Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Xu Qiao would be heading to the Northeast Base with Qinchi on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Lu Yang saw the two off at the villa's gate.

At this moment of impending departure, Lu Yang finally asked a question he had been holding in for a long time: “What if the Qin family holds you up at the Northeast Base? What will you do?”

Xu Qiao smiled and looked at Qinchi.

Qinchi offered a solution for her: “If that really happens, you can notify Marshal Lin. Then, Marshal Lin can join forces with the Northwest Base and Southwest Base to demand your release. I don’t think the Northeast Base has the capability to withstand an attack from three bases.”

Xu Qiao said, “I’m not that precious. If you’re really worried, why don’t you come with us, Xiaoyang?”

Lu Yang shook his head. “No, I hate the cold.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the down jacket Xu Qiao had specially purchased for the trip to the Northeast Base.

Xu Qiao helplessly shook her head and got into the car with Qinchi.

As the car passed by the Meng family villa, Xu Qiao saw Meng Li standing outside the gate.

Qinchi stopped the car in time.

Xu Qiao got out of the car and walked up to Meng Li. “I’ll be back by the sixth. Why are you all acting like this?”

Meng Li asked, “Morning of the sixth day?”

Xu Qiao nodded. “Yes.”

Meng Li said, “I’ll come to pick you up then.”

What else could she say? She hugged Meng Li tightly. “Okay, I’ll bring you a gift.”

After saying goodbye to her brother and friend, at 5:40 a.m., the black sedan arrived at the back of the Mercenary Association in the central district.

Truthfully, they didn’t have to come here. They could just fly out on the fire dragon, taking advantage of the few seconds when the windscreen shield opened. But since so many people wanted to see them off, this “airport” was the best place to do it.

As soon as Xu Qiao got out of the car, she saw a group of familiar faces, including Marshal Lin Lie, Deputy Marshal Sun Dagui, her teacher Lv Chun, Principal Dong Mingliang, and Wei Jian and Sun Rupan, a married couple, as well as the brothers Sun Xuan and Sun Fushan.

When they arrived, Qinchi smiled and said, “Should I leave a letter of guarantee, promising to bring Xu Qiao back on the sixth day?”

Sun Dagui said, “What kind of talk is that? Even if you were that kind of person, we wouldn’t think the worst of you. Today, we’re purely here to see Xu Qiao off, to let her know how much her mentors and elders will miss her.”

Dong Mingliang added, “Exactly. If no one came to say goodbye, it would look like Xu Qiao doesn’t have many friends.”

Sun Rupan said, “We know Xu Qiao doesn’t like attention, so we deliberately reduced the number of people seeing her off. Otherwise, the entire airfield would be filled with people seeing her off this morning.”

Lv Chun smiled and pulled Xu Qiao close, saying, “No matter what you say, Qinchi doesn’t seem fazed. Only Xu Qiao gets a little flustered.”

Xu Qiao indeed felt a little overwhelmed.

Marshal Lin, looking serious, stepped forward and handed Xu Qiao a New Year’s gift bag embroidered with a Phoenix pattern. “This is a New Year’s gift from the Southeast Base to the Northeast Base. Please help us deliver it to Marshal Qin on behalf of the Southeast Base.”

Xu Qiao accepted it with both hands. “I will.”

Seeing that the elders had finished speaking, Sun Fushan, full of anticipation, looked at Xu Qiao. “Can I go with you? Once we get to the Northeast Base, I’ll go my own way. Just notify me when you’re about to return.”

Before Xu Qiao could respond, Sun Xuan grabbed his brother’s shoulder and pulled him back. “All the way there? Do you want to be a third wheel for a thousand kilometers?”

Sun Dagui: "Tired of staying at the Southeast Base? Simple, I’ll give Marshal Gan a call. He’d definitely come and fetch you himself."

Even if Gan Wu and Li Pingxi hit it off, there are other unmarried young Tengshe in the Gan family.

Sun Fushan: “……”

It was about time, and Qinchi released his normal-state fire dragon.

As the fire dragon was about to take off, Sun Rupan finally spoke to Xu Qiao on its back, "The Northeast Base has all the amenities we have here at the Southeast Base. The only thing special there is the snow scenery, but we have Principal Wei. If you want to see snow, I can have Principal Wei make it snow for you anytime!"

He winked at Wei Jian as he spoke.

As the fire dragon ascended, it passed through a flurry of snowflakes.

Xu Qiao only had time to catch a handful of snow before they shot out of the protective shield, leaving the snowy area behind.

Inside the air barrier, Xu Qiao was shielded from the high-altitude cold. She sat on the warm scales of the fire dragon. In her palm, she gazed at the melting snow.

Qinchi: "Should I be glad that before I pursued you, I didn’t encounter a spiritual being who took the form of a snowflake?"

Xu Qiao: "Did you ever actually pursue me? All I remember is a hasty confession that cornered me on the couch."

Qinchi: "Only confident people dare to pursue openly. I didn’t have the confidence to win your approval, so I pursued you secretly until the time was right."

Xu Qiao couldn’t argue with him and walked to the dragon’s head, sitting between the horns to look at the scenery below.

Qinchi patted the dragon's scales under his hand. "Fly slower. We’ll arrive by 9 o’clock."

Xu Qiao: "Did you already tell your family about our arrival time?"

Qinchi: "Yes. If I hadn’t, they might have started waiting from 6 AM."

Xu Qiao couldn’t help but feel nervous, afraid that the Qin family might have prepared an overly grand welcome ceremony.

Qinchi: "Don’t worry. Grandpa has met you and knows what style you prefer."

At 8:50 AM, the fire dragon reduced its size and arrived outside the protective shield of the Northeast Base. Qin Mo had already notified the shield monitoring center. The staff recognized the familiar fire dragon spiritual being and immediately opened the shield.

The fire dragon landed directly in the courtyard of the Qin family estate, the villa of Qin Jiuzhou.

Four generations of the Qin family were standing in the courtyard.

Xu Qiao was already familiar with Qin Jiuzhou, and she had met Marshal Qin Mo once before. The woman standing next to him, who looked only 45 years old, was likely Qinchi’s mother, Yan Mingyu, an S-grade Jinwu (a mythical bird) spiritual being with extremely beautiful and commanding phoenix eyes.

Their eyes met, and Yan Mingyu walked over, giving Xu Qiao an enthusiastic hug. "Last time you came to help out, I wasn’t here. Today, I’ve finally been able to meet you."

Xu Qiao felt the warmth of the hug, both from an S-grade Fire Element strong individual and the gentleness of an elder.

Yan Mingyu completely took the place next to Xu Qiao, with her arm around Xu Qiao’s shoulders, and began introducing her, "You’ve already met Grandpa and the Marshal. These are Qinchi’s elder brother and sister-in-law. No need to use names; just call them by their titles for simplicity. This is their eldest niece, eldest nephew, and youngest niece. We’ll keep things simple."

The children who were being introduced: “……”

Yan Mingyu continued, "These are Qinchi’s second sister and brother-in-law. They came especially for you this time. These are their two children, the eldest nephew and youngest niece..."

The seven-year-old youngest niece was unhappy and looked at her grandmother. "My name is Little Wings. I want you to call me Little Wings."

Xu Qiao: “……”

Is she referring to me as 'little aunt'?

Seeing Xu Qiao's face turn completely red, Qin Xiao quickly covered her daughter's mouth and chuckled, "I'm just trying to make things easier. We call you that at home to avoid explaining what a boyfriend and girlfriend are. You're not mad, are you?"

The second brother-in-law added from the side, "I tried to correct them, but I couldn't beat their need for simplicity."

Xu Qiao was momentarily dazzled by the second brother-in-law's striking appearance. Qin Chi had mentioned before that his second brother-in-law's spiritual being was a ruby. It seemed the person was as dazzling as the gem itself.

Looking at the eldest brother's wife again, although she appeared gentle and beautiful, her spiritual being was an A-level Northeast Tiger.

Catching Xu Qiao's gaze, the elder sister released her spiritual being, which was shrunk to over a meter in length.

Three children under the age of ten immediately surrounded it, one hugging the tiger's head, another its belly, and the third trying to climb onto its back.

The Northeast tiger laid down, letting the children climb and touch it, while its bright eyes encouraged Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao: “……”

The lotus spirit floated into the large blue vat that Qin Chi had set up, its four petals waving as it began to explore.

In the new era, when psychics aren’t sure how to break the ice, using their spiritual beings to get to know each other quickly has become a common way to socialize.

Qin Xiao raised an eyebrow, "Isn't this a bit like cheating, elder sister?"

Saying that, she released her A-level Jinwu, which landed next to the large blue vat.

The golden-red Jinwu didn’t have the elaborate tail feathers of a Phoenix, but its body was more robust, and its wings were broader and more powerful, giving it a more intimidating presence. If one offended a Phoenix, the Phoenix might still give an explanation. The Jinwu, however, would immediately deliver punishment.

The A-level Jinwu looked at the lotus flower with what it believed to be a friendly gaze.

The lotus swiftly closed its petals, turning into a larger, more tempting bud.

Jinwu: “……”

The fire dragon rushed out, standing between the lotus and the Jinwu, spraying fire in disdain, "It's afraid of fire, go away."

Jinwu: "You’re fire too, even hotter than me. Does it usually fear you?"

The fire dragon jumped into the blue vat, getting itself wet before raising its dragon head, "I can swim, can you?"

Jinwu: “……”

Unable to win the lotus’s attention, the Jinwu shrank and flew into Xu Qiao’s arms.

Xu Qiao lifted the small Jinwu and said to Qin Xiao, "It's really beautiful."

Yan Mingyu, hearing this, released her S-level Jinwu, pushing away her daughter's small Jinwu to grab Xu Qiao's attention.

In the end, Xu Qiao had no choice but to hold one Jinwu in each hand as she followed the Qin family into the living room.

With so many people around, the conversation stayed lively, and after getting familiar with everyone, Xu Qiao went outside to touch the Northeast tiger…

The white tiger at the Northwest Base couldn’t be touched, but her elder sister-in-law’s Northeast tiger was fair game for all the petting she wanted!

As night fell, after dinner, Qin Shu’s family of five, Qin Xiao’s family of four, and Qin Chi and Xu Qiao all stayed overnight at the old master's villa.

So, everyone gathered outside to see Qin Mo and Yan Mingyu off.

In front of the children, Yan Mingyu got into Qin Mo's car. Once they had driven out of the street, Yan Mingyu said coolly, "Stop the car. I have my own."

Qin Mo didn't stop, nor did he speak. Instead, a black dragon flew out, starting to coil around Yan Mingyu's calf and winding all the way up to his waist.

Yan Mingyu sneered, "At seventy-one, you still don't dare to wrap it around my chest, huh?"

Qin Mo: "..."

Encouraged, the black dragon continued to coil three more times, finally pressing its face against its partner's, enthusiastically licking the side of his neck.

Yan Mingyu closed his eyes contentedly, stroking the black dragon's scales, "I'm in a good mood tonight, so I'll indulge you for the night."