The middle-aged man beside her happened to be raising his cup to his lips when her words froze him mid-motion, nearly causing him to choke.
He glanced at Liu Yuan, then at his colleague, before finally staring down at the cup in his hand, his Adam's apple bobbing unconsciously.
The air grew thick with tension.
The previously amicable atmosphere vanished without a trace.
The female mediator's voice remained steady, though a keen ear might detect a faint undercurrent of strain: "What did you put in the water?"
The middle-aged man hastily set his cup down on the coffee table, leaning back slightly to create distance, his gaze sharpening with wariness.
All talk of leisure or compassionate law enforcement took a backseat in the face of potential danger.
Liu Yuan blinked at their sudden shift in demeanor, confused but answering honestly: "Sleep aids for low-tier Cardholders."
While not lethal, the drugs were fast-acting—drowsiness made it hard to concentrate, drastically reducing the effectiveness of card abilities.
Of course, the more likely explanation was that she couldn’t get her hands on actual poison. Otherwise, she might’ve truly followed her brother’s advice and spiked their drinks.
Tilting her head, Liu Yuan added, "My brother taught me that. Said it’s better to be safe than sorry."
"......"
"......"
The two mediators exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.
The woman retrieved a slender, pen-like detector from her waist pouch and cautiously dipped it into her cup.
The tip emitted a faint blue glow before shifting to orange-yellow after a few seconds.
Staring at the reading, then at Liu Yuan’s innocent face, she felt her worldview take a seismic hit.
At least the test confirmed it was just a potent sedative—and a hefty dose at that.
The man peered over, his expression easing slightly, though now tinged with exasperation.
Rubbing his face, he said dryly, "Kid, your... sense of self-preservation might be a tad... overdeveloped?"
"Really?" Liu Yuan blinked. "My brother says you can never be too careful."
The female mediator put away the detector and straightened up.
She attempted a smile but only managed a strained twitch. "Well, your brother’s clearly a cautious man... And you’re very... proactive about safety. That’s... good."
So good she nearly knocked out two mediators in broad daylight.
The man stood abruptly. "Ahem. Well, it’s getting late. We should... probably head out."
Staying longer might’ve given him a heart attack. This assignment had been far too "eventful."
Liu Yuan nodded sweetly. "Okay! Thanks for coming. Take care!"
She escorted them to the door, watching as they hurried away, their retreating figures almost comically hasty.
......
"Hey, run a check on the residents of Apartment 203 in that old back-alley complex—supposedly a pair of siblings?"
"And dig up everything on that Su Qi guy. I’m betting they’re not full siblings. Vet his family tree three generations back. His teachings are downright unhinged."
......
Elsewhere.
Guardian Jiang’s interlaced fingers stiffened noticeably.
His carefully maintained air of authority crumbled like he’d been sucker-punched.
His jaw twitched as he struggled to regain his composure, but Su Qi’s blunt "dipshit" had thoroughly shattered the mood.
"...Cough."
Guardian Jiang cleared his throat, lowered his hand, and spoke with a hint of reproach: "Su Qi, can’t you at least try to match the mood a little?"
"I even prepared lines for you—'The gears of fate have begun to turn,' 'We shall make the gods tremble when they finally realize...'"
Leaning slightly forward from his executive chair, Guardian Jiang pointed at Su Qi, then at himself.
"Does it have to be so blunt?"
He sighed, reclined back, and spread his hands.
"Young people these days—no sense of fun at all."
"Making me look like a complete idiot."
A puzzled expression crossed Su Qi’s face. "Aren’t you?"
Guardian Jiang: ???
In all of Jiangxia, Su Qi was the first person who dared talk to him like that.
"Enough, cut the sarcasm."
"Let’s get down to business."
Guardian Jiang seemed thoroughly exasperated by Su Qi.
He straightened up, his expression turning serious.
"The Descendants’ recent activities... something’s off."
His fingers tapped rhythmically against the desk.
"It’s too quiet."
"Based on past patterns, they should be far more active by now."
"But over the past week, multiple surveillance points report their movements have drastically decreased."
"Some areas have even lost all traces of them."
Su Qi raised an eyebrow.
"Gone?"
"Not quite."
Guardian Jiang shook his head.
"More like... lying low."
"They’ve pulled back their operations, become unusually cautious."
"From intercepted intel, they seem to be undergoing some kind of internal consolidation—or maybe... a selection?"
He sounded uncertain about the word.
"Selection?"
Su Qi repeated, thoughtful.
"Right."
Guardian Jiang nodded.
"Like they’re purging their ranks, or... preparing for an operation that requires absolute unity."
"Plus, they’re avoiding our heavily fortified zones."
"Abandoning resource points they could’ve easily taken."
"That’s not like them—they’re usually greedy, impulsive."
Su Qi fell silent for a moment.
"Could it be a trap?"
"Possibly."
Guardian Jiang’s expression darkened.
"That’s our biggest concern."
"The calm before the storm often signals a greater crisis."
This kind of abnormal dormancy—it unsettles me.
“Feels like they’re gathering strength, waiting for a fatal opportunity.”
Su Qi walked over to the opposite side of the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Any concrete leads? Don’t tell me you suspect the Martial Exam?"
Guardian Jiang sighed.
"That’s the worst part."
"The clues are too obvious—everything falls into our hands without effort. How can I trust that?"
"I’m afraid they’re playing mind games, anticipating that I’d anticipate their moves."
"Leaving us even more clueless."
"A fifty percent chance... that’s high."
"But as the Guardian of Jiangxia, can I really gamble on those odds...?"
He looked at Su Qi.
"Remember the Origin Realm you visited before?"
Su Qi nodded. "Li Hu and I even captured a Descendant there."
Guardian Jiang slid his phone across the desk toward Su Qi.
"Save the act for others—don’t fool yourself. We both know Li Hu’s capabilities."
“Even if he went supernova, he couldn’t win that fight—let alone blow a kidney.”
"Take a look at the pictures yourself."
Su Qi picked up his phone, the screen displaying a post he had made in the Yuanjing forum.
[Seeking advice from the experts—what should I do if I suddenly discover my online girlfriend is actually my stepsister with no blood relation?]
"What's the big deal? Why dig into this? It's not like I messed with your sister..."
But Su Qi's words trailed off abruptly there.
Both of them were sharp-minded; some things didn’t need to be spelled out.
Clearly, Su Qi had also realized something was off.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
