Qu Jianlei heard Qinghu's words and glanced at her, "Sir, you misheard."

"You spoke wrongly," Qinghu replied expressionlessly, "Nelson... he wouldn't dare talk about me."

"Buckingham likes to ponder strange and bizarre things, you seem to be the same way."

As it turns out, Supreme Qinghu doesn't dislike talking; she's just pretending to be aloof. She simply detests meaningless socializing.

When she's in the mood to talk, she goes on and on, unable to stop.

"My relationship with Nelson is quite ordinary; our mutual friend is only Buckingham... Have you figured out where the mistake is?"

Qu Jianlei was taken aback, then shook his head helplessly, "Alright, Sir, you are right."

"I didn't mean to deceive, it's just that he's had some minor troubles lately, so I didn't point out the source directly."

"You're underestimating him," Qinghu dislikes others slandering her friends, "The Customs Enforcement Division isn't worthy!"

"That's good," Qu Jianlei nodded, "Then let's turn the page, I hope you'll help me keep it secret."

Turning the page is inevitable; if there's no plan to take action, then let it be. The key is whether he wants to stay in this place.

Requesting secrecy is actually a veiled warning... If you can't keep your mouth shut, do you think Buckingham can protect you?

But Qinghu didn't catch the implication; instead, she asked another question.

"The matter of the Qi Gathering Array is so big, why did you choose Yuanyuan instead of Buckingham?"

Upon hearing it, the grandmother's brow furrowed slightly, indeed, Supreme's ability to handle matters is stronger than her granddaughter.

"He's already Supreme!" Qu Jianlei replied without hesitation, "And Yuanyuan's Ion Armor aligns with my philosophy."

Yuanyuan hurriedly agreed, "Yes, we get along very well, and he's deeply researched in Primordial Warriors."

"You're of a special constitution!" Qinghu spoke with certainty, "Something most people can't learn."

"You're also of a special constitution," Qu Jianlei looked at Qinghu and spoke leisurely, "Sand Attribute taking the path of Earth Attribute."

Qinghu denied it firmly before, but now she responded indifferently, "I'm following the concept of Primordial Warriors."

"Otherwise, why would I be close to Buckingham?"

Qu Jianlei nodded, "I've heard he has a group of like-minded friends; this incident happened because he didn't want to implicate his friends."

Seeing the atmosphere gradually easing, the grandmother finally spoke up.

"Luo Family's performance in Mist Mansion shows they're on good terms with the military, right? Would operating a Qi Gathering Array affect them?"

Qu Jianlei glanced at her and replied helplessly, "Hasn't the Qi Gathering Array been circulated enough? What do you want to ask, just say it."

Knowing the number of Qi Gathering Arrays that have leaked? The grandmother's eyes suddenly brightened.

She pondered for a moment and spoke, "Mind talking about the issues Luo Family encountered in Mist Mansion?"

"You're out of line," Qu Jianlei replied coldly, "Even Xingluo Academy is embarrassed to ask, don't you think you're excessive?"

"Do you really think they're embarrassed to ask?" Qinghu snorted dismissively.

"The Luo Family doesn't have a single Supreme; if it weren't for their ancestors with Primordial Warriors, it would be different by now."

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "I don't comment on things I don't understand; I just need to know I'm at peace with my own conscience."

"You have principles!" The grandmother nodded and gave a thumbs up, "How much does Luo Family offer to hire you?"

This question was a bit awkward, but Qu Jianlei answered truthfully, "Ten thousand a day."

"That's too little," the grandmother stated matter-of-factly, "Internship in Mist Mansion lasts at most for a month."

"Hiring you at this price and having to protect the girl's safety is frankly insulting."

It's not about instigating trouble, as most people are usually slow to realize; beforehand, who dares say this price is cheap?

Qu Jianlei could only respond sulkily, "Back then, I was displaying B-level cultivation level."

Upon hearing this, the grandmother was speechless for a moment and finally commented, "You don't usually need to be that understated, do you?"

Qinghu was displeased upon hearing this: I also like being low-key, does that bother you?

But since the other party is an elder of her school, she couldn't be bothered to argue, "With your strength, going to Mist Mansion feels a bit like bullying."

"How is it bullying?" Qu Jianlei furrowed his brow slightly.

"The military is still working on refining Mist Mansion; I'm going in to earn some salary and broaden my horizons, is that not allowed?"

This time, the grandmother reacted quickly; she didn't want Lord Qinghu to engage in dispute with the other party anymore.

"Didn't Luo Family get two fortunes; do they even acknowledge it?"

Qu Jianlei smiled slightly upon hearing this, "I enter Mist Mansion never empty-handed. Everyone relies on their own abilities."

His words weren't blindly arrogant; he had his own motives.

Qinghu understood well, "You're hoping when we discover similar opportunities, we'll give you a heads-up?"

"That's not a big deal," Qu Jianlei replied frankly, "Just don't come unannounced."

Upon hearing this, Qinghu widened her eyes, completely different from the earlier expressionless look.

"This Half-Star Island was bought by my sister and given to me; I'm the owner!"

It turns out her brother-in-law was the former head of the military research institute.

After the institute was relocated, her sister bought the island and gave it to her as a gift.

However, not long after Half-Star Island was bought, her sister's family met with a tragic accident during interstellar travel.

Ever since Qinghu received the gift, she had never moved in. After her sister's accident, she was even more reluctant to stay here, haunted by memories.

So she decided to give the island away, but occasionally she would come back to stay for a couple of days. Who would dare deny her that?

"I really didn't know about this," Qu Jianlei genuinely felt a bit embarrassed.

"I was tricked by that little girl Yuanyuan; I'll move out immediately, I promise!"

"You call Yuanyuan a little girl?" Qinghu's expression was somewhat peculiar.

"Although you're not exactly young, you're still under forty, while Yuanyuan is over fifty. Did you know that?"

Qu Jianlei was a bit surprised, "So... so mature?"

Not even forty and about to challenge the Supreme level, he was well aware of his astonishing progress.

But since Yuanyuan always seemed so silly and cute, and being small in stature, he had subconsciously presumed she was also young.

"Small size doesn't equate to young age," Qinghu responded indifferently, "Besides, being small has its advantages..."

"I'm not here to exchange pleasantries with you. This Qi Gathering Array, is its origin reliable?"

Qu Jianlei was instinctively irritated when others questioned him in this manner.

However, he also understood that the real reason behind the inquiry was a genuine desire to suppress the matter—people complain about the price only if they're the buyers.

After pondering for a moment, he replied, "There are no witnesses anymore."

There was no problem with that statement. The Qi Gathering Array was seized from Kushnier, who was already dead, and he had concealed his identity; who could know he did it?

Entities like the Cyan Peak Commerce Association only suspected his involvement with the Qi Gathering Array, and they weren't even sure it was him.

The commerce association merely speculated that the force he was affiliated with might have killed Kushnier to seize the Qi Gathering Array.

So when he said there were no witnesses, it was indeed correct—there were only paranoid folks, blinded by greed, recklessly killing the innocent!

Yet, Qinghu couldn't help but frown, "All the witnesses are dead?"

"All the witnesses?" Qu Jianlei thought for a moment and nodded, "Well... more or less."

As a Supreme, Qinghu wasn't concerned with the casualties of ordinary people—not out of a lack of empathy, but because the reality of the situation demanded it.

If she didn't think this way, it would truly reflect a societal misperception on her part.

But even so, hearing him admit to killing all the witnesses stirred a bit of discomfort within her.

Why go to the lengths of killing everyone when you could simply take the item and leave?

Of course, this wasn't a major issue; she had heard of silencing through murder plenty of times.

But Yuanyuan, fearful of upsetting her, explained softly, "Their family has already killed seven or eight Supremes."

"What?" Qinghu was taken aback, Do you have some misunderstanding about the number of Supremes in the Empire?

"Supremes are everywhere, A-level warriors are less than dogs," such words can only be spoken by Supremes themselves; anyone else saying it should try!

Yuanyuan remembered earnestly, "Maybe it was a dozen?"

"You're just trying to scare me," Qinghu smiled instead, finding the little girl quite interesting.

"I bought this place myself a while back, and now I've given it to you, but I haven't had the chance to explore it properly; surely it's okay to look around for a couple of days?"

This request is quite reasonable—after all, my garden is now yours.

However, despite her silliness, this little one wasn't truly foolish: she merely wanted to probe the situation, which I understand!

So she answered without hesitation.

"I need to consult Brother Bingluan. If he plans to take the Qi Gathering Array away, feel free to explore as long as you like... or even return it to you."

With Lonely Leaf Lake combined with Half-Star Island, such a vast land area isn't purchased for a trifle of money.

But let's highlight the key point here—you can buy it if you have the money!!!

There are things money can't buy, and once lost, they can never be regained.

Qinghu stood silent for a while before stating, "It seems we were reckless in coming here this time." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Hearing their conversation, Qu Jianlei felt keeping up his guard wasn't sustainable.

Matters had reached this point and needed resolution, so he spoke out, "Alright then, since we're not strangers, please come in first."

After speaking, he quickly flashed in front of them.

His grandmother, noticing his relaxed demeanor, raised her watch to make a call, arranging for others to move the car and guard the entrance to the peninsula.

Qu Jianlei observed and nodded quietly—in the event these four wanted to enter Half-Star Island, he'd pack up and leave without a word.

Then he accompanied the three women as they strolled into the heart of the peninsula.

His grandmother was most concerned about the Qi Gathering Array, but upon entering the second Defense Array, she noticeably hesitated.

She had visited Half-Star Island prior, knowing it had only one layer of defenses, leftovers from when the research facility withdrew.

"You've actually built another Defense Array?"

Yuanyuan responded with pride, "Ran Bingluan set it up himself, isn't it impressive?"

"Very impressive," nodded the grandmother, who had interacted with array experts, "It's remarkable for someone so young."

So, in that case, perhaps this little guy is indeed worthy of Yuanyuan?