"Excuse , is Mr. Qin Fan ho?"
The Jeep didn't drive into the villa estate with its gates wide open. After parking outside, four middle-aged n entered the villa, greeting Wei Shuying with polite smiles as she sat on the sofa watching a romance series.
Mr. Qin Fan? Is that what people call him?
Turning to regard the visitors, who appeared to be in their thirties or forties, Wei Shuying's guard went up. "And you are?"
"We're with the governnt," a middle-aged man with a tiger's smile said, stepping forward and pointing upstairs.
"Did Qin Fan get into trouble?"
The governnt! The word sent a jolt through Wei Shuying's heart, and she blurted out the question anxiously. It was no wonder she thought so. Qin Fan had a habit of disappearing every now and then, and with the recent trouble concerning the Qin family, it was inevitable that her worries would suddenly boil over.
The smiling tiger quickly waved his hands, looking completely harmless. "No, no, no, madam, please don't misunderstand! It's nothing like that. We're here on behalf of the governnt to discuss a few things with Mr. Qin Fan. Is he here?"
"He is. If you have business, co upstairs to talk. Don't disturb my mother's show."
From the railing of the duplex's second floor, Qin Fan looked down and spoke coolly.
"Alright! We won't disturb the lady any longer. Let's head upstairs!" the smiling tiger replied nonchalantly, a joyful expression on his face as he started up the stairs.
Watching the line of middle-aged n who claid to be from the governnt, Wei Shuying was completely baffled. What in the world is going on?
But at this crucial juncture, her refined upbringing told her it wasn't the ti to press for answers. Suppressing her confusion, she kept glancing up, trying to overhear any sounds from the second floor.
「In the rooftop pavilion.」
Facing the n who had followed him, Qin Fan said bluntly, "Speak. Why are you looking for ?"
As he finished, he shot a playful glance at the middle-aged man who had witnessed Qin Lan's great battle.
"Master Qin, we are from the Huaxia Guardian Institute!" The middle-aged man's heart sank under Qin Fan's gaze, but he managed to speak despite the invisible pressure.
"The Huaxia Guardian Institute?" Qin Fan frowned, completely unfamiliar with the na. He had no desire to beco familiar with it, either. "State your purpose."
"Master Qin, to put it simply, we are an organization that protects Huaxia," the man began slowly. "It is filled with extraordinarily talented individuals from the world of Martial Arts, and we are led by Commander Hua Xiaotian. We have co under orders from above to invite you to join the Huaxia Guardian Institute. What are your thoughts on the matter?"
"Not interested. You can go now." Qin Fan shook his head with a faint smile and waved them away.
Join an organization? What a joke! With that kind of spare ti, wouldn't I be better off looking for a Gathering Spirit Land to improve my Cultivation?
Huh? That's it? Qin Fan's words were like a bucket of cold water on a roaring fire. Except for the middle-aged man who had expected this, the other three were dumbfounded.
Shouldn't he ask about the nature of the Guardian Institute? Shouldn't he ask what it ans to join?
"Master Qin, aren't you going to ask about the Institute?" one of them asked.
"I said, I'm not interested. If there's nothing else, you should leave," Qin Fan replied with a light chuckle.
"As a citizen of Huaxia, isn't it your duty to protect the nation? Master Qin, perhaps you aren't aware of the Guardian Institute's history. Let explain. The Guardian Institute, tasked with maintaining national security, has existed since the Tang Dynasty. It was only during the Late Qing that it was forced to dissolve for various reasons. The period from the Late Qing to the Republic era was a vacuum for the Institute. However, with the invasion of the Japanese, the Guardian Institute was re-established, gathering heroes from across the Martial Arts world. Our Institute's contributions were indispensable to the hasty, unconditional surrender of the Japanese invaders back then. The Onmyoji and Ninja who infiltrated our land to support the Japanese forces were all eliminated by the Guardian Institute at the border. Afterward, we targeted the leaders of the Japanese forces in Eastern Huaxia. In just half a month, all the high-ranking Japanese commanders within our borders were killed at the hands of the Guardian Institute!
"This forced the leaderless Japanese to surrender. After the liberation, our Guardian Institute was incorporated by the state as a covert official organization. It is because of our existence that foreign threats—be they nefarious organizations, Werewolves, Vampires, Onmyoji, or Superpower Users—all fear the Guardian Institute and dare not set foot on Huaxia's soil! And if we want Huaxia to maintain this deterrent pressure on those barbarians for generations to co, we must continuously grow stronger to achieve the ultimate level of intimidation!
"Qin Shuai, as the most prominent young Grandmaster in the Martial Arts World, blessed by the Heavenly Dao, why not join us in building an even stronger Guardian Institute? For the country and for the people, you could have your na inscribed on the Institute's stone monunt, immortalized for all ti, rembered by every generation of Huaxia's children. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Besides, joining doesn't require all that much. Aside from occasionally fighting for the nation to nip threats against Huaxia in the bud, our mbers are as free as anyone else. Master Qin, please consider it.
"For your sake, our big boss personally visited the Institute and ordered us to recruit a chosen one like you—a true son of heaven—to protect the nation's prosperity. We need you to ensure Huaxia's prestige will awe the nations of the world!"
The smiling tiger's words flew like bullets from a Gatling gun, a relentless barrage of praise and flattery. Seeing Qin Fan let him ramble on without interruption, he felt a sudden surge of joy, as if he could see a glimr of hope. But in the next mont, his hope was dashed.
Qin Fan gently shook his head. "I'll say it one more ti. I'm not interested."
"This—!" Hearing the sa refusal again, the smiling tiger was at a loss.
Before they could say another word, Qin Fan asked, "Can the Guardian Institute settle scores at will?"
"Can the Guardian Institute ignore the rules?"
"Can the Guardian Institute kill as it pleases?"
"No—no—it can't!" the middle-aged man stamred, his voice trembling in the face of Qin Fan's sharp and domineering questions.
As a governnt organization, they were bound by the law. Not just them, but anyone in the Martial Arts community who dared to cause trouble in these peaceful tis would face sanctions from the Guardian Institute. In such a system, how could its own mbers ignore the rules, settle personal scores, and kill whenever they pleased?
With Qin Fan having put it so bluntly, the middle-aged man could only feel helpless and smile wryly. This result wasn't surprising in the least.
Commander Hua must have stayed away because he knew this is exactly how the conversation would go, the man thought, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
"But I can," Qin Fan declared with a wild laugh, making no effort to be modest or restrain his arrogance.
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