Imperial Treasure

Chapter 1391 - 802: Transformation and Affection?

In just a moment, the corners of her lips curved up in that smile that made her fans swoon, and she got into the car.

Her agent tentatively asked about Sui Yi’s identity, then added, "Do we need to have the media side keep their mouths in check, so they don’t talk nonsense?"

Pu Qinghan didn’t answer that, she only said, "Don’t worry about it. If it’s necessary for others to know she’s back, then what happened today is just right. If it’s not necessary... it’s not our place to give the media a heads-up anyway."

"True. So she really is..."

"There won’t be a second person like her. She’s really back."

In the upheaval ten years ago, she had been at the core.

Now, ten years later... just how big a storm would she stir up?

--------

Ye Chunan was driving personally. In the car he didn’t ask about Wang Qing’s identity, because since Sui Yi didn’t say, there was no need to ask. It was enough to know that this person’s background was extraordinary and that Sui Yi valued her greatly.

Normally, when an ordinary person has been away from this space-time for ten years with no news at all, and suddenly returns, their first reaction is always to ask how their old friends are doing, how their own home, their own company are doing...

But Sui Yi was not an ordinary person.

The woman she brought back was not an ordinary person either.

Three people in one car, unspeakably silent.

But Ye Chunan could see in the rearview mirror that he himself would, from time to time, have a smile at the corner of his mouth.

So he smiled.

It was enough that she was back, really.

Nothing else mattered.

When the car drove into the urban area, Sui Yi finally truly felt that the changes those ten years had brought to this world far surpassed what they had brought to her.

Her turning into a Witch was nothing more than her awakening a single thought.

But for a world of modern technology to turn into a world where Martial Arts were open to the public, it had only taken ten years.

When Sui Yi saw, on those bustling streets of downtown Jiangnan City, young men and women from time to time wearing casual Martial Artist uniforms—

Of course, a change in clothing alone doesn’t mean anything; for all she knew it could be cosplay.

The important part was the weapons these people carried on them.

As for other Nations’ control of cold weapons and hot weapons, there was no need to say much; in any case, her own Nation had always strictly guarded this area, and that had been one of the key reasons for internal stability. Yet now, hanging at the waists and strapped to the backs of these men and women...

Swords?

Sabers?

Sui Yi found it very strange.

As if sensing Sui Yi’s mood, Ye Chunan took the initiative to say, "After that incident ten years ago, the World of Light and Shadow could no longer be concealed. But the gap and monopoly between the two sides didn’t really improve. People just went from being ignorant to knowing that the gap between them and the so‑called noble circle wasn’t just about money, but even more about this very real Martial Power. That intensified the conflict between upper and lower classes, and later, there was a massive wave of social protests—on a global scale. Forced by circumstances, or you could say following the trend, all Nations broke through the barrier between light and dark, and publicly acknowledged Special Abilities and Martial Arts... Our Nation focuses mainly on Martial Arts, and a lot of Secret Manuals are held by the state. The state established public martial academies and, via the constitution and regulations, required every school to set up Martial Arts courses. They include systematic cultivation methods as well as specialized Secret Manuals... But if you want to learn Superior Martial Skills, you have to go to the martial academies set up under the state’s command all over the country. Only those who pass the academies’ examinations and obtain an official Martial Artist Badge are allowed to carry weapons... Those who haven’t reached the Martial Artist stage yet, like those young people, can only carry Bamboo Swords or Wooden Swords... With this, the internal Martial Power System of the Nation is affected quite a bit—if individual people grasp power, it’s very likely they’ll break the law. So the Martial Artist forces belonging to the state have also been brought into the open, and a complete set of laws specifically regulating Martial Artists has been drawn up. Anyone who breaks the law will be severely punished... and the punishment is heavier than for ordinary people."

"As for the specifics, once we get back I’ll put together some information for you."

Ye Chunan knew Sui Yi was the kind of person who wouldn’t ask questions lightly, so he laid out the important matters in one breath, letting Sui Yi grasp in a simple, direct way the social transformation of these ten years.

Summed up, it was a modern technological society integrating Martial Arts; the rest of the overall social rules hadn’t changed too much.

In fact, every world and every era’s society follows one rule—respect the strong.

Whether ten years ago or ten years later, people like Sui Yi still had overwhelming advantages as always. For cultivators like her, this didn’t make much difference; it just meant she no longer had to keep everything under wraps.

"Overall, it’s the globalization of Supernatural Forces, which is a good thing."

"But the changes on the economic side seem..."

The rest of Sui Yi’s sentence made Ye Chunan’s expression turn somewhat heavy. "That part can also be said to depend on the opening up of Martial Arts. Human potential can be guided out through this approach. Improvements in energy, stamina, and even intellect have sped up globalization, and because people began to focus on the body’s own power, the use of cars and other external objects dropped sharply, shifting instead toward streamlined intelligent usage... You can see there are very few cars now, because more people tend to..."

Sui Yi could see from the car window that there was a separately opened pedestrian lane...

That was a pedestrian lane?

It was even wider than the road, and on it stood one stake after another, like plum blossom stakes, linked by iron chains. One person after another, men and women, young and old, were jumping along the stakes, or grabbing the chains and sliding, whoosh—going from here to over twenty meters away in one go.

Strictly speaking, this was a mode of transportation that tended toward standing outside both ancient and modern. You could say—it was pretty damn cool!

Of course, the coolest, most aristocratic way was still...

Riding a horse.

When Sui Yi saw that chestnut-red horse running down the lane, and the rider on its back wearing shorts and a T‑shirt... those long legs, with all that leg hair, were really something...

Sui Yi: "....."

Wang Qing: "....."

Mm... it seemed this was actually a pretty good change.

"Because of progress in this direction, the economy and technology have also advanced quite a lot. On the whole, it’s a good thing."

Ye Chunan spoke lightly, but Sui Yi knew that such progress had to be paid for with a very harsh, revolutionary process. Moreover, what she was seeing now was only the surface; things in the shadows couldn’t possibly be this smooth.

Ten years weren’t enough to fully expose all the contradictions.

For example, those people who had controlled the conspiracy ten years ago...

Sui Yi glanced at Ye Chunan, smiled faintly. "Needs further observation."

Those four words made both Ye Chunan and Wang Qing raise their eyebrows.

Checking into a hotel was yet another brand‑new experience for Wang Qing, and as soon as she entered this spacious room—

Sui Yi went into the bedroom. After a while—

"Wang Qing, come into the room for a moment."

Wang Qing, who had been standing by the floor‑to‑ceiling windows in the living room, looking down from over a hundred meters up, turned her face and naturally saw the surprise on the faces of Ye Chunan and the others.

But this person, who was supposedly Sui Yi’s younger brother, simply nodded to her, then automatically led the others away.

Younger brother?

Siblings wouldn’t be this restrained and held‑back with each other.

It looked more like affection buried deep inside.

Wang Qing walked into the bedroom, just in time to see Sui Yi holding some item in his hand.

It was very strange, two bun‑shaped things...connected by a few slender straps, with very pretty patterns on it.

But instinctively, it made her think of certain body parts.

Wang Qing’s brows furrowed.

"For now there are three sets of clothes, and toiletries have been prepared as well. We can change them later once we’re in the Capital City."

"These are some materials I had people put together. You can read them when you’re bored; they can deepen your understanding of this world."

"And as for how to use these things..."

Leaning against the door, Wang Qing didn’t wait for Sui Yi to say much before asking, "The thing in your hand, is it some kind of dudou?"

"Mm...yes."

"You don’t have to keep holding it."

"You feel awkward?"

"No."

"Good, then."

Then Sui Yi said, "You can take off your clothes and try it on...the size can be adjusted. Mm, anyway, it won’t be awkward, will it?"

Wang Qing: "..."

--------

In fact, Ye Chunan had never seen Sui Yi treat anyone like this...

He couldn’t quite name the feeling.

He just found it very strange, and also rather jealous.

And in the end, somewhat relieved.

Most of the people around Sui Yi could be considered good people, but Zhuang Ziliu, Yi, and Dongfang Bubai all leaned toward the Dark Series. Toward Zhuang Ziliu, Sui Yi valued him but wouldn’t indulge him; toward Yi, he protected and was gentle; toward Dongfang Bubai, they were in sync but he wouldn’t restrain her.

But toward this person and this person alone...

From subtle details, Ye Chunan could see how Sui Yi felt about her...

While sitting in the car, Lin Yun had contacted him. As for Sui Yi, who had returned after ten years, Lin Yun’s feelings were purer than his, because she didn’t have those indescribable emotions that had to be hidden; she was just excited, that was all.

Of course, regarding the woman who had returned together with Sui Yi, Lin Yun also wanted to do her homework.

"Beautiful? That’s for sure. I know there isn’t a single ugly person around the young boss...Cold? That’s not surprising either...The key is, how does the young boss treat her?"

Those were Lin Yun’s words.

Ye Chunan thought for a moment and said, "With疼爱."

"What the hell?"

In her hundred‑story‑high office far off in the Capital City, Lin Yun, who had been pacing back and forth, barely able to hide her joy, couldn’t help but stop in her tracks when she heard this.

And she made the various business elites sitting in a row on the sofas all lower their reports and data files at the same time.

"With疼爱."

Ye Chunan looked at his own reflection in the car window. "Sis is mostly gentle and considerate toward friends; you know that even better than I do. But that person is different. I can feel it’s not the same."

"It’s like she’s afraid she’ll leave, or worried she’ll get hurt, so she handles every little thing, covers every angle. Have you ever seen her say more than ten sentences in a row to anyone?"

No.

"All I know is that there are often ten layers of meaning in one sentence from the young boss...If you don’t get it, she won’t repeat herself a second time...because when she says it, she already knows you won’t understand it. It wasn’t really meant for you in the first place..."

So, Sui Yi was not someone who was very patient or liked to nag; she preferred to let things take their course.

So, for her to say ten sentences in one breath, to fuss over you in all sorts of ways, to explain all kinds of things, afraid you won’t be able to adapt to this society, this world—

It’s only because she’s worried you might feel ill at ease...