Chapter 271 – The Direction Being Watched

Yun Family Estate, Open-air Balcony.

On this balcony bathed entirely in soft sunlight, Yun Langyue sat at a small white table, leisurely sipping black tea.

An aura of nobility and elegance naturally emanated from Yun Langyue at this moment, making her appear like an aristocratic young lady, with none of the bewitching charm she often displayed like a femme fatale.

Yet, this was Yun Langyue’s usual demeanor.

That seductive, fairy-like posture was something she only revealed in front of one person.

In other words, in the eyes of ordinary people, this version of Yun Langyue was the true Yun Langyue—the Young Miss of the Yun Family Estate, the true behind-the-scenes queen who actually controlled Cloudflow Commerce.

Even Su Ming had never seen this side of Yun Langyue. This side of her was only shown to outsiders, and she was most adept at using that elegant and noble smile to create distance, giving people a faint sense of remoteness—seemingly close at hand, yet actually far beyond reach, utterly untouchable.

When Uncle Wu walked onto the balcony and saw this scene, his heart was filled with myriad emotions.

“Young Miss’s demeanor grows more refined by the day, truly worthy of being the master’s daughter.”

Mentioning Yun Langyue’s father brought a faint sorrow to Uncle Wu’s heart.

After all, he had joined the Yun Family Estate and Cloudflow Commerce—this commercial force dealing in Extraordinary Items—by following Yun Langyue’s father, becoming the Yun family’s most loyal supporter.

Unfortunately, heaven envies talent, and the disaster that befell the Yun Family caused that brilliantly gifted man to fall.

However, from this, the Yun Family gave birth to an even more outstanding, even more extraordinary heaven-blessed daughter.

Whenever Uncle Wu thought of this, he would sigh with emotion—filled with nostalgia and sorrow, yet also with consolation and acceptance.

“Young Miss, I’ve returned.”

Carrying these myriad thoughts, Uncle Wu approached Yun Langyue and spoke kindly.

“I saw, Uncle Wu.” Yun Langyue gave him a light smile, then gazed toward the sky, saying, “Has he left?”

Who “he” referred to might be unclear to others, but Uncle Wu knew all too well.

“He has already left.” Uncle Wu answered truthfully: “He left with that Xu Family girl who hasn’t returned for ten years, aboard an alchemical airship.”

“Alchemical airship? He really gets to encounter all the good things, doesn’t he?” Yun Langyue laughed at herself ruefully: “No, this was Xu Qianqian’s arrangement. It can’t be called luck, just the natural outcome.”

“Young Miss seems quite unconcerned.” Uncle Wu observed Yun Langyue’s expression and said somewhat curiously: “Young Master Su has left Longyao City for Tianfeng City, and might not return for quite some time. Doesn’t Young Miss care at all?”

As someone who had watched Yun Langyue grow up, Uncle Wu knew clearly that her attitude toward Su Ming was definitely not something casually feigned.

Though he didn’t know why, in his Young Miss’s heart, that seemingly ordinary young man held an extremely special position—so special that even their own Madam had grown intensely jealous.

If not for Young Miss constantly mediating between them, Madam would probably have been unable to resist taking action against that young man, wouldn’t she?There was no other way. The Yun Family Estate had encountered a great upheaval—the master had perished directly, while Madam and he were captured by the enemy and imprisoned. The goal was to lure back the sole remaining Bloodline of the Yun Family Estate, who had escaped with their help, to meet her death and eliminate the threat once and for all.

Yet, who could have imagined that in less than a few years, that once naive and innocent Young Miss would return with overwhelming force, rescuing Madam and him, reclaiming everything for the Yun Family Estate, and achieving an incredible feat.

To outsiders, this seemed like something worthy of astonishment.

However, Uncle Wu knew that Madam often secretly shed tears over this matter, her heart aching so much she could hardly breathe.

Because she couldn’t believe what the Young Miss had endured during those years.

A once innocent little girl, having lost her family, deprived of her Family’s support, and constantly pursued and schemed against—how miserable her life had been didn’t need to be spelled out.

Under such circumstances, not only did she not succumb to setbacks, but she endured all the suffering and pressure to claw her way back. For Yun Langyue, who was only in her teens at the time, how arduous this must have been is easy to imagine.

Thus, ever since then, Madam had poured out unreserved love for the Young Miss, vowing to spare no effort in guarding and protecting her, ensuring she would never suffer again.

This led to Madam’s care for the Young Miss reaching a somewhat excessive level.

Now, with their Young Miss inexplicably so enthusiastic and intimate with a man, it was only natural for Madam to feel jealous.

This also indicated that Yun Langyue’s attitude toward Su Ming was so obvious it couldn’t be any clearer—even her own mother couldn’t deny it and could only watch with intense jealousy.

As a result, Su Ming had left, yet Yun Langyue didn’t seem to care much, which truly puzzled Uncle Wu.

What Uncle Wu didn’t know was…

“What’s there to mind?”

Yun Langyue took a sip of black tea and spoke with a nonchalant attitude, uttering earth-shattering words.

“Anyway, I’ll catch up to him soon.”

At these words, Uncle Wu abruptly raised his head.

“Catch up?”

Uncle Wu was stunned.

“Uncle Wu.” Yun Langyue turned to him, her gaze blazing as she said, “Do you still remember my father’s dream?”

Hearing this, Uncle Wu answered without hesitation.

“The master’s dream was to establish the ‘Cloudflow Commerce’ throughout the entire continent, in all Base Cities.”

This dream was something Uncle Wu could never forget.

Because it was precisely this that had attracted him and led him to choose to follow that man.

“That’s right. Not just the Four Coastal Bases—Father’s true dream was to spread ‘Cloudflow Commerce’ across all Base Cities of the continent.” Yun Langyue murmured, “When I was very young, Father would always joyfully talk about this dream, telling me that one day, shops of ‘Cloudflow Commerce’ would be seen in all of humanity’s Base Cities.”

“Especially in Tianfeng City.”

“To open a store in that Human Sanctuary with the most resources, the paradise for Professionals, the center of the world, and make it the largest, becoming the world’s greatest commerce—that was Father’s ambition.”

But such a grand ideal was cut short midway due to some trivial scheming and deceit.Fortunately, he still had a successor.

“I have always remembered my father’s dream,” Yun Langyue said to Uncle Wu. “Ever since revitalizing the Yun Family Estate and reclaiming the Cloudflow Commerce, I have been making preparations.”

“I’ve spent years preparing, and now, the time has finally come.”

Uncle Wu understood exactly what she meant.

His gaze toward Yun Langyue shifted, becoming filled with profound shock and admiration.

He never imagined that the Young Miss had been making such preparations since years ago.

This was truly…

Uncle Wu felt something within him that had long been extinguished beginning to rekindle.

Yet he suppressed this feeling and solemnly sought confirmation from Yun Langyue.

“This is no easy task,” Uncle Wu said gravely. “Even if the Young Miss has made thorough preparations, can we truly traverse dangerous wilderness zones and safely reach Tianfeng City after such a long journey?”

While Cloudflow Commerce’s business was extensive, it certainly didn’t possess something as overpowered as an alchemical airship.

For Yun Langyue to lead Cloudflow Commerce into Tianfeng City would be an immensely difficult undertaking.

Unlike those external forces that had entered Longyao City with large contingents of elite combatants capable of crossing dangerous wilderness zones and overwhelming most threats with sheer force to easily reach Longyao City, Cloudflow Commerce lacked such resources.

Therefore, Uncle Wu believed the risks were substantial.

Rather than taking such risks, wouldn’t it be better to request Xu Xiayan to transport them via alchemical airship?

However, using alchemical airships to help external forces establish themselves in Tianfeng City and transport personnel and resources that would compete for their market share—not only would Xu Xiayan likely refuse, but even if she wanted to agree, the established powers in Tianfeng City would never permit it.

Perhaps this was why the Young Miss had allowed Xu Xiayan to take Su Ming away without taking any action?

Still, if he could think of this, the Young Miss must have considered it too.

Sure enough…

“My preparations over these years weren’t limited to initial capital and merchandise,” Yun Langyue said with a radiant smile. “I’ve long used the Commerce’s connections to purchase numerous maps from external forces and hired people for long-term reconnaissance and pathfinding. We’ve finally charted a safe route that should allow us to reach Tianfeng City within three months without any losses.”

A three-month journey!

This was undoubtedly a long road!

But if they could truly guarantee safety and avoid losses, reaching their destination in just three months would be exceptionally worthwhile!

Their Young Miss had indeed made complete preparations to advance into Tianfeng City and fulfill the master’s dream!

Thinking this, what Uncle Wu had suppressed within him finally burst into full flame.

“Uncle Wu,” Yun Langyue said, looking intently at him with solemnity. “Will you come with me?Wasn’t this taken for granted?

“There’s one thing you said wrong, Young Miss.”

Uncle Wu suddenly spoke these words.

“What?”

Yun Langyue froze in place.

Seeing this, Uncle Wu smiled.

“I’ve been following your father since before I became an Upper-Rank Professional, walking this path together all along.”

Uncle Wu began to recount.”I witnessed your father’s rise, witnessed the emergence of Cloudflow Commerce, and thanks to his relentless support and the resources of the commerce guild, I broke through from an ordinary lower-rank Professional to become an Upper-Rank Professional, even surpassing Four-Star to achieve Five-Star.”

This gave Uncle Wu deep affection for the Yun Family Estate and Cloudflow Commerce.

But he had always carried guilt within him.

A Five-Star Professional might sound powerful, but against those great Families that targeted the Yun family, he was ultimately too weak, eventually ending up imprisoned.

Until Yun Langyue appeared.

“Young Miss, for the sake of the Yun family and your father’s legacy, not only climbed her way up but also exhausted almost all of the Yun family’s resources to help me break through to Six-Star, giving me the qualifications to reach the pinnacle of Longyao City and the chance to seek revenge and justice for your father.”

Uncle Wu spoke these words calmly.

“From that moment on, this old life of mine has belonged entirely to Young Miss.”

Afterward, Uncle Wu’s wish, like Yun Langyue’s mother, was simply to protect Yun Langyue and ensure she no longer suffered.

But now, that wish, along with long-extinguished dreams, had rekindled like embers bursting into flame.

That’s right.

“Making Cloudflow Commerce the largest commerce guild in the world, establishing branches in every human Base City—this was not only your father’s dream but also mine.”

For this reason, Uncle Wu had followed her all this way.

“Now that Young Miss is preparing to walk the path your father left unfinished, how could this old life of mine wither away in Longyao City?”

Uncle Wu chuckled as he spoke.

His meaning was clear.

“Six-Star Professionals are probably abundant in Tianfeng City, but I should still be of some use.”

Uncle Wu gazed at Yun Langyue with affectionate eyes.

“Please allow me to accompany you, Young Miss.”

Hearing this, Yun Langyue also smiled.

“Then I’ll be counting on you from now on, Uncle Wu.”

Yun Langyue’s words made Uncle Wu lower his head in a gesture of submission.

Yun Langyue then turned her gaze back to the horizon, as if she could see a certain figure soaring through the skies.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“Don’t underestimate how persistent a woman can be.”

“My great benefactor.”

…

Demon Hunter Academy, Girls’ Dormitory.

In the dorm room, An Zijin lay on her bed, fast asleep.

Standing side by side before her bed, Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei watched her with helpless expressions.

“It seems Zijin has made up her mind,” Jiang Wanyu murmured softly.

“That’s our Zijin for you—adorable, but more stubborn than anyone,” Yao Beibei added in a low voice.

Their eyes lingered on An Zijin’s hand as she slept.

Clutched tightly in her grasp was a phone.

On the screen, an application form had already been sent.

A closer look revealed the title on the form: “Graduation Application.”

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei exchanged a glance, then smiled in unison.

“Well, there’s no helping it.”

“It looks like we’ll have to follow Zijin and go back together.”

With that, Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei pulled out their phones in perfect sync, opened an application form, and began filling it out.On this very day, three first-year junior students applied for early graduation.

……

Xu Family Estate, Underground Training Ground of the Main Residence.

Xu Qianqian appeared here, holding a pair of daggers.

She had changed into combat attire and was carrying a package.

Xu Qianqian opened the package, revealing its contents.

Surprisingly, they were pieces of red medicinal stones.

Her eyes flickering, Xu Qianqian directly grabbed a red vein stone and tossed it into her mouth.

“I have to hurry…”

Muttering this, Xu Qianqian clenched the red vein stone between her teeth and began training in the training ground.

From this day onward, Xu Qianqian’s training intensity increased threefold compared to before.

Her strength rapidly improved, destined to astonish the world one day.

(End of Chapter)