Trafford's Trading Club

769: Chapter 13: Jade Butterfly 769: Chapter 13: Jade Butterfly “Wow!

Is this Mount Tai!”

With her hand shading her brow, Luo Pianqian energetically made a lookout gesture, although she had just alighted from the train and was still on the platform.

She was already showing excitement.

As people hurried by, Long Xiruo looked somewhat wistfully at this little butterfly.

Initially, bringing her along wasn’t about protection but rather to have someone to handle certain matters.

After all, her current appearance made it inconvenient for her to step forward directly.

Only…

This fellow was treating this mission as a tourism trip, wasn’t she?

Despite the efforts put into explaining the Mount Tai trip to Luo Pianqian on the train, it seemed she had already forgotten.

But really…

what’s with that figure?

Every time Long Xiruo glanced at her, she couldn’t help but be amazed, especially now that the dress she wore seemed particularly provocative.

“Speaking of which, I hadn’t seen that dress before, when did you buy it?” Long Xiruo asked out of curiosity.

“This dress?” Luo Pianqian blinked, tugging slightly on the hem to reveal a bit of lace inside, then smiled, “It was given to me by Sister Zijun!”

“Oh.” Long Xiruo didn’t think much of it, but internally she griped…

that little imp disappeared without a word, who knows where she went.

However…

how did this brat find such a fitting outfit?

Could it be that she already anticipated such situations before the little butterfly broke through?

That figure…

“Lord Long!”

Without a sound, a cold voice appeared behind Long Xiruo and Luo Pianqian.

While Long Xiruo was unfazed, the little butterfly was startled, looking around flustered, grasping her hands tightly.

“Don’t worry, it’s Ghost Baby,” Long Xiruo whispered.

“Huh?

Mr.

Ghost Baby?”

“It’s a special ability of his clan; consider it akin to invisibility,” Long Xiruo explained simply, stepping out of the platform, with Luo Pianqian following closely, still attempting to detect the presence of Ghost Baby, looking nervous.

Long Xiruo walked at a leisurely pace, lowering her voice, “What’s the situation at Mount Tai now?”

Ghost Baby’s voice replied, “It’s chaotic.

The Taoism-cultivated field and the demons have suddenly started a massacre.

The Imperial Court remains inactive, showing no sign of taking sides or intervening.”

Long Xiruo said indifferently, “They couldn’t be happier to watch both sides exhaust themselves.

Although the demons had an agreement with the founder of the nation, over time, some have issues with the original deal.”

She then sneered, “It seems the Taoism-cultivated side can’t sit quietly either, planning to take this opportunity to strike the demon clans hard?

After years of suppression, it’s about time things backfire.”

Ghost Baby calmly said, “Even the Prime Minister remarked that some demons are dissatisfied with the Taoism-cultivated field and something is bound to happen.

The rumored appearance of Dongyue the Great Emperor’s inheritance provides just such an opportunity.”

Long Xiruo furrowed her brows, “Did Gui Qianyi mention on the phone that the one who received the Imperial Edict is missing?”

“Yes,” Ghost Baby promptly replied.

“That person is a descendant of the restive Taoist, taught by Yang Taizi, and he only recently entered the path, weak in strength.

Along with him, another descendant of the Taoist Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain is also missing.”

“Taoist Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain?” Long Xiruo paused, “Zhang Daoling’s legacy…”

——If one day I become immortal, peace will reign!

A resounding voice echoed in her mind…

Long Xiruo smiled slightly, whispering, “That little troublemaker from back then is gone too…”

“Lord Long?” Ghost Baby asked with curiosity.

Long Xiruo shook her head, “Nothing, just reminded of an old acquaintance…

Take me to see Gui Qianyi.

He sounded anxious over the phone, insisting I come to explain things thoroughly.

Do you know what’s happened?”

“I don’t know,” Ghost Baby said with evident concern, “During this period, Mr.

Gui hasn’t left, confining himself.

I’m quite worried.

The Imperial Court has contacted us at Xuanyuan Palace several times about the undercurrents at Mount Tai, but Mr.

Gui claims illness as the reason to avoid meeting them.”

They continued walking, Long Xiruo and Luo Pianqian leaving the train station.

Luo Pianqian was surprised then to realize she couldn’t hear Ghost Baby’s voice anymore.

Looking ahead, she saw a black car had somehow pulled up.

Ghost Baby had surfaced, dressed in a black suit and driver’s hat, opening a car door, ready to receive the two of them.

“Mr.

Ghost Baby?” Luo Pianqian exclaimed in surprise—the transformation was dramatic though the face was the same!

Despite few interactions, the Gatekeeper of the Elysium Pub had left a strong impression on Luo Pianqian.

In her mind, Ghost Baby wore spiked clothing, even with a nose-ring, and colorful hair…

Yet now, he appeared so suave, with pale skin, like a noble gentleman.

Ghost Baby said calmly, “Since it’s a meeting at Mount Tai, I paid particular attention to dressing.

Any issue?”

“No…

not at all,” Luo Pianqian quickly shook her head.

The same awe-inspiring gaze…

Luo Pianqian cautiously stepped into the back of the car, pulling Long Xiruo in after.

“Mr.

Ghost Baby, where are we headed?” Luo Pianqian asked curiously.

Turning from the driver’s seat, Ghost Baby replied, “Near Shuanglong Pool, Xuanyuan Palace has holdings there.

Now, please buckle up, I’m starting the drive.”

“Okay, okay…

Wow!”

This is a full-on sprint!

…

Sitting cross-legged in a shabby room, Mo Mo began channeling his energy to heal.

Thanks to a woman with the surname Qin who applied medicine on his wounds, his external injuries had healed, and after some days of recuperation, his meridians had largely recovered, restoring about thirty percent of his strength, enough to protect himself.

Parting ways with the mysterious woman named Qin, he carried Zhan on his back and left.

Upon finally reaching a village, he realized he was some sixty kilometers from where he had fallen off the cliff, hence not having encountered the Taoism-cultivated field or demons along the way, likely having been relocated by that woman along with Zhan.

Quickly, Mo Mo found a local family named Wang, seemingly quite humble villagers.

He fabricated an excuse and paid some money for staying temporarily at their house.

Zhan still showed no sign of waking.

At this moment, the owner of this house suddenly knocked on the door, bringing some food.

This man was named Wang Dashun, an honest farmer, with only one son studying at a high school outside, who only came home during vacations.

“Brother!

My wife has cooked some millet porridge!

Since your friend can’t wake up to eat, why not give them some millet porridge?” Wang Dashun said cheerfully, pushing the door open.

“Thanks, Brother Wang.” Mo Mo gratefully accepted.

In this environment, surrounded by dangers, encountering the kindness of an ordinary person made Mo Mo feel touched—yet the Taoism-cultivated field and demons would eventually find him, potentially implicating this family.

“Brother Wang, I plan to leave tonight.” Mo Mo said, while feeding Zhan some millet porridge and looking at Wang Dashun.

“So soon?

You can stay a few more days!

It’s fine!” Wang Dashun quickly replied, “Aren’t you injured too?

I saw you covered in blood the other day…”

“I’m almost recovered.” Mo Mo casually said, “Besides, my friend not waking up isn’t a solution, I plan to take them to the provincial hospital for a check-up.”

“That’s true.” Wang Dashun nodded, then said, “How about this, it’s inconvenient to go out from here, there’s only a small bus coming in every few days, I’ll see if there’s another way for you.”

“Thanks a lot, Brother Wang!” Mo Mo nodded, “By the way, Brother Wang, could I use your phone?

I’ve been missing for some time, and haven’t reported my safety to my family.”

“Here, take it.”

It wasn’t a high-end phone, probably just a counterfeit costing a few hundred yuan, but it was enough to make a call.

Wang Dashun sensibly left the room.

Mo Mo thought for a while, then dialed a number—his own phone had long been destroyed to prevent constant surveillance.

In China’s Taoism-cultivated field, there were many rules and regulations—for instance, everyone involved had to register with a special government agency, and were required to install a tracking system on their phones, receiving frequent calls from the agency.

At this time, Mo Mo naturally did not plan to conform and report to the agency.

He just felt that such a major incident required informing his master, to prevent him from worrying, and also to inform Master Yang Taizi.

But as he began to dial his master’s number, he suddenly stopped…

what if they were directly monitoring his master or Master Yang Taizi’s phone?

It might reveal his location just through the signal source.

Even if his master and Master Yang Taizi acted, they might not be able to fend off those who had become obsessed with opportunities like rabid dogs.

Worse, if it implicated these two elders…

Mo Mo sighed bitterly and ultimately set Wang Dashun’s phone aside without using it.

He looked at Zhan on the bed and smiled wryly, “You sleep soundly, don’t you?”

He shook his head, sighed, then took the millet porridge cooked by Wang Dashun’s wife, scooped some with a spoon, gently blew on it, and carefully fed it to Zhan.

“Eat up, who knows if there’ll be another chance to eat this, better to be a well-fed ghost than a starving one.”

…

…

There’s a street, yet it’s like heaven and hell.

What’s interesting in this city is that both rich and poor can live halfway up the mountain—this geographical position, in other developed cities, might be inaccessible to anyone but the wealthy.

But evidently, not here in Rio.

Next to the luxurious villas of the wealthy stand simple houses.

About decades ago, this country’s batch of retired soldiers, after returning, instead of receiving preferential treatment, faced the fear of unemployment.

They had no financial source, and not even land to call their own.

Yet, back then, this country also had strange policies—like, if you built a house in a place, then that piece of land belonged to you.

A large number of retired soldiers and drifters started to build their homes in what later became prime real estate.

Two-story, three-story, even one-story houses, emerging like mushrooms after rain, swiftly occupied these unrivaled sea-view golden lands.

But the slums that formed, of course, had few entertainment facilities, at most, were simple parks or football fields established by the gangs controlling the slums.

Luo Qiu found that the umbrella brought by the maid quickly became unusable—because a large patch of dark clouds drifted from the seaside.

You Ye liked arranging flowers in the club lobby.

Before coming to this city, at Luo Qiu’s original residence, the maid had her regular flower shop.

But coming here, they might need to find another one—despite their stay in Rio not being very long.

“This flower shop seems nice.”

Of course, not among the slums, but on the other side of the street, in the wealthy district.

The flower shop was an all-white building, with many South American flowers displayed outside, many varieties Luo Qiu was familiar with were hard to find here.

“You choose, I’ll just have a look.” Luo Qiu smiled, rarely venturing into botany unless necessary.

Watching You Ye start conversing with the flower shop owner, Luo Qiu began admiring the varieties available here.

He curiously approached a plant labeled ‘Brazilian Iris,’ admiring its jade-like white petals and butterfly-like blue blossoms, feeling a desire to purchase it.

“This Brazilian Iris is also known as the Jade Butterfly.”

Boss Luo turned around.

A man in a deep blue casual suit stood not far off, looking about thirty years old.

The man spoke as he approached the plant, smiling and suddenly asking Luo Qiu, “Chinese?”

The man had an Eastern face and initiated the conversation using their shared native language.

Boss Luo smiled and nodded, casually saying, “Yes, I’m here for a few days of sightseeing.

Hello, I’m Luo Qiu.”

“Sightseeing, huh?

Not a great choice.” The man also smiled, extending his hand, “Hello, I’m Song Haoran, it’s a pleasure to meet you, my fellow countryman.”

Fellow countryman, naturally implied they were both descendants of the legendary Yellow Emperor.