Volume 1, Chapter 27: She had nothing left, not even her family.

Qin Lang followed Su Yan'er into the room. Qin Wan realized then that Su Yan'er’s entire performance was staged for Qin Lang’s benefit—a calculated display of gentleness and consideration.

Yet, the act was utterly nauseating. Qin Wan now began to suspect whether Su Yan'er had used her as a human cushion for Wanxia on purpose. Though she had been lying on the ground at the time, she had had a split second to cover her face with her sleeve when the teacup shattered; instead, she had let it happen, seemingly inviting the shards to slice her cheeks. Reflecting on this, Qin Wan recalled how, in the past, every time a conflict arose with Su Yan'er, there were always witnesses present, and as a result, she was always the one who...

"Fine then." Fan Chacha pinched a slice of meat and tossed it into her mouth, unceremoniously enjoying the still-warm lunch.

Xia Yifu felt a vague sense of unease. How could these people possess any sense of chivalry? How could their words ever be worth their weight in gold?

She remembered that some time ago, under Sifeng’s guidance, Mr. Zhuge had secretly traveled to Nanchang—the territory of Prince Ning, Zhu Chenhao—intending to conduct a thorough investigation. Before even reaching the city, while the carriage was still navigating the mountain wilderness, he saw refugees huddled together across the hills, gnawing on wild vegetables and berries. They were disheveled, their clothes in tatters, appearing no better than savages.

"Of course not! Our leader has already fled, hahaha!" The man laughed wildly. Seeing his brazen display, Xia Yifu rushed toward him without a word; the man was already at the end of his rope.

They were all alchemists and understood perfectly well that alchemy furnaces varied, directly impacting the purity of the elixirs produced. Yet, they could never have imagined that there was so much nuance to a simple furnace. These assets allowed Du Bian to grow powerful in an instant, ensuring his army was no longer a rootless force.

Seeing Long Xingyun prepared, Yue Wu sprang up, nocked an arrow to her longbow, and fired with a bang, the shaft wreathed in shimmering battle qi. The Blood Elf hiding behind the cover was caught off guard and pierced through. The Blood Elves in front were shocked and prepared to stand up to investigate, but Long Xingyun’s Magic Explosion had already arrived.

The stroke of bad luck was that before she had even reached the one-year mark with her adoptive family, the husband had an affair, leading to the total collapse of the household.

"Changjun, go bring out the pastries you stored for the elders. I’ll go prepare some hot and sour noodles for you all—everyone should have a bowl, don't you think?" Auntie said with a smile.

"Noble Consort, what brings you here? The Emperor and I were doing just fine, you..." Despite the intense resentment in her heart, Concubine Liang dared not speak plainly. After all, their fathers were business partners, and they were expected to work hand in hand.

"Dongyu greets Miss Su. I saw you were here alone, so I took the liberty to come and keep you company," Dongyu said, stepping to Su Lin’an’s side and offering a respectful bow.

Although Gong Qiming was not physically present, the chill and hostility radiating even through the video call were palpable. They could only imagine how much worse things would have been for Director Wang had Gong Qiming been there in person.

Xue Jun’s breathing began to feel fresh. It was the first time he realized that breathing was not merely for survival; it possessed a unique rhythm, a cadence of a beautiful life.

An Xiyan pointed to herself in astonishment, but before she could speak, Pei Yiyue had already looked away.

Ugh... she feared that even a light yawn might blow this old man into dust.

She did not know what she had done to deserve such punishment from the heavens. They were deeply in love, yet they could not be together. They had both tried so hard to live, yet life played cruel, mocking jokes on them time and again. They had treated others with kindness, yet so many people refused to let them live in peace.

This situation was common across the globe now; perhaps the Qilin Base was actually better off, as it concentrated resources far more effectively than any other base.

"Since brother-in-law brought a servant back, shouldn't he let her meet her masters?" Xia Hua said disdainfully. Although they were both servants of the Hua household, her sister was the legal wife and therefore the rightful mistress of the concubine.

"Because I watched you leave from the Hua household!" Ye Bingyin could not lie in front of Hua Rou.

In truth, what he didn't mention was that because the flat had been rented by a secondary tenant and partitioned with simple renovations, the living room had also been turned into a bedroom. Counting the hotel staff living there, the total number of occupants was certainly no fewer than seven or eight.

"Because, because I dreamt that she killed Master Xiuyuan," Wanghen’s tears flowed again. When a dream is too vivid, it blurs the line between reality and illusion. Wanghen still remembered that scene—especially the sight of her covered in blood, making off with Xiuyuan’s heart.

At this moment, Zhang Lijun and Murong Shan stepped out of the car. They glanced at the gate leading to the basement, and then Murong Shan stepped forward, patted the pocket of one of the men, and pulled out a device resembling a car remote. He aimed it at the rolling shutter door and pressed a button; the door slowly began to rise.

"What is this, Brother Hu? Are you..." Qiu Hai asked, pointing at the hulking men beside Shan Hu with a questioning look.

"The debt for An Xin and Bai Sha must be repaid. I cannot let them die in vain; I will give them justice. As for Nana, if she wants my life, I won't even bat an eye!" Zhang Lijun stated firmly.

"They live on an isolated island overseas; naturally, we people of Huaxia would not know. It was only because a merchant fleet previously..." The villager was quite the chatterbox and immediately began to recount the tale with added embellishments.

He picked up the long gown and examined it closely. It was indeed magnificent and exquisite to the touch, but for some reason, whenever Xiuyuan looked at it, he felt a strange sensation.

"Come in and sit!" Arriving at the center, Lu Ya waved his hand, and the entrance to an immortal realm instantly opened.

"Go to hell." Hearing Qin Tian’s predatory words, Gongsun Laiyi was so angry she almost threw her phoenix coronet at him. The wretch! Yunying was still just a child; how could he bring himself to say such filthy things to her?

"Sister, it’s lunch time. If Aunt Fire can't find us, she’ll be worried!" Chen Zhe was afraid that once Mu Ying got caught up in her playfulness, she wouldn't be able to stop in time and would miss the meal.

Da'ai followed as well. I handed him a cigarette—a silent exchange between men.

"I simply haven't seen Concubine Jin for a while and wanted to see if she was still in good health. But isn't it a bit rude for Concubine Jin to stare at this consort so directly?" Yu Xiao’s eyes seemed to hold a touch of noble chill, quite unlike her usual gentle disposition.

"These look quite appetizing. I shall sample the delicacies of the Ji Kingdom," Zuoqiu Liye said, focusing intently on the breakfast spread and ignoring Yunwu’s words entirely.