Chapter 24

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Gu Qingshan hadn’t expected to have met Anna so early in his new life.

His mood improved instantly, and he threw Mrs. Su’s incident to the back of his mind.

The man also stood up and shook Gu Qingshan’s hand.

“Hello, I’m Von Hord. You can call me Von, or you could also call me Hord.”

“Hello.”

Gu Qingshan looked at him.

He felt like he had heard this name before and had some impression of who he was. He faintly remembered that this person had fallen to the enemy quite early on, but he couldn’t remember any details.

He decided to forget about trying to remember. It didn’t matter now.

“Let’s just have a drink first.”

Gu Qingshan walked behind the bar and looked carefully at all the alcohol that was displayed neatly.

At this moment, he had regained all his charisma, so it was as if he had gone back to the last days where he’d been that Great Sword Immortal who’d swiftly repaid favors and enacted vengeance—that national battle commander-in-chief who had led millions to war.

Von Hord glanced at Gu Qingshan and whispered to Anna. “There’s something not right about the way he looks. Do we try to persuade him as planned, or do we just take him away?”

Anna looked at the young man across from her, looked at the alcohol, then whispered back. “Wait a moment and see what he’s trying to do first.”

By the time the two had finished speaking, Gu Qingshan had already picked a whole bunch of different bottles. He turned around and put all six or seven bottles onto the bar counter at the same time with a thud.

“No, it doesn’t seem enough.”

He muttered these words as he turned back to pick a few more bottles before he was satisfied.

“Bro, what are you trying to do?” Von Hord couldn’t help asking.

Gu Qingshan glanced at him, then took three glasses from the bar counter as he said, “Since this is the first time in my life that we’re meeting, then I think we should have a drink to celebrate.”

“That’s a good idea too.” Anna showed a little bit of interest.

A little bit of interest in something besides working.

The World Annihilation Queen loved to drink, and she particularly loved cocktails.

In Gu Qingshan’s previous life, there’d been a barista who’d caught her eye by creating a cocktail named Scorpion, and he’d very nearly become her first boyfriend.

But the barista hadn’t succeeded in doing so.

Because she had died by then.

Gu Qingshan had traveled non-stop for two days and two nights to rescue her back then, but he hadn’t made it in the end. He could only see those flames that she had used to annihilate her enemies from afar.

She had used the last bit of strength she’d had to kill off countless demons, but she had ended up perishing along with them.

Gu Qingshan shook his head and kept away his emotions. He started to mix a cocktail together seriously.

Three minutes later, a blood-red cocktail was placed in front of Anna.

This cocktail looked like burning flames, but if you looked deeply into the middle of the raging flames, all you would see was a darkness that was impossible to see through.

Anna looked down at the cocktail in front of her, then looked back up at Gu Qingshan.

“Drink it.” Gu Qingshan’s lips twitched, and he tried hard to push them upward.

“What’s this cocktail called?” Anna picked up the glass.

Gu Qingshan looked at her and managed to say it out. “Scorpius.”

This was the improved version he made after he had tried Scorpion.

This was made in memory of Anna after she had died, and it was the cocktail he had used the most effort to create and was most satisfied with.

“Why did you choose to call it this?”

“The celestial scorpion is part of the zodiac, and it is made up of many stars, so it’s a constellation that will never fizzle out.”

“That is such a… dumb explanation.”

Anna said those words disdainfully, but for some reason, all the years of pain and ache rushed to her head suddenly.

She picked up the glass and drank everything down in one shot.

It was bitter and strong, and it burned.

It brought to mind destruction, loneliness, and sorrow.

There was finally a deep and sweet longing at the end.

Anna closed her eyes for a while, then opened them and looked straight at Gu Qingshan.

“You. I like you,” she said.

“Your Highness!” Von Hord exclaimed and stood up.

“Really? Then, let’s have a glass of Blood Thirster.” Gu Qingshan lowered his head and didn’t let her see what expression he had as his hands quickly mixed the next drink.

In a matter of minutes, he had made two glasses.

The two of them clinked glasses and drank everything down in one shot.

“You’re really not bad at all!”

Anna laughed loudly and reached out to pat Gu Qingshan.

Gu Qingshan pushed her hand away and said seriously to her, “Be good. I still have one more glass of Blazing Hell. Do you want to drink it?”

He couldn’t resist the urge to give her all the best cocktails that he had ever made.

Anna immediately looked at him with a sparkle in her eyes, and she sat up straight. “I’ll drink it!”

She watched the young man mix everything together at top speed and asked, “But why haven’t I ever heard of the name Blazing Hell before?”

“That’s my new cocktail. I only created it in the last few years.”

The last few years of his previous life, that is.

Gu Qingshan said those words as he added a piece of ice into the glass and pushed it over to her.

Anna took the glass, picked it up, and had a look. It was completely black.

She threw her head back and drank everything down at once.

“It’s really strong. Looks like you’ve been in a poor mood for the last few years,” Anna remarked as she smacked her lips.

Gu Qingshan smiled faintly but didn’t say anything.

Von Hord was by the side and was getting so anxious that he didn’t know what to do anymore.

They had come here on behalf of the Empire to investigate what the Federation was hiding from the world and to try to scout for talents. But he didn’t expect that the princess would have succumbed to this boy before they had even captured him.

But Gu Qingshan noticed him.

“Relax,” Gu Qingshan said as he passed Von Hord a bottle of whiskey. “We’re just having a drink. We’ll discuss matters seriously when it’s time to discuss things.”

Von Hord took the bottle of whiskey and sighed helplessly. “Well! I’m not very hopeful.”

Anna put down her glass and looked carefully at Gu Qingshan again.

Suddenly, there was a loud ding.

Then, there was another loud ding.

The three of them looked at their own communication devices, but the one that was ringing belonged to Gu Qingshan.

Gu Qingshan placed his communication device on the table and turned it on.

“Federation citizen, Gu Qingshan, we suspect that you are connected to a murder case. Please stay where you are. The police are on their way right now.”

“Mr. Gu Qingshan, since you are connected to a murder case and you have also been accused of theft by several aristocrats, Changning Exclusive Private High School has officially expelled you from the school with immediate effect.”

The light on the communication device slowly faded.

Gu Qingshan sat where he was, motionless like a statue.

“Tsk.” Anna patted his shoulders. “Don’t be sad. Not everything works out in life. Why don’t you follow me back to the Empire? I promise to give you the best treatment. In fact, I’ll personally make you a Duke. How’s that?”

Since Gu Qingshan didn’t respond, Anna continued. “It seems like there are a lot of people outside. You want me to settle them for you?”

Von Hord’s eyes widened and stared in shock at the princess.

The cold and icy Princess Anna was actually willing to do this for a man.

This was really crazy!

Von Hord wondered if this boy might carry the princess off with him.

Gu Qingshan suddenly smiled and said calmly, “Actually, I just wanted a quiet and peaceful life.”

The ear-piercing sound of police sirens started coming in from outside.

There was a lot of noise all of a sudden.

There were shouts, people running, and the revving of flying shuttles. All these sounds were slowly coming closer and closer to the bar.

Gu Qingshan stood up and said, “I even dreamt of entering a university.”

“Entering a university? You want to study?” Anna asked in surprise.

“Oh no. I just wanted a nice place to rest while I’m fighting for my life.”

Gu Qingshan laughed bitterly at himself.

“Looks like I was wrong after all. There is no place to rest at all in this world.”

A bow appeared in his hands from nowhere, and then there were suddenly three quivers on his back.

He held the bow and started making his way out of the bar.

Every step he took made him seem a little brighter.

By the time he reached the doorstep of the bar and opened the door, there was an invisible rush of air that covered his entire body, and a bright aura of pure Spirit Power surrounded him.

He was like a sharp sword that had just been released from its sheath.