Chapter – 38
This Is No Way to Treat a Treasure of the Mystic Arts
Jiang Xixu remembered that when she left the Guan family, Guan Ruirui had proudly declared, “I like Pei Yuanqing.”
And now, Pei Yuanqing himself was saying, “Xixu likes me.”
So, just who was the one tarnishing her reputation without permission?
Hearing Jiang Xixu’s words, Pei Yuanqing was stunned for a moment, but soon smiled as if looking at a sulking lover.
“There’s no need to tell anyone that. Everyone knows, and I understand.”
He continued with a confident smile.
“Back then, you were always by my side. You followed me everywhere, bought me breakfast, came to watch my matches… You never said it, but I understood it all.”
Hearing those words, Jiang Xixu couldn’t help but twist her lips.
“There’s only one reason I never said anything—I didn’t like you. The reason I followed you? Trust me, you wouldn’t want to know.”
Such a clear denial left Pei Yuanqing momentarily dumbfounded. But he quickly insisted, convinced his judgment was right.
“Why deny your feelings? Is it because of Ruirui? Or does your current family not allow you to be with me?”
Jiang Xixu was utterly exasperated.
She realized today that some people are so self-centered they can’t even hear others’ words.
Having no interest in continuing this pointless exchange, Jiang Xixu got into the car.
Pei Yuanqing gritted his teeth, trying to figure out how to stop her. But then, the car’s rear window smoothly rolled down.
He immediately changed his expression, putting on that confident, gentle smile again.
However, Jiang Xixu cast a cold glance at him and said just one thing:
“You spent a couple of days thinking up that excuse just now, didn’t you?”
That lousy script of his, probably wanting to say something like “I was tricked by Guan Ruirui and had no choice but to date her.”
It was like he was writing his own corny romance drama.
A hint of awkwardness flashed in Pei Yuanqing’s eyes. He desperately wanted to explain, but before he could, the window rolled up completely, and the car drove off.
Watching it leave, Pei Yuanqing’s heart churned with humiliation and anger.
—That wasn’t just some excuse!
It was the “escape route” he had prepared for her.
He genuinely believed that “if Xixu is infatuated with me, these lines can save her.”
And, considering her position, he was even prepared to obey if she told him to “break up with Guan Ruirui.”
But—
She ruthlessly brushed aside that hand.
So, just because she had entered the Jiang family, her attitude changed too.
…
Inside the car.
The moment Jiang Xixu closed the window, she had already pushed Pei Yuanqing out of her mind.
Just then, a familiar notification sound chimed from her phone. The moment she opened the screen, her eyes flickered ever so slightly.
“Uncle Hai, let’s not go back to the Jiang residence just yet. Let’s stop by a certain place first.”
Uncle Hai in the driver’s seat nodded and drove towards the indicated address.
…
Development Zone, outskirts.
Passing through desolate buildings, Jiang Xixu stepped into an inconspicuous little red-brick building.
Descending underground and passing through a long corridor, what unfolded before her was—an extravagantly decorated underground auction venue.
There were fewer than three hundred guests. But this was no ordinary antique auction.
A server approached and politely said,
“Miss, please show your invitation.”
Just as Jiang Xixu was about to speak—
“She is my guest.”
A soft, beautiful voice sounded from another entrance.
“Manager!”
The server bowed deeply.
The man who appeared possessed a charming, androgynous beauty, a light smile on his fox-like, alluring eyes.
Dressed in a deep purple Tang suit, his long hair casually tied back, he exuded an aura of Eastern mystique.
Seeing Jiang Xixu, he slightly hooked a finger—a somewhat provocative and intimate gesture.
Jiang Xixu already knew his temperament well. Without a word, she simply followed him into the inner room.
…
“The item I mentioned?”
As soon as she entered the room, she couldn’t wait to ask.
Yi Zhan wore a sly smile while rummaging through the display area.
“Not this one…”
“Not this one either…”
“Ooh, are these human bones…?”
“Hmm? Found it, found it.”
What he took out was a blackened piece of tree branch.
—A thousand-year-old thunder-struck peach wood. An extremely rare artifact for warding off evil in the Mystic Arts.
But Jiang Xixu just glanced at it and shook her head.
“That’s not it. It’s not the one.”
“Hey, do you have any idea how precious a thousand-year-old thunder-struck wood is? It’s a miracle just to get a piece!”
Yi Zhan pressed on discontentedly.
“Branches all look pretty similar, don’t they? Take a closer look.”
But Jiang Xixu pushed it back with a serious face.
“That’s not it. What I’m looking for isn’t the ‘magical tool itself,’ but its owner.”
—Her master.
The one who promised to stay with her until she was eighteen, then vanished without a trace.
Yi Zhan shrugged and tossed the thousand-year-old thunder-struck wood carelessly behind him.
“Tsk, another wasted effort.”
“H-hey, wait a minute!”
Jiang Xixu hurriedly cried out.
—Okay, that one wasn’t the branch she wanted.
But it’s genuine thousand-year-old thunder-struck peach wood, you know!?
Treating it so casually—
This is no way to treat a treasure of the Mystic Arts!
Apologize right now!!
