Chapter 31: Chapter 31: The Soul-Snatching Flying Phoenix
Reflecting upon his past and present lives, Shi Xiaole had to admit that he had never seen such a bewitching woman before.
If one were to discuss her facial features, Su Yanru easily counted as one of the most beautiful in the world, although she would not necessarily topple kingdoms or cities. However, her natural charm, emanating from her very bones, rendered every man who saw her positively enchanted, unable to shift their gaze.
Shi Xiaole was not a lustful person; he could not possibly harbor any intentions towards a woman he had only just met, let alone when she was his aunt. Nevertheless, a surge of emotions welled up within him uncontrollably, leaving him feeling tense all over.
Suddenly, Shi Xiaole understood. These lingering emotions belonged to the previous host, exploding at the sight of the person he cared about the most.
"Lele, why are your cheeks red? Are you sick?"
Walking towards him with a graceful gait, Su Yanru placed her slender jade fingers on Shi Xiaole’s forehead and muttered to herself, "Everything seems quite normal."
She then playfully patted him here and there, casually pressing her body — one that countless men in Feiyan City had lusted after — against the young man.
With a sigh.
Shi Xiaole had to reluctantly ask, "Auntie, do you like to play with me so much?"
If it was the original host here, perhaps he would have instantly tried to explain himself.
However, Shi Xiaole’s keen observational skills alerted him that although Su Yanru appeared to be fretting out loud, her beautiful eyes twinkled with mischief; she was merely toying with him for her amusement.
"Oh?"
With a slightly surprised look, Su Yanru glanced at Shi Xiaole. Although nothing had changed about his appearance, somehow something felt different.
"Lele, my right shoulder’s having issues again. Will you give me a quick scratch?"
She reached out to pinch his face intermittently, chortling amidst her banter.
Shi Xiaole chuckled and said, "Auntie, you must be remembered it wrong. An issue of yours is clearly with your left shoulder."
As he spoke, he silently sighed in relief. This beautiful woman was intriguing and cunning. Luckily, he had retained a good part of the original host’s memories; otherwise, he might have been caught out already!
With a giggle, Su Yanru teased, "Auntie deliberately did that just to check whether my little nephew is conscientious or not!"
She heaved a sigh of relief secretly.
Actually, she had already carefully checked; Shi Xiaole’s face did not bear any human skin mask. The latter question was just casual, based on her feminine intuition.
Now, it was confirmed. Shi Xiaole was still Shi Xiaole.
"Lele, spend more time with auntie during your time back. The Grand Tournament in the tower will be taking place the day after tomorrow; we could enjoy the spectacle together and admire the gracefulness of the Golden Phoenix Tower’s finest young heroes," said Su Yanru, pulling Shi Xiaole’s hand and sitting down together.
"Auntie, don’t you want me to participate in the Grand Tournament?"
Shi Xiaole looked at her.
Caressing his head lovingly, she replied with a smile, "Lele, why would you want to meddle in their ruthless competition? Don’t worry though, your auntie will always protect you in this life. Even if someone else becomes the future tower master, nobody will dare to bully you. When the time comes, your auntie will also get you some pretty brides, alright?"
A sour sensation welling up in his nose, Shi Xiaole found his heart filled with a warm sensation as well.
Those buried memories came flooding back like a tidal wave.
This aunt of his was really headstrong indeed.
At seven years old, the original host was a victim of street violence at the hands of a scion of a wealthy family, resulting in a broken hand. That very day, his aunt enacted her revenge by launching an assault on the scion’s family, leading to her counterattack and injuring the wealthy heir strictly.
When the original host was nine years old, the Chou Family, rivals of the Golden Phoenix Tower, kidnapped him in an attempt to swap his life for the territory that Golden Phoenix Tower had worked so arduously for. Yet again, it was his aunt who, ignoring everyone’s counsel, instantly agreed to the proposal.
As a result, many who had once stood by Su Yanru began to defect to the three Deputy Tower Masters. They felt that Su Yanru did not prioritize the interests of the Golden Phoenix Tower and hence was not worthy of their loyalty!
That very incident bore a profound impact on Su Yanru’s reputation; otherwise, with her level of capability, there was no way she would be overshadowed by the three Deputy Tower Masters.
"Auntie, I am aware of your affection for me. However, this time, I would like to participate in the Grand Tournament within the Tower," Shi Xiaole, who had initially been hesitating, voiced out his decision confidently.
Although he understood the depth of Su Yanru’s concern for him, he could not fail to live up to her expectations; he could not afford to be the element of weakness that others could use against her.
His words left Su Yanru stunned as she asked, "Lele, may I ask why?"
Despite not wanting to admit it, Su Yanru knew that Shi Xiaole was somewhat timid and frightened by significant events, making him appear particularly nervous.
That was a crucial reason why she did not want Shi Xiaole to participate in the Grand Tournament. Furthermore, considering the lineup of young talents participating in the tournament, there was a good chance Shi Xiaole would only bring humiliation upon himself and be subjected to ridicule instead.
Shi Xiaole replied, "Auntie, the young eagle does not wish to live under the protection of the mother eagle forever. It wishes that one day, it will be able to protect the mother eagle with its own wings."
Su Yanru was visibly taken aback. She laughed, "Lele, are you comparing yourself to a young eagle?"
In the past, such a question would have made Shi Xiaole blush with embarrassment, unable to muster a reply due to his inferiority complex.
However, this time, Su Yanru was surprised to see that not only did Shi Xiaole not fly into a rage out of shame, but he even calmly responded with a smile, "Even if I am not an eagle, I am still a bird and I will be able to protect my auntie."
This seemingly modest yet actually confident facial expression was something Su Yanru was all too familiar with. She remembered it as the expression often displayed by the big shots of the Martial World.
At this moment, Su Yanru felt certain once again that Shi Xiaole had indeed changed a lot.
"Auntie, in the past year that I’ve spent in the Huajian Sect, I’ve experienced a lot. I am aware that some matters are unavoidable. As your nephew, if I were to skip the Grand Tournament in the tower, some people would start attacking you again. On this matter at least, shouldn’t I show my face?"
Shi Xiaole picked up his cup of tea and took a relaxing sip.
The sight was so funny and also made Su Yanru furious that she couldn’t help but slap Shi Xiaole on his forehead. What a show off he was in front of his aunt!
"Since you’ve made up your mind, I can’t stop you. But you have to promise me that you’ll fight with those you can beat, and if you’re uncertain, you must forfeit!"
Su Yanru said very seriously.
"Yes, I’ll listen to my aunt."
Shi Xiaole readily agreed.
But Su Yanru had a feeling that this little guy didn’t seem to take her words to heart. Well, if he dared to disobey, she would intervene forcefully.
After chatting for a while, Shi Xiaole excused himself saying he was tired and went down.
As soon as he left, Su Yanru’s expression darkened. She immediately called Meng Qi over.
"Tell me everything that has happened to Lele in the past year in detail."
Su Yanru said coldly. In front of others, she reverted to being the decisive and resolute leader of the Golden Phoenix Tower.
Meng Qi nodded and started recounting how Shi Xiaole was bullied, leaving no detail unspoken, even including what insults were thrown at him and how many times he was hit.
However, he did not mention Shi Xiaole’s significant progress in martial arts.
Bang!
After hearing Meng Qi’s narration, Su Yanru slammed the table, her captivating eyes filled with anger.
It was outrageous that her precious Lele had been bullied like this in the past year?
Su Yanru looked at Meng Qi.
Startled, Meng Qi immediately raised his hands and said, "Leader, it was your order to let Young Master know the harshness of the world, not to intervene unless it’s a matter of life and death!"
Su Yanru snorted, "So, in your opinion, Lele still doesn’t have any talent for martial arts and his skills are still average?"
Meng Qi thought to himself that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the good news came out too early. So, he nodded vigorously, "Yes, Leader. I think you’d better take Young Master back by your side and keep an eye on him."
Su Yanru dismissively waved Meng Qi away, sighing.
She had thought that Shi Xiaole’s significant changes were surely due to some lucky encounters in his training. But it turned out she was overthinking.
"Brother-in-law and sister-in-law, even if Yanru can’t train Lele into a master, she will surely make sure he lives a happy life. Please don’t worry."
......
After saying goodbye to Su Yanru, Shi Xiaole wandered around the Golden Phoenix Tower by himself. From time to time, servants passed by him and stopped to greet him as Young Master Shi.
It was clear that these servants were well trained. No matter what was in their hearts, they looked respectful on the surface.
"Oh, isn’t this Xiaole? You’re back."
At that moment, a voice filled with insinuation rang out.
Shi Xiaole turned his head to see a young man wearing a golden crown walking towards him with a smile on his face, but there was a great deal of arrogance in his eyes.
"Lan Yu."
This man’s name was Lan Yu, one of the three geniuses of the Golden Phoenix Tower. He was Lan Ning’s twin brother and had always been at odds with Shi Xiaole.
"Xiaole, are you going to participate in the Inner Sect Competition too? Haha, don’t be scared to the point of trembling."
Lan Yu squeezed his brows, ’worrying’ about him, causing the other youngsters behind him to burst into laughter.
These were the descendants of the high-ranking members of the Golden Phoenix Tower. They sided with the second leader, so they did not hesitate to ridicule Shi Xiaole.
Because according to the rules, after the Inner Sect Competition, the Leader of the Golden Phoenix Tower would host a review meeting to state the merits and demerits over the years.
According to gossip they had heard, this time the three deputy leaders planned to unite with other high-ranking members to pressure the leader to resign.
Once this becomes reality, without his only pillar, they need not hold back against Shi Xiaole.
"Unless there’s something important, I need to rest. Excuse me."
Without uttering any harsh words, Shi Xiaole passed by them and left on his own.
To him, Lan Yu and his group didn’t even have the qualification to be threatened.
"Humph, why is he so arrogant? The Leader will be replaced soon, what will he use to show off then!"
Lan Yu grumbled in anger.
"Brother Lan, your sister has made great progress in her martial arts since she returned this time. If she becomes the heir, the second leader is likely to become the transitional leader, and you will be the young leader. Remember to promote us at that time."
A boy on the side joked half-seriously.
After hearing this, Lan Yu laughed loudly and instantly cheered up, "Sure, sure."
Shi Xiaole’s private courtyard was located on the east side of the Golden Phoenix Tower. It was on a different tier compared to Huajian Sect’s courtyard, whether in scale or arrangement.
When he walked into the door, two maids were already waiting there, with a bath ready for him.
Shi Xiaole casually spoke to the two for a while, ordered them to rest, then returned to his room and immediately began training.
With only one day left until the big competition, he wanted to see if he could use the Fuyang Qi Skill to break through his internal skill level.
