Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Your father and I have never dared to harbor desires for such a lifestyle. Xianxian, aren’t we living well now? We’ve become affluent and can live comfortably. It’s not that easy being a wealthy man’s wife. That An Xiaoning didn’t get to where she is just because of her looks. When your father and I were working in the estate, we heard from our colleague that she’s the daughter of the former president. She’s royalty, and she has the Gu family to back her up. How can you compare yourself to her?”
“We’re both humans, why can’t I compare myself to her? Is she encrusted with diamonds or gilded with gold? Who cares if she’s the former president’s daughter? I’ve already seen it all over the news. The current president of the nation is not on good terms with An Xiaoning at all. Well, at the end of the day, they don’t share the same biological mother. They don’t get along as well as they seem to on the surface.”
Breathing erratically, Mrs. Bu said, “Does that mean I was right? You claim to have stopped harboring feelings for Nick and that you’ve already given up on him. But in reality, you still haven’t lost hope or given up on him yet.”
Bu Xianxian picked up her bathrobe and walked toward the bathroom, completely ignoring her mother.
—
“The elderly man in R Nation has passed on and I’ve already buried him in his ancestral graveyard,” Gu Beicheng said while stirring his coffee with a spoon.
“Got it, I’ll inform Rongyan about this,” said An Xiaoning, sounding a little gloomy.
Gu Beicheng continued slowly, “I heard a piece of news, though I’m not sure if it’s real. That treasure map is said to still be in V Nation, and many people have flocked there in a bid to find it.”
“Regardless of where it is, I have no interest in it at all. You’d better not think of getting your hands on that thing too. The person who has it now is definitely not one to be trifled with. None of the three thousand elite soldiers or special agents that Tuoba Gucheng have sent managed to return alive. That just shows that it takes a great deal of power and capability to obtain it. Anyway, I don’t feel like going there at all,” said An Xiaoning.
“After having several close shaves with death, Mingxi and I no longer place that much emphasis on money and material possessions. I no longer have plans to acquire it either. I’m just worried that Tuoba Gucheng would set you up for a trap again. He probably has plans to mess with you again since you made it back in one piece from V Nation.”
Hugging her knees while seated on the couch, An Xiaoning held her cup with both hands and said, “Does he think it’s that easy to lure me into his trap? Once bitten, twice shy. I’m not going to let him manipulate me so easily again. Besides, the person who holds the treasure map has already warned me strictly not to interfere. I don’t want to put my life at risk again.”
“Good that you’ve thought about everything clearly.”
“Those fools have no idea what awaits them in V Nation. They’ll never make it back alive and they’re just going to become food for those cannibals.” An Xiaoning took a sip of her coffee before continuing, “I truly got an eyeopener when I went to V Nation. I only understood then that anything is possible in this world. I think those blood-drinking tribes are closely similar to vampires, minus the various paranormal abilities that vampires possess. However, the very fact that they feed off human blood is terrifying enough. It’s better not to provoke them.”
“Thank heavens you managed to come home unscathed.”
“Where did Mingxi go?”
“To my mother-in-law’s place.”
An Xiaoning put her cup down and grabbed her bag while rising from her feet. “I have to make a trip down to the martial arts academy and visit my sons.”
…
Fifteen minutes later, she appeared outside the martial arts academy.
An Xiaoning then called both her sons to come out. She did not plan to hide the truth about the elderly man’s death from Rongyan, for she thought that it would be better for Rongyan to learn and understand clearly that he no longer had any family in this world apart from them.
“Rongyan, Mommy’s going to tell you something today. Don’t feel too upset after you hear what I have to say,” said An Xiaoning.
“Did Grandpa pass away?” he asked.
What a sensitive child.
An Xiaoning nodded and said, “I’ve already had him buried beside your parents.”
“Grandpa,” Rongyan muttered softly while tearing up uncontrollably.
He was rather silent while weeping and did not bawl loudly at all.
An Xiaoning hugged him and patted his back gently. “It’s alright, you still have us. We’re your family.”
He put his arms around An Xiaoning’s neck and murmured in between sobs, “Mommy…”
An Xiaoning knew clearly how it felt to lose one’s closest kin.
She was utterly devastated when her mentor passed away.
She felt as if she had lost her only kin in the world.
There would no longer be anyone who will treat her as well as her mentor did.
That was what she thought at the time.
Although several years had passed, she still felt as agonized as she did back then at the thought of her mentor’s death.
—
In the evening, No. 13, No. 14, and Shi Qingzhou made numerous dumplings with the meat filling that they had minced themselves. They then sat down for an enjoyable dinner with the rest at the dining table.
Everyone was served a bowl of dumplings each, and they ate together because the dumplings were no longer piping hot and were just at the right temperature. Before they finished, No. 14 clutched his stomach and let out a shriek of agony. Everyone put down their bowl one after another. Just as they were about to stand up, the same thing happened to them.
An Xiaoning instantly felt an excruciating pain in her stomach as well. “Father, Mother, how are you two?” she asked.
Panting heavily, Shi Qingzhou said, “Xiaoning, hurry and get a basin of soap water. Use it to induce vomit.”
Forcing herself to bear with the pain, An Xiaoning sprinted to the washroom to get a basin of soap water instead of calling an ambulance.
She made each of them down a glass of soap water each while she gulped a large glass of it herself.
After chugging the soap water, all of them instantly threw up the dumplings that had yet to be completely digested.
She then hurriedly dialed the emergency number to call for an ambulance. An Xiaoning pressed her hands gently against Shi Qingzhou, who had an awful expression on her face, to try and help her vomit, after which Shi Qingzhou threw up some more food bits. She then did the same for Tuoba Shuo.
There were too many bodyguards and she could not take care of all of them. At this very moment, No. 11 yelled, “Sis, No. 14 is having an asthma attack.”
Noticing that No. 14 was having difficulty breathing and had broken out in a cold sweat, An Xiaoning frantically asked, “Where’s the first aid kit?”
“Sis, it’s on the third floor…” Just as No.1 was about to get up to retrieve the kit, he collapsed abruptly and quivered vigorously. His eyes rolled back, and he immediately stopped breathing.
It happened in less than twenty seconds.
An Xiaoning sprinted to the third floor and returned with the antidote. However, it was too late; No. 14 was bleeding profusely from his nose with white foam and mucus coming out of his nostrils. An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground in fear as the bottle of antidote fell to the ground, her heart wrenching.
She turned around and headed to her bedroom on the second floor to retrieve several amulets. However, No. 2 and No. 3 had already died by the time she returned.
The tragedy did not end there.
As she pasted an amulet on them each, No. 4 passed away too.
Not daring to delay any further, An Xiaoning tried to help No. 10 vomit. When it was No. 11’s turn, No. 12 could no longer hang in there because of his heart disease.
More and more foam wafted out of No. 13’s mouth as he struggled to speak. “Sis, No. 14 and I… dare not poison the food, we dare not…”
