villa, each one a beauty.

Though surrounded by a bevy of beauties, Yuan Ting knew that this young master from a noble family was not interested in women.

Compared to the beginning, the bunny girls in the villa had already been replaced twice. Those recruited girls, thinking they had a chance to rise from obscurity to glory, could not restrain their restless hearts and tried to seduce the Fu family's young master.

All of them were dismissed.

Now the girls remaining in the villa were very obedient, quietly doing their work, and no longer harbored unrealistic thoughts.

The bunny girls in the villa were like a kind of status display, or perhaps a personal idiosyncrasy of Fu Qingyang.

Leaving the villa, he got into his personal car. Yuan Ting savored the contents of today's meeting. He first reported the important intelligence, such as the death of the Ghost Eye Judge, back to the Taiyi Sect.

After finishing the official business, he sent a message to his friend Jian Ji:

"A huge incident has occurred in Songhai. The Ghost Eye Judge is dead, and his trusted subordinate, the Black Impermanence, has gone into hiding with the Holy Grail and the register…"

Jian Ji: "I'm stunned speechless. The Ghost Eye Judge just died so inexplicably? It's like waking up one morning to find a certain country has been erased from the map."

The two exchanged sighs and then worried about what would happen if the degenerates recorded in the register should act collectively in space and time, and so forth.

Jian Ji: "What else?"

There was indeed something. That night wanderer who cleared the Sheling Tunnel had just killed a Level 3 Corrupting Fiend... But he couldn't say this; if it got out, Elder Sun would kill him.

Yuan Ting's expression twisted for a moment as he typed the message:

"There's another piece of news. Keep it to yourself, don't spread it around. Elder Sun is so foolish, that night wanderer he gave up…"

…

In a dark bedroom in Songhai.

The light was off. The only source of light was three candles on the table, arranged in a triangle. In the center was a red lacquered box, on which was a strange insect relief on the lid.

A figure in a silver mask sat kneeling by the table, using a small knife to cut his fingertip, from which crimson blood oozed.

He brought the blood-stained finger to the mouth of the insect relief. The insect came to life, greedily suckling the blood, and the lacquer of the box turned even more scarlet.

Woo... wind suddenly rose. The candles took on a bloody hue, and crimson flames shot up high, forming a bloody vortex above the box.

"What is it?"

From the vortex of red flames came a cold and majestic voice.

"I have released the bait as you instructed. The Five Elements Society will search for the Black Impermanence with all their might. Only, I cannot guarantee that the Black Impermanence will remain hidden in Songhai."

The majestic voice said slowly, "I have divined that the Black Impermanence is in Songhai. He must have a purpose for hiding here. The exact reason still awaits verification."

"What else do you need from me?"

"Cooperate covertly with the Five Elements Society in their search for the Black Impermanence. Notify me immediately if there's news. During this time, I will be in the Spirit Realm and may not be able to respond promptly."

"Do you have a mission?"

"No, I am searching for the place where the Ghost Eye Judge fell. Coincidentally, I encountered the one from the Taiyi Sect. Hah, the death of the Ghost Eye Judge indeed has deeper inner machinations…"

The voice gradually faded, and the vortex formed by the blood-red flames extinguished.

…

"Dong, dong…"

Two knocks on the door, and Grandmother's voice came into the bedroom: "Yuanzi, it's time for dinner."

Her tone carried a hint of lightness, as if she was in a good mood.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes. The bedroom was pitch black; the curtains blocked out the light from outside.

So comfortable. The daytime exertion had finally been recuperated. Too bad the moon was rarely visible in Songhai; otherwise basking in the moonlight would have been perfect... Zhang Yuanqing yawned, put on his cotton slippers, turned the doorknob, and came to the living room.

A rich aroma wafted into his nostrils. The dining table was laden with dishes: sweet and sour pork, red-braised pork, roast duck, black chicken soup, asparagus, spring bamboo shoots, and more.

Grandmother, in an apron, was bustling between the living room and the kitchen.

The older cousin was helping in the kitchen.

On the living room sofa sat Grandfather with graying hair, sitting upright, absorbed in watching television.

At the dining table sat a middle-aged couple, who were Zhang Yuanqing's uncle and aunt.

The aunt had delicate features and fair skin. Though she was past her prime, she was well-preserved. She wore a white waist-cinching long dress, her hair cascading in waves, with a hint of petulance between her brows.

The man beside the aunt bore quite a resemblance to Chen Yuanjun in features. He wore a purple suit, purple slimming pants, and a rose-colored shirt, looking as flashy as a nightclub playboy—no, a nightclub old master.

Zhang Yuanqing's uncle was unreliable. In his youth, he played in a band, saying he wanted to chase dreams and longed for poetry and distance. So he packed his bags, wore bell-bottoms, and ran away from home with a few like-minded friends to become a wandering singer.

A few years later, he didn't find his dream and returned battered and bruised by society. He didn't go to work either; every day he carried his tape recorder and acted like a street punk, dancing wherever he went, either singing karaoke or hanging out with bad friends.

Of course, city kids of that era were all like that; they just fooled around.

Because he was good-looking and sweet-talking, he managed to marry an aunt from a wealthy family. After marriage, he indeed settled down for a few years, but soon after the aunt gave birth to the older cousin, he quickly returned to his true colors.

He was idle all day, anyway not working, just having fun.

"Yuanzi, did you miss your uncle?" The uncle was very happy to see his own protégé.

The uncle liked singing and rapping with dance; his favorite song was "Yoyo check it out, give me a set of jianbing guozi," and he would accompany it with his own dance moves.

At home, besides Zhang Yuanqing, no one was willing to accompany him in rap and cringe dance.

So the uncle valued Zhang Yuanqing highly, seeing him as his heir to the mantle.

"Aunt!" Zhang Yuanqing greeted, then responded perfunctorily to his uncle.

"Your uncle brought you a gift." The uncle said.

"Oh, my uncle, you've finally returned! Why didn't you tell me in advance? If you had told me in advance, I would have definitely picked you up at the airport. God is my witness."

Zhang Yuanqing did a complete about-face in attitude to express his strong emotions.

The uncle and nephew laughed heartily, shaking hands, bumping shoulders, and the uncle put his arm around his protégé's shoulder as they sat down:

"Yuanzi, I was traveling abroad recently and specially went to learn rap skills from black chimpanzees. We should add tongue rolls and lip trills when singing; that will make us look more imposing…"

"I know tongue rolling, but what the heck is lip trembling?" Zhang Yuanqing was dumbfounded. "Amazing! As expected of my uncle, astonishing talent. Uncle, I've been short on pocket money lately."

"No big deal. Your aunt has money; I'll let her give you some later."

Soon, the older cousin and Grandmother brought the last few dishes to the table, calling everyone to eat.

"Why hasn't Little Aunt come back?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"She said there's something at the hospital; she'll be back later." Grandmother replied.

The uncle raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "Something at the hospital? Is she on a date with her boyfriend?"

Grandmother snorted, "Then I'd really thank my lucky stars. Looking at her, she won't marry until she's over 30. What's wrong with young people nowadays? Not a single one wants to get married."

Grandmother was very dissatisfied with these times.

So the uncle said, "Come to think of it, Yuanjun is still single too. Yuanjun, bring your boyfriend home someday for Dad to see."

…

The serious and steady eldest cousin was taken aback: "What?"

Uncle shrugged, "You're already thirty, not even a girlfriend, so your dad can only hope for a boyfriend."

As soon as he said that, Grandmother rolled up her sleeves to kill Uncle.

"Mom, Mom, I was just joking." Uncle quickly stopped her, "How can you have no sense of humor? Now it's all about pairing up men, young people really like this sort of thing."

Aunt lowered her head and ate in silence.

Her relationship with her mother-in-law was not good; there had never been many harmonious mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships in the world.

Grandmother was hot-tempered, Aunt was strong-willed; one complained that the daughter-in-law couldn't do housework, the other complained that the mother-in-law meddled too much.

When Zhang Yuanqing was still young, Aunt and Grandmother often quarreled. Whenever they started, Auntie would crack sunflower seeds and watch the show from the sidelines.

Zhang Yuanqing, on the other hand, would mediate, saying "Please stop arguing!" while taking sunflower seeds from Auntie's hand.

Cousin usually did his homework while snacking on Auntie's sunflower seeds.

Now Aunt had passed her energetic youth and couldn't be bothered to argue with Grandmother anymore, but the relationship remained lukewarm.

Just then, Cousin looked over and said, "I heard something happened at your school today?"

"Ah? I don't know, I came back early to sleep..." Zhang Yuanqing pretended to be deaf and dumb.

Grandmother eagerly asked what it was. Chen Yuanjun gave a brief explanation. Hearing that criminals had infiltrated the school, Grandmother became even more dissatisfied with the state of the world.

As they were talking, a "beep" came from the security door, and then the handle turned.

Zhang Yuanqing, sitting at the end near the entrance, turned his head and saw that it was Auntie returning.

Auntie was dressed today in an off-shoulder openwork sweater, revealing her round, fair shoulders, paired with a black vest, light white jeans suitable for spring and summer, and a pair of white sneakers.

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze stopped at her calves, and his eyes suddenly sharpened.

On Jiang Yu'er's calf hung a plump little baby.

...