Gu Su truly intended to be a background character this time.
Previously, she had used Huiwu on the staff member from the Gu Martial Association that she met through Xiang Feng, so she knew the moment Cheng Jingzhou displayed combat power far beyond expectations. At the very least, he was at the peak of Houtian, not inferior to genuine Xiantian.
This piece of information only confirmed her uncanny intuition—she had sensed, from the first time she met Cheng Jingzhou, that not only would her Huiwu have no effect, but it might backfire and alert him instead.
Lu Zhentong had thrown fifty million dollars just to get nothing but an empty result. There was no need to think twice to realize that her so-called Celestial Scion lover may appear calm, but was seething with anger inside and wanted Cheng Jingzhou dead... She didn’t need to step up and take the hit for him, so she might as well “conceal her abilities and reputation”, sit quietly on the sidelines listening to Lu Zhentong and Xuan Wei plotting their countermeasures, and take the opportunity to harvest Lu Zhentong’s negative emotions accumulated over the past few days.
Halfway through her emotional harvest, she felt a vague premonition that a breakthrough was possible. But just then, Xuan Wei sold her out with a single sentence. Although Lu Zhentong’s negative emotions surged immediately afterward—which wasn’t entirely a bad thing for her—it was a complication all the same.
Suppressing her stray thoughts, Gu Su shot Xuan Wei a frosty glare. “You’re awfully confident. I can’t do anything about Cheng Jingzhou at all.” She turned to look at Lu Zhentong, whose expression was unreadable. “The inheritance I acquired is more like that of a sorceress or enchantress. You’re the one who knows best what its effects actually are. I can’t even fully control that madman Lu Jiuxiao.”
Lu Zhentong suddenly burst into laughter. “That’s true. You’ve had this inheritance for so long and haven’t sought revenge on me. The way you treat me will never be the way you treat Lu Jiuxiao.”
Gu Su’s eyes flickered as she smiled and nodded.
Xuan Wei chuckled to herself. This pair looked harmonious on the surface, but both were scheming underneath. How perfect for her to “apply a few tricks.” As her acting persona came alive, she shivered her shoulders slightly and spoke in a broken, halting voice, “I’ll try to go see Lin Baiming first... you two have to help me create an opportunity for me to meet Cheng Jingzhou...”
Lu Zhentong was growing a bit disappointed now. How could she possibly win Cheng Jingzhou over with just a face that resembled his old flame and an air of pitiable fragility? It didn’t sound plausible no matter how he thought about it.
Isn’t it common in cultivation novels for demonic or evil cultivators to cast curses by virtue of bloodline? Did she just not have that skill? He glanced toward Gu Su, making his intentions clear—he wanted her to play the villain for once.
Gu Su rolled her eyes, harvested all of Lu Zhentong’s negative emotions in one go, and then said to Xuan Wei, “He clearly doesn’t trust you and doesn’t believe you can tempt Cheng Jingzhou. I agree. Why don’t you start practicing on Lin Baiming or Lu Jiuxiao for inspiration, and we’ll talk later?”
Xuan Wei frowned slightly. “Alright.”
These two, just as expected, were unreliable. But she still needed them, because neither she nor her master could manage an encounter with Cheng Jingzhou and Lu Jiuxiao’s father and son duo unscathed.
Lu Zhentong told his driver to drop Xuan Wei back at her apartment. He still had something to say to Gu Su. “All that frail and delicate act of hers is nothing but a front. Be extra cautious with her.” He fixed Gu Su with a long, penetrating look. “As long as you believe you’re Baobao’s mother, I could never betray you two.”
Sensing through Huiwu that Lu Zhentong had brewed a hint of negative emotion again, Gu Su put on a moved expression, though she was cursing inwardly: I don’t believe a word you say! Even if it’s all lies, the negative emotion you give isn’t even worth mentioning. This is infuriating, not even an inside or outside harvest!
Still fuming, she did not let it show as she and Lu Zhentong exchanged lingering goodbyes. She got into the car, even giving a wave to Lu Zhentong still standing by the road.
As the car pulled away and his figure quickly disappeared from view, she resisted the bitterness rising in her heart. Lu Zhentong was definitely growing suspicious of her! While she’d almost accumulated enough negative emotion to level up, it wouldn’t last for long. Did she really have to go crawling back to Xiang Feng?! Why was it so hard to find a steady source of negative emotion to leech off of?
Just then, her phone chimed. Looking down, she saw a message from Xuan Wei: “Men can’t be relied on, right? Sister, want to team up for real?”
Gu Su took a deep breath. “Let me think about it.”
“But you’re just too weak. Level up first, then we’ll talk business.”
Having basically figured out the other woman’s plan, Gu Su replied, “Alright. No matter what, I’ll help you set up a meeting with Lu Jiuxiao first, since he’s desperate for a divorce from me.”
“Then I’ll introduce a few of my senior brothers to you as payment.”
Suddenly, Gu Su’s eyes curved in delight. Just for that promise, she could temporarily forgive Xuan Wei for selling her out to Lu Zhentong.
After returning home and coaxing her son for a while, she went back to her room to consider leveling up. Upon breaking through, she’d be able to use Huiwu with more precision, but the consumption would be at least ten times higher than before, and she neither had enough negative emotion saved nor a steady “chive” to harvest it from. No wonder she was hesitant.
Still, her advancement went smoothly. Staring at her new self in the mirror, Gu Su gained confidence. She could indeed meet Lu Jiuxiao, make him her testing mouse one more time. But before that, she wanted to see if she could slice off another harvest.
Going to Xiang Feng for confidence was absolutely the right call!
Returning from Xiang Feng’s, with resources in hand and nothing to fear, Gu Su felt equipped to face Cheng Jingzhou’s icy glare and speak with ease. She called Xuan Wei to go see Lu Jiuxiao together.
Upon hearing that Gu Su agreed to divorce, Lu Jiuxiao hesitated but decided to meet her again. He had a good sense of what this seductive, two-timing enchantress was really after and naturally didn’t believe Gu Su would just let go so easily. Still, he could use this meeting to hone his own mindset.
Both got what they wanted from each other.
He brought Uncle Lin with him to meet Gu Su. His father couldn’t accompany him because he had too many patients.
Being pushed by bodyguards into the private room, Lu Jiuxiao’s very first glance landed on the girl standing beside Gu Su—a face looking just like his mother’s. He was immediately struck by a jolt of panic.
Uncle Lin had an even bigger reaction. Turning his head aside, his eyes instantly reddened.
Damn, time to run!
Lu Jiuxiao tugged on Uncle Lin’s sleeve. “Something’s wrong. We should leave.”
Lin Baiming also sensed that he wasn’t in the right state. His mind was in chaos, though a sliver of reason pointed out he was about to ascend to Xiantian... Even if he lost face, it was better to save himself, so he turned and left as well.
Gu Su hadn’t expected that she wouldn’t have to say a word and could watch with her own eyes as Lu Jiuxiao and Lin Baiming both fled in utter panic.
Xuan Wei nudged her with an elbow. “What are you standing around for?”
Gu Su instantly released two strands of Huiwu. One drilled into Lu Jiuxiao’s mind as reinforcement, and the other shot straight into Lin Baiming’s sea of consciousness.
Xuan Wei, in her early twenties but possessing late-stage Houtian cultivation, could just barely see the two pale grey lines securely chasing down and wrapping around Lu Jiuxiao and Lin Baiming. She grinned, flashing tiny white teeth. “How are you going to thank me for this?”
Gu Su wasn’t as optimistic as Xuan Wei. “Ever heard the saying ‘if you hit the kid, the parent will come after you’?”
Xuan Wei was dismissive. “You mean Cheng Jingzhou? He just lucked into some incredible inheritance...”
Gu Su hesitated. “Don’t tell me you really don’t know about Cheng Jingzhou’s record?”
“Isn’t it just that he wiped out those supernaturally gifted assassins a few days ago?”
Gu Su wanted to ask, where did she get the confidence to look down on true experts like this? Her own father Lin Baiming couldn’t withstand one look at her because by sheer coincidence he was about to break through and face his heart tribulation. In a real fight, even if both she and Gu Su joined forces, they’d still get flattened.
Gu Su didn’t say this aloud, but her thoughts were written all over her face.
Xuan Wei smiled gently. “Even after advancing, you’ve become more cautious. That’s good. But Cheng Jingzhou loves my mother, so he’s doomed to fail in the end.”
Meanwhile, Qin Jingzhou sensed at once the sudden surge in Gu Su’s fortune. He knew full well that his foolish son and Lin Baiming were bound to face a “lesson in pain” out there, but he hadn’t expected them to return in shambles... His foolish son was so shaken he was on the verge of a breakdown, and Lin Baiming had plunged straight into his own heart tribulation. That caught him off guard.
The System couldn’t help but comment, “Seriously... this is the hard part of the task. As for heart disease, all you can do is your best, Brother Zhou. The rest is fate.”
Qin Jingzhou told Xi Lao to apply ointment to his neck by himself, then stood up, picked up both his son and Old Lin—his son went onto the couch as usual, while Old Lin was dumped on the dining room table.
The fool of a son was used to it. He let his father jab a golden needle into his forehead, then obediently played dead.
Lin Baiming didn’t resist, patiently waiting until Qin Jingzhou finished with his son before speaking solemnly. “I’m about to let go... treat it as you see fit. If you can at least keep me at mid-Houtian, I’ll be content.”
Because inheritance was so limited in this world, martial artists facing heart tribulation often found it extremely perilous—at best, their cultivation would regress, at worst, they’d lose their lives then and there.
For Lin Baiming to ask Qin Jingzhou to guarantee his cultivation level showed more faith in the Divine Doctor than anything.
Qin Jingzhou nodded, taking Lin Baiming’s hand that was clawing at his own throat and squeezing. There was a crisp crack as a bone broke.
But the berserk Lin Baiming paid no attention to such a minor injury. He bent low, power gathering explosively as with fluid momentum he sent his other hand hurtling straight for Qin Jingzhou’s forehead.
Qin Jingzhou returned the move with a backhanded slap. Lin Baiming’s eyes rolled up and he fainted—though what Qin Jingzhou had actually used was a surge of spiritual energy to impact his spirit and send it into lockdown, which naturally calmed him down.
After instructing Li Assistant and the others to “secure” his foolish son and Lin Baiming, he headed downstairs on his own. His son could learn a lesson the hard way, but when it came to teaching him about life, that was not for others to do.
Meanwhile, having fled, Lu Jiuxiao and Lin Baiming left the meeting venue, as did Gu Su and Xuan Wei. Rather than going their separate ways, the two women walked shoulder to shoulder, chatting as they went.
Gu Su didn’t have high hopes for the conceited Xuan Wei, but that didn’t stop her from learning some cultivation basics from her. In her own opinion, the inheritance she’d gotten from her earring was really too shabby. Had she not been so cautious by nature and relied on Huiwu to manipulate hearts, she’d have long since been done for.
While asking about the fundamental realms, she suddenly felt a sense of something off. Looking across the street, her pupils shrank sharply and she unconsciously stepped back several paces.
Xuan Wei, following her gaze, saw... a man so handsome that even she felt a stir in her heart standing across the street, staring at them.
No introduction was necessary. She already knew who he was.
With a charming smile, she quickly crossed the road and stopped before him, pointing to the gathering crowd and the people snapping photos with their phones. “How about we talk somewhere else?”