I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 240 Seeing Old Friends Again
What did you call me?

Chen Ming stared blankly at Jiang Yingxue, which deflated her. She pouted, "There's no one else here..."

"You can leave now, I need to heal my wounds."

He pulled his hand away.

"Sister Yuan, I know I was wrong."

Jiang Yingxue grabbed his hand and looked at him pitifully.

Chen Ming transmitted his voice, "Don't forget, I'm a woman now. Don't give yourself away in front of others, especially those around you. Whoever finds out this secret, I'll silence them."

"Uh-huh."

Jiang Yingxue was deeply moved. "Sister, you really care about me and are worried about my reputation being damaged... Don't worry, I will definitely not let anyone find out."

I just don't want to die.

Chen Ming's eye twitched slightly, and he changed the subject, "Do you have any connection with Yu Haitang?"

Jiang Yingxue's eyes immediately reddened. She lowered her head and said with some dejection, "The moment you arrived in Jiangzhou City, all you thought about was seeing that vixen..."

Don't forget, she's the legal wife, and you're the vixen.

Chen Ming thought to himself, then said aloud, "I'd like to have the chance to meet my family sometime in the future. If you're not willing to help, I'll go find her myself."

"I'll help."

When Jiang Yingxue heard that he wanted to go find Yu Haitang by himself, she became anxious and grabbed his arm. "Our Jiang family has a good relationship with Cangyue Sect. I can visit her in my father's name. I'll take you with me when we visit her husband's family."

Yu Haitang's "husband's family" is naturally the Chen family of Qingfeng City.

Chen Ming was about to speak when he suddenly stopped.

Immediately, a maid's voice came from outside the door, "Miss, Miss Zhao from the Governor's Mansion has come to see you."

Jiang Yingxue replied, "I understand, I'll be right there."

Then, she looked at Chen Ming with a mischievous expression and deliberately asked, "Sister, would you like to see Miss Zhao? I can introduce you."

It's Zhao Xiyan.

Chen Ming never expected that the first old friend he would see after returning to Jiangzhou City would be Zhao Xiyan.

In reality, it had only been three months since he fell into that sea of ​​lava in the Fire Elemental Secret Realm. Yet it felt like an eternity.

The last time I saw Zhao Xiyan was at the Qingyun Ranking Conference.

Now, in just a few months, everything has changed.

He's already a second-rank official.

……

"Xi Yan!"

Jiang Yingxue went outside to greet Zhao Xiyan. Upon seeing her, she was quite excited. She stepped forward, took Zhao Xiyan's hand, and felt a little like crying.

She and Zhao Xiyan were not familiar with each other before, but after the rumors of Chen Ming's accident spread, they became friends and their relationship became closer and closer, and they became close sisters.

"Xiaoxue, I heard you had an accident this time, I was so worried about you." Zhao Xiyan said anxiously, taking her hand. "Let me see, are you hurt?"

"I also thought I might never see you again." Jiang Yingxue's lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"People safe is good."

Zhao Xiyan looked distressed and hugged her, feeling a sharp pain in her heart.

A beautiful young girl fell into the hands of villains; heaven knows what she went through...

Not wanting to dredge up her friend's unpleasant memories, she asked, "I heard someone saved you?"

"Yes, I owe it all to Sister Yuan this time. She was kidnapped by thieves just like me. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have made it back..."

Jiang Yingxue wiped away her tears, took her hand and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see Sister Yuan."

……

"This is Zhao Xiyan, my good sister. This is Yuan Ziyi, Sister Yuan, my savior."

Jiang Yingxue led the two to the courtyard where Chen Ming was currently living and introduced them to each other.

After several months apart, Zhao Xiyan looked much more mature and was no longer the proud and somewhat willful girl she was a few years ago.

Zhao Xiyan bowed respectfully, "Thank you, Miss Yuan, for saving Xiaoxue."

"Miss Zhao, you're too kind. I was just trying to save myself at the time," Chen Ming replied politely.

The three sat in the courtyard, drinking tea, eating snacks, and chatting.

As they chatted, Jiang Yingxue suddenly asked, "Xiyan, I heard you went back to Qingfeng City. Did you visit Brother Chen's house?"

Zhao Xiyan nodded. There was no need to deny it in front of her. "I went there."

Jiang Yingxue hurriedly asked, "How is the Chen family now? Are Brother Chen's elder brother and sister-in-law alright?"

"If you're so eager to know, why don't you go and see for yourself?"

"I haven't found the time yet, have you? Tell me quickly."

Zhao Xiyan then said, "They are all fine, but they are worried about his safety and hope that he will return safely soon."

Jiang Yingxue glanced at "Yuan Ziyi" next to her and asked, "Where are his nephew and niece? I heard that his sister-in-law gave birth to another son. It's a pity that Brother Chen couldn't attend his little nephew's one-month celebration."

Zhao Xiyan said, "They are all doing well. Xiao Lide has already started learning martial arts, and Yu... has found him a mentor. The little guy has good potential and is very quick to learn. Everyone says he looks like his uncle when he was a child..."

"Xiao Lirong keeps clamoring to practice martial arts, saying she wants to go out and find her uncle. She knows I'm her uncle's friend, and she even secretly asked me if her uncle was hiding because some bad people wanted to harm him..." "Sorry, I lost my composure a bit."

As she spoke, her heart filled with sorrow, and tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing it. Turning away, she wiped away her tears, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Miss Yuan. I was just thinking of my old friend, whose fate is unknown, and that touched my heart."

Chen Ming finally heard about his family's recent situation, and his feelings were somewhat complicated. He looked at Zhao Xiyan, whose eyes were still a little red, and said, "You are a person who cherishes old friendships. If that old friend knew, he would definitely appreciate your feelings for him."

Jiang Yingxue coughed lightly and changed the subject, "Speaking of which, it's all thanks to that man surnamed Yu who has been so protective of the Chen family. Otherwise, I'm afraid many people would have caused trouble for Brother Chen's family."

Zhao Xiyan's attention was indeed diverted, and she said hesitantly, "I heard that she's been in some trouble lately."

Who's causing her trouble?

"It is said that Lord Pan warned her not to break through to the third rank. However, last time in the Fire Element Secret Realm, someone said that she had already reached the third rank. But at that time, there were too many things to do in Jiangzhou, and Lord Pan could not take care of her. Now that he has the time, he is preparing to deal with her. If she cannot gain a foothold in Jiangzhou, she will naturally be unable to protect the Chen family anymore."

Zhao Xiyan couldn't help but feel a little worried as she spoke.

Yu Haitang was willing to go all out, claiming to be Chen Ming's wife and openly protecting the Chen family.

But she couldn't do that. Neither her father nor her master would allow her to make so many enemies for the sake of an unrelated Chen family.

Jiang Yingxue exclaimed in surprise, "Is this true? Doesn't Ling Qiyang care about her?"

Zhao Xiyan said, "The Cangyue Sect suffered heavy casualties in the battle of the Fire Element Secret Realm. They are currently shrinking their power, and it is impossible for him to become an enemy of Lord Pan for the sake of his wife's niece."

Ultimately, Yu Haitang was not a member of the Cangyue Sect. And then there were those unpleasant rumors; when Ling Qiyang wanted to marry her aunt, there were many voices of opposition within the sect. He forcefully suppressed them, saying it was his private matter.

This is different from getting married; this is official business, so I can't just do things my own way.

Jiang Yingxue said, "Lord Pan is at the peak of the first rank, but he is only focused on achieving perfection before taking that next step. His strength is probably unmatched even among those in the first rank. This time, that guy surnamed Yu—I'm afraid he's really going to be in trouble."

There was a hint of schadenfreude in her tone.

She always thought that this shameless woman surnamed Yu was too shameless, daring to openly declare herself to be Brother Chen's wife. She was truly shameless!
Upon hearing this unexpected news, Chen Ming frowned. This was a bit troublesome. His family still needed Yu Haitang's protection, and he couldn't let Pan Zhiyuan drive her away.

……

Meanwhile, in Xiazhou City.

Inside the Six Doors, at Zeshi Hall, Hong Yuze was entertaining a distinguished guest.

"Lord Hong, are you saying that my nephew went on a mission with a first-rank official in purple robes?"

The speaker was a man in his thirties, leaning back in his chair, sipping a glass of wine. He looked relaxed and carefree, with a somewhat unrestrained demeanor.

Strictly speaking, drinking alcohol is not allowed inside the Six Doors.

Hong Yuze, however, took the lead in disobeying the order, personally filling the other party's cup with wine and smiling broadly, "Yes, Brother Gu, your nephew is quite remarkable. He personally killed two first-rank members of the Nine Nether Sect, making a great contribution. It's only a matter of time before he's promoted to third-rank gold-robed."

"Is there such a thing?"

The man said with great interest, "My seventh nephew has such skills? I've practiced martial arts for over thirty years and I've never killed a first-rank enemy. He's quite capable, killing two in one go. He's truly remarkable."

This person was Gu Xianyu's fifth uncle, Gu Haochuan.

He had just arrived in Xiazhou City, and his first stop was the Six Doors to find his nephew. Only then did he learn that his nephew had gone out on a mission.

"In that case, I won't bother you any longer. I'll take my leave now."

Gu Haochuan disliked dealing with people from the Six Doors, so he immediately got up to take his leave.

At the entrance stood a dashing young man who bore a resemblance to Gu Xianyu. He was Gu Xianyu's nephew and apprentice, Gu Zhengshan, who was of the same generation as Gu Xianyu and ranked fifth.

After leaving the Six Doors government office, Gu Haochuan walked down the street, his eyes searching for young women. If he saw a beautiful one, he would definitely take a second look.

Gu Zhengshan, however, kept his eyes fixed straight ahead and followed him closely.

Gu Haochuan suddenly asked, "Xiao Wu, do you think Xiao Qi is the kind of person who is scheming?"

Gu Zhengshan replied, "It's hard to say whether you can know a person's face or their heart."

"While at the Gu family, he kept a low profile and concealed his cultivation. He even refused a marriage proposal from the Prince's Mansion and ultimately requested to leave the capital. Once outside, he was like a dragon returning to the sea, breaking through to the third rank at the age of twenty. On the martial arts tournament stage, he defeated many of his peers and won the heart of a beauty. In less than a month at the Six Doors, he personally killed two first-rank members of the Demonic Sect, establishing unparalleled merit. Tsk tsk tsk..."

As Gu Haochuan continued, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "When Xiao Qi was in the Gu family, he was timid and submissive, but after arriving in Xiazhou, he displayed astonishing talent and became famous throughout the land. Do you think our Gu family is that terrifying? So much so that he has to hide his abilities just to protect himself?"

Gu Zhengshan said, "This disciple dares not say."

"Hahaha, what a fine excuse for not daring to speak. It seems the atmosphere in the Gu family is truly appalling these days. Third Brother is practicing a strategy of raising 'poisonous insects,' letting the younger generation compete among themselves. He probably never imagined that it would force his most outstanding son to leave and avoid trouble, did he?"

Gu Zhengshan remained silent; he dared not discuss his ruthless and decisive third uncle.

Gu Haochuan paused here, then suddenly scratched his head, as if it were itchy. "However, I don't think Xiao Qi is that cunning. Besides, before he left, I was quite certain that he was still some distance from the third rank. It would take him two or three years to break through. I believe he couldn't possibly have fooled me. Moreover, how could the 'Heaven and Earth Lone Goose' sword technique be mastered in just one month?"

Gu Zhengshan's expression hardened. "You mean—"

"We'll know the truth when we meet the other person."

Gu Haochuan paused for a moment, then continued, "If there are really no problems, with his current abilities, he might be able to secure a spot at this year's Imperial Banquet."

Gu Zhengshan nodded vigorously.

The Gu family desperately needs this spot; every additional spot increases the family's strength.

Gu Haochuan said, "Let's go."

"Where?"

"Go find your seventh brother."

"Oh."

PS: Second update, please vote with monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)