Chapter 48: Where did the money to buy the gold necklace come from?

"Humph!"

She let out a heavy huff, with steam practically shooting out of her nostrils.

Hearing this sound, Zhong Chengfa shivered instinctively, knowing his mother was about to throw a tantrum again.

He hurriedly tugged on little Zhong Hongqing's arm, lowering his voice like a sneaking thief, "Quick, Hongqing, greet Grandma, and say it louder!"

Having been drilled and lectured by his father all morning, little Zhong Hongqing still wore a somewhat dazed expression on his chubby face.

Not stopping there, the range of the air current's fluctuation continued to spread, affecting the rooms surrounding the inn as well. Many houses immediately tilted sideways, and even if they were not shattered into pieces, they became dangerous, imminent ruins.

Moreover, his son's inexplicable gender transformation meant that the entire path he had painstakingly paved for his son now had to be completely demolished and rebuilt.

"Commander, there is simply no way for us to sleep tonight," the company commander ran over to report to the commander again. They had all inspected carefully just moments ago; many of the soldiers would have to sleep on the bare ground.

"You have stayed in the capital for quite some time now; it is about time you returned to Mobei. As for when to dispatch the Northern Expeditionary Army to suppress the rebellion, I shall decide in due time," Emperor Chongzhen said indifferently.

"My Lord, the Khalkha cavalry have already sallied forth, targeting the Ming army's right flank directly," Yang Xiong said in a loud voice.

With a splash, Lina plunged straight into the sea, yet not a single bullet hit her.

"Akiko Moriki, speak the truth. I don't need you to tell me much, just give me something useful," Long Yufan tried to slowly pry open Akiko Moriki's mouth. Once she revealed even a tiny detail, the rest would become much easier.

Lin Luoxi's words once again left the entire world dumbfounded. What kind of person was he? One moment he exposed the shameful deeds carried out in secret by various nations, and the next moment he spoke up to defend them. What on earth was his motivation?

"Constellations of the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend, Big Dipper Seven Stars, by the decree of Lord Taishang Laojun, invite the deities descend!" Long Yu stepped backward following the pattern of the Seven Stars, let out a shout toward the sky, executed a sword form with the Chengying Sword in his hand, and ruthlessly slashed a cut across his own palm. In an instant, Long Yu's hand was stained crimson with blood.

With a series of soft clicks, the Third Elder of the Imperial Realm stared in sheer disbelief at his own chest, where a crack had suddenly appeared. Then, his body split into two halves and plummeted downward.

When all the flames and storms were absorbed, he raised the gourd high once again, spraying forth even more violent flames that engulfed all the deities of the Divine Realm instead.

However, as the middle-aged man spoke while opening the cloth wrap, revealing a long object quietly resting inside, Li Zhishi realized his earlier assumption had been wrong.

Risking your life for him, only for the relationship to end up being ordinary? It was rare that this person still put on such an intensely moved expression. It seemed that although Chen Dong appeared passionate and patriotic, deep down he was likely an extremely selfish person. Whatever he did might benefit the country, but it was driven far more by the desire for eternal fame during his life and after his death.

"Do you want to ask me questions too?" Mary's emerald-green eyes were filled with excitement.

A larger ice brick lay on the ground, its four corners propped up to keep it as level as possible, and then the remaining ice bricks were set upright around the four perimeters in turn.

Perhaps my cry was a bit too loud, causing Xia Haoyu's tugging hand to pause. He glanced at me, heavily raised his right foot, and kicked it against the utility pole by the roadside. With a muffled "thud," he furrowed his brows, and his expression turned extremely ugly.

"This works too?" Jia Zhengjin extended his right index finger and casually scribbled the two characters "Jia Chong" in the space designated for the signature.

"Hmph, since old man Wang has got silver in his pocket, naturally he has to come to Zishi Street to give this old woman a pleasant look!" Before Wang Erniu and the others could reply, Old Mother Wang sneered from the side.

Even though his personal troops had expanded greatly compared to before, and his standing within Xu Shiji's army had also risen significantly—making him one of the three major generals under Xu Shiji's command—who could change the fact that he was still ultimately just a general under Xu Shiji?