......
Good grief.
Wouldn’t it just turn into a fight to the death by then?
But honestly, no—make that a hundred percent—Lu Ding would survive, Bai Baolian would die.
After all, Lu Ding’s strength was completely unreasonable.
But Bai Baolian dying wasn’t an option either.
Losing Bai Baoce, the Bai Family could still barely endure it, but if Bai Baolian died too...
That would be a real ss.
It wasn’t that Xitong 749 feared the Bai Family.
Within the Han territory, 749 Bureau never feared anyone.
But if the Bai Family got angry and resentful, it would disrupt the environnt for cultivators in Xitong, making managent a lot harder.
Everything had been peaceful, and nobody wanted trouble to suddenly flare up.
Nothing to be done now.
Just take it step by step.
What happened had already happened—
You couldn’t bla Lu Ding for killing Bai Baoce, could you?
If you really had to nitpick Lu Ding’s fault, it would be that it was lawful and reasonable but not entirely by the book.
A bit of excessive enforcent.
Hmm... maybe file a report, suspend him for a few days, deduct so contribution points, issue a public criticism within the Bureau?
But thinking about Lu Ding’s prestige and reputation at Yunhai 749—
That report going up... forget it, better not even ntion it.
Xitong 749 hurried to contact Cha Yuanzheng, who was with Bai Baolian.
Saying they should travel together and so forth.
Cha Yuanzheng glanced at Bai Baolian, saw her nod, and agreed to Xitong 749’s suggestion.
Then,
Bai Baolian spoke:
“Mr. Cha, we must get to Ba'er Mountain as fast as possible.”
Such a sudden shift made Cha Yuanzheng hesitate.
He was just a bodyguard, not soone who could question his master's decisions.
But he was loyal.
Though he didn’t know why Bai Baolian was acting like this,
Still!
This move clearly carried risks.
He tried to dissuade her.
“Miss Baolian, why don’t we wait for the 749 people like we agreed?”
Bai Baolian’s gaze revealed her suppressed emotions.
“Agreed? That was just a delaying tactic.”
“749 only got the news because Grandma sent it over. Under normal circumstances,”
“Xitong 749 should have t us at the destination, since we departed from different points.”
“But now they want to co and travel with us.”
“Isn’t that basically them wanting to control our actions, to take charge of the situation?”
“What kind of situation would make Xitong 749 act like this?”
Cha Yuanzheng wasn’t a fool.
He thought it over quickly.
His head snapped up:
“You an... sothing happened to Young Master Baoce!?”
Bai Baolian shook her head:
“I don’t know...”
Rather than saying she didn’t know, it was more like she didn’t dare imagine it.
She couldn’t bear to think sothing had happened to her brother.
Besides, deep down, she felt it unlikely.
In the northwest,
Who would dare harm a direct descendant of the Bai Family?
No one, absolutely no one!
Even 749 Bureau would have to follow procedures and evidence.
So Bai Baolian guessed maybe Baoce was injured—
At worst, maybe seriously injured,
Or so other kind of unexpected situation.
And maybe, it involved the 749 Bureau sohow,
Which would explain why 749 was acting so casually on the surface but urgently underneath,
Trying to rein in their actions,
Preventing the Bai Family from losing control emotionally and letting 749 manage the scene properly.
Thinking about all this,
Bai Baolian was barely holding her emotions together.
After another pause, she said,
“Mr. Cha, the Bai Family has treated you well, right?”
Cha Yuanzheng answered without hesitation:
“Extrely well.”
“My parents treated you well too?”
Cha Yuanzheng answered solemnly:
“They saved my life.”
“If—just if—sothing unforeseen happens to my brother...”
Bai Baolian didn’t finish her sentence,
But Cha Yuanzheng understood imdiately.
After a mont of thought,
“I will do everything I can to repay the Bai Family’s kindness.
Miss Baolian, please help look after my family.
My daughter just started middle school this year.”
“You have my word.
From now on, I’ll treat your daughter like my own sister,
And your wife, I’ll treat her as a respected elder.”
After saying this, Bai Baolian’s heart was a chaotic ss.
Hopefully, nothing unexpected would happen.
This move was just buying insurance.
She was rational—
But when it ca to family,
She could be impulsive too!
Their group sped toward Ba'er Mountain.
anwhile,
At Ba'er Mountain.
Lu Ding returned to the construction site with Wang Qingge and their supplies.
He looked at the Bai Family mbers laboring under the scorching sun,
And Bai Hen lounging under a canopy eating waterlon.
He walked up and asked,
“How’s it going? They behaving?”
“Very well-behaved.
Working hard too.”
While speaking, Bai Hen sliced off a piece of waterlon and handed it to Lu Ding:
“Try it.
Cao Ying got it from sowhere.
It’s really sweet.”
Lu Ding took it in one hand,
Grabbed another piece and handed it to Wang Qingge,
Then bit into his own.
In such sweltering heat,
That one bite made Lu Ding feel alive again.
Wang Qingge set up a little folding stool for him.
He sat down—
Feet dangling off the ground—
Brain regaining full power.
He had just opened his mouth, about to ask where Cao Ying was,
Hadn’t even ward the seat yet—
Wu Yishuang ca running in a panic.
“Sothing’s wrong, sothing’s wrong, Investigator Lu, there’s trouble!”
Lu Ding savored the sweetness of the waterlon and spat out a black seed:
“I’m doing just fine.”
“Ah, that’s not what I ant.”
“Just now the Bureau sent a ssage:
Bai Baolian is coming with Cha Yuanzheng, a Si Ming Fifth Layer cultivator.”
“The Bureau’s suggestion is that you avoid confronting her head-on for now.
Let Xitong 749 handle things when they arrive.”
Lu Ding listened,
Set down the waterlon rind beside him.
“You want to avoid her wrath?”
Lu Ding found it almost funny.
Bai Hen wiped the waterlon juice from his mouth with a tissue.
“What kind of level is she anyway?
She’s not even worth it.”
Whenever it involved Bai Family business,
Bai Hen always showed his sharpest side.
Lu Ding raised his hand, pretending to tap the air, laughing:
“You’re getting better at talking—this, this I truly love to hear, hahahaha.”
After a hearty laugh,
He turned back to Wu Yishuang:
“Avoiding her? Not possible.”
“If I avoid her, what about you guys?”
From the way Wu Yishuang spoke,
It sounded like the Bai Family might arrive before Xitong 749.
And that brought up a problem.
If Lu Ding avoided the confrontation,
What would happen to everyone else?
Bai Baoce’s death wasn’t a secret—
The Bai Family would find out with just a few questions.
When they arrived and learned Bai Baoce was dead,
If they couldn’t find Lu Ding,
Wouldn’t they just vent all their anger on everyone else present?
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