Xiao Qing looked at this ill-fated cousin from the original story and mused inwardly:
The course of fate has already shifted, but with your luck and Talent, your future achievements may not be inferior to the life originally laid out for you.
On this day, the sun shone brightly. Before the gates of the Xiao Family estate, two guards stood watch as energetically as ever.
Suddenly, one guard's gaze sharpened as he noticed an old man in a plain blue robe approaching the gates at an unhurried pace.
The old man's beard and hair were entirely white, and a long-healed yet still gruesome scar marked his face. Though his steps appeared unsteady, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, and an inexplicable, heart-palpitating aura faintly radiated from his body.
The captain of the guards did not dare neglect him. He quickly stepped forward, cupped his fists, and asked respectfully, "Sir, may I ask whom you have come to the Xiao Family to see?"
The old man stopped and swept his gaze across the imposing Xiao Family gate. An unreadable expression appeared on his face as he said slowly, "I am Hai Bodong. I have come to pay the Xiao Family a visit."
"Hai Bodong...?"
The guard captain found the name familiar. He seemed to have heard it somewhere before, yet he could not recall where.
Not daring to make the decision himself, he cupped his fists again. "Please wait a moment, sir. Allow me to go inside and report your arrival!"
"Mm."
Hai Bodong answered indifferently, standing before the gate with his hands behind his back and saying nothing more.
Yet the bearing he naturally exuded made the gate guards feel an invisible pressure.
The guard did not dare delay. He hurried through the courtyard to the patriarch's