Chapter 313: Chapter 312: Like the Boss Zhou Family
"Young people these days, they’re not down-to-earth at all, just messing around with other people’s stuff and creating monstrosities, then have the nerve to call it innovation!"
"I say, you were just giving her too much face before."
"Exactly, exactly."
...
Having taken the Blood Building and Qi Nourishing Pills, Yun Ran felt much better and followed along to this side. It was ’quite coincidental’ that she overheard the whining of these average 40+ year old men.
"The way you guys talk, why does it sound so sour?"
Everyone just felt a chill down their spines.
Damn, who walks without making a sound? Don’t you know scaring people can scare them to death?
Especially with Xie Xuzhi standing next to Yun Ran, it made everyone feel like they were struggling to breathe.
And Xie Xuzhi’s mouth was also no good; as soon as he spoke, he said, "Instead of sitting here judging others, you might as well improve your own skills."
Yun Ran silently gave Xie Xuzhi a thumbs up.
Now she could see why some people in the Special Administration Bureau disliked him so much. His mouth definitely played a ’big part’ in that.
Elder Gong felt very embarrassed, especially in front of someone as trivial as Yun Ran.
But he couldn’t refute the fact that a group of men chattering like crickets to a young girl was the harsh reality.
He could only grimace and say to his own men, "Do big men really need to chatter so much? Hurry up and see how to capture the Tomb Guardian Beast!"
Separated by the protective Array, the crowd didn’t actually feel the power of the Tomb Guardian Beasts and thought this mission wasn’t that difficult.
Duan Shouyuan wanted to speak up several times to say that the Tomb Guardian Beasts were actually very dangerous, but considering Elder Gong was present, he was afraid that pointing out the specifics of the danger would be taken as making a mountain out of a molehill.
In the end, he said nothing and took the lead with three others, guiding the group into the trapped Array.
The group spent seven or eight minutes maneuvering before they were thoroughly inside the Array.
As soon as they entered, the second wave of the Tomb Guardian Beast’s attack came, filling the ground with all sorts of debris, and the noise was nearly piercing their eardrums.
One of them was particularly unlucky, standing right where the sound was directly traveling through, and sustained more damage than the others.
Even though he was holding a Magic Artifact, because of his carelessness, he still got injured, with blood flowing from the corners of his mouth, ears, and nose.
Elder Gong also didn’t expect that within the Array’s shields, the power of the Tomb Guardian Beast would be more than tenfold.
When he realized something was wrong, he immediately threw out a shield in his hand.
The others were quick to react too, each conjuring their Magic Artifacts, and the attacks of the Tomb Guardian Beast were instantly dissolved by more than half.
Yun Ran and Xie Xuzhi were standing outside, watching the situation inside. Yun Ran was quick to absolve herself.
"This has nothing to do with me, okay? I’ve already put a lot of effort to control them within the Array, nearly lost half of my life doing so!"
Xie Xuzhi was carrying many High-level Protective Magical Artifacts, but that didn’t change the fact that he was fragile.
Even though he personally came over to oversee, he had never thought about going in himself to capture the Tomb Guardian Beast.
Looking at Yun Ran’s gesture of jumping feet and deflecting blame, he just felt it was a bit of an eyesore.
"People from the Special Administration Bureau are not pushovers, just watch assuredly."
Yun Ran immediately muttered under her breath, "You lot are the hardest to predict, who knows if you won’t pin some label on me over some trivial matter, suspecting I’m harboring evil intentions!"
"What are you mumbling about over there!"
"Saying how brilliant and heroic you are, a master of strategy."
Xie Xuzhi knew that Yun Ran was spouting nonsense, but he didn’t care, shifting his gaze back to the light dome.
A few seconds later, he ordered the people who had come with him, "You lot go in and have a look as well, this is a rare opportunity."
Yun Ran: ...
Well, she thought Xie Xuzhi was also here for the Tomb Guardian Beast to claim a share, but it turns out, he had a much bigger picture in mind than she did.
He was seizing an excellent opportunity to temper his own people; the prowess of Xuan Sect members isn’t gained by just reading books and halfheartedly practicing a few moves.
Back in the day, Qingfeng Temple had so many talented disciples, but they still had to venture out for experiences every year, with many even dying out there.
The ones Xie Xuzhi particularly valued responded to his words calmly and unhurriedly: "Yes."
They went in, and Yun Ran remained standing outside, with Ginsengfruit still shelling walnuts.
With the noise from the light dome as a backdrop, the cracking sound seemed insignificant.
The person assigned to protect Xie Xuzhi quietly took up a position a few meters away, and Wan Ji moved over sensibly as well.
Xie Xuzhi looked at the Ginsengfruit, who was not even as tall as his waist, and couldn’t help but ask despite himself, "Where did you abduct this kid from?"
"Found him, planning to take him as my apprentice. I heard about that Northwest affair, one of the rewards I got allows me to establish my own sect. This kid happens to be very talented, perfect for becoming a top disciple."
Having said that, Yun Ran reached out and ruffled Ginsengfruit’s head: "Apprentice, come, greet Director Xie, we’ll have to rely on Director Xie’s favor for our livelihood in the future."
Xie Xuzhi: ...
Heh, if he didn’t know Yun Ran for a while now, he would have totally bought her fibs.
But in the end, Xie Xuzhi didn’t expose Yun Ran, merely saying indifferently, "It’ll be good enough if you don’t give people a hard time."
Yun Ran was always one to take advantage of the situation, and now that she had paved the way for Ginsengfruit’s identity, it was natural to seek some backdoor favor from Xie Xuzhi.
"That being said, my apprentice, he’s undocumented, and I suppose dealing with his identity issues will trouble you. Whatever the cost may be, just deduct it from my award money."
In general, Xie Xuzhi was very stable emotionally, but now, hearing Yun Ran’s shameless words, he was almost amused to anger.
He, a member of the Xie Family, was supposed to open a backdoor for his subordinate and still take money from the subordinate’s reward; if word got out, the whole capital’s aristocracy would die laughing.
And Yun Ran was still talking as if it was all proper, as if this made her look particularly upright and resistant to small temptations.
This was his first time encountering such an eccentric character.
"You must have been related to Boss Zhou in your past life."
"How did you know? Last life was so miserable for me, never had money last more than three days before I’d go broke again.
It’s tough providing for a family, and Magic Artifacts along with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are so expensive, plus a heap of wasteful peers, truly miserable."
Xie Xuzhi thought Yun Ran was pretending to be poor again.
Little did he know, sometimes, the truth is often told in times when it’s hard to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
"Alright, enough with the poor-mouthing, I’ll give special approval for a sum of activity funds later, buy whatever you want!"
As a member of the Xie Family, he couldn’t stand having someone whine about poverty in his ear.