Yu Tongming desperately wanted to ask Zhou Xuan why he had switched sides.
However, his pride prevented him from doing so.
Besides, with Qin Huaiyu present, how could he say more to Zhou Xuan?
Seeing that Zhou Xuan did not elaborate, Yu Tongming asked Qin Huaiyu to leave first.
"Alright, Uncle Yu, I'll wait for you downstairs."
Qin Huaiyu cast a cold glance at Zhou Xuan and Lu Linger.
After she left, Zhou Xuan took a step forward.
"Commander Yu, let me explain."
"I no longer deserve the title of Commander from you. I have nothing to say to you."
"If you believe that I, Zhou Xuan, betrayed you and caused you to lose the election, then you might have been manipulated. The other party would be delighted if we acted like this."
"Hmph, as things stand, whatever you say goes. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't keep you company."
"Commander Yu, the Sui Mai Palm of Hao Hai Xian Zong is not easy to treat. If I truly wanted you to suffer, I wouldn't have risked saving you."
Zhou Xuan called out from behind.
Yu Tongming paused his steps.
Turning back, he grinned at Zhou Xuan, "Master Zhou is my savior. Of course, I won't do anything to you. Don't worry, though I have a bad temper, I act based on evidence."
This meant that if he didn't have any leverage on Zhou Xuan, and couldn't prove anything, he wouldn't deal with him.
Lu Ling'er also chimed in, "Mr. Yu, what he says is true. The reason he was close to Xiao Chenyi and the others is because Xiao Wushuang is my brother Xuan's maternal grandfather!"
"What?"
"Are you kidding me?"
Yu Tongming's brows shot up, "Can't Zhou Xuan make up a more believable excuse?"
"It's true. I told you about my family's extermination and that I never met my maternal grandfather since childhood. This was truly an accident. In fact, I should thank you. If you hadn't asked me to investigate Xiao Wushuang and Xiao Chenyi, I wouldn't have discovered my relatives were so close."
Yu Tongming was completely out of ideas.
If it was like this, what else could he say?
In fact, it was his own bad luck.
If he hadn't fallen out with Hao Hai Xian Zong over a woman back then.
He wouldn't be in this situation today.
He had to admit, it was due to his romantic entanglements.
Yu Tongming patted Zhou Xuan's shoulder, "I wronged you. I admit defeat to being outmatched. Come over for tea sometime."
Zhou Xuan's face lit up; Yu Tongming had believed him.
"What about the Qin family..."
"Don't worry, the Qin family is like this, I won't be making wedding clothes for them. However, Xiao Chenyi will have plenty to worry about."
Qin Huaiyu was now trying to play both sides and was overwhelmed.
It seemed she couldn't wait and would likely use an excuse to get close to Xiao Chenyi later.
After all, the power and authority of the commander of this headquarters were immeasurable.
Indeed.
After Yu Tongming left.
When Zhou Xuan returned to the Xiao family with Lu Ling'er, Qin Huaiyu had arrived a bit earlier.
"Why are you like a haunting ghost?"
Qin Huaiyu was speaking in the living room, her words all aimed at flattering Xiao Chenyi.
Zhou Xuan had never seen her so soft and charming before, it was utterly jarring.
Seeing Zhou Xuan, Qin Huaiyu remembered seeing him at the mall before and immediately assumed Zhou Xuan was deliberately following her.
"Zhou Xuan, you're tracking me, aren't you? I warn you, don't think you can be lawless just because you have some skills. If I get angry, I can make you pay at any time!"
"What are you looking at? Get out!"
Qin Huaiyu's reaction was rather baffling to Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan sneered, "Is this how the Qin family treats their benefactor?!"
He disdained to argue with Qin Huaiyu.
Zhou Xuan stopped talking, his implication already clear.
Qin Huaiyu was furious.
But Zhou Xuan truly disdained to bother with her, so what could she do?
"Who is this?" Qin Huaiyu asked Zhou Xuan with a smile, "Could it be someone close to Young Master Xiao?"
Xiao Chenyi glanced indifferently at Qin Huaiyu, "My friend."
"Oh, so that's how it is!"
Zhou Xuan remained noncommittal.
Seeing Zhou Xuan, Qin Huaiyu inwardly seethed, but her smile remained on her face. Her gaze shifted to Zhou Xuan again, filled with provocation.
"I have something to attend to and need to go out. Miss Qin, if you have nothing else, you should leave."
Xiao Chenyi said calmly.
Qin Huaiyu's expression changed slightly, but she still suppressed her anger and nodded with a smile, "Okay! We'll meet again next time!"
After Qin Huaiyu left, Zhou Xuan said to Xiao Chenyi, "I have some things to do, so I'll be heading back. This is a gift for Grandpa. Remember to give it to him at dinner tonight."
Xiao Chenyi grunted.
As Zhou Xuan just left the Xiao residence, he heard footsteps behind him.
Qin Huaiyu caught up and blocked his path, her expression cold, "I have something to say to you!"
Zhou Xuan frowned at Qin Huaiyu, remained silent for a moment, and finally turned around, walking alongside her towards the outside.
"What do you want to talk about?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"Do you know my relationship with Xiao Chenyi?"
"No!"
Qin Huaiyu revealed a sarcastic smile, "You'd best not be thinking of flattering Xiao Chenyi too."
Zhou Xuan raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think I'm flattering him?"
"It's ridiculous, aren't you flattering him? Or is Xiao Chenyi flattering you?"
To everyone's surprise, Zhou Xuan nodded.
"Shameless."
Qin Huaiyu felt she couldn't discuss anything with him and left in anger.
"I warn you, Xiao Chenyi is not to be trifled with. Don't have any delusions."
Zhou Xuan chuckled.
It seemed his maternal grandfather and the others had kept their secrets well.
With his current actions, he could observe what Qin Huaiyu was really up to.
Zhou Xuan returned to his room and began studying the Qingluan artifact.
The artifact was accompanied by a book.
This ancient tome was a top-tier Xuan-level martial art, but it was incomplete.
After finishing it, he regretfully stored it in his storage ring.
Zhou Xuan still had quite a few precious medicinal herbs in his storage ring, which he intended to cultivate properly.
Next, he began to study how Qingluan entered space.
Zhou Xuan discovered that although the Qingluan responded, its hilt was damaged with a gap, and parts of the blade were also damaged. Only other areas remained intact.
The difficulty of repairing it was extremely high, and it would likely require immense resources to succeed.
He mused that it didn't work in Zhuge Qing's hands because the artifact's repair was not done properly.
It was only when he brought other spatial artifacts that a resonance occurred.
This was already a stroke of luck, one in a thousand.
He continued to observe the Qingluan, a thought occurring to him.
"Since this Qingluan is just an empty shell, why not use it to create a substitute puppet?"
He thought of a method: to craft a fake artifact using materials.
This way, could he expose the person behind the theft of the gourd artifact?
Once this Qingluan was revealed, he would spread the word, and they would naturally flock to him.
With this in mind, Zhou Xuan began to act.