Chapter 34: Unexpected "Guest"

 Chapter 34: Unexpected "Guest"

Leaving the conference room, Yuan Ting let out a sigh of relief, feeling the pressure lift off his shoulders. The young master from the Fu family was beyond reach in terms of both status and illustrious family background. Facing him often brought a sense of pressure as if dealing with someone superior, rather than just a rich second-generation. Yuan Ting's gaze swept past two bunny girls walking by his side, both in their early twenties, curvaceous and attractive. There were about seven or eight bunny girls in the villa, each one a beauty. Although surrounded by so many beautiful women, Yuan Ting knew that this scion of the wealthy family had no interest in them.

Compared to the beginning, the group of bunny girls in the villa had changed twice. Those girls who were recruited thought they had the chance to become phoenixes perching on a branch, unable to suppress their excitement and attempting to seduce the young master of the Fu family. However, they were all advised to leave. Now, the girls remaining in the villa were well-behaved and no longer entertained any unrealistic ideas. The bunny girls in the villa seemed to be a display of status or perhaps a personal preference of Fu Qingyang.

Leaving the villa and getting into his private car, Yuan Ting reviewed the content of today's meeting. He first reported the important information about the death of the "Crafty Eye Judge" to the Taiyi Sect. After finishing his official duties, he sent a message to his friend Jian Ji.

"Something big happened in Songhai. The 'Crafty Eye Judge' is dead, and his right-hand man, Black Impermanence, has taken the Holy Grail and the registry into hiding..."

Jian Ji replied, "I'm so shocked that I can't even speak. The 'Crafty Eye Judge' died just like that? It's like waking up one day to find that a country has disappeared."

The two of them exchanged their feelings and then discussed how to deal with the fallen individuals recorded in the registry if they were to collectively go out of control.

Jian Ji asked, "Is there anything else?"

Yuan Ting hesitated for a moment, then typed a message, "There is one more piece of news, just listen to it and don't spread it around. Elder Sun is really confused. The Night Wanderer he didn't want..."

......

Songhai, in a dark bedroom.

The lights were off, and the only source of light was three candles placed in a triangular formation on the table. In the center was a red lacquer box with a strange-looking insect carved on its surface.

A figure wearing a silver mask knelt at the table and used a small knife to cut his fingertip, and crimson blood oozed out.

He brought the bloodstained finger close to the carved insect's mouth, and the insect came to life, greedily sucking the blood. The lacquer on the box turned even more scarlet.

Woo... A gust of wind blew, and the candles took on a blood-red hue. The crimson flames leaped high, forming a blood-colored vortex above the wooden box.

"What's the matter?"

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

"I've followed your orders and released the bait. The Five Elements Alliance is searching for Black Impermanence at all costs, but I cannot guarantee that he will remain hidden in Songhai," said the figure in a submissive tone.

The majestic voice replied slowly, "I have divined that Black Impermanence is indeed in Songhai, and he must have a purpose for hiding there. The specific reasons are yet to be verified."

"What else do you need me to do?"

"Covertly cooperate with the Five Elements Alliance in searching for Black Impermanence. Notify me immediately if there's any news. During this time, I'll be in the spirit realm and might not respond promptly."

"Do you have a mission?"

"No, I am searching for the place of the Crafty Eye Judge's demise. Interestingly, I happened to encounter that person from the Taiyi Sect. Ha, the death of the Crafty Eye Judge indeed has deeper secrets..." The voice gradually trailed off, and the blood-colored vortex formed by the flames dissipated.

......

"Knock, knock..."

The sound of knocking came twice, and Grandmother's voice came into the bedroom, "Yuanzi, it's time for dinner." Her tone carried a hint of cheerfulness, seemingly in a good mood.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes; the bedroom was pitch-dark as the curtains blocked the outside light.

Feeling refreshed after compensating for the daytime exhaustion, he thought it would have been perfect to bask in the moonlight if only there were a moon in Songhai. Zhang Yuanqing yawned, put on his cotton slippers, twisted the doorknob, and entered the living room.

A rich aroma filled his nostrils; the dining table was full of dishes like sweet and sour pork, braised pork, roast duck, black chicken soup, asparagus, and bamboo shoots, among others.

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

Cousin was helping in the kitchen.

Grandfather, with gray hair, sat on the living room sofa with a straight posture, engrossed in watching TV.

Sitting at the dining table were a middle-aged couple, Zhang Yuanqing's uncle and aunt.

Aunt had beautiful features and fair skin. 

Although she was approaching middle age, she maintained herself quite well. She wore a white long dress with a waist cincher, and her wavy hair cascaded down, exuding a charming air.

The man next to Zhang Yuanqing's aunt bore a striking resemblance to Chen Yuan. He was dressed in a purple suit, purple fitted trousers, and a rose-colored shirt, exuding a flashy aura like that of a nightclub young master, no, a nobleman.

Zhang Yuanqing's uncle was an unreliable person. When he was young, he played in a band, claiming to pursue his dreams and long for poetry and distant lands. So, he left home with a backpack and bell-bottom pants, along with a few "like-minded" friends, to become a wandering singer. Several years later, his dreams unfulfilled and battered by society, he returned, but he refused to work, spending his days as a hanger-on, carrying a cassette player and performing wherever he pleased, singing karaoke or hanging out with his buddies.

Of course, in those days, most young people in the city lived like this—just hanging around.

Because he was good-looking and had a smooth tongue, he managed to marry Zhang Yuanqing's aunt, who came from a well-off family. After marrying her and having their son (Zhang Yuanqing's cousin), he did try to settle down for a few years. However, he soon reverted to his old ways.

He lazed around all day, never working, just playing around.

"Yuanzi, have you missed your uncle?" Zhang Yuanqing's uncle saw his heir apparent and became very happy.

Zhang Yuanqing's uncle enjoyed singing and dancing rap. His favorite song was "Yo Yo Che Naos," and he would perform his self-choreographed dance.

Apart from Zhang Yuanqing, no one in the family wanted to accompany him in his singing and dancing.

So, Zhang Yuanqing's uncle valued him as his successor.

"Auntie!" Zhang Yuanqing greeted and then gave a perfunctory response to his uncle.

"Uncle brought you a gift." Zhang Yuanqing's uncle said.

"Oh, my uncle, you're finally back! Why didn't you tell me in advance? If you had informed me, I would have definitely come to the airport to pick you up. God will bear witness to my words," Zhang Yuanqing's attitude took a sudden turn to express his strong emotions.

The uncle and nephew shook hands and bumped shoulders while the uncle put his arm around Zhang Yuanqing's shoulder and took a seat.

"Yuanzi, I've been traveling abroad recently and specially learned rap skills from chimpanzees. When we sing, we should incorporate tongue-twisting and lip-trilling to make it more imposing..." Zhang Yuanqing was familiar with tongue-twisting but had no idea what lip-trilling was. He looked stunned and speechless, "Impressive! No wonder you're my uncle. You're gifted! By the way, uncle, I'm running short on pocket money recently."

"No problem, your aunt has money. I'll ask her to give you some later."

Soon, Zhang Yuanqing's cousin and grandmother brought the remaining dishes and invited everyone to start eating.

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

"Got something to do at the hospital, so I'll be back later," Grandma replied.

Uncle raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Something at the hospital? Is she going on a date with her boyfriend?"

Grandma snorted, "I wish that were the case. Look at her, she won't get married before she's 30. Nowadays, young people, what's wrong with them? Almost none of them want to get married."

Grandma was very dissatisfied with the state of the world. Uncle said, "Speaking of which, Yuan Jun is still single. Yuan Jun, bring your boyfriend home sometime and let dad take a look."

Serious and steady cousin was taken aback, "What?"

Uncle shrugged, "You're already 30 and still don't have a girlfriend, so dad can only look forward to a boyfriend."

As soon as the words were spoken, Grandma rolled up her sleeves, ready to punish her son.

"Mom, mom, I was just kidding," Uncle quickly stopped her. "Why don't you have any sense of humor? Nowadays, it's trendy to ship male couples. Young people really like this kind of thing."

Aunt kept her head down and continued eating without saying a word.

Her relationship with her mother-in-law was not good, as it is uncommon to have a harmonious relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Grandma had a fiery temper, and Aunt had a strong personality. One found fault with her daughter-in-law for not doing housework, and the other found fault with her mother-in-law for interfering too much.

When Zhang Yuanqing was still young, Aunt and Grandma often argued, and when they started fighting, Aunt would chew on melon seeds and watch the show. Zhang Yuanqing would try to mediate and say, "Stop fighting, come on!" while taking the melon seeds from Aunt's hands.

Cousin usually studied while munching on Aunt's melon seeds.

Now that Aunt's fiery temper has subsided with age, she is no longer willing to quarrel with her mother-in-law, but their relationship remains lukewarm.

At this moment, cousin looked over and asked, "I heard something happened at your school today?"

"Ah? I don't know. I came back early and went to sleep..." Zhang Yuanqing pretended not to know.

Grandma asked in a hurry what happened, and Chen Yuan briefly explained that there were criminals who infiltrated the school, making Grandma even more dissatisfied with the state of the world.

As they were talking, they heard the sound of the anti-theft door ringing, followed by the handle being turned.

Sitting at the far end, close to the entrance, Zhang Yuanqing turned his head and saw his aunt coming in.

Aunt was dressed today in a one-shoulder hollowed-out sweater, revealing her smooth and fair fragrant shoulders. She wore a black vest inside and light white jeans, a pair of white shoes on her feet.

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

On Jiang Yu's calf, there hung a round, chubby baby.