"What do you mean 'doesn't make sense'?" Zhang Qixiang asked, puzzled.

Liu Zhizhong, his arm naturally around her fragrant shoulders, gently kneaded her soft and full bosom as he discussed lightly, "Before I drove, how did your aunt get to Dingkang County? Someone else must have taken her, right? Why is it me this year?"

"Besides, driving to the Provincial City via a 200 km highway and then taking the 300 km Devil National Highway 718, why not fly directly to Marden, the capital of Great Liangzhou, and then drive 100 km on Highway 718? Wouldn't that save a lot of time too?"

"Having me drive really doesn't make sense, does it? Am I special or something? Does your aunt dislike me so much that she would risk both our lives?"

As he spoke, Liu Zhizhong's grip tightened.

Zhang Qixiang yelped, removing his hand, "You jerk, don't you know how to be gentle? You hurt me!"

"Hehe..."

"You were right," she continued, "My aunt used to fly from Yangzhou to Marden, and then drive to Dingkang County; it really did save time. However, something happened last year that scared her."

Zhang Qixiang spoke earnestly, arousing Liu Zhizhong's curiosity.

"What happened?"

"Last year, after my aunt went to Dingkang, she needed to travel to the South for business, so she booked a flight from Marden directly there. But at the last minute, her boyfriend's sister Luo Zhiyadan sprained her ankle quite badly, and there was no one at home to take care of her, so she had to be taken to the county hospital. So, my aunt stayed another seven days. But that flight crashed; it nose-dived into a forest. Surely, you must have heard about it?"

"What?"

All the hairs on Liu Zhizhong's body stood on end, and he sat up in shock, bare-skinned in front of Zhang Qixiang, exclaimed, "That air crash, your aunt dodged a bullet there? That Luo Zhiyadan, her sprained ankle was quite timely!"

"Yes, when my aunt heard the news, she was still at the hospital with Luo Zhiyadan, nearly scared out of her wits. She checked her flight booking over and over, indeed she had narrowly escaped a disaster. This truth has never been spoken of, it's a taboo."

Liu Zhizhong gave a bitter smile and nodded, "Sometimes, there are things, they know, we know, yet they act as if we don't know and just let it go. Poor innocent people, sigh..."

Zhang Qixiang nodded, but dismissively said, "Save it, you're just one of them."

"Hehe, I'm different from them. Anyway, about your aunt, has she stopped flying since then?"

"Yes, she never flies anymore. Even if sometimes she has to travel long distances for work, taking high-speed rail or bullet trains works, even if it takes a bit longer. So, this year she's going to pay respects to her boyfriend and visit Luo Zhiyadan—she's getting married, so it's even more appropriate for her to go."

"But why am I driving there? Seriously, just thinking of Devil National Highway 718 gives me a headache," Liu Zhizhong felt helpless, entangling further with Zhang Qixiang. "You wouldn't want such a strong man to just fall head over heels with your aunt..."

"Shut up! What are you babbling about? Fall in what? Do you have no shame?"

"Highway 718 leads to Ailian River in Dingkang County, isn't it just shortened to Ai River? What are you talking about?"

"Hey, now you're blaming me…"

"..."

No matter what, as Liu Zhizhong and Zhang Qixiang bantered, they slowly grasped the finer details and the whole story, feeling a bit emotional.

Master of Extinction, it seemed, was a cold and frosty woman, but when it came to matters of the heart, she was indeed praiseworthy.

It looked like she planned to remain chaste forever for her boyfriend, huh?

Subconsciously, Liu Zhizhong became a bit curious about her boyfriend.

After lunch at Zhang Qixiang's villa, he went straight back to the office and pulled up some files to check on Yue Xing.

Oh, Yue Xing graduated from the Provincial Administrative College. Her boyfriend, Luo Kejibai, was a student at the neighboring Provincial Finance and Economics College, from the Baihua Yi Clan, historically a slave class.

The Yi Clan was divided into the Black Yi and the Baihua Yi—Black Yi being the slave-owning class. Nowadays, in the Yi Prefecture of Great Liangzhou, many of the important government positions were held by descendants of the Black Yi. Class privileges, apparently, really were inherited.

Whether Yi or Han, it's all the same.

A person from an ordinary class struggles for years to reach a higher level, only to find some were born at that level, the same idea.

Luo Kejibai, despite being part of the Baihua Yi, managed to get into a top provincial university, which, although he had bonus points for his background, was still quite impressive.

Liu Zhizhong even found out that his college entrance exam score was an impressive 598.

Sadly, due to an icy road accident, Luo Kejie's life ended, not even his body was found. Maybe he fell into a deep abyss, possibly into the Ailian River?

Ailian River, the river of suffering for the Yi Clan, heh...

Regardless, Liu Zhizhong had to cram lots of videos, including some from travel adventurers and big truck drivers, to grasp the techniques to navigate the toughest sections of Highway 718.

Since he was tasked with it, he had to go and, importantly, come back alive, right?

Honestly, while studying up, any improper thoughts about Yue Xing had vanished.

But who could guarantee that nothing unexpected would happen during the tough journey?

Right?