"Sleep. I'll watch over you." Wei Zhao, for his part, had not given it much thought. It had never even crossed his mind to squeeze onto the same bed as Feng Xiaoxiao. He was perfectly capable of falling asleep sitting up, and what he wanted was to enter the jade pendant space afterward and have another go at breaking through.

"Oh..." Seeing that Wei Zhao had no intention of squeezing onto her bed, Feng Xiaoxiao was at once relieved—yet a little disappointed as well, her heart caught in a muddle.

"Go to sleep, then." Wei Zhao carried the writing chair from Feng Xiaoxiao's bedroom over to the bedside, turned off the light, and sat down on it.

Feng Xiaoxiao lay down on the bed, but she would not close her eyes. In the darkness, her bright pupils darted about, sizing Wei Zhao up. She thought he couldn't see her, but in truth Wei Zhao's vision in the dark was sharper than anyone's.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Wei Zhao looked at her eyes with some amusement.

"Ah... how did you know I wasn't asleep?" Feng Xiaoxiao was taken aback and asked.

"I can see you." Wei Zhao shrugged, looking rather helpless.

"Ah, you're amazing, Wei Zhao, dear!" Feng Xiaoxiao said. "Do you have the legendary fiery eyes and golden pupils?"

"..." Wei Zhao was quite speechless. "I'm a cultivator, so of course I can see things clearly in the dark. That has nothing to do with fiery eyes and golden pupils."

"I see. Then tell me, if I cultivated too, would I not die?" This was the first time Feng Xiaoxiao had broached the subject of death with Wei Zhao. Since Wei Zhao already knew, she no longer had any reason to hide it.

"Well... there's a possibility." Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. "But there's no time for it. If you had started cultivating as a child, there might have been a glimmer of hope. But now..."

Earlier, during the meal, Tang Yun had taken advantage of Feng Xiaoxiao's trip to the kitchen to fetch rice to tell Wei Zhao that Feng Xiaoxiao had learned that they knew the truth. So Wei Zhao was not at all surprised now.

"I understand..." Feng Xiaoxiao was somewhat disappointed. Although Wei Zhao had not finished his sentence, she already knew the answer. It was too late for her to start cultivating now—there was simply no point in thinking about it.

"Xiaoxiao, do you believe me?" Wei Zhao took a deep breath and asked.

"Of course I believe you!" Feng Xiaoxiao nodded, a little puzzled.

"I will definitely cure you! You won't die. Remember what I'm saying—be happy every day and don't overthink things." When Wei Zhao said this, his expression was utterly serious. It was not merely an attempt to console Feng Xiaoxiao; it came from the bottom of his heart, a genuine resolve to settle this matter!

"Mm, of course I believe you. I'm looking forward to that day... haha!" But in the darkness Feng Xiaoxiao could not make out Wei Zhao's expression, and naturally she took it as him comforting her. Still, she had long since come to terms with things; she wasn't going to agonize over death.

"Go to sleep—school is tomorrow." Wei Zhao smiled. Clearly Feng Xiaoxiao had not believed him, but none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was that he had to have confidence. No matter what, he would search for a way to cure Feng Xiaoxiao, whatever the cost!

Feng Xiaoxiao closed her eyes. Wei Zhao was right—there was still school tomorrow, and she really was a little sleepy...

Only after Feng Xiaoxiao had fallen asleep did Wei Zhao enter the jade pendant space and begin yet another round of cultivation...

Over at the Xiao family villa, on the other hand, the lights were all ablaze.

In the villa's living room, smoke curled thickly in the air, while Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben sat hunched on the sofa, smoking with furrowed brows.

"Goddammit! These people are nothing but worthless bastards! When it comes to partnering with our Xiao family to make money, every one of them is keener than the next. But the moment we talk about putting up funds to teach the Gu Group a lesson, they all shrink back one after another, pleading that their liquid funds are tight! Second Brother, tell me, what sort of creatures are these? A pack of ungrateful wolves!" Xiao Ji had been fuming all afternoon.

The two brothers had gone around visiting every one of their partners. Some claimed they had no liquid capital; others said that recent commercial projects had already taken up most of their manpower and energy. In short, not a single family was willing to suppress the Gu Group on the stock market.

"Big Brother, don't be so impatient." Xiao Ben heaved a sigh and said, "Actually, this is only human nature. Cooperating with our Xiao family, borrowing the luster of our name, which is at its zenith right now, no matter what business they do, they're sure to turn a profit. But suppressing the Gu Group on the stock market—if anything goes wrong, they stand to lose money! What's more, the Gu Group is not like ordinary groups. It has very few floating shares; most of them are held firmly in the hands of Gu Pengzhan and the major shareholders. Even if we swallowed up every share on the market, we'd only become a minor shareholder in the Gu Group. That makes the whole thing meaningless. When Old Wang laid it out for us this afternoon, I realized that this approach isn't very feasible."

"Then what do we do? Just give up on this chance? Wei Zhao is in the hospital, and Gu Pengzhan has so many businesses. If we don't seize the moment to carve off some for ourselves, we really will have wasted this opportunity!" Xiao Ji felt it was a great pity.

"There's no helping it. Who told Old Pi and Mr. Pi to be beaten into the hospital? That hero is far too formidable—and of all times, he had to pick this very moment to strike at our Xiao family. Even if we want to scheme for Gu Pengzhan's fortune, we have no cards left to play!" Xiao Ben lamented. "Now Gu Pengzhan refuses to be swayed by either kindness or force. The only way to wring any profit out of him is to have Old Pi and Mr. Pi make their move."

"I just can't accept this!" Xiao Ji said, thoroughly dejected.

"Forget it. We'll talk when another chance comes. Once Old Pi and Mr. Pi are out of the hospital, there will always be an opportunity to teach Gu Pengzhan a lesson." Xiao Ben went on, "The Grand Assembly of Clans is about to convene soon. We should start making our rounds. This year, our Xiao family should be able to secure a fine position—second only to the Yu family's seat!"

"Mm, you're right! Tomorrow I'll go to Yanjing and pay a visit to Yu Shuixing!" Xiao Ji nodded.

And so the Xiao family's revenge would have to be shelved for the time being; they could only wait for a fitting moment to deliver a fatal blow to the Gu family.

At the very same moment, at Yu Yuanyuan's home.

Yu Ren watched his wife, who was busily tidying up the house, and felt a sense of unreality.

Cured just like that? His wife's leg had been bitten off by a lion—as serious as that—and yet it had simply healed?

Earlier, in the hospital, Yu Ren had been stunned dumb by that very sight. Even after coming all the way home, he still had not returned to reality. Only now did he know that all of this was real!

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Mother Yu, feeling uneasy under Yu Ren's gaze, turned around and asked.

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