Chapter 364: Only Ten Of Our Men

The man who came upstairs to look for them was Zhuge Yan. Gu Xiqiao shot him a glance before slapping her forehead out of embarrassment. “Are you misusing your abilities again?”

Ever since Zhuge Yan was handed over to the laboratory to deal with his blood congestion, he more or less seemed to have recovered from his ailment. No more was he controlled by the heavens, which meant that he could use his linguistic skills without any limitations. There were already quite a number of people from the ancient martial arts world who had fallen prey to him.

“What do you mean by that? I just wanted to remind you that we have an entire hall of people waiting for you guys.” Zhuge Yan on the other hand was fairly calm. He stood there, with one hand in his pocket and with a warm smile on his face.

Jiang Shuxuan looked up at him with a pair of narrowed eyes.

However, that did not seem to affect Zhuge Yan. He merely greeted Jiang Shuxuan’s coldness with a friendly smile. He did not mind the sudden drop in air pressure whatsoever.

Gu Xiqiao, who was standing right next to him, patted Jiang Shuxuan’s hand. Although he was reluctant to do so, in the end, he had no other choice but to put his hand, which was holding Gu Xiqiao’s, down. He stole one final glance at Zhuge Yan before the two of them descended the stairs.

Downstairs, Ning Qing and Wu Hongwen were singing in a duet, the popular love song—”Love You Very Much[1]”.

Ning Qing’s voice was soft, which came as no surprise considering how talented she was in the entertainment industry. She was great at acting but equally good at singing as well. The way she sang sounded almost as if she was speaking in a whole other dialect. Wu Hongwen’s voice on the other hand, sounded clear as crystal. Although he had never received singing classes, nor was he taught any vocal skills, the amount of emotion he put into the song made up for the shortcomings. When viewed as a pair, he did not in any way, pale in comparison to his duet partner.

While holding their wine glasses, Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan visited every table for a toast. Their American guests hastily got up from their seats when Gu Xiqiao approached their table. A blonde young boy was so mesmerized by Gu Xiqiao that his face was flushed red.

“Miss Gu, may I…”

“No, you may not!” interrupted Jiang Shuxuan.

Jiang Shuxuan looked at them emotionlessly one last time before he led Gu Xiqiao to the next table.

Xiao Yun, who oversaw the exchange couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

On the stage, Ning Qing and Wu Hongwen’s duet had already come to an end, followed by the thunderous sound of clapping coming from the audience.

“I never thought Little Wu could sing so well!” said Yao Jiamu as he rubbed his chin. He turned towards the people he shared the table with. “I thought brute strength was all he had.”

“That person would be you,” replied Yin Shaoyuan as he squeezed into a seat at their table. His eyes were fixated on the pair that were standing on the stage. “At the very least, he’s someone who has managed to get accepted into B University.”

“I would’ve forgotten about it had you not said this,” responded Yao Jiamu. “B University, you could give me eight lives and I’d still struggle to get accepted into such a prestigious institution.”

“We made you study didn’t we?” asked Luo Wenlin, who sat next to Luo Wenlang. He then let out a helpless sigh. “Brother Yao, what would you do if Sister Gu is no longer here?”

“Well, I still have this don’t I?” Yao Jiamu then poked Luo Wenlin’s skull with his chopsticks. Through the corner of his eyes, he saw Wu Hongwen and Ning Qing leaving the stage. All of a sudden, a lightbulb lit up in his mind. “Say, these two would make a great couple, don’t you think?”

“No doubt. I could almost feel the harmony between them when they were singing on stage,” said Luo Wenlang while grabbing a morsel of food for his brother.

“Miss Ning is five years older than Little Wu,” said Yin Shaoyuan as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He proceeded to light it up and inhale a lungful of smoke.

Yao Jiamu was startled when he heard that. “But Miss Ning looks so young. If you hadn’t pointed that out, I never would’ve thought that she’s any older than Little Wu.”

Yu Ning quickly put away his device when he saw Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan about to approach their table. Hearing what Yao Jiamu had said, he snapped back, “A woman’s age is her safeguarded secret. You should at least know about this, Master Yin. Don’t tell me you have ulterior intentions towards Miss Ning?”

Everyone at their table looked over at him right after Yu Ning said that.

Yin Shaoyuan was surprisingly calm despite being shoved into the center of attention so suddenly. He continued smoking his cigarette in silence.

“Smoking is prohibited indoors,” said Wu Hongwen who had returned to the table with Ning Qing. He reached down and yanked the cigarette out of Yin Shaoyuan’s fingers before stubbing it and throwing it into a nearby trash can. The way he moved was swift as if he had already rehearsed it in his mind. “Dalin mustn’t be exposed to cigarette smoke.”

“Son of a…” Yin Shaoyuan stopped himself from going any further when he saw Da Lin’s sickly face.

They all knew how important Da Lin was to Gu Xiqiao. Although they were silent, the same subtly disgruntled expression was visible on their faces.

Wu Hongwen paid no heed to this. He focused on pouring himself a glass of liquor.

“Say, when did you start drinking, Little Wu?” asked Luo Wenlin who noticed how quickly he was downing the drinks.

Luo Wenlin’s bright eyes resembled that of Gu Xiqiao’s. Wu Hongwen peered at the boy before a smirk appeared on his face. Silently, he ruffled the boy’s hair without responding to his question.

Finally, Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan had arrived at their table.

Wu Hongwen looked up at them and got up from his seat alongside the rest of his mates. He poured himself some red wine, which he raised in the air before slowly gulping it down.

“Thank you,” said Gu Xiqiao to her friends. She glanced at Wu Hongwen and Ning Qing. “You two sing pretty well.”

“We’re glad you liked it,” responded Ning Qing shyly.

Gu Xiqiao raised her glass at them. “We’ll talk later.”

It was time for them to move to the next table.

Wu Hongwen watched as the bride and groom walked away before sinking down into his seat. Again, he poured himself another drink. This time, he sipped it patiently. Still, judging by how frequently he took a sip, it wouldn’t be too long before his cup is empty again.

“Hey, what’s up with you today?” asked Yin Shaoyuan with a raised brow while fiddling with his wine glass.

“I’m pretty happy today,” answered Wu Hongwen while looking at the ground. At least, his voice sounded like he was in a fairly normal mood.

“Happy?” Yin Shaoyuan looked over at Gu Xiqiao. “To see such a pretty little sister get married off so soon, I’m not that happy myself.”

Luo Wenlang poured himself another glass of wine. “I’ll respect you as a man if you say this to Young Master Jiang’s face.”

“Oh hell no, I don’t have the guts,” said Yin Shaoyuan while shaking his hands in the air.

“You two sounded like a couple when you were singing on stage,” said Cheng Zhou to Ning Qing and Wu Hongwen who popped up out of nowhere. “I haven’t found the lead singer for the theme song of my next film. Would you two be interested?”

Yin Shaoyuan shot Director Cheng with a deadly glare, which almost made him wet his pants. Silently, the director started thinking about where he went wrong.

“I don’t know how to sing,” replied Wu Hongwen. “This job is right up Er Qiao’s alley. She sings far better than me.”

“Huh?” Director Cheng was puzzled. “She sings?”

“Yeah,” responded Xiao Yun, who overheard Cheng Zhou’s question when she was walking back to their table. “I remember her almost bringing us to tears when we were singing karaoke.”

Cheng Zhou was visibly excited upon making the unexpected discovery. However, remembering how lazy and unmotivated Gu Xiqiao was, he couldn’t help but sigh. “She won’t even entertain a minor role in my film, what more to say of being the lead singer.”

“Pfftt-” Ning Qing spat out her drink. “Director Cheng, don’t tell me you still haven’t given up trying to get Miss Gu back into showbiz.”

“No,” Director Cheng shook his head. “Although I do ponder the possibility of this happening from time to time, they are merely wonderful fantasies. I hope Miss Gu will return to the entertainment industry once this whole thing blows over.”

“Forget it, if you let her back in,” said Yin Shaoyuan as he placed an unlit cigarette between his lips. “Prepare to see the entire entertainment industry get flipped inside out.”

Cheng Zhou agreed with the statement upon thinking about it. He finished his drink and remained silent afterward.

The wedding banquet was unexpectedly filled with surprises. Troupe after troupe of performers appeared on the stage, trying to drum up the celebratory atmosphere. Most notable were the youngsters from the ancient martial arts world, who held a mini ancient martial arts tournament as a way to showcase how powerful the people of their world were.

The elders of the ancient martial arts world smiled at each other as the performance went on. “It’s been such a long time since things were this lively.”

“What a rare occasion. It is surprising how well they’re able to stay calm despite how close we are to total annihilation,” muttered the great elder with a frown on his face.

The second elder glanced at him. “How could they not be? Considering how both Miss Gu and Young Master Jiang are present.”

The great elder sighed. “That I understand. But, to think that they’ll be leaving tomorrow…”

Silence descended upon their table afterward.

After a long, silent pause, the second elder finally broke the silence. “It’s our fault. We have wronged them.” He massaged his temples. “To push this weight onto their shoulders…what that kid from the Tang family said was right.”

The great elder raised his drink to his lips and slowly sipped away.

After they were done visiting their guests’ tables, Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan returned to the table where Xiao Yun and the rest were sitting.

“So, I assume you’ve got nothing to do for now?” asked Xiao Yun upon seeing Gu Xiqiao.

“Yea,” Gu Xiqiao grabbed the glass of plain water Xiao Yun was holding and gulped down a mouthful. “Gosh I’m exhausted.”

“Dealing with such matters shouldn’t be that hard on you, right?” Xiao Yun whipped out a cam-recorder. “Let’s go, time for us to document your marriage.”

Xiao Yun waved her hands, a signal for Ning Qing and Cecily to come over.

“What?” Gu Xiqiao was wide-eyed. Why wasn’t she told of this?

Still, before she could say anything, she was abducted by the three of her friends. Jiang Shuxuan, who was standing nearby, talking to a group of people watched through the corner of his eyes as Gu Xiqiao was led away. However, his tightly-knit brows loosened up upon seeing who her abductors were.

“Young Master Jiang, we must discuss this with our people,” said the man next to him. After a brief pause, he continued. “The last time the ancient martial arts world made such an announcement, it disrupted the world order…”

“I do not wish to talk about this topic, nor do I hope to draw blood today,” responded Jiang Shuxuan coldly. “If you all feel suicidal, then by all means, continue pestering me with such questions. Yi Bing, if you don’t mind, please entertain these gentlemen.”

Jiang Shuxuan then went off to find Gu Xiqiao.

The leader of America’s Supernatural World laughed at his ignorant counterparts. “Seems like you’re all still unaware of what the ancient martial arts world truly is.”

Nozawa ignored the men and focused his attention on their leader “So, how are the ten individuals that received training from Miss Gu?”

“They are very powerful indeed,” responded the leader of the American supernatural world. He seemed to be rather shocked when he was reminded of this. “Their growth was exponential. Now, they’re training our folks to prepare for the inevitable. I’ll show you their progress some other day. That way, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

“Well I can say for sure that I am envious of you guys,” replied Nozawa.

The leader of the American supernatural world laughed cynically. “We had only sent ten of our men to train under her, and the results are already so alarming. What about the entire ancient martial arts world, who all received her training and instructions? It’s impossible for one to imagine just how powerful they are when combined.”

[1] song by Malaysian Chinese singers Fish Leong and Victor Wong. 明明很爱你 (míngmíng hěn ài nǐ) The MV is hilarious https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAeGe-d1F90

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