Chapter 297 - 296: Farewell, The Meddling Old Lady

Peaceful times always seem to pass quickly.

In the blink of an eye, a whole week has passed since the big evacuation.

Throughout this week, Liu Sisi and Chen Yuran would go out to play and shop every day.

Little sister is to be far away from Jianghai, and she takes it to heart.

Chen Yuran, who’s about to go into closed cultivation, also has a fancy to play hard.

After all, once she joins the Heavenly First Taoist School, all forms of entertainment will be temporarily unrelated to her.

The sect’s isolation from the world is very thorough.

Once she goes to the Heavenly First Taoist School,

She will no longer be able to drink milk tea or have desserts, even the network coverage will be gone and her phone will lose signal.

Having no internet isn’t too much of a problem.

But the lack of exquisite food is indeed a torment for Chen Yuran, who is particularly passionate about fine dining.

Many remarkable talents emerge from the sects, and it’s no coincidence.

The distractions of the mundane world can lead to divided attention.

Liu Sisi and Chen Yuran go out every day, and Li Jing naturally follows them, becoming their silent payment machine.

These days, life is slightly mundane.

However, Li Jing doesn’t mind this laid-back lifestyle.

...

At noon today, Li Jing, as usual, assumed the role of the family cook, preparing lunch in the kitchen.

He was busy at work when the living room door was pushed open.

Li Jing sense the movement and paused for a moment.

The only one who would come around mealtime could only be Chen Yuran.

She got up that early today?

Isn’t it not yet twelve o’clock?

While puzzled, Chen Yuran came to the kitchen door and peeked in.

"Li Jing, I’ll leave after this meal."

Li Jing turned his head at the news and put down the spatula.

"Your merit points have arrived?"

"A portion of them has."

Chen Yuran answered.

She had resigned from her patrol duty the evening she returned and communicated with Chen Jing.

The reason why she hadn’t left yet was mainly waiting for the merit points from the Management Bureau to be credited to her account, so that she could exchange them for various resources she needed for her retreat.

Having confirmed that some of Chen Yuran’s merit points have been credited, Li Jing nodded.

"I’ll make this meal a little richer for you, just tell me what you want to eat."

"Anything is fine."

Chen Yuran smiled faintly and said,

"I’m just leaving for a while, not forever. When I come back, you can make me some real good food."

Saying that, she turned her head to look at the living room, then looked back and said,

"Is sister Sisi still sleeping upstairs?"

"Yes, she’s still in bed."

Li Jing replied.

"You can go upstairs and find her, I still have to be busy here."

"Okay."

Chen Yuran said just a word and looked at him as if she wanted to say something, but eventually she said nothing, and chose to turn and leave the kitchen.

Li Jing saw her hesitation and felt a bit mixed up.

Although he had known it beforehand, when she was really about to leave, he even didn’t know what to say...

...

A little over half an hour later.

After Li Jing finished cooking, Liu Sisi and Chen Yuran came down for a meal together.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was slightly depressing, lacking the joy of the past.

Farewell always brings about ambivalence.

After the meal, just as Li Jing was about to clear the table, Liu Sisi suddenly spoke.

"Leave the bowls and chopsticks alone, I’ll take care of it. Yuran has to go to the Management Bureau, why don’t you take her there, Li Jing?"

Li Jing was slightly startled at this and agreed instinctively.

Chen Yuran, on the other hand, frowned a little, as if she was about to refuse.

However, seeing that Li Jing had already agreed, she chose to accept and stood up saying,

"Well, Sister Sisi, I’m leaving."

"Okay."

Liu Sisi also stood up and pulled her to give her a piece of advice,

"You need to take care of yourself when you are outside on your own. Don’t just focus on cultivation, pay more attention to your own health. Don’t be reckless. Cultivation requires firm foundation, and it involves many aspects, which cannot be rushed."

Face to such motherly words, Chen Yuran silently nodded indicating that she understands.

...

After bidding Liu Sisi a simple farewell, Chen Yuran came to the Management Bureau with Li Jing.

As he was already here, Li Jing of course would not merely escort Chen Yuran to the Management Bureau. He accompanied her to the logistics department and helped her exchange for resources.

The value of merit points Chen Yuran had received was quite substantial, and she exchanged for an impressive amount of resources in one fell swoop.

Li Jing saw this and couldn’t help looking forward to the number of his own merit points that would be credited later.

However, his merit points would not arrive so soon.

On one hand, the amount of his merit points is enormous.

On the other hand, his merit points include commission that his subordinates earned, so he will have to wait for everyone to settle their accounts and then it would be his turn.

It is a huge task.

In the process of statistic, the resources that are not available in this world are to be sent to the Research Institute for identification, to confirm what effects they have and to determine their actual value. And only then is the conversion into merit points carried out and disbursed uniformly.

Therefore, only a portion of Chen Yuran’s merit points have been credited for the time being.

Chen Yuran always plans well when she does things.

Knowing that her departure was imminent, she had long drawn up a lengthy checklist of possible cultivation resources she might need during her retreat.

However, not everything is in stock at the Jianghai City Management Bureau.

There are some resources that need to be sourced from other city management bureaus or the national treasury, and they require a waiting period after the application for exchange.

Chen Yuran couldn’t wait any longer as she was about to leave immediately, and had to temporarily consider replacing them with others, which delayed a lot of time.

Almost an hour later, the two of them emerged from the management bureau.

Standing outside the door, Chen Yuran was just about to say her goodbyes when Li Jing opened his mouth,

"Can you tell me the exact location of the Heavenly First Taoist School? Since I’ve come to see you off, I might as well take you there directly; it could be faster that way."

At these words, Chen Yuran paused for a moment, an expression of surprise crossed her face.

Clearly, she hadn’t expected that Li Jing would have a clear understanding of their connection with the secretive Heaven One Sect.

"I am not technically a member of the sect, my father is."

Chen Yuran spoke.

"I’m not even sure about the exact location of the sect. This trip has been arranged by my dad. Someone from the sect will pick me up at Shangcheng Airport."

Getting her response, Li Jing appeared slightly dissatisfied.

He truly wished to accompany Chen Yuran.

He also wanted to know where the Heaven One Sect was located.

Having a general idea about its location would at least allow him to visit whenever needed.

It was frustrating how secretive the Heaven One Sect was...

Seeing his obvious dissatisfaction with the clandestineness of the Heaven One Sect, Chen Yuran, having probably guessed his thoughts, chuckled.

"If you really insist on seeing me off, you can take me to Shangcheng Airport." she said.

Then, she thought for a moment, shoved the squirrel who had been looking around from her pocket back in, and extended her soft, boneless hand.

Li Jing was about to say something, but was surprised by a delicate hand in his.

Before he could react, Chen Yuran whispered.

"Hold on tight, people from the sect should be arriving soon.">

Still trying to process what was happening, Li Jing instinctively tightened his grip upon hearing "Hold on tight".

By the time he realized what was happening, his fingers were already interlocked with Chen Yuran’s.

"..."

Li Jing.

This was definitely awkward.

The point was that Chen Yuran did not express any discomfort, nor did she seem to want to pull away.

She stood calmly by his side, letting him hold her hand.

Logic told Li Jing that this should not be the case.

But his instincts told him that since he was already holding her hand, he could not just let go.

In the end, his instincts won out.

Quietly tightening his hold on her soft hand, Li Jing pulled out a Spirit Soldier and then ascended into the sky with Chen Yuran.

...

Before long, the two arrived at Shangcheng International Airport.

After landing near the terminal entrance, Chen Yuran softly said.

"This is far enough. I can go in by myself."

Having said that, she gently pulled her hand away and calmly said.

"Wait for me."

Leaving him with these words that could hardly be considered a farewell, she turned and walked into the terminal, soon disappearing into the crowd at the airport.

Standing still, Li Jing gazed into the terminal, absently rubbing his hand, which was still warm, he wondered if he had just been played.

Chen Yuran had left so abruptly, and on her departure she had dealt him a blow that left him pining for her.

But on second thought...

Knowing Chen Yuran’s personality, it was unlikely she was that cunning.

She was unlike ordinary girls.

She didn’t have a romantic bone in her body, nor did she enjoy watching romantic dramas. She was a typical straightforward girl.

Could such a straight shooter have such tactics?

Scratching his head, Li Jing let out a sigh and hailed a cab to North City.

For some reason, he didn’t feel like flying.

...

The efficiency of a car certainly couldn’t compare with flying.

After nearly three hours of travel, Li Jing arrived back at Closed Moon Flower Garden in North City.

When he reached the front of his villa, he realized his front door was still open.

Because Liu Sisi was home, he didn’t bother closing the door when he left with Chen Yuran.

It’s almost evening...

Was it possible that Liu Sisi had forgotten to close the door?

Frowning slightly, Li Jing pushed open the gate and walked in.

Before he could even reach the front door, Liu Sisi, hearing the commotion outside, walked out from the villa.

Seeing him return, her eyes lit up as she quickly approached him.

Seeing this, Li Jing’s brow furrowed even more, and he instinctively stopped.

Just as he was about to speak, Liu Sisi, in high spirits, exclaimed.

"How did it go? Any progress?"

???

Li Jing.

Progress?

What kind of progress?

Speaking of which...

Not long ago when Chen Yuran left, wasn’t Liu Sisi sulking and looking rather out of sorts?

Not long after Chen Yuran left, why did she suddenly seem so energetic?

Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Liu Sisi clucked her tongue, asked again.

"Did Yuran do anything before she left?"

"..."

Li Jing’s mouth twitched.

On his journey back, he had been wondering why Chen Yuran had suddenly behaved so differently if she hadn’t been playing games.

Was it possible that he had cracked the case?

Thinking back on it, Liu Sisi had acted a bit strange when she urged him to accompany Chen Yuran to lunch.

Liu Sisi knew Li Jing inside out.

Even when he only raised his eyebrows slightly, if she noticed, she could usually guess what was on his mind.

Seeing the twitch in Li Jing’s mouth, Liu Sisi seemed satisfied and laughingly said.

"That girl finally seems to have come to her senses. My efforts in persuading her throughout lunch were not in vain. It’s a pity that she will be gone for a long time, possibly not returning until this time next year."

With that, she looked sidelong at him.

"Remember our pre-marriage agreement?"

"..."

Li Jing was silent, his gaze rested on his wife who was stirring up trouble.

Liu Sisi, oblivious, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and said.

"Since Yuran has fulfilled her part, I too should set a good example as promised. We need to tweak the conditions of our pre-marriage agreement. You are not allowed to have a third one before Yuran return. I trust that you won’t deny such a small and obstinate request of mine?"

"..."

Li Jing fell silent, shaking his head.

"No."

Upon hearing this response, Liu Sisi smiled contentedly.

Just as she was about to say something, Li Jing pulled her towards him.

?

Liu Sisi unconsciously leaned towards him, her eyes filled with confusion as she slowly typed a question mark on her phone screen.

Next, she felt as light as a feather.

When she came back to her senses, she had already been swept into Li Jing’s arms.

???

Liu Sisi.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just feel like we need to have a proper talk."

With a sigh, Li Jing held her firmly and closed the door behind them. He uttered a command to the speaker in the living room.

"Little Ai, set all devices to sleep mode."

"Acknowledged!"

The speaker’s voice parroted the command.

Soon after, the lights in the living room turned off and the curtains were drawn.

The door to the villa also automatically locked at this moment.

All this sudden preparation hurriedly set in motion left Liu Sisi in a state of panic.

Being as smart as she was, how could she not realize that her man was planning to go upstairs and "deal with" her?

"No! Honey, let me expla...I mean, let’s talk about this!"

...

Night slowly fell.

The night was restless.

She dreamt back to a week ago.

The next evening, Liu Sisi laid sprawled on the bed, completely dispirited and unwilling to even lift a finger.

For a long time now, she and Li Jing had been interacting as siblings.

Even when they got married, it still carried that flavor of an elder sister-younger brother relationship.

There was a considerable age difference between them.

No matter what happened, Li Jing always listened to her.

Her position as the "dominating" force at home was heavily secure.

But then someone "rebels" all of a sudden, which was very upsetting to her.

Even worse, it was brought upon by herself! Besides taking it all in, there was nothing she could do.

She was feeling slightly overwhelmed...

Li Jing taught her through practice that even if one held a dominating position at home, there are consequences to be paid for being playful and causing trouble.

Struggling to turn over, Liu Sisi felt her cultivation level being reluctantly cranked up to the late stage of the Four Realm. She wasn’t sure whether to be happy or depressed about it.

Who would believe her if she were to share her journey of cultivation?

She wasn’t even a year into her formal entry into the Second Realm.

And now, she was almost at the Fifth Boundary...

Her man was indeed special.

The rapid growth of her own cultivation through Dual Cultivation with Li Jing was something Liu Sisi was fully aware of.

The Dual Cultivation had proven too effective...

Under normal circumstances,

Even if there’s a large disparity in cultivation levels, Dual Cultivation simply benefits both parties, allowing them to cultivate while spending time together.

The one with lower cultivation certainly cultivates faster than normal, but it should not be as fast as riding a rocket.

Considering how special Li Jing had always been, even mysteriously reaching the Seventh Realm, Liu Sisi was somewhat conscious but didn’t mind too much.

Some things didn’t require clarification.

Li Jing was her husband, and that was enough.

What was bothering Liu Sisi now was,

If Chen Yuran went away for secluded cultivation and the painstaking ideological work she had done for her became meaningless during this period of seclusion,

She had not had an easy time as an elder sister...

Her hard work would be in vain if she had to do it again. Wouldn’t her "grievance" be for nothing then?

Just as she was in deep thought, Li Jing entered the room.

Liu Sisi was startled by the sudden noise as she was lost in thought. She quickly pulled the blanket up to wrap herself tightly and made a threatening sound with a stern face.

"Don’t come any closer! I’ll be angry if you do!"

"..."

Li Jing was dumbfounded.

Looking at Liu Sisi on the bed, who appeared like a frightened bird with only her head showing, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Admittedly, he had gone a bit too far from last night to now.

With an embarrassed smile, Li Jing said,

"Relax, I only came to call you for dinner."

Upon hearing that he had called her for dinner, Liu Sisi visibly relaxed, however she continued to maintain a hard face and responded,

"Wait a little longer, I want to lie down for a while before I get up."

"Alright, but hurry up. The food will get cold."

Having said this, Li Jing smiled and exited the room.

Unable to bear the sight of his smiling face as he left, Liu Sisi was filled with an inexplicable frustration. Yet, she couldn’t do anything about it.

One reason was that she had brought it upon herself, and the other was that she just couldn’t let a small matter like this escalate into a fight.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and allowed the abundant Spiritual Qi within her body to restore her physical strength that had been "drained".

...

Not long after, Liu Sisi went downstairs and joined Li Jing at the dining table.

The dining table, which usually served three, only served two people now. It took some time for both to get used to it.

While picking at her food, Liu Sisi, instead of pretending to be angry at Li Jing, asked him.

"Do you have any idea where exactly Yuran has gone for her secluded cultivation?"

"I don’t."

Li Jing shook his head, and after some thought, said,

"Hailing from the distinguished Liu family in the capital, you must be aware that besides our mundane world, there are secluded sects as well. Uncle Chen has his roots in these sects. Yuran has gone to his sect for secluded cultivation. The place she has gone to is highly secretive. I had originally planned to directly send her there in the afternoon, but even she doesn’t know exactly where her destination is. Someone was sent to pick her up."

He hadn’t originally planned to disclose these matters.

Sects can be quite troublesome.

However, since Liu Sisi asked, it and entirely logical for him to give a response.

To the couple, Chen Yuran, who came over for meals every day, was a rather peculiar entity.

Upon learning that Chen Yuran had gone to some sect, Liu Sisi nodded and didn’t ask further.

Just like Li Jing had mentioned,

Although she couldn’t say that she knew much about the secluded sects, she, as a member of a prominent family, was somewhat aware of the respective circumstances.

There is more than one secretive sect.

What they all had in common was that they were very mysterious.

Ordinary people didn’t even have the chance to know about the existence of these sects, let alone know the locations of their dwellings.

Chatting with Li Jing at the dinner table, Liu Sisi had half a meal. She put down her chopsticks and looked over, saying,

"I saw a message from Director Jiang when I turned on my phone earlier, saying that I should return to the Management Bureau for regular work in a few days. The entire Heavenly King Group has a week off, but because some of the merit points have already arrived, they have proposed many related applications that need approval."

Having said that, she continued,

"Also, about Yuran and others being attached to the Heavenly King Group, I also have to officially submit documents to arrange for them. Some benefits need to be provided. I know Yulian, but I haven’t had the chance to meet Jiu Li. Should we invite her to dine with us in the next few days?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jing blinked.

The fact that Liu Sisi was going back to work at the Management Bureau was not a surprise.

Her job was very important.

Managing a team of ten thousand required thorough approval processes.

She needed to approve the needs of her subordinates and then submit them to her superiors.

She couldn’t avoid this.

Liu Sisi had not yet met with Jiu Li. They had indeed agreed to have a meal together before, but now...

Indeed,

After a trip to Chongyuan Holy Realm, Jiu Li was extremely rich and didn’t lack money.

But Yulian did not let her off...

What was agreed upon still needed to be done.

This was not a matter of whether Jiu Li was willing to pay the penalty, but more about Yulian’s strong career drive, forcing her.

In the past week, Jiu Li had been sending many SOS messages to him...

Rescuing Jiu Li was not something Li Jing was interested in.

The key was that the other party was Yulian.

Rather than offend Yulian, it wouldn’t hurt letting Jiu Li suffer a bit more, would it?

After all, if that cunning fox didn’t paint, she had nothing else to do. Letting her have something to do was quite good.

After a brief silence, Li Jing said,

"Dinner might not work out. Brother Jiu is very busy recently, we’ll talk about it when we have a chance."

Saying so, he took out the keys to Jiu Li’s house and placed them on the table.

"This is the key to Brother Jiu’s house. You might want to visit her when you start work in a few days. These days, Yulian will mostly be at her place, the three of you can discuss whatever is needed."

Hearing Li Jing say this, Liu Sisi looked at the keys on the table with her sparkling eyes.

She had never met Jiu Li before, so naturally, she wouldn’t know that the latter was forced to paint.

As for the other things, Liu Sisi didn’t mind.

She was wondering,

What could be so important that she couldn’t even invite her over for a meal?

Puzzled, Liu Sisi nodded and picked up the keys from the table.

"You’ve been back for over a week now, What did the inspection bureau say? When are you going back to work?"

"I’m not in a hurry for that."

Li Jing replied,

"I’m in the Major Crime Unit, and without cases to handle, I have plenty of leisure time. I have already messaged Captain Dai, letting him know I’m available to resume work at any time, but for now, I want to rest..."

Before he could finish speaking, his phone, which was on the table, started vibrating.

The screen lit up, showing an incoming call from Dai Hong.

Seeing this, Li Jing frowned.

Just as he was about to say that he could laze around for a few more days, Dai Hong actually called.

This...

Could it be a coincidence?

If Dai Hong was calling, it surely meant something alarming had happened.

Liu Sisi understood it too.

Looking at the name ’Dai Hong’ displayed on the mobile screen, she laughed cheerfully.

"Looks like you might be going back to work before me."

At this point, Liu Sisi’s attitude had also changed compared to before.

In the past, she would have been worried whenever Li Jing had any trouble.

Now that he was in the Seventh Realm, she had not a smidge of worry about him.

Nothing within the sphere of the Inspection Bureau’s management could pose a threat to someone in the Seventh Realm.

If the Management Bureau stepped in, that would be a different matter.

Seeing Liu Sisi sitting at the table and laughing, possibly gloating a little, Li Jing gave her a wry smile. He knew that his folly from the previous night till now had been marked, and he reluctantly picked up his phone.

Answering the call, Li Jing said,

"Captain Dai, you’re looking for me?"

"Yes,"

Captain Dai replied on the other end of the phone,

"Two minutes ago, the crime team reported that a mysterious and sudden death of an overseas individual occurred at the Taihe Grand Hotel, 69 Xiachuan Avenue. After confirming the identity of the deceased, which is quite special, this case was transferred to our Major Crime Unit. This matter is extremely important to the senior management. Are you available now?"

An overseas individual?

Li Jing furrowed his brows.

The deceased was probably not ordinary.

A single death case would not normally be transferred to the Major Crime Unit.

Let alone gaining the attention of the senior management.

Without giving it much thought, he responded,

"Yes. I will be there immediately."

"Good, we’ll discuss the details when we meet."

After saying those words, Dai Hong hung up the call.

Li Jing put away his phone, took out his communicator from the Major Crime Unit, put it on and looked up.

"Sisi..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Liu Sisi lightly huffed,

"Just go. I can clean up the dishes. I’m going to bed early tonight. Don’t bother me when you get back."

Li Jing was speechless.

Liu Sisi’s agitation at this point was somewhat far-fetched.

...