◇ 【085】Happy Days

"Yes." Gu Juan disappeared for two seconds and soon came out holding a huge carp that was nearly half the length of him.

The big carp was extremely docile in the arms of this "master".

The two smiled at each other.

Everyone was watching the lake nervously. At that moment, Gu Juan and Xi Lang emerged from the water, holding a large fish. Both of them were wearing sunglasses.

Gu Juan said loudly, "Don't worry, everyone. There's no water monster in the lake. It's this big carp causing trouble. We are employees of the base. We heard from President Ji that the water here is diverted from the lake in the mountains. I guess this fish accidentally drifted here."

Ji Xiyu heard that someone had fallen into the water and came rushing over on his motorcycle. He happened to hear these words and recognized Gu Juan's voice. He nodded to him and continued, "Yes, this fish must have come from the mountain lake. This is the first time I've seen it too. It's a rare opportunity, so I must take a photo. Hahaha..."

The tourists all laughed and talked about it.

“It’s so big!”

"I heard that in 2007, someone in Thailand caught a giant carp weighing 120 kilograms. This fish might be even bigger than that one, right?"

"Maybe it's already a spirit, haha! Hurry up and take a picture and post it on Weibo!"

"It's not easy to grow up this big, so let it go."

“…”

The big carp only twisted and moved slightly in Gu Juan and Xi Lang's arms, without struggling.

Gu Juan deliberately let everyone see clearly before releasing his hand. The big carp shook its tail, tilted its head towards Gu Juan, and slowly dived to the bottom of the water.

Gu Juan and Xi Lang climbed ashore, and not wanting to be watched, they quickly squeezed into the crowd, preparing to disappear. At this moment, Gu Juan overheard a young girl whisper to her companion, "I'm sure I saw it right. That little girl was pushed overboard! The man's eyes flashed with black mist and red light. He looked so scary..."

He exchanged a serious look with Xi Lang. This phenomenon sounded very similar to Gu Haojie's original situation.

The two looked around and didn't find anything unusual.

"Xiaojuan, let's go back first." Xi Lang said softly.

The two returned home, took a shower and changed into clean clothes.

"Old man, when we dealt with Gu Haojie, the power or the monster that controlled him had already left his body? But that shouldn't be the case. When we took action, I was sure that thing was still inside his body." Gu Juan was a little confused.

"If it was truly 'it' who did what happened today, there's only one possibility: it must have used some special method to confuse you, allowing you to escape your spiritual awareness." Xi Lang wiped his hair with a dry towel. The two of them were now even more cautious, avoiding using their True Energy whenever possible, lest a careless act reveal itself to the others.

"I don't know if it appeared this time because we bumped into it accidentally, or if it came here specifically to target me." Gu Juan was puzzled. "If it was targeting me, why did it come here? And why didn't it come directly to me? Attacking someone who has nothing to do with me can't cause me any substantial harm."

"I don't think it's targeting you." Xi Lang sat down next to him. "It knew to leave before we attacked Gu Haojie, and it also knew to hide after pushing the little girl into the lake. It shows that it has a certain degree of intelligence. If it was targeting you, its behavior today would only put us on guard. But no matter what, we must be careful. If it dares to show up again, I have a way to deal with it. Xiaojuan, take a look at this."

Xi Lang took out a blueprint from the space ring and handed it to Gu Juan.

Gu Juan took it and looked at it, "Is this the formation you drew?"

"Indeed." Xi Lang pointed at the blueprint. "This is a formation I recently learned, called the 'Soul Binding Formation.' Its function is to lock energy. No matter what kind of energy it is, whether it's true energy, internal energy, or even 'it's' strange power, as long as there is a fluctuation, this formation will stick to it like a spider web, leaving it nowhere to escape. It's no exaggeration to say that even if someone's cultivation is two or three levels higher than ours, this formation can control him for at least an hour."

Gu Juan hugged him in surprise, "You learned such a powerful formation so quickly? I knew you must have a talent for formations!"

Xi Lang smiled and kissed his lips. He said he would become stronger and stronger, and let Xiao Juan do whatever she wanted in the future without any scruples.

Gu Juan felt extremely at ease and pecked him hard on the mouth.

"By the way, Xiaojuan, should we leave the fish in the lake?"

Gu Juan shook his head. "We'll go get it back tonight. Otherwise, I'm afraid it'll get out and attract thieves."

Xi Lang nodded, "That's safe."

After they had their hair done, they went downstairs. Xi's mother, Xi Cong, Luo Qingyou, Duoduo and Doudou came back together.

Doudou and Duoduo slept soundly in the arms of Xi Cong and Luo Qingyou.

Gu Juan whispered, "Mom, you guys are back so soon? We were just about to go look for you."

Xi's mother looked happy, obviously having a great time. "We picked a lot of grapes and a big watermelon. Let's come back and rest for a while before going out again. Your grandfather and the others are still wandering around, so we won't bother with them."

Xi Lang took the basket from Xi's mother and said, "I'll go wash it."

Xi Cong and Luo Qingyou took the two children back to the room and came out again.

Grapes and watermelons taste more refreshing after being chilled for a while.

Several people sat in the restaurant, eating and chatting.

"Xiao Gu, my mom and I just went to the supermarket and saw a cosmetics counter. Business was very good!" Luo Qingyou said with a smile, "Those people were rushing to buy them!" A 50g bottle of moisturizing lotion was priced at 8888, and those people were still scrambling to buy it.

Gu Juan smiled and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you think of the lotion I gave you?"

Luo Qingyou nodded repeatedly, "It's very useful, I can feel it myself, even if I don't use any skin care products for two days, my face is still smooth and tender." She was embarrassed to say that Xi Cong now had a new habit when they were intimate, he always liked to bite her face.

Xi's mother also praised it highly, "I think it's good too. After using it for half a month, the wrinkles at the corners of my eyes have completely disappeared, and my skin tone is brighter than before."

Gu Juan said, "When we first started selling, almost no one was interested. Many people even said the flower farm owner was desperate for money, and many people cursed us online. Later, I asked the old man to invite a female celebrity with the worst skin and average fame from Chaoge Entertainment Company to come over for a try, and gave her a whitening lotion for free. About two weeks later, she came back without a fuss and bought all ten skincare products in the counter in one go, each priced at 8888.

Since then, the base's skincare products have become famous. These skincare products are all handmade and effective. The most important point is that the flowers from our flower base are primarily for sale, and skincare products are just a side job, so the quantity can't be large. Scarcity makes things valuable, so the price is naturally higher.

After a while, I plan to limit purchases, and then the price might be even higher. Because the quantity is so small, if I want to make money, I have to set the price higher, taking advantage of the rich. Gu Juan feels no guilt at all about taking advantage of the rich.

Xi Cong gave him a thumbs up, what a shrewd businessman!

Xi's mother and Luo Qingyou were glad that Gu Juan was their own family member, so they didn't have to spend any money to use the skin care products produced at the base.

After sitting for a while, Gu Juan and Xi Lang took Xi's mother and Luo Qingyou to experience making a beauty cream. Xi's mother and Luo Qingyou were very excited and worked hard. The finished product was very good and they kept it for themselves.

Around five o'clock, people who had been out playing came back one after another, and Gu Juan and Xi Lang began to prepare dinner again.

After dinner, Gu Juan called everyone staying in the hotel, and they had a small party together, with each person performing a show.

Gu Juan accepted everyone's invitation and performed a sword show; under Gu Juan's pressure, Xi Lang also sang a song, and his singing was so beautiful that it could be released on a record.

Mr. Lian Xi also enthusiastically performed a Peking Opera for everyone, and the whole audience applauded.

The party was lively and lasted until after ten o'clock, and everyone had a great time.

Gu Juan and Xi Lang quietly went to the lake and brought the big carp into the space and placed it in the lake in the space.

The next day, we spent the morning picking flowers and touring the lake. We had lunch in the base's restaurant, enjoying special flower-themed snacks. In the afternoon, we hiked the mountains and fished. It was around five o'clock before we drove back to the capital.

Old Master Xi didn't go back with them, wanting to stay at the base for a few more days. Gu Juan and Ji Xiyu had told him to take good care of Old Master Xi, and no one had any concerns.

Before leaving, Gu Juan prepared gifts for everyone: a bouquet of gorgeous flowers and a skincare product for the ladies, and a bottle of fruit wine and a basket of fruit for the men. Since these were wealthy people, Gu Juan didn't give them any discount cards for the base.

Several men were skeptical of the simply packaged fruit wine, thinking that Gu Juan, indeed, came from a poor family and her gift was substandard. However, after returning home and tasting the wine, they were amazed. When they called Gu Juan again to request more bottles or offer to buy more, they were told it was sold out. This left them with a deep regret. This is a story for another time, which we won't discuss for now.

After the convoy returned to the imperial capital, a large group of people went to the hotel to have dinner together before going home.

Xi Lang bought plane tickets for Liu Hui, Zhang Cong and Liu Guang in advance, and sent someone to take them to the airport; Gu Yinyin did not go home during the summer vacation and was working in the capital, so Li Ruicheng took her back to school; Lin Xuan would stay at the Xi family for another night and would return to Congzhou with his parents early the next morning.

After staying at the Xi family for two days, Gu Juan returned to Congzhou with Xi Lang. Xi Lang was still not able to let go of the Congzhou branch.

When the two arrived at the door of their home, Xi Lang received a call. Gu Juan opened the mailbox and saw a letter with a familiar envelope.

Xi Lang finished his call and walked over. "Another letter from the Ancient Warriors Exchange Conference? Xiaojuan, forget about that for now. There's new progress on An Qingqing's matter."