After leaving the Fang Family, Qiu Yiming's face became completely gloomy. He had not stayed at the Fang Family for too long, ever since he saw Bai Qianqian and found out about her relationship with Fang Yuxin, he became so agitated he almost lost control of himself. Fearing that he might do something drastic, he had to hastily take his leave.
The cool night breeze that blew against him did nothing to soothe his irritability; instead, it spurred a bloodthirsty impulse within him. A black car slowly drove up and stopped beside Qiu Yiming. He pulled the door open and climbed into the back seat. As soon as he settled in, he irritably tore open his buttons and asked with a sullen face, "What about it? Have you found them?"
The driver was his confidant. On hearing the question, he shook his head, "They're very cautious. We checked that road segment and didn't find them."
"A bunch of trash!" Qiu Yiming cursed under his breath and roughly twisted open a bottle of mineral water to take a sip before ordering, "Let's head back for now."
The driver responded and, without further conversation, turned and drove out of the villa district seriously. Just as they exited the gates of the villa district, Qiu Yiming suddenly saw someone. With a thought, he told the driver to drive over.
Fang Mengyao stood alone by the roadside, without even a car in sight. She was slim and clad in a long white dress, its hem fluttered in the night breeze like a tentative butterfly taking flight, beautiful yet fragile.
She was startled to see the black car approaching, but before it got near, she already received a prompt from the gaming system —— [Ding! Side quest: Meet Major Qiu Yiming, do you accept?]
Fang Mengyao watched the approaching black car and silently chose [Yes]. She knew Qiu Yiming was Fang Yuxin's fiancé and the person the original owner of her body had been secretly in love with. If it had not been for Qiu Yiming rejecting the original owner's confession, which led her to take her own life in a fit of despair, she would not have transmigrated into this body. Hence, she had long wanted to see for herself what kind of person Qiu Yiming was. With this opportunity presenting itself, naturally, she could not miss it.
The black car stopped in front of Fang Mengyao. The car door did not open; instead, the window slowly rolled down. Qiu Yiming turned his face to look at her with a concerned tone, he asked, "Xiao Yao? Why are you here by yourself so late at night?"
Fang Mengyao looked at him, and her whole being shuddered vehemently. Her heart seemed to tear open, letting an endless tide of bitterness and reluctance pour out. Fang Mengyao's eyes instantly reddened, and tears brimmed over.
Qiu Yiming was taken aback. He too was surprised to see Fang Mengyao and had only come over to see if he could get any information from her, but looking at Fang Mengyao like this... he suddenly remembered the shy and nervous confession she had made some time ago.
At the time, Fang Mengyao had sneaked up to him, saying that she liked him and was willing to be his mistresses secretly, but he did not agree and rejected her straight away. Although Fang Mengyao was a beautiful girl, she paled in comparison to Fang Yuxin, and he certainly did not want to upset Fang Yuxin and the Fang Family over a woman.
They had not seen each other since then, and now suddenly encountering Fang Mengyao, he noticed something different about her. It wasn't just her clothes; even her temperament had changed. The previous Fang Mengyao had a bit of a reserved, docile nature, and even during her confession, she had her head down, only daring to steal glances at him.
But this time, Fang Mengyao not only appeared much colder, but she also didn't have the docile air of before and didn't behave in a timid manner. She even dared to make eye contact with him — this was something new! Seeing Fang Mengyao's teary yet stubborn gaze, Qiu Yiming became a bit more interested in her and thus asked another question, "Why are you crying? Are you on your way home? Do you want me to give you a lift?"
Fang Mengyao's gaze flickered slightly as she moved around to the other side and pulled open the car door to get in. She was dressed in a sleeveless long dress and hugged her arms after getting in as if she were cold. Qiu Yiming glanced at her and then told the driver to turn up the temperature of the air conditioning before turning the car around to head back to the Fang Family.
Fang Mengyao quickly spoke up, "I'm not going back to the Fang Family!" After saying this, she seemed to realize she had grown too agitated and turned her head to look at Qiu Yiming. Her tone softened as she said, "Brother Yi Ming, I don't want to go to that place; it's not my home. Just drop me off at any hotel."
Qiu Yiming pulled out a tissue and handed it to her, asking with concern, "What exactly happened? Why are you going to stay in a hotel? Don't you have a place to live?"
Fang Mengyao shook her head with a look of dejection and said, "The house was sold; I have nowhere to go now." At that point, she suddenly turned her head, her eyes locking onto Qiu Yiming firmly, "Brother Yi Ming, could you promise me not to tell the Fang Family about my return? They don't know yet; I secretly came back without them knowing."
Qiu Yiming did not refuse. He had the driver head to the city center and found a five-star hotel for Fang Mengyao to stay in. After escorting Fang Mengyao into her room, he left. Turning around, he curled his lips in a cold smile. He hadn't expected that the once timid and undistinguished Fang Mengyao would have learned to be so cunning. Unfortunately, her scheming seemed amateurish in front of him.
The Fang Family was large and wealthy. Having purchased that apartment for her, how could they possibly take it back? Moreover, if the Fang Family had truly intended to drive her out of the city, they would never have let her stay in the first place. Fang Mengyao simply didn't understand the Fang Family, nor did she understand him.
...
After leaving the Fang Family, Fang Yuxin returned to her room and directly entered the spatial formation. Within the formation, there was a medicine field with many spiritual medicines growing. She hadn't recognized them before, but after successfully entering the Qi Refining Early Stage, she unlocked the Sealing Array on the Scripture Pavilion. Inside the Scripture Pavilion was a massive bookcase filled with Jade Scrolls, whose contents were extensive and varied. However, with her limited strength, the only thing she could read for now was the "Hundred Herbs Record," a Jade Scroll that recorded basic spiritual medicines.
After reading through it, Fang Yuxin recognized one of the plants in the medicine field as the Bone Marrow Cleansing Fruit. This fruit was the main ingredient in making the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill, which even ordinary people could consume to purge impurities from their bodies. Consumed alone, the fruit's powerful medicinal effect was overwhelming, causing discomfort if not processed. Fortunately, it was not harmful to one's health; it simply caused pain.
Now that the Bone Marrow Cleansing Fruit was ripe, there were a total of ten berries, each just a bit larger than a thumb and rosy in color. Their fragrance seeped through the thin fruit skin, very enticing. Following the methods recorded in the scroll, Fang Yuxin carefully picked the fruits and placed them in a Jade Box.
The Jade Box was found in the warehouse; initially, she thought there was nothing in there, but after entering the Qi Refining Early Stage, she discovered hidden formations inside. Upon unlocking them, what she found was a pile of Jade Boxes and Jade Bottles, all from the Cultivation World, engraved with spatial formations and Sealing Arrays, which preserved freshness exceptionally well, preventing the loss of spiritual energy.
She took out a Bone Marrow Cleansing Fruit, then closed the lid of the box; the seal automatically activated, cutting off the escaping spiritual energy quickly. Coming out of the spatial formation, Fang Yuxin filled the bathtub with lots of hot water, then lay down in it and took the Bone Marrow Cleansing Fruit into her mouth. Upon entering, the fruit turned into a sweet spiritual liquid, automatically infiltrated her limbs and bones. Soon, an agonizing pain, like that of insects and ants biting, rose from her limbs, and at the beginning, Fang Yuxin could bear it. But as the pain grew more intense, she hurriedly grabbed a clean cloth twisted into a strip beside her and bit down hard with her teeth.
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Next chapter, the apocalypse begins.