Chapter 168: The Soul of Gossip
Chapter 168: The Soul of Gossip
Zhao Manying had noticed Yao Xian's presence earlier, but with her attention solely on Ji Xinghuo, she hadn't paid much mind to anyone else.
"May I ask who you are?" Zhao Manying inquired.
"Manying, let me introduce you," Ji Xinghuo said, "This is Aunt Yao, or Yao Xian, a senior member of the Lijian Bureau and my assigned protector."
Recognizing the woman's extraordinary strength, Zhao Manying quickly added, "Nice to meet you, Aunt Yao. I'm Zhao Manying. Thank you for protecting Xinghuo. We really appreciate your help."
"It's no trouble at all," Yao Xian assured them.
Her eyes glued to Zhao Manying, Yao Xian's face lit up with a smile. It was clear that her enthusiasm toward Zhao Manying far exceeded that toward Ji Xinghuo, and her eyes sparkled with curiosity. "I often watch your matches, and my daughter is a huge fan of yours. I never expected to meet you here."
Despite her efforts to maintain the demeanor of a senior, she couldn't help but reveal her strong penchant for gossip.
"Thank you for your support, Aunt Yao," Zhao Manying said respectfully.
Hearing Zhao Manying address her as "Aunt Yao" brought a wide smile to Yao Xian's face.
Intrigued, she asked, "Manying, is Ji Xinghuo the boyfriend you announced previously?"
"Yes, he is," Zhao Manying acknowledged without hesitation.
"Wonderful, wonderful," Yao Xian nodded with a smile, "Xinghuo is an excellent young man with remarkable talent and a bright future ahead of him. He's definitely worthy of you." Then, turning to Ji Xinghuo, she added, "Xinghuo, you must treasure her and remember what I told you earlier."
"Yes, Aunt Yao," Ji Xinghuo replied.
Yao Xian couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "How did the two of you meet? Do you often go on dates?" she asked. Being familiar with Ji Xinghuo's background, she knew he had been in the Star Realm until a couple of months ago. She wondered how he had managed to connect with Zhao Manying and even enter into a romantic relationship with her during that short time.
The top-ranked player on the Tower had started a relationship with the second-best player. This was big news!
Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying exchanged a glance, both sensing that this legendary senior was as curious as any meddlesome auntie about the love lives of young people.
"Ahem..."
Realizing she might have overstepped her bounds, Yao Xian quickly added, "Never mind, never mind. It was just a casual question. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
She picked up her book and pretended to continue reading, but her mind was clearly elsewhere. Her eyes kept drifting towards the couple, making them feel a bit uncomfortable.
If it had been anyone else, they could have simply ignored her.
But this was a powerful legendary warrior responsible for protecting Ji Xinghuo.
The couple had no choice but to pretend she wasn't there and continued their conversation in hushed tones.
"I heard that the Universal Warrior isn't an official member of the American League but a professional assassin. Is that true?" Zhao Manying asked.
"Yes," Ji Xinghuo nodded, "But it's also possible that this identity is just a cover, making it easier for him to carry out dirty work."
"Why did he target you?"
"The bureau has a guess, but we can't be sure yet."
"If it involves confidential matters, you don't have to tell me," Zhao Manying said understandingly, her face darkening with anger. "No matter what his reasons are for coming after you, I've marked him as my enemy. If he's still alive, I will find him and make him pay."
Although she was only a super warrior, as the top-ranked player on the Tower, she had the credibility to make such a statement.
No one on Earth dared to underestimate the number one player.
Ji Xinghuo gently patted Zhao Manying's hand. "I'll take revenge for this personally. When the time comes, I'll call on you for support."
"You have my word," Zhao Manying nodded firmly.
Her expression returned to normal, and she sat by Ji Xinghuo's bed, leaning against him and speaking softly.
"It's past one in the morning. Aren't you going back?" Ji Xinghuo asked, "I thought you had training in the morning. You shouldn't skip it."
"I'll stay here with you tonight. I'll just take the day off from training tomorrow," Zhao Manying had already made up her mind.
"Okay," Ji Xinghuo smiled and nodded.
Just then, his phone rang again. It was his second eldest brother, Zhong Ming. His family had been bombarding him with questions in their group chat earlier.
"Second Brother."
"Xinghuo, was that you in the video being attacked? Don't deny it. I saw Qinghong there," Zhong Ming asked anxiously.
Ji Xinghuo knew he couldn't hide the truth, "That was me, but you don't have to worry. I'm fine now."
"Are you really okay?"
Zhong Ming found it hard to believe. He had watched the video dozens of times, from different angles. Ji Xinghuo's injuries had been severe. If it had been an ordinary person, they would have been dead a hundred times over. But seeing Ji Xinghuo looking well enough to answer the phone put him slightly at ease.
"Really!"
Ji Xinghuo sat up straight and showed his body to the camera, revealing no trace of injury.
"That's good..." Zhong Ming breathed a sigh of relief, "You have no idea how worried your sisters are. They've been trying to call you nonstop, and you haven't been responding in the group chat either."
"I was undergoing treatment just now, so I couldn't answer," Ji Xinghuo explained.
He reassured his brother and replied to the group chat, even sending a few selfies to prove he was alright. He told them it was late, and with the Shield Guards from the Security Ministry watching over him, visitation wasn't possible. He asked them to come to the hospital tomorrow instead.
When morning arrived, Ji Xinghuo woke up.
He slowly sat up and checked his interface. His stellar power had recovered to 742/742, and his body had mostly healed, although he still felt a bit weak and sore.
These were the after-effects of overexertion, and it might take a few days to fully recover.
"Xinghuo, are you awake?" Zhao Manying, who had been resting by his bed, immediately sensed his movement and opened her eyes. She asked with concern, "How are you feeling now?"
"I'm almost back to normal. A few more days of rest, and I'll be as good as new," Ji Xinghuo flexed his bicep to demonstrate, but his stomach rumbled loudly, making him laugh. "I'm just a bit hungry. I need a lot of food to regain my strength."
Zhao Manying stood up immediately. "I'll go get you some.
Ji Xinghuo didn't know how to respond. Ever since Zhao Manying had arrived the previous night, Yao Xian had been observing the two of them, her curiosity brimming and overflowing from her eyes, unable to be concealed.
Later, Zhao Manying casually chatted with her and learned a few things.
Yao Xian had become a legendary being many years ago.
Her profession was a branch of the Spirit Energy Stringer, a Sonic Stringer. Due to her indifference to fame and fortune and her preference for tranquility, she hadn't done anything that caused a stir, so her name wasn't on the Legendary Ranking.
In her own words, she had cultivated to the legendary level without any fuss and still managed to have a family.
Usually, she was just a housewife.
Although she was a Xuanyuan swordsman of the Lijian Bureau, there were rarely any occasions that required her to take action. Nowadays, with her daughter in college, she had more free time at home. In the past two years, she had unintentionally advanced to the Core Formation stage, and her greatest hobby besides cultivation was reading physical books.
The two of them listened, astonished.
Second stage of the legendary realm, and she could advance there "unintentionally"?
Her talent was truly terrifying!
However, what surprised Ji Xinghuo the most was when Yao Xian revealed that her husband was Zhou Yishang. This made him realize why Director Zhou had said that the swordsman he sent was "absolutely reliable".
How could he not be reliable when he sent his own wife?
A moment later.
Zhao Manying returned with a large amount of food, all of which were Ji Xinghuo's favorites. She even thoughtfully brought breakfast for Yao Xian and the Shield Guards standing guard outside the ward, not forgetting anyone.
Ji Xinghuo was about to serve himself, but Zhao Manying stopped him.
"Don't move."
Invisible kinetic hands untied the food packaging, and at the same time, a small dining table flew over and landed in front of Ji Xinghuo. The open food boxes were placed on top, arranged neatly with chopsticks and spoons ready, only needing to be brought to his mouth.
Yao Xian watched this scene and couldn't help but smile, "Your sword control technique is quite handy for preparing meals. I bet you're also great at doing chores at home."
Zhao Manying smiled faintly.
She never did any housework at home. Either the domestic robots would do it, or she would pay for the service.
After a hearty meal, Ji Xinghuo felt his strength recovering a little.
At 10 a.m.
Yao Xian took a phone call and said to Ji Xinghuo, "Yishang will be here soon."
"I'll step out for a while." Zhao Manying stood up. "Xinghuo, I'll come back in the afternoon. Let me know when you're discharged."
A few minutes later, Zhou Yishang walked into the ward. His eyes had a few faint bloodshot streaks, and he looked like he hadn't rested at all, having spent a lot of mental energy.
"Xiaoqian, thank you for your hard work." Zhou Yishang smiled at his wife and then turned to observe Ji Xinghuo. Seeing that he had recovered well, he said solemnly, "We've found the insider."
"Who is it?"
"Han Shanren." Zhou Yishang said in a deep voice.
Ji Xinghuo was startled, and Yao Xian's face turned solemn.
"Han Shanren" was a code name, and his real identity was Peng Zhenshan, a super being and one of the most senior Chi Xiao Swordsmen in the Lijian Bureau.
Ji Xinghuo had only joined the Lijian Bureau recently and had only met Peng Zhenshan once, but he had heard of his deeds. Peng Zhenshan was one of the most veteran Chi Xiao Swordsmen, having served for over twenty years. He was powerful and had a good chance of advancing to the legendary realm, making him a potential candidate for the Xuan Yuan Swordsman position.
"There aren't many people in the Lijian Bureau with the authority to monitor your movements, Xinghuo. The number doesn't exceed twenty."
"And they would also have to be in contact with the investigation team I formed, knowing the details of the task."
"By merging these two conditions and screening, we can identify the insider." Zhou Yishang spoke casually, but he had put in a lot of effort. Internal investigations were always one of the most challenging tasks, and he had expended a lot of energy. However, his face didn't show any happiness, "By the time I identified Peng Zhenshan, he had already disappeared."
"When did he go missing?" Ji Xinghuo asked.
Zhou Yishang replied, "Just a few minutes before you were attacked. He left his apartment and never appeared on any surveillance again."
This meant that whether or not Ghost Wolf's assassination attempt succeeded, Peng Zhenshan didn't plan to continue hiding.
"Before he left, he destroyed all the information and handled it very cleanly. These are the methods he learned in the Lijian Bureau." Zhou Yishang smiled bitterly, "We can't determine if he's a mole for one side or the other, nor can we rule out the possibility of other insiders."
Ji Xinghuo also felt the situation was tricky.
The fact that a senior Chi Xiao Swordsman was a long-time mole dealt a heavy blow to the Lijian Bureau, and there would undoubtedly be multiple rounds of internal investigations to follow.
However, the pressing question was, who was the one plotting against him?
What was the enemy's motive?
"Could it be the Qian Yuan Association...?" Ji Xinghuo mused, but he couldn't be sure. "Or is it the work of the American League?"
"It should be the Qian Yuan Association. The Federal Intelligence Bureau doesn't have this style of operation." Zhou Yishang obviously knew some inside information, "Ghost Wolf truly defected from the Federal Intelligence Bureau, and he would almost certainly not work for them. If he could destroy the Federal Intelligence Bureau, he would have no hesitation."
The Qian Yuan Association...
Ji Xinghuo felt helpless. He never expected that his first mission would involve him in such a huge conspiracy.
But now that he was in the middle of it, it was impossible to back out.
"Director Zhou, what should we do now?"
Zhou Yishang looked at Ji Xinghuo and said slowly, "The director and I, as well as the other two deputy directors, believe that the enemy will not give up and will likely make another move against you. Therefore, the bureau has decided to use you as bait to lure the snake out of its hole."
(End of Chapter)
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