Two Men

"How do you feel after becoming a cultivator, Aunt Qing?"

Zhao Qing, who was getting dressed, turned to Xiao Ai. "I can't explain it exactly, but I feel that my body has become much fresher and brimming with energy, and I feel that I could probably run around a football field with my current physique."

"Hehe, that's for sure." Xiao Ai answered with a chuckle. "I've strengthened your body, so your body is much stronger, and you will become stronger as your cultivation increases."

"What kind of element do I have now?"

"You can see your data on the monitor." Zhao Qing immediately looked at it, but she was a little surprised after seeing her element, and Xiao Ai explained it to her. "The wood element has unique characteristics, Aunt Qing. You can use it to attack, defend, and trap enemies. Besides, high-level wood elements have several other advantages, one of which is accelerating plant growth, and it is very useful for alchemy. Some herbs require a very long time before they can be used in alchemy—around tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years. Unfortunately, you can't use such a technique for now, and you have to wait for your element to reach level five first."

"I see." Zhou Qing looked excited after listening to Xiao Ai's explanation. "Do you have a suitable wood technique for me?"

"I've imparted the Yi Wood Cultivation Method to you, and it has several sub-techniques, so you can read them and learn them. However, each sub-technique has a certain cultivation level requirement, so you can only learn them after meeting the requirements. Even so, you can learn the wood body technique contained in that technique first, which will be beneficial for you." Zhao Qing nodded in understanding after hearing Xiao Ai's words. "Besides, I also imparted some martial arts to you, so you can protect yourself after learning them, especially since you can't use cultivation techniques to fight ordinary humans."

"I understand; I will learn everything step by step, and I will help them fight those people." Zhao Qing then asked Xiao Ai. "Where is Yin'er now? Is my second sister also here?"

"Mistress is training at the training ground with my master and Xing Xing, and I will take you there if you want to meet them." Xiao Ai then gave a ring-shaped device to Zhao Qing, and she also told her how to use it properly. "As for Zhao Yuxian, she just woke up from her sleep, and she is in the residence area together with Yu Xiaoling and Jessica."

"Yu Xiaoling? So she's still alive now?" Xiao Ai nodded and told Zhao Qing about the three women, which made him release a heavy sigh, especially about the fate of his second sister. "Then what about Xing'er?"

"Xing Xing is my master's second wife." Zhao Qing was a little surprised by that, but she knew Xing Xing quite well, and she also knew her feelings for Tang Xiao. "Let's go. I will take you to the residence area, so you can meet Zhao Yuxian."

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After a while, they had arrived at the residence area, but Zhao Qing was stunned after she saw the three women wearing maid outfits, and their outfits were too sexy for mature women like them, especially Zhao Yuxian and Yu Xiaoling, who were already in their forties.

However, Zhao Qing's expression turned shocked after she realized their situation, and she asked her second sister. "Sister Yuxian, are you three-"

"Yes, as you guessed, and the three of us have the same fate." Zhao Yuxian answered her straight away because she already knew what Zhao Qing was going to ask her. "You don't need to feel sorry for me, and you don't need to persuade them either. This is the consequence of my past actions, so I've decided to accept it."

Even though she was disappointed by the fact that Zhao Yixuan was involved in the murder of their brother-in-law and the death of their eldest sister, she was still her biological sister, so she felt sad about her fate.

"Anyway, you don't know the current Xiao'er and Yin'er, and I don't want our father to have problems with them, so you don't need to talk to him about me and my family, or else he will have the same fate as my husband and son." Zhao Qing released a heavy sigh and nodded in agreement with Zhao Yuxian. "Moreover, they won't hurt Yue and Xue, and that's enough for me."

"You three can go to the small factory now, and my mistress wants the products to be produced faster, so you guys can focus on that for now." After the three women left, Xiao Ai took Zhao Qing to the training ground, but she seemed to be contemplating many things.

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"Xiao'er?" Zhao Qing was taken back for a moment after she saw the change in her nephew, but she then dashed towards them before jumping to Tang Xiao, who stretched out his arms to greet her, and she burst into tears while hugging him. "Sob... Sob... I'm glad that you're still alive, Xiao'er. I thought I would lose you forever after Yuan told me that you fell into that deep ravine."

"Yes, I myself am glad to be alive, so I can meet you again, my dear Aunt Qing." Tang Xiao spoke as he hugged his maternal aunt back. "From now on, we will never be separated again, and we will stay together for a very long time."

"En." Zhao Qing just nodded and hugged Tang Xiao tighter, and her tears flowed even harder, but her heart was truly relieved to feel the warmth of his body.

Xing Xing and Tang Yin, who were practicing basic martial arts movements, smiled when they saw them like that, and they could clearly see Zhao Qing's feelings for Tang Xiao.

A few minutes later, Zhao Qing had stopped crying and released Tang Xiao from her arms, and she then cupped his cheeks while rubbing them. "I've heard about your changes from Yin'er and Xiao Ai, but I didn't expect that you changed so much, and I almost didn't recognize you just now."

"Ha ha." Tang Xiao laughed softly at that. "Aunt Qing, my change was thanks to my savior, and he has sacrificed many things for me, including his life, or else I wouldn't be like this now."

Zhao Qing nodded to him. "Even though I don't know your savior, I am truly grateful and indebted to him, and I will always pray that he will get many good things in his next life."

'Unfortunately, my old master does not have the next life, Aunt Qing. His soul has already disappeared forever, and only his soul imprint remains in my current master's soul.' Xiao Ai inwardly muttered in sadness. 'Even though they are two individuals from different times, they are basically the same person, so he will always live by my side.'

"Me too; I am also grateful and indebted to him." Tang Xiao then asked Zhao Qing to join the two women. "Since you've never practiced martial arts before, I'll teach you the basics for now, but you'll have to train hard to master them."

Zhao Qing actually wanted to say something to Tang Xiao, but she chose to abandon her intention and wait for the right time to say it, and she immediately joined the two women.

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"What about the blood test results of my daughter, Wu Shuang?"

Wu Shuang shook her head at Yi An with a soft sigh. "As I previously thought, Qing'er's illness is not ordinary smallpox, and she seems to have contracted a new type of smallpox virus, so I needed more time to examine her condition in more depth. That's why I decided that she should stay in the hospital longer, but I have to move her to a special ward, or her disease will spread to other people, which will be even more troublesome."

"Can you find the source of the disease?"

"I don't have a definite answer right now." Wu Shuang replied by shaking her head. "However, I've contacted several experts on skin diseases, especially smallpox, and they will arrive at this hospital soon. After that, we will carry out a follow-up examination on Qing'er, and we might be able to find the source of the disease after that."

"I see." Yi An nodded in understanding. "In that case, I will leave Qing'er to you, and I hope you can cure her as soon as possible."

Wu Shuang just nodded and called a few nurses over, and she asked them to move Ouyang Qing to a special ward far away from the other patients to prevent infecting them.

Afterwards, Yi An went to another inpatient room to check on the condition of her son, who was also being treated at the hospital, but she found Ouyang Ming unconscious, and the nurse who was helping him immediately explained his condition to her.

After she finished explaining everything, the nurse immediately left the room, and Yi An fell limp on the sofa while massaging her dizzy head. 'What really happened to my children? Why were they both suddenly exposed to mysterious diseases?'

"Madam Yi, the officials from the health bureau just contacted me, and they have finished cleaning their rooms, but they didn't find anything strange in either room." Yi An just nodded to Su Rou. "Do you want to go home first, madam? Your face looks pale, so I think it would be better if you rested at home first, or you wouldn't be able to attend Uncle Mu's birthday banquet."

After she thought about it, Yi An immediately got up from her seat and walked out. "Let's go home, but you don't need to contact Feng Xiao, and we will go home by taxi."

'Tch!' Su Rou gritted her teeth as she followed Yi An. 'I gave you the idea to rest at home so I could meet Feng Xiao, but you didn't want to contact him.'

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Meanwhile, two men were standing side by side on a bridge; one of them was muscular with a white tiger tattoo, and he was listening to the other man's story. "Are you sure that those three men disappeared, like Ran Linfeng and the other one, Pei Yan? Aren't they stronger than my people?"

"Why would I lie to you, Bai Huang?" Pei Yan asked back as he shook his head. "Yesterday, our boss tried to contact them, but he couldn't reach them. That's why he contacted Hong Yi, but she hasn't met with them because our young master assigned her to watch over the Tang House. After that, he contacted me and asked me to meet you, and he ordered you to take your people back to Beijing to investigate those mysterious events."

"Tang House? Why did our young master order Hong Yi to watch over that house?" Bai Huang asked with a frown. "Tang Xiao is dead, and Tang Yin is still in a coma, so there is no one else in the house."

"You're wrong about that." Pei Yan then told Bai Huang. "Tang Yin has already woken up from her coma a few days ago, and our young master ordered Hong Yi to kidnap her, but Tang Yuan stayed by her side, so she can't do anything to her yet."

"Tang Yuan is indeed strong; even I myself am not sure that I can fight her. However, there is something preventing her from fighting us, or else she has already taken revenge on our boss and the others." Bai Huang suddenly received a call from one of his men informing him that their task was complete, and he then walked away while saying this to Pei Yan. "Let's go back to Beijing, so me and my people can investigate those matters, and it would be better if you also help us, or else our boss will punish us if we fail."

- To Be Continued -