Dragon's Origin

Ah Qi followed Manager Wang into the Duke's mansion. Standing at the gate, she didn't feel much, just that the guards at the entrance looked quite imposing. That wasn't a big deal; Wang Sheng's residence in Worry-Free City also had guards, nothing special.

But once inside the Duke's mansion, Ah Qi realized how vast the difference was. Compared to the Duke's mansion in the capital, the so-called residence in Worry-Free City was nothing more than a residence. The courtyard at the entrance was merely a place for the master and guests to dismount, but from this courtyard, entering the second layer, the sheer size and solemn atmosphere dwarfed the so-called residence in Worry-Free City, making it seem like a beggar's den, completely on a different level.

Although Worry-Free City had a decent foundation, it was, after all, just a city, filled with assassins, and not many people who truly cared about etiquette. But the capital was different. For hundreds of years, the royal family had been raising a large group of scholars, constantly studying etiquette. A Duke's mansion directly reflected the dignity of the court. Just entering the guest hall was enough to completely overwhelm Worry-Free City in terms of atmosphere.

Following Manager Wang through several courtyards, Ah Qi suddenly lost count. She only knew one thing: if she needed to assassinate Wang Sheng here now, she probably wouldn't even find the target after scaling the walls.

The beautiful scenery along the way dazzled Ah Qi, and the occasional feeling of hidden gazes from experts made her heart race. Sometimes, a casual glance gave Ah Qi a sense of invincibility. If she really tried to sneak in for an assassination, she probably wouldn't even get past the second courtyard, and wouldn't even startle those sleeping inside before being cleaned up.

Such thoughts were purely Ah Qi's professional habit; she wasn't really thinking about sneaking into the Duke's mansion to assassinate Wang Sheng. If she really wanted to assassinate Wang Sheng, she would have more opportunities when sleeping with him.

Following Manager Wang to the entrance of a courtyard, Manager Wang gestured for her to enter but didn't go in himself. Ah Qi understood that she had arrived at her destination.

"You're here!" Pushing open the large door and entering the courtyard, Ah Qi saw Wang Sheng in the middle of the courtyard, bare-chested, doing pull-ups. Wang Sheng saw Ah Qi, smiled, and greeted her, but his movements didn't stop; he kept doing them.

Hearing the familiar words and tone, and seeing the familiar exercise scene, Ah Qi felt a surge of warmth. The nervousness she felt along the way, like a country bumpkin entering the city, immediately disappeared. Especially the scene of Wang Sheng exercising and talking to her, just like when he was exercising in the courtyard in Worry-Free City, made her feel familiar and close.

"You're here," Ah Qi said, a smile appearing on her face for the first time since entering the capital. She relaxed.

At this moment, Ah Qi suddenly realized that she had been too tense before. No wonder she kept feeling targeted gazes from experts after entering the Duke's mansion; it turned out that she was too nervous and had revealed the aura of an assassin. Fortunately, she was at Wang Sheng's residence, with Manager Wang leading the way; otherwise, she might have been pinned down, her spiritual energy sealed, and escorted away as soon as she entered.

Wang Sheng also smiled. He had anticipated what Ah Qi's first time in the mansion would be like, so he deliberately waited for her in the training room, the most relaxing place. Even Elder Ling Xu had been sent to take care of other things first, just to give Ah Qi a relaxing environment.

Nodding towards the side while on the horizontal bar, Wang Sheng signaled Ah Qi to rest and help herself. Ah Qi saw the tea and snacks there, nodded understandingly, walked over, sat down, and slowly drank tea, waiting for Wang Sheng to finish his workout. No matter how big the matter, there was no need to rush for such a short while.

"I heard from the City Lord's steward that you were being chased in the Thousand Serenity Grounds?" Wang Sheng asked, walking up to Ah Qi after doing more than a hundred pull-ups. "Who did it?"

Ah Qi's face visibly turned cold, as if Wang Sheng's question had triggered bad memories. However, being by Wang Sheng's side, she quickly returned to normal.

"It was a few guys from the Xia family," Ah Qi didn't hide anything from Wang Sheng and gave the answer.

"The Xia family?" Wang Sheng was very surprised. He knew that Ah Qi was from the Xia family, a death squad raised by the Xia family, usually working as assassins, and sacrificing themselves to kill targets at critical moments. Even approaching Wang Sheng was because she was given to Wang Sheng as a gift, a move by the Xia family to please Wang Sheng. How could the Xia family chase Ah Qi?

"Not the lineage of the Xia family's patriarch," Seeing Wang Sheng's surprised look, Ah Qi knew what Wang Sheng was thinking and quickly explained, "It's someone from another elder. I might have known some things I shouldn't have, so they ambushed me in the Thousand Serenity Grounds."

Although the various lords had established their countries for several years, Ah Qi was still accustomed to using titles like patriarch and elder.

"Is it troublesome? Do you need help?" Wang Sheng asked. He knew that Ah Qi was a very independent woman, and she might not want Wang Sheng to help solve her problems, so he didn't forget to ask before offering help.

The relationship between the two was actually quite strange. Outsiders always regarded Ah Qi as Wang Sheng's woman. Even Wang Sheng had once held her close and slept with her, but there had never been anything more intimate between the two. Although Mei'er and Wang Sheng were only at this level, it was clear that Mei'er's relationship with Wang Sheng was closer.

"I heard about the things you've encountered recently," Ah Qi didn't explicitly say whether she needed help but changed the subject. "These past few days, I've been around the capital and heard about the Baoqing Yutang. I think my being chased might have something to do with the Baoqing Yutang."

"What's going on?" Wang Sheng immediately became vigilant when he heard Ah Qi say this and quickly asked.

"I... a friend of mine in the Xia family ran into it by chance some time ago. When chatting, he inadvertently mentioned that the Xia family was cooperating with the Baoqing Yutang," Ah Qi knew Wang Sheng's concern for the Baoqing Yutang and quickly replied, "That was when the news of the Baoqing Yutang's young master's death had just spread. I didn't realize anything at the time, but after a while, my friend died. I was fine in Worry-Free City, but less than a month after leaving Worry-Free City, I was targeted and chased."

"Using the environment of the Thousand Serenity Grounds, I killed a few before finding out their identities," Ah Qi said, recalling what happened at the time. "Later, they outnumbered me and found a chance to besiege me. I was outnumbered, and I only survived because someone from Worry-Free City happened to pass by."

"Has the cooperation between the Xia family and the Baoqing Yutang become so secret that they need to kill you to silence you?" Wang Sheng began to ponder as he listened to Ah Qi's description.