Chapter 270 - Villain

Walking out of the dungeon was a difficult task to do. As she was not used to going down there and she got that beating reminder of what these types of places did to her in her past life, Lin Xiaofei wondered if she ever moved on as she hoped she did.

Waiting for the secret passage to completely close behind her, Lin Xiaofei moved forward. Despite being cooped up inside the Qu residence and held up due to several situations, she did not forget any pressing matters. 

When she arrived back to the courtyard, she soon found Shen Mo standing in front of it, looking grim and fierce all at the same time. When he saw her walking from the distance, his posture tensed up and his eyes were about to avoid meeting hers, but since he knew she was coming for him, Shen Mo couldn't do it in the end.

"Where are they?" Lin Xiaofei stuck to the point.

Shen Mo swallowed hard, "They're currently staying in the capital, in Hua Pei Lou."

Squinting her eyes enough to scare the brutish soldier that could overpower several armed men, Lin Xiaofei finally turned around and went inside the courtyard. After gathering what things she needed for her venture outside, she returned to the guard.

She said, "We will go to Hong Pei Luo now. I need to see for myself if Kael and Chu Chu are fine."

"But the Duke said you can't go out yet with that wound!" Shen Mo tried to protest. He wasn't trying to side with Qu Xing Xu, he was never his master, but still, anyone would be concerned towards their mistress who had just escaped death.

Touching the arm that was slashed by the assassin's dagger, Lin Xiaofei couldn't help but flinch. The cut was deeper than she thought, but it was not as deadly as everyone thought it was.

She gave him a glare and asked, "Are you trying to say you want a new master?"

Why would he want a new master? He was just asking out of his concern for her! But then again, the way he puts it was not desirable to hear.

Lin Xiaofei rolled her eyes inwardly. If Shen Mo were to follow her to the ends of earth and gates of hell, how could he serve her?

After a while, the two arrived at Hong Pei Luo. The chaotic crowd that was surrounding the restaurant was still the same as the last time she came there. The business was boosting the sales and demands up which was a good thing, but Lin Xiaofei could not understand why Qu Xing Xu hadn't planned on renovating the place?

He should have enough money to drown the Zheng empire without batting an eye, yet he refused to make even the slightest change to this horrible looking restaurant. She was even more concerned that people will look at him weirdly when everyone found out that Qu Xing Xu was the owner of Hong Pei Luo.

Although Lin Xiaofei banished these thoughts away and did not wish to stay longer outside and worry about what the restaurant should look like, deep in her mind, clogs were already meeting each other and plans for the new Hong Pei Luo was already in progress.

As the front entrance of the hall was almost blocked by people flocking in and out of the restaurant, Lin Xiaofei used the backdoor once again. She knocked on the inconspicuous door and waited for a few seconds before the waiter whom she has grown familiar with already opened it.

The dark corridor that leads them to the innermost part of the restaurant where customers normally don't get a pass nor see what was in there, was now lit with several candelabras attached to the walls. These candelabras were not there when she came here last time, but it was still a good addition to add more light to their path.

"Where are they?" she asked without wasting time.

The waiter hastened his steps as he replied, "They're upstairs, your highness. Please do not worry, they are perfectly fine…"

Lin Xiaofei hoped they really were fine and untouched. Or else, Qu Xing Xu has to answer to none other else but her.

"Why is there still not a victor even after so much time has passed? Is this what the Bai family could only offer in exchange for your lives?" Qu Xing Xu provoked them and as expected, Bai Shuang bit the gun.

"Qu. Xing. Xu!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Still feeling the pain in his back, he dragged himself forward. "If it weren't because of you, we all wouldn't act like dogs fighting in a pit! And you actually have the gall to ask!"

Qu Xing Xu leaned forward, his eyes meeting Bai Shuang's and coldly said, "It was you who first raised your swords at me. Don't forget that because I never forget. And I will never forget that Bai Jia Li hired an assassin by your family's insinuation to kill my wife."

"Oh…" Suddenly, a smile hooked up on Qu Xing Xu's lips. "Before I forget, Bai Jia Li was the first one amongst you who bit the dust before Old man Bai."

"You're lying…" Someone choked up. It was Bai Jia Li's mother, First Lady Bai, Su Jie. "My Bai Jia Li can't be dead!"

Qu Xing Xu still had that smile that did not reach his eyes as he turned to First Lady Bai, "But she did die after confessing… I killed her while she begged me not to."

Shock, terror, and fear shot through them once again. It can't be. For the Bai family, Bai Jia Li was an anchor they hoped to pull onto once they met an undesirable situation. She was the only one who was smarter than anyone in the family and from young, Bai Jia Li helped the Old Patriarch Bai in scheming and cooking up some plans against their enemies.

Although she was crazily into Qu Xing Xu, she would never do anything that could jeopardize everything! She was their only chance now!

Unfortunately, the woman they so hoped to save them, by calling on the authorities on Qu Xing Xu, was long dead. They simply underestimated her obsession towards the duke that she would happily announce their plans to him before their plans could even bring out any results.

She went crazy and beyond redeemable now after hearing the loss of her youngest daughter. 

"You villain!!!" She screamed out at Qu Xing Xu, her eyes filled with rage and screams for revenge glared at him, but Qu Xing Xu only met her eyes with the same calm but cold eyes.

And before she could even reach him, or even touch the hem of his robe, First Lady Bai felt her neck being crushed, the air inside her lungs leaving her. 

"Villain?" Qu Xing Xu raised an amused brow before he said, "I quite like that name… But I'm far worse than that."