Demon Sword Immortal

"Yes." Bai Xiang nodded first, then frowned.

“There’s no need to ask you… Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll talk to Teacher Ma later and tell him that you’re skipping your afternoon class and want to come with me to the dojo to register.”

No, I don't think I've agreed yet...?

Chen Jing felt a little dizzy and unsteady as she followed Bai Xiang out. She saw what Bai Xiang was saying to Ma Bolan, which immediately made the latter stare at her with wide eyes.

"Is that so..." Ma Bolan stroked his chin. "Alright, I will tell Principal Zhang about this."

"Thank you, Teacher Ma."

"Oh, no trouble at all."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Bai wanted to take her leave, but Ma Bolan insisted on seeing them to their car. Before they left, he repeatedly reminded them, "Don't worry about Chen's luggage. I'll have the female students keep an eye on it. Just come and pick it up when everything is arranged."

Chen Jing said gratefully, "Thank you, Teacher Ma!"

"Oh, you're welcome."

Watching the car drive away, Ma Bolan wiped away his sweat and a smile appeared on his lips.

The news about Chen Jing has been circulating quite widely at school these days, and he also knows that Chen's father is missing.

There were sighs, but to say that I felt any real emotional turmoil would be a bit shameless.

There's no other reason; I've seen it too many times.

The Red Dragon Path is far from peaceful, especially at night; you never know when someone might die in some hidden corner.

Over the years, Ma Bolan has seen several cases even worse than this, all of which resulted in the destruction of families, expulsion from school on the spot, and one even went insane in class after refusing to accept the news, nearly causing a death on the spot.

They thought their child's future was over, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and Bai was determined to help her.

The gentleman is like righteousness, and the villain is like profit.

Looking back at the slogan hanging in the main entrance, Ma Bolan smiled, put his hands behind his back, and went upstairs again.

"Huh? Aren't we going to recruit staff?"

Inside the car, Hu Hu was utterly shocked by Bai Xiang's arrangement.

I thought they were going there for some other reason, but it turns out they were just picking up their junior sister!

Hu Hu was unhappy because he couldn't spend more time with his idol, and he pouted.

Her face was still turned back, and Bai Xiang couldn't help but raise his hand and flick her exposed forehead.

"Ouch, that hurts!" The fox immediately shrank back.

"Send the person back first," Bai Xiang said again, "and then come out with me again."

She didn't stop on the way; she took out her phone and texted Zhang Daoming to ask if there was any more to the story.

This time, using their deskmate relationship as a starting point, she asked the question with complete confidence.

Zhang Daoming quickly replied:

[This is troublesome. Chen Zhi'en isn't the only one who went missing from Qingyun Pharmaceuticals. I originally planned to investigate both cases together, but the search warrant hasn't been approved yet.]

He didn't mind Bai Xiang constantly asking him questions; in fact, he was quite happy that Bai Xiang did.

If he could pique her interest in investigating cases and lure this genius to the Inspectorate, he would truly be set for life.

Bai Xiang: [Does the search warrant need to get past Lord Fang?]

Zhang Daoming: [The Inspectorate and the Supervisory Commission are both special departments, the court's henchmen, haven't you heard? They're talking about people like us. If you really want to follow the rules, Lord Fang, you can't get involved here.]

To build rapport, he even started making self-deprecating jokes.

Fearing Bai might misunderstand, he got down to business: "[The road-level inspection bureau's superior is the prefectural-level supervisory bureau. I'm currently waiting for the approval of Judge Lu of Qizhou. A search warrant is needed for further investigation.]"

Texting wasn't convenient, so I thought I'd arrange to talk to him later. I put down my phone and started thinking.

Unbeknownst to her, Zhang Daoming was also deep in thought at that moment.

Search warrants are usually not difficult to obtain.

Even though Qingyun Pharmaceutical is a joint venture, Da Yu's domineering nature means they can investigate you whenever they want, no matter how many connections you have.

How did you get stuck this time?

What is Lu Xueling up to?

Back at the temple, Bai Xiang first took Chen Jing to see Bai Lianzhou.

Only then did she reveal the changes in Chen Jing's family. Hu Hu, who was standing to the side, stared in disbelief. It turned out that his junior sister was so pitiful and miserable!

Bai Lianzhou added Chen Jing's name to the list of people Bai wanted to personally lead, saying, "It's good that you know what's going on. I'll take good care of her as well."

Meanwhile, Hu Hu was already whispering to Chen Jing.

"You also like... Sister Xiang'er?"

Chen Jing's eyes were still a little red, and with her chubby little face and pigtails, her timid appearance was truly pitiful, and Hu Hu's heart was immediately filled with affection.

"Of course!" She patted her chest, which was as flat as a wallet, and gave a thumbs up. "I'm the first president of our 'Senior Sister Shenming's Ultimate, Invincible, and Stylish Fan Club'! I'm the president!"

oh……

Chen Jing opened her mouth.

She didn't remember the list of titles, but it sounded very impressive.

However, she did like Bai Xiang—the kind of liking that borders on being a fan. Surprisingly, she and Hu Hu had a lot in common, and the two started chatting in no time.

"Huh? Where's Senior Sister?"

It took Hu Hu a while to come to his senses, and when he turned around, he found that Bai Xiang was gone.

"He and Ma Yue left first." Bai Lianzhou held up his teacup and blew on it to cool it down.

"Perfect timing. Since you like your junior sister so much, I'll send you to teach her swordsmanship."

"what--!!!"

Hu Hu clutched his head in frustration and knelt on the ground.

Ah, youth...

Bai Lianzhou rarely showed a smile.

The dojo is now full of life.

Good, really good.

On the other side, in the production workshop of Qingyun Pharmaceutical, a group of people were inspecting and visiting.

If Bai Xiang were here, she would immediately recognize the person in the middle as Lord Xu Zhe, who holds the position of Guardian of the Roads and is known as the "good guy".

"Lord Xu, this way."

"Alright, Dr. Huang, you're too kind."

They visited two production workshops and saw that the robotic arms were arranged in several groups, working together in a unified manner. Whether it was preparation, packaging, or packing, no human intervention was needed in any part of the process.

"That's awesome!"

This was the first time Xu Zhe had ever seen such a modern, fully automated production line. Stroke his beard, he asked Dr. Huang, "So, what about this batch of medicine?"

“It’s medicine ordered by Black Collar.” Dr. Huang nodded. “This is just the first batch of orders, and the value has already exceeded 6 million. It seems they want to make this one of the pilot areas, with two other pilot areas in Xuzhou and Luezhou respectively.”

Xuzhou and Luezhou are located by the sea to the east, an advantage that cannot be compared to...

Xu Zhe's mind raced.

This was indeed a rare opportunity for Chilongdao and for himself.

"Lord Xu," Dr. Huang waved for the others to leave, then lowered his voice and asked Xu Zhe, "Just give me a straight answer... what exactly does the higher-ups mean?"

"We dare not presume to guess the intentions of the imperial family."

Xu Zhe shook his head, still unwilling to give in easily.

“Lord Xu, I suddenly remembered.” Dr. Huang smiled. “I misremembered earlier. This order should be 3 million, not 6 million.”

Xu Zhe's expression suddenly changed, and his breathing became slightly rapid.

Dr. Huang simply smiled and watched him, waiting for him to make his final decision.

"It's hard to say."

Xu Zhe frowned and spoke slowly.

"The New Affairs faction has stumbled, but the power of that suit is still recognized by many government officials..."

"The latest news from the Central Academy is that Tao Xingxuan has been demoted, stripped of his official rank by half a grade, fined five years' salary, and ordered to stay at home for a year to reflect on his mistakes."

What's the difference between that and letting him go?

Dr. Huang's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood the Central Institute's attitude.

"What about the approval for the 'Marrow Cleansing Pill'?" he asked hurriedly.

It's true that being away from home for too long makes you lose your composure.

Xu Zhe didn't like his straightforward personality, but still nodded: "There are obstacles in the middle, but I think it should be soon."

After seeing Xu Zhe off, Dr. Huang stood in front of the control panel to check the data.

Just then, his phone rang.

"Hey, it's me."

"Really? That's good."

"Um……?"

"Does she still like to meddle in these kinds of things?"

"Xiang Xian? No wonder... there's a Divine Embryo cultivator overseeing things at home."

"But it is clear that these people do not understand what the general trend of the times is."

"...Isn't my meaning clear enough? Are you scared already?"

"Can you guarantee to me that Chen Zhi'en didn't take the documents back? Didn't she say a single word to them?"

As he spoke more and more agitated, Dr. Huang simply put down his work and ripped off his neatly tied tie.

After calming himself down, he turned halfway around, held the phone to his mouth like a walkie-talkie, and said to the other end, word by word, "I don't care what difficulties you have."

I need results within a day.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Beggar

He went out again near dusk, but Bai Xiang didn't go to recruit any employees.

This time it was just her and Ma Yue. She first asked Ma Yue to drive the car to the intersection opposite the No. 1 Middle School, got out of the car first, and stood outside the alley to take a closer look.

Not many people paid attention to her because she was wearing a baseball cap this time, which hid her signature white hair.

The alley opposite the No. 1 Middle School is called Pear Tree Alley, and it's a fairly wide alley. It's said that this area was very developed in the past, and it was the first choice for farmers from all the nearby urban villages to set up stalls.

Because it's close to the city center and the alleyway is a shortcut, it's the only way for people who live in the south and don't drive.

Moreover, the school is right across the street, and parents pick up their children from school every day. When they see the stall, they will buy some food to cook at home, so the business is booming.

However, as the city continued to develop, the urban villages were gradually swallowed up and merged, and eventually, there were not many vendors left.

Today, apart from a few people who still choose to sell handicrafts here, there are hardly any stalls left inside the alley. Instead, many storefronts have been sold by their owners and converted into sales windows facing the road.

Braised dishes, roasted meats, noodles, desserts—you name it, they have it all here.

The deeper parts of the site have become locations for some schools to conduct research.

This wasn't a random selection, because this area truly has many old tile-roofed houses with a history of over a century. Some haven't even undergone modern renovations, and there are still wells in the courtyards.

As far as Bai Xiang remembered, the first time she came to No. 1 High School, the first night she stayed at the school, she went out to get water and heard girls telling ghost stories in the corridor.

Have you heard the legend of Pear Tree Lane?

"Hmm? What legend?"

"It's just that... if someone does something wrong and gets kept after school too late, there's a chance they'll encounter a 'ghost wall' if they walk through the alley at that time!"

"'Being lost in a ghost wall'? That refers to being unable to tell directions in the dark at night, right? Can you really be lost in a ghost wall in an alleyway?"