CHAPTER 290: CHAPTER 248

A group of people walked outside, and Lan Tian saw that it wasn’t just Wu Zongyu who came to pick her up; there was also a cold beauty accompanying him. They all got back into the car—Lan Tian and Mo Junhua in the back, and Wu Zongyu with the glamorous beauty in the front, while Wu Zongyu drove and introduced the icy beauty next to him.

"This is my junior disciple sister, Bai Qingqing. All of us senior brothers and sisters call her Qingqing."

Bai Qingqing glanced back at the two and then turned her head around again, considering that sufficient as a greeting. She closed her eyes to rest, leaning back in her seat. Seeing Qingqing treat the guests so indifferently, Wu Zongyu’s expression turned awkward for a moment, and he quickly said on her behalf, "Qingqing is quiet and reserved, not much of a talker. But once you get to know her, you’ll realize she is a kind-hearted girl."

Lan Tian offered a smile without any warmth in her eyes, not agreeing with Wu Zongyu’s words. Bai Qingqing might have hidden it well, but Lan Tian was no ordinary person; she could feel the strong aversion Qingqing had towards her.

Pointing at Mo Junhua next to her she introduced, "Mo Junhua, my husband." Then pointing at Wu Zongyu, she added, "Wu Zongyu, Grandpa’s grand-disciple."

Very succinct and clear.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Battalion Commander Mo. Your renowned name is well-known to me; Grandpa often spoke of you at home. I’ve longed to meet you but was too tied up with work in Beijing to find an opportunity. Now, finally seeing you in person is better than hearing of your reputation," Wu Zongyu said through the rearview mirror, observing the man behind him whom Grandpa couldn’t stop talking about.

"Mo Junhua, I’m no longer a battalion commander. From now on, just call me Junhua. I’m very pleased to meet you," Mo Junhua said nonchalantly, briefly scanning the rearview mirror with a momentary glimpse of contemplative coldness in his eyes, another man with ulterior motives towards the girl.

While Mo Junhua introduced himself, Lan Tian gazed at the scenery outside the window. Everything here was unfamiliar, nothing like the Beijing she knew in her past life. In her previous life, she had only visited Beijing decades later when the sight was full of towering buildings, very different from this style that exuded an ancient solemnity.

"Let’s go to a hotel."

Halfway through the ride, Lan Tian suddenly spoke up. The road that Wu Zongyu had taken had a hotel across the intersection, its name unchanged from her previous life, likely the exact same top-tier hotel in her future world. Lan Tian recognized it by the font of the hotel’s name which remained the same decades later.

Wu Zongyu glanced at Lan Tian through the mirror, "Grandpa has already arranged everything. He told me to bring you back to stay at our house. Before leaving, Grandpa said that if there’s anything, we’ll discuss it upon his return. If you stay at a hotel, how would I explain it to him when he’s back? Besides, the mansion belongs to Grandpa, and he lives there with you."

"Grandpa has a mansion in Beijing?" Lan Tian was somewhat surprised. Grandpa, a barefoot doctor, seemed to be doing quite well in Beijing, with property and a reputation to his name.

"Don’t underestimate Grandpa," Wu Zongyu said. "The house we live in is under Grandpa’s name. It so happens that all of Grandpa’s connections are in Beijing. He only moved to Shanghai later because he felt that the mountains and rivers there had spiritual energy and insisted on living there. It was such a headache for my dad—he couldn’t reason with Grandpa and had to let him have his way."

Lan Tian rarely inquired about Grandpa’s past. Everyone has their own history, and since she had no designs on Grandpa, whether he had connections, was fabulously wealthy, or impoverished did not matter to her.

She was only concerned with Grandpa as a person.

"Watch the traffic," Bai Qingqing suddenly opened her eyes and warned, looking towards the intersection ahead.

Approaching was a crossroads, and Wu Zongyu was about to switch to the left lane when the yellow light turned on, causing vehicles to slow down as they awaited the red light. Suddenly, a car out of control charged towards them from the opposite direction, battering its way through.

With vehicles blocking both sides of Lan Tian’s car, the only chance for survival was to run the red light and dash forward. At such a moment, no one cared about red lights—the priority was to stay alive.

The steering wheel whipped around, the throttle floored, the car grazed past the edge of the out-of-control vehicle, running the red light. The two cars skidded past each other, separated by a mere five or six centimeters—a hair’s breadth away from total death.

Thanks to Bai Qingqing’s timely warning, they narrowly escaped calamity. Not so fortunate were the vehicles at the intersection; a chain-reaction collision sent several cars flying, a brute force sweeping through the traffic like a storm.

Bang, bang, bang—a succession of crashes echoed as the rogue car finally came to a halt after slamming into a large truck, leaving a scene of utter devastation and countless casualties.

The group was drenched in a cold sweat, hearts pounding with residual fear, their faces deathly pale. Wu Zongyu leaned over the steering wheel, his body uncontrollably shaking. Bai Qingqing, with her eyes closed, her long eyelashes quivering non-stop, was likely not as composed inside as she appeared on the surface.

Lan Tian remained unfazed; with her level of cultivation, ensuring the safety of everyone in the car was a minor feat. Mo Junhua, too, kept his composure; brushes with life and death weren’t new to him, and hardly a cause for panic.

"You go and drive," Lan Tian glanced at Wu Zongyu in the front and instructed Mo Junhua to take over; seeing him shaken up like this, they couldn’t count on him to drive again.

"Brother Wu, Junhua can drive, let him take over while you take a rest here." Lan Tian created a protective shield around the car to prevent any unforeseen accidents.

While the light was still red and traffic halted, Mo Junhua quickly got out of the car, opened the front door, and helped the tremulous Wu Zongyu out, guiding him to take a seat in the back.

As they drove away from the accident scene, Wu Zongyu and Bai Qingqing gradually regained their composure. Following Wu Zongyu’s directions, they weaved through the streets and pulled up in front of an old mansion.

Tall walls, red tiles, green bricks—the age of the house was palpable, the simplicity and roughness were marked with strong traces of time, walking through the alley felt like traveling back to that era.

"This is the old man’s estate, let’s go in!"

The group stood at the entrance, Wu Zongyu ringing the doorbell.

Lan Tian stood on the steps, turning to survey the surrounding area.

This was an old alley, housing five or six mansions like the old man’s, each with stone lions squatting majestically at the doors. Across the way hung wind chimes under the red eaves, their gentle ’ding ding dong dong’ blending with the breeze.

The residents of this alley were either wealthy or noble.

"Young master, miss," the door opened and the servant who greeted Wu Zongyu and Bai Qingqing outside bowed respectfully, his gaze sweeping over Lan Tian and Mo Junhua with even greater reverence.

"Miss, sir," he took the sack from Mo Junhua’s hand, respectfully standing behind them.

Wu Zongyu stepped forward and entered, Bai Qingqing gave the servant a glance and followed, while Lan Tian kept an indifferent expression, Mo Junhua cast a brief look at the servant, wrapping his arm around Lan Tian as they walked inside.

"Mind your image," Lan Tian nudged Mo Junhua’s chest, her tone suggesting his recent behavior had become increasingly presumptuous. It was either holding her hand or wrapping his arm around her; what had become of the strict military image he was supposed to uphold?