Another group of assassins soon arrived, just as Zhuang Hao had predicted.
Zhuang Qian was originally worried that they wouldn't be able to handle all of those people, but then Zhuang Hao and Yi Fan both rushed forward and quickly dealt with them. This even made Zhuang Qian feel that maybe the number of people who came to trouble them were too little.
After all, Zhuang Hao had suffered a lot recently and was anxious to vent his anger, while Yi Fan was too lonely and had trouble sleeping at night, so he was in a bad mood.
"Why would anyone send such weak people to attack us?" Zhuang Qian asked.
"After the news about your brother's magic being sealed was spread out, those people probably thought that they could easily take advantage of the situation. Your brother is a very well-known figure around here, so whoever manages to kill him will definitely become famous, with their name being known far and wide!" Qi Shaorong said.
Zhuang Qian ground his teeth and said, "Young Master Qi, what nonsense are you talking about? Rather than becoming famous, it's more like their name will go down in history as a byword for infamy."
Qi Shaorong smiled carelessly and said, "Isn't it the same thing?"
Zhuang Qian rolled his eyes and said, "How could it be the same?"
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Qian, waved his hand, and said, "Okay, okay, it's not that big of a deal. You don't need to get so riled up."
"I think that my brother's news getting leaked was likely the handiwork of Feng He from the Business Alliance!" Zhuang Qian said, lost in thought.
"It doesn't matter who did it, your brother has recovered earlier than expected, so we shouldn't run into any big problems." Qi Shaorong said lightly.
Zhuang Qian nodded and said, "Right! We have Elder Brother with us, Young Master Qi, you don't need to worry at all."
Qi Shaorong smiled and said, "Considering everything that your brother did during our whole ordeal, it's still too early to say that there's nothing to worry about."
Zhuang Qian thought about what Yun Hu had told him, smiled awkwardly, and said, "That was under special circumstances, it's only a one time thing. Brother has already recovered completely."
"You could say that, but your brother's performance during that time really was… Ridiculous!" Qi Shaorong laughed.
Zhuang Qian: "…"
Yun Hu had originally wondered if this was finally a chance to show his strength, but then he discovered that the only thing he could do to help was clean up the area afterwards and collect the spoils.
Yun Hu looked in the direction of Yi Fan and Zhuang Hao, and some envy flashed in his eyes.
Yun Hu never expected that traveling through Mist Forest would be so easy.
Zhuang Hao had tamed two level eight monster beasts and six level seven ones along the way, and with these monster beasts guiding them, their journey went smoothly.
Even the pervasive, venomous insects in the Mist Forest weren't a cause for concern.
The drugs that Yi Fan had mixed for them could repe; most of the insects, and those that couldn't be repelled and refused to give up all ended up as lunch in the belly of Yi Fan's monster beast.
The light unicorn ran around in the forest. The armor that the little unicorn was wearing had already been switched out for another, and it was even more dazzling than the old one.
The colorful crystals on its armor twinkled and sparkled under the sun.
Zhuang Qian looked at the light unicorn that was running around, frowned, and said, "Young Master Qi, your unicorn sure is fat!"
Qi Shaorong smiled and said, "It's fine, after spending a month trapped inside the space ring, Lil' Flower has already lost a lot of weight."
Zhuang Qian looked at the seriously overweight unicorn, and helplessly shook his head in his heart, thinking: Qi Shaorong has totally raised the light unicorn the same way he'd raise a pig. With so much fat on this unicorn's body, who knows if it can even fly.
Meanwhile, Yun Hu was staring fixedly at the unicorn that was bedecked in jewels.
Qi Heng looked at Yun Hu and said, "A-Hu, what's wrong? Do you want to eat the light unicorn?"
Yun Hu shook his head and said, "No, no, absolutely not."
Yun Hu thought to himself: He wasn't interested in the light unicorn's flesh, but rather, the armor on that light unicorn looked really high-end and impressive!
Yun Hu thought: If he had that kind of armor, then he wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing anymore. In fact, he didn't even need the complete piece of armor, he'd only need to take two crystal pieces from it and he'd be set for life.
Feeling Yun Hu eyes on it, the light unicorn turned around and rushed towards Yun Hu.
Yun Hu saw the light unicorn stamping its hooves and madly charging at him, and he turned pale with fright and leapt up into a tree.
The light unicorn slammed directly into the tree, and the thick trunk of the tree instantly broke into two, causing Yun Hu to fall down.
Qi Shaorong looked at Yun Hu, who was sprawled on the ground, and called the light unicorn back with a smile.
Yun Hu limped to the side and sat down.
Qi Shaorong walked over, looked at Yun Hu, and saidm, "A-Hu, are you okay?"
Yun Hu scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "I'm okay. Lil' Flower doesn't seem to like me very much?"
Qi Shaorong touched the light unicorn's head and said, "Of course not? He likes you, so he wanted to play with you!"
"Just now, it seemed like it wanted to kill me?"
Qi Shaorong shook his head and said, "No, you're overthinking things."
"But it really tried to crush me to death." Yun Hu said, trembling with lingering fear in his heart.
Qi Shaorong shook his head and said, "No, it just saw that you looked pretty chubby and thought that you'd probably be soft and springy, like a ball. It wanted to try sitting on you to see what that would feel like."
Yun Hu hurriedly backed away and said, "I… I'm actually not that fat."
Zhuang Hao walked over and hooked his arm around Yun Hu's shoulders, saying, "There's no need to be so humble, out of all the people here, you're the fattest one."
Yun Hu: "…" Qi Shaorong, this guy, was so mean!
It took Qi Shaorong and the others nearly two months to pass through Mist Forest and cross the border to Yuan Country.
Qi Shaorong looked at the scenery outside the carriage and said, "There's still a few more days until we reach the Imperial Capital!"
"It should be soon."
Yun Hu followed Zhuang Qian and said, "Young Master Qian, what kind of food do the Zhuang Family's guards get to eat?"
Zhuang Qian glanced at Yun Hu and said, "Don't worry, you won't go hungry."
Yun Hu rubbed his hands and said awkwardly, "Of course I'm not worried about that. I heard that the guards at their place get even better food than some of the young masters from other wealthy families."
Zhuang Qian sighed, grabbed Yun Hu by the collar, and said, "When we arrive at the Imperial Capital, you're not allowed to disclose any information about what happened to my brother. If you dare to go out and mess around, then I'll slice you up into tiny pieces, do you understand?"
Yun Hu quickly nodded and said, "I know, I know, I'll definitely never spread any rumours or talk nonsense about your brother."
Zhuang Qian stared at Yun Hu fiercely and said, "You'd better be careful. "
"I know, I know."Yun Hu looked at Zhuang Qian's twisted expression, and thought to himself: In the past, how could he have been so mistaken and thought that Zhuang Qian actually had a good temper?
As soon as they received the news that Zhuang Hao had entered the Imperial Capital, the Zhuang Family's guards all ran over to greet him.
"Greetings to Young Master Zhuang and Young Master Qi. "
Yun Hu looked at the guards who were saluting him, and couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Your brother sure is popular."
Zhuang Qian placed his hands on his hips, held his head high, and said proudly, "My brother is the heir of the Zhuang Family, and his strength has reached the eighth level. If it weren't for the fact that my brother is still too young, then he'd have already been conferred the title of a marquis, and granted land."
Yun Hu looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "Your brother's really powerful! However, what's even more impressive is that he actually managed to win over that fraudulent business owner."
Zhuang Qian sighed,"…" Big Brother and Qi Shaorong were still in the learning-to-get-along phase. Whether or not Qi Shaorong could become his sister-in-law was still uncertain.
"There are so many people looking for your brother!" Yun Hu said.
Zhuang Qian nodded and said, "Of course."
"My brother is the heir to the Zhuang Family, so naturally there are many people looking to talk to him."
"After returning home, your brother will be very busy," Yun Hu asked.
Zhuang Qian nodded and said, "Of course."
"If he's too busy, he won't forget about his promise of finding me a teacher, right."
Zhuang Qian looked at Yun Hu, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, Big brother has already arranged everything. You'll get a very good teacher, and under his guidance, your strength will definitely improve very quickly."
Yun Hu's eyes widened and he said excitedly, "Really?"
Zhuang Qian nodded and said, "Yes!" Zhuang Qian thought to himself: Yun Hu this idiot, let's just hope that he won't get beaten to death!
"Zhuang Hao, Young Master Qi, you're finally back." Tang Tianying stepped forward and greeted them with a smile.
Tang Tianying smiled at Qi Shaorong and said, "I haven't seen you so long, Young Master Qi has become even more beautiful."
Qi Shaorong smiled and said, "Yes! I'm becoming more and more good-looking as the days go by, and Zhuang Hao is becoming more and more ugly."
Tang Tianying: "…"
"Fourth Young Master Qi is really amazing. So many doctors weren't able to do anything about Feng Yuan's condition, but as soon as Fourth Young Master Qi arrived, Feng Yuan was cured." Tang Tianying said.
Qi Shaorong waved his hand and said, "You flatter me."
"I've prepared a celebration banquet at my royal residence, to welcome you home." Tang Tianying said.
Qi Shaorong smiled and said, "Fourth Prince is too polite."
Yun Hu's eyes straightened, "Young Master Zhuang really is treated with a lot of respect, even the prince invited them over for dinner? Can I follow along?"
Qi Heng glanced at Yun Hu and said nothing.
Qi Shaoru stood in the midst of the crowd and watched as Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao left with Tang Tianying. She couldn't help but frown.
"Qi Shaorong sure is regarded with high esteem! Even the Fourth Prince personally greeted him when he returned."
Qi Shaofu shrugged and said, "Fourth Brother has always been treated like that."
Qi Shaoru narrowed her eyes and said, "Fourth Brother saved Feng Yuan's life and received such a precious opportunity, but wasted it on his subordinate. He's so rebellious, yet the Fourth Prince is still so polite to him."
Qi Shaofu smiled and said, "Feng Yuan was saved by Fourth Brother, after all. It's entirely Fourth Brother's choice to ask any favour that he wants from Feng Yuan."
Qi Shaoru snorted softly and said, "Third Brother, you're always siding with him!"
"After going on this trip, Fourth Brother and Zhuang Hao's relationship seems to have improved a lot." Qi Shaofu said.
Qi Shaoru saw Zhuang Hao say something into Qi Shaorong's ear, and Qi Shaorong didn't avoid him either, as the light unicorn, which was so round that its feet almost couldn't be seen anymore, ran in circles around them.
The Second Prince's residence.
"Second Prince, Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao have returned, and the Fourth Prince went to meet them."
"I really underestimated this brother of mine in the past." Tang Tianfeng clenched his fists. Before, he had always had the upper hand against Tang Tianying, but ever since Shaorong showed up here, Tang Tianying and Qi Shaorong also had a good relationship with each other. In the future, it's still unknown as to who would emerge as the final victor.
"Second Prince, there's no need to be anxious, the future is still far away."
Tang Tianfeng sighed. If he had known that Yi Fan was one of Qi Shaorong's people, then he never would've let Mu Xuelan marry Yi Fan back then. "That may be so, but Fourth Brother is also making good progress."
"Qi Shaorong is becoming too powerful too quickly, who knows, perhaps the Emperor will feel threatened by him. The Fourth Prince being friends with Qi Shaorong, it's hard to say whether that is a blessing or a curse."
Tang Tianfeng narrowed his eyes and said, "That's right!"
Qi Shaorong and his friends were all very strong, but what was even more impressive was that all of them were still young and had unlimited potential. If at least two out of that group of people were to reach the ninth level, then Emperor Father would definitely become worried.