Chapter 187: Settling Down, the Jade-Nurturing Stream

She couldn’t help but glance at the others’ reactions.

Zhu Yiming looked a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Qiu Feng stood there with a smile that revealed nothing of his thoughts, but Bian Changxi, ever the skeptic, guessed he probably didn’t think much of the situation—the so-called smile was more of a smirk.

Honestly, after receiving several unfriendly signals from him, Bian Changxi’s impression of Qiu Feng had dropped. After all, no one likes being second-guessed or given the cold shoulder for no reason.

Only Gu Xu looked at her, his gaze full of reassurance. Then, turning to Chen Guanqing, he spoke calmly with a smile: “I’m Gu Xu. I’m sure you’ve heard my name. If all goes well, you’ll become one of my subordinates, maybe even a friend. I’ve always treated my own people well. If you trust me, let’s continue our discussion. If you’re still unsure, I can wait until you’ve made up your mind.”

Chen Guanqing was silent for a moment, then lowered his head. “It’s a blessing many people dream of to work under Major General Gu. I feel the same way. Please, Major General, show us a way forward.”

Gu Xu gestured for everyone to sit down, and introduced Zhu Yiming: “This is Zhu Yiming, a top officer under Deputy Commander Ge Jianhua. He didn’t mean to be blunt earlier—he was just a bit anxious. Don’t take it to heart. As for your ability to control zombies, we’ll need to understand it further. This is…”

“She’s Xiao Ai, my wife,” Chen Guanqing said, gradually regaining his composure. “Xiao Ai can now understand some simple words and follow basic commands.” As he spoke, he had Xiao Ai perform actions like raising her hand, walking, sitting, and standing. When she started to get impatient, he turned to Bian Changxi and asked if she had any raw meat.

Bian Changxi didn’t have any raw meat in her space. The only mutated beast carcasses she had were those iron-skinned dogs, but those had already been sent to the research institute and Liu Xiangjie. She couldn’t just pull out a live chicken. Luckily, Chu Hao had come along and was downstairs, and he had food for Xiao Ai in his space, so she asked him to bring it up.

Xiao Ai squatted on the floor, gnawing hungrily at a chunk of meat. Gu Xu asked, “So, Xiao Ai is already quite different from ordinary zombies. How far do you think you can… well, ‘teach’ her?”

Chen Guanqing glanced at Bian Changxi.

Bian Changxi had once hinted that the highest level would be for Xiao Ai to become indistinguishable from a human—in speech, movement, behavior, and thought—though, of course, there would still be a fundamental difference.

But he wasn’t stupid, so he played it safe: “I’m not sure. Maybe she’ll always be like this, maybe she’ll become as obedient as a child, maybe she’ll become completely normal. Who knows? For now, we just have to take it one step at a time.”

Zhu Yiming couldn’t help but ask, “If it were a different zombie, would you be able to do the same?”

Chen Guanqing hesitated. “I can’t say for sure.”

At this point, Bian Changxi interjected, “Chen Guanqing only developed his ability after being scratched by Xiao Ai. There’s a special connection between them. It might not work the same way with other zombies.”

Zhu Yiming let out an “ah,” not sure if he was surprised or disappointed. “May I ask, what’s your ability?”

Chen Guanqing looked at Bian Changxi, saw that she didn’t want him to say too much, and replied, “Fire-type, but it’s a mutated fire ability.” He produced a small, dark fireball, only about the size of a fist, its power clearly suppressed.

The others looked at the fireball in mild surprise. Then Gu Xu and Zhu Yiming exchanged a few quiet words before asking Qiu Feng to arrange accommodations. They’d stay in the villa for the night and decide on further arrangements tomorrow.

Qiu Feng assigned Chen Guanqing and Chu Hao to guest rooms on the first floor. Fortunately, the villa was big and had plenty of rooms, so the first floor was set up for guests.

After settling the rooms, Qiu Feng went back upstairs. Gu Pei and Wu Dalang’s shadow came by to check in, standing for a while before Aunt Zhao brought up a late-night snack: steaming longevity noodles, topped with a poached egg, a few mushrooms, some slices of meat, and a sprinkle of fresh green scallions. The aroma was mouthwatering.

After a while, only Bian Changxi was left with the two men. She glanced around the spacious room—there was only one double bed, but Chu Hao had all the bedding and shoes they needed in his space, and if anything was missing, Aunt Zhao would bring it over. She set down two large buckets of water. “Once you’re done eating, tidy up and get a good night’s sleep.”

On the road, it was always Bian Changxi and Chu Hao who provided most of the supplies, especially water—Bian Changxi supplied almost all of it. She was used to handling these things.

But to the two men, it felt unexpectedly warm and comforting.

Arriving in a strange place, their only real connection here was Bian Changxi, so they naturally relied on her a bit and felt grateful.

Chen Guanqing said, “Sorry about my tone earlier. I just wanted to see if Gu Xu was really as generous and fair as the rumors say.”

Bian Changxi shook her head disapprovingly. “And if he wasn’t, you’d just turn around and leave? He is generous, but it depends on the person. Most of the time, he’s cold and impartial. But if you truly earn his trust, things will be different. Until then, it’s best to just do your part.”

Both men nodded. Chen Guanqing asked, “It sounds like they want me to try controlling other zombies, right? Can you tell me more?”

Bian Changxi thought for a moment—there was no harm in sharing—so she explained the general situation, then warned, “I’ve told Gu Xu about your real ability to control zombies, but Zhu Yiming doesn’t know. If word gets out that you can influence or even control large numbers of zombies, it could cause endless trouble. Also, don’t mention Xiao Ai’s ability to summon mutant beasts. As for your mutated fire ability, you’ll need to use it often, so it’s fine to show that.”

“I realized that too,” Chen Guanqing said.

Chu Hao slurped up some noodles. “So, does that mean Old Six still needs to go to Deputy Commander Ge’s place? Which side do we actually belong to?”

Bian Changxi took a sip of water from the farm and looked at them. “That depends on where you want to be. Gu Xu brought you here, but he can’t possibly trust you right away or treat you as his own people. If you were in his shoes, you’d do the same—there has to be a period of observation, like a probationary period for new hires. If you don’t like it here and think Ge Jianhua’s side offers a better future, no one will stop you.”

“But let me warn you: right now, it looks like Ge Jianhua’s side needs you more, so the immediate benefits will be better. But that place is complicated, with entrenched interests and lots of old-timers who’ll push out newcomers. In the long run, it might not be the best choice. Gu Xu’s side, on the other hand, is at a stage where he really needs people. You may not be founding members, but there will be plenty of chances to go through thick and thin together.”

Following Gu Xu means you’ll always have enough to eat. In the future, he’ll be the founder of the Tengyang Base, the strongest in China. Well, who knows if things will turn out the same in this life, but it can’t get worse, right? Back then, everyone who stuck with him ended up successful and powerful, standing at the very top.

Of course, she was saying all this not just for their sake, but because she didn’t want Chen Guanqing to make the wrong choice in a moment of confusion. Gu Xu was the kind of person who would never forgive a single act of betrayal. If Chen Guanqing didn’t end up with a boss like that, it wouldn’t matter much, but if Gu Xu missed out on a subordinate with exorcist powers, that would be a real loss.

That was as far as she’d go. As she was leaving, Bian Changxi suddenly remembered something. “By the way, judging from Xiao Ai’s condition, she’ll soon become a living being. Uh, I mean, soon Chu Hao’s space won’t be able to hold her anymore. Once she needs to stay outside all the time, you’ll need to be prepared.”

Back in her room, Bian Changxi lay on her sturdy wooden bed, unable to sleep. She got up and went to the farm to practice her control abilities.

She ended up leaving the vegetable patch and fruit trees looking like a typhoon had swept through, but finally felt satisfied. Then she remembered something and went to check the little antiques she’d collected.

Most of them were fakes, just for decoration. She rummaged through them but didn’t find anything noteworthy.

Thinking of the two women she’d seen antiquing during the day, she had Lin He follow them. They’d gone back to their ordinary residence and hadn’t come out again all evening, so there was no way to tell whose people they were.

But that didn’t matter anymore. Since Gu Xu had already sent Qiu Yun to investigate, she’d have confirmation soon enough.

She then checked the jade pieces she’d collected, planning to pick out the best ones to give to Jiang Zhihuan tomorrow. One small jade pendant was dirty, so she dipped it in the stream and rubbed it clean. When she took it out, she glanced at it—and her eyes lit up.

Previously, the pendant had seemed to have some impurities, but after soaking in the water, the outer layer was now crystal clear and lustrous. The texture in her hand was also much smoother.

An idea popped into her mind. She quickly wiped the pendant dry with her sleeve and examined it under the light, but the effect seemed to fade.

She pondered for a while, then took several jade pendants and rings of varying quality and soaked them in the water, checking them periodically. After many trials, she finally confirmed: soaking jade in the stream improved its quality!

She was almost giddy with excitement.

She’d been worrying about where to find mutton-fat jade to make space artifacts. Without it, the project would be much harder, and it would be difficult to produce high-quality space items in the future. Whoever had already collected the mutton-fat jade would have a clear advantage and might be the first to manufacture space artifacts. That would be a problem.

But if soaking jade in the stream improved its quality, maybe she could cultivate her own mutton-fat jade. She didn’t expect all the jade to become top-grade, but even a few pieces would be a win.

Without hesitation, she dumped all the jade pieces she’d collected into the stream, bundling them in coarse cloth bags with large holes to make them easier to retrieve later.

She lingered by the water for a while, feeling even more nervous and excited than when she’d planted her first vegetable on the farm in her previous life. She almost wished the water could magically produce jade. Smiling at herself, she patted her clothes and went off to bed.

Thank you to Zhenxi Dangxia for the pink ticket!

Thank you to Yiling for the pink ticket!

Thank you to xing for the pink ticket!

Thank you to Daxinzhu for the pink ticket!

Thank you to Taiyangli for two pink tickets!

Thank you to sissi2011 for the pink ticket!

I’m writing and refreshing the page at the same time—one moment I get a pink ticket, then another, and I jot them down right away. By the end of the month, I’m practically drowning in pink tickets. Thank you all for your support! o(n_n)o~l3l4"