"I knew you wouldn't tell the truth, but couldn't you at least put some effort into making up a story..."
Li Ziqing rolled her eyes even more after hearing Chen Xiao's explanation.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. If I had known, I would have just made up a story for you, like falling off a cliff and being taken in by an old immortal who forcibly took me as a disciple..."
Chen Xiao smiled helplessly.
"Are you saying everything you just said is true?"
Li Ziqing's eyes widened, her face showing an expression of disbelief.
Chen Xiao nodded, but said nothing further.
Those who were meant to believe would believe, and no amount of explanation would convince those who weren't.
"I never imagined your experiences would be so extraordinary."
Li Ziqing believed Chen Xiao's words and was deeply shocked.
"So far, I've only told you."
Chen Xiao said calmly.
Hearing this, Li Ziqing was even more moved and promised, "Don't worry, husband, I'll keep this a secret. I absolutely won't tell anyone."
Chen Xiao smiled. In truth, he didn't really care whether Li Ziqing told others or not.
Besides, even if she did, no one would believe her, and they might even think she was unwell.
In fact, Chen Xiao had a reason for telling Li Ziqing these things.
He suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Ziqing, have you ever thought about cultivating with me?"
"Uh, that..."
Li Ziqing hesitated, "I really haven't thought about it. I'm so busy with the company that I don't have the energy to cultivate."
"Money can't be earned endlessly, and with our current assets, we could squander them for several lifetimes without running out. You can afford to step away a bit."
Chen Xiao persuaded her.
"I understand what you're saying, but you know that besides making money, I don't have any other particular skills. I don't want to be a useless vase by your side, completely dependent on you."
Li Ziqing lowered her voice, then added, "I want to be able to help you, I want my existence to have value, I don't want to just be a burden to you."
It was only then that Chen Xiao understood Li Ziqing's thoughts. He pulled her into his arms and said softly, "Silly girl, how could you be a burden to me? Don't you remember, if you hadn't risked your life to block Xiao Li's attack for me back then, I might not be here today."
"I originally thought that was the case, that I saved your life. But after hearing what you just said, perhaps you wouldn't have died even if I hadn't helped you."
Li Ziqing shook her head, saying helplessly.
What she said was true. Although Chen Xiao's strength had just awakened and wasn't very strong, he wouldn't have been killed by Xiao Li.
"Alright, wife, don't overthink it. I've heard a saying: when couples start calculating too much, their relationship is at its end. So I hope we never calculate too much between us, because I want to possess you forever..."
Chen Xiao held Li Ziqing tightly, his breathing gradually becoming heavier.
Li Ziqing felt the change in Chen Xiao's body, her face instantly flushed, and she let out a soft moan, "You're bad..."
What followed was a passionate storm of love!
More than an hour later, Li Ziqing lay limply on Chen Xiao, panting.
"I told you, you should cultivate with me. Look how poor your stamina is now!"
Looking at Li Ziqing's shy and weak appearance, ripe for the picking, Chen Xiao directly teased her.
"What a tactless, iron-willed man!"
Li Ziqing pinched Chen Xiao's waist in annoyance, "Fine, fine, I'll listen to you. I'll cultivate, okay!"
"That's more like it. Once you've achieved some success in cultivation, if any more ignorant fools like Li Cun come looking for trouble, you won't have to wait for me to help you. Just slap them to death!"
Chen Xiao hoped Li Ziqing would have the ability to protect herself when encountering danger, as he couldn't always be by her side.
Moreover, his persuasion for Li Ziqing to cultivate wasn't solely for her self-protection.
Because sooner or later, Chen Xiao would leave this world and ascend to immortality.
Perhaps he could control things to delay this day, but it would eventually come.
He didn't want to face separation then, and the solution was to have Li Ziqing ascend with him.
Not just Li Ziqing, but also his mother Liu Zhen, and perhaps more people in the future...
In short, this was just the first step, to persuade Li Ziqing to cultivate. The rest would be gradual, slowly integrated. After all, there was plenty of time.
As for what cultivation technique to give Li Ziqing, Chen Xiao hadn't decided yet.
His mind stored too many cultivation techniques, a vast ocean. Given his relationship with Li Ziqing, he had to choose carefully to find a technique most suitable for her cultivation.
In addition, Chen Xiao also persuaded Li Ziqing to move to Shanhai Yipin, where the spiritual energy was abundant, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.
Moreover, there were more people there, making it safer.
Li Ziqing agreed and decided to move in that very night.
With things settled, Chen Xiao tidied himself up and left Li Ziqing's company.
At this moment, he received a message from Qi Tianhu, stating that the bosses from surrounding cities had arrived successively, and everyone else was on their way.
Chen Xiao didn't delay and went directly to Qi Tianhu's place.
He believed that it wouldn't be long before the people from the Underworld Hall arrived.
After all, Chen Xiao had killed Li Cun, and Li Xun must be furious, likely rushing towards Jiangcheng.
Chen Xiao saw many familiar faces he hadn't seen in a long time: Han Jiuchian of the Wolf Gang, Liu Songqing of the Fierce Tiger Sect, the boss of Jiangkou City, Boss Wang, Liu Yan of Baling...
As night fell later, the thirty-five gang leaders from the thirteen cities of Jiangbei had all arrived.
They gathered in Jiangcheng, a truly grand occasion.
Despite the grandeur, the atmosphere was not enthusiastic.
The expressions of the various leaders were solemn, their faces clouded with worry.
The arrival of the Underworld Hall made them all feel threatened.
They had heard that the Underworld Hall had dispatched twenty Grandmasters of the Hua Realm, vowing to sweep through the entire underground world of Jiangbei!
They knew Chen Xiao was powerful, but in their eyes, twenty Grandmasters of the Hua Realm were enough to destroy everything, and Chen Xiao, no matter how strong, was likely in grave danger this time.
The leaders were all preoccupied, each with their own hidden agenda.
Although they had come, Chen Xiao could tell that they were not necessarily all on his side.
Chen Xiao was indifferent to this, as he was not familiar with these people.
Except for Qi Tianhu, Han Jiuchian, and Boss Wang, with whom he had some prior interaction, he was meeting the others for only the second time today.
To put it bluntly, they were a motley crew, and Chen Xiao didn't need them to be united with him.
What Chen Xiao needed was for them to have sufficient respect for him!