The Park

Over the following days, the crisis at Chenfei Group was not immediately resolved despite Dahlia's explanation.

Although Natasha had temporarily ceased direct confrontation, the smoke of battle still lingered on the commercial battlefield.

Most of the clients and suppliers who had been swayed were still watching from the sidelines, as if an invisible hand was manipulating the situation from behind.

Natasha mobilized all of the Duncan family's resources and began a reverse investigation.

She didn't believe in perfect conspiracies. Since someone was impersonating the Montgomary Palace, they would inevitably leave traces behind.

At the same time, she increased the frequency of information sharing with Dahlia.

Though there was still friction between them, this fragile cooperation seemed necessary when facing an enemy hidden in the shadows.

As for Dustin, at Natasha's insistence, he began living a relatively peaceful life.

After losing all his cultivation, he experienced more deeply than ever the fragility and limitations of ordinary mortals.

But from another perspective, this was a rare experience in its own right.

Setting aside his identity as a transcendent being, he could once again feel the pulse of this city from an ordinary person's point of view.

On this particular afternoon, the sunlight was just right.

Dustin went alone to a large city park not far from the villa district to take a walk.

The park was shaded by green trees, with rippling waves across the artificial lake. Citizens were enjoying leisure activities everywhere.

There were aunties dancing in the square, young parents playing with their children, students quietly reading on benches, and vendors selling snacks from stalls—lively and full of vitality.

Dustin wore simple casual clothes, hands in his pockets, wandering aimlessly along the lakeside path.

He could feel the warmth of sunlight on his skin, smell the freshness of grass and trees in the air along with the aroma of food from distant stalls, and hear all the noisy yet authentic sounds around him.

This feeling of being completely immersed in ordinary daily life was both unfamiliar and novel to him.

His gaze calmly swept over the diverse crowd, observing their joys and sorrows.

Just as he approached an open lawn area, two figures caught his attention.

It was a man and a woman, dressed in a way that clashed completely with everyone around them.

The man appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with handsome features yet carrying an archaic quality that didn't match his age. He wore what looked like a modified Chinese-style mandarin jacket, deep blue, made of extremely fine fabric that shimmered faintly in the sunlight.

On his back, he carried a long, narrow object wrapped in an antique cloth cover—shaped like a sword.

The woman was younger, around her early twenties, with exceptional beauty that carried an almost ethereal, otherworldly quality.

She wore a moon-white flowing immortal dress with wide sleeves, the hem embroidered with elegant silver patterns. Her long hair was pinned up with a simple jade hairpin, with a few strands falling beside her temples.

In this park full of T-shirts, jeans, and sportswear, the two of them looked as if they had walked straight off an ancient costume drama set.

However, what truly made Dustin's gaze sharpen was not just their peculiar attire.

Although his spiritual sense was dormant and his cultivation completely lost, unable to perceive any spiritual energy or special aura, an instinct honed through countless life-and-death battles and transcendent experiences was silently warning him—these two were not ordinary.

The man's posture as he walked seemed casual, yet every step contained an indescribable coordination and stability, as if he were one with his surroundings, yet could break away at any moment.

As for the woman, though she held a pink cotton candy that seemed at odds with her temperament, taking small licks with a satisfied smile on her face—shedding her cold demeanor and appearing rather endearingly innocent—her eyes occasionally swept over the surroundings with a trace of detachment, as if looking down upon all living beings.

These two were none other than Qin Hao and Qin Xue.

Qin Xue seemed interested in everything in the park, especially the ordinary snacks.

After finishing her cotton candy, she ran over to a sugar painting stall, watching the vendor skillfully draw birds and beasts with syrup, her eyes sparkling.

Qin Hao followed quietly half a step behind her, his gaze peacefully taking in the park scenery, completely ignoring the curious, surprised, and pointing looks from those around them, as if all the noise was separated from him by an invisible barrier.

"Brother, this is so interesting!"

Qin Xue held up a freshly bought sugar painting of a phoenix, turning to smile at Qin Hao. In this moment, she truly looked like an innocent young girl out for a stroll.

Qin Hao smiled slightly, a hint of indulgence in his eyes: "As long as you like it. Though the mortal world is thin on spiritual energy, these little trinkets have their own charm."

The two continued walking. Qin Xue admired her sugar painting while looking around.

Just as she rounded a corner, her attention drawn to a group of young people street dancing nearby, she didn't notice a couple walking toward her.

"Oh!"

Qin Xue stumbled from the collision. The sugar painting and the leftover cotton candy stick both fell to the ground.

The sugar painting shattered upon impact, the delicate phoenix breaking into pieces.

The one who bumped into her was a young man wearing trendy brands with an earring, his arm around a fashionably dressed girl with elaborate makeup.

The man frowned immediately after the collision. Seeing Qin Xue's strange attire, a flash of disdain appeared in his eyes.

"Hey! Don't you watch where you're walking?!" The man's tone was aggressive, with no intention of apologizing.

His girlfriend also looked at Qin Xue's fallen sugar painting with disgust, pursing her lips: "Dressed so weirdly, scaring people to death. Have you no manners? Don't you know you bumped into someone?"

– Marinien