Warmth and anger

Inside the villa.

After training in the Trial Secret Realm for more than ten days, Xiao Tianhao finally emerged.

He was covered in Demon Beast blood, his tattered clothes hanging off his body, and he looked utterly bedraggled.

Yet a closer look revealed not a single wound. If anything, his gaze had grown sharper.

He went into the bathroom, took a shower, and immediately headed to the company.

Back at the company.

He walked briskly into his office, only to meet Huang Shujian's half-amused gaze.

Huang Shujian wore a well-tailored business outfit: a white blouse paired with a black pencil skirt, black stockings hugging her long legs, and elegant high heels. With her flawless makeup and long hair pinned up, she looked like a capable female CEO.

Huang Shujian sat at her workstation with her arms crossed, lifting her chin slightly as she teased:

"Well, well, if it isn't our great Chairman Xiao! You finally decided to grace the company with your presence!" Her delicate face bore a teasing smile, but a barely perceptible trace of concern showed in her eyes.

Xiao Tianhao's lips curved as he teased her back. "What's wrong, my adorable little secretary? Did you miss me?"

As he spoke, he strolled over to his desk and sat down, never taking his eyes off Huang Shujian.

"Hmph!"

Huang Shujian gave a soft huff, stepped forward, and dropped a stack of documents heavily onto his desk. Deliberately putting on a stern face, she said, "Enough sweet talk. Look through these documents. They're all important matters that have piled up over the past few days. Busy man, don't let our company's major affairs fall behind."

Yet the fleeting smile in her eyes betrayed her mood.

Xiao Tianhao picked up the documents and casually flipped through them, then set them down again and looked at Huang Shujian with a smile.

"With you here, I have nothing to worry about. But rather than these documents, I'd much rather hear whether anything interesting happened to you these past few days."

Huang Shujian rolled her eyes at him, pulled over a chair, and sat opposite Xiao Tianhao, elegantly crossing her legs.

"What interesting things could possibly happen? Every day, I'm buried in the mountain of work you left behind, so busy my feet hardly touch the ground. What about you? You disappeared for so long. Were you off enjoying yourself behind our backs?"

Xiao Tianhao smiled, leaned forward toward Huang Shujian, and lowered his voice. "As if I had time for that. I was out looking for new potion ingredients for the company's future! Who knows? We might be able to develop another new product."

Huang Shujian leaned back slightly to keep some distance between them, a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "Potion ingredients? You're not making up stories to fool me, are you?"

Xiao Tianhao reclined in his chair and laced his hands behind his head, looking pleased with himself. "Of course not. You'll find out when the time is right. By the way, you look absolutely radiant in that outfit today. I can hardly take my eyes off you."

Huang Shujian's cheeks flushed faintly, but she quickly regained her composure, stood up, and straightened her clothes. "You and your sweet talk. Seriously, though, the company has been doing well overseas lately, but the competition is getting fiercer. You need to come up with something."

Xiao Tianhao dropped his joking expression as well and nodded earnestly. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. We can't ease up in the overseas market, and we need to keep strengthening our position at home. Keep a closer eye on things for me and report any problems promptly."

Seeing Xiao Tianhao's serious expression, Huang Shujian felt an inexplicable warmth toward him. She answered softly, "Understood, Chairman. Then you'd better come to the company more often. Don't vanish without a trace again."

Xiao Tianhao nodded with a smile. "Of course, of course. With such a charming secretary here, how could I bear to stay away for long?"

Huang Shujian's cheeks reddened again, and she gave a soft scoff. "Such a silver tongue. I'm getting back to work." With that, she turned and left the office, while Xiao Tianhao's gaze followed her all the way out.

The next day.

The company suddenly received bad news.

A shipment bound for sale in various Southeast Asian countries had been hijacked by a gang of drug traffickers while passing through the Golden Triangle.

When Xiao Tianhao learned of this, anger surged through him. He slammed his palm onto the desk. "Those bastards! They actually dared to touch my things!"

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He immediately decided to go to the Golden Triangle alone and retrieve the goods.

Xiao Tianhao quickly packed his bags, brought along some essential equipment, and set off for the Golden Triangle.

He knew full well how complex and dangerous the Golden Triangle was, but with his strength as a gold-rank Demon Spirit Master, he had nothing to fear.

He first took a flight to Myanmar.

Following the clues he had obtained and conducting his own investigations, Xiao Tianhao finally reached the heart of the Golden Triangle after a winding journey.

Rolling mountains and dense jungle covered the region. It was a paradise for criminals, a gray zone beyond the law's reach.

Standing at the edge of the jungle, Xiao Tianhao took a deep breath and released his Soul Force, trying to sense the drug traffickers' whereabouts.

With the help of his Demon Spirit, Demon Eye, Xiao Tianhao's Soul Force spread through the jungle like fine strands of spider silk.

He searched every corner carefully, letting no suspicious trace escape him.

However, the jungle was simply too vast, and the traffickers were exceedingly cunning. Xiao Tianhao could not locate them right away.

Undeterred, Xiao Tianhao slowly followed a path through the jungle, watching and listening to his surroundings while continuing to probe with his Soul Force.

Suddenly, he heard a faint clamor, as though people were talking nearby.

Delight stirred in Xiao Tianhao's heart, and he cautiously approached the source of the sound.

Through the thick foliage, Xiao Tianhao saw a group of people in assorted clothes, carrying various weapons and arguing around a pile of crates.

Xiao Tianhao recognized the crates at a glance. They were the very shipment his company had sent to Southeast Asia.

His mental power was so strong that he could understand everything these drug lords said.

As the saying went, fame brought a swarm of troubles. With production limited, relatively few of the three products his company currently sold were shipped overseas.

He had heard that they fetched high prices abroad, but he had never expected even a gang of drug lords to set their sights on them.

"Fuck, is this the stuff that sells for a fortune in Europe and America?" a burly man with a brutish face asked loudly, sounding puzzled.

"Boss, I heard these are amazing products from China. They're really popular abroad, and every one of them fetches a high price. I've already checked it all out," a tall, skinny man replied ingratiatingly.

"Hmm. In that case, hurry up and find a buyer." The burly man waved impatiently.

Xiao Tianhao sneered inwardly. These drug traffickers truly knew nothing. They had actually dared to covet his possessions.

Without waiting any longer, he attacked. Xiao Tianhao focused his mind and unleashed Demon Eye's Demon Spirit skill-Mind Control.

A powerful, invisible mental force instantly enveloped the traffickers. Agonizing pain stabbed through their heads, as though countless needles were piercing their brains.

The clamor abruptly ceased. The traffickers clutched their heads and groaned in pain.

"Ah! What's happening?" the burly man shouted in terror.

"Boss, my... my head hurts so much!" The tall, skinny man also screamed repeatedly.

A short while later.

The traffickers' eyes, including their leader's, grew unfocused, then cleared again.

Smiling, Xiao Tianhao slowly emerged from the jungle and stood before them.

At the sight of Xiao Tianhao, the traffickers' eyes filled with fanatic devotion. They fell to their knees before him, shouting loudly.

"Great master, what are your orders?"

Xiao Tianhao withdrew his Mind Control with satisfaction and looked at the traffickers.

"I'll leave this shipment to you. Sell it and consider the proceeds the first funds I'm giving you. Then buy weapons and equipment and recruit more people. I'll come to you when I need something later."

These traffickers were all ordinary people. They would never break free of his control for as long as they lived.

He decided to turn this gang into an armed force of his own on Blue Star, handling matters that could not easily be dealt with in the open and safeguarding the company's future development.

He returned home.

He gave Huang Shujian a brief explanation.

He simply said that the shipment had been recovered and taken care of.

An employee had reported the hijacking to the police as soon as it happened.

The investigation was still ongoing, so he needed to explain the situation to them and have the case closed.

Inside the villa at the Golden Three-Person Qilin Mansion.

Xiao Tianhao lay in bed, thinking about his plans for the future. He had spent quite a while here. It was about time to return to the world of Tales of Demons and Gods.

He had not seen Ning'er and the others for several months, and he really did miss them.

That settled it. He would go home and see them first...

What a headache. There have been fewer readers lately. Those who are dissatisfied haven't left any feedback, so I couldn't make changes even if I wanted to. Because of work, my free time varies from day to day, and the quality of each chapter admittedly varies too. I've been working hard to improve.

(This new book is setting sail! To all my clever, kind, beautiful, and handsome readers, please follow it and tap the update reminder. If you can, send some free "Power of Love" gifts to support the author. Thank you, everyone.)