The Security guard was perplexed but answered, "Ms. Lin Bingxue has not arrived in the office today."
After saying it, he looked towards the sky waiting for praise from Young Master Li.
He thought Li Tao was asking for his lover Lin Bingxue whose office is located in the building opposite them.
Li Tao wanted to curse but, he could only blame his past self for being such a freak.
He walked to a few shops and asked around but did not find the shop owned by Murong Qing.
'System Dad, Help!'
[Ding! The host can follow the pointer and reach the destination.]
[System Strain +1%]
[Current Strain: 7%]
An arrow was now floating in front of him, leading in a certain direction.
'System assistance comes in handy. Haha.'
He walked in the direction and found a small flower shop at the end. It was hidden behind posters of other shops.
The front desk was empty but a young man was standing there. He was dressed in niche brands from top to bottom. He gave off the vibe of a rich young master.
His name was Lin Hao, and he was the cousin of Lin Bingxue. He had been trying to pursue Murong Qing for some time, but nothing worked on her. He even read books about flowers but even that was unable to impress her.
He tried buying all the flowers in her shop but he was rejected outright for insulting her.
Money, knowledge, affection—nothing worked on her. Now he comes here daily just to chat with her.
In the original storyline, there was no plot involving Murong Qing., Lin Hao was a villain who died under the hands of Ye Feng when he sold his cousin, Lin Bingxue to a wealthy young master from the province.
Li Tao walked inside the shop and looked around. He saw a young lady picking flowers from the pots and placing them into a basket. She was collecting them for a bouquet.
Although Li Tao couldn't see her face from the back she looked like a fairy from a fairy tale. Her long straight hair gracefully fell from her shoulders. Her body was like a sculpture—every curve mesmerizing.
She stood up and turned around while tidying up her hair. The moment she did, Li Tao felt his soul flying away.
Her face was like it was sculpted out of sheer grace, her eyes so mesmerizing, her face spotless like white silk, words would fall short of describing her. She was like a celestial beauty that should not belong to the mortal world, a fallen fairy.
Li Tao was standing there stunned, perfectly in sync with his fellow who was standing there, constantly staring at her as well.
Murong Qing was used to this, so she finished making the bouquet and placed it on the counter.
"That will be 700 RMB." She said to Lin Hao.
Lin Hao did not respond, but Li Tao did. He forced himself to calm down and muttered, 'She might be your future partner. Please have some patience.' By the end of it, his gaze had drifted somewhere it shouldn't.
He kicked Lin Hao in the butt, snapping him out of his daze.
Lin Hao groaned in pain and was about to fight back. But, when he saw it was Li Tao who was standing there, he swallowed his anger and smiled, "Young Master Li, are you here to buy flowers as well?"
"None of your business. Pay and leave." Li Tao did not give him any face and issued the eviction order.
Lin Hao was embarrassed but he could do nothing here, One because he could not offend Li Tao and the second because he knew Li Tao was madly in love with his cousin, he wouldn't pick a fight over this shop owner.
He stepped forward, paid for his purchase, and said while leaving, "Miss Murong, I will come back tomorrow."
Murong Qing's expression did not fluctuate throughout the time. She looked at Li Tao with a smile and said, "How can I help you?"
*ahem*
Li Tao cleared his throat and stepped towards the counter. He tried his best to calm down but her beauty was too good not to look at.
He said, "Hello Miss Murong, I am Li Tao," he extended his hand politely.
"How can I help you?" Murong Qing did not shake his hand and repeated her question.
"Umm." Li Tao awkwardly retreated his hand and said, "Hello Miss Murong, My name is Li Tao and I am the Young Master of the Li family in the Fortune City. You must have heard of me."
"I know you." Murong Qing said making Li Tao a little proud but she continued saying, ""You're the number one licking dog in Fortune City. Your men came to me a couple of times to buy flowers. Are you here to take them yourself?"
Li Tao puked a mouthful of blood and took support from the front desk. He didn't realize she would turn out to be so direct.
He cleared his throat and continued with a different approach, "Miss Murong is joking, It is all in the past. I am over that woman."
He paused to watch her reaction but reality disappointed him, she was still smiling the same way,, "Actually, I have been trying to train my perseverance."
He said this much and leaned forward, whispering "Our family managed to get a secret technique to practice martial arts. There are two prerequisites to this technique. First is unwavering perseverance and the other is being able to find a partner to practice."
Finally, his efforts became fruitful and her expression changed. The smile now had an interested tone to it.
She said, "Why are you telling me all this?"
Li Tao was relieved seeing her taking the bait, "Actually there is a third condition to this technique, i.e. the partners should have rich Qi of Luck on them. The richer the Qi of Luck, the stronger the effect of the technique."
"And? I have the Qi of Luck you mentioned?" Murong Qing asked with an amusing tone.
"Your mind is as bright as your face." Li Tao praised her.
"I wish to discuss something important with Miss Murong, Can I have the opportunity to have lunch with you?" He invited her on a date cum discussion.
Suddenly the whole shop was shrouded in a hazy atmosphere. Shelves started shaking and Li Tao felt as if a mountaintop was pressing on his head.
He started sweating and almost kneeled. It was thanks to his Villain Halo Domain that he managed to bear it.
Murong Qing's expression turned serious. She rang the bell under her desk and the pressure receded. It went back faster than it came.
A middle-aged woman dressed in a tang suit came in from the back door, stood near Murong Qing, and whispered something in her ears. Murong Qing said 'it is ok' and sent her off.
The Middle-aged woman warned Li Tao with her eyes and walked away.
'System, how strong is she?'
[Ding! Please stop getting scared and use Eyes of Data on her.]
The System reminded him that he still had a supernatural power in his arsenal.
Li Tao cursed himself inwardly and used the Eye of Data on that middle-aged lady.
__________________
[Name: Murong Ling]
[Status: Murong Qing's guardian and her Aunt.]
[Level: Dan Forging Middle Stage]
[Favorability: Not detectable*]
[Abilities: Not detectable*]
[Assets: Not detectable*]
*not detectable due to the limit of ability grade and host's realm.
__________________________________
Li Tao felt a chill after seeing her level.
Dan Forging realm's middle stage was already the highest level of the martial arts realm from his perspective. Even when he stayed with the Xuan Family in the capital, the highest level he encountered was half-step Dan Forging who was an elder in charge of external guest helpers.
He had only heard that Dan Forging realm was the core of each martial arts family in the capital, even the patriarchs were half-step Earth Immortal realm masters.
A guardian of this level was an exaggerated feat.
[System Notice]
[World Difficulty Fluctuation Detected]
Neo remained unusually silent.