Abundant Martial Arts Virtue
Chapter 114 - 89: Took a Liking to Me

Chapter 114: Chapter 89: Took a Liking to Me

The Emperor waved his hand and said, "You all must be tired. Go find a restaurant for breakfast, and return to see me this evening."

"Yes!"

The three responded in unison.

After leaving the Royal Palace.

Zhao Zhibing bid farewell to the two, mentioning she had many preparations to make for a trip to the Otherworld’s Royal Palace before hurriedly departing.

Now only Zhao Junyu and Wu Xiaode remained.

"Shall we go for breakfast?" Zhao Junyu asked.

"Hold on. How’s Xia Huilan doing? If she’s still asleep, I won’t call her," said Wu Xiaode.

"She was sent to the Royal Hospital last night. The checks were all okay. It’s only been one night; she might need to rest more—what’s wrong?" Zhao Junyu asked.

Wu Xiaode also came to his senses.

Indeed.

It had only been one night.

"...She hasn’t woken up, has she?"

"She woke up this morning, ate something, and then went back to sleep."

"Sounds okay."

Wu Xiaode’s phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, Elder Qian?" Wu Xiaode said.

"Brother Wu, I obtained a secret martial arts manual in the Otherworld. Come back for breakfast, and help me look over this manual, can you?" the voice of Qian Mingkui came from the speaker.

"I’m hungry. I’ll come over after I eat here in town," Wu Xiaode said.

Right after these words, a loud noise came through the phone’s receiver.

Qian Mingkui’s voice abruptly stopped.

Wu Xiaode’s expression changed.

He suddenly remembered something.

The Escapee once said, once someone awakened their Power, the world would activate some mechanism to eradicate the Awakened person.

Could it be Qian Mingkui...

"An important friend?" Zhao Junyu asked.

"Yes, we need to check on him immediately," Wu Xiaode said anxiously.

"Where? Let’s see now."

Zhao Junyu took out his phone and spoke softly, "Pull up satellite images, start transmitting immediately."

"Stepping Snow Seeking Plum Martial Arts Hall, on the outskirts of the Capital," said Wu Xiaode.

"Lock position, immediately display life signs," Zhao Junyu ordered.

A holographic image appeared before the two men.

Looking down from the sky, the view zoomed in to show a chubby man and a little girl raising chickens in an outdoor play area.

There seemed to be an explosion inside the house.

Both the chubby man and the little girl were startled; the man’s phone fell to the ground.

"It’s fine, just a broken phone," Zhao Junyu said.

"What about the explosion?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Looking at the condition of the house, the preliminary analysis is a gas explosion," Zhao Junyu replied.

Wu Xiaode breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn it! I knew this fatty had ancestral protection—"

He was about to continue when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Ancestral protection...

And he had awakened Soul Power...

Elder Qian, this is your entire ancestral line being exiled to prison!

By the way, what exactly did your ancestors do?

Gurgle.

Now Wu Xiaode’s stomach began to complain.

"Let’s go, never mind them, let’s eat first, and then we can head to the martial arts hall," he said.

"Alright."

A few minutes later.

The two stood in front of a bustling food stall at a street corner, waiting in line.

"This place’s noodles are really good—beef, beef organs, marinated eggs, yellow wine, and rice wine all have a great flavor," Zhao Junyu complimented.

"You’re making me even hungrier," said Wu Xiaode, rubbing his stomach.

Beep beep beep—

Their phones rang simultaneously.

On checking, they saw that Zhao Zhibing had shared a news article.

Today’s front-page headline.

A royal spokesperson in a bright red robe embroidered with gold stood in the center of the image.

Beneath was a headline:

"The Royal Family injects funds into ’Abundant Martial Virtues’ movie company, adding investments for a large-scale sci-fi movie."

"The filming of this movie will continue for a year."

Wu Xiaode understood immediately.

Having orchestrated two live streams, if he was to face various new issues, he would still need to be involved.

—The remaining three members of the S-level club would all have to take action.

The best way to keep things under wraps was "filming a movie."

This would allow the central brain to chalk up strange occurrences to "movie special effects," preventing activation and the relentless learning and analysis.

This way, the Emperor’s mind could rest much easier.

—Perfect.

The two queued hungrily, occasionally checking their phones.

A few minutes later.

It was finally their turn.

Zhao Junyu ordered a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce, added marinated eggs, and rice wine.

Wu Xiaode opted for a bowl of beef noodles, a double portion of beef, two marinated eggs, yellow wine, and an iced cola.

The two carried their bowls and didn’t squeeze inside the stall; they simply moved a small stool outside, placing their bowls on a larger bench to start eating.

The morning breeze was still quite cool.

The noodle shop was bustling with customers coming and going—the housewife taking her child to school, an old man on his bicycle, giggling high school students, a middle-aged uncle with a fishing rod, and an old lady dressed in workout clothes—all deeply engrossed in their bowls of noodles and warmly greeting each other with small talk about family and neighborhood happenings.

Wu Xiaode, munching on a marinated egg and sipping chilled cola, watched the constant stream of people and listened to their ordinary chatter, suddenly feeling a sense of satisfaction.

"Who says this place is a prison? I think it’s rather nice," he muttered to himself.

"Brother, these are just the simple joys of mortals. Maybe you Awakeners were immortals before!" Zhao Junyu leaned in and said.

Immortals...

Wu Xiaode thought of the young man who had been killed.

He once was the king of an interstellar empire.

He failed, got trapped here as a boy who knew nothing, and then was found and killed by enemies without a chance to resist.

The empire he protected thus turned into a puppet of others.

"Yeah," Wu Xiaode remarked somberly, "who knows."

"Hey, look at the third table across, the girl in red," Zhao Junyu whispered.

Wu Xiaode casually glanced over.

The girl was sweet-looking but frail, obviously a normal person, no threat at all.

He relaxed and continued slurping his noodles, asking indistinctly,

"Saw her, so what?"

"She’s looking at us," Zhao Junyu said.

Wu Xiaode rolled his eyes, "So what if she glances at you, you won’t lose a chunk of flesh."

"No, I think she might be interested in us, maybe she has taken a liking to one of us," Zhao Junyu whispered.

Sure enough, the girl stood up and walked over to them.

She politely greeted them and asked for their contact information.

Wu Xiaode declined, citing discomfort.

Zhao Junyu gracefully added her as a friend.

The girl politely said goodbye and left with a smile.

"Hey, in public like this, you should save face for the girl, understand?" Zhao Junyu said earnestly.

Wu Xiaode shrugged, "You probably don’t hang out on the streets every day like us. You get a sense for these things after a while."

"You mean she’s up to no good?"

"Not necessarily."

"That’s what I thought, she might just like us."

"Liking two people at once, what do you think that means, huh?"

"Well..."

Zhao Junyu was at a loss for words.

Just then, his phone vibrated.

He picked it up; it was that girl.

She had sent a message:

"Handsome, our East City Fitness Center has a swimming pool and boxing classes, want to learn more?"

Zhao Junyu silently put down his phone.

"Don’t think every girl you see likes you, okay? Be sincere, don’t always act so cool and badass," Wu Xiaode said solemnly.

Zhao Junyu quietly continued eating his noodles.

The two slowly finished their breakfast.

Zhao Junyu patted Wu Xiaode on the shoulder and said,

"You’re paying."

"Why?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"You signed the contract, meals are on you," Zhao Junyu said.

"Really?"

Wu Xiaode took out his phone and scanned to pay.

Ding!

A line of text popped up on his phone:

"His Majesty pays this bill, decree this."

Wu Xiaode paused, murmuring, "His Majesty is kind and close to his people, truly admirable!"

In the palace.

The Emperor smiled smugly, crossing his legs and slowly sipping his tea.

Across from him, Zhao Zhibing had returned to the main hall.

She was sending the expense report for supplies to the Emperor on her phone.

"You didn’t use many talismans this time... I’ll cover the cost for you," the Emperor said, looking at the list.

"Thank you, Father," Zhao Zhibing said indifferently.

"Huh? Why did you also use a One-time Skin Isolation Talisman?" the Emperor suddenly asked.

"The situation was dire. Wu Xiaode grabbed my hand to pull me out of an attack," Zhao Zhibing said expressionlessly.

"That lad, he probably didn’t know you had twelve doppelgänger talismans on you... haha, seeing how he protected you, I won’t fuss over this much," the Emperor said.

Mid-sentence, he seemed to remember something and asked, "That talisman only lasts a minute, how many times did you guys hold hands?"

"Just once—the time he saved me," Zhao Zhibing said, looking straight ahead.

"Oh, that’s good. What are you planning to take with you tonight?" the Emperor asked, reassured.

"Usually, there’s not much danger, so I carry three hundred talismans. Now, as the situations get more complicated and dangerous, I’m preparing five thousand for tonight. That should be enough to save my life," Zhao Zhibing said.

The Emperor’s face fell a little, and he said softly, "Bingbing, you didn’t use that many last time, why suddenly need five thousand?"

"Does Father want me to die in that world? Tonight is only going to be more dangerous, five thousand is the bare minimum for survival," Zhao Zhibing said coldly.

"Alright, I’ll arrange it. Go on with your duties," the Emperor said reluctantly.

"Thanks, Father. You’re the best," said Zhao Zhibing with a slight smile, bowing and leaving.

In the main hall,

only the Emperor was left.

Several ministers slowly entered the hall, standing respectfully to one side.

"The princess has really grown up, huh?" one minister remarked.

The Emperor sighed, "My daughter is very cautious about her life, which is a good thing, yes, a good thing."

He waved his hand,

and a holographic image of an underground tunnel structure slowly rotated midair.

"Alright, we are about to start digging underground. This is the latest tunnel map; gentlemen, please share your thoughts," the Emperor said.

The ministers focused intently on the structure map, their expressions solemn.

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