Unless That Person Is Keeping Their Heart

Tushan Rui immediately shouted, “Stop right there!”

With that, she looked at Xu Mu and pulled him along as she flew after him.

Tushan Rui was already at the World-Breaking Realm, though only at the peak of the first stage.

“Mr. Xu Mu, we have to expose his scheme,” Tushan Rui said solemnly. “My grandmother always likes to assume the best of people.”

“It’s fine.”

Although Xu Mu said that, he was more than happy to follow Tushan Rui.

It seemed Xiao Gui was not particularly fond of Tushan Rui. Otherwise, the amount of Heavenly Mandate Power wouldn’t have decreased by so little.

He wondered which heroine Xiao Gui had the closest relationship with besides his wife and daughter.

If he could drive a wedge between them, the Heavenly Mandate Power would surely be depleted by a great deal.

As for Xiao Gui’s wife and daughter, they would probably be difficult to deal with. After all, they already had a bond with him.

Back inside the ruins, Tushan Rui took Xu Mu to the formation at the center. Using it, they were smoothly transported deep into the ruins.

When they arrived, they found Xiao Gui already in Tushan Ju’s courtyard.

“Grandma! Don’t listen to his nonsense! He’s been slandering Xu Mu all along!”

Tushan Rui hurried over and shouted at Tushan Ju.

“Heh. Do you really think I’m so old and senile that I can’t even tell right from wrong?”

Tushan Ju revealed a faint smile. “Xiao Gui, I’ll assume that you meant well but simply made things worse this time. I won’t hold it against you. Leave, and don’t come back again.”

Xiao Gui clenched his fists tightly.

He had always been calm and composed, but he was starting to lose his temper. He had worked so hard for so long, only for Xu Mu to reap the rewards. He refused to accept it!

“Senior! Try circulating your cultivation again. There has to be something wrong!”

“Something wrong?”

Tushan Ju’s expression turned cold. She rose from her recliner and stamped one foot down.

Terrifying qi surged forth like a vast ocean, crashing toward Xiao Gui.

Xiao Gui’s expression changed, and he swiftly unleashed his power to resist.

Even so, he was still sent flying into the sky by the enormous wave.

Xu Mu clicked his tongue in admiration. As expected of the ancestor of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan—she was truly powerful.

“Dad!”

Xiao Qiao tilted her head back and shouted.

Xiao Gui transformed into a streak of golden light before descending back into the courtyard.

“Is this power enough? I don’t feel the slightest discomfort.”

Tushan Ju sat back down in her chair. “Leave. Don’t make me say the word ‘scram.’”

Xiao Gui glared at Xu Mu, his eyes gloomy and sinister. “Brat, I’ll remember you.”

With that, he picked up Xiao Qiao and prepared to leave.

“Just because you couldn’t cure Senior, while I could, you decided to make an enemy of me?”

Xu Mu put on an innocent expression. “And last time, I didn’t steal your divine medicine. You wanted to attack me simply because I wouldn’t let you inspect my spatial ring. You’re seriously overbearing.”

“What? Something like that happened?”

Upon hearing this, Tushan Rui glared viciously at Xiao Gui. “You’re quite the hypocrite, aren’t you? You act refined and polite in front of us, but throw your weight around with everyone else. Good thing I saw through you!”

[Heavenly Mandate Power -20]

“Damn it!”

Xiao Gui could no longer swallow his anger. He stared at Tushan Rui and said, “I’m gentle and polite toward you because I think highly of you. Besides, this is the Inner Realm, where etiquette means nothing. I’m stronger than him, so why can’t I inspect his spatial ring?”

“Whether I’m good or not isn’t for you to decide!”

Tushan Rui pointed at Xiao Gui. “Get lost!”

“Hmph! Don’t come crying to me later!”

Xiao Gui transformed into a streak of golden light and left with his daughter.

“I’m furious! That hypocrite!”

Tushan Rui was gnashing her teeth in anger.

“Hehe, don’t let someone like that upset you. He isn’t entirely wrong, either. In the Inner Realm, the strong prey on the weak. Whoever has greater strength makes the rules.”

Xu Mu smiled at Tushan Rui.

[Favorability +10]

Tushan Rui nodded lightly. “He fooled me so badly before. You’re so much better than him.”

“Xu Mu! Xiao Gui is at the fourth stage of the World-Breaking Realm. You’ve made a serious enemy of him this time.”

Tushan Ju looked at Xu Mu. “You’re only at the Transcendent Realm. Even though you’re a genius, you’re still worlds apart from him.”

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

Xu Mu nodded in agreement.

After all, Hat Bro was the strongest male lead he had encountered so far.

“Good. If anything happens, remember to come to me.”

Tushan Ju spoke to Xu Mu.

“I will.”

Just as Xu Mu was about to leave, he noticed a black-robed figure appearing on the teleportation formation in the distance.

Judging from the figure’s bearing, it was a young woman. She walked with the lithe grace of a cat.

When the woman’s violet eyes fell on Xu Mu, she froze in shock. A moment later, however, she quickened her pace and headed toward Tushan Ju’s courtyard.

“You don’t need to see me out. I can find my own way back.”

Xu Mu smiled at Tushan Rui. “You two have things to take care of.”

“All right. Be careful on your way back.”

Tushan Rui waved at Xu Mu with a smile.

[Favorability +10]

After Xu Mu left, the black-robed woman finally removed her hood, revealing her face.

If Xu Mu had still been there, he would certainly have recognized her.

She was none other than Zi Wangyou, deputy director of the Defense Division of the Immortality Research Institute.

“Ancestor, Your Majesty.”

Zi Wangyou respectfully knelt on one knee.

“Get up. There’s no one else here.”

Tushan Rui immediately stepped forward and helped Zi Wangyou to her feet. “We’re sorry that we didn’t inform you in time about your grandfather’s death.”

“Your Majesty, you’re too kind. Birth, aging, illness, and death are simply part of life. Besides, my grandfather died of old age. That’s much better than what happened to my parents.”

Zi Wangyou spoke in a low voice.

She was the King’s granddaughter, but after her parents died, she wanted to leave this place of conflict. That was why she had volunteered to infiltrate the Immortality Research Institute.

“You know Xu Mu?”

Tushan Ju had noticed how Zi Wangyou’s gaze lingered on Xu Mu earlier.

“Yes. To be honest, Ancestor, Xu Mu is on Wang Hun’s kill list. I’ve had dealings with him before.”

Zi Wangyou answered honestly.

“Oh? Were they good dealings or bad ones?”

Tushan Ju asked with a smile.

“Bad ones. All the spirit stones and heavenly treasures I had accumulated for our race were taken by him.”

Zi Wangyou gritted her teeth, furious.

“Hahaha! Don’t blame him. In his eyes, you’re a member of the Immortality Research Institute, and the descendants of Yanhuang hate that organization more than anything.”

Tushan Ju waved her hand with a laugh. “As long as you haven’t reached the point of fighting to the death, it’s fine.”

“Ancestor, after he took my treasures, I really did go to his home. I intended to threaten his family and force him to hand over the treasures.”

“What?”

Tushan Rui’s expression changed drastically. “Is his family all right?”

At this critical juncture, she really didn’t want her relationship with Xu Mu to be ruined by any lingering grudge.

“His family is fine. I nearly died…”

At the mention of this, Zi Wangyou’s expression became extremely grave. “There seems to be a connection between his family and Salvation.”

“Salvation?”

Tushan Ju drew in a sharp breath. “The Salvation that has stirred up a bloody storm throughout the Inner Realm?”

“That’s right! I’m in the Immortality Research Institute, so I’ve seen quite a few records. Shentu Wan, Xie Wangwei, and the newcomer Zhang Que—I definitely didn’t mistake them.”

There was no way Zi Wangyou could forget those people. The last time she encountered them, they had scared her so badly that she had wet herself.

“I saw them showing great respect to a man. He looked a lot like Xu Mu, so I think he might be Xu Mu’s father.”

“No way! Xie Wangwei might be willing to do that, but someone like Shentu Wan would never show respect to anyone else.”

Tushan Ju refused to believe it. “Unless that person is Shouxin.”