Seeing your grin with those four front teeth showing, the elders in the room all laughed. Even the senior military officer couple did too, they knew Xian Qianling’s temperant all too well, since she couldn’t be their daughter-in-law, she might as well be their daughter. After all, they had watched Xian Qianling grow up, and she was no different to them than their own daughter.
Before the colonel left, he added, "My na is Lu Tiejun, and I work with the Special Police Force. If you ever have any trouble, you can co to—huh?"
Lu Tiejun seed to have noticed sothing, pointing to the electronic watch on your left wrist, he said with a surprised look, "Isn’t this electronic watch a mark of the Chu Sect? Are you with the Chu Sect?"
Everyone present was a bona fide high-society figure, and even if they were not very familiar with the Chu Sect, they had all heard of it. The mont they heard you had a connection with the Chu Sect, they looked at you with even more curiosity.
"He was brought into the Chu Sect by Du Qingming," Xian Qianling added.
This ti, the way everyone looked at you changed again, especially the silver-haired old man, who looked at you as if you were his own grandson.
Only then did they understand why you had said earlier that you returned from a mission with Xian Qianling. Xian Qianling briefly described to everyone what had happened, and Lu Tiejun, who had been ready to leave, promptly sat down next to you, slapped you on the shoulder, and said, "Brother-in-law, well done!"
"Who’s your brother-in-law, stop calling that!" you were unhappy right away. If that crazy woman really tangled up with you, forget living past twenty, you’d probably have soone visiting your grave by next Qingming.
"I was the scapegoat pulled in by that crazy woman; this won’t do, I have to make up for this."
With that, you picked up your chopsticks and buried your head in eating. After all, you couldn’t get these delicacies outside—the ingredients were of high quality, the cooking superb, it would be a waste not to eat!
Although everyone was from the upper class, all present in the room had a forthright and honest nature, lacking those nauseating convolutions. Instead, your directness and ravenous eating attracted the laughter of the elders, especially Xian Qianling’s mother, a female writer who remained one of the few Nobel Laureates in literature in the country. She possessed a unique intellectual aura and looked at you with particularly tender eyes, as if she saw her own child, warm and content.
"Co on, Mu Yun, eat so more."
You see, this was already the third ti she had offered you food.
Eat!
Just eat!
At any rate, you had already made up your mind that the next ti you encountered the crazy woman, you would run. As long as you didn’t see each other again, she probably wouldn’t be able to do anything about you.
Besides, you were well aware that you were just putting on a show for the elders. Once the banquet was over, everyone would go their separate ways.
Xian Qianling’s father obviously wasn’t in the mood to chat and laugh with the others; he had been frowning slightly all along. After a long pondering, he finally spoke to the silver-haired old man, "Dad, the curse you ntioned earlier, is it about the male heirs of the direct line dying by the age of twenty?"
Mayor Xian’s words broke the rry atmosphere, and everyone turned to look at the silver-haired old man.
The old man nodded and sighed, "Yes, that’s what the old platoon leader told . Knowing he wouldn’t live long, he fought more fiercely than anyone. I rember that one ti he took us on a raid to capture a ’tongue’ (Note 1) from the Aricans’ camp. We were discovered by the enemy, and to cover us, he fought them off with just his gun. By the ti he ca back, he had been shot at least five tis and had brought back a high-value prisoner..."
The silver-haired old man’s eyes welled up with tears once more.
"That was the last ti I saw the old platoon leader. After that, he was moved to the rear because of the severity of his injuries and was brought back ho for treatnt."
You had actually heard about this from your fortune-telling mother. Your grandfather had no other options; he was less than a year away from turning twenty and had to get married to continue the Old Li Family line. That’s why he risked it all on that occasion, storming into the deep waters alone, bringing back an Arican mid-level officer at the cost of six bullet wounds.
It took about three months back ho for your grandfather’s injuries to sowhat heal, albeit leaving plenty of aftereffects. But at the ti, he had no mind for those and promptly reported to his unit before returning ho to get married.
Your grandparents were childhood sweethearts who had grown up together, and their affection for each other was deep.
Especially your grandmother, who knew full well that her husband wouldn’t live past twenty and that she would beco a widow within half a year of marriage, yet she resolutely followed your grandfather.
"So, what about Mu Yun?"
Xian Qianling’s mother’s originally gentle face involuntarily revealed a trace of worry. It’s said that the more a mother-in-law sees her son-in-law, the more pleased she becos. It seems she really considers you her future son-in-law.
"Oh, ? No worries, I’ve already changed my fate."
You responded offhandedly. To be honest, you didn’t know if your fate had truly changed, but at least from the current state of your body, things appeared to have significantly improved.
From childhood to adulthood, you had always lived under the shadow of this curse. Although you never ntioned it, it was sothing that deeply concerned you.
Regarding this curse, you had been terrified, but now you were more curious. You really wanted to know, what form it would take when it descended.
Was it a heavenly calamity?
Or a manmade disaster?
You didn’t know any of this. What you needed to do now was to beco stronger!
Hearing what you said, the crowd couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. They had just learned from Xian Qianling that you seed to be skilled in Taoism, so they felt sowhat more confident.
However, their reactions didn’t matter much to you. With a full stomach and Xian Qianling’s objective achieved, you found an excuse and left the private room amid laughter.
Xian Qianling followed you out.
"Why are you following ?" As soon as you saw Xian Qianling, you involuntarily took several steps back. You knew for the safety of your life, you must stay far away from this crazy woman!
Xian Qianling didn’t respond to your words but instead asked, "Where are you going? I’ll take you."
"No, definitely not! I’ll go by myself,"
With that, you turned and quickly walked away.
Xian Qianling simply stood there, watching your figure disappear into the distance...
When you left the restaurant, you noticed it was already past nine o’clock. The streets were sparsely populated, with only a few people here and there, all hurrying ho.
At the bus stop, you checked the titable and found that the last bus to the school was still available. You couldn’t help but inwardly sigh at your good fortune.
While waiting for the bus, you noticed two girls approaching from a distance, one tall and familiar-looking. Just as you decided to take a closer look, you heard them talking.
"Co on, Fan Yi, just agree to it. They just want to et you once, that’s all."
"It’s too late. Not possible."
Indeed, it was Fan Yi. You hadn’t expected to encounter these two here.
However, there was a marked difference in their attire. Fan Yi was dressed as she usually was, in a white shirt and faded jeans, while the friend beside her, whom you had seen a couple of tis but couldn’t be bothered to rember her na, was fashionably dressed. Although you didn’t know much about won’s brand clothing, at a glance, it must have cost at least a thousand, a rather extravagant sum for a girl from a rural area.
"Fan Yi! If you don’t agree, I’ll just stay here and not leave!"
Fan Yi’s friend suddenly stopped and turned her head away, refusing to look at her.
In front of others, Fan Yi couldn’t reveal much emotion, but her hesitation and uncertainty beca apparent. Just as she was about to give in, a very familiar voice ca from behind, "If you don’t want to leave, then don’t. How about sleeping here for the night?"
Note 1: "Grabbing the tongue" refers to the action of scouts sneaking into enemy territory and capturing enemy personnel to gather inside information.
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