Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 6

The Shendu Cheng Clan, reception hall.

“I see, I see.”

“You’re too polite, it’s only proper.”

When Cheng Jinyang entered the hall, he saw three women sitting in various spots. Their eyes sparkled as they chatted, tea cups in hand, laughter filling the air.

Seeing the clan leader arrive, everyone quickly exchanged formal greetings.

Following the family’s rules, they began saying polite and customary things, such as requesting to “disturb for a few days,” to which the other would promptly respond with “bringing honor to our humble home.” These were the kind of redundant phrases that would be deemed “filler” in novels.

Cheng Jinyang had been the clan leader for nearly six months and had received many other aristocrats, so he wasn’t inexperienced in handling such matters. He knew that even if it wasn’t Zheng Qiupei and Lu Qingyun sitting here, but some other aristocratic descendants, the conversation would be roughly the same—full of beautifully crafted, almost templated phrases.

What everyone truly paid attention to was the other party’s demeanor and tone while speaking, using it to gauge their true intentions.

Zheng Qiupei showed no unusual signs, her emotions well-hidden, or perhaps she simply had none. If it was the former, she was a highly skilled socialite; if the latter, she was a straightforward optimist.

Lu Qingyun, on the other hand, seemed a bit cautious, as if worried Cheng Jinyang held a grudge over her previous actions. However, as a woman of the Five Great Families, it wasn’t easy for her to lower her guard, so her words contained many probing hints.

Cheng Jinyang reassured her with kind words. To be honest, he didn’t hold a grudge against this Lu girl. On one hand, the previous conflict was with her brother, and she had only been defending his honor, leading to some verbal offense.

On the other hand, during the last risky assault on the Jingwei mothership, Lu family’s “Constraint Pulse” had pierced through the warship’s shield like a divine spear, a power so formidable it was envied by many.

After the formalities, Cheng Yuexian took the two girls to choose their quarters, while Cheng Jinyang returned to his office to continue handling clan affairs.

The first issue was the residual clan assets in Pukou District. With his efforts, most of the real estate had been sold off, and what couldn’t be sold was disposed of at a discount.

The second issue was the redistribution of the population. While the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket was a family tradition, the huge losses from Wang Chuzhong’s rebellion proved that betting on both sides wasn’t a good idea.

The political environment built by the imperial family and the Five Great Families was one of “following rules and maintaining boundaries.”

Having survived in this order for so long, the Shendu Cheng Clan naively believed that splitting the family to join Wang Chuzhong would grant them the same treatment.

But Wang Chuzhong turned out to be ruthless, looking down on the Cheng Clan for lacking high-grade supernaturals, and used the split family as disposable pawns.

Therefore, the Shendu Cheng Clan, now led by Cheng Jinyang, had little trust left not only in the rebel Su Zigao but also in the imperial family and the Five Great Families.

Additionally, learning from Ye Ru that demons might follow the refugee army, Cheng Jinyang had secretly discussed with Cheng Yuexian and Cheng Huaiyan months ago to urgently purchase some clan assets in the southern city of Lin’an, a project internally code-named “Seed Plan No. 1.”

If Lin’an couldn’t be held, the plan was to escape to Yizhou and Lusong, dubbed “Seed Plan No. 2.”

In fact, there was a “Seed Plan No. 3” that only Cheng Jinyang knew. If the Great Jin Dynesty was truly inescapable, he would take the clan to the rocket launch base on the west of Lusong Island and send them in batches to the lunar space station “Changgui Palace.”

High-level demons might be able to fly, but they couldn’t cross the atmosphere, right?

The Earth-Moon distance is 380,000 kilometers, a distance so vast it’s unimaginable. If high-level demons could chase them through the vacuum to the moon, then I’d fly a spaceship into the sun myself.

Back to the point, with Su Zigao’s rebellion imminent, although most aristocrats in Jiankang were still in the dark, a few astute ones had begun seeking escape routes, causing land and property prices in Lin’an to rise.

Thus, the “Seed Plan No. 1” was officially launched.

Cheng Jinyang quickly approved funds, allocating them to the clan members stationed in Lin’an, urging them to buy as many properties as possible while there was still time.

He also sent an email to Cheng Huaiyan, asking him to select the first batch of promising young clan members to be sent to Lin’an for quick settlement.

These various tasks took about a week. As clan members gradually moved to Lin’an, the population in the clan territory thinned out.

Thus, the women of various families residing long-term in the Cheng Clan began to notice the relocation, hurriedly informing their families while trying to find out more.

In the past few days, Lu Qingyun and Zheng Qiupei, frequently visiting Cheng Yuexian, asked about this matter. Cheng Yuexian explained, “It’s an agreement between the clan leader and Zhongshu Yu.”

What kind of agreement? One can easily guess. Of course, it was at a great cost that the court allowed the Shendu Cheng clan to evacuate their people early.

As for what this cost was, could it be related to the Iron Giant? I’m sorry, I can’t say.

For a while, the entire noble circle has started to focus their attention on this matter. For example, the head of the Hejian Xing clan, Xing Shuhe, called Xing Yuanzhi back to the clan’s territory on this day, secretly inquiring about the reasons behind this.

“Granduncle,” Xing Yuanzhi said calmly, “I haven’t yet found out about the Iron Giant. However, even if the Cheng clan used it as leverage to persuade Zhongshu Yu to let them stay out of the upcoming war, it doesn’t offer us much leverage or benefit.”

“The Cheng clan no longer has any fifth-grade supernaturals,” Xing Shuhe hinted subtly, “If this Iron Giant is truly something that could move Zhongshu Yu, and considering the close ties between the Cheng and Xing families, it would be necessary to further strengthen our relationship.”

Your engagement, understood?

Naturally, Xing Yuanzhi understood. She smiled faintly and said:

“Granduncle, even if the Cheng clan truly possesses the Iron Giant, it ultimately doesn’t belong to us. Why not shift our focus to enhancing our own true strength?”

She smiled lightly and extended her hand towards a distant chair, swiftly using her abilities. With the output of a sixth-grade intensity ability, the surrounding spiritual field that spread out was instantly perceived by Xing Shuhe.

His eyes widened suddenly, involuntarily taking in a sharp breath, his expression stiffening:

This is sixth-grade?!

When did our Qingfeng unknowingly ascend to the sixth-grade?

She’s not even twenty years old this year! Could it be…

“Blood explosion?” Xing Shuhe asked involuntarily, then realizing his slip of the tongue, quickly closed his mouth.

“Granduncle,” Xing Yuanzhi finished her calculation, calmly smiling, “Whether it’s blood explosion or not, what does it matter? What’s important is that this matter must not be known outside.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Xing Shuhe quickly regained his composure, saying cautiously.

Whether it’s blood explosion or not is already unimportant. Now that Xing Yuanzhi has reached the sixth-grade at less than twenty years old, it’s clear that breaking into the fifth-grade before thirty is not a problem.

In other words, if she were to reveal her true strength now, the entire Xing family would likely erupt. Exceptional talent, sixth-grade strength—she’s almost a nailed-down successor to the clan leader, able to gain a large number of supporters with a wave of her hand.

However, once her true grade is known throughout the clan, it means this secret can’t be kept, inevitably causing shock and suspicion among the external noble clans. In the future, Hejian Xing clan will have to deal with endless probing pressures.

In short, Xing Yuanzhi chose this timing to reveal her true strength (sixth-grade), making it impossible for Xing Shuhe to pressure her into revealing secrets. Not only that, before gradually handing over power to her, he must help her keep this secret!