Chapter 526: The Star Sky Empress Is No Fool
"Fu Jia Fruit Supermarket."
This was a shop located less than fifty ters to the left, just outside the community gate. It wasn’t very large. On regular days, only the owner and a young clerk worked there, with the owner’s wife occasionally coming over to help. The owner was an old resident of the community and quite good at business, with excellent salesmanship. Most nearby residents purchased their fruit here. Additionally, there was a counter outside the store selling drinks, candy, and the like. During sumr, a freezer would be added, selling ice creams and cold drinks too. This was just the kind of small shop you would see on any street.
Since Chen Nuo wasn’t ho, and Ou Xiuhua’s work schedule was irregular, the everyday shopping was left to Lu Xixi. Lu Xixi stopped by almost every other day to buy candy that the children at ho liked, and occasionally so fruit. As a frequent custor, she had beco acquainted with the shop owner couple. Besides, with the Star Sky Empress’s exceptionally striking looks and her frequent visits, it was impossible for the couple to forget her even if they wanted to.
The note with "enemy" was found this morning. After dropping off the children at school, Lu Xixi had returned and bought so oranges from the store. She hadn’t noticed anything at the ti. It was only when she got ho that she saw one of the oranges had been torn open, with a small, rolled-up note stuffed inside. Upon opening it, she saw the two words: "Enemy present."
Having spent many years in the Underground World, despite having a sowhat airheaded nature, the Star Sky Empress wasn’t foolish enough to consider this a re coincidence. A note stuffed inside an orange ant at least three things.
First, the adversary had obviously been observing her in secret. They knew she frequently bought fruit and, specifically, that she often bought oranges!
Second, the adversary had determined her usual ti for visiting the store! Thus, they had managed to sneakily tamper with the oranges just before her arrival. The timing couldn’t have been too early. If it were, soone else might have purchased the tampered oranges before Lu Xixi, rendering the adversary’s efforts pointless.
Third, it was even possible that the adversary was located nearby, secretly scrutinizing her movents for quite so ti.
After discovering the secret ssage in the orange at ho, Lu Xixi made no commotion. Instead, she went about her day as usual, doing what she needed to do. Even when the three little girls ca to visit, she didn’t show the slightest hint of anything unusual.
It wasn’t until the afternoon, after sending everyone else in the house away, that Lu Xixi sat down for a drink of water before leisurely leaving her ho.
When she reached the fruit store at the entrance of the community, Lu Xixi chatted casually with the owner’s wife, who was minding the store. She pretended to select a few pounds of grapes.
The owner’s wife was very enthusiastic. Firstly, Lu Xixi was incredibly pretty, and good-looking people are naturally likable. Secondly, Lu Xixi was the kind of premium custor every shop owner loves—she never haggled and preferred to buy the more expensive fruits.
Moreover, the owner’s wife had a heart for Bagua. After becoming familiar with Lu Xixi, she would often chat about dostic life, as she liked to inquire about Lu Xixi’s family affairs.
"Are you married? What does your husband do? Where are you from?"
Normally, Lu Xixi wouldn’t engage in such Bagua chatter and would leave shortly after politely concluding her purchase. Today, however, she intentionally lingered, chit-chatting with the owner’s wife for a few minutes. Then, she casually broached the topic of the store’s business that morning—had it been good, were there many custors, and so on.
Eventually, she learned sothing she wanted to know.
When the owner’s wife complained about the poor business in the morning, she ntioned incidentally that just before Lu Xixi ca to buy oranges, two custors had visited the store. These two custors had made a strong impression on the owner’s wife.
They were a man and a woman. The woman was tall and wore a hat and a down jacket. She was dressed in what the owner’s wife considered a very fashionable manner, and her clothing looked expensive. The high-collared down jacket was paired with large sunglasses, making her face difficult to discern.
The man’s characteristics were very distinct; he was robust and tall—like Schwarzenegger from the movies.
"’Standing in front of you, he was like a mountain.’ —Those were the owner’s wife’s exact words."
Moreover, when these two custors ca in, the woman clearly wasn’t very interested. She just stood by the door, idly looking at the cigarettes and snacks at the counter. It was the man who walked into the store, looked over the fruit, picking and choosing for a while, and eventually bought a box of oranges. The woman bought a pack of cigarettes—foreign ones, Marlboros.
Lu Xixi specifically asked; the woman’s features weren’t very clear, but the man had a Huaxia face. Also, both of them had a distinct scent of perfu on them.
The owner’s wife’s Bagua nature also provided her judgnt: these two obviously weren’t a couple. Although they walked side by side, there was no affection between them.
After getting the information, Lu Xixi left with a smile, taking the grapes with her.
Standing at the entrance of the community and thinking it over, Lu Xixi didn’t head ho. Instead, carrying the bag of grapes, she strolled leisurely to a noodle shop at the community gate. It was the sa one that Boss Guo used to run—though it had changed hands by now.
Lu Xixi walked in and chose the table closest to the outside, facing the street. She casually ordered a bowl of wontons, then opened the bag of grapes. Leisurely picking a few, she skillfully peeled them with her slender fingers and popped one into her mouth. Her eyes narrowed, and she casually gazed across the street.
I can be certain of one thing, Lu Xixi thought. The person spying on in secret isn’t using spiritual power to probe. With my strength, if soone had been using spiritual power to spy on , there’s absolutely no way I could have remained unaware. Since I didn’t notice anything, they were probably using a line-of-sight thod, like direct observation, or a telescope, or sothing similar. They know my routine of going to the fruit shop... So, judging by the likely vantage point, they’re probably in one of the buildings directly across the street. A quick visual scan... across the street, suitable spots for observing the fruit shop... there are about six or seven residential buildings, all older complexes.
If she were to investigate, with Lu Xixi’s capabilities, it wouldn’t be difficult. Enveloped by spiritual power, she could release nurous Spiritual Force Tentacles and conduct a thorough search, rendering everything in the area exposed.
But Lu Xixi didn’t do that.
Because this thod of stuffing a note into an orange... it’s a bit peculiar, she mused. According to the owner’s wife, the one who touched the oranges was that tall, burly man. This person probably ans well. But if he ans well, why not warn directly? He knows where I live, even my daily routine... Getting my phone number wouldn’t be hard. A simple phone call to warn would do, right? If he didn’t want to expose himself... he didn’t need to do sothing as complicated as stuffing a note in an orange. When no one was looking, he could have co to my building and slipped a note into my mailbox. That wouldn’t be hard either. Going to my regular fruit shop to stuff a note in an orange—it’s discreet, sure, but isn’t it unnecessarily convoluted? Unless... he couldn’t warn directly! Or rather... soone was watching him, so he couldn’t reveal his intention to warn ? Hmm, the owner’s wife said he had a companion, a woman. So, he has at least one companion, possibly more. He couldn’t call, couldn’t text, couldn’t co to my building and put a note directly in my mailbox. He had to resort to this seemingly unnecessary act of stuffing a note into an orange at the fruit shop—it wasn’t to avoid *my* detection! He was afraid his *companions* would notice! And the note only had two words, ’Enemy present.’ He couldn’t write more information. That must have been the most he could do; he probably didn’t have the space or ti to write anything more. And those two words were very hastily scribbled. Which ans... there’s a group of people targeting , spying on in secret. They probably know my strength, so they don’t dare use spiritual power. Instead, they’re using direct visual observation. It’s a crude thod, but it’s safer and harder for Ability Users like to detect. And in this group, one person is secretly helping . So, I can’t search for them brazenly. That would let them know I’m onto them, and it could expose the person who’s secretly helping . And... this person is tall and burly...
In the ti it took Lu Xixi to finish her bowl of wontons, she quickly pieced together these lines of thought.
Alright... Who said Empress Lu was a fool? She rely has a naturally airheaded and cute disposition, but she’s not dimwitted! When she first arrived in Jinling, to bait the "arsonist with a burning passion," she even set up a few dummy accounts, laying traps that nearly ensnared Chen Nuo. If Chen Nuo hadn’t been so sleazy as to trick Old Jiang into being an unpaid laborer, Lu Xixi might have already caught him back then.
A sneer tugged at Lu Xixi’s lips, while her gaze turned very serious.
So... they know who I am, know my powers are formidable, so they’re using crude thods to spy, trying to avoid my detection. Then... they clearly know I’m the Star Sky Empress, yet they still dare to co after as an enemy. These opponents... are definitely not simple.
Controllers are powerful, but they are also lonely. Soone like the Star Sky Empress, who is among the top ranks of Controllers, has another hidden characteristic: she doesn’t have many enemies. Because not every Tom, Dick, or Harry is qualified to be an enemy or opponent of the Star Sky Empress. To dare provoke a Controller, the opponent must have sothing to rely on. Because if there’s a difference of one whole realm in strength, even a hundred Destroyers wouldn’t be a match for a single Controller.
Therefore, among this group of enemies, there must be opponents capable of contending with my strength, Lu Xixi considered. And probably... more than one! I’m very clear about my strength among humans; I’m already at the pinnacle. Even among Controllers, there aren’t more than three qualified to oppose . One of them is my own husband. So... a wizard?
Lu Xixi furrowed her brow.
Thinking it over, among human Ability Users, only wizards are qualified to take on one-on-one. As for others... if I go all out, they would either flee, or if they stayed to fight to the death, I’m completely confident I could kill them outright! If there’s only one Controller in this group... then coming to provoke is simply courting death. If we face off head-on, I can beat them so badly their own mothers wouldn’t recognize them. Even if there’s a wizard, against , it’s at best a fifty-fifty chance... No, I don’t think even a wizard is a fifty-fifty match for . In a fight to the death, the wizard wouldn’t want to die; he’d most likely run away. So, for them to be confident enough to co after ... they likely have two Controllers. Sa realm, two against one. Only then would they have the confidence to face .
Peeling another grape, she tossed it into her mouth and gracefully knitted her brows.
Hubby, who calls a fool? I’m actually quite clever, you know.
However...
Having deduced that there was more than one Controller lurking with ill intentions, Lu Xixi wouldn’t take the situation lightly. Although the opponent had yet to make a move, and it was unknown what they were waiting for... her family—young and old—was still at ho.
If a fight breaks out, I’ll have to protect my daughter, as well as Chen Nuo’s mother and sister. Battles at the Controller Realm are not sothing Little Candy’s level can intervene in; she wouldn’t be any help. So, I probably can’t handle this alone.
Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts and found a na. Lu Xixi hesitated for a mont. She didn’t dial directly, thinking that since the other party was spying from the shadows, they might have high-tech eavesdropping devices.
Lu Xixi pretended to be casual, flicking a grape with one hand while she idly typed on her phone with the other. She quickly composed a text ssage:
"Need your help. Co to Jinling as fast as you can."
The ssage was sent. A reply ca back swiftly.
"You need my help?"
Lu Xixi thought for a mont then texted back, "Ten million US dollars to help with a fight."
"Your husband can’t take care of it?"
"He’s not at ho."
"Twenty million. I’m short on cash recently. And if you’re asking for my help in a fight, the opponent is definitely a Controller."
"Right. When you co, don’t co straight to my place. Find sowhere nearby to hide and make sure you’re not detected."
"Soone’s been surveilling you in secret?"
"Yes! When can you be here?"
"Tomorrow afternoon—by the way, isn’t tomorrow your Huaxia’s Spring Festival?"
"Co on, I’ll treat you to New Year’s Eve dinner. Oh, and when you co, do sothing for ... like this... and also... hmm..."
"...Making things so complicated? Alright! I want another five million."
"Deal!"
The text exchange ended there, and Lu Xixi glanced at her phone interface. The na marked in her phone’s contact list for the other party was:
[Damn Fine Cookie].
「」
"So she just went out to buy so grapes, then sat there playing with her phone and had a bowl of... what do Chinese people call them? Wontons?" the Wizard rubbed his forehead.
"Yes," Lillian answered coldly.
"She didn’t notice anything?"
"With the Star Sky Empress’s temperant, if she’d noticed anything amiss, do you think she would remain so calm?" Lillian retorted.
"...You’re right. That woman is a lunatic," the Wizard muttered.
In the room, Vanel was sitting in a corner. Watching the two powerful figures converse, he had remained silent. He finally stirred.
From another corner, Davarishi lifted his head, clutching a half-eaten soy-sauce braised pork knuckle. "I think it’s pretty good."
"Shut up and eat your food!" Lillian glared at Davarishi. Vanel, who had stirred monts before, imdiately lowered his head and fell silent again.
"Regardless of where Chen Nuo has gone," the Wizard said, "tomorrow is their Chinese Spring Festival. I hear it’s an incredibly important holiday for them, so I presu he will definitely return ho for it!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)