Chapter 225

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dark figure emerged from the woods.

"Heh, the Demon Palace Master is in quite a good mood, actually teaching these country bumpkins how to make glass bottles?"

"Just killing time when you have nothing better to do. You came to see me today, so it seems your mission is almost complete?"

Gu Zhongtai turned around and looked at the person standing in the darkness.

"Your master must still have made up his mind, right?"

"How could that be? My master sent me here today precisely to inform the Palace Master."

"We will take action tomorrow."

Gu Zhongtai narrowed his eyes slightly, then revealed a warm and gentle smile.

"That would be wonderful. I'll await good news."

"Oh."

The man chuckled, and after the trees swayed in the wind, only Gu Zhongtai remained in place.

He glanced back at the woods where no trace had been left, paused for a moment, and then walked in the direction where Fan Xiaoxiao had left.

"The person is gone, stop hiding, come out."

A soft rustling sound came from behind a tree trunk not far away. Fan Xiaoxiao brushed the snow that had fallen from the leaves onto her head, chuckled twice, and walked out from behind the tree.

"You knew I didn't leave..."

"I didn't hear any footsteps."

Fan Xiaoxiao nodded knowingly, then rubbed her arms with a somewhat unfocused look in her eyes.

"Are you... really going to attack the Celestial Venerable?"

Gu Zhongtai narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed Fan Xiaoxiao's attitude. He then revealed a gentle expression and softened his voice.

"What? You can't bear to see the Heavenly Venerable die?"

Fan Xiaoxiao shivered, knowing that this big shot was about to have another episode. She rubbed her arms again, silently weighed the situation in her mind, and then bit her lower lip: "Heavenly Venerable, you have done me a favor."

She has always been someone who, if someone is kind to her, will try her best to repay them tenfold.

The Celestial Venerable had shown her the grace of protection.

At first, she thought that although Xiahou was radical, the Celestial Venerable had always maintained a neutral stance in the story. If she could rely on the Celestial Venerable while hiding in Tianshan, it would be a good thing for her.

But she never imagined that Gu Chongtai, reborn, would kill the Heavenly Venerable...

"Ha, then what am I to you?"

Gu Zhongtai took two steps forward. Although he smiled calmly, Fan Xiaoxiao could still sense an impending storm in his eyes.

She forced a mouthful of saliva: "You have also been kind to me, but it's different. You are family. The Celestial Venerable is an outsider. The Celestial Venerable's kindness to me is the protection he has shown to my family!"

She spoke very quickly, and Gu Zhongtai paused, his heart suddenly clenching.

What is this girl saying? Is he family?

Seeing that the big shot had stopped, Fan Xiaoxiao carefully and resolutely walked towards him.

“I wanted to bring this up a few days ago, but I didn’t know what stance I should take when talking to you about it. So…”

They were just a hair's breadth away from knocking Gu Zhongtai down, but the latter seemed to realize what was happening and stepped back.

His actions made Fan Xiaoxiao stop in her tracks, and she looked at him with a somewhat bewildered expression.

Gu Zhongtai fell silent, his face unusually devoid of any smile or expression. He looked down at Fan Xiaoxiao, his expression neither sad nor happy.

Upon closer inspection, Fan Xiaoxiao felt that there seemed to be some pity in his expression.

"Heavenly Venerable, you must die."

As the wind and snow blew, Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes were stung by the snow.

When he opened his eyes, Gu Zhongtai was nowhere to be seen.

She returned home dejectedly, knowing full well that Gu Zhongtai was unlikely to come back. Master Lu, wiping his neck with a handkerchief, emerged from the workshop and saw Fan Xiaoxiao walking slowly and with her head down towards home.

"Xiao girl, what's wrong?"

Fan Xiaoxiao looked up and called his name, then shook her head and went into the house with a heavy heart.

Master Lu quickly called out to her from behind, "Hey! Xiao girl! It's that thing you're doing tomorrow, teaching the villagers how to make glass bottles!"

Fan Xiaoxiao stopped in her tracks. Yes, she still had to teach the people in Ginkgo Village how to make glass bottles tomorrow.

"Young Master Gu gave me this this morning, saying that I should give it to you. As for the villagers over there, I will be in charge of teaching them starting tomorrow."

Master Lu handed Fan Xiaoxiao a bottle, and when she picked it up, she could hear a slight rolling sound inside.

When Fan Xiaoxiao opened it, the first thing she noticed was a strong medicinal aroma.

"He said it was an antidote that only comes once a year, but he didn't tell me what kind of antidote it was. He just told me to give it to you."

Fan Xiaoxiao gripped the bottle tightly. She hadn't expected Gu Zhongtai to anticipate Renle's people coming to find him before he left home today, and she certainly hadn't expected him to suddenly leave without saying goodbye. He had arranged everything—the villagers' medicine, and her business.

He's Gu Zhongtai, after all...

"Hey? What are you doing here?"

Someone lifted the curtain and came out of the room; it was Xiao Hei.

His appearance caught Fan Xiaoxiao off guard for a moment, but she quickly realized that Xiao Hei had stayed behind to protect them!

She rushed forward a few steps and grabbed Xiao Hei.

Her movements startled Xiao Hei, who shrank back and tried to back away with both hands.

"Xiao...Miss Xiao, what's wrong with you?"

"Where is your master?! You know where he went, don't you!"

After hearing those words, Xiao Hei's eyes began to wander, and he dared not meet Fan Xiaoxiao's gaze.

"Um, Lady Xiao, what are you talking about? I just got back. How, how would I know where Master went? Wasn't he with you?"

Pretending to be stupid.

A nameless anger ignited in Fan Xiaoxiao's heart. The fact that Xiao Hei had appeared here meant that Gu Zhongtai was not confident about this assassination attempt either.

Moreover, who is Renle? How could that madman possibly tolerate Gu Chongtai reaping the benefits after he killed the Heavenly Venerable?

Nine times out of ten, they're going to take action against Gu Zhongtai! As for the people here...

Fan Xiaoxiao tightened her grip, and her mind suddenly became much clearer.

She looked at Xiao Hei. The fact that he was there, and in such a relaxed manner, meant that they were not in danger.

But how could Renle possibly tolerate them being here, given their connection to the Demon Palace? If she were Renle, she would most likely put them under control.

Xiao Hei has only appeared here, but he doesn't seem to be trying to lead everyone to escape, which means the situation might not be so serious that it's necessary to run for one's life.

In other words, Gu Zhongtai was confident that Renle would not take action against them.

What exactly is he relying on?

Fan Xiaoxiao couldn't quite understand this.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Xiao Hei coughed and broke free from Fan Xiaoxiao's grasp.

"Oh dear, Lady Xiao, you should trust the Lord!"

Fan Xiaoxiao had completely calmed down by now. She didn't say anything, but just nodded after humming in agreement, her brows furrowed as if she was thinking about something.

Seeing her like this, Xiao Hei coughed, took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to me, Fan Xiaoxiao, saying, "I've made contact with that guy, Ji Yushu."

"Everything my wife wanted has been agreed upon."

(End of this chapter)