Chapter 249 - We Finally Meet

Cecily had been gifted with a talent for mechanics, and although she was part of the supernatural world, she never underestimated the technology of the secular world. She had also graduated from a prestigious university with a major in mechanical engineering. When she saw Gu Xiqiao’s skillful technique, she was shocked instantly.

“Have you been studying this for ten years, Miss Gu?” She was even more skillful than the professors in the industry!

Gu Xiqiao lifted her head, thinking for a while and she nodded. She wasn’t aware how many years had passed in the Virtual Arena when she was studying after all.

Cecily’s eyes lit up. “You’re really amazing!” She walked to Gu Xiqiao’s side in excitement, her eyes boring into the girl. “Let’s start again, my name is Cecily. According to your Chinese language, you can just call me Cecy.”

“... Cecy. Hello.” Gu Xiqiao was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the excitement and passion in the other’s eyes.

Ever since they had gotten the two machines that Gu Xiqiao had constructed on the spot, the progress of Yi Tong’s team was several times faster. Cecily was the main analyst, and she begged Gu Xiqiao to help her remodel many other smaller gadgets, which made the accuracy of her analysis even higher. Because of this, Cecily’s eyes would light up and she would be very passionate when she caught sight of Gu Xiqiao.

“Qiao Qiao, you’re the second most pleasing woman to my eyes ever since I stepped foot into China.” Cecily was sitting in front of the computer, analyzing the data in it. She looked up to see Gu Xiqiao. “The first is Murong Miaoxue, and the second is you!”

Having said that, she had an expression on her face that said Gu Xiqiao should be feeling proud at the declaration.

Gu Xiqiao was torn between laughing and crying at that.

She didn’t know that Cecily was actually such a troll after getting to know her better.

“Miss Cecily, we have collected all the data here. We’ve updated the Boss with most of it, and so we’ll leave tomorrow towards the northwest to meet up with the elder council.” Yi Tong kept his compass, telling Cecily.

Hearing Yi Tong’s words, a smile blossomed on Cecily’s face as she nodded slightly. “Has Young Master Jiang and the others left the city towards the northwest? Did that woman go with them too?”

The corners of Yi Tong’s mouth twitched. “Northwest is Miss Xiahou’s home, it’s only natural that she has gone too.”

“I see.” Cecily printed something out, and proceeded to drag Gu Xiqiao out of the place.

Once they stepped out of the yard, Cecily was like a wild horse that got loose from its retrains.

“Qiao Qiao, we’re leaving here tomorrow. I don’t know when we’ll be able to meet again, but wait for me to be done with the things I’m busy with, I’ll go and find you in the ancient martial arts world!” Cecily muttered. “I still have to see that hateful girl after I go back, I definitely will not endure her insults anymore!”

Her fist was clenched tightly as she said the last part of her sentence.

Gu Xiqiao watched her silently. “Can you do it?”

“No,” Cecily replied faintly after a while, and she looked at Gu Xiqiao, who never seemed to falter no matter what she faced. She couldn’t help but feel the bitterness building inside her. “Qiao Qiao, what can I do so that I can be like you? I was dispatched here this time also because of that woman, it was all within her plans.”

She wasn’t an idiot, but the opposite, she was quite intelligent, only with a bad temper. Even though she could control her surface emotions, she would still be boiling hot underneath everything.

“Endure,” Gu Xiqiao said, a smile on her face. “Even though the word ‘endure’ has a knife on it, you still need to endure.”

“A knife on the word ‘endure’? What did that mean?” Cecily didn’t really understand the broadness and profoundness of the Chinese language, and she blinked her eyes as she tried to understand what the other was telling her, a doubtful look on her face. (T/N: The word ‘endure’ which is 忍, has a ‘knife’, which is 刀 within the character.)

Gu Xiqiao sighed. “Never mind, it doesn’t mean anything.” She reached in to search around in her pockets, and then she pulled out a Buddhist scripture. “Here, for you.” She heard that the group of elders in the ancient martial art world were reciting scriptures, would it have any effect if it was in Cecily’s hands?

Cecily stared at Gu Xiqiao’s slender, jade-like fingers for a while. The fairness of her hands seemed to reflect the sun on it.

Gu Xiqiao shook the book in her hand. “Do you want it?”

Cecily snapped out of it once she heard Gu Xiqiao’s voice, and she took the offered book, flipping through it. She didn’t understand anything inside it, but she kept it safely away. This was her first gift after coming to China, she would treasure it.

“Miss Gu, please wait!” Suddenly, someone who was clearly not a native Chinese speaking person called out from behind.

Gu Xiqiao paused in her steps, and turned her head slowly to look at who it was.

With the arrival of others, Cecily straightened up and pasted her usually serious expression back on her face, turning around the same time as Gu Xiqiao.

“Could we have a word in private?” Emery looked at Gu Xiqiao with a soft gaze, as though he was seeing another person in her. “It wouldn’t take up too much of your time.”

Hearing his words, Cecily was slightly alarmed, and subconsciously moved to block Gu Xiqiao from the man’s access.

Gu Xiqiao looked at Emery for a long while, before finally nodding. “Let’s go.”

The two of them left, and Cecily looked down to Jiji, who was standing beside her feet. “Jiji, why aren’t you following them? Go and protect Qiao Qiao!”

“Don’t call me Jiji!” Jiji exploded immediately. “If you say that again, our friendship is over!”

“Jiji is a nice name, it’s the same as mine, Cecy.” Cecily blinked, wondering why Jiji was so sensitive and sore over its name.

Jiji: “...” Why was it being so petty with a person who didn’t understand the Chinese language at all?

About ten minutes later, Gu Xiqiao came back.

When she came back, she was holding a slightly yellowed book in her hands.

“What’s that, Qiao Qiao?” Cecily asked curiously.

Gu Xiqiao looked down in her hands, as though suddenly realizing that there was something there. She pursed her lips, but didn’t answer immediately. She lowered her head, her long eyelashes casting a slight shadow underneath her eyes, the leaves from the branches above falling one by one on her head and body.

Cecily couldn’t see the expression on the other girls’ face, but she was aware of the pressure around the air dropping around her.

“It’s nothing. I’ll head back first.” Gu Xiqiao raised her head, nodding at Cecily. She had an indifferent expression on her face again, and then she left after saying that.

Cecily rubbed her arm, trying to ward off the chill in the air. She turned to Yi Tong, who had just come out of the yard. “Qiao Qiao was terrifying just now.” She felt the air rush out of her lungs when the pressure had suddenly dropped.

“That was still fine.” YI Tong thought to himself on the inside, ‘You’ve never seen how terrifying she can actually be.’

“Miss Cecily, we’ll leave at six tomorrow morning.”

Cecily nodded her head, signaling that she understood.

Although she was happy that she would be seeing Jiang Shuxuan soon, when she thought about also seeing that woman—Xiahou Chengqin, her mood plummeted immediately. She touched the scripture that was still in her hands, and thought about starting to study it seriously.

The next day, Cecily and the others got ready to move out early. The place they were heading to was a desert in the far northwest, so Yi Tong pulled out his proud flying treasure.

It was a sword made of cold iron, and he had collected the materials himself before requesting Jiang Shuxuan to help him build it.

Every time Yi Tong took out his sword, Jiu Tong and the others would always gaze at it with envy and admiration in their eyes, and it was no exception this time.

“The sword’s maximum size isn’t very big, and it can hold only about ten people. Just squeeze yourself in.” Although he said it wasn’t big, Yi Tong still held a triumphant expression on his face. It made Jiu Tong want to kick him off a cliff or something for it.

As they were about to leave, a slender figure slowly came into their sight.

Seeing her, Yi Tong almost collapsed from his sword. “Miss Gu, do you also want to come with us?”

Gu Xiqiao nodded her head. “Can I?”

Yi Tong was at a loss for a moment, but the decision came swiftly. “Of course you can.”

Although Cecily was happy to see Gu Xiqiao again, she was also concerned about her. She leaned to Yi Tong and said in a low voice, “Mr. Yi Tong, are we really bringing Qiao Qiao with us? I’m afraid that Young Master Jiang will be angry. It’s not an ordinary place after all.”

Thinking about the time that Jiang Shuxuan had beaten her up the last time, Cecily shuddered. Her entire person felt ill just thinking about it.

“Don’t worry about it.” Yi Tong wasn’t worried about this in the least.

Hearing his words, Cecily couldn’t help but feel even more anxious on the inside.

The flying sword flew through the skies at a high speed, and Yi Tong was concerned that Gu Xiqiao wouldn’t be able to adapt to it. He had Jiu Tong sit beside her, just in case she fell off. He turned around only to see the said woman standing at the tail of the sword, her hair fluttering in the strong wind, the light blue windbreaker she wore not even buttoned up. She was swaying lightly, her eyes sparkling, looking extremely attractive.

Under the clear blue sky and the sunlight, you could only see that her jade-like face was as pretty as a picture.

The wind was strong while the flying sword was in motion, and everyone else could be seen to be slightly affected by the current. She was completely unaffected at all, and Yi Tong turned his head blankly back to the front, focusing on controlling the path instead.

Seeing this, Jiu Tong, Cecily and the others started to inch closer to Gu Xiqiao. As they expected, the moment they were in her range, the surroundings settled down. They immediately relaxed, and Jiu Tong even took out a pack of playing cards, calling everyone to play together.

“Come and play with us, Miss Gu?” Jiu Tong invited.

Gu Xiqiao shook her head. ‘I’m afraid you guys will cry instead.’

Yi Tong was navigating the sword through the skies in all his lonesome, the corner of his lips twitching. This was the first time it was so lively on the flying sword.

The sword flew towards the desert, and since the speed was fast, it took only a few hours before they reached the heart of the desert. There was an ancient castle there, and it looked very old. Gu Xiqiao looked at the sun shining at the castle from an angle, and from the angle of refraction, she found that the castle was actually hidden behind a formation. People who looked for it but didn’t know, or regular people wouldn’t be able to find it so easily.

The flying sword stopped outside the bluestone city gate.

Two men stood wearing short sleeves outside the gate, wearing linen coats and knives on the left of their waist. They looked shocked to see the arrival of the group.

When Yi Tong and his people walked forward, they took out their tokens calmly, and the two men kept away their blade upon seeing it. They greeted him respectfully. “Ah, it’s Mr. Yi Tong, please come in.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The entire castle wasn’t big, and it had a feeling of isolation from the outside world once they stepped inside. Most of the equipment inside looked outdated, but everyone had a mysterious atmosphere about them.

Gu Xiqiao knew, this was probably one corner of the ancient martial arts world.

Yi Tong led everyone through the streets, and there were all kinds of people they passed on the way.

“I’ll go and hand over to Yi Bing first, Miss Gu. Please wait a while.” Yi Tong held a bunch of research results in hand, and thought about how Yi Bing and the others would be waiting.

Gu Xiqiao nodded her head. “Go ahead, we’ll just browse around.”

Yi Tong left after giving an affirmative nod.

Gu Xiqiao walked around with Jiu Tong and the others, the things in the ancient martial arts world were a novel to her. Gu Xiqiao was excited as she looked around, though it didn’t really show on her face. Suddenly, there was a scream not far away, then the crying of a woman.

Cecily and Jiu Tong both ran over to look at what was happening, while Gu Xiqiao followed at a slower pace behind them.

It turned out that a teenager had fainted on the ground and wasn’t waking up no matter how much the people around him were calling out to him.

“Hurry, what are you doing? Go and find Miss Xiahou! She’s our clan’s mage, and she managed to save my uncle last time when he was all but gone! She’s an immortal-like figure.” A passerby said in a hurry.

“Miss Xiahou is in the pharmacy house of the Xiahou family, hurry and go!”

[Ding! Daily good deed mission activated: Rescue the sick and injured teenager.]

[Mission completion rewards: 50 points!]

The cold mechanical voice rang in her mind. Gu Xiqiao frowned as she watched the people move to carry the boy, and she opened her mouth, “Don’t move him, this person had a stroke. I’m a doctor, I can save him.”

A middle-aged woman looked up, seeing that the girl was barely twenty, she shouted sternly, “Where did this young brat come from, hurry and leave. How dare you compare yourself to our Mistress Sorceress? Don’t block Miss Xiahou’s way!”

The group of people carried the sick teenager towards the Xiahou family household.

The words that the passerby had said made Cecily and Jiu Tong bristle with annoyance, especially Jiu Tong. He knew that Gu Xiqiao was an accomplished and skillful doctor, one that Divine Doctor Rong and Zhu Yuan acknowledged, and that was the reason he didn’t doubt her words. However, the pedestrians were doubting Gu Xiqiao, and he was about to say something, but was stopped by Gu Xiqiao.

“Let’s go and see.” Gu Xiqiao was very interested in this witchcraft.

“What’s so good about Xiahou Chengqin!” Hearing the name, Cecily’s eyes were practically spitting fire. However, it was clear that Gu Xiqiao was extremely interested, and so she followed.

Xiahou Chengqin was a woman in her twenties, wearing a long embroidered dress with a string of white beads tied around her waist. Seeing the patient come in, she reached out her hand to feel his pulse. She then pulled out a yellow paper talisman and cinnabar, which she used to draw the symbol of traveling evil spirits on it.

After she finished drawing, she placed the talisman on the boy’s head. Within a few minutes, the teenager opened his eyes.

The passersby cheered, hailing Xiahou Chengqin as an Immortal Doctor.

Gu Xiqiao watched the entire process intently without blinking, and shook her head lightly before walking away.

Cecily and Jiu Tong were both used to seeing Xiahou Chenqin perform her mystery techniques, and weren’t surprised at all to see the scene. Although Cecily hated Xiahou Cengqin, she couldn’t help but admire the other’s techniques, which was very abnormal.

“Was there a problem, Miss Gu?” Jiu Tong asked, noticing Gu Xiqiao’s look.

Gu Xiqiao didn’t answer, but reached out to pat Jiji’s head. Jiji turned to look at Jiu Tong, a slightly contemptuous look on his mechanical face. “That boy had a stroke and haemorrhage, so he couldn’t move his body at all. If they had listened to Beauty Qiao’s words, there might have been a chance to cure him. Although Xiahou Chengqin’s talisman woke him up and enabled him to move, how can one go against the heavens? She’s just temporarily supporting the boy’s boy with her weird power, allowing him to look as though he can move freely at his own will. If you were to question him, he’s probably only half-conscious in his body now. Within ten days, his injuries will surface once again, and at that time, there may be no hope for him. Witchcraft may be able to banish evil, but it cannot cure diseases and sickness.”

So it was like that! Jiu Tong suddenly realized how it all worked, and looked back towards those people who were blindly worshipping Xiahou Chengqin, the same people who had mocked Gu Xiqiao before this. A triumphant look appeared on his face, and he didn’t bother saying anything to them. Just wait, you all will regret this sooner or later!

***

Behind the pharmacy house, Xiahou Chengqin was taking a break after healing the teenager.

At this time, someone came over to report. “Miss, Young Master Jiang has returned, and it seems that he’s injured.”

Hearing this, Xiahou Chengqin immediately grabbed the yellow talisman papers and cinnabar pen, rushing out immediately. “Hurry, come with me!”

***

In the tallest antique building in the castle city.

“Boss, Yi Tong has returned.” Yi Bing looked at Jiang Shuxuan’s open shirt, and the deep wound on his back that you could almost see was the bone, and there was even a hazy black mist from it. He couldn’t help but be frightened, if it were anyone else who had encountered such a black mist, they would have been dead early on. It was only their boss that was able to endure this.

“Where is he?” Jiang Shuxuan took the documents handed to him by Yi Bing, and raised his head.

Yi Bing shook his head. “He passed me the documents and rushed out. I heard he was going to find Miss Cecily and the others.”

Hearing Cecily’s name, Jiang Shuxuan couldn’t help but frown. He sat on the chair, a calm and graceful posture, despite the wound on his back. His eyebrows, a graceful arch, neatly trimmed nails, and the deep, cold eyes seemed like an endless abyss when you looked into it.

This was the scene that Xiahou Chengqin walked into, being stunned speechless at it. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart as she stepped further into the room.