Chapter 011: Fury of the Scorched Heavens
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The next afternoon.
A class reunion.
In order to find out Mu Zhiruo's whereabouts, Guo Yi had to attend the class reunion.
Tracking down clues.
Guo Yi quickly located Hou San's company, a pharmaceutical company named Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. These days, the profits in pharmaceuticals were the highest. Hou San's company wasn't a legitimate pharmaceutical company, though. On the surface it was a medical business, but in reality, it was just a drug intermediary. Behind the scenes, this guy was involved in a lot of unscrupulous activities. He purchased expired drugs, then changed the packaging and resealed them. Over the years, he made quite a bit of money doing this.
The company was located in front of the station on CD Road in Jiangnan City.
Three storefronts wide, two to three hundred square meters, decorated lavishly.
By now, quite a few people had gathered inside the company. Guo Yi was one of the later arrivals.
Hou San was in his element, proudly showing off his company to his classmates and bragging about his entrepreneurial history. Hou San's girlfriend flaunted the diamond on her hand, exuding charm and coquetry.
"Ah, these years have been hard," Hou San said on the surface, but he was actually quite proud.
"President Hou, you must be satisfied," someone said.
"Indeed, with a mansion, luxury cars, and a beautiful girlfriend, what more can you want?"
Everyone heaped praises on him.
Liu Ting was chatting with a few girls in a corner.
"Look who's here?" Hou San spotted Guo Yi immediately.
All eyes turned toward him.
Wearing a grey T-shirt, black shorts, and dirty flip-flops. His hair covered his eyes, at first glance, one might think a beggar had arrived.
"Guo Yi!"
"Is that really Guo Yi?"
"My God, this guy has been missing for eight years, how come he's back?"
Everyone was shocked.
Liu Ting was stunned as she gazed at Guo Yi. The boy had returned! He no longer had the bravado or the grandeur of throwing gold around that he had eight years ago. Only... a dusty, down-to-earth aura remained.
What had he gone through? Those eyes that had seen much of the world, were calm, like an ancient well of a thousand years.
A sharp pain struck Liu Ting's heart. He was no longer the same person, the one in her heart... Could it be true that he no longer existed?
Guo Yi walked over slowly and said, "Sorry for being late!"
"Not late at all," Hou San clutched Guo Yi's arm, grinning from ear to ear, "Guo Shao, did you... walk here?"
Guo Yi didn't speak, just looked into those eyes.
Surprise, mockery, sarcasm...
Guo Yi found it amusing in his heart.
These people thought that mere money could dominate everything. Little did they know, with one's own ability, to punch out kings and build empires, to step over figures like Jack Ma and Pony Ma was not difficult at all.
However, he had been diligently cultivating, single-mindedly pursuing the Great Dao in his heart, seeking Dao Confirmation within the universe. A thousand years later, let's see who will reign supreme and laugh in the face of all the tumult!
"Tsk tsk, what about the luxury car you used to have?" Hou San looked Guo Yi up and down, laughing, "Why did you walk? This outfit... even the gardeners in my community don't dress like this, it's something I'd only put on my dog, haha..."
"Haha..." Some people joined in Hou San's laughter.
A despicable person has a despicable heart.
Once Hou San had been bossed around by Guo Yi like a dog, and now, Hou San was trying to reclaim his dignity in his own way. Little did he know, he was but a firefly before the bright moon, dust within the universe when compared to Guo Yi.
"Hou San, you're going too far," Liu Ting stood up and said.
"How am I going too far?" Hou San said with a smile, "I'm just telling it like it is."
Liu Ting glared at Hou San and said, "Guo Yi is our classmate after all. Even if his family has fallen on hard times, you can't humiliate others like this."
"Right, we're all classmates after all!"
Two girls stood up and confronted Hou San together.
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Hou San, seeing this, said repeatedly, "Forget it, forget it, I won't hold it against you guys. Today is the class reunion, and I, Hou San, am covering the venue for everyone to enjoy."
"That's great."
"Boss Hou is truly rich and imposing."
A group of people said with a laugh.
Guo Yi could no longer remember the names of these people, except for Liu Ting, and another girl who had just spoken up for him, who seemed to be named Qu Mei.
More than ten people, five cars.
Hou San's Cayenne was a luxury car, the others were at best considered modest vehicles.
Several girls eagerly squeezed into Hou San's Cayenne. In the passenger seat, Hou San's girlfriend firmly occupied the spot at Diaoyutai, giving no quarter. Three other girls crammed into the back seat.
"Guo Yi, our car is full. Could you make do?" Hou San said with a grin.
The guy was clearly making things difficult for Guo Yi on purpose, since several cars in front were empty. The classmates who were driving knew that Hou San intended to humiliate Guo Yi and naturally didn't interfere, simply spectating.
Liu Ting couldn't bear to watch this. "Guo Yi, come sit in my car."
Guo Yi didn't mind. He had something to discuss with Liu Ting anyway. So, he climbed into a Volkswagen Magotan in front.
Once everyone was on board, the cars started.
Inside the car, there was silence.
All the while, Liu Ting stared out of the window until after a long time, she asked, "Where have you been these eight years?"
Her tone was very somber, it was evident she had been suppressing something in her heart.
"I'm sorry," Guo Yi said, his expression neutral as if he owed nothing to anyone. He asked, "Do you know where Zhi Ruo is?"
"You still care about her?" Liu Ting asked with a cold laugh. "I thought you'd forgotten her!"
"I..." Guo Yi let out a sigh.
"Ever since you helped me, the Mus quickly became their target," Liu Ting said with a melancholic smile. "That year, the Mus' household collapsed, and Mu Zhi Ruo dropped out of school midway. She disappeared from this world, and I have never seen her since."
Guo Yi felt a tightness in his heart.
He thought that as a Qi Transformation Realm Grandmaster, he could control his emotions well. But, he realized he was wrong.
He could not forget, he must not forget.
The girl who was his childhood sweetheart, the one who had held his hand and solemnly vowed to be with him all her life. That year, when the Guo family went bankrupt and the villains came to force debts, driving his mother to commit suicide by drowning. It was she... who had come to plead on their behalf with the mere millions she had to her name. Yet the villains were relentless and unyielding.
Little did he know, she was implicated.
Crack...
The stone he was clutching turned to dust in his hand.
Hate!
A raging hatred in his heart, at this moment, he wished he could immediately storm into the Lis in Jiangnan and exterminate all the villains there, to appease his mother's spirit with the blood of the scoundrels and to burn away the hatred in his heart with their souls!
But!
He must not let these families die easily. The truly painful way to die is not physical suffering but mental torment. With fire in his eyes, Guo Yi stared out the window, his heart filled with hatred as he thought: "I want them to endure the torment of the Jiutian's icy cold, the hellfire, and the Nether River's blood. I want them to go through the pains of this world and suffer eternally without the chance of rebirth."
The cars arrived at a destination.
The Great South and North Club.
An extremely expensive place.
"Bro Hou, are we really going to play here today?" a boy asked.
"Of course!" Hou San's girlfriend Yang Xiaoli said proudly. "This place, one of Hou San's uncles has a share in it. Coming here to play today, you guys play to your heart's content, don't hold back!"
"Alright!" The guys were very eager about such a place.
They heard the Great South and North Club had many beautiful girls, and they were finally going to see for themselves today.
Hou San was brimming with pride, holding Yang Xiaoli by the waist, occasionally pinching her shapely buttocks, always eliciting a sultry gasp from her.
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