131-140

"Kill him!"

Those six figures moved after the order, leaving behind afterimages in their wake. Their speed seemed as fast as a ghost's, reaching before Jiang Xiu in a blink of an eye.

"Ignorant!"

Jiang Xiu stood there motionless, letting that punch hit him, but as it neared him, he furrowed his brows, revealing perplexment on his face.

"What's happening?"

He felt the Golden Glyph suffer a little damage. It appeared that these people indeed possessed divine force and his spell was being inhibited by their power.

This was quite an exceptional thing as only lightning-type spells should have worked on him in this state.

Jiang Xiu didn't continue using it when the second attack came over. He dodged their assaults at speed quicker than them.

"How can something like these God's Children exist in this world?"

Only their afterimages flitting past the valley could be seen.

"Behead!"

Jiang Xiu's eyes turned pitch black as he locked his gaze on these silhouettes moving at high speed. A white flash cut them apart before they could even scream.

"Let this Deity see how you look!"

Jiang Xiu stretched his hand and grabbed one of the silhouettes, ripping off the hooded sweatshirt in one go.

"Such a weak body!"

"Behead!"

Jiang Xiu released another sword light to the front which knocked against the silhouette before him, making it explode.

"Third Sword Wave!"

Ccchhheeerr!

The remaining three God's Children were sliced into two halves as well at their waists, the blood forming a line in the sky before they fell down.

"They can't even withstand a single attack. What else have you got?" Jiang Xiu commented.

The man was dejected as he looked at the six dead bodies on the ground. His legs went weak, making him kneel on the spot.

"Y-You…"

"How did you know where they would appear next?"

"Five Directions Divine View! Primary grade Divinity Awakening skill."

"A total of 38 variations of directions. They repeatedly used 8 of the directions while moving so they must have not awakened properly. It also looks like there's something wrong with their mind as they followed a specific sequence each time."

He walked over towards a dead body then pulled off the hoodie.

"Don't look at it!"

The man cried out.

Jiang Xiu naturally ignored him. When he pulled it off, Jiang Xiu was dazed. He checked the next person after that then checked all the bodies one after another.

"H-How can this be possible?"

The people other than those from Bodhi Gene were utterly shocked.

"This is…"

All the dead bodies lacked some or the other body part, an arm or a leg, or had deformed faces. Some were blind, some without ears and some bald. They were all cripples.

Anger flashed through Jiang Xiu's eyes, "What did you do to them?"

"These are your so-called God's Children?"

The man's face was flushed, "Didn't you fight with them just now? Although they are handicapped, they have extraordinary powers. That's God's power."

"If you believe there's no problem with it, why did you cover their appearance?"

"They are just defective goods. One day, we'll perfect them."

"Defective goods?"

Jiang Xiu finally understood the matter, "These people's disability wasn't natural but instead afflicted. The meaning of 'Gene' in Bodhi Gene is finally clear to me. You performed research on them in the divinity gene evolution?"

"That's right!"

"How long have you researched it?"

"For over a hundred years. Right from our Ancestor's age, we have been researching this, improving the strength of these God's Children. In the beginning, they only possessed the strength equivalent to an Inner Strength expert, but now, they can awaken the instincts of Gods."

Jiang Xiu laughed, "Idiots!"

It was noted in history that the divinity evolution had lead to extinction. Jiang Xiu wondered whether these people couldn't understand the lesson from it even if they didn't know the details.

"Call Li Bodhi out!"

"The Ancestor is gone."

"Hah!"

Jiang Xiu smiled faintly, "How can a person who has strived to research the evolution of divinity gene pass away? If he really did, everything here would've halted long ago."

"This Deity will kill you if he doesn't come out."

A sharp voice came through from the depths of the valley at this moment, "Hahaha…

A silhouette left the valley, covering 10 m with each step. The silhouette's movement was quite marvelous. An old man wearing white robes had arrived on the scene within a few breaths.

His hair was disheveled yet his face ruddy, the skin almost as youthful as an infant.

"L-Li Bodhi?"

Gu Dekang had seen his portrait once. The man's appearance was a perfect fit for it.

"That's right. I'm Li Bodhi."

He wore a pleasant spring-like smile on his face, glittering with a radiance, seeming like an oriental god.

"A-Ancestor!"

The disciples of Bodhi Gene were all stunned, kneeling down one after other to pay respects.

"Disciple greets the Ancestor!"

Li Bodhi being alive was a riddle to them as well. They believed that the Ancestor had passed already as he was already nearing 200 years of age.

Everyone was genuinely shocked by his appearance.

Li Bodhi swept his gaze past the area, bitterness flashing through his eyes. They were all the elite of Bodhi Gene, yet Jiang Xiu had massacred them all. "Deity, haven't you acted too ruthlessly?"

"This Deity already explained that this Deity will cripple anyone who dares to enter the army division."

"But they insisted on it and even besieged me."

"Do you think it makes sense for this Deity to let them off?"

Li Bodhi sighed, "I won't get involved in the Gu family's matter, and Bodhi Gene's disciples won't enter the army as well. Is Deity satisfied with this? Since they offended an exalted Demigod, they have paid the price with their life. We shall settle our debts with these. You can follow your path while I will strive to go through mine."

Gu Dekang's face turned ashen after hearing this. His hopes were raised after Li Bodhi had appeared, but he wasn't expecting that this hope would get extinguished so fast, shattered so thoroughly.

The guards beside him became gloomy as well.

Jiang Xiu laughed heartily, "Li Bodhi, did you think this Deity will leave just with this?"

"What does Deity want then?"

"To kill you!"

"Hahaha…" Li Bodhi also laughed out loudly, his hair flying up without any wind, "Does Deity have the confidence to do that? It's possible for the hunter to become prey."

"The one who dies will be you."

"You're too mad."

"No, you're the ignorant one." Jiang Xiu took a paper and brush out then drew on it quickly, pouring spiritual energy into it unceasingly. He threw the talisman towards Li Bodhi after that, "I dare you to look at this talisman. Look thrice, and you shall die for sure!"

"Hahaha…"

"You're saying I'll die if I look at this talisman three times?"

"What's the harm in doing that?!"

He picked up the talisman and looked at it once. He didn't pay much attention to it initially, but after looking at it once, the smile on his face went rigid.

When he looked at it for the second time, his face revealed fear, his complexion turning pale and sight blurry as he got drenched in cold sweat. He almost went crazy.

On the third look, he spouted blood onto the talisman then collapsed to the ground.

"What's happening?"

He fell to the ground and rolled over, losing all signs of life.

"ANCESTOR!"

All the disciples screamed in worry.

"What the…"

The others couldn't believe what they saw.

It was too shocking.

Li Bodhi, who had stood tall like a god for 200 years, died after looking at a talisman thrice. They couldn't comprehend how this was possible.

It was too mysterious!

The man who wore the landowner clothing rushed over to raise Li Bodhi only to see the body withering rapidly.

Jiang Xiu placed his hands behind his back, "Trash!"

The gaze with which everyone looked at Jiang Xiu now was completely different now. They looked at him with even more shocked than what they felt when Li Bodhi had appeared.

This man was like a demonic god!

Jiang Xiu gazed at Gu Dekang, "Senior Official, what will you do now?"

"You… I…"

Gu Dekang's complexion turned pale as he started trembling in fear. His breathing went hoarse, making his stomach churn with regret.

Jiang Xiu had killed even Li Bodhi, so there was no hope left for Gu Dekang's division. He was done for. This time, he had kicked the iron plate, no, it was much worse, he had unearthed a bomb.

If anyone wished to join his division now, they would have to consider whether they are stronger than Li Bodhi first lest they incur the wrath of this demonic god.

"GU DEKANG!"

Gu Dekang's soul almost left his body when he heard that shout. That voice sounded ghastly to him, filling his heart with fear, making his legs weak. The fear overcame him as he faced Jiang Xiu's killing intent. He left behind his identity as the commander of a division and knelt down, kowtowing in a rush.

"Will you dare to look for others?"

He had genuinely accepted defeat. He didn't even dare to resist after witnessing Jiang Xiu's strength. He begged for forgiveness while kowtowing. This was no matter to kid about. The other party could even kill a Demigod with a single talisman.

Jiang Xiu walked towards him with an imposing aura, "This Deity broke your guard's limbs in Xu Rongzhi's former residence, do you accept this?"

"I accept…"

He took another step forward, "This Deity defeated Gu You and caused Luo Yin Sect to retreat, do you accept this?"

"I accept…"

"This Deity slaughtered several men of Bodhi Gene, do you accept this?"

"I accept…"

"This Deity killed Li Bodhi by making him glance at a talisman three times, do you accept this?"

Gu Dekang kowtowed with all this strength, "I accept. I give in. I'm the one who is not worthy. A blockhead like me who insults martial artists simply isn't worthy of them. I was wrong for using my authority with conceit to trample the dignity of martial artists. I beg Mr. Jiang to be magnanimous…"

"So you knew you were in the wrong…"

Gu Dekang trembled all over, not even daring to lift his head up. Jiang Xiu was too frightening. He was scared stiff just from being before him, "Mr. Jiang, I'm neither a member of the martial arts circle or the cultivator circle. Please pardon my life."

Jiang Xiu sneered at Gu Dekang who was bowing before him, "Didn't you pretty savage at Xu Rongzhi's former residence? Didn't you want this Deity to come to greet you? What happened now? Where did all that zeal go to now?"

Gu Dekang's soul almost flew out when he heard this.

He isn't planning to really kill me, right?

"Mr. Jiang, please spare my life… please…"

The guards felt quite complicated emotions as they saw their senior official beg with such a haggard and frightened appearance. They had never seen such an ugly side of his as he usually acted with dignity. It indeed left a bittersweet taste in their mouths.

The irony was that they all labeled Jiang Xiu as a useless child from a wealthy family when they had first seen him, not even putting him into their eyes.

Jiang Xiu's gaze turned sharp, "This Deity never lets those who offend me off lightly. They suffer tenfold to hundredfold times more. Only, as you're Secretary Gu's elder brother, I'll let you live for now."

Phew!

All of them relaxed their breath. They were almost scared to death after hearing the front half of his words.

"I'm grateful to Mr. Jiang for not killing me…" Gu Dekang felt as if his soul had returned, "My Gu family shall accomplish any task for you in the future…"

From his experience, he had already realized that his life was spared because of his younger brother. Jiang Xiu had given face to Secretary Gu. The reason he had done so is that he needed power in the secular world, in other words, he needed the Gu family's resources. They were planning to receive him into Gu family but instead became his lackeys themselves. Only, it wasn't easy to adhere to an existence like Jiang Xiu unless one possessed enough power as he wouldn't even take notice of them.

"Ancestor!"

All the people from Bodhi Gene wept in grief as Li Bodhi's body turned into a pile of bones. Li Bodhi was their spiritual pillar, the faith they held in their hearts. His death also resulted in the collapse of their faith.

A god-like being who had ruled over the east for 200 years had died just like that.

This proved Jiang Xiu's strength!

In fact, Jiang Xiu's current strength was far from enough to instakill him. Li Bodhi was the reason for his own demise. Jiang Xiu had only drawn a talisman of 'Heavenly Wrath Call.'

As Li Bodhi had research into the evolution of the divinity gene, he had circumvented the Heavenly Law and injured the Heavenly Cycle. He had already become an abominable existence and should have suffered Heavenly Wrath already, but his cultivation was too low for the Heavenly Wrath to descend. The talisman Jiang Xiu drew only made a report to the world so that the Heavenly Wrath can descend earlier.

Before receiving the Heavenly Wrath, Li Bodhi had seen the world's rules through the talisman, realizing that his actions have gone against the world. He knew what the consequences for such a thing were.

In fact, whether it is immortal cultivation or divinity cultivation, they were both actions going against heaven. If your cultivation was high enough, you could endure through it or else you wouldn't be able to resist the consequences of doing something far above your ability.

Only Immortal Monarchs could do something like researching the evolution of divinities.

The Heavenly Wrath Call talisman was the most powerful talisman for an immortality cultivator. Everyone was afraid of it, and unless they possessed a method to survive through it, they would suffer massive injuries.

"How many more of these God's Children are present?"

The man who wore the landowner-like clothing didn't wish to reply yet didn't dare to not answer, "A lot more!"

"What's the exact number?"

There was a research base within the valley. The no. of similar experimental goods there amount to over 10,000. Their age ranged from young children to adults to old men and woman. Some of them were successful experiments, but most of them were failures. The six which had come to handle Jiang Xiu was the best samples among them.

"Kill them all, don't even leave a single one alive!"

Jiang Xiu was anxious this man would let a few of them live, "Do you know why Li Bodhi was researching this?"

"For the country."

Jiang Xiu almost laughed out, "He had hit a roadblock on his cultivation and accidentally found a way to research the evolution of divinity. His objective was to create a complete divinity gene and transplant itself to his body to breakthrough."

"This Deity is going to lay it out straight for you. This route is a dead end."

"It'll only bring disaster and nothing else."

Jiang Xiu's gaze swept past the research base, "That's why you can't even leave a single one alive. Don't think it's your heart's blood and let them go. We, cultivators, have to conform with nature, not go against it."

The man nodded.

A fire burned through everything. According to the man's words, all the progress Li Bodhi had made over the past 2 centuries were here. There were lots of materials on successful trials of the genetic research present inside. If they were released outside, it would progress the world by at least half a century faster.

After the fire burned through everything, Jiang Xiu made the disciples of Bodhi Gene crush the rocks of the valley's cliffs and bury the research base under it to prevent someone from finding these research materials and walking the same path as Li Bodhi.

Li Bodhi had planted several rare herbs in the depths of the valley. Some were over a hundred years old while some possessed some spiritual energy so they could be considered as quasi-panacea.

Jiang Xiu naturally took all of it with him.

"Mr. Jiang…"

Xie Sanxian's entire family came before him. They weren't clear what Jiang Xiu wished to do when they were outside, so they didn't dare to go forward once he started killing his way inside. In the end, it seemed like Bodhi Gene was entirely subdued by Jiang Xiu.

"You're willing to let this Deity treat you now?"

They looked at the people around them. Even Gu Dekang was now acting respectfully towards Jiang Xiu. If if they were unwilling, they didn't have any other choice.

"Thank you, Mr. Jiang…"

"Remove your cap and mask…"

The woman looked around, "Can you make them leave first?"

"You can leave."

Jiang Xiu knew why she was worried so he sent them all away. After they left, the woman reminded him, "Mr. Jiang, please prepare yourself as this might scare you a bit."

Jiang Xiu laughed, "What's there to fear? If I have guessed it right, your husband's appearance has become similar to a frightening monster's."

The woman and the girl were quite astonished, "How did Mr. Jiang know about it?"

"Since I offered to treat him, what face would I have if I didn't know the patient's condition…" He arrived beside Xie Sanxian as he spoke and removed the cap and mask himself, exposing a terrifying face.

The man's eyes had become vertical pupils like that of a beast's, alarm and fear filling them as he avoided Jiang Xiu's gaze in a rush. His complexion had turned into a perverse black color with scales protruding out of his skin.

Jiang Xiu was sure of his previous inference after taking a look at him. The reason he had offered to help treat the man was that he was curious about the reason why an ordinary human was evolving into a divinity.

This was a great discovery fo Jiang Xiu. Something had caused an ordinary person to evolve so much without the use of a divinity cultivation technique. If it was him, he could've evolved much more. Jiang Xiu wished to ask the man about the reason he had become like this.

He asked, "Mr. Xie, since when did you start feeling weird?"

Xie Sanxian used the cap and mask to cover himself again while shaking his head to indicate he couldn't speak. The woman replied on his behalf, "I'm sorry, Mr. Jiang. He hasn't been able to speak ever since he has become like this."

"The reason he didn't speak is that others wouldn't understand him even if he did and get scared. If I have guessed it right, your voice has also transformed into a beast-like cry."

Xie Sanxian turned his head towards Jiang Xiu. When he spoke, his voice seemed like that of a beast's cry. Though there were pauses as well as different pitches in between, he wasn't speaking a human language, "You can understand me?"

The woman and the girl were frightened.

"Why won't I? I naturally understand your words because I know what's your illness?"

Xie Sanxian was excited, "I beg you, please save me."

His voice was still the same as a beast's roar as if he was speaking the language of the beasts.

"First tell me how did you end up like this?"

Xie Sanxian pondered for a moment then replied, "I'm also not sure about the reason, but it's all because of a goose-egg sized stone. It was fine when it was left on display but heated up when held in hand and also strange characters appeared on it."

"The seller told me that it was a common ore when I bought it, that it would invite Wealth. I'm a businessman, so I bought the stone after knowing that it has such a magical effect. I kept it in my office and often used to touch it."

"Then, I started vomiting blood one day. The doctor at the hospital said that I might have been poisoned and that my organs show signs of failure. I immediately thought of that stone and got it checked. The result was that it was radioactive material."

"What did you do with the stone?"

"I was quite angry at that time and wished to throw it away, but I thought that the stone might help with the treatment of my illness, so I kept it at my home."

"Mr. Jiang, can I be saved?"

The woman and the girl were utterly dumbfounded on the side. They were shocked that Jiang Xiu could converse with Xie Sanxian. The girl asked curiously, "Mr. Jiang, do you understand what my father is saying?"

The mother-daughter were both curious.

Jiang Xiu nodded with a faint smile.

It was a low-level divine language.

At the Immortal Martial Continent, most of the divinities awakened to this language, so Jiang Xiu naturally understood it. He could even speak it, but that would only make others think he was a monster.

"Can my father be saved?"

It might be a difficult thing to evolve into a god, but it's easy to devolve into an ordinary human, Jiang Xiu thought.

The reason Xie Sanxian had become like this was that his body couldn't withstand the energy during the evolution process.

"It's easy to save him!"

The three of them were extremely happy after hearing this.

"It'll hurt a but so endure it…" He reached out and touched the Yin Hall on Xie Sanxian's forehead to destroy the divinity source.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Xie Sanxian screamed with pain like an injured beast.

This attack was fatal to a divinity cultivator and almost equivalent to crippling the person, but it was the saving grace to Xie Sanxian. As the divinity source was destroyed, he wouldn't evolve anymore, and his condition wouldn't worsen for the time being.

The scales on his face released a faint luster. This was an instinctive resistance by Xie Sanxian's body, but it was instantly destroyed by Jiang Xiu's power. When the light dimmed, the scales on his face had disappeared.

Although Xie Sanxian didn't evolve much, he still possessed a little divine force. The next step was to take that divine force way. Black energy came out of his body then got absorbed into Jiang Xiu's body through his index finger. The divine force was assimilated into his own power after entering his body.

Bzzzttt!

Jiang Xiu seized the opportunity to attack the Awakening stage's 32nd Mythical realm. The 32nd divine regalia slowly appeared on his arm.

The power seemed inadequate, yet Jiang Xiu couldn't allow it to go to waste. He surged the energy in his body to breakthrough forcibly, making his blood rush up crazily.

Breaking through with force was quite dangerous as it would result in massive injuries to the body in case it failed and would require a lengthy amount of time to recover from them, but in case it succeeded, it would bring out the potential of the Godhead.

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

Xie Sanxian screamed loudly as the divine force got sucked out from his body. His pain-filled voice was enough to make a person's blood run cold. The mother-daughter pair to the side was shivering in fear.

They felt Xie Sanxian might go mad.

"Sanxian!"

"Father!"

No matter how much he struggled on the ground, Jiang Xiu's finger at his forehead was pressing him down like a mountain, making him unable to move.

Boom!

Jiang Xiu's divinity factor in Jiang Xiu's bloodline exploded again, breaking through another wall. It gathered back after that, making the divine force in his body surge up. The 32nd divine regalia became more evident as well.

This divine regalia was a bit longer and inclined to the left. It was 3-4 cm long and the longest glyph at present. From this one, the pattern's outline had become much evident.

It was quite a pity that Jiang Xiu couldn't recognize this character.

Although Jiang Xiu was an old monster who had cultivated for 3 millenniums, it was impossible for him to know all the characters. Some of them were created in small tribes while some were secrets of a race. It was impossible for Jiang Xiu to know about these ones.

It still wasn't enough. From Jiang Xiu's observation until now, there were two possibilities for his race. It was either a primordial divinity or an entirely new type of divinity which had never appeared in this world.

"Haaaahh!"

Xie Sanxian's pain had reduced after all the divine force got sucked out. He took a relaxed breath.

The mother-daughter pair asked nervously, "How do you feel?"

"A lot better!" Xie Sanxian replied.

When a human evolves into a God, the body functions will all experience a transformation so it would feel quite unwell, much worse than what a woman feels during menstruation. Compared to that, this was a complete change of race, so it was naturally hard to adapt.

He naturally felt better now. It would never occur to him that he had become human again.

"Father, you can speak normally again!"

They noticed that Xie Sanxian could speak human language again.

"I can? Really…"

Xie Sanxian spoke a few more sentences. Though it sounded quite vague, it was possible to understand what he was saying. He revealed glee in his eyes which had turned back from vertical pupils to human again.

"Your organs will recover slowly. You only need to take rest to get better."

"Thank you, Mr. Jiang… Thank you very much…"

The three of them expressed their gratitude.

"It's fine. Mr. Xie, can you give that stone to me? It's useless to you anyways."

Xie Sanxian naturally agreed to it. He was ready to promise any request his benefactor made, let alone that stone was the reason for the harm done to him, so he was eager to give it away. "I don't have the stone with me, it's at my home in Pinghai."

"I'll have it delivered to your home in a few days."

Jiang Xiu shook his head, "There's no need for so much trouble. It's best if you don't let others touch that thing. You can just give it to me when I make a trip to Pinghai."

"I shall follow Mr. Jiang's plans."

Jiang Xiu was afraid that the stone would deify another person or that it would get lost.

As he hadn't seen the stone yet, he couldn't make out why it had deified Xie Sanxian, but it was worth it for him to research this stone as it could help him with his cultivation.

Jiang Xiu was quite curious about what kind of stone this was that it could evolve Xie Sanxian into a divinity. He had never heard of such a thing on the Immortal Martial Continent.

Only, there were mysterious things in the multitude of worlds. Each place had its own specialty. Just because it didn't exist on the Immortal Martial Continent doesn't mean it didn't exist on Earth. Just like how cell phones existed on Earth but not on the Immortal Martial Continent. There were many shocking discoveries left to be unearthed on Earth.

The others were all astonished after seeing Xie Sanxian walk out. They realized that Jiang Xiu not only possessed high strength but also had top medical skills.

"You sure it's Jiang Xiu?" There was quite a low chance for someone who has escaped from the city and fled into the mountains to pass through the borders to come back to the city again.

"There's no mistake in it." The officer replied. They had also expended a great deal of effort as this was a huge case involving Tang Zhengping's only son. They wished to use this opportunity to make a name out of themselves.

The Jiang couple's heart was completely down. This was the news they were most unwilling to hear. They knew that it was nothing but a dead end if Jiang Xiu returned back to the city.

Son, you must not come back!!

Ling Dongcheng was quite calm this time. He guessed that the reason Jiang Xiu had come back was due to his parents, so he wasn't in a hurry to capture him. He believed it was possible that Jiang Xiu might even surrender.

"Shall we organize a group to capture him then?"

Since Jiang Xiu was almost captured, there was one other thing to deal with.

That was to decide whether it was manslaughter or premeditated murder.

Since Secretary Tang wished to take revenge for his son by taking Jiang Xiu's life and he wouldn't let this husband and wife off easy as well. It was clear to Ling Dongcheng that he had to make this case a premeditated murder. "You heard it, right? Your son has returned. Shouldn't you confess as well?"

"Confess what?" Jiang Yi asked frantically.

"About how you premeditated the entire thing and incited Jiang Xiu to murder Tang Zhiming."

"Don't accuse good people wrongly."

Ling Dongcheng continued, "Don't act tough. It seems like you've forgotten your close friend, Cheng Hanlin of the Cheng Conglomerate and his daughter, Cheng Lingsu. They are at Secretary Tang's home as a guest right now."

Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling's expressions changed.

"You…"

He felt as if the same thing which had happened 12 years ago was happening all over again. Their heart was suffering a crushing pain.

"So despicable!"

…

At this moment, Tang Zhengping was indeed entertaining Cheng Hanlin's entire family. No matter whether Jiang Xiu returned or not, their family was the key to this whole case. Tang Zhengping wore a calm expression right now. No one could even imagine his son passed away just recently.

"Brother Hanlin, it's been over a decade since we have seen each other."

Cheng Hanlin wasn't planning to meet him, but it was out of his control. He wore a face of apathy as he came over with his wife and daughter.

This man was someone he hated the most in his life. If it weren't for this man, he wouldn't have been forced to sell his friend to seek glory. The reason he had worked so crazily during this past decade was to complement the guilt in his heart rather than to make money.

"Yes, it's indeed been so long."

Tang Zhengping's gaze swept over Cheng Hanlin then over Sun Xiaohong and Cheng Lingsu. After Jiang Xiu left that day, Cheng Lingsu went to find her parents. The police had also questioned her, and she too told the truth as it is. In fact, the reason for it was Cheng Lingsu, but she wasn't the direct cause, so she wasn't responsible for it.

"Brother Hanlin is indeed blessed. You have such a pretty wife as well as a beautiful daughter. It's quite enviable."

He made his servants pull the chairs for them so they could take a seat.

"Secretary Tang, there's no need for this kind of courteous words between us. If you have anything to say, please say it directly…" Cheng Hanlin said. He had suffered under Tang Zhenping 12 years ago due to the Cheng Conglomerate, but there was nothing to fear now as he had nothing left.

Tang Zhengping hinted the servant to pour the wine into the glass. He took a sip then nodded satisfactorily. He indicated them to pour it for everyone.

"Do you remember the matter from 2 years ago?"

"Brother Hanlin promised to help me settle a matter, that is to bring down a formidable opponent of mine, Jiang Yi. From then on, everything had gone smoothly for me till now. I'm 45 now and sitting in the position of the Secretary of the Municipal Committee as well as the Deputy Provincial Mayor and might even become a member of the Party."

Cheng Lingsu was hearing about this matter for the first time. Her brows locked up tightly. She had a bad premonition from the details Tang Zhengping had revealed. It seems like father had committed a matter which had let down Uncle Jiang.

Cheng Hanlin's expression turned ugly. He wasn't willing to bring that matter up again. It felt like someone had pulled the semi-healed scab off a wound which had healed with much difficulty. "Did Secretary Tang invite our entire family to talk about this?"

"Of course not. I was merely reminding Brother Hanlin about it. Don't forget what you had done once."

Cheng Hanlin's complexion turned even uglier.

"12 years ago, Brother Hanlin had helped me accomplish a matter which had given you 12 years of glory. Your Cheng Estates brought you both fame and fortune, but it's a pity that you went bankrupt in the end. It doesn't matter anyway, you have another chance now after 12 years. Brother Hanlin must know what has happened recently. Jiang Yi's son murdered my son."

When Cheng Hanlin had heard this news, he was utterly shocked. His first thought was that Jiang Xiu understood about the matter from those days and thus took revenge for his father.

"If your family appears in court as a witness and swears that Jiang Xiu deliberately murdered my son, I can let the bank provide a loan for free to you. You will have the final say on the amount."

The entire courtyard went still under the night scene. Only the heartbeats resounded.

Cheng Hanlin needed funds to reverse his situation, and Tang Zhengping had thrown out the right bait to incite him. He made a hard expression on his face. Sun Xiaohong's eyes lit up as well. Cheng Lingsu gazed towards Tang Zhengping, feeling a chill in her heart. If the case were decided as a murder, even if Jiang Xiu's family isn't executed, they would spend their latter half of life in jail.

"What? Do you need time to think over it like last time?"

Cheng Hanlin opened his lips to speak yet couldn't say anything. Humans were, in the end, all selfish. They would waver when facing a huge enticement.

"Father!"

Cheng Lingsu shook her head. She could not allow this to happen. Though Cheng Lingsu wasn't as good and honest as her elder sister, she could never go against her conscience and hurt Jiang Xiu's family.

"Brother Hanlin, you already did this once 12 years ago. Since you have done it once, there's no harm in doing it again. Let alone, only the winners are considered as heroes in this world. Everyone will respect and flatter you when you possess power and wealth. Look at you now, you're no better than a stray dog. No matter where you go now, they don't even give you consideration for how glorious your Cheng Conglomerate once was…"

Tang Zhengping's words struck right at the crux.

"Think it over while I drink this cup of wine…"

"Only, let me remind you. The Jiang family is doomed this time. Even if you don't do it, the outcome won't change."

Cheng Hanlin might not have believed this if anyone else said this, but the person before him was the Deputy Provincial Mayor of Jiangnan as well as the Secretary of Ninghai City's Municipal Committee. He also had the powerful Tang family behind him. There were very few things he couldn't do on Jiangnan."

"How much can the bank loan to me for free?"

"Didn't I say it already? You can decide the amount. There's no upper limit, I can guarantee this on my name. You can ask how much ever you want. I'll use my family's power to make sure you get that amount."

Cheng Hanlin clenched his hands nervously, his eyes turning red.

"Father…"

Cheng Hanlin said, "I have acted disloyally once already. I won't do such a thing against my will again."

Cheng Lingsu relaxed her breath after hearing this while Sun Xiaohong made a complicated expression.

Tang Zhengping laughed, "Brother Hanlin, 12 years have passed by since you entered the business world and you have yet to change. Must I force you to do it?"

"Do you remember the evidence from those days? I still have it. If only I take it out, you also won't be able to escape from imprisonment."

Cheng Hanlin's expression changed immediately, "You…"

"You'll have to roughly spend 3-5 years in prison if that's the case." His complexion hardened. "Don't hesitate until you're forced to make a decision. I don't mind sending you to prison along with Jiang Yi if you want to get imprisoned."

Cheng Hanlin's expression turned uglier while Sun Xiaohong grabbed Cheng Hanlin's arm, "Hanlin, why don't you promise him? You can't get imprisoned. What will your daughters and I do if you get imprisoned?" Tears fell from her eyes.

Tang Zhengping continued, "My patience is quite limited. I'll count to three…"

"One!"

"Two!"

"…"

There was some noise from outside all of a sudden. A person who seemed to be the housekeeper ran over nervously, "Secretary Tang, there's a youth outside. He says he is Jiang Xiu…"

"What?"

Tang Zhengping leaped up from his seat, "Why did he come here?"

Tang Zhengping lost control merely for a moment, after which a strange smile floated onto his face. His words were full of surprise, "Wonderful, indeed wonderful. Make a call to the police department and tell them Jiang Xiu is here. Also, tell them to bring over Jiang Yi and his wife. We shall settle all debts today."

The housekeeper-like man affirmed then left to make the call.

Soon after, a youth walked in with an easy-going pace. He didn't appear much dejected or angry, instead was very calm.

The rage in Tang Zhengping's heart soared up when he saw Jiang Xiu. The person before him was the one who had killed his son!

"Secretary Tang, you aren't going to ask me to sit?"

"Sit!" Tang Zhengping sneered.

After taking a seat, Jiang Xiu gazed towards Cheng Hanlin and his family, "What a coincidence. So Uncle Cheng's family is also here as a guest."

"What were you chatting about? Some kind of conspiracy I suppose? On how to scheme against my Jiang family again?"

"Little Xiu, you must not misunderstand…"

There was nothing to misunderstand here when everything was in clear view. These words were difficult to believe after what he had done 12 years ago. If he were determinate, he wouldn't have come here at all. Let alone, a person who had done such a thing once 12 years ago was more likely to do it again.

"There's nothing to misunderstand. Your father-in-law promised me to testify against you in court."

"Testify what?"

"Testify that you murdered my son deliberately…" His lips trembled as he said this, feeling irreconcilable hatred.

Cheng Hanlin wished to say something but didn't say anything in the end. The evidence of the crime he had committed 12 years ago was in Tang Zhengping's hands. It was as easy as crushing an ant for Tang Zhengping to deal with Cheng Hanlin.

Jiang Xiu looked at the Cheng family, his gaze sweeping past Cheng Lingsu. She avoided his gaze, lowering her head down in guilt. It isn't like that. He's forcing my father with evidence he has of my father's crime

She wished to say these words but couldn't tell them because she felt that framing someone was a very dishonorable matter.

"So to say, you plan to exterminate my Jiang family to take revenge for your son?"

Tang Zhengping slapped the table in anger, "That's right!"

"You bastard! Who do you think you are? Son of a bitch. Y-You actually killed my son. My son's soul won't rest in peace even if I cut you into a thousand pieces."

"I'm going to crush your entire family."

"Oh? Then let's see whether you have the ability to do it."

Tang Zhengping asked, "See whether I have the ability to do it?"

"I'll let you experience my Tang family's ability then."

The sounds of sirens came from outside soon after he said this. The police entered the courtyard along with Jiang Yi and his wife. Jiang Xiu stood up, an awful glint flashing through his eyes when he saw his parents being escorted by the police.

"Father, Mother, are you okay?"

"SON!"

Jiang Yi called out excitedly while tears dropped from Lin Yueling's eyes.

Tang Zhengping couldn't help but clap, "What a moving scene. The entire family has reunited, but it's a pity that you won't be able to see each other after today."

"Tang Zhengping, you can do whatever you want to me but release my son."

"Release your son?"

"Are you an idiot? This bastard is the one who killed my Zhiming, my only son, and you want me to let him go?"

"The child is innocent. He only wanted to take revenge for me. This grudge had started in our generation so we should end it with us. There's no need to let it continue to the next generation."

"Next generation?" Tang Zhengping asked, "What next generation? My son is dead, and your son will pay with his life for it."

"Tang Zhengping, I admit defeat. I'm not equal to you on any aspect. Let my son go. A lowly commoner like me isn't worthy of being your opponent."

Tang Zhengping groaned, "Hah! You have realized it too late. Do you know why you lost to me back then?"

Cheng Hanlin lowered his head, his hands clenching the armrest tightly.

"It was because of your good brother. I only used the Jiangdong Kerosene Factory area as a bait, and he sold you. Didn't he tell you that he's suffering due to me? That his company couldn't hold on anymore?"

"He deceived you, idiot. The purpose was to make you believe that he was being suppressed by me because of you. You'll feel guilty that way and make a mistake. He gathered evidence against you so that he could get that land."

Jiang Yi's eyes grew hazy as if he had received a shock.

"I-Impossible…"

His relationship with Cheng Hanlin was very close in those days. He treated him the same as one would a brother. They had even set down a marriage agreement between their children and were like a big family.

"Why don't you ask him if you don't believe me? Hear it from his own mouth…"

Cheng Hanlin didn't dare to raise his head, trembling all over. This kind of reaction was already told everything there was to say.

Lin Yueling was also dazed. Tang Zhengping was Jiang Yi's political enemy back then. They were both outstanding people and had gradually become arch-enemies. When their relationship was at the worst point, Cheng Hanlin's company was harassed by Tang Zhengping. Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling both believed that Cheng Hanlin got involved into this because of them… but it seemed like all of it was a lie!

"Not only that. He was the one who gathered evidence on the rules you had broken. As you had done it so secretively, who else except the benefiter, Cheng Hanlin, could find it out?"

Jiang Yi felt as if lightning had struck him. He couldn't understand how the evidence had fallen into Tang Zhengping's hands back then. He had thought over it when he had spent time in jail. After seeing the Cheng Conglomerate develop so fast, he had already perceived it vaguely but didn't wish to confirm his thoughts.

The others were stupefied as well.

Cheng Lingsu's gaze was filled with disbelief too.

"Why?"

Jiang Yi roared, "Cheng Hanlin, tell me how did I let you down that you did such a thing to me?"

'

Cheng Hanlin knelt down on the floor with his head still lowered, "Brother Yi, I'm sorry. I was too greedy then and didn't think the matter would become so grave. I thought you would get demoted at most and lose the qualifications to compete with Tang Zhengping. I wasn't expecting him to act so ruthlessly by sending you to prison."

"I've already received retribution for it! I have nothing anymore!"

"I only have my life left. If you can't bear your anger, why don't you kill me then?"

Jiang Yi felt that this kind of person was better dead than alive. His brother who he viewed the same as kin had done such a thing.

Jiang Yi dashed ahead and grabbed the fruit knife from the dining table, but he couldn't do it after all.

"Kill him. Isn't he saying to kill him?"

"Jiang Yi, you'll lose any chances if you don't kill him. He was going to testify that your entire family conspired to kill my son. Even if the judge doesn't pass the death sentence, it'd would at least be lifelong imprisonment."

At this moment, everyone's breathing stopped from the nervousness.

A calm voice broke through this stifled aura, "No one in this world can send my father to prison. Tang Zhengping, don't think you can do anything you want."

"You believe you can cover up the entire heavens by relying on your position as the Secretary of Ninghai City's municipal committee as well as the Tang family's support? Keep dreaming."

"Can you decide our crime?"

Jiang Yi calmed down after hearing Jiang Xiu's words. The case had not gone to court yet. Although he didn't have faith in the Jiang family, he didn't believe the Jiang family and the Lin family would act indifferent if their entire family were sentenced.

Tang Zhengping furrowed his brows after seeing Jiang Yi calm down. His scheme was interrupted by this brat. "Chief Ling, take Jiang Xiu to another room and make him write a confession."

"Jiang Xiu, follow me."

Jiang Xiu didn't refuse and stood up. Lin Yueling grabbed his hand nervously, but he consoled her, "It's fine. Just remember what I said to you. I'll make you the most respected woman of this world."

He followed Chief Ling after saying this.

He didn't have any intentions to stop what was happening here. If his father wished to kill Cheng Hanlin to vent his anger, he wouldn't stop him. He believed that a person who sold his friend should be killed.

The servant outside the door came in to inform at this moment, "Secretary Tang, Qin Baichuan has arrived."

"What did he come here for?"

Qin Baichuan was the godfather of Ninghai City's underworld.

"Mr. Qin, what brings you here?"

"I have come here to provide support to Mr. Jiang."

One car after other stopped outside Tang Zhengping's house door after that. All the people who got down from it were all big shots of Ninghai City.

Tang Zhengping furrowed his brows, "Mr. Jiang…" He had also heard about this Mr. Jiang before. He was the godfather of Jiang City's underworld. Tang Zhengping never cared about him though he heard many tales about him. "You're here to provide support to Mr. Jiang? Why did you come over here for that?"

"Does he want to deal with me through you?"

Tang Zhengping felt his son's death was wronged and that God was unfair. His personality became cranky due to the fluctuating moods he went through. He viewed anyone who blocked him as an enemy and felt an intense desire to destroy the other party.

It was the so-called anti-social mentality.

Since a guest had arrived uninvited, his first reaction was to think that this person had come to find trouble. Let alone, his relations with Qin Baichuan were never good.

The housekeeper informed again when he had just finished asking that question, "Secretary Tang, Yan Min, Director Yan has arrived."

A middle-aged man walked in after that.

Tang Zhengping personally went to welcome him, "Director Yan, what brings you here?"

Yan Min's hydraulic engineering project was of utmost importance to Ninghai City. He had soared to the top with his achievements and wasn't only well-off but also had relations to overseas technologies.

"I have come to provide support to Mr. Jiang."

Mr. Jiang again!

The housekeeper called out to him again, "Secretary Tang, Chen Conglomerate's Director Chen has arrived!"

A pudgy man entered the place.

"Why has Director Chen come?"

"I have come to provide support to Mr. Jiang."

Mr. Jiang, Mr. Jiang, again this Mr. Jiang!

Tang Zhengping's heart was full of fury and ridicule. Idiot, you're asking the businessmen to pressure a Secretary of the municipal committee. This is too funny. Don't you know that the lifeline of these people is in my hands?

You're far from being able to fight with me.

However…

Persistent efforts always bore fruit, just like how sand forms stone after condensing. The higher the amount, the more frightening it becomes.

"Del Conglomerate, Director Han!"

"Zhengkong Conglomerate, Director Zheng!"

"…"

As all kinds of big shots of Ninghai City started appearing, Tang Zhengping's expression changed as well. It changed from indifference to shock then to alarm and finally to a daze.

17 famous business magnates had come, those who didn't know the details might've even believed it was a CPPCC conference. These people grasped around 90% of the tax Ninghai City collected. Just one of them wasn't something to fear, but all of them together were enough to overturn the heavens of Ninghai City.

"Director Chen, Director Han, you are here…"

"We have come here to provide support to Mr. Jiang."

Tang Zhengping drew in a cold breath.

Just what kind of person is this Mr. Jiang?

He didn't think Mr. Jiang's reputation could move so many people. Even he didn't have so much hold here as the Secretary of Ninghai City. He could maybe achieve something like this if he used the influence of the Tang family.

Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling were very shocked too.

This Mr. Jiang was indeed a force to reckon with. He hadn't even shown his face yet, but so many people were ready to follow him. It proved how much of an outstanding persona he was in Jiangnan.

Cheng Hanlin and Sun Xiaohong thought the same as well. Sun Xiaohong commented, "I didn't expect Mr. Jiang who controlled Jiang City also had so much influence in Ninghai City. It's really amazing."

Cheng Lingsu revealed a strange expression on her face when looking at her mother. They might not know who Mr. Jiang was, but she knew who it was. She wished to tell her that Jiang Xiu is Mr. Jiang. She knew he was quite terrible but didn't think his influence had already spread so much. A majority of Ninghai City's upper class were at his beck and call already.

"May I ask everyone about the reason Mr. Jiang has called you to provide support for?"

"It's quite simple. You just have to admit your son had drowned by himself." Qin Baichuan replied.

Tang Zhengping's eyes grew wide open, "What?"

"Did you not hear me clearly? Qin Baichuan asked.

"Mr. Jiang wants you to say your son drowned."

Tang Zhengping laughed hysterically as if he had heard the best joke in the world, "Qin Baichuan, do you know what you are saying?"

"You have quite the nerve to threaten me!" Fury filled his eyes. It was always him who threatened others, "What if I don't agree to do it? If you think you can make my son's death a dubious case, your actions are just in vain."

Qin Baichuan was about to reply when a voice came through from the doorway, "No one can set themselves against Mr. Jiang in Jiangnan."

Wang Xuetang walked in with massive strides with an expert like Wang Xueli accompanying him. Everyone was astonished after seeing them.

"Family Head Wang!"

"Jiangnan's Wang family has arrived."

Tang Zhengping's expression changed after seeing Wang Xuetang arrive. His Tang family was one of the four prominent families, and so was the Wang family. He was merely one of the children of the Tang family, but the counterpart was the family head. The other side obviously had an overwhelming advantage in terms of superiority.

"Wang Xuetang, have you also come to support for that Mr. Jiang?"

"Naturally. Even if the Wang family loses its wealth and influence, if only Mr. Jiang commands, we shall obey it without a stint."

Everyone was shocked. The others weren't expecting the Wang family head to say such words.

Tang Zhengping's face changed colours. If the Wang family bet their all against him, it would be difficult for the entire Tang family to bear the consequences, let alone him.

"You… Do you think my Tang family is afraid of you?"

"Although your Wang family is also one of the four prominent families of Jiangnan, you are after all a martial arts family. Don't forget that the current era is peaceful and those who had power in officialdom can hold a firm foundation. What will your Wang family use to fight against my Tang family?"

Another voice came through from the doorway at this moment, "What about me then?"

Before the people could see who said it, the doorway was in a mess. The people got out of the way with a reverent gaze, acting as if a regent had arrived.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on the doorway.

Who has come?

Tang Zhengping also felt this was odd. He couldn't comprehend who had such influence, but when that man entered through the door, he was left thunderstruck. Not only him, the servants beside him, as well as the Jiang couple and the Cheng couple were stunned too.

"S-Secretary Gu!"

The person who had arrived was Gu Dezhi.

If the topic of discussion was the authority, it naturally belonged to the border region of Jiangnan.

Say Tang Zhengping had a pistol in his hand, then Gu Dezhi had an aircraft missile launcher in his. There was no way to fight as it would only lead to doom. The other party's authority was higher.

"Secretary Gu, how come you are here?!"

"I'm here to provide support to Mr. Jiang…"

Tang Zhengping was utterly stupefied.

Not only him, but even the others who had come to support Jiang Xiu were also shocked as well. Mr. Jiang was so influential that even the border region was here to support him.

"Secretary Gu, this…"

"Mr. Jiang wants you to say that your son drowned by himself."

Tang Zhengping's face lost colour, "W-Why? I have never seen this Mr. Jiang and never offended him. Why is he getting involved in my matter?"

Since even Gu Dezhi had appeared, if he dared to resist, he would get suppressed in the future. His fortune which had brought him this high in his official career would end. It was even possible he would get sent to prison like how he had done to Jiang Yi. His mood became frantic, "Who is this Mr. Jiang? Why is he tormenting me so much?"

"You don't even know who Mr. Jiang is?" Gu Dezhi asked.

He shook his head.

"Greetings to Mr. Jiang…"

"Greetings to Mr. Jiang…"

At this moment, everyone's heart was excited. Everyone's gaze moved towards that direction. The Jiang couple, the Cheng couple as well as Cheng Lingsu, all of them looked towards that direction.

"Greetings to Mr. Jiang…"

Even Gu Dezhi greeted respectfully by bowing slightly. This was no matter to joke about. After returning back, his elder brother was filled with regret. He told him that Jiang Xiu killed Li Bodhi just by making him look thrice at a talisman. There was no doubt that Jiang Xiu was a Demigod.

They watched along as Jiang Xiu walked out slowly. Lin Dongcheng was already pressed down to the table by someone.

"Mr. Jiang…"

"Mr. Jiang…"

At this instant, the Jiang couple and the Cheng couple were both shocked.

"J-J-Jiang Xiu…"

Jiang Xiu arrived there just like a monarch, taking each step with an imposing aura, all the other power holders bowing their heads down with obedience as he passed by them and reached in front of Tang Zhengping, "Why you? The reason is simple. It's because… I am Mr. Jiang!"

Boom!

It was as if a flood had surged into the entire courtyard.

Tang Zhengping was utterly shocked.

The Cheng couple felt as if lightning had struck them. They looked at this scene with disbelief, "Jiang Xiu is Mr. Jiang?"

"Jiang Yi, our son is that Mr. Jiang?"

Lin Yueling felt the hair on her skin stand in thrill as warm tears filled her eyes.

"Our son is that Mr. Jiang who made the leader of Jiangnan's border region and a majority of Jiangnan's power holders bow down to him?"

Lin Yueling grabbed her husband, Jiang Yi's arm tightly, sobbing emotionally. Jiang Yi was overwhelmed as well. They couldn't comprehend how their son had become Mr. Jiang. It was too inconceivable as well as thrilling for them.

He had appeared with such a swag to the Tang family, at their foe's home which had left them on the roads in dire straits a long time ago, and used a similar, no, even more, overbearing method to take vengeance for them.

Their son had really grown up.

Jiang Yi didn't know what happened to his son or how he had become Mr. Jiang, but no matter the reason, he was his, Jiang Yi's son.

"Jiang Xiu is Mr. Jiang?"

Cheng Hanlin and Sun Xiaohong felt as if the heavens were playing a huge joke on them. Especially Sun Xiaohong, she was at a complete loss. The future son-in-law of hers whom she considered as nothing more than a bug, wishing she could dump him in the gutters, turned out to be the unreachable Mr. Jiang who all the elite of Jiang City wanted to associate with. She too had fantasized about running into him coincidently, but she never expected that he was always beside her.

This was truly ironical!

"Tang Zhengping, 12 years ago, you plotted to frame my father and sent him to prison, destroyed his life as well as my youth and childhood. Today, I've come to take revenge."

Tang Zhengping pointed towards Jiang Xiu as if he were a demon, "Y-Y-You…"

"Anyone who offends this Jiang Luoxia hasn't ended up well. Your son was merely the appetizer. I guarantee you'll end up 10 times more miserable than your son."

His tone was dull, but no one doubted his determination.

Everyone had heard about Mr. Jiang's methods. Some of them present here had experienced it personally. He was ruthless and will make you regret being born into this world.

"You think you can bring me down just because they call you Mr. Jiang? Keep dreaming. My Tang family has lorded over Jiangnan for decades, but none had ever been able to do anything to us."

He was saying this for Jiang Xiu to hear as well as for Secretary Gu.

Secretary Gu handed over a file of documents to Jiang Xiu at this moment, "Mr. Jiang, it's nothing complicated at all. This is the evidence of Tang Zhengping's crimes over the past few years. It's horrible, maybe even a hundred times worse than what your father had done back then."

Nowadays, officials couldn't be investigated as each investigation would bring something or the else to light.

Tang Zhengping's face kept going paler till it lost all traces of color. "You're framing me…"

Jiang Xiu held the file, "Tang Zhengping, do you want me to read it?"

"1999, You transferred a cement factory at a price 10 times lower than the market rate to your wife's younger brother…"

"2001, you cooperated with the Tranquil Conglomerate of Hong Kong and exploited a harbor project's water seepage to make an illegal profit of 100 million."

"2002, as the Ninghai Airport struggled…"

"…"

Tang Zhengping snatched over the file and went through the documents, fear filling his eyes as he did so. His entire life will end if even a single one of these things gets out, "You…"

He tore them all up like a madman.

"Tang Zhengping, all these things are enough to make you spend the rest of your life in prison. But there's no need to worry as I won't let you off just with that. I'll make sure that your life in prison is richly colorful."

"Housekeeper, c-call the Tang family." Tang Zhengping ordered the housekeeper.

All his hope was on the Tang family now.

"I have the Tang family behind me…"

"Jiang Yi, Jiang Xiu, I won't fall so easily. You'll have to deal with my Tang family before you can do anything to me."

The others began to discuss this as well.

"Tang family isn't that easy to handle."

"It looks like Jiagnan's going to experience a significant change."

There was no doubt that the confrontation between these two superpowers would be very awful, but since they had all selected to stand at Jiang Xiu's side, they wished for him to win.

"Your family is one of the four prominent families of Jiangnan due to dabbling in officialdom and commerce. But do you know why all the rich people in this world hire a huge amount of bodyguards?"

Tang Zhengping called the Tang family through his phone, but there was no response from the other side. When the call connected finally, all that came through from the other end were screams full of fear.

Right now, a tragical bloodbath was occurring at the Tang family's residence.

"Father!"

"Second Uncle!"

Blood sprayed on top the mural which was worth millions, as well as the windows and the doorsteps. The flowerbed in the courtyard, as well as the rock garden, were full of dead corpses. It was a truly ghastly sight to behold.

Countless shadows flitted past the Tang family's residence and killed every person they encountered!

They checked the list they had and the no. of people.

If someone could recognize the exotic flower insignia embroidered on their left vest, they would realize that these murderers had come from Bodhi Gene which had disappeared a hundred years ago.

The cell phone fell to the ground with only Tang Zhengping's flustered voice repeating through it, "Father, Father…" He had vaguely guessed what was happening at the Tang family right now.

A person picked up the phone then said, "Is this Secretary Tang? I'll have to trouble you to pass on to Mr. Jiang that the entire 36 members of the Tang family are all dead."

"Beep-Beep-Beep…"

Tang Zhengping felt as if his head had exploded. He could feel the reeking smell of blood through the phone. Sorrow filled his eyes as they grew wide open.

A-All dead?

"NOOOOOOO…"

Tang Zhengping cried out crazily.

"Y-You…"

"Tang Zhengping, didn't I tell you? As you harmed my Jiang family, I'll repay it by a hundredfold. Did you think I was joking?"

Tang Zhengping was utterly stupefied. His face twitched in pain as he glared at Jiang Xiu. He had never expected that he would suffer such retaliation for a sin he had committed 12 years ago. This revenge was too violent, too ruthless. His son was dead, and his entire family wiped out.

"Why? Why did you act so ruthlessly?"

"You didn't even leave them a path to take."

Pain flashed through Jiang Xiu's eyes. If it weren't for this re-do in his life, his parents would have met a misfortune end. A crippled father who killed himself and a mother who did the same to be together with her husband. He had suffered through all kinds of humiliation. He even had the same thoughts to choose an extreme way and would have decided to end his life like his parents if Cheng Lingran hadn't appeared in his life.

"When you harmed my father back then, did you think that he had a pretty wife and a lovely child? Did you consider what would happen to that child if his father went to prison?"

Tang Zhengping was dazed. Since everything had begun with evil, it had naturally ended with it as well.

At this moment, the disciplinary committee of the province arrived at the place, "Tang Zhengping, you are suspected of breaking the law as well as charged with the crime of accepting bribes, you're required to cooperate with the investigation from now on…"

"Hahaha…" After looking at Tang Zhengping get arrested, Jiang Yi recalled the time when he had got arrested. His wife cried bitterly with his son in her embrace. Lin Yueling had spent a full day and night sitting on the ground to ask the family's help, and although the young Jiang Xiu was puzzled at that time, he didn't say anything. He spent the entire time in hunger.

"So happy…"

Tears flowed down from Lin Yueling's eyes. She felt all the bitter grievances she experienced over these years disappear.

"Ling Dongcheng, you're suspected of…" As Ling Dongcheng had tried to frame Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling, he too didn't end up well and got taken away. Though it wasn't a grave crime, there was no doubt he would get sacked from this position.

The No. 1 person in the underworld, Jiang Xiu plus the border region of Jiangnan had crushed the Tang family by cooperating. It wasn't that the Tang family was too weak but rather that Mr. Jiang was too strong.

Cheng Hanlin and Sun Xiaohong's faces went pale.

They felt a chill in their hearts after witnessing Jiang Xiu's methods. Though Tang Zhengping was the main culprit who had harmed the Jiang family, Cheng Hanlin was his accomplice.

Since he had taken care of Tang Zhengping, they were the only ones left to be taken care of.

"We're finished!"

Sun Xiaohong collapsed to the floor. Cheng Lingsu went to support her mother with a pale face.

"Finished!"

Despair flashed through Cheng Hanlin's eyes, "Just kill me, I have nothing to say…"

"It's good that you understand that!"

"You are even worse than Tang Zhengping for selling out your friend!"

Cheng Lingsu came in between them to protect Cheng Hanlin, "Jiang Xiu, don't do this. For the sake of the little friendship our families have left, please spare my father's life."

"The Cheng family has been destroyed by you already. He has nothing left now."

After hearing this, Cheng Hanlin and Sun Xiaohong finally realized that Jiang Xiu was the mastermind behind their family going bankrupt.

Cheng Hanlin couldn't understand the reason why such the Cheng Conglomerate which was so big was being suppressed by everyone so suddenly. Even Deputy Mayor Ye who had agreed to help him out was removed from his post. It was all done by Mr. Jiang as only he possessed this kind of ability in Jiang City, but he had never expected that this Mr. Jiang was none other than Jiang Xiu.

Though he knew now that Jiang Xiu was the one who destroyed, he didn't feel resentful at all. He had nothing to say in response to Jiang Xiu's revenge. Let alone, his life was in the other party's hands now.

Life or Death, it was a matter of just a single word.

Sun Xiaohong begged him, Little Xiu, please don't kill your Uncle Cheng. Although you and Susu haven't got married, you have an engagement set in your childhood. He is after all your nominal father-in-law. Can you spare his life?"

Jiang Xiu's gaze went cold. This woman really had the nerve to say such things.

She had mocked and ridiculed him as well as called his home to break the engagement repeatedly. Her daughter too had firmly insisted on breaking the engagement. Now, she was talking bullshit about father-in-law and whatnot.

Tears dropped from her Sun Xiaohong's face as she talked wretchedly, "In those days, your Uncle Cheng didn't know the consequences would be that grave. He was never able to sleep properly at night ever since that incident happened and it had become so grave that it turned into mental illness. He couldn't sleep if there were even a tiny bit of sound…"

"We've lost everything we have and become penniless. We've already received retribution. Please let Hanlin live."

Cheng Hanlin wore an expression of grief, his eyes losing all spirit from them.

As if he had suffered through a grievous torment.

Jiang Xiu didn't show any sympathy at all, his expression as ice-cold as a lifeless sculpture, "Have you acted enough? These are the consequences of your actions. You were the one who courted death so who is to blame for it?"

Cheng Hanlin spoke with remorse, "Brother Yi, Sister-in-law… I'm the one who sold my friend. Kill me. End everything by killing me."

"I shall send you on your way then!"

He raised his hand up!

Jiang Xiu's mood wasn't as calm as he was revealing outside. He didn't wish to kill them as he knew it would mean that he would lose Cheng Lingran forever if he did so, but he had made his choice. He had chosen to bear the pain of losing Cheng Lingran and to kill this foe.

Jiang Xiu wasn't only cruel to others but also to himself. It could be said that he even had the tendency to act cruelly to himself. Not concerning the body but instead relating to the spirit. By making his heart suffer bitterness and enduring through it by cutting off all emotions, he could progress faster than the others in his cultivation. This was the way he operated on the Immortal Martial Continent for three millenniums.

"D-Don't!"

Cheng Lingsu was utterly frightened, but she harnessed all her courage to defend her father, looking at Jiang Xiu with a pleading gaze.

Jiang Xiu had always killed the people he said he would kill without hesitation. He had pushed off Wang Xuehai off the helicopter, killed the Wang Ancestor, as well as made Tang Zhiming drown under water. She was terrified her parents would be tragically killed before her eyes by him.

"Get lost to the side, or else I'll kill you along with them!"

Cheng Lingsu closed her eyes and waited for death to embrace her.

At this moment, Cheng Lingsu felt an inexplicable feeling she had never felt through her entire life. If Jiang Xiu wished to kill her parents, she would rather die together with them.

"Wait!"

Lin Yueling stopped him.

"Mother?"

Jiang Xiu dropped his hand down. He looked back at her with astonishment. The one who hated Cheng Hanlin and Lin Yueling the most should have been his mother yet she had prevented him just now.

Lin Yueling spoke in a firm tone, "You're not allowed to hurt Susu, she's my daughter-in-law. No one is allowed to hurt her."

Jiang Xiu looked at Lin Yueling with a look of disbelief, "Mother, why are you…"

He couldn't understand this. Everything had come to light now. Cheng Hanlin had harmed their family back then, and the hatred between their families went quite deep. He didn't know why she was still insisting on his marriage.

"Susu, come over to Aunty's side."

Cheng Lingsu shook her head with tears welling up in her eyes, "I won't. He'll kill my parents. Aunty, please persuade him to spare my parent's lives."

Lin Yuelin took a long look at the Cheng couple then turned to Jiang Xiu, "Son, let it be. They are after all Susu's parents and already have nothing left now."

Jiang Xiu couldn't comprehend this, "Mother. but why?"

"What's with that attitude? Did you forget who raised you up?" Lin Yueling chided him.

Jiang Xiu didn't wish to kill them as well, but he couldn't understand the reason his mother was letting them go. He looked towards his father. Jiang Yi had lost his zeal from his younger days wasn't willing to do anything these days. He didn't object to anything Lin Yueling decided as his wife's kindness weighed as heavy as a mountain. This was also his way to express his affection towards her. He had relied on her for all these years and felt quite ashamed, so he chose to listen to Lin Yueling at this moment as well.

"Listen to your mother."

"Why? I don't understand."

"Think about it if you don't understand the reason, maybe you'll remember it then."

Jiang Xiu felt quite puzzled, thinking whether he had forgotten about something which made Lin Yueling so adamant about preserving this engagement. He wondered whether it was related to the two families in the Imperial Capital.

"Susu, it's fine now. Don't kneel there."

Cheng Lingsu felt jubilant, "Thank you, Aunty!"

Jiang Xiu's face was ashen. He felt quite dissatisfied that the Cheng couple was let off so easy. He was used to acting cruelly towards his enemies. What's even worse was that he had to keep the relationship between him and Cheng Lingsu.

"Mr. Jiang, if Cheng Hanlin acts as the witness for your father's case back then, it should be easy to redress the case smoothly, and it could also help in restoring his former post."

"What?"

Jiang Yi couldn't believe his ears, "I-I… can return? But I spent time in prison and lost the qualifications to enter politics forever."

"You were accused wrongly, Tang Zhengping was the main culprit."

"A-Are you telling the truth?"

His voice shuddered.

This was his dream as well as the regret in his heart.

"No one would joke about such a thing in front of Mr. Jiang. It depends on your desire. What do you want to do? Do you have the confidence to walk through the path of officialdom again?"

Jiang Yi had never imagined such a day would arrive when he could get a chance to get his former position back. His eyes brimmed with tears, "Yueling, did you hear that? I can continue my dream of entering politics. Although 12 years are gone, there's still hope for it."

Lin Yueling nodded while crying tears of joy, "M-Mhm…"

"Secretary Gu, I'm willing to do it…"

The others congratulated him as well.

"Sir Jiang, congratulations!"

"It's going to be a steady rise for you from now on!"

Qin Baichuan laughed as well, "As Mr. Jiang and Secretary Gu are there to provide support, there's no doubt that Sir Jiang's official career will soar up at Jiangnan. Hahaha…"

"Director Qin is right!"

Jiang Yi felt all sorts of feelings while hearing these words. He looked at his son with a gaze full of pride, "Yueling, our son has really grown up. His prospects are really endless."

Jiangnan's border region, as well as the elite of Jiangnan, were all flattering him so much. He felt like he was dreaming.

After suffering a lot of worries, happiness had come into their family.

The hatred was settled and what was lost regained. By contrast, the Cheng family had become penniless. The Cheng family had turned similar to stray dogs. The inferiority they felt was evident to the eye.

Sun Xiaohong dragged Cheng Lingsu to the side, "Susu, tell your mother. Do you know why your Aunty Lin wants Jiang Xiu to marry you even though their Jiang family has such a high status now?"

As the Jiang family was so fierce now, if her daughter could marry into the Jiang family, she believed she still had a chance to return to her former life or even reach a higher status than before.

No one would dare to provoke Mr. Jiang's mother-in-law in the entire Jiangnan province.

Cheng Lingsu was also quite puzzled. She shook her head, "I don't know. Looking at it, their family should hate us for what father did to them back then. Our family has nothing they want, so it doesn't make sense that they still want to preserve the engagement."

"Does father have some kind of agreement with them?"

Cheng Hanlin shook his head too. They had good relations back then, but it was all gone now.

"It doesn't matter. You must act obediently from now on. Especially towards your Aunty Lin. She's the key person here. If you can coax up to her well, she would find it difficult to send you away."

The news of Tang family's extermination, as well as Tang Zhengping going to jail, spread to all of the elite circle of Jiangnan on the very night it happened. They didn't dare to gossip about it as this matter was a big one. Only the top members of Jiangnan's elite circle knew that the person behind this incident was Mr. Jiang.

Within a hotel suite, Lin Yueling questioned her son, "Son, honestly tell dad and mom. How did you become Mr. Jiang? Not only the power holders of Jiangnan but even Gu Dezhi gave you face."

Jiang Yi was also puzzled about it. They were both clueless though they pondered on it a lot.

They were bewildered at how a well-behaved child like him had changed so much.

"It's difficult to explain it. I acknowledged a master who is very amazing. Everything I have now is all due to him. It's inconvenient to tell some of the things."

He didn't wish to weave an unnecessary lie, but it was quite difficult to believe it even if he spoke the truth.

They both glanced at each other. Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling could accept this explanation. Their family had nowhere to go, so there was no need to be concerned about such a good person's help.

Lin Yueling asked, "Can we see your master?"

Jiang Xiu's prideful gaze dimmed down. His master was most important to him. However, he had already passed away. "Master has already departed."

"Aaah?"

Jiang Xiu turned back and gazed through the glass window towards the boundless stars, "Master taught me a lot of things, he gave me a second life."

Jiang Yi asked, "That old mister must have been an amazing person."

"Naturally, none can compare to a person who treads the heavens." Jiang Xiu replied.

Jiang Yi couldn't help but get excited while looking at his son's back as it blended into Ninghai City's nightscape behind the window. It gave off a feeling as if the entire city was under his son's feet. His son's mannerisms were a hundred times better than his own and possessed a pride which disdained everything in this world. He felt that old mister was a great benefactor to the Jiang family as he had made Jiang Xiu so outstanding.

Tang Zhengping's case was put on trial on the next day. This matter also involved the issue of Jiang Yi's redressal, so its progress was quite fast due to pressure from Secretary Gu. Cheng Hanlin also matched correctly. According to his words, he wishes to atone for his crime.

As Tang Zhengping had lost the Tang family, there were no chances of any reversal due to the several criminal charges on him. The judgment had come after 5 days, Jiang Yi's case was redressed. 7 days later, Jiang Yi was restored to his former post. Only, it wasn't the same place where he was removed from before. He took up the position as the Mayor of Annan County.

According to Gu Dezhi, Annan would ascend from a county-level city to a prefecture-level city soon. So, this was almost a freebie.

The Gu family wanted to have a good relationship with Jiang Xiu, so they did their utmost to achieve the best possible outcome for Jiang Yi. This time, they had helped Jiang Xiu a lot by handing the clean-up about the Tang family.

"Mr. Jiang, do you remember our deal?"

Jiang Xiu naturally remembered it, but a mishap had occurred before.

"I won't make an extravagant request like asking Mr. Jiang to enter my elder brother's camp, but I hope you can act as an adviser of the camp and we will also award an army rank to you…"

Jiang Xiu felt that these Gu brothers were indeed astute. This suggestion left no way for Jiang Xiu to deny as it conformed well with his promise. He won't be entering the camp and would merely act as an adviser so he'll be free from the army's deployment and also receive an army rank.

"I'll naturally fulfill my words."

"That's great…"

After ending the call, Jiang Xiu gazed at Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling who were packing their things. Lin Yueling spoke to him, "Your father is really excited and impatient to take up the position there."

"I already wasted 12 years so I naturally can't waste any more of it." Jiang Yi commented.

Jiang Xiu laughed, "There's no need to hurry so much, right?"

"How can't I hurry? Your father has a heavy responsibility on his shoulder now. Since Secretary Gu has arranged such an important post for me, I must undertake the duty properly."

Lin Yueling puckered her lips while giggling. At this moment, she felt as if she saw the young Jiang Yi again, back when he was full of enthusiasm and thirsted to advance in officialdom.

"At least have food before you leave." Jiang Xiu told them.

Lin Yueling looked at the time, "Aaah. Just look at me, I forgot to make food due to the happy rush."

"Let's toast!"

"This is fine wine! Hahaha…"

Jiang Yi laughed contently while holding the wine cup. He had never felt like this before. It was as if he was reborn again. Jiang Xiu and Lin Yueling were sincerely happy for him. The hard times were over, the good times just beginning.

Three people arrived at their house at this moment.

"Brother Yi…"

Jiang Yi furrowed his brows while standing, "Why have you come here?"

Cheng Hanlin had a bottle of Maotai in his hand. Jiang Yi loved to drink this. The first time he had drunk Maotai back then was a bottle gifted to him by Jiang Yi. He said, "I came to congratulate you."

He wore an awkward expression on his face. He had already forecasted Jiang Yi's cold manner.

"I also came to sincerely apologize to you."

Though Jiang Yi was driven out of his family back then, he was a talented person and had built up pride right from his childhood, so he never viewed anyone on an equal level as him, yet he became close to Cheng Hanlin on their first meeting. Perhaps, this was fate.

"Uncle Jiang, we came over to send you off after hearing that you're leaving for Annan today." Cheng Lingsu said with a smile. As she still held the identity of Jiang Yi's future daughter-in-law, it was proper that she had come to send him off.

Jiang Yi wore a taut face while Lin Yueling welcomed her with a smile, "Susu is truly sensible. Come here, sit beside Aunty."

"Thank you, Aunty! It's fine, I have work to do…"

"What work?"

"I need to go work part-time at the convenience store…"

Lin Yueling was outraged, "Part-time work? What work! Tell Aunty if you're short on money, Aunty will give it to you. People will bully such a little girl like you if you work outside. There's no need to go to work."

Cheng Lingsu smiled in response, "I'm not a little girl, Aunty. The work is quite easy, it's just arranging the goods then receiving the money."

"Uncle, Aunty…" She then gazed at Jiang Xiu, but he simply ignored her. She still called out to him, "Jiang Xiu, we'll be leaving then."

The entire family left after that.

Jiang Yi looked at the bottle of Maotai Cheng Hanlin had left behind on the table. It would have taken a lot of effort to buy this bottle with the state their family was in.

"Feeling regret now is all in vain." He commented.

Jiang Xiu asked his mother, "Mother, why do you still want me to marry Cheng Lingsu? Isn't this just hurting father?"

As long as there's this relation with Cheng Lingsu, their Jiang family and the Cheng family would still have to interact.

Lin Yueling scolded him, "Stinky brat, Cheng Hanlin is Cheng Hanlin, and Susu is Susu. Did you forget about how I sat on the ground for a day and night back then when your father went to jail?"

Jiang Xiu didn't remember it clearly but had an impression of it, "What about it?"

"I had fainted, and you had also lost consciousness from the hunger. We both would've died if no one saved us."

"You mean…"

Jiang Yi was also hearing this for the first time. His eyes grew wide open in surprise.

Lin Yueling continued, "Yes, it was that little girl. She was only 5 years old back then yet your mother can never forget the scene of her feeding porridge to me."

"Cheng family had harmed us yet also saved us."

Jiang Xiu's eyes were filled with disbelief, but after hearing Lin Yueling's words, he vaguely remembered that he had spent 1-2 days at the Cheng family's home with his mother back then.

He also remembered the scene of Cheng Lingsu feeling porridge to him.

"I asked Susu back then that she's so small and couldn't even take care of herself so why did she save us? Can you guess what she said? She told me that I am her future mother-in-law and you are her future husband. From that moment onwards… I had decided that she'll be my daughter-in-law."

Jiang Xiu went silent. His heart was confused. The person who had caused his family's demise in the previous life was the same person who had saved them.

Since it was this way, he decided to end this grievance and let her go.

They would follow their own paths from now on.

Jiang Yi's cell phone began ringing at this moment. His expression changed after he saw the caller ID as this call had come from the Imperial Capital. He got up and left the house.

"Hello!"

The person on the other end spoke, "Didn't I tell you to wait for me? Why did you not stay put? What happened to the Tang family? Who helped you?"

Jiang Yi retorted, "Just know that it wasn't you."

"You are even taking up a position at Annan. Jiang Yi, tell me honestly, you didn't do anything to let the Jiang family down, did you? Did you sell out the benefits of the family?"

"The family's benefits?" Jiang Yi questioned him.

"Those benefits were that you had just looked on as I got imprisoned a decade ago."

"Those benefits were that you ignored my plea for help a few days ago and left my family to meet its end."

Jiang Yi continued, "Tell me, what benefits does your Jiang family have that I can sell them?"

The tone of the person on the other end went cold, "What's with that attitude? Do you think the Jiang family or I owe you? Don't forget your position."

He paused for a moment then asked, "Now tell me, what's the matter with the Tang family? And how did you obtain the Annan post? Tell me everything clearly."

He was quite astonished when he obtained this news. Though the Tang family wasn't a huge family, they had some foundation at Jiangnan as well as money. This kind of family was massacred cleanly within just a night, so it was really shocking. Everyone thought that the Tang family must have provoked some family and made an enemy out of them, but after researching it, he found out that Jiang Yi had obtained benefits from this. Not only was his case from the past redressed, but that personage from the border region of Jiangnan had also helped him with reinstated to his former position.

This kind of matter was just unheard of.

He had made use of his connections to suppress this nomination, but that personage from Jiangnan's border region had preserved with letting Jiang Yi get this position in spite of the different intentions of the Imperial Capital. He couldn't understand the reason for this and thus got angry.

Jiang Yi laughed, but his mind was full of rage at this moment, "Why should I tell you when you weren't willing to help us and left us to die?"

Things like familial love had never existed since a long time ago, right from the moment he had stepped out of the family's doors 20 years ago. It was only his naïve belief that there was still some chance to return.

"Y-You impudent…"

"Beep-Beep-Beep…"

Jiang Yi didn't wait for him to flip out and hung the call. There was no need to hear his nonsense or to his scolding as he wasn't worthy.

It made sense that the Jiang family hadn't helped him 12 years ago because he hadn't bowed his head to them and begged them. Therefore, he still held a bit of hope towards the family. But this time, he had laid down all his pride and begged for his son, Jiang Xiu's life yet their response had thoroughly shattered Jiang Yi's heart.

Since they weren't willing to act in such a grave situation where the life was at stake, there was no need to hold any delusions.

Only, it was after all the family that raised him. After ending the call, Jiang Yi revealed a sad face and didn't smile anymore after returning to his seat.

Lin Yueling guessed from his face that the call had come from the Imperial Capital, "Didn't you want to do an amazing task? Make them see who's better. You can still do it. We have the chance to achieve it."

"You're right!" He raised the wine cup and downed the warm white spirit down his throat. "Little Xiu, quickly fill the aspiration form, or else you will miss the chance. Which one will you join? The Imperial University or the National University?"

Since the relationship was thoroughly broken off, there was no need to deliberately avoid them. Jiang Yi felt that there was no need to make his son renounce an excellent opportunity.

Jiang Xiu understood that his father had moved on.

"Maybe the Imperial University…"

In the previous timeline, Cheng Lingsu had chosen the Imperial University. When he had gone to the Imperial Capital to find her, he felt as if he was a weak student entering the sacred ground. Jiang Xiu yearned to join the Imperial University.

"Imperial University is fine good. It seems like Susu is also planning to join there. You both can look after each other. Mother will focus on taking care of your father in Annan."

After having the meal, Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling left for Annan. Jiang Xiu was planning to make Wang Xintong arrange a car for them, but people from Annan had come to receive them.

After sending his parents off, Jiang Xiu called Tang Wenchong, "Find out where Cheng Lingsu is working."

…

After a few minutes, Jiang Xiu appeared at a convenience store.

He looked at Cheng Lingsu arrange things on the shelves through the glass door. Her long hair was messy and stuck to her forehead, glued to it due to the sweat.

If Cheng Hanlin hadn't harmed the Jiang family, no matter how cold Cheng Lingsu had treated him or mocked him, he would've repaid the favor of her saving his life, such was his nature. He would gift her whatever she wished, whether it be glory, splendor, wealth or rank. But everything had begun with Cheng Hanlin selling out his friend, and this made Jiang Xiu feel very unwell.

"Aaah!"

Cheng Lingsu cried out. The box was too heavy so she dropped it down as her hands couldn't steady her grip in time.

"It's alright!"

A youth who worked along with her came running and comforted her instead of scolding. He also helped her pick up the scattered goods.

Jiang Xiu could make out from his infatuated gaze that it was another person who had lost himself to Cheng Lingsu's charm. Such were beauties, they were popular no matter the place.

"Let me do it. It's difficult for a girl to lift such a heavy thing. If you find anything heavy later on, call me…"

The two of them set up the goods on the shelf together.

"Thank you!" Cheng Lingsu replied softly.

The youth's cheeks blushed when he heard her skylark-like voice. He felt as if a feather was tickling his heart.

"Susu, are you free tonight? I want to invite you to a movie…"

Cheng Lingsu shook her head lightly, "Did you forget that I'm on the night shift?"

The youth recalled it, "Oh, next time then."

Although he was refused, the youth wasn't discouraged at all. He knew it wasn't easy to pick up a pure and pretty girl like Cheng Lingsu and that it required a lot of perseverance and willpower to slowly move her heart.

"Let's get to work."

After that youth left reluctantly, Jiang Xiu walked inside, "Looks like you're working quite well."

Cheng Lingsu turned back, and the light smile on her face went rigid, replaced by a nervous expression, "W-Why are you here?"

"I can't come here?" Jiang Xiu questioned her.

"No, I didn't mean that. I was just surprised that you came to find me."

Her mind was quite keen. She could feel that Jiang Xiu was less oppressive this time but still indifferent to her.

He was indifferent to her before, but Cheng Lingsu could still sense that there was an intense emotion which was either love or hatred hidden behind that indifference previously, but it wasn't there now.

He called himself 'this deity' to increase his loftiness before her but didn't do so now.

"I came to tell you that I plan to enter the Imperial University."

Cheng Lingsu mummed.

"Although my mother wishes for us to get together, you don't like me, and I too don't have any feelings for you. You know what kind of person I am. I am a wolf, and a wolf wouldn't get together with a hare. Let alone, after understanding the matters which happened in the past, there's no need for us to go down such a path. It's better to part our ways from now on."

"That's why I don't wish to enter the same school as you."

Cheng Lingsu bit her lips, "You won't let me enter the Imperial University?"

"I'll compensate you." Jiang Xiu told her.

He took out a bank card and handed it over to her, "There's a million inside the card. This money is enough for you to smoothly finish your university education in the Imperial Capital. It's enough for you to even go abroad."

In the previous timeline, Cheng Lingsu had chosen to go abroad to break free from Jiang Xiu.

And now, Jiang Xiu was helping her do that.

Money was what Cheng Lingsu needed the most right now for her parents' livelihood as well as her tuition fee. She already had intentions of going abroad to study. Before the college entrance exam, their family had already planned to send her overseas to study if she couldn't pass the requirements for the Imperial University or the National University.

Cheng Lingsu reached out to take the card, but Jiang Xiu pulled the back, "From now on, stay away from my mother a bit. Don't call her if she doesn't call you and also find a boyfriend as quickly as possible…"

The expression on Cheng Lingsu's face changed. She couldn't help but raise her head to look at him. She understood that he was making the boundaries clear to her. She took the card he presented her again with much difficulty, "Okay!"

After that, Jiang Xiu left the place. Once he left the convenience store, tears welled up at Cheng Lingsu's eyes, slowly sliding down her cheeks.

That youth had once again appeared before her, "Susu, why are you crying?"

Only then did Cheng Lingsu realize that she was crying, so she rushed to wipe them. She too didn't know why she was crying. She should have felt happy that she had finally got rid of him and even gained a million bucks.

When she raised her hand to wipe her tears, the youth looked at the bank card in her hand. It wasn't an ordinary card but instead a golden card, which meant that it was loaded with money.

"Who is he?"

He was quite jealous.

Cheng Lingsu shook her head and didn't reply to him. She received the bank card inside her purse then returned back to work, but she became quite dejected.