Chapter 297 - 296: Seeing the System Again

Chapter 297: Chapter 296: Seeing the System Again

"Am I hearing things?" Gu Qingyin wiped the expression from her face, cleaned out her ear, and looked at the immobilized Miao Yan. "Was that you talking just now?"

Miao Yan gave a bitter smile, his expression incredibly complex. "It was my grandfather." He never thought the grandfather he respected so much would use him like this.

"Oh?" Gu Qingyin’s gaze shifted to land on Elder Miao. She asked circuitously, "How did you know about the Array Miao Yan set up? Don’t tell me it’s passed down in your family?"

Elder Miao closed his eyes. "I altered Miao Yan’s memories and used his friendship with you to lure you into this trap. I just never expected..." ’Harming others ultimately harms oneself.’

Huo Yunjing broke free. Seeing this, the Skull King nodded at him, then led his band of minions back through the crack in the ground. With this, the favor from before was repaid, and they were even.

Tuoba Yan, Chairman Miao, and the others were each trapped in place by a Lock God Talisman from Gu Qingyin. Only then did she feel safe enough to dismantle the outer Array. After she finished, she fell silent.

At this point, she should have contacted the Mystic Association to handle the aftermath. ’But who knows what the situation is with the Mystic Association right now? Who should I even call?’

Liu Ergou, who had just been untied nearby, spoke up. "Let me." As he spoke, he fired a signal into the sky, explaining, "It’s a distress flare. Any Heavenly Masters who see it will come."

Gu Qingyin nodded. Looking at the Heavenly Masters lying all over the ground, she ultimately couldn’t bear it. "Do you have any medicine? Save the ones you can." ’Most of these Heavenly Masters were just following orders. They’re guilty, but it’s not a death sentence.’

By the time most of the wounded had been treated, a Heavenly Master finally arrived. He could smell the drifting scent of blood before he even entered the woods. Apprehensively, he slipped into the forest, only to freeze in place, stunned by the gruesome sight.

Seeing this, Liu Ergou went over and quietly explained what had happened from beginning to end. The newcomer naturally found it hard to believe, but the facts were laid out before him, leaving no room for doubt. He stood there for a moment, processing it all, before finally accepting the reality of the situation. He then took out a Sound Transmission Array Plate to contact his sect.

Afterward, more and more Heavenly Masters arrived, each requiring an explanation. By dawn, powers big and small throughout the Mystical World had heard about the Mystic Association’s outrageous stunt.

By the time Gu Qingyin and her group returned to Yun City, the Mystic Association had been taken over by various factions. With the backing of several large, long-established, and reputable powers, a few candidates for the position of Chairman had already been chosen.

On the way back, Tuoba Yan had been completely silent, but he exploded when he heard this news!

"What right do they have to be candidates? Absurd!"

Someone sneered, "No matter how absurd, it’s not as absurd as you! You pheasant!"

Pheasant?!

Tuoba Yan’s vision went dark; he nearly fainted from rage.

Gu Qingyin coughed lightly. ’I wonder which one of my long-lost relatives just spoke my mind! With Tuoba Yan’s garish, multi-colored aesthetic, isn’t he just a pheasant?’

After staying at the Mystic Association for a day to cooperate with the investigation and clarify the events, Huo Yunjing left together with Gu Qingyin.

On the way, they ran into Miao Yan. The Miao Family had fallen into ruin because of Elder Miao, and although Miao Yan was truly innocent of the plot, he was still ostracized by the other Heavenly Masters. In just a day or two, his entire disposition had changed dramatically.

Seeing Gu Qingyin and Huo Yunjing from a distance, Miao Yan turned and walked away. He simply couldn’t face them right now.

Gu Qingyin sighed. "Let’s go."

Liu Ergou had originally planned to leave with them, but after a night—whether because of something he heard or because he’d simply had a change of heart—he insisted on staying to run in the election for Chairman.

All Gu Qingyin could do was wish him well, never expecting that he would actually win.

Ten days later, the Mystic Association announced the identity of the new Chairman: none other than Liu Yunfan from Wudang Mountain—Liu Ergou’s formal name.

Gu Qingyin was naturally thrilled. ’Now I have connections in high places!’

The first thing Liu Ergou did after taking office was to handle the persecution case involving Tuoba Yan and Elder Miao. The second was to pay out the bounties for Xian Yu Fei and Candle Dragon, which he personally delivered to Gu Qingyin and her group.

Along with the bounties was Huo Yunjing’s specially appointed Heavenly Master Certificate. It was a formality, mainly to legitimize his status and let the other Heavenly Masters know he was a ghost acknowledged by the Association.

With the lurking crisis resolved, Gu Qingyin finally relaxed completely. She was reluctant to even accept commissions, wanting only to focus on her little home and family.

「In the blink of an eye, winter arrived.」

In past years, winter temperatures in Yun City hovered around ten degrees Celsius. This year, however, a cold front blew in from who-knows-where, causing the temperature to plummet below zero overnight. By the next morning, snowflakes were even drifting from the sky.

By the time Gu Qingyin woke up naturally, a thin layer of snow already covered the ground outside. Unfortunately, the temperature still wasn’t cold enough, so the flakes melted as soon as they landed.

During their meal, Hua Xin fretted, "The Family Head only wore a coat when he left. I wonder if he’ll be cold."

Gu Qingyin took her words to heart and immediately had someone get a light down jacket ready. She was going to the company to deliver it to her son.

Huo Yunjing had nothing better to do, so naturally, he went along. He didn’t go empty-handed, either. There was still some of the soup he’d made for Gu Qingyin left over. He heated it up, poured it into a thermos, and brought it along as a small gesture of fatherly care.

Huo Yunjing drove, and they took the private elevator directly from the underground parking garage. The moment the doors opened, Gu Qingyin saw a vaguely familiar woman.

She blinked, her brows knitting slightly. ’Who was this again?’

The woman wore a professional smile, but the instant she saw Huo Yunjing, her eyes lit up. "It’s you!"

Huo Yunjing gave her an indifferent glance and a slight nod of acknowledgement, then took Gu Qingyin’s hand and started to walk past.

The woman quickly blocked their path. "Wait! You can’t just enter! Do you have an appointment?"

She addressed them both, but her gaze, full of obvious hostility, was fixed solely on Gu Qingyin.

Gu Qingyin was still thinking. ’That hostile glare seems familiar, too. Who is she?’ She glanced at Huo Yunjing in confusion.

Huo Yunjing shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either. His earlier nod had just been out of politeness.

Seeing their reaction, the woman grew anxious. "It’s me! I used to work part-time at the coffee shop. We’ve met before."

Even as she spoke, her mind was racing.

’System! Huo Yunjing doesn’t even remember me!’

The moment the word "System" was mentioned, Gu Qingyin and Huo Yunjing simultaneously recalled who this person was: Shan Jinjin, a mission-taker bound to a system, tasked with "conquering" a so-called Son of Destiny.

’That was all so long ago,’ Gu Qingyin thought. ’I’d originally wanted to study her system, but I got busy and completely forgot about it.’

’Judging by her appearance here now, it seems her conquering mission is going pretty well?’

*So much time has passed; it’s normal for him to not remember you. After all, when you parted ways after your first meeting, Huo Yunjing’s favorability rating was 0.*

The system was just being honest.

Shan Jinjin bit her lip. ’What about now? What’s his favorability rating?’

System: *No change. It is recommended that Host does not switch conquering targets at will. It was difficult enough to raise Huo Xingye’s favorability rating to 20. Being indecisive could cause all your efforts to go to waste.*

Shan Jinjin could only suppress her frustration and reply in her mind, ’Understood.’

She took a deep breath and plastered on her professional smile again. "My apologies, I must have mistaken you for someone else."