Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Three hours later, a car pulled into **, and three men in plain black suits got out at the entrance. Two were older, and one looked younger, around twenty years old.

As soon as the young man got off the car, he rushed towards them. Hao Jixin, waiting at the intersection, finally beckoned them over and led them forward.

There was no choice; the place was too rundown. Most of the houses were uninhabitable, so they stayed at the original hilltop. Bian Shao and an assistant were watching over Bian's father and the Taoist, while Hao Jixin waited here.

Jing Xi, standing on the hillside, had seen the car coming. He then approached Xie Qingfeng, who was meditating, squatted near him, and quietly observed for a few seconds before calling out softly, "They've arrived."

Xie Qingfeng responded, opening his eyes to see Jing Xi so close and asked in confusion, "What's up?" He thought Jing Xi had something else to say.

Jing Xi naturally wouldn't admit he had just taken the opportunity to gaze at Xie Qingfeng, knowing that once Xie Qingfeng was in deep meditation, he shut out everything external. It was the safest time to watch him unnoticed.

Jing Xi stood up calmly, turned away, and pointed to his hair, "My hair tie broke while helping the National Master save people." He said this with a sense of grievance, turned back with a plaintive look at Xie Qingfeng, thinking he had been waiting for three hours for Xie Qingfeng to notice and act. But Xie Qingfeng, finding meditation more interesting, didn’t even realize Jing Xi’s situation.

Xie Qingfeng touched his slightly short hair, having grown accustomed to it in the modern era. Seeing others with long hair didn't strike him as unusual anymore.

But clearly, for the little emperor, who usually paid great attention to propriety, this was somewhat improper. The problem was: he didn't have a hair tie either.

Looking around, everyone had short hair, so it was unlikely anyone would have a hair tie. Of course, even if there were any, the Emperor probably wouldn't fancy using something touched by others.

Xie Qingfeng thought for a moment, looked around, and asked Jing Xi to wait for him.

He then walked into the field of weeds swaying in the evening breeze, like waves of wheat. The field was filled with weeds, moving with the wind. He ventured deep inside, selected a few weeds, cleaned them with a cloth, and then gently passed his spiritual energy over them. They became not only clean but also imbued with his spiritual energy, useful for protection in critical moments.

Though he knew the little emperor wouldn't need them, having plenty of spiritual energy himself, an extra layer of protection wouldn't hurt.

Jing Xi watched Xie Qingfeng's actions intently. He had mentioned it casually, not expecting Xie Qingfeng to take it seriously, let alone use his spiritual energy to find a substitute for a hair tie.

Just as Jing Xi thought Xie Qingfeng would directly hand him the cleaned grass, he saw the earnest-faced National Master standing amidst the endless weeds, with a starry sky behind him. His slender fingers nimbly weaved the grass into a rope, fashioning the end into a star shape as a sort of whimsy.

The two stars dangling from the hair tie looked quite out of place with the Emperor, but Xie Qingfeng had casually crafted them, a trick he learned during his wandering days before meeting his master.

He hadn't made anything like this since learning real skills from his master. He thought he'd be out of practice, but it turned out quite well.

Jing Xi was transfixed by this scene until Xie Qingfeng approached him. Jing Xi snapped out of it, suppressing the complex emotions in his eyes, emotions that went unnoticed in the dark and by Xie Qingfeng, who was focused on Jing Xi's hair.

When Xie Qingfeng handed it over and saw Jing Xi not accepting it, he thought the Emperor disliked using something he hadn’t noticed earlier, so he said helplessly, "Use this for now, we'll buy a new one when we get back to the city." Before Jing Xi could react, Xie Qingfeng had already moved behind him, gently gathering Jing Xi’s silky hair in his palm, the cool touch momentarily startling him before quickly securing it with the newly made hair tie.

Jing Xi's body stiffened, feeling his heart almost leap out of his chest, suppressed only by great effort, until Xie Qingfeng’s voice brought him back to reality.

Turning his head, Jing Xi’s dark eyes fixed on him, making Xie Qingfeng feel something unusual. Then Hao Jixin’s voice came from behind, "Master! We’re here!"

Xie Qingfeng turned to respond, and by then Jing Xi was back to normal, touching his hair and remarking, "The National Master’s skill in tying hair is commendable."

Xie Qingfeng, a bit helpless, said nothing. But as he turned away, Jing Xi’s fingers curled in his palm, slowly tensing and then relaxing, watching Xie Qingfeng’s retreating figure with undisguised admiration in his eyes, unnoticed by others. How could he not fall deeply for such a man, unable to escape?

Xie Qingfeng had just taken a few steps towards Hao Jixin when a figure more excited than Hao Jixin rushed up to him: "Master, you must be the Master Xie my uncle mentioned. I'm Ai Yefeng. You can call me Xiao Ai, Xiao Ye, or Xiao Feng!"

Xie Qingfeng: "..."

Hao Jixin, who had been overtaken and arrived behind: "..." Who the hell is this guy? He was so aloof a moment ago, and now he's become a fanboy of the Master? Isn’t he stealing my role?

Hao Jixin immediately stepped forward, twisting Ai Yefeng's extended hands away from grabbing the Master’s, "Hey hey hey, don't be so touchy, the Master's hands are for upholding justice, not to be touched casually!"

Jing Xi paused his motion to flick a pebble when he saw the young man suddenly reaching out, giving Hao Jixin an appreciative glance for his timely intervention.

The young man came to his senses and rubbed his hands on his clothes, chuckling, "Heh, this brother is right, I was too hasty! I was just too excited to see the Master. You don't know, Master, your battle with that evil Taoist by Wang Liu's side is already the talk of our special department's official group. Everyone admires you! Oh, and my uncle is Ai Yi, Deputy Chief Ai."

Hao Jixin's mouth twitched, no wonder this behavior seemed familiar. Just like Deputy Chief Ai who wanted to recruit the Master to their special department, this nephew was eager to shake hands. Such enthusiasm, tsk tsk, but he had long learned to be calm.

The Taoist pretending to be dead twitched his mouth upon hearing Ai Ye Feng’s words: Could this evil Taoist be his senior brother, Master Hu?

The two special agents following sighed helplessly at Ai Ye Feng but were also curious about Xie Qingfeng. After greeting him, they began to handle official matters.

After understanding the situation and seeing Bian's father, frequently featured in C city's financial news, they were surprised. This businessman, known for his public persona of loving his wife and son, was capable of such misdeeds. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet he was willing to endanger his own son for an illegitimate child?

Bian Shao didn't want to worry his mother and elder brother with his ordeal, but they still rushed over after hearing screeching brakes, having learned of the situation through the live broadcast.

When Bian's brother and mother arrived and saw Bian's father, they almost lunged at him, seeking mutual destruction. They were restrained by Bian's brother and Bian Shao. For such a person, going to jail wasn't worth it. Moreover, he had attempted to harm his own child but failed. The normal departments couldn't handle it, but wasn't there a special department for this?

Eventually, everyone calmed down, and Bian's brother asked, "So we just let Bian Jizhong go like this? He tried to harm his younger brother last time. Can't we take him down too?" Even if Bian Jizhong's life was already short due to backlash, such people deserved no pity. They should face legal punishment even before death.

Ai Yefeng and the others exchanged glances. Although they were briefed on the previous incident, "...There's evidence for today's event, but proving his mastermind role last time without a witness could be difficult..."

Then, struck by a thought, they looked expectantly at Xie Qingfeng, "Do you, Master Xie, have a good way to make this Bian Jizhong confess?"

Bian's father, having just awakened, heard this and immediately pleaded with Bian's mother, "You can't do this. He doesn't have much time left. Can you bear to see him spend it in prison?"

Bian's elder brother, with a stern face, glared fiercely, scoffing coldly, "He brought this upon himself. If he can't spend his days in jail, does it mean my brother deserves to die for him?"

Bian's mother, disgusted at the sight of that vile face, retorted, "Still pleading for your illegitimate child? Think about yourself first. Didn't you disdain my two sons? After the divorce, I'll take them and change our surname. You and your mistress’s bastard can go to hell together!"

Xie Qingfeng waited for them to vent before meeting Ai Ye Feng's gaze. He nodded towards the Daoist, who was shrinking into himself, invisible, and motioned with his chin, "Let him testify."

Just as Ai Yefeng was about to ask if the Taoist would agree, Bian's father glanced over. The Taoist priest, shrinking his neck, stammered, "I, I, I don’t know anything."

No sooner had he spoken than Xie Qingfeng casually but ominously said, "From what you said earlier, you're Hu Daoshi's junior. Your sect must have many brothers and disciples. Either testify and clarify everything, or, I'll have to trouble myself to deal with all your brothers and disciples." This was obviously a bluff; good and bad Taoists exist, and it's impossible to indiscriminately target them all, nor was there time to investigate each one. But a threat didn't hurt to say.

The Taoist went pale, clearly believing him, "You, you can't do that..."

Xie Qingfeng just smiled and didn't speak, which made the Taoist shiver even more. With his senior brother defeated by Xie Qingfeng, the other brothers probably couldn't escape either. Finally, he dared not meet Bian's father's threatening gaze, "…I’ll cooperate fully." For the sake of his sect, he had no choice but to betray Bian's father.

Sacrificing himself for the happiness of his entire sect.

This was a trade-off he still knew how to calculate.

Bian's elder brother and others had to follow Ai Yefeng and his team to give their statements. When Bian's parents learned that Xie Qingfeng and Jing Xi had saved their son, they, along with Bian Shao, attempted to kneel in gratitude, but Xie Qingfeng gracefully sidestepped, "You are too kind."

Bian's elder brother bowed deeply to Xie Qingfeng and Jing Xi, "We owe you a great debt of gratitude. It’s late today, but we shall visit your door another day to express our thanks properly!"

Xie Qingfeng hummed in acknowledgment, "Attend to your matters first."

Bian Shao, reluctant to leave, called out, "Master, I'll send you your reward later!" He didn't have much money on hand, and since the Master had saved his life and helped catch his previous life's father's wrongdoing, he couldn't just pay a little. He needed to talk to his elder brother about it.

He usually only had pocket money and felt this was insufficient to express his gratitude.

After they left, Xie Qingfeng also departed by car, with the same driver who had brought them. Hao Jixin had gone to pay more, but the driver refused, feeling that since he had agreed to wait, a few hours were nothing.

Besides, the money the gentleman had given was enough for a whole day’s earnings, so he was not at a loss.

Hao Jixin didn’t expect the driver to be so nice and promptly added his contact information on his phone, planning to introduce business to the driver in the future. He couldn’t drive himself every time he went out.

Xie Qingfeng and Jing Xi returned to the hotel, as their house needed to be furnished by his foster parents before they could move in. It still lacked some essentials, so for now, they had to stay here.

Meanwhile, fans of Hao Jixin and Bian Shao were eagerly waiting for them to resume streaming, but the wait turned into hours without any new broadcast.

However, someone had recorded the stream and extracted the scene of the long-haired young man sweeping through the crowd, creating a GIF that was paired with another one showing Xie Qingfeng saving people at the villa, revealing a glimpse of his waist.

It quickly went viral, especially the side glance that seemed to strike directly at the heart.

[Holy crap, those eyes, I feel a killing aura!]

[Is that a killing aura? That's a soul-enticing charm, ah! I need to know everything about this guy in the next minute.]

[Wuuu, I’d be content to see either of these guys’ faces.]

Of course, there were skeptics: [Looks like Bian Shao is promoting his company's new signings in secret? If it's all above board, why not show their faces? This gimmick makes me think their faces can't be that great, right?]

[Could it really be a self-staged promotion?]

[Are the comments above just jealousy? With that physique and those eyes, how bad could the face be? Even if it’s not handsome, we’re still fans! Just the skills alone are incredible, okay?]

[Stroking my chin, I feel like I've seen the eyes of this long-haired guy before, like somewhere familiar.]

[Is it this one? [Dog head emoji] [Image]]

The photo posted showed a side-by-side comparison: one image of the long-haired guy with his phoenix eyes as he looked back, and the other of Jing Mianfeng's sorrowful eyes gazing into the camera.

[Holy cow, they really look alike. Could it actually be JMF?]

[What are you thinking? How is that possible? One has a domineering, imperial aura, and the other is like the boy next door. How can they be the same? Besides, didn’t Jing the movie star retire?]

Some still found similarities but felt the difference in temperament was too stark, yet this topic quickly made it to the top ten of trending searches.

#JingMianfeng, IntenseEyedGuy#

Liang, the agent, was living his best life these past few days. With over two hundred million, he resolved the boss's urgent problem, and with Jing Mianfeng treated like royalty, his status as an agent naturally rose.

But since the jade wasn’t bought, he was unsure how to broach the subject. He messaged Jing Mianfeng, who didn't reply, leaving him no choice but to wait.

He nearly jumped out of his skin, spitting out his hot tea, when he saw the trending topic.

He was utterly baffled after clicking in: So Jing Mianfeng was out saving people instead of replying to his messages? Saving people is one thing, but to land himself directly on the trending list?

Just as Liang worried about whether to pull down the trending topic, it disappeared, only to be replaced by another.

#BianCorporateChairmanImitatesHusbandBianHong'sAffairAndChildMurder#

The affair was shocking enough, but the addition of child murder jolted everyone. Curiosity surged among the gossip-lovers, despite Bian Hong being a relatively unknown name.

Clicking on the topic revealed that this person was quite renowned in the C city business circle. Over twenty years, he transformed from a prestigious university student to a businessman, known for his consideration towards his helpful wife, and as a loving couple publicly, they were seen as C city's model husband and wife.

Yet this exemplary husband and father was revealed to be an adulterer with an illegitimate child, even plotting his own son's death for the illegitimate child's life?

And this son was a well-known live streamer?

Bian Shao's fans, munching on this fresh gossip, were bewildered: [Holy shit, so what happened during the daytime stream was real? Bian Shao was really almost harmed? Does that mean the long-haired guy and the slim-waisted guy are actually masters? Epic!]

[I get the long-haired guy, but what's with the slim-waisted guy? ?]

[Oh my God, Bian Shao’s life is too tragic, right? I looked closely into it, and the last time was real too. That illegitimate child wanted to take his place and plotted against Bian Shao’s life. Luckily Bian Shao was lucky. But now, that bastard Bian is willing to kill his own son to save his illegitimate child?]

[What dog? Calling him a dog is an insult to dogs!]

Bian Shao suddenly became popular. Those who previously suspected it was a publicity stunt were proven wrong, as no one would joke about family matters as serious as infidelity.

Soon after, Bian Corporation's official Weibo account posted a statement.

Those who followed the search found that the Bian Corporation's official account had changed to Leng Corporation's official account in a blink.

@LengCorporationOfficialV: I am Leng Wenwen, Bian Hong's ex-wife. The initial funds for this company were provided by me. In a bid to prove his loyalty, he signed an agreement that if he ever cheated on me, he would leave with nothing. From today onwards, Bian Corporation is officially renamed Leng Corporation…

Not only that, but Bian Shao also changed his name to Leng Shao, commenting, [From now on, my brother and I will take the surname Leng, please call me Leng Shao].

[666, Madam is mighty! Such a dog of a man should be kicked out, let him cry with his mistress and illegitimate child.]

[Can someone who plots harm like this be directly imprisoned?]

Since the case wasn't fully clear and the special department couldn't appear publicly, the matter had to be transferred to another department and couldn’t be disclosed yet.

After changing his surname, Leng Shao immediately informed Hao Jixin to relay the message to the Master. It was too late to disturb the Master directly, and the trending search was also removed by his elder brother, fearing someone might use it to target the two Masters.

After all, Bian Hong had many cronies in the company over the years, and Leng's mother had always trusted him. So there were many things to handle in the company, not to mention the relatives from Bian's family, who might vent their anger on the two Masters. Hence, they removed the trending search as soon as they saw it.

Hao Jixin had no objections, knowing the Masters preferred to stay out of the limelight, especially in such matters. He informed Xie Qingfeng at the hotel the next day, and as expected, the Master was indifferent.

Hao Jixin placed two large boxes of meals prepared by Leng's chef on the table, grinning, "This was sent by Leng Shao early this morning. He didn’t want to disturb the Master, so he waited for me. The company is undergoing major changes, and he's too busy, so he went to help out. He asked when the Master is free, as his family wants to personally thank you."

Xie Qingfeng declined, "No need. Once the furniture is selected, I need to prepare for school." He always preferred not to have ongoing obligations after a job was done.

Hao Jixin slapped his forehead, "Right, C University is starting soon. If you’re going there, Master, my sister said she wanted to thank you. She can show you around C University as a guide!" His sister, a special assistant, was working on a research project at C University. If it weren’t for the Master, she would have been in trouble.

She hadn't had the chance to meet the Master since he left the hospital, and now was an opportunity.

Jing Xi walked out of the bathroom just in time to hear this, glancing at Hao Jixin but not saying anything, instead looking at Xie Qingfeng.

Hao Jixin, initially eager to see the Master's reaction, suddenly felt a chill, as if sensing an aura of danger. Looking up, he was again amazed by Jing the movie star’s striking appearance. How could someone be so stunning? If he had such looks, he'd walk with his head held high every day.

Xie Qingfeng refused again, "No need. You've also helped me a lot, which makes us even."

Hao Jixin could only sigh in response, "Alright, I won't tell my sister then. She'd definitely rush over. Is Jing Xi planning to make a comeback in acting soon?"

Xie Qingfeng also looked at Jing Xi, who was silently tying up his hair with the hair tie Xie Qingfeng had made for him. Xie Qingfeng couldn't help but stare at the hair tie, and when Jing Xi looked back, he caught Xie Qingfeng's gaze on his hair and raised an eyebrow, "What's up?"

Xie Qingfeng touched his nose, feeling oddly that the small trinket he made was being constantly used by the Emperor, "Didn't someone send a new hair tie?"

Jing Xi: "It's not as good as this one."

Hao Jixin glanced back and forth, also following their gaze. What was so special about this thing? As he scrutinized it more closely, he felt a chill again and met Jing Xi's intense gaze. Hao Jixin quickly averted his eyes: "Wuu, I was just looking, why does the movie star always glare at me!"

Hao Jixin made an excuse and left, leaving only Xie Qingfeng and Jing Xi. Xie Qingfeng approached the dining table, "This is breakfast sent by the Leng family, want to eat?"

Jing Xi nodded silently.

Xie Qingfeng, watching him, couldn’t help but feel that the Emperor might be upset. He, in this body, could directly go to university, but Jing Xi, without any memories, was illiterate and exploited by his agent and company. The contrast made it all seem quite tragic.

During breakfast, as Jing Xi pondered how to ask the National Master to make more varieties of hair ties, he realized Xie Qingfeng kept adding food to his bowl with serving chopsticks, urging him to eat more: ??

Why did it seem like the National Master suddenly became much more enthusiastic?