Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jin Yiheng was reminded of An Xiaoning.
“Yes, Mommy and I share the same birthday. I turn seven today.”
Long Xiaoxi began clapping her hands and singing him the birthday song, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Yiheng…”
Jin Rongyan also sang and applauded along in the midst of the quiet jungle.
—
It was the start of the Hungry Ghost Festival.
The gates of Hell would be opened on the 15th of July, and a spooky vibe filled the atmosphere, especially at night.
Apart from making a conscious effort to refrain from staying out late at night, most people would not make much changes in their normal routine and were generally unaffected by the festival.
However, it was an inauspicious date for some extraordinary individuals.
Upon returning from M Nation, Jin Qingyan received several messages from Xihou Jiaping, who constantly threatened him. However, Jin Qingyan simply turned a deaf ear and ignored him.
He pretended not to see the messages even when Xihou Jiaping threatened to kill the three children.
At this juncture, he and Xihou Jiaping were simply testing each other’s patience.
In the pitch-dark basement, Xihou Jiaping was filled with anxiety and was extremely ill at ease. He initially thought that he could at least get rid of An Xiaoning first, yet things did not go his way at all.
“Master, shall we kill those three children and show Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning what we’re capable of?”
After giving the suggestion some thought, he agreed, “Which one should we kill first?”
“In my opinion, the two boys are the main stake. I think we should kill that irrelevant fatso first and film a video of the process. We’ll then send it to them so as to warn them that their children will be next if they don’t adhere to your instructions.”
“Okay.” He picked up his mobile phone and gave his underlings in M Nation a call to instruct them to execute Long Xiaoxi.
As soon as he made the call, the lady boss of the nightclub exclaimed in horror, “Master!”
“What happened?”
She pointed at a spot.
Xihou Jiaping looked over, only to discover that Xiao Chenyang was glaring at him menacingly with a longsword in hand.
Xihou Jiaping stood up and asked, “Why are you here again?”
“Release the children,” Xiao Chenyang said coldly, showing no emotion at all.
“Why must I do your bidding? Have you got too much time on your hands? This is none of your business.”
“I didn’t spend more than ten hours searching for you just to hear such crap from you. Release the children. Don’t make me repeat myself for the third time!” Xiao Chenyang hollered in exasperation.
“No. Hand over Xihou Ling’s head and I’ll release the children,” Xihou Jiaping said dauntlessly.
“Today shall be the day you meet your maker, then. We’ll settle old and new scores today.”
“Do you really think I’d be afraid of you? I just don’t want both sides to suffer,” said Xihou Jiaping.
“You may not be afraid of him alone, but how about both of us together?” a voice said coldly all of a sudden.
Xihou Jiaping took a closer look to discover that it was Jin Qingyan.
He began to feel a little flustered. He had drained some of his powers while breaking the spell in the boot camp.
Although his powers were not completely depleted, it was still a tough feat for him to defend himself against both of them…
To make matters worse, it was the Hungry Ghost Festival.
The outcome was clear…
This time, he would be in for a loss.
….
An Xiaoning was ill at ease throughout the entire journey home.
She had no idea how things would turn out. They should be fine with Xiao Chenyang around, right?
But his calf has yet to heal completely, he can at most bear with the pain and try to stand still, but…
She was extremely worried.
She would have definitely tagged along if he didn’t vehemently forbid her from doing so.
“Sis…”
An Xiaoning sat down and said, “Yangyang, I’m really worried.”
“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. The children will be alright too,” Mei Yangyang said while holding her hand tightly, seemingly trying to reassure herself as well.
“I’m sorry, Yangyang. If it weren’t because of us, Xiaoxi wouldn’t have been implicated either…”
“Sis, you don’t have to apologize, it’s not your fault. Tianze and I don’t blame you guys at all. We just hope that the three children can return home safely,” Mei Yangyang said with tears in her eyes.
An Xiaoning held her hands together tightly and placed her forehead against them, feeling terribly upset.
They’re just a bunch of children…
Although they had been training at the boot camp for a long period of time and had better survival and combat skills compared to other children their age, she still could not put her mind at ease.
“No. 8,” she yelled at the door.
No. 8 entered and asked, “Sis, do you have any orders for me?”
“No, I just wanted to ask, when did you begin training when you were younger?”
No. 8 answered, “I can’t quite remember, I was way too young. I think I started when I was three or four years old, perhaps even younger.”
“Can such young children even defeat adults?” asked An Xiaoning, who found it extremely absurd and impossible.
“Sis, why not? When I was younger, I had a friend who was training alongside me. I think I was about five years old then. We tried to escape because we felt like training was a living hell. Thus, we both grabbed some glass bottles and threw them onto the adults who were watching us at the time and instantly knocked them unconscious. However, we were soon caught after running away. We stopped trying to escape after receiving a severe beating.”
Knowing what she was worried about, No. 8 said, “Sis, Little Sir has been training at the boot camp for so long, many other children are no match for him. Besides, he’s already seven years old and he’s such a bright child. Perhaps he’ll really come up with a solution to escape. Sis, don’t worry, I believe the situation is not as bad as we’re imagining it to be.”
How could An Xiaoning not worry?
How could she put her mind at ease?
Every minute and second felt like years.
—
Xihou Jiaping had expended most of his energy while fighting the two of them.
By the time Xiao Chenyang had placed his sword against Xihou Jiaping’s neck, the latter could no longer retaliate.
“Back when you stole the blood meant for saving Nan Chuang’s life, I had already wanted to rip you into shreds. However, you kept yourself well hidden and you hibernated for years in an unknown place. I couldn’t find you at all. I finally managed to find you at the nightclub this year. Despite not having seen you for centuries, I didn’t kill you immediately, but that’s only because you had Xihou Ling’s life in your hands. I didn’t kill you in the hospital because I didn’t want to have a duel with you so soon. Despite all that, you still lack so much self-awareness.”
Blood flowed from the corner of Xihou Jiaping’s lips. He guffawed and sneered, “Even if you kill me now, you’ll never be able to find those three children. I’ve already ordered for them to be killed! Xihou Ling, I killed over nine hundred servants in your residence in our previous lifetime. If I don’t make the first move, I’ll die in your hands sooner or later in this lifetime. I don’t regret anything because I’ve already done everything that I could. However, there’s no way you can break the curse that’s been put on you and Hua Jin. You two will never get married. You’ll never end up together. The thought of it just brings me immense joy. Hahahahaha!”
