Chapter 146: Kowtowing

I cracked open the pine nut, applying a gentle pressure with my fingers, and it split cleanly into two halves. A brilliant diamond, roughly the size of the nut itself, appeared before my eyes. It was a blue diamond, and it was the first time I had ever seen one of such a massive scale. If this diamond was genuine, it had to be worth tens of millions on the open market.

"Is this... for me?" I asked the squirrel, looking at it in astonishment.

The squirrel nodded, then pointed toward the east, followed by a gesture toward the west, gesticulating wildly as if it were dancing.

In an instant, I understood what the squirrel meant. The east was the direction of Piliner's school, while the west pointed toward the Cliff of Yin Corpses, the very place where the woman in green robes who delivered meals to Piliner resided. This diamond had been sent to me by the woman in green on behalf of Piliner.

After safely putting away the diamond, I asked the squirrel to convey my thanks upon its return. Then, recalling the possibility that the Row Sect might make a move against Piliner, I quickly filled the squirrel in on the day's events, asking the woman in green to help protect Piliner.

When the squirrel heard that someone intended to harm Piliner, I clearly caught a flash of murderous intent in its small eyes. It made a throat-slitting gesture that sent a chill straight down my spine, as if it were warning that whoever dared to harm Piliner would not be allowed to live.

"I leave Piliner's safety in your hands!" I cupped my fists and bowed to the squirrel in salute. The squirrel gave me a thumbs-up gesture, then turned, whipped its large tail, and vanished from my sight.

All the way back, I kept replaying the squirrel's throat-slitting gesture in my mind. I feared that if Luo Xingtao truly dared to lay a hand on Piliner, his Row Sect would find themselves facing a grim fate.

I weighed the diamond in my palm, slipped it into my pocket, and headed back into the villa. With the locust tree chopped down, the feng shui within the Bai family estate had returned to normal. The architecture of the Bai residence consisted of two adjoining villas, each standing seven stories tall. From the main entrance, it looked like a single building, but nestled between the two structures was actually a swimming pool, embodying the classic feng shui motif of "two dragons playing with a pearl."

The grand hall where we held our wedding banquet was located in the front villa, which was also where Bai Ranhe usually received his guests. The living quarters, however, were situated in the rear villa. My room with Bai Xiaoli was on the third floor, and at this moment, candlelight flickered softly from the third-story windows, signaling that Bai Xiaoli was not yet asleep. A sudden wave of tension washed over me—was Bai Xiaoli still waiting up for me?

It made sense, of course. Today was our wedding night. Given how she had previously been willing to eat takeout just to wait for me outside, she certainly wouldn't go to rest without seeing me tonight. Yet, what I found strange was that after so much time had passed, Bai Xiaoli hadn't replied to my WeChat message or inquired about my situation. Did she not worry about me at all?

Upon second thought, however, Bai Ranhe had returned long ago, so he had probably filled Bai Xiaoli in on the general situation in the front hall. By that time, the fierce spirit Xu Yingying had already been dealt with, Chen Yetian and Chen Zhiqiang were dead, and I had already sent a WeChat message saying I was safe. Since Bai Xiaoli and the others knew nothing about the Row Sect, they probably assumed I was simply drinking and chatting with Liu Zhongguo and the others.

Staring at the flickering candlelight in the window, I swallowed hard and stepped inside the house. The moment I walked into the first-floor living room, a shrill scream startled me. I hurriedly switched on the lights to find a plump, middle-aged woman kneeling on the floor in front of the Chinese-style furniture in the center of the room, slapping herself fiercely across the face.

Li Xiaojuan?

I walked up to Li Xiaojuan. Hearing my footsteps, her body began to tremble uncontrollably, though I had no idea what she was so terrified of.

"Xiaoli, I was wrong, I was wrong! I shouldn't have slapped you, please forgive me, please forgive me!" Li Xiaojuan cried out, raining frantic blows upon her own cheeks.

Yet, there was absolutely no one standing in front of Li Xiaojuan. She acted like a complete lunatic, frantically striking her own face while muttering deliriously.

"Auntie, what is wrong with you?" Deeply puzzled by her behavior, I reached out to grab Li Xiaojuan's hands. Although Bai Xiaoli and I were now married, I still found myself unable to utter the word "Mom" given Li Xiaojuan's past actions.

Li Xiaojuan raised her head in a daze, and in the next second, she grabbed my hands and cried, "Yangxi, save me! Save me! Please make Xiaoli let me off. I was wrong, I will never dare to slap her face again. I'm kowtowing to you!" With that, she actually dropped to her knees and began kowtowing to me.