Chapter 350 - 348: Worry

Chapter 350: Chapter 348: Worry

"Stop worrying. I know what I’m doing. It’s getting late, so you should head back now." Zhang Damei began to shoo her away, his patience wearing thin.

"Alright, I’ll go then." Gu Nuan Nuan had no choice but to nod. She turned and left without another word.

After walking some distance, she found a spot to wait for Cao Cao.

Soon, Cao Cao was back at her side, its face contorted with rage. "Master, I saw everything that Xu Banxian wrote down. You have no idea what a bastard that man is! He completely exploited the trust those foolish women had in him. Just in the last few years, looking only at the ones he wrote down with full names and addresses, there were more than ten women he took advantage of..."

"..." Even though Gu Nuan Nuan had braced herself, she still rolled her eyes for a long moment before speaking. "I’m guessing Guo Xiuying’s name wasn’t on the list."

"Yeah," Cao Cao nodded. "He probably didn’t dare write it down because he’s afraid of your grand-uncle flying into a rage. I’d bet there’s a huge chance Zhang Tianci is his son. On top of that, there must be others he didn’t dare to list. For all we know, he might have more than one son out there. When you have too much of something, you stop caring about it. It’s no wonder he doesn’t give a damn whether Zhang Tianci lives or dies. The reason Guo Xiuying trusted him so much, both in her last life and this one, might be because she thought Xu Banxian would never harm his own son, you think?"

It instantly channeled its inner Sherlock Holmes, its analysis sharp and clear. "No wonder Xu Banxian took such a huge loss from your grand-uncle in your past life and still acted like a coward, not daring to make a peep. He must have been terrified that if the truth came out, people would eat him alive."

Gu Nuan Nuan said, "Oh no. What if Grand-uncle gets the truth about Guo Xiuying out of him and does something reckless?"

Cao Cao replied, "So what if he’s reckless? A guy like that doesn’t deserve any sympathy anyway."

"Who’s sympathizing with him? What I’m worried about is that in our past life, Xu Banxian kept his mouth shut because the truth about Zhang Tianci never came out. That meant the families of the other women he’d taken advantage of were all kept in the dark. Since no one else knew, Xu Banxian was naturally terrified that Grand-uncle would expose him, so he didn’t dare say a word."

Gu Nuan Nuan sighed. "But everything is different in this life. What if Grand-uncle is just as reckless this time... and then later, when it’s revealed that Zhang Tianci is Xu Banxian’s son, won’t people get suspicious? Some things can’t be questioned, because the moment you do, the whole story falls apart. By then, other people will be coming after Xu Banxian. If he’s paralyzed, feels like he has nothing left to live for, and decides to just throw caution to the wind and rat out Grand-uncle, then it won’t matter how rich our family is. There’ll be no way to fully protect him. Wouldn’t that be a classic case of winning the battle but losing the war?"

She frowned. "And it doesn’t stop there. Our family is in business now. I don’t have to tell you how important a good reputation is, do I? Once word of this gets out, do you think we don’t have potential enemies? It’s inevitable that someone will use this against us..."

After hearing this, Cao Cao realized she had a point and began to get nervous too. "Oh man, you’re right. What do we do?"

"This is critical. If things go south, even those insidious medicine pills we used could be exposed. No, we have to go back and watch them. It’s the only way I’ll feel at ease. If Grand-uncle can’t hold back and tries something, at least we can intervene." The more Gu Nuan Nuan spoke, the more agitated she became.

She sighed internally. ’It’s a shame. If only I knew more of a Cultivator’s methods. So many problems could be solved with a simple little trick, like wiping Xu Banxian’s recent memories. Everything would be resolved in a flash. But unfortunately, I have no one to teach me. I have to figure out all these Magic Techniques and practice them on my own. My progress can only be described as a snail’s pace, and the results are just embarrassingly awful.’

’Forget about a high-level technique like erasing memories. Even with the simplest Fireball Technique... in the real Cultivation World, a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage can already use it in combat. But me? Even with the help of my Abnormal Fire, the most I can conjure up is a tiny flicker the size of a bean, like the flame from a freshly struck match...’

’So embarrassing...’

’Am I even a real Cultivator?’

She sighed.

Resigned to her fate, Gu Nuan Nuan took a low-level Invisibility Talisman from her storage ring, slapped it on herself, and headed back to the abandoned house at the foot of the mountain.

’All I can do is stand guard and be ready to stop Zhang Damei from doing anything too drastic.’

Fortunately, Zhang Damei was more level-headed than Gu Nuan Nuan had expected. Although he did manage to get the truth about what happened to Guo Xiuying and even made Xu Banxian write down a separate confession, he didn’t let his anger get the best of him. In the end, he simply knocked Xu Banxian unconscious, stuffed the half a medicine pill into his mouth, and dumped him back in his own yard before leaving.

With Zhang Damei gone, Gu Nuan Nuan naturally had no reason to stay either. She followed him all the way back to Zhang Family Village.

On the way back, Gu Nuan Nuan chatted with Cao Cao. "Grand-uncle really does know his limits. I worried for nothing. It’s just a shame I wasted a talisman. Ugh, every one I use is one I don’t have anymore."

"It’s just a low-level talisman, right? Once it’s used, it’s used. You can just learn to draw them yourself later. Your storage ring is filled with all the blank talismans and drawing materials you could ever need, so what’s the big deal?" Cao Cao completely dismissed Gu Nuan Nuan’s distress. "For a proper Cultivator, time is incredibly precious and can’t be wasted on such minor arts. But you’re different, Master. You don’t have to spend much time on Cultivation, so you can use your free time to dabble in everything. It’s good to get a handle on it all, and you can think of it as accumulating experience for your next life. Besides, you can never have too many skills. Learning more is always a good thing."

Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You make it sound so simple. Seems you’ve really thought this all out, haven’t you?"

"Hehe, but it’s true!" Cao Cao suggested smugly. "Master, we have plenty of time. You can totally start by getting a basic grasp of all the skills you’re even slightly interested in. Then you can see what you’re truly passionate about, where your talents lie, and what you’re best at. Only then should you pick one to really dive into and master."

"If we have so much time, then we can take it slow. There’s no rush." Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t pay much mind to Cao Cao’s words, replying nonchalantly.

She didn’t yet have a clear concept of what Cao Cao meant by "plenty of time."

’I should just focus on living this life well for now. I don’t need to worry about things that are too far off. After all, you have to live in the moment. Making the most of each day is what’s most important, isn’t it?’

"Right, no need to rush. We’ll just take it one step at a time." As a being who had inherited the memories of who-knows-how-many-tens-of-thousands of years, Cao Cao agreed with its master. ’What was that saying again? Success will come when the time is right? Or was it you can’t eat hot tofu if you’re impatient??’