Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 999: Chapter 43: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World (5)

As soon as Sun Xiaosheng hung up the phone, Long Xiruo, thousands of miles away, froze for a moment and then suddenly threw the phone onto the ground, gritting her teeth.

But unexpectedly, there was a sudden flash of light in the study, accompanied by a ‘click’ sound.

“Gui Qianyi, what are you doing?” Long Xiruo immediately frowned.

Because the old turtle somehow took out a cellphone. Was the flash just now from the camera’s flash?

“Oh… couldn’t resist for a moment.” Gui Qianyi said solemnly, “Just wanted to capture some memories from the past. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen you like this.”

Her chubby cheeks, even when angry, were so adorable. Gui Qianyi’s thoughts couldn’t help but drift back far… there was always a little girl riding on his back, joyfully declaring she would traverse the Five Mountains and Five Lakes, saying she would save humanity.

Long Xiruo rolled her eyes, then sat down moodily.

Ghost Baby noticed these two grown-ups had almost finished their quarrel, so he dared to speak: “Lord Long, the representatives of the Yao Association know you’re here and say they want to visit you personally. Especially some from the Four Spirits Clan. They say it’s been a long time since you visited their tribe.”

“Not interested.” Long Xiruo waved her hand, “Reject them, tell them I’m busy.”

“Also, the Special National Land Administration Bureau hopes you can find time to fulfill your duties as a special advisor.”

“They haven’t even paid me a salary, have they?” Long Xiruo sneered, “Not seeing them!”

Besides, currently, the Godly Land True Dragon’s situation is indeed unpresentable… if the Godly Land Transcendent found out that the True Dragon is now a little girl… a child, what would happen?

Thinking of things that annoyed her, Long Xiruo took out a pack of Mount Tai Cigarettes from the drawer, lit it and leaned back on the chair, smoking with an air of despair.

Gui Qianyi and Ghost Baby exchanged glances, both shaking their heads.

Long Xiruo said weakly, “Gui Qianyi, have some subordinates keep an eye out, my half-baked disciple might show up nearby soon.”

“Mo Xiaofei?” Gui Qianyi frowned slightly, because he was somewhat resistant to Long Xiruo having Mo Xiaofei as a disciple.

This had nothing to do with Mo Xiaofei’s character, purely a Human Race and demons issue.

“This kid somehow awakened some memories of the past life, showing interest in the past life.” Long Xiruo shook her head, “Before I left, I casually mentioned Clothed Daoist, I reckon he’s looking for it. There’s also Zhuifeng, they left together after leaving a note.”

“One is the Greedy Wolf Star, the other is modified with essential blood of the True Dragon, such a combination is really…” Gui Qianyi smiled bitterly, feeling this combination could be a big headache.

Now, chaos has already ensued within Mount Tai, Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng’s arrival might add further uncertainties.

“Understood, I will have people constantly watching at major stations.” Gui Qianyi nodded.

Long Xiruo now forced the cigarette butt into the ashtray and stood up, “Contact me if there’s anything, I have some matters to attend to, going out for the next few days.”

Gui Qianyi was stunned, “There’s only two days until New Year’s Eve, where are you going?”

Long Xiruo calmly said, “There’s a little guy I haven’t seen in a while, since I’m already at Mount Tai, I’ll stop by to take a look. After all, this little guy is considered a part of the Dragon Race.”

Gui Qianyi opened his eyes slightly, “Looking?”

Long Xiruo didn’t say anything, she just pushed open the window and shouted below, “Pianqian, come take a walk with me, stop reading!!”

With that, Long Xiruo left the study directly.

Ghost Baby suddenly said, “Prime Minister, don’t you want to send some brothers to follow Lord Long? In case she encounters any danger…”

Gui Qianyi shook his head, “We’re already understaffed, needing to monitor both the Daoist Association and Yao Association… this will do, she isn’t completely helpless. However, there’s one thing I need you to do immediately.”

Ghost Baby listened intently, fearing missing a word.

Gui Qianyi solemnly handed his cell phone to Ghost Baby, seriously saying, “Go get the photos I took just now developed.”

“…”

…

…

Later, Song Haoran couldn’t even recall why he climbed onto the roof, nor remember seeing the shadow crawling in the darkness before breakfast.

“Why do you keep clutching your shoulder?”

At the dining table, Song Ying curiously asked Song Haoran.

Song Haoran twisted his neck, cracking his bones, casually saying, “Probably because I’m not used to the bed, always feeling a bit stiff in the shoulders.”

Song Ying casually responded with an oh.

Luo Qiu appeared at the door to the living room, coincidentally across from Zhang Qingrui arriving almost simultaneously. At the doorway, Zhang Qingrui smiled slightly and said good morning.

“Morning.” Luo Qiu responded with a smile.

Without much talk, like in class in the past, he always nodded upon seeing her, and she nodded back, like a kind of tacit understanding, then each took their seats.

Breakfast was simple due to limited conditions, so Uncle Wu left early to fetch some sweet cereal from the village entrance. A big bowl of steaming sweet cereal warmed the mood on a winter morning.

Sweet cereal isn’t really sweet; it’s actually salty porridge. It contains large spinach leaves, small strips of tofu, beans, peanuts, and a hint of ginger and pepper, making it very soothing.

After breakfast, Song Tianyou mentioned going to the ancestral tomb for a ceremony. This was Song Family affair, and Zhang Qingrui wouldn’t take part, but because there was going to be a large cooperation between Song Family and her grandmother, she needed to stay.

Her grandmother, Zhang Li Lanfang, was of high age, not suitable for travel, and cooperation here with Song Family was extremely important, only leaving everything to Mr. Aqi would seem insincere.

This way, Zhang Qingrui could clearly see her grandmother’s urgency in her marriage concerns… although Song Family was big, but it was actually the Zhang Family that was thin, only two women alone.

In the coming years, after Zhang Li’s family loyal members are gone, just relying on Zhang Qingrui might be hard to sustain… these two ancient tomb-robbing families splitting or declining would be foreseeable.

But must rely on her marriage… currently, the marriage with Boss Zhong’s Zhong Luochen was at a stalemate, and she hadn’t contacted Zhong Luochen for a while, not knowing what the second master of Boss Zhong was up to, always felt somewhat mysterious.

Marriage…

After all, when considering this issue, even a young woman of prestige inevitably ponders continuously.

Zhang Qingrui subconsciously glanced at Luo Qiu, who was carefully savoring the sweet cereal… was it really that delicious? Eating so carefully, as if tasting a delicacy.

Seemingly noticing Zhang Qingrui’s gaze, Luo Qiu looked her way. But at the moment their eyes met, Zhang Qingrui imperceptibly shifted her gaze.

“Casting glances…” Song Ying quietly muttered beside them.

As Old Master Song continued talking about ancestral worship, Zhang Qingrui quickly finished her meal, then said, “Old Master Song, I’ll excuse myself to call my grandmother.”

“Of course.” Song Tianyou was not concerned, talking about ancestral worship, having an outsider overhearing was indeed inappropriate. Suddenly he had a thought, “Ms. Zhang, in two days it will be New Year’s Eve… what do you think of bringing your grandmother over here and spending New Year’s together?”

Zhang Qingrui elegantly opened her lips.

Song Tianyou smiled, “You know, having you alone here isn’t right, and having Sister Li alone at home isn’t right either. So, if your grandmother’s health allows, would you like to bring her over? I haven’t seen Sister Li for many years now.”

Leaving grandmother alone miles away in the home did make Zhang Qingrui feel reluctant… she pondered for a moment and nodded, “I’ll ask grandmother what she thinks.”

“Certainly.” Song Tianyou smiled kindly, “Then I won’t keep you. If you need anything, feel free to ask Uncle Wu.”

Zhang Qingrui then took her leave, while the Song family spent the rest of the morning discussing among themselves. In the afternoon, Uncle Wu went out to purchase the supplies for the priestess.

In fact, before the Song family embarked on this journey, a team had already left earlier to prepare at the nearby location. Now, Uncle Wu just needed to send out the coordinates, and the pre-arranged materials would be delivered, expected to arrive by evening.

Lunch was just a casual affair, and feeling a bit tired, Song Tianyou decided to rest in his room.

Last night, the haunted incidents that Song Bo claimed didn’t occur, and Song Ying dismissed it as local villagers’ imaginations, not paying much attention. The area is scenic but lacks recreational activities, which made Song Ying restless. She was currently handling company matters via a satellite connection.

Song Haoran suddenly suggested, “Why don’t we go dragon hunting?”

In the living room, Song Ying paused her keyboard tapping, while on the other side, Luo Qiu, who was reading a basic old book, also looked up.

“That, that!” Song Haoran grinned, “Didn’t Dad say there’s a pond here that has the child of the Dragon God? Let’s go on an adventure!”

Song Ying chuckled twice and continued typing on her laptop, not even glancing at Song Haoran, “I have a video conference later… Plus, do you know how much the company loses during the time you’re off adventuring?”

Song Haoran squinted his eyes again and suddenly walked to Luo Qiu’s side, snatching the book from his hands and closing it, which surprised Luo Qiu, making him blink in confusion.

Just then, Song Haoran grinned, “Luo Qiu, let’s go on an adventure.”

The sound of typing slowed down.

Luo Qiu thought for a moment and then smiled, “Sure, let’s take a walk after lunch. It’s good to stretch the legs.”

Song Haoran then added, “Shall we invite your ~female classmate to join us?”

The sound of typing slowed even more.

Luo Qiu replied, “Out of courtesy, we should notify her.”

So the keyboard tapping stopped completely, followed by a screeching sound of a chair being pulled back.

Song Ying suddenly stood up, stretched lazily, and said to herself, “I ate too much. Let’s go out for a walk… So, Song Haoran, where were you suggesting we go?”

Song Haoran’s eyes squinted even more, “Didn’t you say you had a video conference?”

“It was canceled last minute.” Song Ying said blankly.

Song Haoran joked, “Oh dear, won’t that cost a lot of money?”

Song Ying replied coldly, “No problem, cutting your monthly allowance will cover it.”

“…,” Song Haoran’s neck stiffened, and he smiled awkwardly, blinking at Luo Qiu.

“Let’s get ready to go out.” Luo Qiu smiled.

These two are really adorable.

…

…

…

…

In front of the crowded elevator, a professional woman with dark circles under her eyes was yawning while scrolling on her phone… Ren Ziling.

Suddenly, her left shoulder was gently tapped, prompting Ren Ziling to habitually look to the right and saw Lizi hiding behind her.

“Why are you looking this way…”

“Why wouldn’t I be looking this way…”

This marked the official start of their conversation today.

Lizi took a look at Ren Ziling’s unkempt appearance and sighed, “Sister Ren, why do you look like a female lead that hasn’t appeared in a few hundred episodes on TV, with grievances written all over your forehead?”

“I’m out of energy…” Ren Ziling yawned, “No more Luo Qiu energy, I’m almost dead.”

Lizi chuckled and curiously asked, “Isn’t there just two days until New Year’s Eve? So, your Luo Qiu can’t make it back?”

Ren Ziling hung her head, with a rain cloud seemingly above it, emitting a despondent aura, “He said he can’t make it back…”

“Wow, does this mean you’ll have to eat New Year’s Eve dinner alone?”

Those words were like an arrow, making Ren Ziling’s face paler. When the elevator door opened, she dragged herself inside, unable to straighten her waist.

A short while later, in front of the newspaper office, Ren Ziling’s posture seemed to droop even more under the curious gazes of others as she shuffled back to her office like a zombie.

“Sister Lizi, did Chief Editor Ren encounter something unhappy today?”

The person asking was Akiko, speaking fluent but accented Chinese, curious and asking Lizi——who looked at this intern who just joined over a month ago, and mischievously said, “Nothing much, she was just heartlessly abandoned by a man.”

“That’s really…” Akiko was surprised, covering her mouth, ready to ask more, but Ren Ziling suddenly emerged from her office.

“Did any of you enter my office? Who put the thing on my desk?” Ren Ziling asked loudly.

Everyone shook their heads, and seeing this, Ren Ziling could only instruct them to continue working before turning back into her office.

Lizi stretched lazily and perked up, “Time to work, time to work, Akiko, did you develop all the photos from yesterday? If not, I’ll help you!”

“Thank you, Sister Lizi.” Akiko giggled, “You’re really kind to me.”

Lizi said it was alright, “Probably because hearing your mismatched accent gives a sense of familiarity?”

“Is?”

“Nothing, go to work.” Lizi smiled, then glanced at Ren Ziling’s office, noticing she had already drawn the curtains… Probably dozing off inside, with the newspaper office quite idle these days.

…

Ren Ziling frowned at the item on her desk—a thermal box.

This thing looked like it contained food—but no one admitted putting it there… This made Ren Ziling curious, who would bring her food for no reason?

After opening the thermal box’s lid, a peppery aroma wafted out, and the steaming heat reached Ren Ziling’s face, warming her cheeks, cold from the commute.

“Sweet porridge, haven’t had this in ages…”

Ren Ziling’s appetite was aroused, and ignoring everything else, she decided to eat as she was really hungry, having only a cup of instant noodles last night…

“Do I feel more spirited?”

After a few sips of sweet porridge, Ren Ziling inexplicably felt better, “By the way, does anywhere nearby sell this stuff?”