Volume 1, Chapter 49: Secretly Flirtatious

Ling Dongyan reached out and pressed the switch beneath the head of the bed, causing the blackout automatic curtains to slowly part to both sides.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the silver-white gauze curtains, casting a warm glow upon the large bed where the two lay entwined—a scene of serene and timeless beauty.

Nie Xingyan's complexion was fair yet flushed with a rosy hue, carrying a hint of bashfulness.

Her long, curled eyelashes blinked rapidly, her eyes sparkling with a touch of mischievous cunning.

The moment she heard him mention settling accounts, she stared wide-eyed and talked nonsense, "I was drunk yesterday, and I've forgotten everything I said."

Young Master Zhang remained somewhat skeptical. How could a single bottle of red wine be this expensive? Glancing to the side—damn it—it was actually a 1981 Château Lafite. This completely blew Young Master Zhang's mind, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, the Hua family saw that everyone else was getting rich off real estate and wanted a piece of the action too. However, they lacked the independent capacity for development and had no talents skilled in real estate management on hand, which was why they sought to cooperate with the Li family.

"Just spit it out directly and stop beating around the bush. I honestly have no idea what it is you want," a frustrated Ren Jun said.

Most of its members had only recently sworn allegiance to Wei Shuo. Aside from Du Jin and Duan Ye, who held key positions due to special connections, the others had not yet entered the inner circle.

However, the death of the Third Prince brought mixed emotions among the various hidden factions. The happiest of all was undoubtedly Crown Prince Ye Lirui, as the clandestine struggle between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince had already reached an intense, white-hot stage.

Hearing her words, the two couldn't help but chuckle as they pointed at her. The three of them stood on no ceremony, casually bantering right there within the manor.

Blood and flesh splattered across the windshield, dyeing the glass a vivid crimson.

"What? Is that really a thing? Why didn't I notice any problems at all?" George Hill asked in surprise.

"Marion, just watch how I'm going to finish you off, you idiot!" After being pulled away by Lin Yi, George Hill still hadn't stopped running his mouth, keeping it up non-stop as if he harbored some deep, irreconcilable hatred for Marion—otherwise, how could such a situation even happen?

Flicking Almond's forehead, the civet cat immediately acted spoiled, exposing its chubby belly. Yet Xiao NingSu was in no mood to tease it; she retrieved the letter pressed beneath Almond's belly, sliced it open with a silver blade, scanned the pages hastily, and then crumpled it into a ball and burned it to ashes.

"You're that impressive?" Old Wang exclaimed in wonder, circling around Yang Xuan. "I truly couldn't tell that your academic performance was so exceptional." Yang Xuan smiled faintly, unwilling to dwell on the subject, and instead told the old man he wanted to spar with him to test the results of his recent studies.

The next day, Helan was dressed in a pure white fleece long robe, wrapped in a fox fur cloak. Draped entirely in white, she blended seamlessly into the snow-mantled winter. Her dark hair was smooth and glossy, dotted with tiny snowflakes, making her look as breathtakingly beautiful as someone stepped out of a painting.

Looking into her expectant eyes, how could Ding Ning bear to refuse such a request from the beauty? He agreed on the spot.

However, before Hizashi could finish the words that had reached his lips, they stuck firmly in his throat, and not another syllable could be uttered.

She wore a tight-fitting pink rose-patterned bodice with wide sleeves, paired with a scattered-flower skirt of emerald-green mist gauze. Around her waist, a large butterfly knot made of soft gold-threaded mist gauze accentuated her already peerless beauty, making her look even more ethereal, like an immortal descended to the mortal realm.

Yang Xuan had kept animals searching for Bai Yuan's evidence all along. Although most of the animals had been sent to the animal base, Yang Xuan had retained a portion for routine surveillance and operations. He had ordered the animals to investigate a few days ago, and the evidence had turned up just two days prior.

Yet, remembering the orders from the sect's higher-ups, he could only silently swallow his saliva and check whether this so-called Qi-Replenishing Pill was genuine.

"Your sword... was ruined beyond recognition." The middle-aged man carefully inspected the fragments of the Cicada. After studying them for the duration of a cup of tea, he set the fragments down and sighed.