Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 70

Rong Jingtang tilted his chin slightly, his tone flat and unreadable. “I appreciate the concern.”

He was genuinely angry. Jiang Rui could clearly sense the emotional turbulence radiating from him—a chaotic mixture of resentment and other indiscernible, complicated feelings.

Gashi (Yuanjue) remained as he was, eyes lowered and palms pressed together, staring straight ahead with unmoving focus.

Uncle Cheng quickly finished arranging the guest room. When he returned to the hall and saw the bizarre triangular standoff, his gaze fell on Gashi’s unforgettable face. His mouth dropped open, and his hand lifted instinctively. “Ga—”

“Uncle Cheng.” Rong Jingtang’s cold voice cut him off before he could finish. “Take Master Yuanjue down to rest.”

Uncle Cheng lowered his eyes and gave a helpless sigh under Rong Jingtang’s indifferent gaze. He bowed with a level of reverence Jiang Rui had never seen him show, even toward Rong Jingtang himself. “This way, please.”

As they reached the door, Jiang Rui noticed Rong Jingtang’s profile looked even more stern and sharp. He parted his lips and said loudly, “Ask my Youngest Uncle to bring Gamo-suo to the Rong residence.”

While Uncle Cheng stood dazed at the threshold, Gashi stepped over the doorframe without a moment’s hesitation or a look back. Uncle Cheng hurried to catch up.

Looking at Rong Jingtang’s darkening expression, Jiang Rui realized that Gashi must hold an incredibly significant position in Rong Jingtang’s heart—and perhaps within the entire Rong family hierarchy.

Jiang Rui frowned. If that were the case, the Peach Tree couldn’t possibly be ignorant of him. The only explanation was that the tree’s memories had been tampered with or partially erased. Such an act bordered on defying the Heavenly Dao, but in Buddhism, where “all six paths are empty,” doing so for a “good” reason might not incur much karmic debt.

Knowing this wouldn’t be solved immediately, Jiang Rui said goodbye to Rong Jingtang and returned to the hospital.

His parents were relieved to see him back in the ward. After some gentle scolding for leaving his bed, Jiang Rui produced the discharge papers he had just processed.

“Mom, the doctor said I’m fine. We can go home.”

Mrs. Jiang wasn’t convinced. “Sick people always say they’re fine,” she grumbled, turning to the doctor who just walked in. Thanks to a bit of mental suggestion from Jiang Rui, the doctor described his health as being as robust as a Vajra warrior. Only then did Mrs. Jiang reluctantly agree to take him back to their hotel.

“Ruirui, your father and I discussed it,” Mrs. Jiang said during dinner, piling food onto his plate. “We don’t feel right leaving you here alone. If something happens, we’d never know…”

“Mom.” Jiang Rui swallowed. “The fever was an accident. It won’t happen again.”

Seeing her resolve, he smiled gently. “Moving is a big deal. You can’t follow me around forever; I have to grow up. Besides, you don’t know anyone in the Capital. You’d never get used to life here.”

He eventually managed to convince them—mostly by “hustling” them with his medical studies. He pointed out that the plants he grew were medicinal herbs that had already cured their aches and pains over the years. Mrs. Jiang finally laughed and poked his forehead. “You brat…”

With his parents settled and eventually sent back to Qing City, Jiang Rui returned to university. Because he had missed so much of the first semester, the school required him to pass a rigorous set of exams to avoid repeating the year.

Jiang Rui sighed. The books always said university was easy… why am I so exhausted?

To manage his time, he used a Dharma Body (a magical clone) to attend classes while he went about his business, with Miao Xuan keeping an eye on the clone to ensure no one noticed the difference.

He decided to return to Qing City after receiving a frantic, furious call from Xiao Lunan. Xiao had hung up after a short, heated explanation, and before Jiang Rui could even pocket his phone, Mo Zhao called him in tears, saying Xiao Lunan hadn’t been home in days and his phone was off.

Jiang Rui hurried to Xiao Lunan’s estate.

Little Wu, the friendly boy who treated Jiang Rui like an older brother, opened the door. His eyes lit up. “Big Brother! Brother Rui is here!”

Xiao Lunan charged down the stairs. Despite his joy at seeing Jiang Rui, he was clearly fuming. A faint red “blood light” swirled around his aura—a sign of impending trouble.

Jiang Rui followed him upstairs. Little Wu cautiously checked the perimeter before locking the double doors behind them. Before anyone could speak, Jiang Rui held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

Xiao Lunan handed it over without question. Jiang Rui smiled inwardly; this gesture showed Xiao’s absolute trust. He dialed Mo Zhao’s number and handed the ringing phone back.

Xiao Lunan was so startled he nearly dropped it. He fumbled to take the call, ducking into the bathroom to soothe his wife while the rest of the gang watched with “you’ve got guts” expressions.

“Brother Rui, you’re amazing,” Little Wu whispered, giving a thumbs up. “Boss hasn’t opened his door or his phone in days. He missed all of the sister-in-law’s calls.”

Jiang Rui rubbed his nose, listening to the muffled conversation from the bathroom. He truly valued Xiao Lunan; the man was one of a kind. If not for a certain “severance line” in his fate, he and Mo Zhao were destined to grow old together.

Looking at Little Wu’s grinning face, Jiang Rui decided to mess with him a bit. He cleared his throat and said solemnly, “Little Wu, I’ve been looking at your face… you have a calamity hanging over your head.”

Little Wu: “…” The others: “…”

Is this guy, who usually seems so sincere, actually a charlatan? Why do I suddenly want to hit him with a stick?