My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times-Chapter 75 - 74: The Male and Female Fiends

Groggy... exhausted... a splitting headache.

His thoughts returned to him one by one. Lu Xuan struggled to lift his eyelids. Above him wasn’t the dim, swaying lightbulb he expected, but an exquisitely crafted ceiling.

He wasn’t lying on a hard wooden plank, either. Instead, he was on a soft, massive bed.

’Where am I?’

Lu Xuan jolted, seeing two pairs of eyes staring straight at him. One pair was bright and clear, while the other was slightly shifty.

"You’re awake!" Yan Jiangxue leaned in and touched the young man’s forehead, asking worriedly, "Xiaolu, Xiaolu, what happened to you...?"

As Lu Xuan caught the faint, pleasant scent from the young woman, his mind finally began to settle.

He looked at Xiaoyan, then at the middle-aged man beside her, slightly bewildered.

"Director Ji? What are you doing here?"

Ji Bochang scratched his head and gave a cautious, careful smile. Before he could speak, Yan Jiangxue answered.

"I couldn’t get in touch with you, so I went to the shantytown to look for you. I happened to run into Director Ji, who was also on his way to find you... and then we found you passed out in your little shack. I brought you back here. This is my home."

After a pause, the young woman added worriedly,

"Uncle Ao said you suffered from severe spiritual depletion, so we gave you some medicine to help you recover... Xiaolu, Xiaolu, what on earth happened?"

Beside them, Ji Bochang’s eyebrow twitched violently. ’A little bit?’

’Are you sure it was just a little bit?’

He had personally seen the girl grab all sorts of precious and rare Great Medicines and have the director of Longque Technology’s Ancient Research Institute refine them into a medicinal liquid. She had poured at least a pound of it down his throat!

A single pound of that liquid had consumed at least ten times its weight in Great Medicines!

Lu Xuan, unaware of any of this, simply smiled faintly.

"I ran into a small snag during my Cultivation, but I feel much better now... How long was I out?"

"Not long. We brought you back this afternoon. It’s not even dark yet!"

Xiaoyan let out a small sigh of relief.

"Since you’re okay, I’ll go tell Uncle Ao that he doesn’t need to scour for any more Spiritual Medicine. Xiaolu, you and Director Ji can talk for a bit!"

With that, she scampered out of the room, leaving the two men staring at each other.

After a moment, Lu Xuan asked cautiously,

"Director Ji, your reason for seeking me out is..."

Ji Bochang was even more cautious, his expression a forced smile, his tone bordering on reverent.

"It’s like this, Mr. Lu. Yesterday, the city held a meeting. It seems that ruins from Ancient Times may have appeared in our East Sea City. The Federation has issued a directive for our city to send people to investigate. And, well, the mayor has his eyes on our Inspectorate..."

His attitude was impeccable. He was now completely certain that this young man had the backing of Longque Technology—after all, the director of Longque Technology’s Ancient Research Institute was right in the next room!

Ji Bochang continued,

"The mayor wants the Inspectorate’s director and two deputy directors to represent the Federation at the ruins. You... you are one of them. I came to ask for your opinion. I was wondering if you might want to temporarily resign from the Inspectorate, since the ruins are so dangerous..."

"There’s no need for that!"

Lu Xuan’s expression brightened instantly. ’I was just wondering how I was going to get into those ruins,’ he thought. ’And here they are, handing me an invitation on a silver platter.’

He righteously refused Ji Bochang’s offer, declaring that he would most certainly go to the ruins to serve the Federation!

Seeing this, Ji Bochang didn’t press the matter, only adding cautiously,

"Oh, right, Mr. Lu, there is one more thing..."

He gathered his thoughts before speaking softly.

"Is it possible for the residents of the shantytown to be temporarily relocated? Just for a little while. Things have been... a bit chaotic lately."

Lu Xuan’s brow tightened. He sat up straight and asked,

"Chaotic? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Ji Bochang sighed. "You could say that practically everyone in East Sea City is on edge. To be honest with you, my son’s birthday party was supposed to be the day after tomorrow, but I had him postpone it until after those Celestial Humans leave..."

"Director Ji, what exactly has been happening?"

"Many Celestial Humans have entered the city over the past few days. And it’s not just them, but also their children and younger relatives. Those people are... well, they’re quite arrogant and domineering."

Lu Xuan understood. He asked with a focused gaze,

"And the Inspectorate doesn’t dare to get involved, nor does City Hall, is that right?"

"It’s worse than that." Ji Bochang sighed softly. "The grandmaster of the Martial Arts Alliance got into a conflict with them and was severely injured. Now, with no one to keep the Martial Arts Alliance in check, their true colors are showing, and the crime rate is skyrocketing..."

"Who did you say?" Lu Xuan cut in. "Which grandmaster of the Martial Arts Alliance?"

"Who else could it be? Chu Shuangtian of the Soaring Snake Martial Arts Hall. He was the one who always maintained order within the Martial Arts Alliance. Now that he’s been severely injured and has gone missing, that order has collapsed."

Lu Xuan’s expression grew grim.

"Why did Elder Chu get into a conflict with those outsiders?"

Ji Bochang gave him a surprised look before replying,

"I’m not clear on the specifics, but he likely came across one of the Celestial Humans’ descendants causing trouble. He stepped in to stop them and ended up being attacked by the Celestial Human themselves. He’s lucky to be alive."

Lu Xuan’s expression darkened.

After a long moment, he asked,

"Death Tower... doesn’t the Death Tower get involved?"

"The Death Tower?" Ji Bochang sighed. "They only deal with Cultivators who go on killing sprees. You’d probably have to slaughter an entire street of people to get their attention."

"I understand."

Lu Xuan lowered his gaze and asked,

"Director Ji, could you have your men notify the residents of the shantytown to leave for a while? They can go to the next city. I’ll cover their travel expenses. With two months of my allowance plus my salary, I have about a hundred thousand. That should be enough."

"Of course, that’s no problem at all." Ji Bochang nodded in confirmation.

"How long will it take to get them all out?"

"A day or two, I’d imagine?" He seemed a bit surprised. "Mr. Lu, there’s no need to be in such a rush. I heard those ruins might not even emerge until June..."

Ji Bochang suddenly fell silent, remembering the young man’s disposition.

After a long pause, he offered a subtle warning.

"Mr. Lu, many of the Celestial Humans who have entered the city this time are from the other Super Conglomerates, organizations on par with Longque Technology."

Lu Xuan just smiled without saying a word.

Seeing this, Ji Bochang said no more. He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"I’ll have my people get right on it. We’ll have everyone in the shantytown temporarily relocated by tomorrow at the latest. As for the cost, City Hall will cover it."

With that, he took his leave decisively.

After Ji Bochang had gone, Lu Xuan lowered his head in thought. ’Celestial Humans are flooding into the city, along with their children and younger kin, and plenty of them are troublemakers.’

’The Inspectorate won’t touch them, City Hall won’t touch them. Elder Chu merely tried to intervene and was struck down, severely wounded. This directly caused the Martial Arts Alliance’s already fragile order to completely collapse!’

He rose and walked to the window, looking out.

Even though he was in the most bustling part of the city center, the streets below were deserted. The doors and windows of every home and shop were shut tight.

"Go on and do what you feel you must."

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Ao Chengzhong ambled in.

He said,

"Longque Technology doesn’t go looking for trouble with other factions, but other factions don’t dare to come looking for trouble with us, either. It’s a common understanding that Celestial Humans are not to interfere in the squabbles of the younger generation. Nothing could be more normal."

After a pause, Ao Chengzhong added languidly,

"How about I give you a title at my research institute? Honorary Researcher, perhaps?"

Lu Xuan was silent for a moment, then bowed solemnly.

"Thank you, Uncle Ao!"

Ao Chengzhong chuckled.

"I can’t stand those fellows either. But I’m an old fossil. If I were to step in, it would change the nature of the situation and make enemies for Longque Technology. But when it’s just the younger generation... well, a few scuffles are perfectly normal."

He then added,

"When the time comes, bring Jiang Xue along. She won’t need to do a thing. Just having her stand there will be enough."

As he spoke, a small head poked through the doorway.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Xiaoyan grinned, revealing two small canine teeth, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Xiaolu, take me with you! We’ll be a deadly duo!"