141-150

On the afternoon that day, Jiang Xiu left the province by taking a plane to Pinghai through Chuanzhou. He planned to take that mystical stone from Xie Sanxian.

"Mr. Jiang…"

Xie Sanxian appeared at the airport lobby to welcome him. His body still hasn't recovered completely. He had a pale face and should have been resting at home, but since his benefactor had come to visit him, he insisted on welcoming Jiang Xiu personally.

Jiang Xiu swept his gaze by him. His body didn't have any traces of divine force now, and he was already recovering to a normal human without a hitch. "Looks like you're doing well."

Xie Sanxian smiled, "All of this is due to Mr. Jiang. If it weren't for you, I would've remained a monster and lost my life. Please follow me, my car is outside…"

After seeing that Jiang Xiu didn't have any luggage bags, Xie Sanxian thought that he was truly a person who lived freely.

Xie Sanxian possessed a Benz 600, it was quite a luxurious car. In the year 2008, only the elite rich people drove this car. They went directly to his home.

"We're almost there!"

Xie Sanxian's house was a manor. This made Jiang Xiu reassess Xie Sanxian's financial resources once again, there was no doubt he possessed assets at least worth 100 million.

"Mr. Jiang, welcome to our humble abode…"

Xie Sanxian's wife stood outside the doorway and greeted him when they got down the car. She felt heartfelt gratitude towards Jiang Xiu for saving her husband and her home.

"I'll be troubling you!"

Xie Sanxian's wife was called Chu'e.

They had actually arranged a feast for him as a welcome reception, but Jiang Xiu was more interested in the stone, so he went to their backcourt garden after entering the house.

Along the way, he saw plenty of antiques with distinctive styles arranged all over the place.

"It's buried over there…"

Xie Sanxian took Jiang Xiu towards a corner of the garden. He stood 30-40 m far from that location as he was worried about the radiation from it.

Jiang Xiu dug the earth while Xie Sanxian stood a few meters away. Soon after, Jiang Xiu unearthed a brocade box. Jiang Xiu was a bit astonished to see a seal on the box.

"Where did this seal come from?"

"To tell the truth, after I fell ill back then, I went to find a Shaman. He told me that an evil spirit was possessing my body, so he held a ritual then sealed the stone. I felt comfortable for a few days after that, but it became useless soon after." Xie Sanxian explained.

Jiang Xiu brought the box out and sat down at the stone table beside the water fountain, feeling astonished, "This thing is quite strange, to think that a talisman could affect it…"

A Talisman could accept only energies. For example, Baleful energy, Yin energy, Ghastly energy, yet this stone was able to invoke divine race evolution on an ordinary human. This was quite strange.

"Mr. Xie, perhaps you aren't telling me the truth?" Jiang Xiu questioned him.

Xie Sanxian made an embarrassed face, "Looks like I couldn't hide it from Mr. Jiang. You're right, this matter isn't as what I told you. Actually, I also didn't wish to conceal it from you. I hadn't bought that stone with money, but it's something passed down in my family. This stone has another name, Longevity Stone."

"Longevity Stone!"

This name did match its characteristics. If it was used to cultivate, it was a top-notch treasure to increase one's lifespan.

"Indeed. According to the words left behind by my ancestor, this stone could allow a human to love for a hundred years, and it even exaggerated that it could bring a person back from the throes of death."

"Where did your ancestor get this stone from?"

"From a tomb outside the country."

Jiang Xiu pursed his brows, "It was dug out from a grave?"

"Whose grave was it? Did it have a dead body?"

Xie Sanxian shook his head, "I don't know. It had happened long ago and is only passed down in my Xie family through the mouth. Circumstances like this hadn't happened back then, it only happened to me."

Jiang Xiu nodded then peeled the talisman off the box before opening it. An ordinary goose egg sized stone was arranged within it. He held it within his hands.

"Mr. Jiang, please be careful."

Jiang Xiu smiled coolly in response to it. The ice-cold stone warmed up when he held it in his hands, making his hand scald up. Jiang Xiu couldn't figure out the material of the stone as he never researched into that field. As for the hardness, it wasn't that hard. He could crush it to pieces if he clenched it tightly.

When he held it tighter, glowing red characters appeared on the stone. Jiang Xiu couldn't recognize these characters. He was surprised at this because he had done a lot of research on characters, and it could be said that he was specialized in it. These characters didn't conform to the standard rules, and it was possible a person had created them so it was normal that Jiang Xiu couldn't make them out.

After holding the stone in hand for a while, Jiang Xiu felt the divine race bloodline in his body evolve.

"Mr. Jiang, are you fine?"

Jiang Xiu shook his head then stood up while holding the stone. According to his inference, the possibility that this stone was a remnant of the ancient divine race was quite high, "Do you have more stones like this?"

This kind of stone which had characters on it wasn't used for cultivation. It was more probable that it was used to record characters on it as at that time, the divine race didn't have paper and brushes, so they wrote on top of stones and used these stones for communication. There was a high possibility that there was important information left behind on the stone.

Xie Sanxian shook his head, "We don't. Mr. Jiang thinks that there isn't only one of it?"

"There should be at least 6-8 of them."

By looking at the energy released from the characters, he surmised that it was either a six-word spell or an eight-word spell.

"Mr. Jiang, if that's the case, was the reason I fell ill because this stone is damaged?"

Jiang Xiu knew what Xie Sanxian was thinking about. As the stone is so mystical, he believed his ancestor's words, "It's not that. The reason you changed into that… was that you couldn't bear the radioactive energy released by the stone."

Xie Sanxian sighed helplessly, he still had lingering fears from the change he went through, "Although this stone has been passed down by my ancestors, I, unfortunately, cannot keep it. I'll gift it to you, Mr. Jiang!"

Jiang Xiu naturally didn't refuse it and accepted it as he had come for this stone, "Did your ancestor pass down where this grave is?"

A servant brought tea over at this moment.

Xie Sanxian drank a cup of tea and recommended Jiang Xiu to drink as well, "This matter dates back to the Ming Dynasty era. My ancestor held a position in the army was his job was to guard the lands to the west of Pinghai, close to the Western Regions. Once, he entered deep into the hinterland of the desert while pursuing robbers and lost his way there."

Jiang Xiu imagined the scene along with Xie Sanxian's words, visualizing the horses dashing on the Western Region's sand dunes.

"The desert was very awful, and much more dangerous than battling with the enemies. With a single mistake, it was possible to get buried under the sand forever."

"After spending 7 days in the desert, their rank of 1000 people had dwindled down to a hundred people. They had run out of food and water by then and were entirely exhausted, without even the strength to walk. When they believed that they would die, a city appeared in front of them."

"My ancestor and their soldiers entered the city full of joy, but after going inside, they discovered that this city was actually a grave. A large tomb extruded up from the ground, and the place was full of giant sculptures of Gods or Buddha. They were also surprised by the fact that the people inside this city possessed extraordinary strength. Even a child among the natives could defeat the strongest fighter among them."

Jiang Xiu was faintly thrilled.

"This stone was gifted to my ancestor by the natives there before he left the place."

Although he had spoken so much, he had yet to touch on the most important topic, the location of the tomb.

"Roughly 3 years ago, the tomb of the placed called as the Sahagan Ancient City by the Ming Dynasty was discovered by an archaeological team. However, there were no living beings inside, and only ruins remained. According to the historians, it was possible the city had fallen due to the climatic change, and it got submerged down the sand due to the shift in the desert's tectonic plates."

Jiang Xiu took note of Xie Sanxian's face. After making a careful observation, he noticed that it had a western feel to it. His daughter was the same too. Jiang Xiu thought that Xie Ting's facial features were especially pretty.

It looked like this Xie Sanxian wasn't a purebred Han Chinese person.

Jiang Xiu sat crossed legged in a quiet room while holding the Longevity Stone in his hand. The red characters appeared and disappeared like a glowing lamp as if it was exposing an unspeakable heavenly mystery.

The blood and energy within Jiang Xiu's body also surged in tandem with those flickering characters. It seemed as if thunder was booming inside him as a vortex of divine force got absorbed into his bloodline and enhanced its divinity factor.

During this month of bitter cultivation, he had awakened divine regalia each day. Now, there were already a total of 62 divine regalias on his left arm.

The characters were already clear for the most part, but a tiny bit still hadn't revealed itself at the bottom. Jiang Xiu didn't recognize the script, but according to his inference, it was either a primal Godhead or a new Godhead which didn't exist on the Immortal Martial Continent.

He wasn't anxious about this unknown final letter as he would be able to pronounce this character once the entire thing was completed. When he does that, there was no doubt it would produce an extraordinary reaction.

He looked at his appearance in the mirror. It had gone through a huge change. His facial features had become sharper and aura mysterious, seemingly containing boundless nether energy.

"Boooommm!"

The blood and energy inside Jiang Xiu's body reached the summit with quite the momentum once again and broke through another barrier. The Godhead condensed together after exploding.

Awakening Stage's 36th Mythical Realm.

As Jiang Xiu reached a higher level of cultivation, his progress had become slower. This too was an inevitable thing, and nothing could be done about this. Another problem was that as his powers grew stronger, the effect on the world due to his cultivation also became larger. He was most troubled by this.

"Why hasn't it still formed a complete Divine Regalia!"

After becoming a God, he would be able to handle the divine force with complete mastery. Luckily, he had this Longevity Stone or else he would have been troubled to find a source of energy for breaking through the Awakening Stage.

"I wonder how many more Divine Regalia are needed?"

Jiang Xiu wished to continue cultivating, but he had no choice but to stop as there was no point in continuing. He had shut himself inside his home for over a month, and the university term was also nearing so he had to go to the university to report.

After refusing his parents as well as everyone else who wished to send him off, Jiang Xiu left for the Imperial Capital via a plane.

He was setting foot on this land where he had suffered endless humiliation after 3 millenniums. Only, in the previous timeline, he had come here to seek shelter from his relatives like a stray dog, but this time, he was setting foot here with a dominant look.

As the new term of university begins, the place is filled with a sea of people. Many students who were returning from home, as well as the freshmen, came to the university.

The memory of him entering the Imperial University for the first time in the previous timeline was etched into his memory. It possessed an extraordinary style as an educational establishment which was constructed over a hundred years ago. Even parents felt excited when entering here, let alone the students.

And just like any other university, the seniors were standing at the doorway to welcome the new students.

All the girls were quite popular. Three to four of them targeted girls who could be marked as a 70-80 while over a dozen of them targeted outstanding girls who could be marked as a 90 and had excellent figure and appearance. Two of them were even striving to gift things to her.

The boys were relatively miserable. No one went towards them if they weren't handsome and none dared to near those who were handsome.

"Junior, which department are you from?"

Jiang Xiu turned back to look at who had called out to him. It was a pretty, graceful girl who had light makeup on her face. She spoke to him with a smile on his face while two female students shyly discussed among themselves at a distance behind her.

"Me? Archaeology Department."

When Jiang Xiu had filled Archaeology on the form, Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling were very shocked. When they asked him for a reason, he told them that it was because he was interested in it.

"Archaeology Department, why did you enter such a neglected department?" The girl continued, "It doesn't matter. I know where it is, do you want this senior sister to lead the way there?"

"Thank you, but I'm waiting for someone."

The girl was put in an awkward situation. The two girls behind her also started giggling. She complained to him, "Junior, you're really not giving me any face… Ahem, alright. Goodbye then…"

Jiang Xiu was waiting for Cheng Lingran here as she told him she would come to receive him.

After waiting for 30 minutes, Jiang Xiu finally called her. The first thing our Eldest Lady Cheng did after answering the call was to apologize, "Little Xiu, I'm sorry. Susu's new term began today as well. I came to Huaxia University along with my parents. I forgot to tell you."

Life was really unpredictable. Jiang Xiu didn't think he would join the same university as Cheng Lingran and though he had already prepared himself to bear the pain of losing her, he felt a sense of loss when she forgot him so lightly.

"It's fine since you are busy. I'll try to find a senior to guide me."

"It's sister's mistake this time, I'll invite you to a meal later."

"I'll set things up for Susu here first."

She quickly hung the call after saying that.

…

"Excuse me, which way is the Archaeology Department?"

The Archaeology Department was too neglected. Jiang Xiu asked a few seniors, but they were all in a hurry to go play soccer so they couldn't guide him and just pointed the way.

He found his way there by asking around.

"Excuse me, where is the Archaeology Department?"

Jiang Xiu asked a group of boys as they came out from the building before him.

"You've also chosen the Archaeology Department?"

The boys asked helplessly.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

A boy on the side said, "Hah. Another buffoon who has joined the Archaeology Department to chase after Qiu Yinru."

"Tsk-Tsk. Our Queen Qiu is that awesome."

The boy at the front pointed towards the building behind him, "That's the building of the Archaeology Department. Brother, let me give you some advice. Qin Yinru isn't someone we can chase after. You'll just waste your future prospects this way so better transfer to another department while you still can."

Jiang Xiu didn't bother to correct their criticism as he didn't find it worthwhile to explain anything to strangers. He thanked them as a gesture of courtesy then walked over towards the building.

A group of people assembled inside the building. There was an old professor writing something on the blackboard as an introduction. The students were sitting in scattered positions, and some of them were listening to the professor while the others chatted with each other.

"As our Archaeology Department is special as we spend most of our time off campus on expeditions. I advise the students to prepare yourself for this."

"These are the issues we'll be solving this term. The 3-6-9 water pass remnant at Yellow River, this is Linrong Village of Western Sichuan which had appeared due to drought and was completely intact, and this is…"

"This year, we have also invited a lot of archaeologists as well as have fortunately invited Mr. Qian Deshen as the adviser…"

Jiang Xiu entered the building at this moment, "Excuse me, is this the Archaeology Department?"

The professor looked at Jiang Xiu's luggage then said, "Are you a new student? How come you are here with your luggage? Go to the dorm and get settled first. Did you meet your seniors at the entrance?"

Jiang Xiu shook his head.

"Let it be. Keep the luggage to the side and listen to this term's objective first. Do you know what place this is?" The professor pointed the laser pen towards the image on the blackboard.

After returning from Xie Sanxian's place, Jiang Xiu had researched into Sahagan Ancient City. This image was of a corner of the city. Though it was a blurry image, Jiang Xiu could recognize it, "It should be Sahagan Ancient City."

"Right. You're right, new student!"

He was placed in the limelight instantly, all the others gazed at him when in actuality, he had just guessed it from his observation.

"This is an ancient desert city which was submerged under the sand several years ago. Many people doubt its existence, but according to the research I have done on it, this city definitely exists."

The professor became quite excited and thus continued speaking for over 20 minutes.

After everyone left, Jiang Xiu asked him, "Professor, are we planning to go to this ancient desert city?"

"Are you interested?" The professor asked him. This professor wore spectacles and had messy gray hair yet his eyes were quite lively. One look at him was enough to tell he was an intellectual person who has read a lot of books and delved into history.

"We are indeed planning to go, but we have already organized an exploration team." He picked up a list from the table, "It's just that you're a first-year student and the crew is already full, so you'll have to wait for the next year."

It wasn't a problem for Jiang Xiu to live in the desert but it was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack to locate that ancient desert city. He had to rely on these experienced archaeologists for that.

"Professor, can you do something? I'm quite interested in that ancient city."

The professor muttered to himself, "Why don't you go find Qiu Yinru? This plan was made by her. If she says you can come then you can or else you'll have to wait."

Qiu Yinru was mentioned again. Jiang Xiu felt that perhaps this person was an influential figure in the campus. "Professor, I have hardly entered the uni and still don't know anyone. Just who is this Qiu Yinru?"

Professor Xu laughed, "Then you better get on good terms with her. Little Qiu is out department's beauty. Right, she was the one led the group to invite the new students so she might be at the dormitory now or at the fee payment office. Look for her there. Only, Jiang Xiu, let me warn you that Little Xiu isn't that easy to handle."

"It'll be difficult for you to look while carrying the luggage so settle down in the dormitory first then look for Little Qiu. Our exploration group is still waiting for a few important people, so there's still time before we leave."

Jiang Xiu nodded then carried his luggage and found his way to the dorm by asking directions from people. As it was the first day of university, the dorm was full of hubbub. Parents and students were roaming all over.

After finding out his dorm room, Jiang Xiu pushed the door open then went in. Someone had already moved inside. It was a four-head dorm room, and three of the beds were already occupied, so the remaining one was the only one left for him to choose.

Only, the archaeology department was different from the other departments. They won't be spending much time in the dorm rooms as they will have to go out frequently. Naturally, the expenses for living outside were higher than the expenses required for staying in the dorm. Jiang Xiu was also planning to get a room nearby to the university as the effects of his cultivation would cause trouble in the dorms.

"Oi, you are also living here?"

Jiang Xiu had hardly put down his things when two boys entered the room. One of them was thin, and around 1.7 m tall which was little on the short end. He also wore spectacles and look quite refined. The other one had a sturdy figure and dark skin yet his gaze was full of spirit and seemed like an energetic person.

"Yeah, I'm called Jiang Xiu…"

The two of them walked towards him cordially. The short guy introduced himself, "I'm called Zhou Jin, and he is Zhang Yiwen. Shall we help you set the bedding?"

"Thank you!"

The two of them helped Jiang Xiu set the bedding properly.

"Jiang Xiu, where are you from?"

"Jiangnan Province, Jiang City."

"I haven't heard of Jiang City. Old Zhang, have you heard of it?" Zhou Jin commented. The latter also shook his head sideways, indicating that he too hadn't heard of it. He continued, "It doesn't matter. Jiangnan is a pretty nice place, it's quite an exciting location."

Jiang City was after all small city in Jiangnan and wasn't something like the provincial capital, so it was regular that they didn't know of it as the country was quite huge. Jiang Xiu naturally didn't care about this tiny matter. He questioned them, "Right. Did our seniors welcome you? Do you know where Senior Sister Qin Yinru is?"

"Hehe…"

The two of them giggled. Zhang Yiwen replied to him, "Dear brother! You've just come and already eyeing our goddess. Only, the goddess is too popular, let's lower our target."

Jiang Xiu smiled helplessly, "I need her for something."

"All the boys who look for her say the same thing…"

The two of them spoke in unison. Adolescent boys all paid attention to girls. These two were completely excited when Qin Yinru was brought up.

Zhou Jin said, "Goddess Qiu isn't our senior sister. She is also a fresher like us. She was already accompanying Professor Xu for expeditions when she was in high school and has quite the background, so she was specially given admission to the uni. Although she's a first-year, she has more influence on the affairs in the uni than the second and third-year seniors."

"She's also a committee member of our Archaeology Department."

"I really need her for something, but I'm not in that much of a hurry…" Since the professor had said that they were waiting for a few experts, he surmised that he had a few days to contact her.

"Enough messing around then. Goddess Qiu should be at the fee payment office…"

Jiang Xiu was also planning to go pay the fee, so it worked out well. However, when he reached there, the scene was quite noisy. Many people were crowding there, including the first-years as well as the upper years, to pay the fees.

"There!"

Zhou Jin was quite short, so he easily made his way through the crowd and found Qiu Yinru. Jiang Xiu was also looking to meet this goddess. He looked at that elegant silhouette and could feel her alluring beauty even from a distance.

Only, Goddess Qiu wore a cold expression on her face right now as she gazed at the boy kneeling in front of her with flowers in his hand. The boy flirted with her, "My home's quite well-off and has assets worth a few tens of millions. I also have a house in the Imperial Capital as well as a Benz car."

"I'm 1.9 m tall and a part of the basketball team. Everyone calls me Basketball God."

"Also, I-I have never had a girlfriend before. I'm still a virgin."

"Hahahaha…"

The others at the fee payment office roared with laughter.

Qiu Yinru blushed due to this. She was a very serious and earnest person. It didn't matter whether the people confessing to her were doing so due to losing a bet or with sincerity, she felt they were all unsightly.

"Alright. You've had enough fun now. Everyone's waiting to pay the fee."

He got anxious after hearing this, "I'm serious."

He made a solemn face.

It sounded as if he wasn't doing this due to losing a bet but rather truly confessing to Qin Yinru.

"Enough of this. Stop creating trouble here, many people are looking…"

Qin Yinru lowered her eyes and said with a dignified expression, hoping this person could act sensibly.

"Give me an opportunity. I really like you."

"I'm sorry, I won't date a person of the same uni. Try confessing to another girl."

"Would you date me if I transferred to another university then?"

Qin Yinru was dazed. She felt it quite difficult to comprehend the thought process of these freshers. They had come to report on the first day and saw that she was pretty, after which they began confessing without even knowing who she is. It was as if they were afraid someone else would snatch her in case they are late. She didn't know whether these people had come to study or pick up girls. "No!"

"This brat is done for, he dared to confess to Goddess Qiu. I wonder what Young Master Liu and Young Master Zhuang will do to them once they know this."

"These freshers are really clueless. Don't they know that the seniors are still single?"

"There's a thing called order of arrival."

That boy became dejected and got submerged into the crowd.

"Excuse me, are you Qiu Yinru?"

Qiu Yinru gazed towards the voice and saw an unfamiliar face, "What do you need now? Is your home quite well-off? Are you good at basketball? Or are you here to sell your purity?"

It was clear from her tone that she was quite angry. She glared at Jiang Xiu harshly wither her pretty eyes.

Jiang Xiu was dazed, feeling that this girl was too vicious. "I want to join the Sahagan Ancient City exploration team. Professor Xu told me to talk to you about it."

"That's not possible. The group is already full."

"Hear me out first. I'll bear all the costs for myself, you only need to take me along. I can also help you settle some things so think it over once…"

"I already said it's not possible. Our exploration team is a team collaboration and isn't a place to play around. If you buy tickets yourself and something happens mid-way, do you want us to abandon you in the middle of the desert?"

"Also, let me offer you a piece of advice. Archaeology isn't something to have fun. It involves danger to life most of the times so don't waste your money on these schemes and focus on the course you're majoring in."

"I'm majoring in Archaeology. Qin Yinru, tell me how I can accompany you."

Qin Yinru took out a wooden block from her purse, "This is Lu Ban's Lock of the children-level difficulty. There's a total of 12 locks in it. If you can unlock all of these before we leave, I'll think over it."

She gave the lock to Jiang Xiu then turned around and left.

"Alright, Brother! You've successfully made Goddess Qiu take not of you."

Zhou Jin gave a thumbs-up.

"Nice!"

Jiang Xiu felt helpless as he held the Lu Ban's Lock in his hand and shook his head. The girl really seemed quite arrogant. He felt a bit disappointed and hoped she wouldn't let him down.

…

Somewhere in the Imperial Capital, an old man wearing Tai Chi uniform held a purple clay teapot in hand, "Recently, someone mentioned a name in front of me."

"Jiang Yi!"

The people behind him kept silent. The entire mood became stifling.

"Tell me, who among you did it?"

No one spoke a word.

"Second!"

The middle-aged man raised his head and wasn't able to conceal it when facing the old man's gaze. He explained it in a rush, "Father, it wasn't me. I only found out about the circumstances."

The old man made a cold face, "It really wasn't you?"

The man made a gloomy face, "It wasn't me. It seems like he built a relation to the Gu family."

"Gu Dezhi? This is simply nonsense."

Jiang Yi hadn't even taken up the post at Annan for even two months, and he had already grabbed 3 major projects. This made the GDP of Annan swell up, and as a result, the members involved in it were all promoted. Annan had also elevated from a county to a city, and this resulted in another promotion.

Within a short span of 2 months, he had got promoted twice.

"I want to see how long he can ride this wave…"

The old man's face turned gloomier. He then suddenly recalled something, "Right. His son must be studying in university right now?"

"Yes, he's in the first-year of the university."

"Where?" the old man asked.

"Imperial University!"

The old man's face became evermore gloomier, "He even sent his son to study in the Imperial University. Who does he want to show off to? Does he think he's amazing just because he has become the Secretary of Annan City?"

The courtyard was pretty huge, and there were a lot of people gathered here yet absolute silence dominated the entire area. An oppressive aura suppressed them. They didn't dare utter a word lest they provoke the Old Father's ire.

The name 'Jiang Yi' was banned within the Jiang family, and no one was allowed to mention it. Whoever mentioned this name would suffer a destructive hit. 12 years ago, someone in the family had mentioned this name, and as a result, he's still stuck in the same position even after a decade. It was quite difficult to imagine that a child of such a powerful, influential family hadn't got a promotion after such an extended period of time. It was clear that his official career was finished.

But though some felt resentment in their hearts, none dared to say anything as the consequences would be terrifying.

The old man circled within the courtyard thrice and waved his hand after seeing that not a single one of them spoke, "Leave. Don't stand here like idiots and go back to your works."

All of them responded to him, "Old Father, we'll be leaving then."

The old man didn't turn back and sat down on the rattan chair. His gaze fell on the rattan tree before his eyes, a trace of sadness flitting through them. A lonely feeling overcame him in this empty courtyard, but that sadness in his eyes turned into anger quite quickly.

The voice of his unfilial son echoed at his ears: Don't act so high-sounding. You only give me face if I help you attain your goals. If I do anything to make you lose face, you chide me like you are doing now.

I'll decide who I'll marry, no one can stop me, not even you. If you really want to prevent me, then I'll leave the Jiang family and make a clear dividing line.

I can live very well, and even better than when I lived at the Jiang family!

BANG!

The precious purple clay teapot was thrown to the ground and broke into pieces. It was said that there were only 5 of these left in the world.

The tea flowed onto the ground noiselessly.

A well-aged, refined secretary who wore a Chinese tunic suit arrived inside the courtyard and shook his head while sighing, "It's a pity. It was a good purple clay teapot." He crouched down and picked up the pieces.

"Didn't I set a marriage for his son?"

"I've forgotten many things after getting old."

The secretary replied, "Old Sir is still quite healthy. Just look at the teapot you have thrown down. It won't be possible to even mend it…" The reason Jiang family was able to have close dealings with a big family like the Nangong family was due to the engagement so there was no way he could have forgotten it and was just acting as if it wasn't anything significant to remember.

"Send someone to meet that youngster…"

"Jiang Yi won't agree to it."

The old man's brows rose up in ager, "He was just a child in diapers back then, but he's older now and already studying in university. Not everyone is an idiot, and even an idiot should understand which choice to select between the Jiang family and a useless father."

"Since Jiang Yi had rebelled against me, why can't his son rebel against him?"

"Alright, I'll arrange it." The secretary replied.

…

After paying the fees, Jiang Xiu went over to the department building together with his classmates. Zhou Jin studied the Lu Ban's Lock then said, "In archaeology, there's frequent contact with tombs, and there are many anti-robber mechanisms in those tombs. Therefore, having the skills to solved a Lu Ban's Lock is the bare minimum requirement. 12 Links Lu Ban's Lock is too difficult. I can only solve 8 of them."

"That's better than me. I can't even solve a single link. I'm more interested towards the history. Nothing to worry about, we can search online. The omnipotent internet will surely have a lecture course." Zhang Yiwen commented.

"You can try looking, but you won't find any as such information is considered a secret."

"Aaah? Then it's quite difficult. I have also heard about the ancient desert city project. The degree of danger is quite high as they are going to enter the desert. I hear they have also invited a lot of specialists and even the members of the exploration team are quite nervous. They are waiting for a few important guests and will set off once they arrive. Jiang Xiu doesn't have much time."

"Indeed. There are not many people who can solve this lock inside the team as well. Qiu Yinru is just making things difficult. It's not like he asked her to become his girlfriend. Why's she so serious?"

Many people arrived at the department building along with a few types of equipment. The students went to help them quite zealously. Professor Xu greeted them, "Mr. Qian, you arrived 2 days earlier than we had expected."

The expert had finally arrived.

Jiang Xiu took a look at this man who seemed to be in his forties. This person was Qian Deshen, a Chinese American and a famous archaeologist as well as a historian.

"I found it quite difficult to sleep after hearing that this time's project is an ancient city. I was planning to go to one for the past 3 years, and I finally have the opportunity to do so."

"It's all due to Little Qiu's support or else who knows how much longer we would have had to wait."

"I only handled the internal affairs." Qiu Yinru replied solemnly.

Qian Deshan smiled in response. He wasn't meeting her for the first time. This girl was earnest about her work and respected archaeology a lot. "Little Qiu, are you participating this time?"

"Naturally!"

"Good then. You're a real match to men. We must restrain the no. of people this time. The desert is different from other places. It's best to have a total of 18 members. I have four at my side."

"There's no need to worry about that."

They chatted on for a long time.

Jiang Xiu went to greet Qiu Yinru as she left, "Classmate Qiu, do you have time? I want to invite you for a cup of coffee…"

"I'm busy."

She refused him quite bluntly.

Though her face was pretty, her expression was cold, seemingly indicating to strangers that they must not go near her.

Jiang Xiu followed her. It appeared as if she was going to the administrative office to report regarding the exploration team. "I won't take much of your time."

Qin Yinru simply ignored him!

Jiang Xiu followed her into the elevator, "I wonder if Classmate Qiu remembers your words? You said that you will allow me to come with you if I can solve the Lu Ban's Lock."

"Did you unlock it then?"

She didn't believe he could have. He had just received it recently, and even if he spent 10 to 100 hundred days on it, he still wouldn't have been able to unlock it.

"Mhm!"

Jiang Xiu took the lock out then crouched down. His slender fingers deftly fiddled with the links as if they sentience. In a blink, the Lu Ban's Lock was unlocked, and the 12 components were all placed on the elevator's floor.

"You…"

Qiu Yinru's eyes grew wide open, shock filling her eyes. His speed was too quick. She could only see the after images of his slender fingers on the Lu Ban's Lock, and in a moment, it was already unlocked.

"How about it? I should have passed, right?"

Actually, he was planning to disassemble it at the coffee shop as that would have been smoother and not in the elevator.

"Have you solved it before?"

Jiang Xiu shook his head. On the Immortal Martial Continent, there was an occupation called as Puppet Master. He could easily dismantle complicated mechanisms which utilized over a hundred thousand parts, let alone a little 12-link lock.

Jiang Xiu's hands operated fast as he assembled the 12 parts on the floor back together then returned the Lu Ban's Lock to Qiu Yinru. "You'll deliver your promise, right?"

All of a sudden, the elevator plunged down quickly. Qiu Yinru screamed loudly as it fell. The elevator went pitch-black after stopping.

"Is anyone outside? Save us…"

Qiu Yinru shouted in alarm, acting entirely different from her usual calm demeanor. She was completely hysterical at the moment.

Jiang Xiu's eardrums began to hurt due to her screams.

Jiang Xiu noticed her pale face in the darkness. She was scared dumb. He really felt this was funny when compared to her usually grim face. This girl was a real actor. Only, if she didn't act so gloomy to keep the flies away from her, those boys would pester her all the time.

"Save us, somebody save us…"

Qiu Yinru stopped shouting for help after hearing Jiang Xiu laugh, "Our life is at risk right now. We'll die if the elevator falls down."

Her voice quivered.

"Someone will quickly come to repair it, don't worry."

He reached out to press the alarm button, but there was no reaction. It seemed like the electric circuit inside had burned out.

"It doesn't matter. The people outside will report it after noticing that the elevator is stuck."

Qiu Yinru leaned back on the elevator wall while trembling. Soon after, Jiang Xiu saw her fall down to the floor. She had actually become unconscious.

"As if!" Jiang Xiu patted her shoulders while crouching beside Qiu Yinru. "Oi. Wake up…"

Is it claustrophobia or something? Or did she faint from a heatstroke?

Her body released a sweet smell specific to girls which made people feel very comfortable during this blistering hot summer. Her eyes were shut tightly. It seemed like she had truly lost conscious.

According to the movies and shows on TV, CPR should be done in this situation, right?

Jiang Xiu felt as if he was committing a crime. He would do anything but not mouth-to-mouth respiration.

But there was no other way out.

He pinched her adorable nose then drew in a deep breath while looking at the girl's tender and lovely lips. His heart actually throbbed a bit nervously due to the excitation as the girl's lips neared him.

The lips would come in contact, right?

Let it be, I'll make the sacrifice.

And if the lips touch, the tongue would also go in, right?

I hope you won't blame me.

Just as Jiang Xiu's mouth was about to touch the girl's lips, she suddenly opened her eyes. It really frightened him.

"Fudge!"

He quickly moved back.

"You really aren't a good person!"

Qiu Yinru glared at him and spoke harshly, "I'll let you know that though you passed the Lu Ban's Lock test, you have failed this morality test."

Jiang Xiu was entirely stupefied at this development.

"Do you think mouth-to-mouth respiration is done like this? It's enough to just blow air in through the mouth. One look at you was enough to tell me that you were planning to kiss me."

Jiang Xiu forced a smile. This girl was a real prodigy. She had actually tried to probe out a person's character in such a way. "Can you stop using your complicated mindset to figure out my simple mentality?"

"You still don't admit it?"

"Naturally I won't admit it. I kiss you?" I haven't kissed you so how can you conclude that I was going to kiss you. If you don't believe me, let's try it again. I was only planning to do mouth-to-mouth respiration and nothing else."

Qiu Yinru was skeptical about it. She was worried Jiang Xiu would really kiss her back then, so she opened her eyes early, "You were really planning to do mouth-to-mouth respiration?"

"Of course, let's try it again…"

Qiu Yinru's probe ended up in a defeat. She naturally couldn't let him try it again as Jiang Xiu already knew about it so he wouldn't show his true colors. There was no meaning in trying it again.

But some matters were destined by the Heavens. What was supposed to happen will happen in the end.

The elevator dropped down once again. Jiang Xiu was crouching and hence didn't have a stable footing, so he fell forwards. His mouth neared Qiu Yinru under her dumbstruck gaze.

Smooch!

At just like that, she got kissed so unreasonably. Her eyes grew wide in a moment. The two of them didn't dare to believe such an excessive thing had happened.

Qiu Yinru's mind was a complete blank right now. She realized the meaning of the words 'falling into your own trap' at this moment. If it weren't for her brilliant idea to rest Jiang Xiu's morality, she wouldn't have got kissed. Oh, dear heavens, this was my first kiss.

She also didn't know why she had even closed her eyes. She was perplexed about why she did that and felt extremely ashamed when recalling it.

According to an unreliable internet writer's explanation, every girl has a longing to get conquered within her, especially those girls who acted aggressively on the outside. They would act flustered and show no resistance on the bed. Let alone, this elevator slam had a lot of destructive power.

It wasn't that Beauty Qiu didn't resist, the killing move was so strong that she couldn't resist.

At this moment, the elevator lighted up.

Eh…

The elevator door got pried open, and the light came in through there. Two repairmen were standing outside.

This was indeed too exciting.

One of the repairmen made fun of them, "Students, this isn't the place to do something like this. It's quite dangerous inside the elevator as the oxygen will run out."

Qiu Yinru pushed Jiang Xiu away then covered up her face by picking up the documents which had fallen to the ground and ran away. She almost slipped while doing so.

Jiang Xiu also felt awkward. Though he hadn't suffered losses as a boy, he was a bit phobic about these like these. He didn't like doing this kind of thing if there were no emotions involved. He too felt quite conflicted.

It was an accident just now, and even Jiang Xiu didn't know the elevator would drop suddenly.

Jiang Xiu quickly caught up to Qiu Yinru. She wore a cold expression on her face right now. You have a really thick face. I got taken advantage of by you, and you don't even feel a little ashamed? You still come to pester me?

"I'll ask you again. Are you going to me take me along to the ancient desert city or not?"

Since this girl wasn't ready to listen to his kind words, Jiang Xiu too revealed his nature.

"Is this the way you ask someone?"

"I'm not begging you. I solved the Lu Ban's Lock using my own ability. Zhou Jin and Zhang Yiwen were also there when you made the promise to me. You aren't thinking or going back on your word now, are you?"

"The team members must have good morality."

"Is going back on your words having a good morality?"

Qiu Yinru bit her lips, "Y-You… You are something too, seizing an opportunity to take advantage of me. Don't you know that you were harassing me there?"

"It's not like I kissed you."

"What about that damn kiss then?" Goddess Qiu's heart crumbled after she said this. She couldn't believe she was saying such words lacking integrity.

Jiang Xiu couldn't help but laugh, "Scold me if you want but why are you ridiculing yourself?"

"What are you laughing for? Shameless pervert. Mark my words, you won't be allowed to come to the ancient desert city. I have never seen such an arrogant fresher who wants to go on an expedition with the team. This is the privilege of the seniors."

"So, you're saying there's no way to compromise?"

"I don't even want to discuss this with you."

Since it was this way, Jiang Xiu naturally didn't say anything and left. Qiu Yinru felt slightly bewildered that he left so easily and felt that perhaps she was too heartless.

But on giving it a second thought, since he had given up so easily, it meant that he really didn't wish to go to the ancient desert city, so she felt relieved.

Jiang Xiu naturally wasn't giving up. Others would find it difficult but he had several other means other than joining the exploration team. He could sponsor a team to scout out for him. Money wasn't a problem for him at all. Also, he could tail behind the university's team. This was a pretty easy thing for him to do and would save him the trouble of associating with the team as well. His only problem was the location of the ancient desert city.

On the way back to the dorm, Jiang Xiu met a tall, thin man. He asked him, "You are Jiang Xiu?"

Jiang Xiu replied skeptically, "Yes!"

"A friend wants to meet you. He's at the coffee shop outside the university. Can you come along with me?"

"What friend?"

"You'll understand when you reach there."

After going there, Jiang Xiu meet a person. That person was meeting Jiang Xiu for the first time, but it wasn't Jiang Xiu's first time meeting him. He was Old Father Jiang's secretary. He sat on the chair with a cold gleam in his eyes.

The secretary sized up Jiang Xiu up and down. He couldn't find any trace of Jiang Yi's shadow in him. Jiang Xiu was full of an apathetic pride. "You are Jiang Xiu? I'm your grandfather's secretary!"

"I have a grandfather?"

The secretary smiled in response, "Of course you have. Everyone has one. Also, your grandfather is quite an amazing person." He looked around then spoke in an ushered voice, "Your grandfather is Old Diplomat, Jiang Yishan."

Jiang Xiu faked out a stunned expression, "Whoa!"

"You should know what kind of family the Jiang family is. Your so-called four prominent families of Jiangnan are nothing but elementary school children in front of the Jiang family."

"Yes, they are indeed amazing." Jiang Xiu commented.

The secretary wasn't exaggerating. The four prominent families of Jiangnan were in the end limited to their regions. Besides the Gu family whose genuine strength could match to second-rate families of the Imperial Capital, the rest weren't even qualified for comparison.

It was the so-called elite family, one you would regret not joining.

"Do you want to return? If you return, you can turn from a countryside youngster into a young master of the Imperial Capital. In the future, no matter whether it is in business or officialdom, you will soar up with the support of the Jiang family."

"There's no free lunch in this world, right?" Jiang Xiu questioned him.

The secretary smiled, "We are talking about returning back to the family, not a business deal."

Jiang Xiu smiled as well, "There will be a price though, am I right?"

The secretary nodded, "Indeed worthy of a Jiang family's descendant. You are a smart person so I won't beat around the bush. Your grandfather doesn't have a good relationship with your father. If you want to return to the family, then your grandfather has a condition. You have to make a clear dividing line between you and your parents."

Even though he was already prepared to hear it, Jiang Xiu felt rage overcome him when he heard it, "You want me to sever my relationship with my father?"

The secretary nodded helplessly, "I know this is a difficult decision for you to make, but you should know whether you'll live a better life as Jiang Yishan's grandson or Jiang Yi's son. Think it over properly."

"Go back and tell him that no one values his identity. That so-called 'Old Diplomat' is nothing but jack-shit in my eyes. When he watched with folded arms and let my father go to prison 12 years ago, we had already separated ourselves from the Jiang family."

He naturally wouldn't shake his tail and beg for pity like he did in the previous life. He had suffered a lot of humiliation from the members of the Jiang family then. He knew that his existence as the grandson of the Jiang family was just a pawn for the Jiang family to settle a marriage.

The secretary looked at Jiang Xiu with a gaze of disbelief, "Are you really going to renounce such a position and wealth? Think about it again. Your grandfather won't give you another chance. Your father wasn't able to return after leaving the family…"

"It wasn't that my father couldn't return, but rather he didn't want to return." Jiang Xiu retorted.

"Also, if I wish to obtain both position and wealth, I don't need the Jiang family. I can easily obtain it."

Secretary Ye sighed helplessly. He shook his head lightly as if he was feeling pity towards Jiang Xiu's decision, "You haven't realized how big a chance you have missed."

Jiang Xiu stood up and walked away without even giving a glance back.

"He's similar to Jiang Yi on this aspect." Secretary Ye commented.

"Secretary Ye, are going to leave it like this?" a person to the side asked him.

He muttered to himself then shook his head, "Jiang Xiu has an engagement with the little princess of the Nangong family, and the Old Father needs the Nangong family. A connection between the families through marriage is the most stable way to form an agreement between them. Jiang Xiu has to return to the Jiang family."

"But he doesn't want to." The other person said.

Secretary Ye continued, "He'll surrender. He's just a child who doesn't know the meaning of the word called 'power.'"

When Jiang Xiu returned to the dorm, the other dorm mate had also returned. He was called Zheng Lun and was quite a handsome youth who wear fad clothes. Additionally, he was different from the other two as he already had a girl.

The university had just begun. It was still the first day.

Zhou Jin and Zhang Yiwen, these two brutes started worshipping Zheng Lun as an idol. Getting a girl wasn't the most important bit, this girl was quite lively, and this showed how skilled he was.

"There's a fresher's party for our archaeology department tonight. Brothers, let's work hard to obtain a year's happiness." Zhou Jin stated.

"Can we do it? There are fewer girls in our department."

Zheng Lun commented as well, "Yes, the proportion of males to females is severely imbalanced in our department. Look at my wife, she's from the foreign language department. The girls are prettier there."

The eyes of these brutes began to shine.

"Jiang Xiu, do you have a girlfriend?"

Jiang Xiu shook his head. He didn't have a girlfriend, but he had three fiancées, a wife in his previous life, and also a dancing girl.

"You're kidding, right? Leaving these two brutes aside, how come you don't have a girlfriend?" Jiang Xiu's style was enough to call him the most handsome boy in the department, and this was even when he was meticulously trying to stay low-key. In case he revealed the perfect godly figure, it would create a big mess.

Jiang Xiu felt as if he had returned to the time when he studied in university during the previous timeline as he chatted with them. They naturally weren't the same people but felt similar. When boys came together, they would definitely discuss girls. Jiang Xiu had shown the photo of Cheng Lingsu at that time and liked to brag that she was his fiancée but no one believed him then as he was in a wretched state.

"My family used to run a fruit stall before. I didn't have time to look at a girl as our family was poor."

All of them revealed an expression of pity.

"Why did you choose the archaeology department then? You'll have to spend a lot of money." As they went out often for expeditions and loved antiques. Antiques were quite expensive stuff.

"My family's situation is better now, so they let me choose Archaeology."

"I thought so! Brother didn't really look like a poor person…" In actuality, Jiang Xiu was a poor sob in the previous timeline. Cheng Lingran had suffered through a lot of hardships together with him and was even mistreated by him.

"Wife, you must introduce that pretty best friend of yours to my brother!"

"Okaayy!"

Zheng Lun's girlfriend was called Liu Lili. She was a very cute girl. "Let's go early then. We can go to a club to have fun together. There's no need to go to the fresher's party as we would only get called out if we went late."

Jiang Xiu wanted to refuse him. If he wished to get into a relationship, he wouldn't have refused Ye Bing back then. He had already become habituated to being lonely and got accustomed to the pain. He was unwilling to invest into love, but Zheng Lun had already pulled him outside.

"Let's go quickly. That girl's very pretty. The first day of university is quite important. You must grab your territory fast."

Zhou Jin and Zhang Yiwen were stupefied within the room, "Oi, what about us?"

They felt as if a sorrowful breeze passed behind their backs.

Zhou Jin said with grief, "Are you saying ugly people don't deserve to have a girlfriend?"

Zhang Yiwen also felt a heartache, "Zhou Jin, your words don't make me feel happy." The word ugly didn't really sit well with him.

…

Zheng Lun took out his car key. He owned a Benz which was worth nearly a few million. Driving such a car in his first year revealed that his family's financial situation was pretty good. It was as if the words 'wealthy young master' were written on his forehead. It wasn't surprising that he had bagged a girl so easily. Nowadays, there were three ways to flirt, money, money, and money.

Liu Lili took out her cell phone after sitting in the car, "I'll call her out."

3 girls came out altogether. Each one of them had worn pretty dresser and makeup. Their clothes were quite attractive and revealing, especially the girl in the middle. She had an internet celebrity like face, had a tall and sexy figure.

The girls sat in the car, and they directly left for the nightclub.

As he couldn't cultivate even he stayed back in the dorm room, Jiang Xiu decided to accept Zheng Lun's goodwill and accompanied him.

Those girls went high after entering the nightclub. Jiang Xiu wondered why these people had joined the Imperial University. He realized that it was due to these nightclubs. One look was enough to tell that they were veterans.

The girl who they planned to introduce to him was Ye Rong, it was that girl with the celebrity face. Liu Lili spoke something to her on the dance floor after which she came out from there and sat opposite Jiang Xiu who was sitting alone.

"I'm called Ye Rong. You?"

"Jiang Xiu!"

Ye Rong continued, "I hear you have never had a girlfriend before? This matches my requirements. Your figure is pretty good too. Only, I have another requirement for a boyfriend, he must be rich, and his family's yearly income must be at least a few hundred thousand bucks. We can't always go out to have fun, and he must also give me money to spend."

"My family only has a yearly income of a few ten thousand bucks." Jiang Xiu replied.

Ye Rong furrowed her brows, "Aren't you from the Archaeology department?"

"I'm interested in archaeology, but that doesn't mean my home's well-off."

Ye Rong felt a bit disappointed as her sight wandered on his face. She was tempted by him as he gave off a mysterious feel which had quite an attractive force towards a girl and had also entered the Imperial University through a proper route which meant he was talented. He didn't have a girlfriend ever. But it was a pity.

She hesitated a bit. Her best friend had introduced him to her after seeing that his qualifications were pretty good.

Jiang Xiu sat alone and ate food while Ye Rong still worked at testing him. It was just that Jiang Xiu refused to reply to her. This made her frown as there was such a beauty sitting in front of him and accompanying him for a chat but he was acting in such a way.

A 20-year old youth walked over towards them at this moment and neared to Ye Rong, "Beauty, let me treat you to a cup of wine."

Ye Rong's figure was top-notch within the nightclub and easily attracted men.

"I'm with a friend."

"What friend?"

"Boyfriend, okay?"

The youth looked at Jiang Xiu with disdain, "There's not even a decent bottle of wine on the table…" He wore clothing of famous brands and a dazzling watch while holding a wine bottle worth 30,000 bucks. It was clear he was a wealthy young master.

"Looks like you're a student. Which place are you from?"

"Imperial University."

"Get out of here tactfully, or else you'll be crawling out from here." The youth threatened Jiang Xiu.

Jiang Xiu couldn't help but laugh. He felt that he really couldn't remain low-key as anyone would come up to bully him. His eyes gradually went cold, "You should get lost or else I'll make you crawl out from here."

"Fudge! You dare…"

Before he could finish his words, Jiang Xiu had already slapped him on the face. Deity Xiu's slap had directly broken two of his teeth.

"B-Brat, just wait for me. B-Brother Long…"

A dozen people from their table came over.

One of them broke the bottom of the beer bottle and threatened with the glass's sharp edge.

"Motherfucker! You dare hit my brother?!"

Ye Rong's face went pale while Jiang Xiu looked at these people indifferently. Nightclubs were such chaotic places. A person came out from the side. It was the man who drove the car for Secretary Ye in the morning. That man stood before Jiang Xiu and handed over the cell phone to him, "There's a call for you…"

He had actually followed Jiang Xiu.

After that, he turned back and looked towards those group of thugs with contempt.

Secretary Ye's voice came through from the other end, "I heard you got into trouble in the nightclub?"

"You are calling people? There's no use. No one can dare to make trouble at my Brother Long's domain…"

The bodyguard walked over towards them and said something to them. All of them dropped the bottles down, "Please forgive us for our blind remarks…" They escaped from there after saying that.

The bodyguard took the phone from Jiang Xiu then walked away.

Ye Rong looked at Jiang Xiu with a shocked face.

It was too amazing. A single call and everything was settled. Judging from the person's attitude, he seemed like a bodyguard. Since the bodyguard was so amazing, there was no doubt the master was amazing as well. Ye Rong looked at Jiang Xiu who was still seated, "Didn't you say you were from Jiang City? Tell me the truth, are you some wealthy family's young master? You even have a bodyguard?"

"I don't know that person. He's just a pitiful creature who thinks he's amazing." Jiang Xiu replied to her.

Ye Rong's face was filled with doubt, "Then why did he help you?"

Jiang Xiu smiled coldly, "To show off their strength, why else?"

Ye Rong somewhat believed it, thinking that perhaps that person liked the place and wasn't willing to anyone create trouble here. She believed he must have warned Jiang Xiu first then sent those people away. "You're too impulsive. There are many people in the club. All you needed to do was ignore him. Why did you slap him?"

"I can't do much of other stuff, but I can fight pretty well."

Ye Rong rolled her eyes at him. Her heart wavered. Jiang Xiu was really cool just now when he slapped that man. Her heart skipped a beat, not due to fear, but rather because he was too cool. Only, it was a pity that his family wasn't well-off.

She carefully observed his clothes. Some wealthy young masters deliberately acted low-key, but their clothes made them. They couldn't bear wearing clothing of a different quality, so they especially order-make good clothes which look low-grade but are actually handiworks which cost pretty high. However, Jiang Xiu's clothing was pretty normal.

"If you act so barbarous, whoever becomes your girlfriend will always be worried. With your fiery character, she would have to make several trips to the police station to get you out."

Sadness flashed through Jiang Xiu's eyes. In the previous timeline, he had got into fights several times and got taken to the police station so he could torment Cheng Lingran. The protection fee and compensation fee altogether added up to over a thousand bucks. Cheng Lingran somehow gathered that amount with great difficulty yet never blamed him.

She used her gentleness to heal Jiang Xiu's hatred as well as his injured mind.

Ye Rong shook her head after seeing that Jiang Xiu was ignoring her and drinking the wine. She felt that this man had another shortcoming, which was that he was too boring and couldn't amuse a girl. It'd be quite dull to get together with him.

She stood up, "I'm going to dance, are you coming?"

"No!"

The entire inner dance hall of the nightclub boomed with heavy metal music, and it was difficult to hear anything from outside. Zheng Lun and Liu Lili hadn't even taken notice of the things which had happened here. When Liu Lili saw Ye Rong return alone, she asked, "How did it go?"

Ye Rong shook her head and began to dance along with the music. After a moment, she looked towards that seat again, but Jiang Xiu had already left.

After leaving the nightclub, the outside road was very quiet. Jiang Xiu stopped a cab and got in, "To Chaohai District's Civil Administration Office."

…

The night view of the Imperial Capital was indeed splendid. The vehicles passing along the road flickered with a fascinating neon light. This city had brought a lot of pain to him. Only this quiet door of the civil administration office which was tightly shut had brought him consolation for the first time ever. In the previous timeline, when Jiang Xiu had told Cheng Lingran that her affection was fake, Cheng Lingran brought him to this place.

As he sat in front of the office, he felt like as if that scene had occurred just yesterday.

From her actions, he had guessed that she must have known about Cheng Hanlin's deeds. Jiang Xiu and Cheng Lingsu were 5 years old then, but Cheng Lingran was already 7 years old. A 7-year-old child could understand a lot. Later on, Jiang Yi had a bizarre accident, then took his life and Lin Yueling followed after him. Cheng Lingran understood that the Cheng family had ruined Jiang Xiu's family. That's why she wished to give him a family, so she buried her life together with his.

In this life, he had already settled the grievances with the Cheng family.

There's no need for you to receive my persecution.

Actually, Jiang Xiu believed that there was no need for Cheng Lingran to atone for Cheng Hanlin, Sun Xiaohong and Cheng Lingsu's debts in the previous timeline. She didn't need to suffer hardships while they lived an easy life. Only, by the time he had realized this, he already couldn't separate from her. That's why he selfishly continued to torment her and even persecuted himself at times to keep her at his side.

"What do you want in this life?"

"This Deity can give you the entire world."

A black car slowly came along the path at this moment. Jiang Xiu raised his head to see who it was. Secretary Ye got down the car after it stopped before him, "Looks like you're in a good mood since you are sitting alone in the middle of the street."

He walked over towards Jiang Xiu.

"Aren't you feeling quite conflicted to make a choice?"

Jiang Xiu laughed, "You believe I will change my decision and return to the Jiang family?"

"Why not?"

Secretary Ye continued, "Many people wish to become Jiang Yishan's grandson, they wish to become a young master of the Imperial Capital. Just a word from such a position will make others piss in their pants. It has that much prestige." He sat down beside Jiang Xiu.

"You must think you have a lot of prestige as you are Jiang Yishan's secretary."

Secretary Ye's face became somewhat awkward after hearing this. If he didn't agree, the words he just said would become futile and if agreed, it would leave him no face. "It's somewhat okay."

Jiang Xiu revealed a cold expression, "If I return to the Jiang family, the first thing I would do is make that old man throw you out."

"Get lost from my sight. I'll break your legs if you appear before me again."

Secretary Ye's face became ashen. He wasn't expecting Jiang Xiu to become hostile so soon.

"You…"

As the secretary of Jiang Yishan, even the big officials from the border region were polite to him. He never though a naïve child would humiliate him like this.

"Jiang Xiu, I hope you won't regret this."

Secretary Ye showed a vicious look on his face, "Do you think you are amazing just because Jiang Yi is the Party Secretary of a County-level city? Let me remind you that you won't end up well if you go against the Old Father, no one can resist him, especially you as you are a grandson of the Jiang family."

He swung his sleeve sideways with anger and then left.

"Hah!"

Jiang Xiu knew what would await him if he returned to the Jiang family. He had only seen Jiang Yishan once in the previous timeline. He didn't even have the qualifications to greet him during festivities like the Chinese New Year and the like to wish long life and was locked inside his room, barred from seeing anyone. He suffered through a lot of taunts from his cousins, and his only use was to complete that engagement with Nangong Kou'er so the Nangong family could unite with the Jiang family.

If he had guessed it right, the reason Secretary Ye was pestering him so much was that the Jiang family needed that engagement between him and Nangong Kou'er.

This was also quite a coincidence.

In those days, as Jiang Yi had already left the family, they had made an engagement with a low-grade family, and the Nangong family was one. However, the world was really fickle. The Nangong family had developed extremely well over these past 20 years. Many of the Nangong family's children had shown exceptional talents in officialdom and grown so much that even the Jiang family needed to make a supreme effort to rope them in.

This gave much importance to the engagement between Jiang Xiu and Nangong Kou'er.

Therefore, the Jiang family needed the chess piece called Jiang Xiu very much.

In this life, he had met Nangong Kou'er earlier. This was quite a coincidence, as he got acquainted with her due to the Ferrari incident then got introduced to Qin Weiping and even got involved with the Wang family.

If he remembered it right, she told him to call her if he ever came to the Imperial Capital.

Jiang Xiu had a good impression towards this girl. However, since the Jiang family wished for him to get together with Nangong Kou'er, he naturally wouldn't go provoke Nangong Kou'er lest they have the wrong impression and Jiang Yishan benefited from it.

His phone started ringing. It was a call from Zheng Lun, "Hey bro, where did you go?"

"I went out to breathe some air."

"Ye Rong said you provoked some people, so I thought something happened to you. It's all ok if you're fine. It's a bit difficult to chase Ye Rong, but it doesn't matter, there's no need for you to be discouraged. There are plenty more fish in the sea."

Zheng Lun felt it was waste. He was planning to associate together with Jiang Xiu from now so they could go out and have fun, but it seemed like it was quite difficult to form this group.

"Where are you right now? We are also about to return. The dorm gates close at 10 PM."

"I'm quite far right now. Why don't you return first? I'll take a cab back."

"Okay!"

After hanging the call, he checked his messages, but Cheng Lingran hadn't sent any. She too should have returned to her dorm by now or else the dorm gates would close, and she would have to book a room outside to spend the night. According to her nature, she wouldn't let something like this happen.

Jiang Xiu hesitated a bit and decided not to call her in the end.

The Archaeology department began their classes on the next day, and compared to the other departments, the Archaeology department's teaching was very unconventional. It required one to have vast amounts of knowledge. Archaeology had originated from excavating historical remains, but Jiang Xiu was neither obsessed nor interested in those. He only wished to seek remnants of divinities.

Qiu Yinru was also in the classroom today and was accompanied by two girls. She single-mindedly listened to the teacher's words. She had made a lot of effort for this project as she was going to personally participate in it and her knowledge of the project was even more detailed than the teacher.

"Little Qiu, come up and explain this porcelain article's history to your classmates…" The teacher talked about the relevant region then let Qiu Yinru come up. She had already begun to play the role of a teaching assistant some time ago.

She wore a white short-sleeved shirt which was a tight fit to her waist and thus emphasized its slenderness. She was also gifted with a model-like figure with a height of 1.7 m. She wore a pair of pink sports shoes and had beautiful, slender legs. Youthfulness seemed to sparkle around her as she walked over towards the platform, her pretty black hair slightly floating due to the breeze. Her face shone with a jade-like luster yet her aura extremely cold, making it so that none dared to have profane thoughts.

She stood on the platform with ease then began teaching. Her face was pretty and voice sweet-sounding, jus the view of her teaching on the platform was very visually attractive.

Her sight coincidently swept past Jiang Xiu and discovered that he was looking at his own material while bowing his head down and wasn't listening to her at all. She recalled the accidental kiss with Jiang Xiu on the elevator, which caused her cheeks to blush and filled her heart with resentment, "Classmate Jiang Xiu, what are you doing? Are you listening to my lesson?"

"No!" Jiang Xiu replied without even raising his head then continued to look at his material.

He wasn't giving her any face at all.

Qiu Yinru furrowed her pretty brows, "Since you aren't listening to the lesson, why are you sitting here?" She gazed towards Jiang Xiu fiercely.

Jiang Xiu acted as if she hadn't come over at all and continued to look at the material.

Beauty Qiu had never been neglected like this ever.

"What are you looking at?"

"It's none of your business. I have the freedom to choose whether to listen to the lessons or not and it's not like I'm disturbing the class, so don't disturb my reading."

Qiu Yinru became angrier. No one had ever talked so discourteously with her till now. She wanted to scold him but couldn't find anything to vent her anger. She glanced at the material he was reading and found it was about the Sahagan Ancient City, which caused her to wrinkle her brows, "Didn't I tell you that you won't be coming to the ancient desert city this time. Why are you still researching this?"

"That's not necessarily true. You're just a student and ultimately don't have the power to decide who goes or not."

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Xiu raised his head to glance at her and gave her a smile full of disdain. He then continued to study the material and ignored her.

Qiu Yinru glared at him, "You aren't planning to go by yourself, right?"

"What if I am?"

Sahagan Ancient City wasn't her home or anything. Since they were going there, others could go as well.

Qiu Yinru bit her lips. Jiang Xiu was clearly arguing with her for the sake of arguing. "You can't do that. This is a historical relic of the country and needs authorization from the related departments. It isn't something you can search for privately. What will you do if you act recklessly and damage the relic? That will be classified as illegal, you understand?"

"Hehe…"

He still didn't give a damn about her words.

All the students in the class were watching her. Qiu Yinru wished she could flip out yet couldn't. She stamped her feet in anger then returned to the platform and continued teaching.

After the class ended, Qiu Yinru was about to find Jiang Xiu to vent her anger when Professor Xu came over to her, "Little Qiu, the university administration has a request regarding the ancient desert city exploration team list."

"Hmm?"

The department had the final say in this, and they had already reported this.

Professor Xu continued, "The administration has requested to add another person."

Qiu Yinru was conflicted after hearing this. The project was decided by the department, and she had pulled the support for the project, so she didn't understand why the administration wanted to add a person, "That's not possible. We have already decided on the members."

Professor Xu nudged his spectacles helplessly, "If we don't, the administration won't approve the project."

Qiu Yinru bit her lips. This seemed to be her habit. She would bite her lips whenever she was angry, but this looked quite sexy on the contrary and caused the boys on the side to eye her. Her face went red due to the shame, "How can the administration act so rampantly? Who do they want to add? It's not some rich young master who wants to have fun, right?"

This had happened before too and was quite troublesome. It hindered the archaeology work very much. Those young masters thought it was a novel experience and acted as if it was an adventure.

Professor Xu explained to her, "It isn't a young master this time, it's the new student in our department, Jiang Xiu!"

"What?"

Qiu Yinru's eyes opened wide. She felt anger rush into her head after learning that the administration wanted to add Jiang Xiu to the exploration team. She turned back immediately and chased towards the direction Jiang Xiu had disappeared to, "Stop right there for me."

This time, Jiang Xiu unusually did as he was told and stopped.

The students all looked at him with sympathy after seeing this. It was no wonder that this happened as he had quarreled with her in the classroom openly.

You are really courageous. Brother, we will pray that you find peace in Heaven. Those brutes threw away their brotherhood and abandoned him, even making it sound as if they were doing him a favor, "We'll go to the dining hall first to save a seat for you."

Qiu Yinru raged at him, "Why does the university want to add you to the exploration team?"

"Didn't I say it? You are just a student and can't decide who goes or not."

"This was decided by our department. You are destroying our unity."

"So what if I am?"

Qiu Yinru had never seen someone as arrogant as him, "Tell me. What kind of despicable method did you use to coax the administration."

Jiang Xiu smiled, "I donated 50,000 bucks to the university, that's all…"

When Jiang Xiu had told Wang Xintong to arrange an exploration team, she created this plan after hearing all the details from him. This problem was so simply settled by that genius girl.

Qiu Yinru pointed her finger at him indignantly, "Jiang Xiu, you're the most despicable and shameless person I have ever met."

"Most despicable?"

Jiang Xiu grabbed her arm with a cold glint in his eyes, "The project is being funded by the Golden Brocade Group's Young Master Jin. I hear he's trying to pursue you and decided to fund this project because you are going in it. Don't make it sound as if you're someone upright when you too are just taking advantage of your charm. What's the difference between what you have done and what I have done?"

Qiu Yinru's arm began to hurt from his grip. She tried to break free from it while holding back her tears, "Y-You…"

"I also heard that young master will be accompanying us. Does he understand Archaeology or does he have any interest in it? Nope. He just wants to go with you and have fun." After saying this, he released her arm and turned around to leave.

"You scoundrel…"

Qiu Yinru cursed at him after a long time, holding back all her tears. She felt quite wronged. She believed she wasn't like how Jiang Xiu had said but wasn't able to refute his words.

Jiang Xiu didn't go to the dining hall to have a meal and instead left for a company called the Amidst Heaven Group in the Imperial Capital. This was a new company which Wang Xintong had established a month ago. Since Jiang Xiu had come to the Imperial Capital, she too followed after this gentleman.

"Mr. Jiang, the person you mentioned, has arrived…"

Jiang Xiu looked at a graceful girl walk into the premises on the monitor. The girl wore a dark gray suit which appeared very elegant and dazzling. All the staff members here were women, but they all seemed bland along with the entry of this girl. Pain flashed through Jiang Xiu's eyes as he looked at her, "Don't let her know I arranged all this. Give her a simple job and don't make her wages too unrealistic…"

This girl was none other than Cheng Lingran. The outfit she wore today was especially formal and different from her gentle, charming style from before. She appeared quite nervous and took several deep breaths before entering the room. Jiang Xiu couldn't help but reveal a smile on his face as he looked at this.

Wang Xintong had taken noticed of this and used her keen womanly intuition to judge that this woman was important to Jiang Xiu as she had never seen him care about a person so much.

Wang Xintong naturally knew about the grudges between Jiang Xiu and the Cheng family. She also knew that Jiang Xiu has a fiancée called Cheng Lingsu, and this woman called Cheng Lingran was Cheng Lingsu's elder sister. She felt she had glimpsed into the biggest secret of this man who ruled over her fate. She knew she shouldn't ask it, but she couldn't help but do so, "Do you… like her?"

Panic flashed through his eyes, after which he grabbed Wang Xintong's neck suddenly as if he wanted to choke her to death.

Wang Xintong almost couldn't breathe and thought she would die in a second. She heard Jiang Xiu's ice-cold voice at this moment, "I'll kill you if you dare to talk rubbish again."

However, Wang Xintong looked into his eyes quite brazenly with a smile on her face, "Did I hit the mark?"

Jiang Xiu's reaction was enough to tell her that she had guessed it correctly.

She felt extremely shocked. Jiang Xiu actually liked his fiancée's elder sister!

"Do you think I won't kill you?"

Jiang Xiu's eyes turned pitch black as he increased the strength in his grip. It seemed as if he would really choke her to death. Wang Xintong's expression twisted from the pain as she hit his arm with all her strength to struggle free from it.

At the moment she was about to choke, Jiang Xiu slowly released his grip.

"Guha-Guahg-Gah…"

She coughed with difficulty and slowly recovered her strength while looking at Jiang Xiu with a complicated gaze; a sense of loss flashed through her eyes. She had heard that the more indifferent a person appeared on the outside, the more affectionate that person is on the inside, and they had intense emotions of love hidden in the depths of their heart. And the emotions hidden deep behind Jiang Xiu's cold exterior were for this girl.

"Don't worry, I'll never tell it to anyone…"

When Jiang Xiu had gripped her throat, she didn't find him to be that frightening and thought he was quite pitiful. He loved a person yet didn't dare to let anyone know about it. His first reaction was to silence her so it could remain a secret.

"There's nothing like that. Do you want to destroy my reputation?"

There was no way he could admit this matter.

"Go and prepare a cup of coffee for me."

"Okay!"

After saying that, she arranged her collars a little in front of the mirror. There were conspicuous scars on her pale neck. She traced them gently with her slender fingers. They gave her a faint sting when she touched them and thought he must have been really nervous just now. She took a scarf from the table and wound it around her neck meticulously so that the scars on her neck were covered up perfectly.

After going out for a moment, she returned back with a cup of coffee and placed it in on Jiang Xiu's table then sat down on the sofa. Her gaze was fixed on the screen, "She's a top student of the Imperial University. There's no need to worry about not finding a job."

"I also know that. It's just that the outside world is too complicated and she's too beautiful so she will easily provoke trouble."

Wang Xintong laughed, "Mr. Jiang understands the mentality of men pretty well."

"You're saying I'm a pervert?"

"You are not?"

After that night, Wang Xintong had associated with Jiang Xiu for over 2 months. She had acted intimately with him and occasionally danced like before for him. That's why she dared to say some things. If it were still the time when she had just hardly met him, she would've never dared to say these words.

"Of course, I'm not!"

Wang Xintong revealed a coquettish as well as a bitter grudgeful expression in her eyes while her cheeks blushed up. Jiang Xiu asked in return, "My sister, how did her interview go?"

Cheng Lingran's interview had ended. She stood up and expressed her gratitude towards the interviewer very respectfully and courteously.

"It went pretty well. I'm not saying it just to please you. She has a sharp and quick mind, understands the core values and is also pretty. If only she gains 1-2 years of experience in the company, she would definitely become a high-level senior executive with an annual salary in the millions. She's indeed Cheng Hanlin's daughter."

Jiang Xiu was slightly excited as well. In the previous timeline, Cheng Lingran had changed jobs often and never worked in a single one for extended periods of time, so her talent was never fully excavated.

Cheng Lingran left the interview room and relaxed her breath when she reached outside the door. It seemed like she was extremely nervous. She took her phone out after that then first called Cheng Lingsu, then her parents and then to Jiang Xiu.

Wang Xintong glanced at Jiang Xiu. The order of calls she made after such an important event revealed the importance of these people in her heart. Clearly, Jiang Xiu's position was at the back.

Jiang Xiu had also sensed this and thus felt dejected.

He answered the call, "Sister, how did the interview go?"

"I was super nervous. The interviewer was a professional and asked many difficult questions. I feel like I didn't answer them well. I might not pass it."

Jiang Xiu laughed, "It'll be fine. You are a top student of the Imperial University. If they don't take you, it would be their loss."

"Aaah. I still feel quite anxious."

"Where are you right now? I'll treat you to a meal!"

"I'm still at the interview location."

"I'm nearby as well so let's meet at the subway, okay?"

…

Jiang Xiu looked at Cheng Lingran who stood under the shade near to the entrance of the subway with a parasol in her hand. Her lively eyes seemed to reveal a smile as she saw Jiang Xiu sprint over towards her. She pulled his hand when he came over. It felt quite cold to him due to the effect of the inner core. "Why are you running on such a hot day? You'll sweat all over."

He walked beside Cheng Lingran. Jiang Xiu had an advantage of height usually, but Cheng Lingran had worn high-heeled shoes with a 10 cm heel today, so her height of 1.7 m had jumped to 1.8 m due to those shoes.

"Your height has surpassed mine within just a short time. This really injures my pride."

Cheng Lingran couldn't help but make fun of him, "You were very short before but the same as Sister now. As if it would injure your pride. Today's circumstances are special, so I wore formal clothes for the interview. I normally don't wear high heeled shoes."

"Your legs are long though!" Jiang Xiu smiled at her.

Cheng Lingran's legs were pretty long and seemed longer due to the high-heeled shoes. Her face blushed after hearing his words as made her pout at him playfully, "You dare to tease your sister again? See how I squander you."

Passing through the familiar streets, Jiang Xiu entered a small restaurant.

Jiang Xiu used to come to this place a lot with Cheng Lingran in the previous timeline. Their food tasted pretty good, and it was quite cheap too. It was a place where they both shared a beautiful memory.

At this moment, Jiang Xiu felt like he had returned to that life.

He felt quite spirited.

Cheng Lingran sat down and asked with astonishment, "Little Xiu, why do I feel you are quite familiar with this place? Have you come here before?"

Jiang Xiu shook his head, "No, I heard about it from my classmates."

Cheng Lingran's face was filled with doubt. Even if his classmates had told him the location, he couldn't have found the store by passing through the streets so familiarly. She didn't believe his words, but she also knew that Jiang Xiu had never come to the Imperial Capital before. Anyways, it didn't matter so she didn't think about it much. There was no way she would think that Jiang Xiu was reliving his life.

The dishes Jiang Xiu had chosen were Cheng Lingran's favorite dishes. She looked at him with a tender gaze, "It feels as if we are having a meal together like we did in our childhood."

But she sighed after that and was filled with worry again, "I wonder what's the outcome of my interview."

"I think you'll receive a message soon."

After saying that, he sent a message to Wang Xintong. The plan was to send it to Cheng Lingran tomorrow, but he told Wang Xintong to tell the HR Department to sent it earlier. Soon after, Cheng Lingran's phone started to buzz, "Yes. It's me. I can start working tomorrow?! Really?! Thank you! Thank you very much…"

She hung the call and leaped up excitedly, "Yay! Little Xiu, I passed."

Jiang Xiu felt as if he was a Devil King who had everything in his grasp.

"Didn't I say it?"

Cheng Lingran was as happy as a little girl, "My monthly wages are 18,000 bucks and that without the bonus."

"You'll have to treat me in that case."

Cheng Lingran giggled, "Don't think you can take advantage of the situation. You'll have to treat me this time. I still haven't got my wages so I'll treat you to food next time."

"Alright."

Cheng Lingran calculated with her fingers, "Wait for me to get my wages, I'll send 10,000 to my parents, 6000 to Susu and set 2000 for myself…"

Jiang Xiu could comprehend giving most of her wages to her parents, but he couldn't understand why she was sending 6000 to Susu and only leaving 2000 to herself, "Susu doesn't need that much, right?"

Cheng Lingran sighed, "I feel Susu has changed. She has become uncommunicative. The matters of our family have brought a big hit to her. She used to spend a lot of money before but doesn't spend much money now. Maybe she'll feel better if I can allow her to spend the same amount of money used to before our family went bankrupt."

Sometimes, Jiang Xiu wished Cheng Lingran didn't give so much thought to others.