Just as Bai Zemin and Wu Yijun sighed in relief in their hearts as if they had finally found a way out of the seemingly dead end they had been facing lately, Wu Keqian continued:
“Of course, just because I am willing to hand over the leadership position to that person doesn’t mean that if tomorrow someone stronger than me comes along I will simply hand everything over on a silver platter.” His voice was calm and matter-of-fact as he said, “At the end of the day, even if there is someone stronger than me somewhere, I doubt that person can really beat me if I use my troops. As I said before, it takes more than strength to lead.”
Bai Zemin frowned slightly before his eyes suddenly flashed as if he had understood something. He looked at Wu Keqian with a smile and said, “I see… Although it is indeed risky, if I were in Uncle Wu’s position I would probably take a similar decision.”
“Hahaha!”
Wu Yijun, Meng Qi, and Sun Ling looked at each other as they heard Bai Zemin’s words followed by Wu Keqian’s laughter. None of the three women had any idea what these two men were talking about as at the end of the conversation there seemed to be some sort of coded message there.
“Oh! I almost forgot,” The father of Wu Yijun suddenly clapped his hands once as if to get everyone’s attention and as he looked at Bai Zemin he said with a smile on his face, “Zemin, do you have something to do tonight?”
“Excuse me?” Bai Zemin looked at him in confusion as he thought to himself, ‘Sorry, Uncle Wu. This daddy is not interested in men.’
Then, Wu Keqian explained the reason behind his words.
…
“Good thing, isn’t it big brother?” Meng Qi asked with a cute smile as she walked beside her big brother.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about according to Mayor Wu, it’s possible to avoid war and could even end both sides without breaking relations at all.” Meng Qi pointed before tilting her head prettily and saying in a whispering voice, “Although I didn’t quite understand the last part…”
“In fact, you could say that this conversation eased my worries a bit.” Bai Zemin nodded. “However, just as Uncle Wu stated, he won’t hand over everything just because someone better showed up.”
“Em?”
“Meng Qi, imagine you are an English teacher like our mother but one day a teacher suddenly appears who is better than you in every aspect and is even willing to work for less money. Will you give up your job just because your students will get a better education?”
“…Of course not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be out of a job? Besides, it’s not just about teaching or salary, it’s also about attitude. Who knows if the new teacher will be able to maintain his or her attitude after a certain period of time has passed.”
“Right.” Bai Zemin nodded and said in a serious voice, “Apart from strength and ability, Uncle Wu also needs to understand what kind of person he is to whom he will be handing on a silver platter the lives of hundreds of thousands and even the possibility of ruling over China. Remember that unlike in the past, humans can now live hundreds of years if we evolve enough so in contrast with before a ruler can rule over the people for many generations. Therefore, attitude is also very important.”
“Mmm… I see…” Meng Qi nodded but soon frowned and remarked, “However, big brother… Wouldn’t that take too long?”
From the understanding that Meng Qi had, her big brother needed to rule all of China in less than a year so he surely didn’t have the time to show someone else what kind of person he was. Moreover, considering that he was currently only reckoned as the ruler of a single district, it could be said that were it not for the fact that Meng Qi had a fairly good understanding of Bai Zemin’s strength she would doubt with all her heart that in such a short time a person could accomplish such a thing.
“In fact, it would take too long.” Bai Zemin nodded calmly. “But don’t worry, Meng Qi…”
He looked up at the sky and said mysteriously, “I’m sure that soon Uncle Wu will hand over his position willingly… I just have to wait a little longer.”
Meng Qi nodded even though she did not quite understand what was happening as she trusted the words of the young man walking beside her as if they were her own words.
But in fact, the reason why Bai Zemin said that was because he could feel that although the sky was clear it was actually much more opaque compared to normal days. He was 90% sure that it would not be long before the Earth would fully evolve to its second stage and Lilith advised him to prepare for the worst when such a thing happened.
Unfortunately, when Bai Zemin asked her what she meant, she simply shook her head and told him that due to the Soul Record rules she could not say too much about the matter or else she would be punished. But there was also no need for her to say too much since Bai Zemin himself could draw his own conclusions just by feeling the mana around him acting slightly peculiar.
“By the way, Meng Qi.”
“Mm?”
“What will you wear tonight?”
“Tonight…? Oh! You mean the welcome party Mayor Wu prepared for Sister Yijun?”
“…Yes… By the way, Meng Qi… Since when did you and Wu Yijun become sisters?”
“Don’t ask so many questions, big brother. That’s why you weren’t too popular in the past.”
“… Brat, are you looking for me to spank you like when we were little and you misbehaved?”
“Hmph! You dare? Watch how I tell the father if he doesn’t break your legs!”
“… Consider yourself lucky for now.”
“Hehehehe…”
As the brother-sister duo casually chatted they headed on foot towards the western area a few streets away from where the villa of Wu Yijun’s family was located.
Since it had already been several days after Bai Zemin and the others had arrived at the base, Wu Keqian actually kept his earlier promise and found houses for the whole group. However, Bai Zemin refused his since his parents’ house was big anyway and it was not as if he planned to stay in a fixed place considering all that he still had to do.
After a few minutes, the two finally arrived at a beautiful two-story house of approximately 200 square meters each floor. The surroundings were covered by high fences of mutant plants so it was impossible to see what people were doing in the courtyard; Bai Zemin could hear from afar the sound of the pool water coming from the bottom of the property so he judged that the function of those mutant plants was to provide privacy during swimming time.
“…So this is where the president’s daughter lives…” Meng Qi whispered softly.
“Meng Qi, don’t touch this topic in front of her.” Bai Zemin warned in a low voice. “Remember that not all families are close or get along like we do.”
“Okay.” Meng Qi nodded immediately and didn’t ask any more questions despite her curiosity.
Bai Zemin really appreciated his little sister’s good sense and after clarifying a few things to her without talking about Shangguan Bing Xue’s private life since it was not his place to reveal other people’s private matters, he rang the doorbell and took a step back as he waited patiently.
Twenty seconds passed but no one came. Therefore, Bai Zemin rang the doorbell again as he knew Shangguan Bing Xue was at home thanks to Wu Yijun telling him before he left the villa of her family.
However, another twenty seconds passed and Shangguan Bing Xue had not even poked her head out of the window forgetting to open the door. Bai Zemin and Meng Qi exchanged confused glances before the first rang the doorbell again.
Twenty more seconds passed and Bai Zemin could not help but frown. He sensed that Shangguan Bing Xue was at home but didn’t understand why she wasn’t opening the door… Then, he began to ring the doorbell like crazy.
One minute… Two minutes…
“Sh*t!” Bai Zemin finally couldn’t take it anymore and started banging on the door while shouting loudly, “Bing Xue, I know you’re in there! Open the door already!”
The commotion naturally attracted the attention of the people passing by as Meng Qi noticed that some of them began to point and whisper under their breath.
“This… Big brother, forget it… Let’s better come back later.”
Meng Qi was curious about Shangguan Bing Xue but didn’t want to cause trouble either. Besides, tonight’s party would be attended by really important people so Shangguan Bing Xue would surely be there too.
Bai Zemin finally stopped and after a few seconds’ thought he nodded, “Alright. Let’s go.”
Although he did not understand what was going on, Bai Zemin did not feel like knocking on the door of a house for the rest of his life.
However, just as he stopped the knocking and was planning to take Meng Qi back, the sound of a door opening behind him immediately stopped him.
“Bing Xue, you finally-“
Bai Zemin’s words suddenly got stuck in his throat as he turned around and saw Shangguan Bing Xue.
“You…” It was all he could say as his eyes widened wider and wider.
Meng Qi was also surprised and even though she was a woman, she could not help but gasp when she saw the woman in front of her. If Wu Yijun was a princess either in terms of physical appearance or aura, then the woman Meng Qi had in front of her eyes now was the incarnation of a goddess.
Meng Qi felt that in front of Wu Yijun she could barely hold her ground, but when she looked at Shangguan Bing Xue now, she realized for the first time what many girls felt when they looked at her in the past. For the first time, she felt suffocated and overwhelmed.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at Bai Zemin with a smile very different from all her usual smiles, then, her blue eyes that sparkled playfully stopped for a moment on Meng Qi and watched her curiously for a couple of seconds. However, soon she looked towards the sidewalk and saw that about 7 or 8 people had gathered probably because of the earlier commotion but now they were looking at her breathlessly.
Then, she said something that Bai Zemin never thought he would hear from her mouth.
“Look who showed up… If it’s not this Bai Zemin, the man who shows up every day with a new woman at his side forgetting about his old friends.”
“You… Who are you?” Bai Zemin looked at her with wide eyes.
Shangguan Bing Xue chuckled and said as if it was obvious, “Of course, I am Shangguan Bing Xue. Whats the matter with that question?”
‘No, no, no… There are several things wrong here to begin with!’ Bai Zemin felt like shouting but he was so shocked that the words wouldn’t come out even though he knew what he wanted to say.
The current Shangguan Bing Xue, far from that cold and distant vibe she had conveyed in the past, looked a lot more approachable, charming, and even playful. Had something happened during the previous week? Just as such a question popped into the head of Bai Zemin, he seemed to realize something and his expression changed slightly as he whispered softly:
“You… You broke through to the Second Order?”
Shangguan Bing Xue smiled slightly and although she said nothing Bai Zemin immediately had his answer as he felt joy and pride brimming from her spirit.
