When Hua Youlin went upstairs, he found that the door of Gu Xiqiao’s room was tightly shut. Even the light that usually escaped from between the door gap was nowhere to be seen.
The same could be said with Jiang Shuxuan’s room, except for the fact that the lights in his study room are still on.
“Big Brother Jiang.” Hua Youlin rapped his knuckles on the door of the study room. The door did not pop open immediately but the boy knew that Jiang Shuxuan must’ve heard the knocks.
After a minute or so, the door finally opened up.
Jiang Shuxuan had changed into a new shirt. Looking down at the book Hua Youlin was holding, he stepped aside and allowed the boy to enter his room. “Is there another question you need help with?”
“…”
Hua Youlin remained silent.
‘Do I look that dim-witted?’
“Big Sis Gu has locked herself in her room all day long ever since she came home.” Hua Youlin pursed his lips. “Her lights are off too.”
“I know that.”
Jiang Shuxuan’s brows furrowed. “It’s bedtime. Go back to sleep.”
“Oh.” Hua Youlin slowly slid into his own room.
Something was definitely off here. Jiang Shuxuan shut off the lights in his room and walked over to the door of Gu Xiqiao’s room. The locked door remained static in front of him and yet, after a moment, with just a gentle push, the door swung open.
The interior of Gu Xiqiao’s room was pitch black, but that did not hinder his perception one bit. However, amidst the darkness, his facial expression changed for the worse.
Gu Xiqiao was lying on the bed but his senses almost couldn’t pick up on her aura. Normally, wherever this girl was at, he would always feel the place brimming with life potential. Now, all that was left was a dead silence.
Jiang Shuxuan slowly approached the side of her bed. Looking down, the top half of her face, which wasn’t covered by her duvet, was terribly pale, a sight which made him feel a stabbing pain in his heart.
She didn’t seem to be sleeping well; her brows were tightly knit.
Although she usually lets her guard down around Jiang Shuxuan, her insanely-sensitive perception would always detect him whenever he comes into close proximity with her. This was his first time sensing how stagnant the air around him is.
Balling up his left hand tightly into a fist, he ironed out the wrinkles on her forehead using his right hand. It felt icy the moment his fingertips made contact with her face.
Gu Xiqiao unconsciously moved her body towards this sudden ball of warmth; she placed her head atop his wrist.
Jiang Shuxuan peered down at her hands which were sticking out of her bed. He placed his fingers between hers and held onto her hands tightly. A surge of warmth was then consistently transferred into her body. That night, he remained by her bed, staying up all night guarding over her.
Gu Xiqiao remained in a coma for the next few days. Jiang Shuxuan’s expression grew darker and darker as the days passed by. Tang Yanling too, remained close to her bed. She did think about getting Rong Feishuang or Yin Shaoyuan to come help her out but was stopped by Jiang Shuxuan.
He told her that everything was fine.
And yet the bitter look on his face intensified day after day.
Not only could Wanqi Jue walk like normal now, just a few days ago, he even managed to capture a level 6 operative sent from Great Britain. Though, he refrained from making this news public. Instead, he silently locked his enemy up and at the moment, one of his subordinates was giving him a situational report.
His subordinate’s face was filled with fury and disbelief. “My lord, Wanqi Yun has committed treason!”
After Wanqi Jue, Wanqi Yun was the Wanqi family’s most outstanding child. If something unthinkable was to happen to the former, the latter was expected to carry on the role of expanding the Wanqi family’s influence. Who would’ve thought that he’d commit treason so early on. What makes his betrayal worse is that he was now taking the side of the leader of the special organizations, their family’s ultimate enemy!
“How are the others in the Wanqi family reacting to this?” Wanqi Jue’s expression darkened. Initially, he thought that Gu Xiqiao’s prediction was only mere hogwash. After all, he had seen firsthand what Wanqi Yun’s character was like. This blow that reality dealt him was quite a heavy one indeed.
“A small part of them has decided to follow him. The rest still appear to be rather loyal.” His subordinate let out a sigh of relief when he said this. Betraying his own family, how cold-blooded could this Wanqi Yun get?!
Wanqi Jue picked up the plan that Gu Xiqiao had sent him. No longer able to hold out any longer, he read through it one more time.
The leader of the United Kingdom had sent people into this nation to take him out. This was in her prediction. She was also anticipating some turbulence involving the special organizations within their country, which eventually came true. As for Wanqi Yun’s betrayal, well…if that’s so, then was it possible for him to expect someone from the Wanqi family to one day, lead the coalition of special organizations within the UK?
“Do not make a single move. Await my orders.” Wanqi Jue took in a deep breath. Gu Xiqiao’s plan ended right here. The final word printed on the document was the word, “Wait.”
Wait? For what? And for how long?! Wanqi Jue had not a single idea!
Also, she was nowhere to be found despite her promising to show up every three days. Wanqi Jue had even contacted Zhu Yuan only to be told the same word. “Wait.”
And so, Wanqi Jue waited. For five days, he had been waiting. The only thing that ever came was a phone call from Murong Feiye. His voice sounded dead serious over the line, “I heard you were wasted?”
“That’s right, but I’m back on my feet again now,” replied Wanqi Jue.
“Back on your feet?” For the past five days, Murong Feiye had been inside the trial tower under Yin Shaoyuan’s identity. He caught hold of some rumors the moment he stepped out from that place, originating from the UK that the Wanqi family was going to be purged. Then he heard about Wanqi Jue getting defeated badly. These claims were supported by evidence, so Murong Feiye couldn’t stop himself from giving the man himself a phone call.
He did not expect to hear such a reply from him though.
“Then how’s the Wanqi family at the moment? Did you see that sh*t-eating grin on their leader’s face?” Murong Feiye relaxed upon receiving confirmation that Wanqi Jue was still alive and healthy. Then came his neverending series of whys.
Wanqi Jue let out a sigh before responding. “Murong, Wanqi Yun has betrayed us.”
Myrong Feiye suddenly froze up mid-sentence. The tone of his voice grew increasingly sombre. “Wanqi Yun has betrayed you?” Of course, he knew who this person was. Prior to his desertion, he could be said to be Wanqi Jue’s right-hand-man; he was a person who knew all about his weaknesses. If he really had switched sides, then the Wanqi family was in grave danger.
“I initially thought that their leader was our sole enemy. Who would have foreseen Wanqi Yun’s decision?” The thing that ticked Wanqi Jue off the most was Gu Xiqiao’s sudden disappearance. He had no idea from which end he should start tackling the problem.
“I’ll come over right this instant.” Murong Feiye hung up the call.
‘Is there any difference in you being here?’ Wanqi Jue’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.
Glancing at it, a new email appeared on the computer screen. He immediately clicked on it and he was left stunned.
The email was not sent from Gu Xiqiao. Instead, the sender of the email was Wanqi Yun, all the way from the UK. It contained a photo of a young lady. Her body was covered in blood and her azure eyes were tainted with the shade of raw blood.
“Bastard!”
He could not bear to see his own family being hunted down like this, not while hiding in the safety of China’s borders.
By the time Murong Feiye arrived at the mansion, it was already empty. On the screen of the computer which was left as is, was the grotesque photo Wanqi Jue had just witnessed. Even from merely looking at the photo, he was able to connect the dots and figure out what was going on. Slamming his fist down on the door frame, Murong Feiye cursed under his breath.
“Wanqi Jue you absolute dumbass! How can you knowingly walk into a trap!”
In the UK.
Wanqi Yun was standing by the glass window with a glass of liquor in his hands. It had a deep brown color, like that of freshly drawn blood.
“Are you sure that Wanqi Jue isn’t injured?” The leader appeared behind him with eyes full of skepticism.
“You’ll know when the time comes.” Wanqi Yun glanced at the face of his watch. “Have you made the necessary arrangements which I have demanded?”
The leader narrowed his eyes. “Why yes of course. However, it appears that there is still a large part of the Wanqi family still unwilling to obey our orders. You aren’t as welcomed in your family are you?”
Wanqi Yun smirked when he heard that. He poured his glassful of liquor down his throat before giving his reply.
“I’m just different from the rest of them.”
News of what happened to the Wanqi family had now spread around the powers within the UK. Typically, no one would foolishly swoop in to save the day at such a moment. To speak out against their leader? Only a fool would do that! What’s more, Wanqi Jue was now only a crippled man; no matter how you looked at it, it just wasn’t worth it, extending a helping hand to him and his family.
Not to mention the fact that the leader of the opposing faction was Wanqi Yun, a core member of the Wanqi family.
The forces within the UK were extremely convoluted. Most of them were small pockets of powers, some under their leader, some backing the Wanqi family up, while the remaining remained neutral. In most cases however, they weren’t impressed by the Wanqi family.
Now that Wanqi Jue has been brought down, what else could the Wanqi family use to fight against the leader? This battle was over before it had even started.
The moment Wanqi Jue stepped out of his aircraft, he saw a cluster of people who had painstakingly escaped the grasp of the tyrant leader approach him. Some of them broke down into tears when they saw Wanqi Jue himself. “I was seeking help from the Krebs family and they chased me out!”
The Krebs family was once a close ally of the Wanqis; their achievements were built upon the Wanqi family’s help.
They did not expect the Krebs to turn them down like that.
Wanqi Jue already expected this to happen and yet its effect on his morale was still tremendous. He whipped out his phone and gave the patriarch of the Krebs family a call. It went through instantly. Before he could speak though, he heard a mocking voice over the line. “I would like to make this an official statement. We, the Krebs family has decided to take the side of the great leader. Look behind you.”
Wanqi Jue looked back and discovered that the crowd behind him had been chased off. A new group was now marching towards his position.
At the forefront of this mob was Wanqi Yun.
“Hey, the most well-decorated person our Wanqi family has ever produced.” Wanqi Yun smiled.
“Welcome back.”
There was nothing welcoming in his smile.
What he offered instead was mockery.
A raging pillar of flame was burning amidst Wanqi Jue’s blue eyes. No longer able to restrain his explosive temper, a wave of chi rose up from his palms, followed by a wave of mental strength that slammed onto the ground like a tidal wave.
Seeing his reaction, Wanqi Yun brought out a person who was covered head-to-toe in blood. Squeezing that person’s windpipe, he smiled back at Wanqi Jue.
“Wanqi Jue, should you move a single muscle, I’ll send your aunt to meet God right this moment.”
His voice was haunting.
Staring at Wanqi Yun as his mental strength subsided, Wanqi Jue ordered, “Hands off my aunt.”
“I heard your meridians were damaged. That doesn’t seem to be the case today.” Wanqi Yun chuckled to himself. “Alright, prove to me that your meridians have been destroyed and I’ll let your aunt go. How about that for a deal?”
Wanqi Jue did not say a word more after that before he slammed his palm towards his chest.
Before any damage could be done however, a red streak swooped in and blocked the blow. Looking down, it appeared to be a red bird of some sort. “Didn’t Beauty Qiao tell you to wait?”