Chapter 17: The Golden Light

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Golden Light

---

As they left the private room, Xi Yunxui glanced back once.

The dinner had started peacefully.

The contract discussion had been going smoothly.

And then, because of a single misunderstanding, everything had fallen apart.

Xi Yunxui quietly sighed.

Modern people really have complicated relationships.

She followed Huo Jingchen out of the private dining area.

Just as they reached the elevator—

[Ding!]

The familiar system notification sounded in her mind.

Xi Yunxui immediately became alert.

[Hidden Mission Status Updated.]

[Mission: Ensure the dinner banquet proceeds smoothly.]

[Current Status: Pending.]

Xi Yunxui blinked.

Pending?

[The misunderstanding has been resolved.]

[However, the dinner banquet did not conclude smoothly.]

[The Host has prevented the situation from escalating further, but the mission requirements have not yet been fully satisfied.]

Xi Yunxui’s lips twitched.

So I still haven’t completed it.

She glanced toward Huo Jingchen.

The man’s expression was calm, but his earlier business meeting had clearly ended on an unpleasant note.

Xi Yunxui couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

I suppose the system is right.

The mission had been to make sure the entire dinner banquet went smoothly.

Not merely to stop a quarrel.

[Mission remains pending.]

[Additional conditions may be triggered depending on subsequent events.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Additional conditions?

Before she could ask what that meant, the elevator doors opened.

Huo Jingchen stepped inside.

"Xi Yunxui."

She quickly followed.

"Yes, Young Master?"

"Let’s go."

Xi Yunxui nodded.

"Alright."

As the elevator doors slowly closed, she couldn’t help thinking—

I have a feeling tonight isn’t over yet.

---

The four of them soon came out of the elevator.

Huo Jingchen walked at the front, his expression calm as usual. Xi Yunxui followed beside him, while Miss Kim bid farewell and Zhou Rui walked a short distance behind.

The atmosphere was somewhat strange.

The dinner had ended far earlier than expected.

Xi Yunxui couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

Although she hadn’t done anything wrong, the hidden mission was still pending because the dinner hadn’t ended smoothly.

She quietly glanced at Huo Jingchen.

He didn’t seem particularly angry.

His expression was simply unreadable.

I wonder if the contract is completely ruined.

Before she could think about it any further, they reached the main entrance.

The moment the automatic glass doors opened, the cool night breeze brushed against Xi Yunxui’s face.

She instinctively took a deep breath.

The city outside was still bustling.

Cars passed along the road.

Bright advertisements illuminated the streets.

People walked beneath the streetlights.

It was a completely different world from the quiet ancient streets she remembered.

Zhou Rui walked ahead to retrieve the car.

"President Huo, the car is ready."

Huo Jingchen nodded.

But before anyone could move—

Something happened.

At first, Xi Yunxui thought a building in the distance had suddenly turned on its lights.

A faint golden glow appeared between the skyscrapers.

It was barely noticeable.

Then—

BOOM!

A silent wave of golden light suddenly erupted into the night sky.

Xi Yunxui froze.

The glow rose higher and higher, piercing through the darkness like a golden pillar connecting heaven and earth.

The surrounding clouds were illuminated.

Golden ripples spread outward from the center of the phenomenon.

For a brief moment, Xi Yunxui could swear she saw strange symbols floating inside the light.

They looked like ancient characters.

No.

Not characters.

Runes.

They were complicated patterns that seemed to contain some mysterious power.

The golden light twisted in the sky like a massive spiritual formation.

It reminded Xi Yunxui of something she had read about countless times in her previous life.

Cultivation.

According to the ancient legends of her world, whenever an extraordinarily powerful cultivator broke through a major realm, heaven and earth would sometimes respond.

There would be phenomena.

Golden clouds.

Lightning.

Spiritual energy gathering from all directions.

Sometimes, rare treasures would appear and cause similar disturbances.

Xi Yunxui’s mouth slowly opened.

Could this be...

Her eyes sparkled.

Could there really be cultivators in this world?

She had thought cultivation stories were nothing more than legends.

But the scene before her was difficult to explain.

It was beautiful.

Magnificent.

And strangely familiar.

Beside her, however, Huo Jingchen’s reaction was completely different.

His expression stiffened.

It was subtle.

Someone who didn’t know him probably wouldn’t notice.

But his relaxed posture changed slightly.

His eyes became sharp.

He stared directly at the golden light.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then—

"Zhou Rui."

His voice was low.

His assistant immediately turned around.

"Yes, President Huo?"

"Find out the source of that light."

Zhou Rui’s expression became serious.

"Yes."

He didn’t ask why.

He immediately turned toward one of the vehicles waiting nearby.

He entered the driver’s seat, started the engine and drove toward the distant glow.

Xi Yunxui watched the vehicle disappear.

She turned toward Huo Jingchen.

"Young Master."

"Hm?"

"What was that?"

Huo Jingchen looked at her.

His eyes were calm again.

"I don’t know."

Xi Yunxui blinked.

He didn’t know?

She looked back at the golden light.

"But it looks amazing."

Huo Jingchen followed her gaze.

He didn’t answer.

There was something about the phenomenon that bothered him.

He had seen strange things before.

But that particular golden light...

It was different.

He wanted answers.

And until Zhou Rui returned, he wasn’t going to make assumptions.

"Let’s go."

Xi Yunxui nodded.

"Alright."

---

The car was waiting near the entrance.

Xi Yunxui automatically moved toward the backseat.

After all, that was where she had sat earlier.

But Huo Jingchen walked past her and opened the driver’s door.

Xi Yunxui stopped.

She stared at him.

"You’re driving?"

"Yes."

She looked toward the backseat.

Then toward the passenger seat.

Then at Huo Jingchen.

"Where should I sit?"

"Here."

He nodded toward the passenger seat.

Xi Yunxui obediently walked around the vehicle.

She opened the door and sat down.

She carefully examined the seat belt.

She had already learned how it worked.

Still, she pulled it once to make sure it was secure.

Click.

She fastened it.

Huo Jingchen glanced toward her.

"It’s properly fastened."

Xi Yunxui nodded.

"I know."

There was a hint of pride in her voice.

She had learned quickly.

Huo Jingchen didn’t say anything.

He started the engine.

The car slowly pulled away from the building.

---

For the first few minutes, Xi Yunxui remained quiet.

She looked through the windshield.

Then toward the side window.

The city at night was completely different from what she had seen during the day.

Buildings seemed to disappear into the sky.

Rows of lights stretched endlessly into the distance.

Cars moved continuously along the roads.

Some vehicles were so fast that she barely had time to see them before they disappeared.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

Humans have really changed.

In her previous life, travelling long distances required horses, carriages, boats or walking.

Now people sat inside metal machines and travelled through cities at incredible speeds.

And somehow, everyone seemed completely accustomed to it.

She turned her head toward the distant golden light.

It was still visible between the buildings.

The phenomenon had become slightly smaller, but it hadn’t disappeared.

Xi Yunxui rested her chin on her hand.

I wonder what it feels like to stand inside something like that.

The thought made her smile.

If it really is a cultivation phenomenon...

Her imagination immediately began running wild.

Perhaps there would be spiritual energy everywhere.

Perhaps she would suddenly become a powerful cultivator.

Perhaps she would learn to fly.

Perhaps she could—

No.

She shook her head.

What am I thinking?

She had only just learned how an elevator worked.

She certainly wasn’t ready to start flying through the sky.

Still...

Her eyes returned to the golden glow.

It looks so beautiful.

It would be nice to be inside it.

At that moment—

[Host...]

The system’s voice suddenly sounded in her mind.

Xi Yunxui waited.

Nothing followed.

She frowned.

"System?"

Silence.

She waited a few seconds.

"What’s wrong?"

Still nothing.

Xi Yunxui narrowed her eyes.

The system had clearly wanted to say something.

But it had stopped itself.

"Why did you suddenly stop talking?"

[...]

The system remained silent.

Xi Yunxui became suspicious.

"You’re hiding something."

[...]

"System?"

[The Host is overthinking.]

Xi Yunxui stared ahead.

"Really?"

[Yes.]

She didn’t believe it.

Not even slightly.

But since the system clearly wasn’t willing to explain, she decided not to press further.

She turned her attention back to the city.

Beside her, Huo Jingchen drove silently.

His eyes occasionally flickered toward the golden phenomenon reflected faintly in the windshield.

His hands tightened slightly around the steering wheel.

He had no idea what was happening.

But one thing was certain.

That light wasn’t normal.

And somewhere beneath that dazzling golden glow...

Something had changed.

Something that might soon affect far more than just the people who had witnessed it.

A/N: Yes, you guessed right! This is also going to be a modern cultivation story, so make sure you add to your library!