Chapter 52: Finding Xiaogang's "Shadow"
At this moment, Jing Ni was seated gracefully on the living room sofa in their suite at the Elder Palace. She was quietly flipping through a book about the Douluo Continent, a simple text she had acquired from a maid. Her expression was serene, a stark contrast to the opulence of the room. The silence was a luxury she was still learning to accept.
Seeing Qin Xuan enter, she gracefully stood up, her hand instinctively going to her swollen belly, and slowly walked towards him.
"How's the learning going?" Qin Xuan asked, his voice soft. He naturally took her arm, guiding her back to the sofa and helping her sit down, his movements practiced and gentle.
To prevent any possibility of being overheard—even with the excellent soundproofing and the fact that no one in the Elder Palace would dare to listen in—the two still communicated privately in Chinese. It had become their secret language.
"It's not bad," she replied, her voice retaining the calm, measured tone of her former life. "I've basically mastered the common language of this world, though some of the more obscure vocabulary is still unfamiliar."
She looked down at the book. "I also don't know much about the customs and Spirit Master theories of this Continent. I need to accumulate more knowledge to... fit in."
"Mm, while you're resting during your pregnancy, learn as much as you can. I'll bring some more advanced books from the Supreme Pontiff Palace's library later."
Qin Xuan then retrieved the "mother bag" from the Mother-Child Qiankun Bag. He handed it to her.
"You don't have a storage spirit tool yet," he said. "This mother bag from the Mother-Child Qiankun Bag has a 10-cubic-meter internal space and, more importantly, it can store living things. I have another use for the child bag, but you keep the mother bag. You can use it to store some of your personal items."
His gaze softened as he looked at her belly. "When the child is born, if you ever encounter danger, you can temporarily place the child inside if necessary."
"Thank you." A warm, unfamiliar current flowed through Jing Ni's heart. She looked at the simple bag, understanding its true, life-saving value. She did not refuse. This item was truly too important to her.
With it, the child's safety would be greatly guaranteed. It was a promise of security she had never had in her life with the Net.
"Verbal thanks aren't enough," Qin Xuan said, his serious expression suddenly melting into a roguish grin. He scooped her up in a princess carry, his arms strong and steady.
Upon hearing this, Jing Ni instantly understood his intention. Startled, a rare flush of panic appeared on her stoic face. "No, Qin Xuan, no! It's... it's already been seven months. It's not safe!"
"I know," he chuckled, his gaze falling to her delicate, red lips. "But don't you still have another place?"
Ever since Jing Ni had signed the system's contract, he had never concealed his true, roguish nature in front of her.
"Another... place?" Jing Ni, the master assassin, the killer of countless targets, was touched in a blind spot of her knowledge. She was utterly baffled.
Qin Xuan gave her no time to react. He carried her directly towards the master bedroom, moving so fast that he left a series of afterimages in the air.
The Reincarnation Divine Art (Lao Ai Edition) officially activated.
[Inorin's Note: Lao Ai was a historical figure in ancient China, famed for his... 'talents'... which he used to gain favor with the Queen Dowager. This is a joking reference by the author, implying Qin Xuan is using a "seduction" technique.]
Yu Xiaogang had been very happy and excited recently.
Soon, his "Ten Core Theories of Spirit" would finally be completed.
He sat at a small desk on the second floor of the Supreme Pontiff Palace's library, a place he now considered his personal domain.
"First: There are only useless Spirit Masters, never useless Spirits."
"Second: Spirits are only divided into Tool Spirits and Beast Spirits."
"Third: The absorption of each spirit ring has a time limit: the first ring 432 years, the second ring 764 years, the third ring 1,760 years... the ninth ring 100,000 years."
"Fourth: The level of innate spirit power is directly proportional to the strength of the Spirit. The higher the innate spirit power, the stronger the Spirit. If it is inversely proportional, then there must be another, even stronger Spirit. This is... twin Spirits."
Yu Xiaogang, now over 26 years old, looked at the manuscript he had spent nearly 20 years copying—bah, summarizing—bah, researching.
A satisfied, smug smile appeared on his prematurely aged, stiff face.
He found that ever since that damned, arrogant simp, Qin Xuan, had accepted that fool's mission dispatched by Spirit Hall and never returned, his life had become increasingly smooth.
He had vanished. Disappeared for an entire year. Dead, most likely. Good riddance.
Not only did no one in Spirit Hall dare to bully or insult him anymore (thanks to Bibi Dong's protection), but his Ten Core Theories of Spirit were also nearing completion.
He believed that it wouldn't be long—a year, no, even just half a year—before he could publish them.
By then, he would become a respected theoretical Grandmaster. He would no longer be the "abandoned son" of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the "useless son" of Yu Yuanzhen, in the mouths of high-level Spirit Masters. He would be "Grandmaster."
Just as Yu Xiaogang was envisioning his glorious future and thinking of these good things, footsteps sounded from the stairs downstairs.
It seems Bibi Dong is back, he thought, his heart lifting. I wonder what the Supreme Pontiff called her to the Elder Palace for? It took so long.
Thinking this, Yu Xiaogang quickly restrained his ugly, lewd grin—which looked more like crying than smiling. He straightened his posture, puffing out his thin chest, and adopted the air of a profound individual.
He became someone who 'hears nothing outside the window, focusing solely on studying the sages.'
Compared to that dead-and-gone Qin Xuan, Yu Xiaogang was very clear about his advantage in Bibi Dong's heart.
That was wisdom.
Perhaps in terms of cultivation, he, Yu, was inferior. But when Heaven closes one door for a person, it often opens a window.
His, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's, wisdom was unmatched.
The footsteps drew closer, ascending the stairs. A tall, slender figure in fiery red robes walked in.
The air in the library suddenly, inexplicably, dropped.
These footsteps are heavy... it isn't Bibi Dong.
Yu Xiaogang shivered, an instinctive, primal fear gripping his heart. He slowly, reluctantly, turned his head to look.
Seeing the person, his face instantly turned ashen.
"It's... him? Qin Xuan. He... he actually came back alive."
Qin Xuan, who had come to find books for Jing Ni, happened to look over.
Their eyes met.
Faintly, just for an instant, Yu Xiaogang seemed to see a blood-colored, abnormal gleam flash in Qin Xuan's dark eyes beneath his cascading black hair.
Qin Xuan was also somewhat surprised to find him here. The corner of his mouth curled into a slight, cold smile.
A pure white light floated out from his palm, turning colorless and invisible. The Slaughter God Domain quietly, stealthily, released, covering only the small space around Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang's gaze rapidly shifted from shock to raw, unadulterated terror.
Qin Xuan, dressed in his magnificent fiery red robes, slowly approached. His figure was reflected in Yu Xiaogang's wide eyes, gradually enlarging, blocking out the light.
Yu Xiaogang's pupils trembled slightly. He didn't dare to breathe.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
In front of him was no longer Qin Xuan, the simp he had once despised. This was a fiend. A demon who had emerged from a literal mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The aura he exuded was not of a human, but of death itself.
When he reached Yu Xiaogang, Qin Xuan finally moved. He extended his right hand into a claw shape, reaching slowly toward Yu Xiaogang's face.
Sweat instantly soaked Yu Xiaogang's clothes. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run.
But he found himself unable to move. He couldn't even cry for help.
He felt as if he had been scared out of his wits, his soul frozen. He instinctively closed his eyes, waiting for death to arrive.
However, how could he know that this was the paralyzing mental effect of the Slaughter God Domain?
Qin Xuan's lips curled slightly. He did nothing to Yu Xiaogang.
He merely took a book he had recently read—a history of Spirit Beasts—from the bookshelf beside him. He flipped through it, quietly withdrew his Slaughter God Domain, and left, walking past the frozen "Grandmaster."
As soon as Qin Xuan left, the bone-chilling cold vanished. The air temperature returned to normal.
Yu Xiaogang, unaware of the truth, heard the footsteps receding down the stairs. Only then did he dare to open his eyes.
He gently patted his chest, then collapsed back into his chair, panting like an ox, his limbs shaking.
Qin Xuan was truly terrifying.
Since birth, he had never felt so close to death. That aura... it was clearly without using spirit power to oppress him. It was merely a single glance, yet it had filled him with extreme, soul-crushing fear.
Thinking of this, Yu Xiaogang secretly clenched his fists. An extreme, burning sense of humiliation arose. Following the last time Qin Xuan had slapped him, he once again felt his weakness and his utter incompetence.
[Yu Xiaogang's resentment +18888]
[Yu Xiaogang's resentment +28888]
[Yu Xiaogang's resentment +88888]
Oh? This guy seems very unwilling.
Qin Xuan, who had just reached the bottom of the stairs, saw the sudden, massive influx of points from the system pop-up.
Somewhat surprised, he turned his head and glanced back up at the cowering figure of Yu Xiaogang. He then slowly ascended to the third floor, where the truly rare books were kept.
Since Yu Xiaogang is here, he mused, then Bibi Dong will most likely come over after she finishes recovering her spirit power and injuries. Those two are often inseparable in Spirit Hall.
Qin Xuan could hit, scold, insult, and mess with Yu Xiaogang privately.
But he couldn't bully him in front of Bibi Dong. At least, not for now. That would only harm his relationship with her. He needed to be... subtle.
[Inorin Note:
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