novelraw Chapter 1031: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (39)
Chapter 1031: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (39)
Waking up and stretching lazily, feeling the soothing sensation that comes with it—there’s probably nothing better than starting the day like this.
“Good morning, Miss Ying.”
After freshening up casually, Song Ying bit onto her hair tie and tied her hair into a ponytail before stepping out of her room, greeted by the bodyguards outside.
“How did I get back last night?” Song Ying frowned and asked. She had been thinking about this since she woke up.
She vaguely remembered sitting in the pavilion with Luo Qiu, feeling the breeze, and drinking some strange, thick liquid he offered before falling asleep.
Seems like she really drank too much... But oddly enough, she didn’t feel any of the usual headaches that come with a hangover.
“Oh, it was Young Master Qiu who carried you back last night,” the bodyguard said with a grin. “A princess carry, no less!”
Song Ying blinked in surprise, then immediately retreated into her room and shut the door. She leaned against it, stunned.
“What the hell…”
Since it was the first day of the new year, it was customary in traditional families for the younger generation to greet their elders.The Song Family was no exception. Early in the morning, the younger members of the family gathered before Song Tianyou for the formal ritual of paying respects.
Everything followed tradition.
After that came breakfast—then, free time.
The first day of the new year was probably the most boring one. If you weren’t planning to go out, all that was left was idle chatting at home.
“Do you feel unwell after waking up?”
Lost in her thoughts, Song Ying was startled by Luo Qiu’s sudden question. She immediately panicked. “N-not really!”
“That’s good.” Luo Qiu nodded.
Just then, there was a knock on the main gate of the Song Family’s ancestral home. A bodyguard opened it and found that some villagers from Song Family Village had come to pay their New Year’s respects.
When the ancestral home was being renovated, Song Tianyou had employed many villagers, so he was somewhat acquainted with them.
The villagers knew that Old Master Song was a generous man with great wealth, so many had come to visit. The place was bustling with guests.
“Hey! Last night, did I…” Song Ying hesitated, fidgeting.
“Last night?”
“I mean… did I…” She hesitated again.
But just then, Old Master Song called out to Luo Qiu from a distance, asking him to come over. Luo Qiu, ever obedient, walked away.
Seeing this, Song Ying let out a sigh of relief… She had wanted to ask if she had said anything embarrassing last night.
But she couldn’t bring herself to ask—because if she had, that would be way too awkward!
Not far away, Song Tianyou was introducing Luo Qiu to the villagers, and Luo Qiu politely greeted each of them.
Song Ying watched the scene with mild boredom. She wasn’t the type to be socially awkward—if she were, she wouldn’t have been able to deal with the high-ranking executives at the company.
She just disliked these so-called family gatherings, which felt shallow and insincere.
Suddenly—
“Looking at him like this, Luo Qiu is actually pretty handsome, don’t you think?”
“Hmm, I guess.”
After answering, Song Ying froze for a moment and immediately regretted it.
Turning her head, she found Song Haoran standing behind her, peeking over her left shoulder with a mischievous grin.
“Song Haoran!!” Song Ying fumed.
“Happy New Year, best wishes, grow taller, goodbye~” Song Haoran laughed, quickly dodged away, and playfully tapped Song Ying’s forehead.
Something stuck to her forehead, blocking her vision. As it slid down, she instinctively caught it.
It was a red envelope.
It was the same every year… He always found unexpected ways to hand these to her.
Song Ying shot Song Haoran an annoyed glare and muttered, “You treating me like a Jiangshi again?”
As a child, Song Haoran loved watching old Jiangshi (hopping vampire or Chinese version of a zombie) movies, where a Taoist priest with a distinctive mustache used talismans to control the undead.
He used to drag Song Ying to watch them too, scaring her so badly that she couldn’t sleep at night for a long time—truly a childhood nightmare.
Even so, she carefully put the red envelope away, making sure not to crease it. As a princess of the Song Dynasty family, it wasn’t the money she cared about.
After joining the villagers’ visits, Song Haoran was soon caught up in a flurry of flattery and well-wishes.
Song Ying, never one for these social events, quietly slipped away. She decided to visit Zhang Qianrui, but upon reaching her door, she was informed that Zhang had left early in the morning with people from the Zhang family.
Since high-status families always had pressing matters to attend to, Song Ying dismissed the thought of contacting her and wandered aimlessly around the courtyard.
She soon noticed two bodyguards staring at the sky with wide eyes.
“What are you looking at?” she asked, walking over curiously.
“Miss Ying!” The bodyguards jumped, startled. Then, they quickly explained, “We just saw online that there were reports of a strange light in the sky.”
“A strange light?” Song Ying raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “What, another UFO sighting? Some alien spaceship again?”
“Maybe,” the bodyguards replied nonchalantly. “The local news later reported it as a failed optical experiment.”
In foreign countries, there were reports of unidentified flying objects almost every month. By now, people barely paid attention.
Song Ying shook her head, unimpressed. She turned and went back to her room, deciding to pass the time by catching up on some satellite conference calls.
The project managers gave their reports, mostly in line with her earlier projections. She listened coldly, maintaining her usual professional demeanor.
Then suddenly—
While in the middle of a video call, strange images flickered across her laptop screen. It looked like interference, as if some bizarre signal was disrupting the connection.
Distorted gray skies, crumbling buildings, endless cracked roads, withered trees, scattered debris swirling in the wind—an eerie, deathly silence.
A shadowy figure loomed, moving in the desolation.
Suddenly—
A roar.
Her heart pounded wildly, her mind going blank. A suffocating panic gripped her chest, and she gasped for breath. All she could hear was a piercing ringing in her ears.
A terrible, suffocating despair wrapped around her.
“Miss Ying! Miss Ying! Miss Ying!”
Gradually, real voices pulled her back.
The faces of the conference attendees reappeared on the laptop screen, looking at her with concern. The project manager who had been presenting his report called out to her. His voice became clear again.
On the screen, the video feed was normal—divided into sections, showing the various attendees.
Song Ying stared at it for a long moment before shaking her head. “I just drank a little too much last night. That’s all. Carry on, send me the reports later.”
She swiftly ended the video conference and began checking her laptop—but there were no signs of a virus. Given that this was a high-security business laptop, and considering the Song Dynasty’s capabilities, it would take only minutes to bring in top-tier hackers for security management.
“Could it be that the effects of the alcohol haven’t completely worn off yet?”
Song Ying rubbed her temples, casually closed the laptop, and walked to the window, gazing outside as a way to relax. She had to admit, though this place was somewhat underdeveloped and inconvenient for daily life, the pure, natural atmosphere was undeniably refreshing.
Gradually, she put those strange images out of her mind and immersed herself in the mountain scenery.
“Have the kitchen prepare some tomato juice for me,” she suddenly instructed the bodyguard standing outside her door. “And add a little salt.”
“Yes, Miss!”
…
…
As she stepped out of the car, Zhang Qianrui gently rubbed her fingers.
Having grown up in the south, she wasn’t used to the harsh northern cold. Even though she was bundled up in a thick down jacket, the biting wind against her face still stung.
In front of her stood a somewhat old-fashioned hotel—still, it was the best three-star establishment available in the area.
Mr. Ah Qi had been waiting at the hotel lobby entrance for a while. When he saw Zhang Qianrui arrive, he quickly stepped forward. “Miss, you’ve had a long journey.”
Zhang Qianrui gave a faint smile. “Uncle Qi, you’ve been running around for the past few days, barely getting a proper meal. You’re the one who’s really had it rough.”
A rare smile appeared on Mr. Ah Qi’s otherwise stern face. “I’ve traveled far and wide, and back in the day, I even chewed on leather shoes when times were tough. This is nothing.”
Zhang Qianrui had heard many of Mr. Ah Qi’s stories growing up, so she simply nodded and softly asked, “Has everyone arrived?”
Mr. Ah Qi lowered his voice. “The people from the Suzuki Group arrived at midnight. Originally, we agreed to meet tomorrow after today had passed. But for some reason, they suddenly insisted on meeting today, saying that if we didn’t, the deal would be off. Old Madam had several phone calls with them late last night, but in the end, she couldn’t change their minds. That’s why you were sent here so early in the morning.”
“I already got a general update from Grandma over the phone this morning.” Zhang Qianrui nodded. “Let’s go meet the father and son from the Suzuki Group and see what kind of big shots they really are.”
…
Suzuki Chun Xin was sitting on the couch, reading information on his laptop.
Meanwhile, Suzuki Yuichi sat with his eyes closed in silent meditation—until suddenly, he opened them. “It looks like our business partners have arrived.”
Suzuki Chun Xin barely reacted. “They’re just expendable pawns for the opening act. We’ll deal with them quickly… But I still can’t find it.”
Suzuki Yuichi frowned. “You’re still searching for clues about last night’s anomaly?”
Suzuki Chun Xin nodded. “That’s right. This incident has caused quite a stir—many people saw it, and there are plenty of videos circulating online. But now, almost all of them have disappeared… Hopefully, whatever caused this anomaly isn’t what we’re looking for.”
“Hm, the location where that strange light pillar appeared is very close to the spot marked on the ancient map…” Suzuki Yuichi’s expression turned serious. “Such a large-scale phenomenon suggests a high chance that a treasure has emerged. But have you considered that the commotion might have been caused by the Daoist and Demon factions gathering at Mt. Tai?”
Suzuki Chun Xin said, “Brother Ren Zhen, didn’t you say that seventy years ago, the Daoist and Demon factions of Divine Land signed an agreement with the founding sages of the current nation?”
“That’s correct,” Suzuki Yuichi replied. “The agreement is highly binding—if either side breaks it, both the Demon clans and the Daoist world will face severe consequences. The original document has always been safeguarded by humans…”
Suzuki Chun Xin only laughed heartily. “Brother Ren Zhen, you don’t get it, do you? The True Dragon is bound by the agreement. The Daoist and Demon factions of Divine Land wouldn’t dare make such a scene if they were truly bound by it. That light pillar was definitely something beyond our expectations. But let’s say the treasure has really appeared, and that it is the Suihou Pearl… Brother Ren Zhen, the grand event at Penglai only happens once every ten years. If the Daoist and Demon factions take notice, it will be too late for us to act! We need to seize the pearl before our chance slips away.”
Suzuki Yuichi sneered. “If you understand the risks, why even involve these humans? Why use them to plunder? Against the True Supernatural, mortals are nothing but fodder!”
Suzuki Chun Xin smirked. “Of course, I’m not expecting these grave robbers to achieve much or give us any surprises. I just need them to be there. If anything happens inside the tomb, I can use them as ‘food’ to restore my strength and unleash my abilities! Besides, the more mortals there are, the easier it is to hide our presence, don’t you think? As long as I obtain the Suihou Pearl and awaken the supreme bloodline of the Xiangliu Clan, regaining my nine heads and dominating the world will only be a matter of time!”
Suzuki Yuichi chuckled coldly. “You talk about ruling the world, but have you forgotten that the True Dragon still reigns over Divine Land?”
Suzuki Chun Xin let out a deep laugh. “Brother Ren Zhen, that’s where you’re mistaken. The True Dragon may reign over Divine Land, but it is bound by the agreement. As long as we move outside Divine Land… What about Japan? Or across the sea? After all, the whole world is still the world, isn’t it?”
There was a sharp glint in Suzuki Yuichi’s eyes at the mention of ‘Xiangliu,’ and his pupils contracted.
A knock at the door.
“Mr. Suzuki, Young Master Suzuki—Miss Zhang has arrived.”
(End of Chapter)