In a bedroom on the first floor of the villa.
Murong Chang sat at the head of the bed, smoking a cigarette, with the quilt covering everything below his chest.
Suddenly, a pair of snow-white arms emerged from under the covers and wrapped around his neck.
“What is it now?” Murong Chang asked helplessly, his voice a bit raspy and lacking strength.
Zhao Rongrong poked her head out from the covers, her hair disheveled. She leaned against his chest and began tracing circles on his skin with her finger.
“Is that girl really that special? Even you were stunned.”
“She truly is special. It’s my first time seeing a girl with such a unique temperament. You wouldn’t believe it, but when I see her, I often think of my mother. It’s very strange.”
“Is her maternal aura that strong?”
“Cough, cough… you could say that.”
“That girl doesn’t have the scent of milk on her; she shouldn’t have had children. Why would she have something like a maternal aura?” Zhao Rongrong asked, puzzled.
“Who knows? Maybe she was born to be a mother. Let’s not talk about her; let’s talk about Xiao Xue.”
“What about Xiao Xue?”
Murong Chang stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, then lay down, pulling his charming wife into his arms. “Honey, don’t you think Xiao Xue has been changing more and more lately?”
“Has she?”
He nodded firmly. “She has.”
“When she gets angry, that aura of hers… even I feel afraid.”
“Could it be because of that girl?”
“No, that girl’s aura is different from Xiao Xue’s. Xiao Xue’s… how should I put it? It’s like a sword, sharp and overbearing.”
“Why are you getting more and more mysterious with your descriptions?” Zhao Rongrong slapped him lightly, her tone somewhat complaining.
Murong Chang rubbed his chest. “I’m serious! Just now! Didn’t you feel it?”
She shook her head.
“You can try it yourself another day. Try making her angry and you’ll see.”
“I can’t even dote on Xiao Xue enough; how could I make her angry? You think I’m like you?”
“Right, right, I’m the one who likes making her angry.”
Murong Chang’s eyes were dazzled by the flash of white skin before him, and the desire that had just settled began to stir again.
“Honey, do you want to go again?”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Rongrong revealed a flower-like smile.
“Sure thing. Let’s pull an all-nighter then, Chang-ge~”
These words caused Murong Chang’s expression to change drastically. The desire that had struggled to life instantly died.
A flash of fear crossed his eyes.
My god, an all-nighter? He’d definitely be carried into the hospital tomorrow. He couldn’t handle this, he really couldn’t.
“I suddenly remembered I have a lot to do tomorrow. How about we just sleep?”
“A real man’s word is his bond. How can you give up halfway?”
“I’m not a real man. I, Murong Chang, am just a petty person.”
“Hehe, it’s useless to say anything now. You’ve already said the words, and my mood has been stirred up.”
Zhao Rongrong suddenly stood up and pulled the quilt over both of them.
“Wait, wait, wait! Honey, an all-nighter will kill me!”
“It’s fine, I’ll control the intensity. I definitely won’t let anything happen to my darling. You have to believe in my skills, don’t you?”
Murong Chang was already in despair.
It was all his fault for his big mouth and his fickle desires. Tonight would be another day of hollowing out his body.
The first few years after marriage were the best.
Ever since Xiao Xue’s accident, Zhao Rongrong had suffered a miscarriage due to excessive shock and became permanently infertile.
And so, the Dark Age began.
—
Mu Qingxue did not force Chen Xiaoyan.
This kind of thing had to be done slowly, capturing her bit by bit until she completely accepted her. Being too impatient and trying to reach the goal in one step would only cause a counter-effect.
She didn’t want a future where Chen Xiaoyan looked at her with nothing but fear.
“Alright, I’m done teasing you. Let’s talk business now.”
Mu Qingxue sat up and used her phone to call Qiu Xue.
“Lingling, bring up the gang’s activity plans for the next few days.” After speaking, she hung up.
Seeing that Mu Qingxue had let her go, Chen Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Qingxue, what do you need to tell me?”
“We’ll wait until Qiu Xue comes up. There’s no rush.”
“Oh.”
Only a few minutes passed before there was a knock on the door.
“Enter.”
Qiu Xue pushed the door open, carrying a laptop.
“Young Miss, the gang’s recent plans are all here.”
“Mhm. Give it to Xiaoyan.”
Chen Xiaoyan took the laptop from Qiu Xue and opened the Word document. Looking at the tens of thousands of words inside, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of a headache.
She patiently skimmed through it.
She more or less understood Mu Qingxue’s intention.
The Snow Mist Pavilion, the Sword Pavilion, and Shenzhou would form a temporary alliance to launch a full-scale strike against the Peerless Pavilion.
Not only would they ambush Peerless Pavilion players in the wild, but they would also use high salaries as bait to poach the Celestial Fragrance players from the Peerless Pavilion.
They would blockade dungeon entrances, banning Peerless Pavilion players from entering.
They would hire freelance players to fabricate public opinion and attack the Peerless Pavilion.
And so on.
“Are we really going to move against the Peerless Pavilion?”
“Yes.” Mu Qingxue nodded.
“The Peerless Pavilion has been developing very rapidly recently. We must crush them completely and scatter them as early as possible. Otherwise, once they grow further, they will be even harder to deal with.”
Chen Xiaoyan did not object.
She had no affection for the Peerless Pavilion; she even felt some disgust toward them.
If they were going to fight, then so be it. After such a massive war, the gang battle bonuses probably wouldn’t be small.
“How do you plan to handle this dungeon blockade? How can we tell if someone is from the Peerless Pavilion?”
Facing Chen Xiaoyan’s inquiry, Qiu Xue explained first: “Boss Xiaoyan, we have spies. We’ve already collected the IDs of most Peerless Pavilion members.”
“Even if some slip through the cracks, it doesn’t matter. We only need to arrange people at the dungeon entrances to ask. If they are from the Peerless Pavilion, they aren’t allowed in. Even if they don’t admit it, over time, they will naturally lose their sense of belonging to the Peerless Pavilion. They might even start to think that the Peerless Pavilion is what’s hindering them from running dungeons.”
“That’s an attack on the heart.” Chen Xiaoyan gave a thumbs up in praise.
“But the premise is that we can win the direct confrontation with the Peerless Pavilion. Otherwise, it’s all empty talk.”
“Isn’t it Xiao Yue’s Sword Pavilion plus Shenzhou combined? Three against one, and we still can’t win?” Chen Xiaoyan was quite surprised.
Mu Qingxue sighed and replied, “I’m afraid of Shenzhou betraying us and stabbing us in the back. That would be the most fatal.”
“Xiaoyan, do you remember that man, Six Paths?”
Chen Xiaoyan nodded.
“Of course I remember. When we were fighting the Abyss Canyon, he was brought in by Red Dust. The two of them were good friends. Why are you suddenly asking about him?”
“Six Paths is a member of the Samsara Hall. Although I don’t know his rank, according to Red Dust Dream, it should be quite high.”
“Qingxue, do you mean you want Red Dust to persuade Six Paths?”
“Yes.”
“I mentioned it to her during the gathering this morning, but her reaction was a bit hesitant. She might listen to you.”
Chen Xiaoyan’s expression turned serious as she thought for a moment. “I can’t be sure about that. I’m not very close with Red Dust either.”
“It doesn’t matter if it fails. It’s possible I’m just overthinking it.”
“Don’t say that, Qingxue. As the gang leader, you should eliminate all risk factors. That’s the only way to ensure nothing goes wrong.”
Mu Qingxue revealed a brilliant smile.
“I feel relieved hearing you say that.”
“Young Miss, there’s one more thing I forgot to tell you. There’s news from the Peerless Pavilion that they might have NPCs helping them in this gang war.”
Mu Qingxue’s expression immediately turned sour.
Players were fighting; why were NPCs joining the fun?
Qiu Xue followed up: “However, you don’t need to worry, Young Miss. The Peerless Pavilion’s NPCs aren’t very strong. They’ve only just started cultivating.”
“How did they recruit NPCs?” Chen Xiaoyan was very curious.
“I heard the NPCs went to General Mountain to seek apprenticeship at the Divine Strategy Manor, but the elders didn’t agree. The Peerless Pavilion people gave them a hand, helping them successfully enter the sect,” Qiu Xue explained.
“No wonder,” Chen Xiaoyan muttered, falling into deep thought.
Mu Qingxue quietly watched Chen Xiaoyan thinking seriously, finding the sight very pleasing to the eye.
As the saying goes, a man is very handsome when he’s working seriously, but a woman is just as handsome when she gets serious.
“What are you thinking about? You’re so lost in thought.”
“I was wondering if we should learn from the Peerless Pavilion’s methods.”
“And? What was the result?” Chen Xiaoyan shook her head in disappointment.
“It won’t work. NPCs take too long to grow; they aren’t suitable for developing the gang.”
“Xiaoyan, don’t think too much. As long as you manage the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion well, unless new players enter the Immortal Realm, the Snow Mist Pavilion will always be the number one gang.”
“That’s right, Boss Xiaoyan. The Snow Mist Pavilion already has over twenty official Celestial Fragrance members, the most of any gang. And that’s not even counting the temporary Celestial Fragrance players under your command.”
Chen Xiaoyan had tried to recruit Celestial Fragrance players who hadn’t joined a gang, but with little success.
Aside from a few who were willing to play with her, everyone else refused.
Most female players weren’t very interested in killing; they preferred traveling to see the sights and following handsome or beautiful NPCs.
“Qingxue, if the fighting starts, I can also bring in Celestial Fragrance players who haven’t joined the Snow Mist Pavilion to help. But what’s the rate for their compensation?”
Mu Qingxue smiled slightly. “The same as the benefits for the gang’s Celestial Fragrance players.”
“Wow, healers are really in demand. They can get benefits without even joining. If this gets out, I don’t know how many people in the gang will die of envy.”
“Healers have always been in demand.”
“When I first entered the Immortal Realm and found out I was a healer, I was depressed for a long time.”
“Why?”
“Look, there’s zero damage. Especially for that daily sect quest where you have to go to the back of the mountain to kill a beast. I was stunned. I was empty-handed with no attack skills. Telling me to fight a beast with my bare hands? Wasn’t that just asking for death?”
Mu Qingxue listened with great interest.
“How did you solve it in the end?”
Chen Xiaoyan nodded and sighed. “Sigh, it was so hard back then. If it weren’t for a kind NPC senior sister giving me a Spring Breeze Umbrella to poke a rabbit to death, I really wouldn’t have known how to complete that mission.”
“Xiaoyan, your luck is pretty good.”
“Of course. I even met a top-tier NPC. She’s my golden thigh,” Chen Xiaoyan said proudly.
“Shen Qingqing?”
“Mhm, my beloved Sister Shen.”
Now it was Mu Qingxue’s turn to fall into thought.
“Xiaoyan, what do you think would happen if we let Shen Qingqing participate in the gang war?”
Chen Xiaoyan immediately shook her head. “No way, no way. That would be a complete Dimensional Reduction Strike.”
“Besides, if Shen Qingqing got involved, it wouldn’t be a gang war anymore. it would be a sect war, a war between the Divine Strategy Manor and the Celestial Fragrance Sect.”
You, a dignified elder of the Celestial Fragrance Sect, actually making a move against new disciples of the Divine Strategy Manor? Do you have no shame?
Even if the Divine Strategy Manor didn’t mind, Shen Qingqing wouldn’t do it.
She cared about her reputation, after all.
“That seems true.” Mu Qingxue smiled and dropped the idea.
“Speaking of which, Xiaoyan, why is this NPC Shen Qingqing so good to you?”
“I also heard she even gave you the power to issue quests.”
At this, Chen Xiaoyan became even more frustrated.
She couldn’t understand why so many people thought this was a good thing.
Your boss makes you work but doesn’t pay you—is that a good thing?
“Sigh, don’t mention it. It looks impressive, but it’s actually useless. There are no rewards at all; it’s just working for free.”
Mu Qingxue covered her lips and laughed.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Xiaoyan, don’t you feel like you’ve forgotten something?”
Chen Xiaoyan was stunned. “What?”
“Didn’t Shen Qingqing hand over the quest issuance to you? You haven’t logged into the game today, so…”
Chen Xiaoyan’s face instantly changed. She jumped up in shock.
“Damn, how could I forget about that?”
She held her head in a breakdown. “It’s over, it’s over. If I log in, Shen Qingqing will definitely scold me.”
“Are you that afraid of this NPC?” Mu Qingxue asked with a half-smile.
Chen Xiaoyan held out her hand, rubbing her thumb and index finger together. “Just a little bit.”
“Face the abyss bravely, young girl.” Mu Qingxue spread her hands, her tone full of schadenfreude.
“AHHH!!!” The girl’s howl seemed to echo throughout the entire villa.
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