The Su Family Mansion

At Chen Shuo's insistence, the two of them had breakfast before setting out together.

On the way, Su Xiyan kept urging him, saying Chen Shuo didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

"Being anxious is useless. Haven't you heard the saying 'haste makes waste'?"

Chen Shuo drove with an extremely calm demeanor, in stark contrast to Su Xiyan's state.

"But..."

"Enough, there are no buts. We're going to ask someone for help. Do you think rushing in frantically will achieve a good result?"

Chen Shuo interrupted before Su Xiyan could finish her sentence.

Su Xiyan found a bit of calm in these words. Indeed, being overly anxious would only complicate matters further.

She still didn't know what Chen Shuo intended to do. She had asked him during this time.

But no matter how she inquired, Chen Shuo didn't reveal his thoughts to Su Xiyan, which made her somewhat worried.

She had already started to imagine certain possibilities, which only made her more concerned for Chen Shuo's safety.

"You... you're not planning to reveal your identity and ask Elder Xu for help, are you?"

After pondering for a while, Su Xiyan finally voiced her guess.

This time it was Chen Shuo who fell silent. His lack of response confirmed that her guess was correct.

This made Su Xiyan even more worried: "You really plan to do this? What if Elder Xu refuses to help you after learning your identity?"

Although Su Xiyan hadn't interacted much with Elder Xu, her father Su Yuanying was an old friend of his. From what her father had told her, she had some understanding of this man.

Elder Xu despised evil, especially vampires, showing no sympathy or tolerance for them.

Just like last time, when he learned that Chen Shuo was entangled with a female vampire, he immediately went out to search for traces of her.

Although the matter was left unresolved, Elder Xu hadn't left Su City, partly because of the vampires there.

He intended to clear Su City of vampires before leaving. Now Chen Shuo wanted to reveal his identity - wasn't this like a lamb walking into a tiger's den?

"Chen Shuo, do you know what you're doing? What if..."

"I know what I'm doing. This is our only option now. If we don't try, what choice do we have? Should we do as the Demon King suggested and kill Elder Xu?"

Chen Shuo's words plunged Su Xiyan into silence. She felt lost too, not wanting things to turn out that way.

If a legendary monster hunter met with an accident in Su City, the authorities in the capital would surely raze the entire city to the ground.

At that point, things would become even more complicated, and Chen Shuo, as the instigator, would undoubtedly be hunted down and killed by the capital.

No matter how she thought about it, it seemed like a dead end.

"So you understand now? If we don't try to cooperate, things will only get more complicated. This journey may be risky, but it's no longer the best option among our choices."

Chen Shuo finished speaking and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

The reason he was unwilling to tell Su Xiyan certain things wasn't that he intended to hide them from her. He was just afraid that if she knew these things, she might react too strongly.

Fortunately, Su Xiyan still had some rationality left and remained relatively clear-headed under Chen Shuo's analysis.

After pondering for a long time, Su Xiyan finally relaxed her teeth that had been biting her lip: "I understand. Since this is your choice, I'll do my best to help you. Don't worry, if Elder Xu decides to be your enemy, I'll stand firmly by your side."

Seeing Su Xiyan's passionate and sincere eyes, Chen Shuo didn't speak, but his heart was surging like a raging sea.

"But doing this will affect your future..."

"To hell with my future. I only know that without you, I wouldn't have everything I have today. And without you, I wouldn't want to be even the Jade Emperor himself."

"Didn't we say we'd share weal and woe? If one day you truly become an enemy of the world, I'll still stand firmly behind you."

After Su Xiyan's heartfelt words, Chen Shuo remained silent. At this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

Su Xiyan's promise was enough. Her words also gave Chen Shuo considerable support, making him more confident about today's task.

As they talked, they arrived at the Su Mansion.

This place was located in the suburbs of Su City, nestled against mountains and beside water, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The villa complex built against the mountain could be considered a masterpiece of human craftsmanship.

Because of its distance from Su City, Su Xiyan rarely returned to this place. It wasn't until Su Yuanying returned from out of town that people started living here again.

Elder Xu was also staying with Su Yuanying. After all, as an esteemed guest from the capital, Su Yuanying naturally had to entertain him well.

Someone of Elder Xu's caliber typically disliked the noise of the city, so this place became an ideal retreat for him.

Under Su Xiyan's guidance, the two entered the Su Mansion.

Once inside, they realized that the entire Su Mansion was even larger than it appeared from the outside. Initially, there was a straight, narrow path leading downwards. It took nearly ten minutes of driving just to reach the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard fanned out, and at first glance, it was magnificent and luxurious, giving the illusion of entering an ancient, stately manor.

Seeing this scene, Chen Shuo couldn't help but be amazed: "I never imagined your Su Family estate would be so grand!"

Su Xiyan showed a hint of pride: "Of course. After all, our Su Family is one of the top families in Su City. Having such a mansion is only natural."

Poverty had indeed limited Chen Shuo's imagination. He had often heard people say that the toilets in rich people's homes were larger than ordinary people's entire houses.

At the time, he thought this was somewhat exaggerated, but after seeing the Su Family estate, Chen Shuo realized how narrow his perspective had been. He truly had been like a frog in a well, unaware of the vast world outside.

"What do you think? Do you like it?" Su Xiyan asked with a smile.

Chen Shuo instinctively nodded, then seemed to think of something and quickly shook his head.

Su Xiyan noticed Chen Shuo's reaction: "If you like it, just say so. What's wrong with that?"

"No, it's not that. I was just thinking about how I once planned to buy a house. Now I see how presumptuous that was."

Chen Shuo sighed, remembering how he had wanted to buy a house for Su Xiyan. But the magnificent scale of the Su Mansion almost discouraged him completely.

The small piece of land he could afford was practically worthless compared to the Su Family estate.

"Silly, how is that presumptuous? Besides, is a bigger house necessarily better? Even the largest house, if you can't be with the person you love, is nothing more than a bigger cage. But if you're with the person you love, even a thatched cottage has its own happiness."