In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

Or rather, how could someone so capable willingly serve him?!

The thought that Xu Shi's abilities were also unrelated to combat made her feel a little resentful.

Why is there such a huge difference between people?

Just as she was still a little dizzy, Xia Wuyou suddenly stopped attacking, withdrew, and stood in front of her again.

"Xia...Master's wife?"

Dongfang Xiao asked instinctively, "What is this...?"

She was trying to say, "You're not going to give up, are you?"

This kind of thing is quite easy to spot. Even though it seems like no one got hurt after fighting for so long, the energy drain from activating abilities is undeniable.

Cheng Gujian is clearly in better condition; this is an undeniable fact.

This also extinguished the little empress's hard-won hope in an instant.

"Yes, he is indeed stronger than me. If this drags on any longer, I'm sure I'll lose."

When asked, Xia Xiaomao readily admitted it.

It's not shameful to be an S-rank or S+ if you can't beat an SS-rank. You might feel resentful, but the only solution is to train hard and make up for the gap as soon as possible. Being stubborn and arguing won't help at all.

"Then let's..."

Dongfang Xiao didn't have her good mindset; all she felt was panic.

This isn't a contest; there's no such thing as stopping short of a duel.

If you can't handle it, then our fate will still be death, won't it?

"Do not be afraid."

Xia Wuyou laughed, "I never expected to be able to take care of him on my own, and I'm not the one who can take care of him."

"Who else could it be?"

The little empress was stunned. No one in Xu Shi's team could fight better than you.

“Who… Look, he’s here.”

Just as Xia Xiaomao was about to explain, she looked towards the entrance of the main hall and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, pointing in that direction.

"Mr. Wen, I'm begging you."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 300 Waaaaah, the first day I missed Sister Xie

2023-10-25

"?!"

Cheng Gujian had his back to the door, but he hurriedly turned around when he heard Xia Wuyou's words.

There was only one old man in sight.

An elderly person in a wheelchair.

The old man stood alone, his legs covered by a blanket, appearing quite small in the vast palace.

At first glance, they even resembled lonely elderly people, making one feel somewhat sorry for them.

But when Cheng Gujian saw him, he felt a little uneasy.

When did this person appear? I didn't notice them at all!

If he couldn't sense anything at all, it meant either the opponent was truly on their deathbed and posed no threat, or they were genuinely stronger than him.

Someone even stronger than him, what level would that be?

Cheng Gujian absolutely did not want to think in this direction, but unfortunately the latter possibility was much higher—because the old man's appearance here was strange enough in itself.

Xia Wuyou had arrived at the palace early in the morning to lie in ambush, so her appearance was not unexpected. In fact, Cheng Gujian sensed her presence as soon as he entered the palace.

But this old man was different! It was obvious that he had broken through the layers of blockade outside the palace gates to get here. If he were just an ordinary old man, how could he have done that?

They would have been chopped into mincemeat by the guards outside long ago!

and so.

He froze on the spot, unsure of what to do.

"...Xia family girl, what did you call me?"

Just then, Wen Shengkui spoke first, seemingly dissatisfied with Xia Wuyou's form of address, and frowned with displeasure.

“Mr. Wen… no, no, no, Grandpa, Grandpa.”

Xia Xiaomao realized what was going on, quickly waved her hand and changed her words, taking advantage of Cheng Gujian's malfunction to come up behind him, "Why are you here?"

"You think I came here willingly?"

Grandpa Wen was still furious and grumbled, "That brat Xu Shi is quite the troublemaker. He's made such a mess that he can't handle it himself, so I'm the one cleaning up his mess."

"Yes, yes, yes, what he did was a bit excessive."

Xia Wuyou said with a smile, "I'm sorry to have wronged you, sir. I apologize on his behalf."

At the very least, could you send someone to look after him?

Even if an elderly person is very capable, it's extremely impolite to let them come alone!

"Um...Ms. Xia, and who is this?"

Dongfang Xiao belatedly realized what was happening and asked, "It's... your maternal grandfather?"

"...To be precise, he was Xu Shi's maternal grandfather."

Xia Wuyou turned around and smiled, explaining in a good mood.

However, given her relationship with Xu Shi, calling him "grandpa" is certainly not wrong.

"Oh……"

The little empress nodded blankly, realizing that even when facing Cheng Gujian, she still gave off a sense of confidence and fearlessness.

It was obviously because she already knew she had a powerful backer to rely on, even though the old man didn't seem very strong.

Goodness, there's another expert?

What she didn't know was that Xia Wuyou didn't actually know Wen Shengkui would be coming at first.

Or perhaps, before the fight started today, Xu Shi hadn't even told her the specific plan—at that time, he was still having a falling out with Xie Qingyan, and neither of them knew what he was planning. She was simply assigned to the palace to ensure Dongfang Xiao's safety.

It wasn't until the battle on the Vatican's side ended that she learned the docks hadn't just received cargo ships, but also backup reinforcements from Night Sin City, including Su Lin and Tang Shuang. Otherwise, things on that side wouldn't have been resolved so easily and quickly.

It was from that time that she began to wonder if her grandfather might have come as well.

This is almost a certainty, after all, if something really happens to the royal family, it would be completely impossible for her to compete with Cheng Gujian on her own.

Even if they combined their efforts, they might not be able to succeed, given the opponent's strength.

In this situation, to seize the opportunity to take over the entire Hualan Empire, at the very least, an SS-rank official would be needed.

This wasn't out of distrust of Xia Wuyou, but rather to ensure that nothing went wrong.

It can't be someone like Xia Ke'an, an old lady who wouldn't know how to fight. She's more of a mascot than a mascot.

After much thought, it seems that only Wen Shengkui meets the requirements—now that the crisis at the Vatican has been resolved, he naturally wants to come here to eliminate the threat posed by Cheng Gujian.

Having been by Xu Shi's side for so long, Xia Xiaomao truly understood these things instantly.

The young empress certainly didn't think that far ahead, but she also came to a complete realization.

Although Xia Shiniang and Cheng Gujian seemed to be fighting fiercely, it was actually more of a friendly sparring match. Clearly, from the beginning, Xia Shiniang didn't expect to defeat Cheng Gujian; she was more focused on improving herself by fighting SS.

"Well done. It seems you've made great progress in the past year or so at sea."

Wen Shengkui also commented on her fight. Although he wasn't there in person, with his abilities, watching a remote live stream was a piece of cake. "That little bastard Xu Shi can't fight. I'm relieved to have you protecting him."

"However, there are still areas that need improvement, for example..."

"Ah, hahaha, is that so..."

Xia Wuyou was overjoyed upon hearing this, and scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly, "Actually, I still haven't done enough..."

No wonder she was overjoyed; hearing a compliment from Grandpa Wen was probably even rarer than hearing one from Xu Shi.

Not to mention what this is, it's approval from an elder!

Could someone else do it? No!

Xia Xiaomao, who is usually humble and reserved, showed a rare moment of pride.

Once this battle is over, I'll definitely show off in front of those other little biscuits!

I'm the first granddaughter-in-law officially recognized by the authorities!

hum!

Unfortunately, this harmonious atmosphere was quickly and unpleasantly interrupted by Cheng Gujian's grinding teeth.

The Duke of Gujian settled in Bengbu.

To be fair, as a Grand Duke who held a very high position, he had mastered the art of keeping his emotions hidden for so many years that even if someone were to stage a coup, it was unlikely that you would see a single expression on his face.

But now he's really a bit vulnerable.

It was one thing to be cursed at by Dongfang Xiao just now, but what are you doing now?

Anyone who didn't know better would think it was a family reunion! Are they going to have dinner together later?

I am rebelling!

Nobody cares?

Do I not care about saving face?

"...I've completely forgotten that there's more important stuff to do."

The grinding of teeth successfully attracted Wen Shengkui's attention, and he gestured to Xia Wuyou, "Xia family girl, you protect that little girl first."

"I'll go find that brat Xu Shi after I've cleaned up this place. Let's make it clear first, you can't interfere when I teach him a lesson."