It was already one o’clock when he returned to the mansion.
Tang Hao sat cross-legged in the living room with a grim expression on his face.
He was quite disturbed by the recent happenings. The Nanyang shamans and the master geomancer were threats to the safety of him and the people close to him.
He would not be scared if he was the only one affected. However, he had many people to worry about, such as Sis Xiangyi, First Uncle, Grandpa, Grandma, and others.
He was fortunate that the crowd of Nanyang shamans who came for him did not resort to underhanded measures, but he could not guarantee that any future adversaries would do the same.
He had crafted many defensive jade talismans and gave them out to the people close to him, but they would not be of any help against real cultivators.
“Looks like I have to create a defensive talismanic formation and build a safe haven. If anything happens in the future, I can hide everyone inside,” Tang Mao muttered to himself after thinking for a long time.
He thought about it for a while longer and found that the most suitable place would be Dragonrock Village.
Dragonrock Village was deep into the mountains. No one would think of searching there. Furthermore, Grandpa and Grandma lived there.
He thought about it more carefully and figured that he should make his mansion a safe haven too. Once he laid the defensive formation around his house, he could do the same thing for Dragonrock Village.
After deciding on that, he started crafting jade talismans.
The best materials to make defensive formations should have been Artifacts. Artifacts were rare though, so Tang Hao could only use jade talismans for now.
Naturally, the more jade talismans he used, the better the effect.
Tang Hao crafted a set of one hundred and eight jade talismans to be buried around the house. Once the formation was activated, there was no need to be afraid of normal cultivators.
However, those talismans were difficult to craft. Each one of them had a slightly different set of runes.
Tang Hao spent two days crafting the entire set of runes. Once he was done, he buried them around his house.
Then, he spent the next two days creating another set of talismans to be buried in Dragonrock Village.
The four days passed in the blink of an eye.
In the meantime, good news came from Tang Village. The construction of the plantation was complete, and he took some time off to attend the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, construction was also going on at Dragonrock Village to expand the plantation. Tang Hao used the opportunity to build a house to be used as a safe haven.
On the third day, Tang Hao heard from Liu Dajun that calamity befell Xue Cheng and Xue Kai. One of them died suddenly, while the other fell into a vegetative state.
Also, there was another person who died in the mansion.
Liu Dajun looked at Tang Hao profoundly when he relayed the incident to him.
He knew that Tang Hao was not a normal person. It was too much of a coincidence that something happened to the Xue father and son right after they had crossed Tang Hao.
Of course, Tang Hao could not admit to it.
He did not feel any sympathy toward them. If he had not discovered it early enough, the people in his factory would have died instead.
No one would have discovered what happened, so he was not too worried.
…
One early morning.
Sizzling sounds were heard in the kitchen. As usual, Tang Hao got up early to prepare breakfast. The frying pan next to him was filled with potstickers frying in boiling oil.
The snow-white and tender outer layer turned golden brown and a tantalizing fragrance filled the kitchen.
Fried potstickers were Sis Xiangyi’s favorite food. Tang Hao made them often with various fillings. Today’s potstickers were filled with white cobra meat and many expensive and rare medicinal herbs.
Sis Xiangyi was not fond of snake meat, but ever since she tried white cobra meat, she could not stop eating it. Every day was a different type of snake dish, including snake stew and roast snake meat.
It had been half a month since the incident at Eight-Gate Village. The stock of white cobra meat was dwindling.
The potstickers were ready very soon. Once Tang Hao plated the potstickers, he heard a set of footsteps coming from the bedroom, and a beautiful figure soon appeared in the kitchen.
She yawned as she walked in, and her eyes sparkled when she saw the potstickers.
She quickly went to the tables, picked a potsticker with her fingers, and hurriedly shoved it into her mouth.
Meat juices spurted as she sank her teeth into the potsticker. An explosion of deliciousness filled her mouth.
“This is amazing!” She exclaimed.
She did not care that it was scalding hot and shoved the entire potsticker into her mouth.
She ate them one by one, and soon, the entire plate was empty.
She let out a satisfied sigh as she rubbed her stomach. Then, she furrowed her brows.
Now that she had tasted something so delicious, any other delicacy would become bland and tasteless.
Tang Hao grinned when he saw that. “Let’s skip work today, Sis Xiangyi.”
“Why?” Qin Xiangyi was surprised.
“I’ll bring you out on a date!” Tang Hao said.
“Hmph! So you still remember! I didn’t hear you talking about it yesterday and thought that you’ve forgotten about it!”
“How could I ever forget your birthday, Sis Xiangyi?” Tang Hao said with a smile.
“Where’s my present then?” Qin Xiangyi stretched out a hand and said coyly. Her eyes blinked as she looked eagerly at Tang Hao.
“About that… I’ve prepared something for you a long time ago, but I can only give it to you tonight.”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“I hope you’re not lying to me!”
“Don’t worry!”
Tang Hao could not help it but grin whenever he saw how Sis Xiangyi behaved like a little girl whenever she was excited.
Qin Xiangyi happily ran back into her room to change clothes. She came out of the room half an hour later, ready to go.
“Let’s go!”
Tang Hao held her hand and led her out of the door.
The two people visited many places over the day. They went window-shopping, then went to the cinema and the theme park. Even though it was not their first time visiting the theme park,[it was nevertheless very fun.
They might have gone on dates many times, but each time felt like the first.
At night, the couple strolled down the street hand in hand.
When they came to a skyscraper, Tang Hao suddenly stopped walking and said, “Let me bring you star-gazing, Sis Xiangyi!”
Qin Xiangyi was surprised. She looked at Tang Hao, speechless.
Before she could realize what was going on, Tang Hao carried her in his arms, then leaped upward.
Qin Xiangyi shrieked in surprise. Instinctively, she hugged Tang Hao tightly.
She slowly relaxed her grip after a long while. She looked around her and was shocked.
Dazzling city lights stretched toward the horizon. The view was magnificent.
The two people continued ascending toward the rooftop of the skyscraper.
Meanwhile, in an office nearby, a single man was working overtime. His eyes were transfixed on his computer monitor while hammering code on his keyboard.
He stood up and stretched. Suddenly, he noticed with the corner of his eye that two figures flew past his window.
He was immediately stunned. His eyes were opened round and wide.
“F*ck me. Is that a ghost?” He exclaimed in incredulity.
‘What did I just see?
‘Does someone know how to fly? And he’s carrying an extraordinarily beautiful woman in his arms too?
‘Have I gone crazy, or has the world gone crazy?’
Of course, the world would not have gone crazy, which meant that he must be the crazy one. He thought that his fatigue made him hallucinate.
“Sigh! Poor me!” He lamented.
Then, he sat back down on his chair and continued typing code.
Meanwhile, Tang Hao had reached the rooftop. He placed the beautiful woman in his arms on the floor.
The couple sat on the floor, mesmerized by the view of the night sky.
Suddenly, Tang Hao turned around and peered at the beautiful woman sitting next to him.
The gentle night wind scattered her jet-black hair. The pale moonlight was reflected on her fair and smooth face.
Qin Xiangyi realized that Tang Hao was looking at her. She blushed.
“What are you looking at?” She pretended to sound angry.
“You’re really beautiful, Sis Xiangyi!”
Qin Xiangyi blushed even harder, though she felt happiness in her heart. “You’re more and more like a sweet-talker! Right, where’s my present? It’s already late at night.”
Tang Hao lifted his hand and suddenly a small jade bottle appeared on his palm.
“What’s this?” Qin Xiangyi asked curiously as she regarded the bottle.
“This is the Pill of Everlasting Beauty!”
Qin Xiangyi was stunned after she heard that. She did not seem to believe it.
Then, she covered her mouth with her hands. Her face was filled with excitement and gratitude.
Many women had dreamed of looking young and beautiful forever.
She calmed herself down and took the small jade bottle.
“Thank you, Lil Tang! I’m very satisfied with this present!”
Qin Xiangyi placed the bottle on the floor, then she turned around and stared unblinkingly at Tang Hao.
Her eyes were filled with emotions.
Then, she leaned over and delivered a gentle kiss on Tang Hao’s cheek.
