“The entire Southeast Asian market—our Southbound Shop has already laid the groundwork ahead of time. All we need is Lanling’s talent and technology to break in…”
“There’s no need to say anymore.”
Nangong Li stood up.
Beside her, Li Ruoxi had also memorized the information she needed.
She stood obediently to the side, saying nothing.
“The Lord said from the very beginning: if you get involved in the arms trade, he will abandon you.”
Nangong Li was merely carrying out her master’s orders.
It might have seemed cold and impersonal, but there were certainly many considerations behind it.
Li Ruoxi wouldn’t naively believe it was just about a single deal.
This had to involve matters of principle.
“Sister Li, I’ve finished reading. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
Li Ruoxi spoke with a gentle smile.
Her slender frame seemed frail even as she stood up.
Even though her smile showed no trace of fatigue, the air of delicacy that lingered between her brows never quite dissipated, making people worry she might collapse at any moment when she spoke.
“Alright.”
Nangong Li responded.
“Move aside.”
She said to Hu Xi, who was in front of her.
Then she reached out and pushed Hu Xi aside, walking ahead herself.
Hu Xi, who had been ignored throughout by this female butler who wouldn’t listen to her explanations, finally lost her temper.
“You! Stop right there!”
Hu Xi thoroughly hated this cold, utterly unfeeling butler.
Her voice rose slightly, cracking a little as she shouted for Nangong Li to stop.
“What are you so high and mighty about! Even if you are the butler of the Li Group’s chairman, you’re still just a butler. What right do you have to decide—without even notifying him—on a deal worth tens of millions of euros, or even hundreds of millions!”
Hu Xi clicked her high heels as she walked up to Nangong Li.
They were about the same height, and they stared straight at each other.
Lan Lan feebly tugged at Hu Xi, but Hu Xi shook her off resolutely.
Hu Xi continued, “And besides, if this market can be opened, the entire Lanling Group can reach the next level. Do you know what that means for Lan Lan? Do you even understand?”
“Do you think there’s still a market in China? Whether it’s Tianlun, Madanni, or any of those first-tier brands, they’re all eyeing Lanling hungrily! Do you know how much research funding we’ve poured in over the past few years just to develop new markets and new materials? And now, just when we’re about to turn that into money and expand the company, you cut off everyone’s dreams with a single sentence!”
“You’re nothing but a brainless shrew! Acting all aloof! The truth is you’re afraid Lanling will become too successful! You’re jealous that Lan Lan can reach such heights, while you’ll always be nothing more than a petty butler! Even if you are Li Wentian’s butler!”
Hu Xi was relentless, looking as if she wanted to devour Nangong Li’s flesh and blood.
“Sister Li… Xi’er! Shut up! Don’t say anymore!”
Lan Lan shouted to stop her.
“Sister Li, please don’t blame her. She’s just…”
Lan Lan sighed.
“Ah, she only wants the company to develop.”
“Ling Lanlan.”
Nangong Li didn’t even glance at Hu Xi, speaking directly to Lan Lan instead.
“I hope you’ll take care of yourself. Once I make a move, there’ll be no room for regret.”
“This… Sister Li… you…”
Lan Lan was shocked by such heartless words.
“You’re an absolute idiot! Not only do you refuse to help Lan Lan, you’re blocking her! What qualifications do you have! The entire Lanling Group brings countless benefits to the Li family. You show no respect to anyone—neither the monk nor the Buddha. This behavior of yours is no different from casting Lanling into the eighteenth level of hell! You’re a complete idiot!”
Hu Xi had to let it out.
How could a person with Nangong Li’s brain become the Li family’s butler?
It was utterly ridiculous—ignoring such a huge piece of cake.
And what did it matter if the Li family got involved in the arms trade?
In all of Zhongguo, let alone abroad, who would dare speak out?
“Miss, let’s go.”
Nangong Li ignored Hu Xi, took Li Ruoxi’s hand, and walked outside.
Nangong Li and Li Ruoxi had already reached the door when Hu Xi completely exploded.
“Stop right there!!!”
“Xi’er, forget it, forget it. Sister Li has a point.”
“What point does she have! Lan Lan, let me go! I’ll scratch that ugly face of hers! She’s a mindless idiot!”
“You… you can’t say that about Sister Li! Stop it!”
Lan Lan held her back tightly, one hand pulling her while the other tried to cover her mouth.
…
Li Ruoxi and Nangong Li got into the car.
The car started slowly, drove out of Lanling’s gates, and headed toward the highway bridge, taking the expressway back to the estate.
In the car, Li Ruoxi looked out the window.
The traffic and buildings flashed past her eyes, while the information she had seen earlier scrolled through her mind like a waterfall.
“Vivian Darcia.”
Cappadocia…
Li Ruoxi suddenly had some recollection.
“Sister Li, can I borrow your phone to look something up?”
Li Ruoxi turned her head and asked Nangong Li, who was quietly flipping through documents beside her.
“Hm?”
Nangong Li looked up in surprise.
“I almost forgot to get you a phone of your own, Miss.”
As she spoke, she took her full-screen smartphone out of her pocket.
“Thank you, Sister Li.”
After taking it, Li Ruoxi quickly opened the search engine.
“Vampire?”
Nangong Li noticed the search term.
“Why are you looking into that, Miss?”
Nangong Li frowned in confusion.
Even if vampires existed, she would despise them.
“Those races abandoned by God—even if they survive, they must live in the shadows every day, tormented.”
“Sister Li, do you hate them that much?”
Li Ruoxi’s small face showed surprise.
“Vampires aren’t that bad.”
“Has Miss encountered one?”
Nangong Li sensed something unusual in Li Ruoxi’s words.
“Ah… how could that be. Heh…”
Li Ruoxi gave a dry laugh and denied it.
“If vampires existed, I wonder what they’d look like.”
Li Ruoxi continued scrolling through the search results.
“Extinct Clan… it changed.”
The identity she had set for Vivian had changed—from a vampire clan of the Camarilla to an extinct clan.
“How strange…”
She kept browsing.
Nangong Li glanced at her from the side, shook her head, assuming it was just a young girl’s curiosity about strange stories.
“By the way, Miss. About the family that adopted you: an old woman named Li Xiulian, seventy-six, and a little girl named Li Xiaozhao, thirteen… The information has been confirmed. They’ve been missing for two years, and someone has applied to declare them dead.”
“Two years?”
Li Ruoxi was startled.
“How is it two years?”
“It takes two years by law before a missing person can be declared dead.”
“But I saw them not long ago…”
Li Ruoxi suddenly realized she had never actually seen either of them since the beginning.
And… she had never confirmed how long it had been since she left them.
“Is it two years, Sister Li?”
Her expression suddenly tightened.
“They’ve been missing for two years? Can Xiaozhao and Grandma still be found?”
Li Ruoxi pressed on.
“We’ll try our best.”
Nangong Li saw the lost look on Li Ruoxi’s small face.
“If you really did see them before, Miss, tell me the location so I can have people search there.”
Seeing Li Ruoxi still dazed, she added comfortingly, “Don’t worry. A good person will have good fortune.”
She didn’t even believe that herself, but Li Ruoxi’s expression made her want to say something comforting.
“Miss, it’ll be fine.”
Nangong Li took her pale, soft little hand.
“Everyone around you will be blessed.”
…
On the outskirts of Northsea City.
At the top of an abandoned lighthouse, in a room so dilapidated even the walls were gone, sat a figure wrapped in a black robe, completely shrouded in shadow, with a full figure.
The sky was overcast, thick with dark clouds.
The gray sea churned violently as a fierce wind howled.
Wave after wave crashed against the black cliffs beneath the lighthouse, spewing out large clouds of white foam.
The figure sat on an old but tidy black wooden chair, back to the land, facing the sea, as if gazing at something in the distance.
“Master, are you thinking of her?”
A voice as soft as a woman’s asked quietly.
“I’m just watching the sea.”
The figure replied.
“The sea?”
The voice sounded a little confused.
“Zuo Mi’er has already been found. This sea won’t be around much longer before it disappears. What a pity…”
The figure said deeply.
“Why doesn’t Master just join Lady Zuo Mi’er directly? When she awakens is still uncertain? The blood clans here are so weak.”
The woman-like voice remained puzzled.
The figure didn’t answer, just kept watching the sea.
The woman-like voice didn’t press further, simply accompanying her master.
Waves pounded the cliffs.
The sky grew darker, and even lightning flickered between the clouds.
A few seagulls soared in the howling wind, like the only specks of white in a gray painting.
“The power of the blood clans is not as weak as you imagine. We still need more people, and especially Zuo Mi’er’s strength.”
The figure said lowly.
“That little vampire has her father’s shadow on her. We can’t ignore it. As for Zuo Mi’er… no matter which side sacrifices, we can still pass the love of Light and Lord to the world… This requires a sacrifice and a villain.”
“Zuo Mi’er… is destined. I want to let her live a little longer. A few years won’t matter.”
“Master…”
The woman’s voice carried a hint of melancholy.
“Alright, let’s go back.”
The figure sighed lightly.
“Yes…”
boom…
The entire lighthouse suddenly trembled.
A massive head emerged from the sea.
The place where the two stood was actually on the back of a giant turtle.
“Who told you to surface?”
The woman scolded.
The figure said nothing.
The turtle submerged back into the sea, and the entire island slowly detached from the land.
The seagulls flying by outside seemed not to notice the turtle, just circling around endlessly.
The turtle slowly sailed into the ocean.
PS: La la la, padding the word count.