Chapter 43: New Year's Eve

Before Madam Liang could even step out of Yashuang Courtyard, she ran into Murong Zhongli. The moment she caught sight of him, she instinctively began to retreat, wanting to avoid him. To her surprise, completely disregarding his status, he walked straight up to her and grabbed her arm.

Gu Xingyue felt a surge of excitement. Watching Xiao Zixuan dancing up there, she had also felt a slight itch to try her own hand at it.

Gu Xingyue nodded frankly. Together meant together; what was there to be embarrassed about admitting?

In her eyes, he was an indifferent person who seemed completely apathetic to anything in the world.

It tasted fine at first, but with each bite, it possessed an irresistible, addictive magic. The broth was savory and rich, while the noodles were soft yet retained a pleasant chewiness.

However, judging by her appearance, she must have already neutralized the poison for Murong Heng. Otherwise, how could Murong Heng have appeared before him completely unscathed?

Dong Sixian said no more, turning his attention to sipping his tea as he watched Nalan’s figure recede into the distance. The tea leaves had fully unfurled; beneath the unbearable bitterness, there lingered a faint trace of sweetness.

I smiled and stated the purpose of my visit. She responded very warmly and cordially addressed our chairman by name, which meant she was quite familiar with our company. At the same time, she tactfully expressed that they had no intention of participating in a partnership with us this year, adding that this was the chairman's personal decision.

Who would have guessed that she would claim complete ignorance of everything, forcing the Empress's initial plan of bestowing favor to be aborted prematurely?

Was it really just to inform him? The Empress collected herself, but bore no grudge. He was merely an illegitimate son, after all; if he wanted it, she would let him have it. After all, who could deny his formidable abilities nowadays?

However, before the shark could even get close to Feng Ling and the others, the Crane Fairy sensed its presence and struck out directly with a single palm, sending the creature flying.

His thoughts at this moment would be exceedingly chaotic. By chaotic, it meant that by the very end, he wouldn't even know what to say, so his inner world desperately required someone else to pump him up.

How else could Niu Feng have caught the eye of the chief instructor within that assassin training camp? What was the name of this chief instructor anyway?

Seeing Thunder Tiger batted away with a single slap by Chu Feng, those fellows from Xiangbei City widened their eyes in sheer disbelief.

Qin Much took off his coat, hoping it wouldn't be chilled by the icy temperature of his own Cold Clan physique. He really should have bought her a warmer jacket. Bella gazed at him, her cheeks flushing red once more. What could she possibly be thinking right now?

Feng Ling knew that, barring any accidents, he would soon acquire the third divine flower, Glaze.

"Fish without any seasonings," Lei Xie handed the grilled fish to Fan Yun, saying, "You can try a bite first."

My master knew a few tricks for warding off ghosts and evil spirits. Now that the old man is gone, whenever anything happens in the village, the people can only rely on me.

Feng Liu dangled a pair of stinky, unwashed socks—which he had fished out from beneath the mattress—right in front of his face. The guy’s nose suffered instant asphyxiation, and his face twisted into an aggrieved expression resembling that of an orphan mourning his father.

Mouse did not dare to make a sound, only blinking repeatedly at Chen Haoge. Chen Haoge, however, ignored him entirely and replied, "Honestly!" before continuing his conversation with Ruan Mengjun.

He was also well aware that if the four major families had indeed meddled in the medicinal herb hunting competition the day before, those old fogies from the Alchemist Guild would certainly rally terrifying forces to completely overthrow the four families. Even so, among those four families, the Mitter family's attitude toward Xu Chuan remained rather ambiguous.

Thud! The dull sound of Corey Bill's iron arm colliding with Idalgin's body echoed through the air.

Moreover, the most critical issue was that his behavior easily offended others, including Xu Chuan's original persona. Fortunately, that original persona was already gone, and for the sake of his plans, Xu Chuan had no intention of targeting He Long right now. Of course, should the opportunity arise, he certainly wouldn't mind sending He Long straight down the Yellow Springs.

On one occasion, Chen Zezhong invited Monkey Sun for a drink, bitterly cursing the textile factory for cutting off his material supply and lacking sportsmanship. It made him so angry he downed an extra two taels of liquor.

Xiuyue told Liu Qi to lift the pot lid. Checking the contents, she saw there was enough water, so she instructed her grandfather to add vermicelli—plenty of it—before covering the pot again to stoke the fire.

"Lord Marquis Du, did you see that? The righteousness of the world is on our side. If you want to take Chen Ping away, you will have to step over our dead bodies!" Governor Wang Jianshu was overjoyed; his tactics of emotional agitation in the Censorate had proven effective time and time again.

As Sun Naizheng sang, he walked toward Li Fengqin. Deciding not to run away anymore, Li Fengqin thought to herself, *The way he tasted my rouge just now actually felt quite nice, setting my blood on fire. I won't leave. There's no one watching here; I'll let you kiss your fill.*

In truth, Jun Jie still failed to understand that a ruler who truly wins the hearts of the people will never face so many betrayals.

It wasn't anything serious—she had just scraped her hand, nothing else. It really wasn't a big deal at all.

White Hair certainly hadn't thought that far ahead. Come to think of it, as an illegitimate son despised by the former emperor and one who had even plotted against him, what was such a person once he lost the backing of the throne?

"This is it!" Pushing open the apartment door, the furniture inside was already draped in dust sheets, leaving the entire living room a sea of white. Chu Nuo decisively tore off all the dust sheets and set to cleaning the place.

Many people wore expressions of sheer astonishment. Weren't the two sides just keeping their distance? How had the victory already been decided?

With somewhat delicate and feminine facial features—likely the result of excessive indulgence—his face, though young, was visibly bloated and sagging. While he could barely pass as a bewitching type, he bore not the slightest resemblance to Chu慕风...

After the previous incident, Sui Feier and Ji Han no longer had much to say to each other. Seeing Ji Han spacing out during class now, she looked at him with helpless resignation and tugged at the corner of his clothing.

Above the shattered, devastated mountain range of the Demon God Ridge, which lay crumpled just outside the borders of the Penglai Sacred Land after an earth-shattering battle.

"Go play by yourselves." Whenever she had no tasks, she never restricted them, but she also never brought them along, so they remained completely unaware of her other identities.