Chapter 377 Finale 1
Gu Xiqiao’s tone when she spoke sounded indifferent. And yet for some reason, the representative of Chu Corporation was shaking in fear!
Gu Xiqiao’s notoriety was not just limited to the ancient martial arts world. Even among his peers, her name carried a lot of weight. After all, there were already three great giants who had been toppled by her. The way she attacked was swift and relentless. Merely mentioning her name was enough to send chills up their spine.
This was also why no one dared to mess with Nine Heavens when Gu Xiqiao was still around. Knowing Gu Xiqiao’s ferocity, they knew that doing so was an act of futility. Lay a single finger on Nine Heavens and the corporate empire they painstakingly constructed in the secular world would be wiped off completely and mercilessly from the face of the earth!
Finally, when they caught wind about Gu Xiqiao’s death, they resumed their unscrupulous plans. Nine Heavens in such a moment was a fatty piece of meat that was dangling before their eyes.
To be able to reach such heights within such a short amount of time, how could they not wish to acquire this piece of treasure? However, for the most part, that was all there was to it. The people of the secular world were awed by Nine Heavens’ achievements but to acquire them in such a bold manner? Only an insane person would dare to commit such a thing!
Chu Enterprise stood out from the rest, for they were the first to make a move upon receiving news of Gu Xiqiao’s death. Now that they had a group of exceptional people working under them, they had acquired a great deal of smaller businesses and had now set their sights on Nine Heavens.
The course of history shifted once more for the secular world after Gu Xiqiao’s sudden downfall was announced.
It was incredibly important to a company’s survival to have a strong person behind the wheel.
Chu Enterprise had just received an additional batch of these strong people; their business expanded at an exponential rate as a result. A large part of Nine Heavens’ manpower was concentrated on completing their respective tasks, leaving only a handful of above-average employees running the entire company’s operations. Naturally, they were no match for Chu Enterprise’s full might.
Chu Enterprise was initially skeptical about the news. They were worried that Gu Xiqiao would reappear out of nowhere but upon digging deeper into the incident, they realized that indeed, it had been a while since she had last appeared. This emboldened them to make the first move.
Finally, they were able to confirm that Gu Xiqiao’s downfall was true!
It was beyond their calculations that Gu Xiqiao would suddenly return after they had obtained Star Net!
The representative of Chu Enterprise stared at Gu Xiqiao, dumbfounded. His hands and feet were shaking. He had previously heard how terrifying Gu Xiqiao was but he had never met her up close in person before. However, what he felt right now was far more horrific than what he had heard.
Opening his mouth, he wanted to beg for mercy and forgiveness but not a single word could be produced by his vocal cords.
"I assume you’re working for Chu Enterprise?" Gu Xiqiao grabbed the phone at the precise moment when it came falling down. She then swiftly tucked it into the representative’s pocket. "Answer my question," she said.
Only a suicidal fool would refuse to answer her question.
The representative of Chu Enterprise wished to answer her question but he struggled to produce anything coherent as a reply. He had not even the strength to raise his arm, how could she expect him to speak?! How could he possibly explain his way out of this predicament anyway?!
Cold beads of sweat were rolling down his body. Thankfully, in the nick of time, his mind had cleared up. Recalling what Gu Xiqiao said and what he himself said, he suddenly felt the urge to break down and cry. Why did he even think it was a good idea to utter such nonsense?! To make Yu Ning kowtow to him? Demanding that Gu Xiqiao come see him personally?! And threatening to burn her property down to the ground?!
Thinking about this, realization finally set in, that all this while, he had been slowly marching towards his own death!
Thud– Without saying a word more, he knelt down while facing Yu Ning’s direction. His arms were still frozen solid but that did not stop him from doing what he intended to do.
Placing his head on the ground, he begged for Yu Ning’s forgiveness. Finally, he passed the USB stick which contained the Star Net program which he had come under his possession for no more than a couple of minutes.
"Go back and tell Chu Ziheng this," Gu Xiqiao clapped her hands and a smirk appeared on her face. "Tell him that I want Chu Enterprise."
After she said that, she waved him off. "Now get out of my face."
The men sent by Chu Enterprise ran out of the door as soon as Gu Xiqiao issued her ultimatum. Still on all fours, the representative crawled hastily out of the door. He strode into Nine Heavens like a hero about to claim his throne but ended up being booted out like a spirit that had been exorcised.
Their faces were all as pale as sheets of paper. They looked at each other after they had left Nine Heavens, confirming that they weren’t the only ones who were shaking in fear.
If only they had known that she was still alive, they would never have chosen to mess with Nine Heavens! This entire incident felt like they had just willingly walked into a trap laid by themselves!
"Should we tell the young master what she said just now?" asked one of the men.
"In any case, we absolutely must inform him of Gu Xiqiao’s return. And... I’m afraid our company’s sailing into dangerous waters," replied the representative of Chu Enterprise.
No one dared to go against Gu Xiqiao’s orders, even her enemies.
When she declared that she wanted Chu Enterprise, there was nothing they could do to stop her from achieving her goals, regardless of how massive the number of resources Chu Enterprise had under their possession.
Within Nine Heavens’ headquarters.
Mu Zong, Yu Ning, and a couple of other secretaries all stared in disbelief at the person standing before them. Mu Zong’s voice sounded hoarse and his hands were shaking. "Miss Gu, y-you’ve... you’ve come back?"
Luo Wenlang had already told them of her demise. Like Luo Wenlang and the rest of the inhabitants of Peace Manor, none of them believed the news. And so, they patiently waited for her return.
This was especially true for Mu Zong. Among these people, he was one of the first to meet Gu Xiqiao. Back then, she was just another child in his eyes. Whenever Mu Jiatong asked about her, he would tell the kid, "Your big sis has gone out on a mission."
His mind simply could not accept her death!
"Finally, you’re back," said Yu Ning with a smile. His tense expression had loosened up quite a bit. "If you came back any later, Star Net would have been given to them entirely."
The anguish they felt over the past few days had been wiped out in an instant. The depressed look on their faces faded away immediately upon seeing Gu Xiqiao.
"That’s right, I’m back," responded Gu Xiqiao. "I’m sorry to have troubled you guys during this period."
She too understood the implications of the news of her death upon the supernatural world. However, she was surprised by how much it affected Nine Heavens as well.
"Say, Chu Enterprise’s specialty is in the F\u0026B industry," said Yu Ning with a puzzled expression. "Why on earth would they want Star Net? If they want more cash flow, wouldn’t it make more sense to just invest in our company?"
Well, it is inevitable that Star Net will dominate the entire globe one day in the future. What they want isn’t Star Net, but instead, control over the entire world," said Gu Xiqiao while shaking her head in disappointment. All that still depended on her. "Let’s talk about this some other time. Where’s Jiji?"
"Speaking about Jiji!" An odd expression appeared on Yu Ning’s face when he heard Gu Xiqiao mention Jiji. "It’s still in the laboratory, but half a month ago, it..." Yu Ning started stuttering halfway through his sentence, struggling to find the right word to describe Jiji’s condition.
"What? You’re trying to say that it’s busted?" Gu Xiqiao followed Yu Ning out to where Jiji was located.
"It’s not exactly busted but... you’ll understand when you see it." Yu Ning pushed the door of the laboratory open.
In it was a little robot wearing a frilly little dress. It looked the same as before but Gu Xiqiao could sense that this was no longer Jiji. To be precise, the pile of data that made up Jiji’s consciousness had already detached from its physical robotic body. This little robot was now in fact, just a regular robot.
"I think I understand now." Half a month ago, it just happened that her soul had returned to a time where she lived her previous life. It was at that point that she lost connection with Jiji completely.
But where was Jiji now?
Gu Xiqiao could not detect its presence in any way. She massaged her temples as a minor headache started.
"You go on and continue with your job. I’m going to make a body for it. " Gu Xiqiao’s eyes scanned across the material which was strewn around the lab. She then started picking up random parts and collecting them into a pile.
Yu Ning was about to leave but stopped in his tracks when he saw what Gu Xiqiao was holding. The corner of his mouth twitched. "Miss Gu, are you planning to build Jiji a new body?"
"Do you have an issue with it?" asked Gu Xiqiao.
Yu Ning looked at the pile of bright green components. Silently, he said a prayer for Jiji. "Nope, not at all. Do go on."
Gu Xiqiao continued with her little project. Instead of heading straight back to the ancient martial arts world, she remained at Nine Heavens for the next two days.
"Miss Gu? Miss Gu?" The secretary was in the middle of giving Gu Xiqiao a brief report on the recent developments but noticed how she was zoning out. This was the first time he had seen her like this, which piqued his curiosity.
"I understand. You can leave now." Gu Xiqiao snapped back into reality and waved off the secretary.
"..."
’Right, maybe she was just multitasking! That’s right! That sounds more like my boss!’
Gu Xiqiao picked up her phone. She discovered that she had a message from Shu Chen. [Qiao Qiao, come back and have dinner with us tonight. I have already invited our friends. You kids sure know how to make things lively after all!]
It had been a while since she last had a proper meal. Without giving it too much thought, she immediately replied ’alright’.
In the evening, Gu Xiqiao drove her little pink car back home.
Shu Chen was right. She really did invite her friends over for dinner.
There was Tang Yanling, Yin Jinian, Luo Wenlang, Zhuge Yan, Tang Qinghong, Baili Bin... the entire table was packed. Thankfully, the Jiang family was able to afford a massive dining table, else they would never have been able to fit so many people.
"Miss Gu," The great elder rose from his seat and raised his glass to dedicate a toast to Gu Xiqiao.
This was something he wanted to do for a long time now. Gu Xiqiao had made so many sacrifices for the ancient martial arts world. Without her, they would not have been here today.
Gu Xiqiao too stood up and raised her glass. She paused for a moment when her lips made contact with the glass. She took no more than a sip. Afterward, she murmured something to the butler and the contents of her glass were switched out for plain water.
The table was rowdy from all the chatter. The cold, desolate atmosphere that lingered in the Jiang family manor suddenly faded away. Finally, the air here became much warmer.
Shu Chen smiled at the sight of this. However, this did not last long as halfway through their meal, she started frowning after the butler whispered something into her ear. Still, that frown was suppressed in less than a second.
This was so that it did not attract the attention of the rest of her guests. She remained seated there for only a moment before she got up and left. Gu Xiqiao rubbed her chin as she pondered what had happened.
It wasn’t long before Shu Chen returned. Her expression did not change much but Gu Xiqiao noticed how her fists were now tightly clenched.
"You acquired Chu Enterprise recently, I heard?" asked Luo Wenlang. He had been really busy, dealing with matters related to the ancient martial arts world that he had only been informed of this after a conversation with Yu Ning.
Gu Xiqiao leaned back into her chair. "Yup," she replied nonchalantly.
"You don’t seem like you care about the mess you’re making," commented Luo Wenlang when he saw Gu Xiqiao’s casual demeanor when speaking about this issue. He paused for a moment before asking: "Why do I feel like you’ve become much lazier since the last time I met you?"
"What do you mean the mess I’m making? At the latest, news of Chu Enterprise’s acquisition by us would be out by today." Gu Xiqiao yawned lazily. Seeing that everybody was almost done with their meal, she got up from her seat. "I’m exhausted from all the work today. I’m gonna hit the sack soon. If you’ve got anything to tell me, tell it to me tomorrow."
She turned and headed upstairs right after saying that.
"Exhausted?" Yin Shaoyuan, who had just produced a pack of playing cards froze up awkwardly. "Little Luo, didn’t you say that all she did over at Nine Heavens was play around?"
"That is correct," replied Luo Wenlang, who was also baffled by Gu Xiqiao’s statement. "But, whenever the boss says she’s tired even though she isn’t, there’s nothing you can do or say to make her change her mind. You guys go ahead and play your cards. I’m gonna go watch some news."
"News?" Yin Shaoyuan’s eyes narrowed. "Is there perhaps, something interesting that is going to appear in the news?"
"You won’t understand it anyway. It’s about Chu Enterprise," replied Luo Wenlang. While waving his hand, he left the room.
The senior elder watched as Bai Libin and the rest joined Yin Shaoyuan’s game of poker. "It’s the end of the world and you all are still in the mood for games?"
"We’re missing one player, you in or not?" asked Yin Shaoyuan as he waved the card in his hand.
"Oh alright alright!" said the senior elder as he finally gave in.
It was around that time that news of Nine Heavens’ acquisition of Chu Enterprise finally made its appearance on the TV screen. Business channels across the globe were all talking about this topic simultaneously!
In the period leading up to this event, Chu Enterprise was faring well in their campaign of mass acquisitions of surrounding businesses through questionable methods. Although these businesses had been bought by them, many of their owners were still bitter about it till today!
And as if what they were doing wasn’t outrageous enough, Chu Enterprise finally made their move against Nine Heavens.
Nine Heavens! Just what the hell did they think this mighty company was?! They massively underestimated how insanely powerful the figure running the company was.
There were quite a lot of people across the globe watching the battle between these two corporate giants. It was a battle that relied entirely on brains. Surprisingly, most of the spectators placed their bets on Chu Enterprise. This wasn’t because they failed to recognize how capable Nine Heavens was, but the dirty tactics Chu Enterprise employed was way too low!
It was apparent to them that Chu Enterprise had been preparing for this final showdown since a long time ago.
The entire globe held their breaths, awaiting news of the most recent developments. As time passed, the more it seemed like things would play out according to their expectations. Chu Enterprise had finally acquired Nine Heavens’ newest toy, Star Net.
And yet, only two days had passed before the person, who had announced Chu Enterprise’s acquisition of Star Net, suddenly announced news of Chu Enterprise’s abrupt bankruptcy!
It was simply out-of-this-world! It had merely been moments ago that Chu Enterprise had reached the peak of their corporate empire, and now they’re bankrupt? Not only that, they had been acquired by Nine Heavens? Even if they were indeed dreaming, things typically did not go South so quickly, right? Where were the genius strategists of Chu Enterprise?! Where did they go? How is this even possible?!
"This is impossible!" muttered the man to himself as he paced around the room.
"How so?" The old man who sat next to him shook his head. "Don’t forget who the person running Nine Heavens is. It’s Miss Gu we’re talking about. Who else could possibly match Miss Gu when it comes to strategic warfare?"
"Miss Gu? No, this isn’t right. The last time I checked, the internet stated that Miss Gu was the director of Nine Heavens. But no matter how deep I dug, I could not find even a strand of evidence that linked her to the company."
The old man next to him picked up a book. "If she wants you to find her, you’ll be able to. If she wishes otherwise, then, of course, you will come back empty-handed no matter how hard you search for her."
In any case, news of Nine Heavens’ new acquisition had spread around the corporate world overnight.
Those who doubted Nine Heavens, in the beginning, were baffled. How was it possible that a company could be so potent? There was virtually no one that could stop Chu Enterprise in their march towards world domination. And yet, their forces were shattered overnight by Nine Heavens?
It was at this moment that the final link was created between Miss Gu and Nine Heavens!
A couple of world-famous entrepreneurs were going insane on social media. Some even created a Weibo account themselves to access the Chinese social media directly.
It had been a while since Gu Xiqiao last posted something on her Weibo account. Despite this, the number of comments and mentions of her account had reached over seven million!
"I just saw a British billionaire mention Beauty Gu, asking for permission to be her number one fan. Say, what on earth did our Beauty Gu do this time? What’s up with these people?"
"Nothing much, she has just acquired Chu Enterprise."
"I went to bed after seeing how there wasn’t anything going on with my goddess’ social media account. Why the hell is there over five hundred thousand comments now?! What are y’all doing?"
"Who cares about that billionaire guy? Did you guys see the POTUS’s tweet, saying how he wishes to become Beauty Gu’s pet?! And then he got trolled by our Supreme General!"
"Say what?! The Supreme General’s got a Weibo account now? Excuse me? I’ve only been away from the internet for 2 days and even the Supreme General’s a Weibo user now?"
"Dear friends, I would advise you guys to go look at Beauty Gu’s watchlist. After that, we’ll sit down and have a little talk. :)"
***
The most pitiful person at such a moment was the Chu family. They had only wished to obtain Nine Heavens’ Star Net. Before this incident, their company had once worked together with Nine Heavens; never in a million years would they have expected this to happen. For a simple goal, they sacrificed something they had struggled to build over so many years.
Gu Xiqiao did not particularly care about the changes that were happening in the outside world. She had just finished washing herself up and now in her bedroom, she booted up her computer.
Shu Chen stood outside her room. Raising her arm, she wanted to knock on the door but decided against it at the final moment.
"Madam, if I may ask, what are you doing here?" asked the butler who had just left the study. He was slightly puzzled by seeing Shu Chen standing there idly outside Gu Xiqiao’s room.
"I’m here to talk to Qiao Qiao."
The butler stared at her with a blank expression. "Then why don’t you just go in?"
Shu Chen raised her arm again. "Well, I was going to, until you came over."
Before she rapped her knuckles on the door, it popped open automatically.
Gu Xiqiao had just finished drying her hair with a towel. She smiled at Shu Chen. "Is there anything I can help you with Mom?"
"Not really," Shu Chen was a little reluctant when she spoke. Still, she noticed how surprisingly calm Gu Xiqiao’s expression was.
In a way, her calmness rubbed off on Shu Chen. With her heart now beating calmly, she grabbed Gu Xiqiao’s hand. "Qiao Qiao, I just wanted to tell you that no matter what you hear from Mo Li, never take it as the truth. Shuxuan isn’t the person that she’s describing."
After saying that, she looked at Gu Xiqiao’s face anxiously awaiting a response.
Gu Xiqiao’s facial expression remained largely the same. The look in her eyes was dead serious. "Mom, I have faith in him and him alone."
"That’s good," responded Shu Chen. She could sense that Gu Xiqiao was speaking from the bottom of her heart, which made her smile. "Qiao Qiao, I have no idea who that Mo Li person is. She says that she has known Shuxuan for a very long time but trust me, there is nothing going on between them in any sort of way. The last time, I was very sure that she had left the ancient martial arts world. I have no idea why she chose to return so suddenly."
Gu Xiqiao knew that it was Mo Li who came to visit Shu Chen during dinner. She wasn’t surprised by what Shu Chen was telling her right now.
The sun was already high up in the sky when Gu Xiqiao woke up the next day.
Slipping into her shoes, she opened the curtains. There had only been a handful of times that she had slept till such an hour.
Gu Xiqiao massaged her temples. After brushing her hair, she went downstairs.
Today, she wanted to drop by the Peace Manor.
"Qiao Qiao left?" Shu Chen went out early in the morning, only to see a servant tidying up the dining table when she returned.
"Yes ma’am, she left not long ago."
Shu Chen saw a single egg left behind by Gu Xiqiao. She scratched her head. Gu Xiqiao was never a picky eater, so why did she choose to leave this egg behind? "Did Qiao Qiao say that she’s feeling unwell today?"
"No, not to my knowledge," replied the servant. Gu Xiqiao had even directed a smile at her before she left. At least to her, she didn’t seem like she was a person who was down with an illness.
Shu Chen’s brows furrowed. Was it because of what she told Gu Xiqiao yesterday?
She let out a sigh when she thought about this. She was practically helpless where this issue was concerned. All she could do was wait for Jiang Shuxuan’s return.
***
Gu Xiqiao was slowly strolling towards Peace Manor. Halfway through her journey, she was stopped by someone.
"Miss Gu, do you have a second to spare? I’d like to have a word with you." said the woman.
Gu Xiqiao narrowed her eyes when she looked at the person who had stopped her. Nodding, she said: "Let’s go, there’s a teahouse up ahead."
She then continued walking forwards.
Mo Li followed behind her. It was up until she sat down on a bench at the teahouse that realization finally set in. Wait a minute. She should be the one taking the lead. At which point did she start allowing Gu Xiqiao to take the wheel?
Feeling something off about this whole process, Mo Li continued sipping on her tea. She peered up at Gu Xiqiao. "He’s at the Legacy Base. He’ll understand as soon as he returns, the disparity between you and him I mean."
"So?" asked Gu Xiqiao with a raised brow. Her fingers continued fiddling with her teacup as she entered into a semi-daydreaming state.
"Nothing much really," Mo Li was silently smiling to herself. "I just hope that you’re prepared..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the phone in her pocket started ringing. Instead of walking away, she answered the call right there at the table with Gu Xiqiao sitting opposite to her. She then uttered an address. To be specific, it was the address of the teahouse they were at.
Gu Xiqiao’s eyes were glued to her phone.
"Are you perhaps curious about who I am talking to?" Mo Li chuckled. She then looked over at Gu Xiqiao. "I was talking to the Ghost Legion, who once served under him a very long time ago. Each member of this legion possesses powers far beyond what you are capable of comprehending!"
Seeing Gu Xiqiao’s expressionless look, Mo Li realized it was much better to just keep silent. Her head turned towards the door.
"Miss Mo Li." It had only been a couple of seconds at most before an entire troop formation appeared before them. In unison, they bowed at her.
There were 81 of them, each wearing a silver suit of armor. The aura that they gave off felt exactly like that of an unsheathed blade; they felt as sharp as a weapon!
"My brother should be coming back soon! In the meantime, you guys should sit tight in the ancient martial arts world," said Mo Li as she rose from her seat.
The men’s stoic expressions turned into one of glee when they heard the announcement. The man, who was presumably their leader, spoke with a shaking voice. "Miss Mo Li, does that mean that we can finally see our master?"
"Of course," she replied with a confident smile.
They were fairly confident that Mo Li was speaking the truth. For now, no one was capable of topping their master, with the exception of Mo Li herself. This was also why they had so much respect for her.
"Right, this person is your master’s wife here," said Mo Li as she gestured towards Gu Xiqiao.
Wife?
"How is this possible?!" Not a single member of the 81-man team could believe what Mo Li had just said. Turning towards Gu Xiqiao, the leader continued, "She’s just a regular human being!"
"Miss Mo Li, are you pulling our leg or something?"
"..."
They did everything but greet Gu Xiqiao as the wife of their master.
Mo Li’s facial expression was neutral, but this was what she had originally intended. She turned towards Gu Xiqiao, only to see the same natural expression she herself was wearing. She didn’t seem to be affected by their words. In fact, she was so laid-back that she had just poured herself another cup of tea.
Sensing that Mo Li wasn’t very fond of this woman, a man walked out from the formation and bowed at her. "I wonder what this young missus has up her sleeve. Could you please teach me a lesson or two?"
His words might sound respectful but there was nothing respectful about his overall demeanor. With an open palm, he was about to slap Gu Xiqiao across the face.
The boss of the teahouse and the other patrons smirked. They were challenging Miss Gu? Have they lost their mind?!
Gu Xiqiao did not move. Calmly, she held onto her teacup.
One meter away!
She remained still.
Half a meter away!
She remained still.
Ten centimeters away!
She remained still!
Just when they thought she had been so caught up in fear that she had frozen up, a man dressed in gray robes suddenly appeared next to her. Effortlessly, he grabbed onto the arm of Gu Xiqiao’s assailant.
"Anyone who disrespects my master shall be slain without mercy." Tengen looked at the man. With a slight of his hand, the man’s neck was firmly between his fingers.
The man was an ace within the Ghost Legion; his strength was through the roof. And yet, within a split second, he had been immobilized by this man?!
"That’s enough. Time for us to leave, Tengen." Gu Xiqiao finally put down her teacup.
The place was so quiet that the sound of her porcelain teacup hitting the table was crisp and loud.
Gu Xiqiao placed a banknote on the table before leaving the teahouse at a leisurely pace. Those who stood in front of her backed away unconsciously, forming a pathway made specifically for her.
"Y-you’re both demigods?" All 81 pairs of eyes were on Gu Xiqiao and Tengen.
Demigods? Tengen laughed. He looked back at the men. Fortunately, he was in a relatively good mood today. "No, we are not."
However, his master did once turn the world of the demigods upside down.
The owner of the teahouse quickly caught up with Gu Xiqiao, demanding that Gu Xiqiao keep her money. The 81 men felt as if they had each been given a slap to the face. Seeing this, the owner felt a sudden urge to slap their heads to check if their brains were still in there. "I can’t believe you guys really thought you had a chance at beating her. Have you all lost your minds?!"