Leaving

After Li Cheng's car drove away, Li Wei got into another van.

The van rumbled into motion. She turned to Liang Qiushi beside her. "Um, Aunt Liang, before we leave, there are still a few small things I need to trouble you with..."

"Go ahead." Liang Qiushi gestured toward Secretary Fan in the front passenger seat. "We're leaving Spirit Spring right away. Whatever you need, tell Little Fan. She'll handle it properly."

Secretary Fan immediately took out her phone, turned around to face Li Wei, and spoke with professional poise. "Young Madam, your instructions?"

"Ahem!" Li Wei nearly choked on the form of address, her toes curling inside her shoes as she hurriedly got down to business. "The attic I rented—I left in such a rush that I didn't have time to clean it. It wouldn't be right to just terminate the lease like that."

"Give me the key, and I'll arrange for someone to clean it immediately." Secretary Fan entered the details into her phone's memo app as she answered crisply.

Li Wei quickly handed over the key, then added, "Grandma Wang, the landlady, has always taken good care of us. We suddenly left without a word, and it'll be hard for her to find new tenants. Could you give her some compensation?"

"No problem." Secretary Fan made a note. "I'll make proper arrangements for the elderly lady. You don't need to worry about it."

"That money... I'll pay it back in the future." Li Wei felt a little embarrassed.

"You're being far too formal. It's all just a small matter." Secretary Fan smiled, her tone gentle.

After thinking it over, Li Wei did not insist. Once she grew stronger, there would always be chances to repay them.

Finally, she raised the question that concerned her most.

"Li Cheng and I suddenly disappearing—will that cause trouble? Especially on Anhe Martial University's side. If I don't go report in..."

This time, Secretary Fan did not answer right away. Instead, she looked at Liang Qiushi, seeming to want to speak but holding herself back.

Liang Qiushi waved a hand and said to Li Wei:

"There will be an 'accident' that records you two siblings as 'dead.' The Public Security Bureau won't investigate further, either. In the Imperial Capital, a new identity will be arranged for Li Cheng at the same time. His name will remain unchanged."

"What about me?" Li Wei asked tentatively.

"You're Jiang Xue." Liang Qiushi said it as though it were only natural.

"No, I mean later on..." Li Wei gave an awkward laugh. "After I come back from the battlefield, I can't keep using Jiang Xue's name forever, can I..."

I'm going there to level up and grow stronger, not actually to throw my life away...

Liang Qiushi and Secretary Fan exchanged a look. Their expressions were somewhat complicated, as though they were looking at a child indulging in wild fantasies.

That look seemed to say, You actually expect to come back from the battlefield?

The van fell silent for several seconds before Liang Qiushi slowly spoke, with a trace of hesitation that was hard to detect in her voice.

"If you really can return safely... then I'll arrange a new identity for you and restore your name."

Li Wei made an "OK" gesture, clean and decisive. "Alright!"

Two hours later, the van stopped by the national highway, where an enormous container truck was already waiting.

Liang Qiushi looked at Li Wei and smiled. "We're here."

Li Wei was dumbfounded. In this godforsaken wilderness, where exactly had they arrived?

"We're... here?"

Liang Qiushi could not help smiling. "Stop spacing out. It's time for you to depart."

"Depart? To Britain? What am I taking? A plane? Or an intercontinental maglev?" Li Wei's heart skipped a beat as she looked at the large truck, feeling that something was very wrong.

Liang Qiushi shook her head. "Your itinerary must remain confidential. You can't take public transportation."

Li Wei stared at the container truck ahead, which resembled a steel behemoth, and asked unwillingly, "Then... a private jet?"

"I don't trust the crew of a private jet." Liang Qiushi rejected the idea outright. "Your identity cannot be exposed right now, or my entire plan will have gone to waste."

Li Wei glanced again at the driver, who had not spoken a word the whole time. "Then..."

Liang Qiushi followed her gaze. "Don't worry. Everyone present today is one of us. Alright, Little Fan, give her the things."

Secretary Fan opened her briefcase, took out a tube about the size of a baton, and held it out to Li Wei.

Liang Qiushi took Li Wei's hand and pressed the tube into it, explaining, "A cryogenic protectant specially designed for Mars travel. One injection takes effect immediately, with no side effects."

"Huh?"

Li Wei had just opened her mouth when a brownish pill was stuffed into her other hand.

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"A precious Blood-Nourishing Pill. It'll keep your qi and blood from dropping too much on the journey. Take it." Liang Qiushi's tone was utterly calm.

"Oh..." Without giving it much thought, Li Wei tossed the pill into her mouth and swallowed it.

Then she lowered her head to look at the tube in her hand, and roughly understood.

Liang Qiushi did not beat around the bush. Seeing her hesitate, she said directly, "The cold chain is the fastest and most discreet way. Sleep without worry. When you wake up, you'll be there. Someone will receive you on the other end."

Fuck! They're really shipping me like frozen meat in an express delivery!

Forget it, forget it. Getting the Gu family matter settled quickly and heading to the battlefield to grind monsters and level up—that's the true path!

And if I become Eldest Miss Jiang, as one of the powerful and privileged, would there be a way to get some abyssal monsters to kill in advance?

If it worked, then before heading to the battlefield, she could probably develop another wave!

At that thought, Li Wei actually grew impatient.

Holding the tube, she asked, "How do I use this?"

Secretary Fan pointed to the end of the tube marked with a red arrow. "Young Madam, aim this end at your arm and press it firmly against your skin. Then use your thumb to press the button on the other end. It will inject automatically."

"Got it."

Li Wei rolled up her sleeve, found the spot where she had received injections in her previous life, aimed the arrow at it, found the button on the back with her thumb, and pressed lightly.

"Hiss—" A faint sting came from her upper arm, followed by a stream of icy liquid flowing into her body.

Within seconds, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion hit her. The scene before her began to sway and overlap.

"My... phone... don't lose it..."

She mumbled vaguely, and then her consciousness sank completely into darkness.

Imperial Capital of Hua Nation, Zhang Family Villa.

Zhang Yansheng, the second son of Zhang Luye—the current Family Head of the Zhang Family and a Ninth Order Martial Immortal—and himself a Seventh Order Grandmaster, sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the pavilion.

Insects chirped throughout the garden, sandalwood incense curled through the pavilion, and all was quiet.

Only after an incense stick had burned down did Zhang Yansheng open his half-lidded eyes and ask slowly, "Uncle An, how is Liang Yuchuan's search for a scapegoat for his nephew coming along?"

Outside the pavilion, the old man addressed as Uncle An walked in and shook his head. "Still unclear... The Liang Family has run Dongming Province like an iron barrel. Our people are too lowly placed; all they've been able to uncover are scraps of information."

"Who has he approached?" Zhang Yansheng asked again.

Uncle An still shook his head. "Over the past six months, Liang Yuchuan has been spreading word and offering benefits at all sorts of occasions. Too many people are involved—several thousand of them. There's simply no way to keep watch on them all."

Zhang Yansheng asked, "Who has he met recently?"

Uncle An replied, "He's a Spirit Refinement expert. Unless it's a Grandmaster, no one can follow him."

Zhang Yansheng asked, "What about his secretary? Has she done anything lately?"

Uncle An said, "Yesterday, Fan Yifang accompanied Liang Yuchuan to Mulan Villa. That's Liang Family territory, so our people didn't dare get close. However, someone saw Old Grandmaster Shen Yanchuan of Dongming Martial University returning to the city from the direction of the villa that afternoon."

Zhang Yansheng curled his lips in a cold smile. "The chairman of the education committee meeting the president of a martial university? Heh, perfectly reasonable... Keep watching. I refuse to believe that, for the sake of one nephew, he can be this devoted!"

Uncle An lowered his voice in reminder. "There's word that the nephew is most likely Liang Yuchuan's illegitimate son with his wife's elder sister..."

Zhang Yansheng's expression darkened. He said nothing for a long while.

After another incense stick's worth of time had passed, he seemed unwilling to let it go. "What about Liang Qiushi?"

"Our informant reports that Madam Gu has recently been busy preparing Gu Jinzhi's wedding," Uncle An answered.

"And nothing else?" Zhang Yansheng did not believe it.

"No." Uncle An's answer was certain.

Zhang Yansheng asked, "What about her twin sister, Liang Chunhua?"

Uncle An said, "She is in closed-door seclusion at the Liang Family ancestral residence on Dongyue Mountain. Grandmaster Liang, the Dongyue Sword Sovereign, is personally guarding her, so..."

"So you still can't find anything? Fine, very good. Flawless, isn't it?" Zhang Yansheng sounded as though he had been angered into laughter. "Notify that brat Zhang Pengcheng. Tell him to stop running wild outside and get his ass back here!"

"Yes..." Uncle An bowed and accepted the order.

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