Chapter 156 – I Really Want to Meet Them

It was a manor so vast in scale that it could almost be called a territory.

Within the manor stood numerous buildings and landscapes.

There were gardens.

There were streams.

There were lakes.

There were courtyards.

There were even sprawling artificial mountains and one residence after another.

The limousine slowly drove into such a manor, and it took quite some time before they finally caught sight of the Main Residence.

Witnessing all this, Su Ming didn’t know whether to curse in frustration or envy.

“In this day and age, there are still people who can build such a massive manor inside a Base City? Have I been completely ignorant of the pleasures of the wealthy?”

Su Ming almost unconsciously muttered these words.

It couldn’t be helped.

In this era where everything outside Base Cities is dangerous wilderness and only the interior of Base Cities is considered safe, land within Base Cities could be described as incredibly precious.

Some Base Cities, due to insufficient resources and strength, cannot expand their territory and are forced to expel excess populations beyond the city limits, leaving those people to reside in dangerous outer areas where they must worry daily about being targeted as prey by wild Phantom Demons.

Although Longyao City isn’t like those weaker Base Cities that have to make such difficult and cruel choices, it still has a population of sixty million people. If the population continues to grow in the future, there might not be enough land to accommodate everyone.

For this reason, no matter how abundant the land in any Base City, they all implement land conservation policies for future considerations, restricting land purchase rights and ownership rights.

Longyao City is no exception.

Yet despite this, there actually exists such an extravagantly scaled manor here, truly opening Su Ming’s eyes.

Even Yun Langyue couldn’t help but marvel.

“As expected of a great Family with a Legacy spanning many years. Such foundation is something my family could never possess no matter what.”

Base Cities adopt very lenient policies toward many Hunter Families.

Especially toward top-tier Families like the Xu Family – with their long-standing Legacy, not only has their Bloodline remained consistently superior, but every descendant born into the family can become Hunters, increasing the number of Professionals in the Base City and providing valuable combat strength. This makes them undoubtedly prized assets in any Base City.

Therefore, considering the population and contributions of great Families, the Base City authorities naturally don’t mind granting some privileges, allowing them to reside on large plots of land.

The Xu Family is exactly such an existence – with numerous descendants, excellently trained Hunters, and substantial family population. If Longyao City were to restrict their living conditions, it would be utterly foolish.

Yun Langyue clearly understood this and sighed in admiration.

After all, although her family is extraordinary, they aren’t a Hunter Family, nor do they have any Sorcerers – they’re just an “ordinary family” really. Longyao City might grant some privileges due to her family’s special circumstances, but they would never grant such extensive permissions as they do to long-standing great Families like the Xu Family.

“So, this is the Xu Family’s ancestral land then?”

Su Ming looked toward Yun Langyue.”Correct.” Yun Langyue nodded and said, “All direct descendants of the Xu Family for several generations live here, while collateral relatives reside in separate residences outside the Main Residence. This place gathers the entire Xu Family, including those talents recruited or secretly cultivated by the family—they all receive mansions here and live within this clan territory.”

Not only the Xu Family operates this way, but other major families also have their own clan territories where direct descendants, collateral relatives, and even recruited talents reside.

This was truly Xu Qianqian’s home. The villa Su Ming had entered when visiting Xu Qianqian and conducting transactions with her before was merely her temporary residence during her academic years.

Su Ming couldn’t help but marvel at this.

“So Xu Yanyan and Gao Xu also live here?” Su Ming chuckled with a meaningful tone. “I’d really like to see them.”

“You just want to witness how miserable they look now, don’t you?” Yun Langyue exposed Su Ming’s mischievous intention but spoke indifferently, “I heard that since withdrawing from the Huaming Campaign frontlines, Gao Xu seems to have been recuperating constantly. Though his injuries aren’t particularly severe, they can’t be treated through any means and must heal naturally. Because of this, he’s been refusing all visitors recently, focusing entirely on recovering at home.”

“As for Xu Yanyan, she’s relatively fine. I’ve heard she’s been training relentlessly lately with extremely high intensity, as if being chased by something or unwilling to accept something, pushing herself desperately to enhance her strength.”

At this point, Yun Langyue glanced at Su Ming.

“Clearly, someone has impacted them more profoundly than anyone imagined.”

Su Ming automatically ignored this remark.

“Seems we won’t get to see those two after all.” Su Ming expressed some regret. “What a pity.”

Though he said this, Su Ming didn’t truly desire to encounter those two.

If he accidentally revealed something, the loss would outweigh the gain.

So Su Ming was merely making casual conversation.

By this time, the limousine had arrived at the main gate of the Main Residence.

Here, a red carpet extended from the entrance steps all the way into the main door, covering the entire first-floor hall of the Main Residence.

As the limousine stopped before the red carpet, two rows of greeters standing on either side immediately bowed.

At the forefront of the greeters stood the butler who had delivered the invitations to Su Ming and Yun Langyue, standing perfectly straight.

“Welcome, Miss Yun. Welcome, Young Master Su.”

The butler bowed to Su Ming and Yun Langyue as they emerged from the limousine.

There was a notable detail here.

The butler first bowed to Yun Langyue to express welcome, then turned to Su Ming.

The implication was quite evident.

Clearly, in the Xu Family’s eyes, Yun Langyue was the true protagonist of Xu Yongfeng’s invitation this time, while Su Ming merely played a supporting role.

However, whether Yun Langyue recognized this or not, she remained motionless in place, saying nothing but watching Su Ming with a blossoming smile.

Noticing this, Su Ming immediately felt a headache coming on.

This woman actually had no intention of taking charge at all, pushing all leadership responsibility onto him?

This was going to be the death of him!

To make matters worse, the butler was particularly adept at reading situations—no wonder he served as Xu Yongfeng’s personal butler, representing him here to welcome honored guests.Therefore, seeing that Yun Langyue had no intention of taking the lead and instead appeared to be following Su Ming’s lead, the steward, though showing a hint of surprise in his eyes, tactfully turned to Su Ming.

“Thank you for accepting our invitation, Young Master Su.”

The steward bowed deeply to Su Ming.

Su Ming knew he had no choice but to speak up now.

At this point, Su Ming shot Yun Langyue a glare, sighed, and addressed the steward.

“Where are Uncle Xu and your Young Miss?”

Upon hearing this, the steward answered truthfully.

“The Second Young Master is waiting for both of you in the Reception Room, and the Young Miss will arrive shortly.”

The steward stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation.

“Please proceed to the Reception Room.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding attendants bowed once again.

Su Ming felt somewhat uncomfortable with such a grand reception, so he glared at Yun Langyue again.

“Why are you looking at me, Young Master Su?” Yun Langyue said with a smile, like a little troublemaker stirring up trouble. “Since they’ve said so, let’s go meet that Councilman Xu.”

Her words were simply outrageous.

“Sigh.” Su Ming sighed once more and said, “Let’s go then.”

He couldn’t be bothered to argue any further.

“Please come inside.”

The steward guided them while walking alongside, careful not to step ahead and overstep his position.

Su Ming resignedly took the first step forward.

Only then did Yun Langyue follow contentedly beside Su Ming, even reaching out to link arms with him as if they were attending an upscale high-society ball.

In this situation, Su Ming couldn’t bring himself to shake off Yun Langyue’s hand and embarrass her.

Thus, with a sour expression, Su Ming entered the Xu Family’s Main Residence alongside Yun Langyue, who wore a pleased smile.

Uncle Wu followed closely behind, his kindly expression gone, replaced by a completely blank face, making him appear exactly like an attendant to Su Ming and Yun Langyue.

In fact, this was exactly what others assumed, which was why no one stopped Uncle Wu from following.

Led by the steward, the three of them walked for a full fifteen minutes before finally arriving at the Reception Room the steward had mentioned.

This seemed to be a Reception Room specifically reserved for distinguished guests, as both the decor and the scale of the furnishings were exceptionally high-end, clearly indicating their exorbitant cost.

Fortunately, after the journey here, Su Ming had grown accustomed to such displays.

As for Yun Langyue, it went without saying—in terms of wealth, hardly anyone could surpass her family.

Once the three entered the Reception Room, they finally met the host who had extended the invitation.

“Second Young Master, Young Master Su and Miss Yun have arrived.”

The steward reported respectfully to the person seated in the main position.

It was a middle-aged man with a square face, tall and lean, dressed in formal attire, exuding an air of authority even without anger.

Su Ming recognized him almost instantly.

There was no other reason—he had already seen this man’s face in various news reports and headlines.

“Have they arrived?”

Xu Yongfeng lifted his gaze.

He first looked at Su Ming, studying him carefully for a moment, before turning his attention to Yun Langyue.

Then, Xu Yongfeng shifted his gaze to Uncle Wu, who was following behind Su Ming and Yun Langyue.

At this sight, Xu Yongfeng’s expression shifted slightly.

“You are…?”This second son of the Xu Family, the second child of the Family Head, a high-ranking council member in Longyao City—a man holding pivotal positions both in the political arena and within the Xu Family—could not help but rise to his feet at this moment.

Uncle Wu, however, acted as though he had not witnessed any of this, remaining steadfast behind Su Ming and Yun Langyue like a loyal attendant and bodyguard.

“Is something the matter, Councilman Xu?”

Yun Langyue posed the question casually, her face devoid of any trace of puzzlement.

Without a doubt, she was fully aware.

Aware of the reason behind Xu Yongfeng’s loss of composure.

Su Ming subtly glanced at Uncle Wu standing behind them.

Indeed, this elderly man was anything but ordinary.

(End of Chapter)