Chapter 102 - 99: Li Mingyue’s Deal

Chapter 102: Chapter 99: Li Mingyue’s Deal

The South Sea. Antique Shop Zero. A guest room.

The canopy, the quilt, even the pillows and mats—everything was a heavy, joyous red.

Through the red gauze canopy, a woman of nation-toppling beauty could be seen lying on her side.

Nine snow-white fox tails fanned out behind her, twitching from time to time with a bewitching air.

She was asleep.

The alluring charm between her brows was replaced by a childlike vulnerability and unease.

Deep in her dream, she saw a Little Fox Demon.

That ambitious Little Fox Demon was going to assassinate the young Emperor who had defied the heavenly dao and rebelled against All Gods.

But before she could even get near the Emperor’s procession, she was captured by a few guards.

The wind blew, lifting a corner of the imperial carriage’s curtain, and she saw eyes as deep as the bottom of a lake.

Strangely, that gaze was identical to Jiang Chaosheng’s.

But it definitely wasn’t Jiang Chaosheng.

Because those eyes weren’t as listless as Jiang Chaosheng’s.

A knock on the door echoed in the bedroom, startling Daji. She shot up, her long silver hair sliding over her shoulders and hiding most of her lovely face.

"Lady, I’ve left breakfast at the door."

Daji looked toward the door.

It was the Little Succubus.

Daji didn’t reply. Her delicate hand wiped away the beads of sweat on her temple as her expression grew confused and her gaze lost focus.

"My husband..."

The room fell silent.

For a long, long time...

Daji suddenly grabbed her hair in agony, her body glowing with a light as bright as the full moon.

The chaotic memories muddled her mind completely.

’I’m losing control...’

"Sigh!"

Suddenly, she heard a sigh from the basement—one filled with resignation and pity.

Daji calmed down, transforming into the Nine-tailed Demon Core and lying quietly in the center of the bed.

...

At the entrance of Antique Shop Zero.

Jiang Chaosheng stood there, reaching out his hand to catch the first ray of morning sun.

He slowly closed his eyes.

It had been a long time since he’d felt such gentle light.

Unfortunately, the morning was anything but quiet.

Workers bustled back and forth along the street.

These workers were all direct employees of the World Dream Group.

Among them were quite a few foreign faces.

Ever since the decision was made to turn this place into the Nationalist Era Charm Street, Xia Li had grown anxious.

Although she was effectively being held captive, dragged into daily meetings by the South Sea’s government and business circles, Xia Li had still employed a few of her own methods.

All the workers renovating Anxiang Street were her direct employees.

This included construction workers from her overseas businesses.

These direct employees had worked for the World Dream Group for generations. They were far more reliable than temporary hires and could also prevent the authorities from planting spies.

The work of attracting new businesses was also going very well.

The shop leases were being offered at a significant discount, but there was one requirement for tenants.

Speed.

They had to get their shops operational in a short period of time.

The merchants knew that opening for business on the Nationalist Era Charm Street so quickly wouldn’t be good for business.

But when they factored in the discounts from World Dream, they wouldn’t lose money even if they didn’t turn a profit for a year.

The merchants figured the World Dream Group was probably launching a blitzkrieg—some kind of operational strategy.

After the Sea Train incident, quite a few merchants had already paid their deposits and started renovating their leased shops.

Once the renovation of Anxiang Street was complete, the first batch of tenants who paid their rent could open for business immediately.

To the left of Antique Shop Zero was a coffee shop, and to the right was a teahouse.

Jiang Chaosheng thought it would be nice for Anxiang Street to be a bit more lively in the future.

"Oh, you must be the owner of the antique shop, right?"

A woman in a qipao got out of a small white car and greeted Jiang Chaosheng with a beaming smile.

Jiang Chaosheng looked at her suspiciously.

The woman glanced at the coffee shop and confidently extended her hand.

"We’ll be neighbors from now on. Let’s look out for each other."

Jiang Chaosheng understood. She was the proprietress of the coffee shop.

He lightly shook her fingertips, his touch brief.

"You too."

The woman said with a smile,

"Your renovations were certainly fast."

In reality, these shops didn’t need much renovation.

The interior decor was already in the Nationalist Era style, as this was originally an old street from that period.

They just needed to clean up the walls and floors, make some minor modifications based on their business needs, and they would be ready for use.

Still, the speed of this young owner in front of her was impressive.

’He probably has connections within the World Dream Group.’

’Young and rich, to boot.’

Jiang Chaosheng said,

"It was alright."

Jin Meiting walked back out of the antique shop.

"Mas—"

She saw the woman in the qipao and corrected herself.

"Sir, there’s something I need to tell you."

Taking the hint, the woman in the qipao returned to her coffee shop.

Jin Meiting said,

"Master, Mingyue wants to come."

Jiang Chaosheng raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

Jin Meiting said,

"She wants to make a deal with you."

Jiang Chaosheng pondered for a moment, a slow smile forming on his lips.

’It seems there’s discord within the Anomaly Administration Bureau.’

’At the very least, Li Mingyue and her backers aren’t on good terms with that Investigator named Bai Juzhi.’

Jiang Chaosheng said,

"Alright."

As he spoke, Jiang Chaosheng walked into the antique shop, adding casually,

"Tell her Bai Juzhi is at the Night Bar."

Jin Meiting froze for a second.

’Who is Bai Juzhi?’

Jin Meiting watched Jiang Chaosheng’s back, slowly clenching her fists.

’Have I fallen this far out of the loop with him?’

...

「Afternoon.」

The South Sea, Antique Shop Zero.

Li Mingyue sat at the tea table, looking at Jiang Chaosheng with a complex expression.

"How... how did you know Bai Juzhi’s location?"

Within the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, Bai Juzhi’s reputation was absolutely notorious.

Everyone would question his character, but no one would question his abilities.

Bai Juzhi was a cautious man. Not even the Anomaly Administration Bureau knew his current whereabouts.

’How on earth did this person in front of me know?’

Jiang Chaosheng poured Li Mingyue a cup of tea.

"That’s not important."

Bai Juzhi knew to find a spot near Anxiang Street to observe in secret. How could Yang Xiao not have thought of the same thing?

A long time ago, Yang Xiao’s shadows had already blanketed the area in and around Anxiang Street.

The moment Bai Juzhi appeared at the Night Bar, Yang Xiao had already relayed the information to Jiang Chaosheng and left a shadow behind to stand guard.

Jiang Chaosheng looked into Li Mingyue’s eyes and said quietly,

"What’s important is that I am an antique dealer, and I need to do business.

I trust you don’t want Bai Juzhi to discover you’ve come to Anxiang Street, do you?

For me to protect the client’s confidentiality, and for the client to protect the antique shop’s—this is our mutual responsibility."

Li Mingyue fell silent.

It sounded as if she were just an ordinary customer, and he just an ordinary shop owner.

’But was that really the case? After all, neither of them were ordinary traders.’

’His style of operation was completely different from a normal person’s.’

’What on earth was he thinking?’

’Since he knew Bai Juzhi’s location and that Bai Juzhi was after him, couldn’t he easily get rid of Bai Juzhi with his abilities?’

Li Mingyue shook these thoughts from her mind.

"The last time we met in the old district, you said we could trade with you for Taboo Items."

Jiang Chaosheng nodded.

"Yes."

Li Mingyue took a sip of tea and asked,

"What do you require in trade?"

Before coming here, Li Mingyue had already discussed it with Cao Ye.

As long as it didn’t violate their principles too much, they could give him anything.

Cao Ye had even given Li Mingyue a file on Bai Juzhi’s life story.

This information was undiscoverable by the regular police; it was top secret within the Anomaly Administration Bureau.

But now, it seemed Jiang Chaosheng didn’t need this information.

Because no matter how you looked at it, Bai Juzhi had long since gone from being an assassin to a fish on the chopping block.

Jiang Chaosheng refilled Li Mingyue’s cup.

"I want two-thirds of your lifespan."