Chapter 1603 - 1655: The Worm King’s Oddities
"Silly girl, this isn’t completely your fault. At first, I blamed you, but then I started accepting you." Li Yifei sighed, placing a hand gently on Na Yi’s shoulder, and said softly, "I’m happy you’re helping me, but don’t tire yourself out. Especially with these toxic substances, try to avoid them as much as you can. If anything goes wrong, I won’t be able to stop crying."
"It won’t happen. I’m very careful. And besides, as long as I cultivate another one, my work will be done. Just need Aunt Yao to find two more medicines, then when everything’s prepared, we’ll give it to you. I think... even if it’s temporary, it will definitely help you. Right!" Na Yi looked up at Li Yifei and said.
Li Yifei nodded vigorously, expressing his gratitude, "I understand, but... promise me, once the fruit matures, don’t go picking it alone. Also, prepare protective measures. If anything really happens, I’ll feel heartbroken."
Na Yi nodded firmly and said, "I will. Next time I’ll wear gloves. We still need nine of these red fruits, so Yifei, you might have to wait a while, but I’ll try to speed up their cultivation."
Li Yifei hesitated for a moment, but then gave Na Yi a hug. He wrapped his arms around the petite Na Yi, whose cheeks flushed red like apples, causing her heart to race rapidly until she finally suppressed it.
Li Yifei whispered in her ear again, "Na Yi, don’t push yourself too hard. I want you to be a happy Na Yi."
Na Yi lifted her head from Li Yifei’s embrace, a bright smile blooming on her flushed face, and said, "No, doing things for you makes me happy. And, during this time at home, my sisters have been taking care of me, so there’s no unhappy moment. Just... sometimes I think about Dad. He’s alone at home, and I wonder if he’s eating well or drinking too much..."
"Once these matters are resolved, I’ll find time to take you home. Let’s see if your dad would like to come out and stay for a while. We’ll show him the ocean, take him on a plane, let him see the world outside," Li Yifei said.
Na Yi’s eyes sparkled, and she nodded vigorously, saying, "Okay, I’m... I’m waiting. By then, I’ll persuade Dad; he’ll come out."
"Mm, it’s settled then. Let’s do a high five." Li Yifei raised his hand, and Na Yi happily raised hers, their hands clapping together.
Li Yifei didn’t rush to leave. He asked about the Worm King Xiaowu to see if Na Yi also felt that strange sensation. To Li Yifei’s surprise, Na Yi’s perception was different from his own.
"How can this be? Na Yi, come on, let’s go take a look!" Li Yifei felt the Worm King Xiaowu represented a force, while Na Yi felt familiar with it. So, Li Yifei found it very curious. He asked several women who had visited the garden before, and they didn’t have this feeling. But Na Yi and Xiaowu were already acquainted, which could be understood, yet Li Yifei had only met Xiaowu once when it transformed into the Worm King.
The two arrived at the garden, and Li Yifei once again felt the strange sensation, while Na Yi also perceived it.
Yet, it remained indistinct, as if the sensation was close yet far away, elusive and puzzling, as if Xiaowu was conveying some message.
During this, Li Yifei called over Chu Xiaoyao, who was at home, to let her experience it. Chu Xiaoyao only sensed the floral fragrance, different smells of flowers, coincidentally, Jiang Ningxiang strolled over at this time.
Jiang Ningxiang was about to give birth, but she was in very good health. Although she was advised not to exercise too much, she would walk herself in the morning and evening, sometimes accompanied by others, sometimes alone.
When she was called over and the situation was explained, Jiang Ningxiang closed her eyes to concentrate and began to sense.
After a while, Jiang Ningxiang opened her eyes, shook her head at the three of them, and said, "I don’t feel anything special, maybe... I smell more flowers than Xiaoyao does, and I can hear the buzzing of bees and butterflies, but the feeling you mentioned, husband, I didn’t sense."
"Seems like only Na Yi and I can feel it. Maybe because Na Yi and I knew this little butterfly before!" Li Yifei said.
This matter was temporarily brushed aside. Seeing there were no other issues, Chu Xiaoyao hurriedly ran back, and Na Yi also returned. Li Yifei supported Jiang Ningxiang and slowly walked back together.
In their rare moment alone, Jiang Ningxiang tilted her head, looking at Li Yifei with unlimited tenderness in her eyes. Since they didn’t know if the baby was a boy or a girl, they started discussing about the possibilities.
Li Yifei was indifferent to whether it was a boy or a girl; he loved them equally. However, because of the different methods of upbringing, Li Yifei would pamper the girls more and demand more from boys. Boys might not excel at studies or be very smart, but the attributes a man should have, should be gradually cultivated.
But looking at the family’s kids’ looks, there’s one thing Li Yifei wasn’t worried about—their appearance. There’s no doubt that they would be at the level of handsome and beautiful, potentially captivating the nation, especially the eldest daughter Li Yufei, who was already showing promise.
So, with Jiang Ningxiang’s baby, Li Yifei wasn’t worried about its appearance either. He accompanied Jiang Ningxiang for a stroll for over ten minutes, going around the house twice before sending her back, sitting inside the house for a while until getting a phone call, then left.
The creditors had arrived. As Li Yifei walked over, a security guard approached him, whispered a few words in his ear, and handed Li Yifei something. Li Yifei casually put it in his pocket, tidied his clothes, and went inside.
Just like yesterday, the meeting room was noisy, with more people than before, all men, differing in stature but appearing quite young. As Li Yifei entered, their conversations stopped, and they turned to watch him approach step by step.
Meanwhile, several security guards followed Li Yifei. By comparison, Li Yifei’s guards were much more dignified. Not just in height and physique, but their overall aura was far more intimidating, with eyes casting piercing glances. Once inside, their cursory scan was enough to terrify others.
Six guards stood behind Li Yifei, their hands naturally hanging at their sides, their eyes not fixed forward but constantly scanning. Although no one spoke, the invisible pressure subdued the creditors into quiet submission, including those newly arrived.
Li Yifei didn’t ask about those people’s identities, he only glanced and then ignored them.
He sat down, and the creditors straightened up. As his gaze swept over them, their hearts skipped a beat. The man who had diarrhea was still in the same seat. Li Yifei intentionally glanced at him and said, "Still got diarrhea today?"
The man made a sound, shook his head, and said, "No, no more."
"Heh, watch your diet," Li Yifei said casually.
The man nodded repeatedly, saying, "Thanks for your concern, Clan leader Li. I’ll watch out."
Li Yifei’s eyes settled on an old man, asking, "Did you bring the IOUs?"
Seven people nodded together and said, "Brought them all."
One woman, however, slapped her forehead and said, "The IOU was brought, but... there’s a bit of a problem."
Li Yifei raised an eyebrow, looked at her, and asked, "What problem?"
"Uh... last time I made a mistake, the money was off by a bit."
"How much?"
"Off by one and a half million," the woman replied.
Li Yifei chuckled, staring at her. The woman deliberately lowered her head, pretending to brush her bangs aside, and said, "I really made a mistake. Look, it’s all written on the IOU. I wouldn’t deceive you. Otherwise, what would I become?"
Though she spoke, eight out of ten, the woman was thinking that a **** rich person like this surely wouldn’t mind one or two million more or less.
Li Yifei’s response yesterday gave them high hopes of getting the money today. The reputation of the Li family was genuinely decent, lacking many negative rumors. Of course, as long as you don’t provoke them, trouble is yours if you do.
But we’re asking for gambling debts, not provoking anyone, so why would there be problems!
Seeing Li Yifei silent, the woman grew anxious, her voice raising significantly, "Really, clan chief Li, look, here’s the IOU with your mother-in-law’s signature and fingerprint. You might say the signature can be forged, but the fingerprint can’t, see."
As she spoke, the woman held the IOU closer to Li Yifei. He shook his head, saying, "No need to show me. I brought the money today along with the checkbook. What we owe you, we’ll repay without denial. My mother-in-law’s debt is also mine."
Upon hearing this, these people breathed a sigh of relief. They initially feared Li Yifei’s towering guards would do something, but now he assured them they would get paid, so there was no reason to worry. Once they had the money, they could leave immediately, and once out of the Li family’s, they’d be safe.
The old man proactively said, "Clan chief Li, our IOUs are all correct, no errors."
"Good, you’re all sincere people. Rest assured." Li Yifei chuckled. He toyed with a pen in his hand, gently rotating it, and added, "Before giving out the money, I’m curious. What games did you play for such high stakes?"
"Us?" The old man and others exchanged smiles and said, "It’s actually Texas Hold’em or Golden flower, but with high base stakes. With Golden flower, the lowest base is a hundred thousand, the highest is a million, so the wins and losses are significant..."
"With Texas Hold’em, it’s even bigger, so sometimes we don’t need many rounds, but the losses are substantial. Like last time, I lost over eight million in just over ten minutes," another man chimed in.
The second woman said, "That’s nothing. I once lost over three million in just one round. That was truly thrilling; a round lasts only one or two minutes. It’s more heart-stopping than a rollercoaster."