Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 997: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (5)

The moment Sun Xiaosheng hung up the phone, Long Xiruo, who was thousands of miles away, froze for a second before suddenly throwing her phone to the ground in frustration, gritting her teeth.

Unexpectedly, a sudden flash of light and the sound of a click came from the study.

"Kui Qianyi, what are you doing?" Long Xiruo frowned.

The old turtle had somehow pulled out a phone, and it seemed like the flash had just gone off.

"Oh... I couldn't help myself," Kui Qianyi said with a serious expression. "I just wanted to capture some memories. It's been a long, long time since I last saw you like this."

Her chubby cheeks, still adorable even when angry, brought Kui Qianyi back to the past... back when a little girl used to ride on his back, excitedly saying she wanted to travel across mountains and seas, swearing to save the world.

Long Xiruo rolled her eyes and sat down, still sulking.

Seeing that the two had calmed down, Gui Ying finally dared to speak. "Lord Long, after learning of your presence, the members of the Demon Association all wish to visit you in person—especially a few from the Four Celestial Spirits tribe. They mentioned that you haven't visited their settlement in a long time."

"Not interested." Long Xiruo waved her hand dismissively. "Decline for me. Just say I'm busy."

"There's also the Special National Land Management Bureau. They hope you can spare some time to fulfill your duties as a special consultant.""They never paid me, did they?" Long Xiruo sneered. "Nope, not seeing them either!"

Besides, given the current state of the True Dragon of Divine Land, she really couldn't show herself. If the extraordinary beings of Divine Land knew that their True Dragon was now a little girl—a loli, even—how could she ever live that down?

Feeling irritated, Long Xiruo pulled out a pack of Taishan cigarettes from the drawer, lit one, leaned back in her chair, and puffed away listlessly.

Kui Qianyi and Gui Ying exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Long Xiruo suddenly spoke weakly, "Kui Qianyi, send someone to keep an eye out. One of my half-baked disciples might be showing up around here soon."

"Mo Xiaofei?" Kui Qianyi frowned. He had always been somewhat resistant to the idea of Long Xiruo taking Mo Xiaofei under her wing—not because of Mo Xiaofei's character, but simply because of the age-old tensions between humans and demons.

"That kid somehow awakened some memories of his past life and has been looking into it," Long Xiruo sighed. "Before I left, I casually mentioned the Plain-Clothed Dao. I suspect he wants to find it. Also, Windchaser left with Liu Shu."

"A Greedy Wolf star and a human modified with true dragon blood... What a troublesome pair." Kui Qianyi chuckled bitterly. He had a feeling this duo was bound to stir up trouble.

With Mt. Tai already in chaos, Mo Xiaofei and Windchaser's arrival could add even more uncertainty.

"Understood. I'll have people monitor the major stations." Kui Qianyi nodded.

Long Xiruo stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and got up. "Let me know if anything comes up. I'm heading out for a couple of days."

Kui Qianyi was surprised. "It's only two days until New Year's Eve. Where are you going?"

Long Xiruo replied calmly, "There's a kid I haven't seen in a while. Since I'm already in Mt. Tai, I might as well drop by. After all, that little one is part of the dragon clan too."

Kui Qianyi’s eyes widened slightly. "Wang...?"

Long Xiruo said nothing. She simply opened the window and shouted, "Pianxian, come with me! Stop reading!!"

With that, she walked out of the study.

Gui Ying hesitated before saying, "Prime Minister, shouldn't we send a few men to follow Lord Long? Given her current state, if she encounters any danger—"

Kui Qianyi shook his head. "We're already short on people. We still need to keep an eye on both the Daoist Association and the Demon Association... Let it be. She’s not entirely incapable of protecting herself. However, there is something I need you to take care of immediately."

Gui Ying straightened up, afraid to miss a word.

Kui Qianyi solemnly handed his phone to Gui Ying. "Go develop the photo I just took."

"..."

---

Later, Song Haoran couldn’t even remember why he had climbed onto the roof. He also had no recollection of the shadowy figure he had seen moving through the darkness the previous night—at least, not before breakfast.

"Why do you keep rubbing your shoulder?"

At the dining table, Song Ying looked at Song Haoran curiously.

Song Haoran stretched his neck, making his bones crack, and replied casually, "Guess I’m not used to the bed. My shoulder feels stiff."

Song Ying simply responded with an "Oh."

Just then, Luo Qiu appeared at the entrance of the living room, arriving almost at the same time as Zhang Qianrui. When they met at the doorway, Zhang Qianrui smiled slightly and greeted him, "Good morning."

"Morning." Luo Qiu returned the smile.

They didn’t say much, just like in class. Whenever they saw each other, they would simply nod in acknowledgment—a silent understanding before taking their seats.

Breakfast was simple due to limited resources. Uncle Wu had gone out early and brought back tianmo from the village entrance. The steaming bowl of tianmo was a warm comfort in the freezing winter morning.

Tianmo wasn't actually sweet; it was a savory porridge with large pieces of spinach, tofu shreds, cowpeas, and peanuts. There was also a faint hint of ginger and pepper, making it especially soothing.

After breakfast, Song Tianyou brought up the plan to visit the ancestral tomb. This was a private family matter, so Zhang Qianrui didn’t take part. However, since the Song Family and her grandmother were about to enter a major partnership, she needed to stay behind.

Her grandmother, Zhang Lilanfang, was already very old and unfit for travel. This collaboration with the Song Family was extremely important, and if they left everything to Mr. Ah Qi, it might seem insincere.

Looking at it this way, Zhang Qianrui could understand why her grandmother was so anxious about her marriage.

People always said the Song Family was powerful but had a thin bloodline. However, the truly dwindling family was actually the Zhangs—just a widow and an orphan.

In a few years, when the loyal members of both the Zhang and Li families were gone, Zhang Qianrui would be left struggling alone.

At that point, the decline or even collapse of these two ancient families would be inevitable.

Does it really have to rely on marriage...?

Right now, her engagement with Zhong Luochén from the Zhong family was in a stalemate. She hadn't had any contact with him for a long time and had no idea what the second young master of the Zhong family had been up to lately. He seemed to be acting mysteriously.

Marriage...

After all, as a woman, when considering this issue, no matter how well-mannered or composed one might be, it was hard to keep one's thoughts from wandering.

Zhang Qianrui subconsciously glanced at Luo Qiu, who was carefully eating a bowl of sweet gruel, savoring it as if it were some rare delicacy.

Noticing her gaze, Luo Qiu looked back at her. The moment their eyes met, Zhang Qianrui averted her gaze almost imperceptibly.

"Flirting with just their eyes..." Song Ying muttered under her breath.

Old Master Song continued discussing the ancestral worship ceremony. Zhang Qianrui quickly finished eating and said, "Master Song, please excuse me for a moment. I'd like to call my grandmother to check in on her."

"Of course." Song Tianyou didn't mind. Talking about ancestral worship in front of an outsider wasn't exactly appropriate anyway. However, a thought crossed his mind, and he said, "Miss Zhang, in two days, it will be New Year's Eve... How about inviting your grandmother over so our two families can celebrate together?"

Zhang Qianrui's lips parted slightly in surprise.

Song Tianyou chuckled. "It wouldn't be right for you to be here alone, and it wouldn't be right for Madam Li to be alone back home either. So, if your grandmother's health permits, why not bring her over? It's been many years since I've seen Madam Li."

Leaving her grandmother alone at home far away did make Zhang Qianrui feel uneasy... She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I'll ask for her opinion first."

"Of course." Song Tianyou smiled kindly. "Then I won't keep you. If you need anything, just ask Uncle Wu."

Zhang Qianrui then took her leave. The Song family continued discussing the ancestral worship ceremony throughout the morning. In the afternoon, Uncle Wu went out to purchase offerings.

In fact, a team had already been sent ahead to prepare for the ceremony before the Song family even arrived. Now, Uncle Wu only needed to send the coordinates, and the prearranged supplies would be delivered—likely by evening.

Lunch was simple. After eating, Song Tianyou felt drowsy and went to rest in his room.

The ghostly events that Song Bo had mentioned the night before didn't happen, so Song Ying dismissed them as mere superstitions of the mountain villagers. However, she found the area too quiet and lacking entertainment, so she kept busy handling business matters through a satellite connection.

Meanwhile, Song Haoran suddenly suggested, "How about we go dragon hunting?"

In the living room, Song Ying paused her typing, and Luo Qiu, who had been reading an old book from who-knows-where, also looked up.

"You mean that?" Song Haoran grinned. "Didn't Dad say there's a pool around here where the child of the Dragon God resides? Let's go on an adventure!"

Song Ying let out a dry laugh, then resumed typing on her laptop without even looking up. "I have a video meeting soon... Besides, do you know how much money the company would lose in the time you spend on an adventure?"

Song Haoran's eyes narrowed slightly. He suddenly walked over to Luo Qiu, snatched the book from his hands, and closed it. Luo Qiu blinked in mild surprise.

With a smile, Song Haoran said, "Little Luo Qiu, let's go explore."

The sound of typing suddenly slowed down.

Luo Qiu thought for a moment, then smiled. "Alright, let's take a walk. A little exercise after a meal is good."

Song Haoran added, "Should we invite your female~classmate too?"

The typing slowed even further.

Luo Qiu replied, "It would be polite to let her know."

The typing stopped altogether, followed by the harsh screech of a chair being pushed back.

Song Ying suddenly stood up, stretched lazily, and said to herself, "I ate too much. I should go for a walk... By the way, Song Haoran, where did you say we were going?"

Song Haoran squinted even more. "I thought you had a video meeting?"

"Canceled." Song Ying remained expressionless.

Song Haoran teased, "But that means the company will lose a lot of money."

Song Ying coldly replied, "No problem. I'll just cut your allowance to make up for it."

"..." Song Haoran stiffly turned to Luo Qiu, blinking at him with an awkward smile.

"Let's get ready to head out." Luo Qiu chuckled.

These two are really cute.

---

At the crowded elevator entrance, a professional woman with dark circles under her eyes yawned as she scrolled through her phone... Ren Ziling.

Suddenly, someone lightly patted her left shoulder. Out of habit, Ren Ziling looked to her right, only to see Li Zi hiding behind her.

"Why are you looking that way...?"

"Why wouldn't I look that way...?"

And thus, their daily banter began.

Li Zi glanced at Ren Ziling’s disheveled appearance and sighed. "Jeez, Ren-jie, you look like one of those long-lost female protagonists in a TV drama—like you've been missing for hundreds of episodes, and all the sorrow is written on your forehead."

"I'm out of energy..." Ren Ziling yawned. "No Luo Qiu energy... I'm dying."

Li Zi chuckled, then asked, "Isn't it almost New Year's Eve? What's wrong? Luo Qiu can't make it back?"

Ren Ziling drooped her head, as if a raincloud had formed over her. She exuded an aura of gloom. "He said he won't make it in time..."

"Wow, so you’ll have to eat New Year's Eve dinner alone?"

That line hit her like an arrow to the heart, making Ren Ziling's face turn even paler. As the elevator doors opened, she slumped inside like a lifeless corpse.

A while later, at the entrance of the newspaper office, she looked even more hunched over. Under the puzzled gazes of her colleagues, she shuffled back to her office like a zombie.

"Li Zi-jie, did something bad happen to Chief Editor Ren today?"

The one asking was Akiko, a new intern at the newspaper, speaking fluent Mandarin with a slight accent. She looked at Li Zi curiously.

Li Zi smirked mischievously and said, "Nothing much. She just got ruthlessly abandoned by a man."

"Wow, that's..." Akiko gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. She wanted to ask more, but at that moment, Ren Ziling suddenly walked out of her office.

"Did anyone go into my office? Who put this on my desk?" Ren Ziling asked loudly.

Everyone shook their heads. Seeing this, Ren Ziling sighed and returned to her office.

Li Zi stretched lazily and said, "Time to work! Akiko, did you get the photos from yesterday developed? If not, I'll help you."

"Thank you, Li Zi-jie." Akiko smiled sweetly. "You're always so kind to me."

Li Zi waved it off. "Maybe it's because your weird accent makes me feel nostalgic."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, just get to work." Li Zi laughed, then glanced at Ren Ziling’s office, noting that she had already drawn the curtains. She was probably catching up on sleep—there wasn't much work to do at the office these days anyway.

---

Ren Ziling frowned at the item on her desk—a thermos lunchbox.

It clearly contained food, but no one admitted to leaving it there... Who would randomly give her food?

She opened the lid, and a fragrant, peppery aroma wafted out. The steam rose, warming her face, which had been chilled by the cold morning air.

"Sweet gruel... It's been ages since I had this..."

Her appetite stirred. Never mind, she was starving. She’d only had instant noodles last night...

"Somehow, I feel... revitalized?"

After a few bites, her mood inexplicably improved. "Come to think of it, does anywhere nearby even sell this...?"

(End of Chapter)