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He had aged and no longer wanted to hustle in his twilight years, only wishing to return and enjoy a peaceful retirement!

The dazzling world outside was left for the young to explore.

Liu Yishou took Gu Xiaoxi out of his Treasure Pavilion and carefully closed the door behind them.

In a small cottage surrounded by ancient pear trees, the butler was skilfully making tea, and as he steeped it, the fragrance filled the entire room.

Liu Yishou sat on a carved armchair. Despite his age, he sat upright.

At that moment, he was savoring tea from a cup.

Gu Xiaoxi leaned on the windowsill, watching the sun that was gradually setting outside, estimating that Quan Shaoqing was about to return. It would take at least an hour’s drive from her master’s place to her home.

There was no helping it; their homes were just too far apart.

"Master, please hurry and tell me what you saw in the Pyramid!" Gu Xiaoxi eagerly asked.

But Liu Yishou, holding his teacup, replied calmly, "Why the rush?"

"How can I not be? I have to rush back before six, Master. If you don’t tell me now, let’s chat on the phone on the way!" Gu Xiaoxi stood up, dusting off her clothes, ready to leave at any moment.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you’ve fallen for that young master, haven’t you? Rushing home for a romance? Wasn’t I just about to tell you?" observed Liu Yishou, scrutinizing Gu Xiaoxi’s blush-tinged cheeks, clearly a young girl smitten.

Gu Xiaoxi put her hands in her pockets, lifted her head, and blinked playfully with her large eyes.

She neither admitted nor denied anything, turning her gaze back to Liu Yishou, "Master, since you’ve always been in A City, I’ll take my leave now.

Next time I have time, I’ll come to keep you company specifically.

As for your travels, I’ll hear about them next time. "

"Go on, go on! Some things, knowing too early isn’t good for you either!" Liu Yishou waved his hand, watching as Gu Xiaoxi left.

Not until Gu Xiaoxi’s figure had disappeared did the butler put down his teacup and looked questioningly at Liu Yishou, "Gu Xiaoxi seems alright, but she isn’t a genius. Does the old master really intend to take her as his heir?"

"What do you think a genius looks like?" Liu Yishou asked in return.

He started cultivating the Wuji Technique at the age of two and only mastered The Early Stage Three Scroll at ten.

Gu Xiaoxi only came into contact with the first three volumes at the age of ten, and before she was eighteen, she scarcely practiced at all. Mastering the three volumes in a year’s time was enough to show that her talent was unmatched.

In this world, physiques that could sense Spiritual Energy were rare, and those that could retain Spiritual Energy were even scarcer.

In a short period, Gu Xiaoxi managed to gather Spiritual Energy into her palm, proving that her aptitude was exceptional, many times stronger than his.

When he mastered The Early Stage Three Scroll, his Inner Strength was somewhat powerful, but the Spiritual Energy he could gather was pitifully thin, just a mere thread.

The butler shook his head without saying anything else. Perhaps he was being superficial; in his eyes, he felt that only those who shone brilliantly were geniuses.

Clearly, as things stood, Gu Xiaoxi didn’t have any remarkable achievements.

But, he was unaware that not only was he being shallow, but he was also being exceedingly vulgar.

How could he know her achievements, perhaps he was not even qualified.

Gu Xiaoxi was in a rush to get home all this time.

Little did she know, there would still be a traffic jam.

She was stuck at the intersection for a whole hour, and by the time she drove home, it was already past seven in the evening.

The lights in Jinxiu Garden were brightly lit.

Without guessing, she knew that Young Master Quan had returned.

After parking the car, Gu Xiaoxi patted her cheeks with her hands, getting ready to put a sweet smile on her face, then stepped into the house with a lively gait.

The living room was lit, and under the brilliant lights, Quan Shaoqing was wearing a white shirt, the collar open, revealing a chiseled chest.

At that moment, he sat on the sofa, legs crossed, holding a wine glass, expressionless.

The light cascaded over his shoulders. His distinct features were glowing enchantingly. He was like a luminous object, instantly capturing one’s gaze.

Gu Xiaoxi strode forward, a faint hint of danger in the air making her heart unexpectedly race.

Perhaps it was a bit of guilt that made her actions so over-the-top, so she squinted her eyes, laughed heartlessly, and took a seat beside him. She wrapped her arm around his, and with a sweet smile, she exclaimed, "I’m back!"

Quan Shaoqing’s thick eyebrows furrowed, and he turned his head to glance at Gu Xiaoxi, his arm encircling her waist. He said coldly, "So you do know how to come back!"

The sudden closeness made Gu Xiaoxi’s heart skip a beat, and her cheeks flushed imperceptibly.

She hurriedly explained, "I went to my master’s place. And I even brought back three volumes of cultivation techniques, take a look. These are one-of-a-kind..."

As she presented the bag on her back as if offering a treasure, Quan Shaoqing didn’t even take a glance, snatching the bag from her and tossing it onto the couch like it was garbage.

At that moment, his arm tightened, pulling her entire body firmly into his embrace.

A faint scent of peppermint mixed with a hint of alcohol wafted over, his warm body temperature penetrating the thin fabric of their clothes, sticking close to her skin. It shocked her as if she had been electrocuted; her suddenly rigid mind short-circuited, and she didn’t even know what to say.

"Right now, all I want to ask is where you’ve been these three days," Quan Shaoqing tightened his grip around her waist, lifting her chin with his other hand. His forceful gaze was like that of a demon in the night, as if he would devour her should she not tell the truth.

"Hehe!" Gu Xiaoxi chuckled awkwardly a few times. Her long lashes fluttered, and a gleam flashed through her eyes as she quickly explained, "I just went to S State to pick up my master."

Quan Shaoqing looked at her adorable demeanor, feeling the effect of the red wine he had drunk quickly rushing to his head. Especially when her curly lashes fluttered, it felt as if they were scratching his heart, insufferably itchy.

But she had lied to him!

A surge of unprecedented anger echoed in his heart, making his chest feel uncomfortably tight.

He didn’t just hold Gu Xiaoxi, he held her even tighter, his fingers pinching her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes, "Confess and you’ll be treated leniently; resist and you’ll be dealt with harshly. Gu Xiaoxi, I’m giving you one more chance to tell the truth."

Just the thought that this woman dared to lie to him and even got involved with Danny Jay ignited an unnameable fury within him. It was one thing for her to participate in a competition behind his back, but quite another to be ambiguously involved with a duke from Texas.

This person had seemingly forgotten whose woman she was.

Seeing Quan Shaoqing’s deeply furrowed brow and the suppressed fury in his eyes, a chill went through Gu Xiaoxi’s heart. Could he know about her whereabouts? Otherwise, why would he press her with questions again?

A bad premonition spread through Gu Xiaoxi’s heart, and she clasped her hands nervously, forcing a strained smile onto her delicate face, "I went to D State."

"And?"

"I participated in the Golden Cup competition!" Gu Xiaoxi, feeling panicked, bit the bullet and confessed honestly.

"And what else?"

"I won the championship!"

"Anything else?"

Gu Xiaoxi blinked bewilderingly; aside from these, was there something else?

Quan Shaoqing, seeing Gu Xiaoxi’s clueless expression, fell silent.

His arm around her tightened unconsciously a bit more, "You don’t want to say, is that it?"

"That’s all there is! Just these things. Lu Xi was framed and severely hurt. I took three days off just to get revenge for him!" Gu Xiaoxi, realizing she could not keep it a secret, decided to come clean.

Aside from this matter, she felt she had done nothing wrong to him. Seeing Quan Shaoqing’s angry and constrained expression, it was clear that his anger was not because of this.

"Gu Xiaoxi, are you still not telling the truth?" Quan Shaoqing gritted his teeth, each word seeming to seep through clenched jaws, his eyes simmering with a warm rage, "Do you want me to spell it out for you, or will you confess on your own?"

"..." Gu Xiaoxi’s clear, large eyes were full of confusion. Had she done anything else to wrong him?

Apparently not!

Seeing her still baffled expression, he spat out angrily through gritted teeth, "Danny Jay! How did you meet him?"

Gu Xiaoxi’s wrist hurt from his grip, and being so close to him, she could feel the perfect contour of his pectoral muscles, which made her heart race uncontrollably. When she replied, her face turned unnatural, "I met him on the road, how did you know I knew him?"

"Now the whole of D State knows he’s acquainted with you, Angela Qiao." Quan Shaoqing’s tone was a bit cold, his face full of anger, like someone had overturned a jar of vinegar, the acidity strong.

Gu Xiaoxi, frightened, felt her lips go dry. Instinctively, she licked them before she explained, "It’s true, he helped me get a fake passport to return to the country. Angela Qiao is a name he picked. If you have to question me, at least tell me what happened?"

Quan Shaoqing released Gu Xiaoxi, pointing at a stack of photos and newspapers on the coffee table, "See for yourself!"