Chapter 324 - Shell-Shocked Elders

“Miss Mo Li!” Gu Xiqiao could feel Jiang Shuxuan’s pause when he held her hands, and she shot Mo Li a cold look.

Mo Li only felt like she was in a blank space, her face draining of all blood in an instant.

When she finally got back her senses, the two had already left her line of sight.

“Miss Mo Li.” The great elder had been watching the entire scene not far off, and he let out a heavy sigh. Gu Xiqiao’s growth was just too fast. “Let’s go.”

“Great Elder, why didn’t you stop him?” Mo Li turned around, looking at the great elder with a cold, hard look. “You know my brother’s identity and position!”

The great elder gave Mo Li a look. “The two of them, do you think you could stop either of them?”

Mo Li was silent as she looked at the great elder, not saying a word.

The great elder let out a heavy sigh once again.

***

Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan returned to the ancient martial arts world in their own flying ark, which used to be the treasure of the Baili family. It was twice as fast as the average flying ark that the others used, and so they reached long before the elders.

When they reached back, they found Shu Chen and Jiang Han sitting on the sofa, waiting for them.

Seeing the both of them come in, Shu Chen jumped up and hugged Gu Xiqiao, patting her from top to bottom. “You’re back, Qiao Qiao. The great elder said that you were injured, is it serious?”

Jiang Han glanced at Gu Xiqiao, before turning his eyes to Jiang Shuxuan. “I heard that you’ve lost your memories?”

Jiang Shuxuan was silent, he somehow felt that there was a hint of laughter underneath Jiang Han’s tone, as though rejoicing in his misfortune?

After making sure that there was nothing seriously wrong with Gu Xiqiao, Shu Chen let out a breath of relief. “Let’s go and eat, Qiao Qiao. I’m sure you’ve not been eating well these few days.”

Gu Xiqiao: “... Okay.”

At the dinner table, Shu Chen glanced at Jiang Shuxuan, who was sitting beside Gu Xiqiao. She suddenly remembered something as she opened her mouth, “Qiao Qiao, although his brain is in bad shape right now, I hope you don’t dump him.”

Jiang Shuxuan raised his head, glancing at Shu Chen with his deep, coal eyes.

Gu Xiqiao: “...”

After eating, Shu Chen pulled Gu Xiqiao towards the sofa, asking her what she had been up to. She looked at the younger girl’s thin face. “You’ve become thinner again...”

Jiang Han and Jiang Shuxuan were sitting coldly on the other side. The aura they exuded felt even colder than the last time.

Jiang Han: “I want to drink water.”

Everyone ignored him, the butler would serve some cut fruits to Shu Chen and Gu Xiqiao, and brought them snacks later on.

Jiang Shuxuan had thought that he would feel uncomfortable, coming back to his home. But seeing the current situation in front of him made his uneasiness disappear.

“Madam, Miss Gu has just returned, we should let her retire early.” The butler said from the side.

Shu Chen got up immediately, touching Gu Xiqiao’s head gently. Her voice was soft as she said, “We’ll talk more tomorrow. Go on and rest, Qiao Qiao. Oh right, Ah Bin has been asking me whether you’ve returned or not, give him a call when you can.”

Gu Xiqiao nodded her head, feeling the concern came from the bottom of the older woman’s heart and it made her feel warm inside.

After the two made their way upstairs, Shu Chen sighed. “Luckily, it doesn’t seem like the situation is overly complicated.”

“This stinky boy.” Jiang Han snorted coldly. “Forgetting all about us, but remember the girl. I was afraid that he would forget his entire family once he came back.”

“Aren’t all of your Jiang family members the same?” Shu Chen seemed to have thought of something, then burst out laughing.

Everyone knew that since ancient times, the Jiang family had been churning out monsters. But there was also another description of them that was less known to outsiders: Since ancient times, the Jiang family people had always been extremely passionate and loving.

***

Upstairs, Jiang Shuxuan was leaning against the window. His tall, lean figure casting a shadow on the curtains. He plucked a flower from the pot nearby, and asked, “Are you sure they’re my parents?”

Gu Xiqiao: “... They really are.”

“Why don’t you take a shower first, Brother Jiang? Do you know how to use everything inside? Never mind, I’ll adjust the temperature for you, go on in.” Gu Xiqiao took out a change of clothes, shoving it into Jiang Shuxuan’s arms, and led him to the bathroom and explained to him how the things in there worked.

She left, closing the door after she was done, sitting down at the desk and opening the computer. She proceeded to type away once everything was set up.

When Jiang Shuxuan was done with his shower, this was the scene he walked into. She was sitting in front of the computer, her slender fingers tapping on the ink black keyboard. Her eyes were slightly lowered, looking at the screen, and her eyes couldn’t be seen by others. You could only see her thick, long eyelashes on her side profile, but he knew that she had a pair of eyes that were so radiant that people who look into them would be unable to turn away.

The towel was still in his hands, and he hadn’t dried his hair, distracted as he was leaning against the door, watching her.

He looked as if he was in a daze, something flashing in his mind as he felt like he had always been like this, liked watching her like this.

“Brother Jiang.” Gu Xiqiao looked up to see him leaning against the wall after she finished typing a page, and she smiled, slightly resigned. “Why haven’t you dried your hair?”

She took the towel from his hands. “Lower your head.”

“Oh.” Jiang Shuxuan obeyed obediently.

After she rubbed his hair dry, she pointed to the stool beside her and said, “You can sit here.”

Jiang Shuxuan sat down without a word.

Gu Xiqiao placed another computer in front of him, and a pile of documents. “I had Yi Bing bring these documents regarding the ancient martial arts world for you, have a look at them.”

Jiang Shuxuan picked them up and started reading through them, and after seeing him immerse himself in the task, Gu Xiqiao returned to her own seat and continued her own work, tapping away on her keyboard.

[We’ve reached Peace Manor, Beauty Gu.] Jiji’s voice came through in her mind. [Huh? What are you doing?]

‘Fixing the ancient martial arts world.’ Gu Xiqiao replied faintly. ‘The strength of the people in the ancient martial arts world is too weak.”

Jiji could see the words she was typing in the computer through her mind, and its lips turned downwards. [Beauty Qiao, you’re going to scare them to death.]

Gu Xiqiao thought for a while, before finally saying, ‘I’ll try my best to be gentle.’

Jiji: [...] No matter how gentle you try to be, you won’t be able to change the fact of how impossible the things you’re doing is.

***

At Peace Manor.

“Jiji, why aren’t you eating?” Wu Hongwen glanced at Jiji, wondering why the robot suddenly stopped eating halfway?

“Nothing.” Jiji took another bite of meat. “I’m just feeling shocked for the ancient martial arts world, er... no, I mean, happy.”

Wu Hongwen had already eaten his meal. “Then you go ahead and continue being shocked slowly, I’ll head back to the caves first.”

“Really a bunch of lunatics.” Jiji watched Wu Hongwen’s retreating back, and muttered under its breath. This group of people had been training and cultivating day and night non-stop, seriously, their level of craziness could even be comparable to Gu Xiqiao’s.

***

On the other side, Mo Li had just gotten down from the flying ark, bumping into Baili Bin who had been waiting at the side.

“Your legs are healed?” Mo Li hadn’t believed her own eyes when she saw Baili Bin standing in front of her, and after gaping at him for a long time, she finally spit those words out.

Baili Bin smiled at her. “Miss Mo Li, it has been a long time.”

“That it has. After your legs were injured, you never came back.” Mo Li suddenly smiled at him after saying that. “But now it seemed that you’ve really had a stroke of luck.”

Baili Bin was about to say something, but the phone in his pocket suddenly started to ring. A gentle smile spread on his face after he pulled it out to see who it was, before turning around to take the call.

Mo Li was surprised at his reaction. Though she wasn’t close to Baili Bin, she had paid attention to him when he and Jiang Shuxuan had been famous in the past years. Hence, she knew that though Baili Bin looked gentle on the outside, he was actually a person that was hard to get close to, and those who were close to him could be counted on one hand.

After so many years of knowing him, this was the first time she had seen sincere joy on his face like this.

“Sorry,” Baili Bin said after hanging up the call, turning back to face her. “My grandfather is looking for you.”

“Patriarch Baili?” Mo Li glanced at Baili Bin with a slight surprise in her eyes. “Let’s go then.”

On their way to the Baili residence, the two ran into Murong Feiye. Both his hands were clasped in front of his chest as he looked towards Baili Bin. “I knew that you’d go and look for her.”

Baili Bin’s face was indifferent, not bothered about Murong Feiye.

Mo Li felt strange as they continued on, bumping into not only Murong Feiye, but even members of the Tang family!

The further they walked, the stranger she felt it was.

Up till when they reached the Baili residence, where she saw Baili Qu and Tang Wenbo sitting there. Hearing Baili Qu’s words, Mo Li felt shock once again coursing through her. What a big fanfare, all just for Gu Xiqiao?

“You guys are really going overboard here, aren’t you? Don’t you know what kind of person she is?” Mo Li fiddled with her fingers as she said, “Just to make it clear, I admire her very much.”

Baili Bin didn’t reply to that, looking at Mo Li with an indifferent expression on his face. “Of course I know, but if anything were to happen, the Jiang family may not touch you, but our Baili family will definitely not let you off, even if we have to exhaust the power of our entire family.”

Mo Li paused in her actions, looking at Baili Bin, her eyes unpredictable under the light. After several minutes, she smiled softly. “Of course not.”

Walking out of the Baili residence, there wasn’t any expression on Mo Li’s face as she headed towards the Jiang residence.

When she walked past the Trial Tower, she ran into Murong Miaoxue, who had just exited the tower.

“Your power has increased,” Mo Li commented as she circled the other girl. “Looks like you’ve been working hard the past three years, Murong Miaoxue.”

“Miss Mo Li.” Murong Miaoxue nodded at her slightly, her face no longer having that prideful look that she usually sported.

“Such a big change?” Mo Li’s eyes swept across the area, seeing the horrified gazes of the people who caught sight of her. “Forget it. Let me ask you, where’s Jiang Tong?”

“The underground prison.” Murong Miaoxue replied easily, looking at her.

WTF? Was it that bad? Jiang Tong had been making waves on waves in the ancient martial arts world for a while, and though Mo Li had teased her frequently, she still didn’t actually dare to hurt her inside. She never expected to hear something like this when she just came back!

Who was great enough to make Jiang Tong fall to that level?

Murong Miaoxue seemed to have heard her unspoken question, and she slowly said three words, “Gu Xiqiao.”

***

The great elder decided to take a stroll around the Trial Tower in the morning, and he saw a few youngsters looking at the rankings, which were still occupied by the people from Peace Manor. “Look at Peace Manor and Miss Gu, you guys are so weak, do you feel good about it?”

“Great Elder, are you teasing us?” The youngsters reeled back as though they had been slapped. You could compare them to anyone and it would still be fine, but Miss Gu was a monster, and her subordinates were also the same, monsters, all of them!

The great elder thought about it for a while, before letting out a sigh. “You’re right, I can’t be too demanding towards you guys anyway.”

“Great Elder, Young Master Jiang is in the Elders Association looking for you.” After the great elder tried to give some encouraging words to those youngsters, the guard from the Elders Association came to report to him.

Jiang Shuxuan wouldn’t find him for no reason, and usually it was a major event when the younger man came looking for him. So the great elder left hastily after exchanging a few more words with the group of youngsters.

After he left, the group of youngsters was still chatting with each other. “I heard that Miss Mo Li has returned, I wonder between the two, would Miss Gu or Miss Mo Li come out on top?”

“Obviously it would be Miss Gu.” One of them said decisively.

“Although Miss Gu’s strength is great, you guys have forgotten that Miss Mo Li is a charmspeaker.” Another said.

Next to them was a youngster that had been to Mingzhou, and he shook his head. “Miss Mo Li can’t even begin to compare to Miss Gu.”

This sentence caused a heated debate to start between two groups of people, one saying that there was no way Mo Li’s charmspeak could be resisted, while the other saying that Gu Xiqiao’s mental power was strong to the point that it was impossible to control, even with charmspeak.

The youngster that had said those words didn’t say anything more, just laughing lightly. Charmspeak was nothing. Not only was Gu XIqiao able to resist it, she could even reflect it! If he were to say that, the others would definitely be shocked to death!

***

At the Elders Association, Jiang Shuxuan was seated in his usual seat. Gu Xiqiao didn’t sit in any of the elder’s seats, but at the end of the table, leaning lazily against the back of the chair.

The elders came in one by one, and when they saw her sitting there, they were shocked. They greeted her with a slight tremble in their voice, in extremely respectful tones.

The impression that Gu Xiqiao had left on them the last time they had met was huge, and they only had two words to describe this girl in front of them now!

Terrifying!

Monster!

When Jiang Shuxuan saw that everyone had arrived, he waved his hands and a pile of books appeared in front of him. His eyes swept across everyone that was seated at the table, and said, “These ancient texts are all fake.”

All the elders that were present: “...” Are you kidding me?

Jiang Shuxuan was looking at them with a solemn expression on his face. His eyes were sharp, and they conveyed to them that he wasn’t joking at all.

The elders who were smiling in the beginning fell silent.

The great elder didn’t speak, picking up the books that were in front of Jiang Shuxuan. Every family in the ancient martial arts world had a mark or symbol on their ancient texts, which had been passed down through the generations for nearly thousands of years, and so he knew that these were the real ones that had been passed down once he flipped through them.

Every book was filled with history and aura, how was someone supposed to believe that this was a fake?

Though his mouth said it wasn’t true, the great elder knew that in his heart, he believed every word that he had said.

“Young Master Jiang, you’re joking with us, right?” Seeing the doubt and hesitation on the great elder’s face, the tense shoulder of the other elders started to relax.

Jiang Shuxuan merely tapped his hand on the table, once, twice, making those who heard the knocks grow more terrified as the time passed. Suddenly, he raised his head, looking at them with an extremely cold look on his face, his voice even colder than that as he said, “Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Kind of, Young Master Ji-” Before this person had finished speaking, he felt his heart leap to his throat when he caught sight of Jiang Shuxuan’s gaze.

His voice caught in his throat, stopping his words abruptly!

Most of the ancient texts were passed down in the ancient martial arts world for almost a thousand years, and most of them were fake?

Nobody would believe this fact.

However, was Jiang Shuxuan the kind of person who would joke? Of course not!

“Do you want to know why the Baili family has improved so much in recent months?” Gu Xiqiao leaned back, her voice lazy as she spoke into the silence of the room.

“How?” Someone couldn’t help but ask.

Everyone in the ancient martial arts world knew that the Baili family was now thriving like never before, and it was obvious everyone was jealous! Of course they wanted to know! As elders of their own families, who didn’t want to grow stronger?

So at this moment, all eyes were turned towards Gu Xiqiao.

Gu Xiqiao smiled, sitting up straight suddenly, propping her chin on her hand. Her smile was brighter as she said, “Because those fake ancient texts in their house were also discovered by me.”

Boom!

Everyone felt like they were going to explode at that revelation, their minds and face blanked as they looked at the brightly smiling girl in a daze!

After dropping such a huge bombshell, Gu Xiqiao continued to follow up with another one!

“Oh, that’s right. I was also the one who gave them their new ancient texts.” She threw out, her voice light.

All the elders of the ancient martial arts world were so shocked that they almost sprawled out on the ground.

They tried hard to recall when the Baili family had started to rise, and were horrified to realize that it was around the same time that Gu Xiqiao had arrived at the Imperial Capital!

The timeline... it matched up!

The other elders all turned as one to look at the only elder from the Baili family who was sitting among them, and the old man was also smiling as bright as Gu Xiqiao. His voice was extremely respectful as he addressed Gu Xiqiao, “It’s all thanks to the Young Miss for saving the Baili family.”

He had called her ‘Young Miss’, and not ‘Miss Gu’.

Only at this time, no one seemed to realize the difference in the title. The Elders Association was dead silent for a long while.

“I’ll only say this once.” Gu Xiqiao stood up. The sunlight streaming in from the window shone on her face, making her snow-white skin glow slightly. “I created the first Peace Manor, I naturally can also create a second one. If any of you have any ideas, you can come to Peace Manor to find me at five in the morning. You can also bring your juniors.”

She could build one Peace Manor, so she could naturally build a second one!

Her voice was light, but every word dripped with arrogance! Overbearing! Conceited!

However, not a single soul in the room could question the validity of her words!