Chapter 96: Bai Jianren

“How did Fourth Sister become so close with Huang Mingzhen?” Gu Zhuo was astonished.

There were four girls left in the Gu family. Except for the eldest, who belonged to the eldest uncle’s branch, the second, fourth, and sixth girls were all from the second uncle’s household. In Gu Zhuo’s recollection, this Fourth Sister had always been lazy and gluttonous—never malicious, but not particularly kind-hearted, either. She was unlike the second sister, whose temperament was a mirror of their second uncle’s, or the sixth sister, whose preference for sons over daughters surpassed even that of their aunt. Fourth Sister seemed to resemble neither their uncle nor their aunt.

At New Hope, there was an evening company dinner. Bai Shu, unable to attend in person due to being stretched thin, sent Ayu to join the gathering instead. She made sure every colleague received a red envelope, encouraging all to come in high spirits and leave thoroughly satisfied.

Suddenly, the Holy Light Pegasus vanished from the sky and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before the weakened Riko. With a powerful kick, it struck the Light Shield, sending Riko flying far away. The moment she hit the ground, a cage of light enclosed her, and four chains extended from the confines to bind her limbs tightly.

Zhong Nan had barely returned to the capital for a few days when, hastily, the Spring Festival of the twenty-sixth year of Wanli arrived.

Going to Lingyu Academy was merely a task assigned to the diviners. Academies were key places of interest for them, as people’s states of mind were most susceptible to change there. Once a person’s mindset shifted, so too would their destiny. That was why, as this year’s representative for the diviners, I entered Lingyu Academy.

After a few more minutes, the fragrance of wine not only lingered, but grew ever more intense—it was truly intoxicating.

This gas station was small, and there weren’t many vehicles refueling. Yet the surrounding scenery was beautiful. Wu Yong felt that, even without the need to rest or refuel, it would be worthwhile to stop and enjoy the view.

The burly American looked at the man before him, whose gaze radiated the warmth of sunlight. Instinctively, he knew it was this man who had fired the shot just now. He extended his rough right hand in a gesture of goodwill, grasping Xiao Yuan’s hand in a firm shake.

She was halfway through her words when the thought of Yin Yi’s predicament crossed her mind—perhaps Yin Yi needed the donor’s name to prove her own innocence.

All these songs had been performed by Yin Yi on stage before. Since fans had already heard the live versions, there was little novelty left. Even selling three million copies was already impressive.

Tu Shu’s chopsticks halted midair as she gazed at the dishes filling the table, remaining silent.

After finishing the thick tome, Zuo Lun still felt bewildered and decided to return to Red Eagle for the video recording.

As the cold, bitter liquid slid down my throat, a surge of powerful spiritual energy erupted from within me, accompanied by excruciating pain.

To call this a criminal syndicate would be terrifying indeed—disappearing with a laugh, treating human life as insignificant.

Lin Peng’s hands abruptly stopped; he sensed there was something more to what Wang Xinyi had just said.

He was about to kneel when a voice cut in before the person arrived: “Well! Such arrogance! Who dares let her kneel if I forbid it?” In strode Ningxiang, her presence cold and commanding, brooking no dissent.

It seems no one has ever truly comprehended the essence before the Di Mark appears. But understanding essence cannot be rushed. So you need not be anxious to pursue its power; for now, simply explore the martial intent within your techniques.

The Cloud Crocodile King, a creature of great power, was approached by the Eji Shaman with a request to kill someone in the dungeon. Without hesitation, and for the sake of feeding his beast brethren, he agreed and accompanied the shaman into the dungeon.

Brother? Locking eyes with Wan Ying, whose gaze sparkled with mischief yet was pure and clear, Jiang Hao hoped he was simply seeing things as his eyes drifted back to Liu Chenyang.

He seemed to have seen such a method of cleansing dregs somewhere before, but didn’t think much of it. As someone who made up for lack of talent with diligence, alchemy was a solid, honest endeavor to him—all those flashy tricks were not worth his attention.

Luo Xi walked in, and when Feiyu recognized who it was, he froze. That familiar feeling—could they really have had a past connection?

Ruth originally wanted to pinch Zhou Chu hard, but considering that Cheng Shi and Cheng Yun were not her personal maids, she restrained herself and settled for glaring fiercely at Zhou Chu instead.

Suddenly, she sensed something strange. She struggled desperately, at first floating and sinking alternately, but soon panic overtook her, her struggles becoming wild and frantic, until she began to sink deeper and deeper.

Hongxiu nodded, then relayed to the assembled generals every bit of the intelligence Shumeng had overheard, along with details on the food, weapons, and maps prepared by the Embroidered Guards in response to the Sui army’s maneuvers.

As the saying goes, “If you do not descend into hell, who will?” The heavens yawned and stretched, exhaling a breath that sent someone tumbling into an unknown abyss.

What was surprising was why, after securing a chance at the Star Crown, the two would still come into conflict.

A cold wind gradually arose, chilling Leng Yu to the bone. Even the air she breathed felt like blades slicing her throat. Unable to suppress the pain, she burst into a fit of racking coughs, tears streaming down her face from the agony.

“Uh, I’m really sorry about that.” The driver rubbed his hands together. After Zhou Chu’s words, he really did feel thirsty.

Yet Zhou Chu was unaware—while she was still lost in tender affection, danger was slowly encroaching.

Her mother said Ruotong had always stayed by her side and never left, so she couldn’t possibly doubt a friend of so many years.

He didn’t know what it felt like to lose a child, but raising someone else’s son for over twenty years—now that was a suffocating feeling.

What more could Huo Fu Xijue say? Seeing Mu Xiaoyan’s look of extreme reluctance, he could only nod in silent agreement.

Huang Yixin was on pins and needles; Luo Yingqi gave off such a bad feeling. As she tried to pull her hand away, Luo Yingqi suddenly turned, grabbed her hand, and pressed a kiss to it.

Such a situation finally pushed the usually shy Charlotte to her limit. She immediately raised the R-2 arm shield, blocking the incoming blow.

Watching the flames rise, Consort Yiji turned to stone, her beautiful eyes instantly losing all color.

When she heard Jian Yi’s cold, deep voice on the other end of the line, her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

The annual intramural sports competition would be held the next day, and everyone was already barely containing their excitement.

“You liar! Not even a minute has passed. Don’t think you can fool me just because I’m not watching the time.” Fan Siren was already awake, but in the depths of late autumn, she simply refused to get out of bed.

Lu Hui had no doubts, responding, “If you’ve made up your mind, I won’t say any more.” With a gentle smile, he went off to help the Liao family.

Once back in his own room, he paced for a while—sometimes smiling, sometimes troubled—his heart a tangled mess.

“No, I asked around the palace as well. Oddly, no one knows where he’s gone! It’s as if he’s disappeared…” With a worried look, Lu Xin played his part convincingly.