Bai Pianqing

Inside the Bai Family mansion, Bai Pianqing, nearly sixty, reclined against a red sandalwood hard bed, resting with her eyes closed.

She wore a black Tang suit, her figure somewhat out of shape, her hair half-black and half-white, her upkeep still decent.

These past days, her mood had been far from good.

As one of the weakest families in the HR Alliance, the Bai Family couldn't get a foothold in any truly profitable business, stuck in an awkward position.

That might have been tolerable, relying on the family's Spirit Reader bloodline to maintain decent connections.

But recently, the sudden emergence of Bai Yang in Jiangnan Base City had left her deeply unsettled.

A kid who had only burst onto the scene less than two months ago, yet news of him never ceased.

Even Jia Yi, arguably the number one figure in Huaxia, placed such importance on him—how could she not be shaken when she heard that?

What kind of luck had Bai Pianyong stumbled into!?

Her own son Bai Sheng was an Advanced War General at twenty-eight, but this nephew of his was even fiercer!

An Advanced War General at nineteen!

Everyone knew this was a guaranteed War God!

A War God!

Even families like the Xu Family and Wang Family, ranked far above the Bai Family in the HR Alliance, couldn't summon a War God at will or dismiss them on a whim.

Who didn't have to coax them with friendship and goodwill?

If their own family could produce a direct-line War God, the Bai Family would hit the jackpot, their standing rising significantly.

Unfortunately, the Bai Family's Spirit Reader bloodline was mixed and impure; the three she had originally planned to match with Bai Sheng—Bai Zhangting and the others—were the limit.

At best, they'd reach the level of an Elementary War General, and with their Spirit Reader abilities, barely jump one grade.

Lately, based on all the news she'd heard about Bai Yang, Bai Pianqing had considered more than once whether she should take the initiative to apologize to her cousin Bai Pianyong—there was no helping it with Bai Yang.

But she still wanted to push forward Bai Sheng's marriage.

After all, in theory, these two brothers were the closest in bloodline in the world; maybe it would turn out well?

Unfortunately, feedback from Bai Zhangting and the others showed that their side was now refusing with unusual firmness.

They'd even offered several times to return all the costs of the training and gifts to the Bai Family.

Though she'd barely managed to refuse acceptance for now, if she meddled further, it could trigger unpredictable backlash.

Just then, a person rushed frantically through the door—it was the Bai Family's old steward.

Bai Pianqing wondered inwardly, how dare he disturb her during her rest?

"Patriarch! Young Master Bai Yang has arrived!" the old steward shouted.

So it was him!

Bai Pianqing's heart suddenly sank—trouble comes uninvited, and this visitor was no friend!

This was bad!

She quickly ordered, "Go to the side courtyard and invite War God Lin Ranyi! I'll go stall that kid first!"

The entire Bai Mansion erupted like a pot of boiling oil, instantly bustling with activity.

Bai Yang, accompanied by Yang Wu, stood calmly in the Bai Family's main hall, waiting leisurely.

Dozens of servants clustered around the two, attending to them carefully.

Bai Yang didn't even take a seat; he casually inspected the various red sandalwood furniture around him, feeling a hint of familiarity.

This was more like the decor of a wealthy Huaxia household in film and television dramas.

His demeanor made it clear he wasn't here for a friendly visit.

The people around him were all on edge, terrified that one wrong word might provoke this young man.

Others might not know who he was, but could anyone in the Bai Family be unaware?

These days, the old lady mentioned him almost every other day, then started regretting her past decisions—why had she chosen Bai Sheng instead of him?

Bai Zhangting and the others had taken no small amount of blame for this; many felt it was because they had offended Bai Yang

that the Bai Family lost the chance to gain a War God directly, now forced to constantly kowtow to that War God Lin Ranyi's moods—just thinking about it was infuriating.

Bai Pianqing entered the hall. Earlier, she had secretly sent someone to notify Bai Zhangting and the others, telling them not to come out now, to avoid adding fuel to the fire.

Seeing Bai Yang's appearance, she greeted him with a full-faced smile, saying, "Nephew, how do you have time to visit Kyoto Base City?

I was actually thinking of heading to Jiangnan Base City to have a proper meeting with you and your family!"

Bai Yang glanced at her and smiled slightly. "Aunt, hello.

I had some business in Kyoto, so I dropped by to see you."

Bai Pianqing's heart steadied a little—at least Bai Yang wasn't lashing out the moment they met.

He was now a member of Mount Hua, after all, representing Jia Yi's reputation—he couldn't just go mad on a whim, could he?

She quickly said, "Oh my, why so formal? We haven't seen each other in over a decade—it's all my fault. The family's been swamped with affairs, and I never found the time to look after you all."

Bai Yang chuckled lightly without picking up that thread, and said, "This time, I came mainly to return the money Brother Sheng owed the family." Without waiting for Bai Pianqing's reaction, he shot Yang Wu a glance.

The latter stepped forward at once and handed her a bank card with both hands.

The money inside was wealth he'd collected from various slaves—a mere drop in the bucket to him now.

"There's thirty million Huaxia yuan in here. Please take it, Aunt." Bai Yang said.

Bai Pianqing's expression flickered between uncertainty and unease—taking it felt wrong, but not taking it felt worse.

Back then, Bai Sheng had stayed with the Bai Family for about half a year, and the total expenses came to roughly three million. Now Bai Yang was returning ten times that, making it clear he wanted no debts of gratitude to the Bai Family, nor any ties whatsoever.

She weighed the options in her mind and finally dared not refuse, accepting the bank card.

If she couldn't forge a connection, it was better than courting trouble. Resolving the earlier unpleasantness this way wasn't so bad either.

In the hall, the other members of the Bai Family couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the scene.

Their greatest fear was that Bai Yang would press the issue—demanding, for instance, harsh punishment for the family's only three Spirit Readers. That would have been a disaster.

Given Bai Yang's current status and influence, he wouldn't even need to do anything specific. A single word from him, and the Bai Family's various rivals would have countless ways to leave them battered and bleeding.

Seeing that Bai Pianqing was sensible enough, Bai Yang nodded in satisfaction and added, "Aunt, we've finished with private matters. Now, let's talk about official business."

"What official business? Is it a project from Mount Hua?" Bai Pianqing's just-settled heart immediately tensed with caution.

"No, just an idea of my own. Aunt, the Bai Family is one of the twelve families of the HR Alliance in Huaxia—that's true, isn't it?" Bai Yang asked.

"That's correct. Though the Bai Family isn't among the nine great families, we still have some say within the HR Alliance." Bai Pianqing couldn't fathom his intentions, so she could only offer empty words.

Bai Yang nodded in approval and said, "Then that makes things easy. I want to purchase a 'War Base.'"

"What did you say?!" Bai Pianqing nearly jumped out of her seat in shock.

"I said I want to buy a 'War Base' and place it on Changxing Island in Magic City to block the monsters."

"Do you have any idea how much that costs?! You! You! Do you have that kind of money?"

"Of course I don't. That's why I wanted to discuss it with you, Aunt—to ask the Bai Family to act as a guarantor for a mortgage loan."

Bai Yang spoke with utter seriousness and sincerity, as if this were truly a trivial matter up for negotiation.

Bai Pianqing's vision went dark, and she nearly fainted on the spot.