Rebirth of an Idle Noblewoman

Hollywood, California was the ultimate destination for movie stars all over the world.

Today, the unannounced arrival of two individuals garnered quite a lot of attention from its populace.

The young woman had a feminine, slender figure and in comparison to the average American woman’s physique, she could be said to only be mid-sized. However, it was her drop-dead gorgeous face that made heads turn. Just a glance and one could sense the magical nature of her beauty.

Asians are rarely appreciated where the American beauty standard is concerned. However, pretty much everyone agreed that this young woman, in particular, stood out from the rest.

Pretty women and handsome men could be seen on every street corner. After all, this was the film capital of the West. Still, many eyes were on this couple. If not for how cold that man’s expression was, they would’ve already been approached by countless people.

That’s right. These two are in fact, Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan. The former was here today to pay her friend, Li Yu a little visit.

The film, ‘Planetary Conflict’ was part of a trilogy and they were in the midst of filming the third and final part of the series. Billions of American dollars had already been poured into this project and the first two movies had both topped the charts in box office ticket sales worldwide. This further intensified the hype for the release of the final part of the trilogy.

Li Yu was the main character for the film but surprisingly, there was no female lead. However, the supporting characters were all outstanding enough that it had compensated for the lack of a female lead.

“I saw her at a banquet,” answered Li Yu upon being told of Gu Xiqiao’s intention for visiting him. “You know, Gu Xijin’s name was also plastered all over the internet at one point. It so happened that I saw her dating the heir of the Dickens family. That guy’s called Claude. I’ll send a photo of him to you in a moment.”

He thought she was just joking around, so he was rather surprised when Gu Xiqiao really came over to America. Was she really so obsessed with such games? Was the ancient martial arts world not enough to satisfy her?

Li Yu smiled when he saw Gu Xiqiao deep in thought. “Since you’ve got nothing to do, why don’t you take part in more of Director Cheng’s films? I don’t know how many times he has complained about this to me at this point.”

“You guys are still working together?”

“… yeah, we’re still together, in a group chat that is. You’re in the group too.” Why was she so surprised by this?

“Li is that a friend of yours?!” Director Neil had a glow in his eyes the moment he saw Gu Xiqiao.

Director Cheng was an insanely-talented director, meaning he was fairly well-known, even in the West. His latest film, ‘Divergent Paths’ saw ticket sales skyrocket through the roof right after its release. Everything about the film swept Neil off his feet, whether it be the acting skills of the supporting actors or the female lead, Gu Xiqiao. He had called Director Cheng directly on multiple occasions but without fail, his calls were mercilessly rejected every single time.

This was why he couldn’t hide his elation when he saw Gu Xiqiao standing right before him.

Li Yu glanced at Neil silently before directing a smile back at his friend. “Miss Gu, allow me to send you off.”

His expression was respectful when he spoke to her.

Neil wished to let Gu Xiqiao stay for a while longer, but this wish was crushed when he saw Li Yu’s reaction. This actor was infamous for being mysterious and having a strong organization backing him up. Rarely would there be people in the industry that dared to disrespect him. Despite this, it could be implied from Li Yu’s mannerism that this young woman was much more enigmatic than him.

“The Dickens family is surprisingly influential. Four presidents have had their roots in this family and quite a number of them are involved in the current political arena. That Claude fellow is 29 years old and he had just wrestled the scepter of power out of his predecessor’s hand half a month ago. His methods are brutal, to say the least.” Li Yu gave his final reminder before sending Gu Xiqiao off.

Gu Xiqiao bowed at him. “Understood, thanks for the heads up.”

She then turned towards another direction, upon which a smile returned to her face.

Li Yu followed her gaze which led him to a tall figure approaching them. His face was stone cold and his facial features were well-pronounced. With a pair of eyes that gave off a distinct vibe, no matter from which direction you viewed him, he was physically flawless.

Trailing behind him was a robot in a frilly dress.

Jiang Shuxuan’s here too? Li Yu almost jumped out of his skin. Something major must’ve gone down to warrant the arrival of these two people here in the States.

“Young Master Jiang,” greeted Li Yu with a smile.

Jiang Shuxuan nodded in his direction as he grabbed Gu Xiqiao’s hand to lead her away.

Li Yu stood there, grinning at himself before returning to the studio. “Hey, why the long face?” asked Neil the moment he noticed the expression on Li Yu’s face.

“I have a feeling that a great show’s about to start.” Li Yu leaned back into his chair slowly and with an amused smile on his face.

“That girl that just left, I’m guessing she’s the female lead in ‘Divergent Paths’?” asked Neil curiously.

Li Yu knew instantly where this conversation would lead to. “That’s enough, you wouldn’t want to stand in her way, that is unless you’re hoping to lose the skin on your body.”

“She’s that amazing?” Neil’s eyes glowed even brighter.

Li Yu’s mind returned to when Gu Xiqiao took the ancient martial arts world by storm. How could she not be amazing?

***

“Jiji, I need you to pull up every bit of information we can get on the Dickens family.” Jiang Shuxuan, from god knows where, was able to procure another black car, which Gu Xiqiao and Jiji hopped onto without question.

Jiji responded immediately, “Give me a minute.”

Precisely sixty seconds later, a clear panel lit up in front of Gu Xiqiao’s face. Tons of data started appearing constantly.

This family had a long history here in America and could be regarded as one of the first elite families since the nation’s conception. They were practically unchallenged here in the States. No wonder the Bai gang were so fearful of them. With such great influence, the Bai gang could easily be crushed without even a second of hesitation.

For those knuckleheads to hold out so long, they must’ve been through a ton of hardship, thought Gu Xiqiao.

Red light. Jiang Shuxuan brought the car to a halt. Suddenly, a notification popped up on his phone. It was at that moment that he uttered, “The ghettos.”

“He’s in that sort of area? I guess he doesn’t fear death huh?” The corner of Gu Xiqiao’s mouth twitched. “Brother Jiang, let’s head over to that place then. I’m afraid that he won’t be able to hold out any longer. If he fails, I fail too.”

Their vehicle started moving again, as Jiang Shuxuan responded, “Too weak.”

“You’re right. In fact, he’s on the brink of death.” Gu Xiqiao expanded her consciousness and in a split second, she was able to ‘see’ the scene with her mind, which made her sigh in disappointment.

Jiji watched their interaction silently and retreated towards the car door. It made a silent prayer to God, hoping that they won’t be too caught up with the matters here. After all, there was a major calamity waiting just around the corner for them.

***

In the ghettos of Washington DC.

This was the most dangerous place throughout the entirety of the United States.

Thud! A hulking black man sent a white teen smashing into a wall with a mighty kick.

The teenager spat out a mouthful of metallic-tasting blood. The black man remained standing. With a nod, he gestured for his men to come forth. Two dark figures walked out from the crowd and proceeded to drag the teenage boy over to the thug.

The black man pulled out a pistol from his waist and gripped onto the jaw of the teenage boy. With a nasty grin, he said, “Listen here Klaus, you could’ve done anything in this world, but you just had to piss Mr. Claude off didn’t you?”

Klaus looked up at the thug with a hostile gaze.

The thug sneered. “As expected from an heir. Y’all bastards don’t seem to know the meaning of the word ‘repentance’ do you? Time to meet God!”

The man’s finger slowly applied more pressure on the trigger.

Suddenly, the silhouette of a person appeared behind Klaus. Effortlessly, his pistol was removed from his hand!

He hadn’t even been given enough time to react!

It wasn’t just him, but even the crowd behind him had frozen up out of surprise. When had they appeared and why hadn’t they noticed their presence?

The black man angrily looked up at the person who disarmed him. Surprisingly, it was a she and a rather young one at that. Still, he did not underestimate this young lady. To be able to sneak up on him like a ghost, undetected by his men, it was clear as to how capable this individual was.

Gu Xiqiao disassembled the pistol while speaking, “MP-654k, what a great firearm. But, isn’t this model used exclusively by the military? Where did you manage to get this gun in your possession?”

The black man was even more bewildered when he saw what happened in front of him. The speed and precision with which she disassembled the gun were insane. From start to end, it took less than twenty seconds for her to make the gun disintegrate into its most basic components. Whilst doing that, she was even able to state accurately, the model and the serial number of the firearm!

With a further ten seconds, she was able to reassemble the gun!

The men behind him were stupefied by how badass the whole show was. How could she possibly be a regular civilian?

“Identify yourself!” urged the black man. “Are you trying to mess with the Dickens family’s private matters?”

Every American knew who they were and how standing in their way was a bad idea, so bad that it could potentially cost one’s own life. The black man thought that the mere mention of his employer’s name would intimidate Gu Xiqiao enough that she’d step away immediately.

What he did not expect was for Gu Xiqiao to point down at Klaus and say, “I’m here to save his life.”

The black man’s expression darkened.

“You all should leave immediately before you can leave no more,” Gu Xiqiao warned the crowd.

“Spare the nonsense and take her back with that boy,” said another large man. He was able to lift Gu Xiqiao off the ground with minimal effort.

Judging by his physique, lifting her up was the same as lifting up a bag of groceries.

Gu Xiqiao smiled at him with dreamy eyes, offering no resistance whatsoever.

The tall man stood there motionlessly. He had a stupid grin on his face and in an instant, he let his guard down. He initially thought she was a threat but now, he was reaching out to caress her delicate face.

Suddenly, he discovered that his hand could not move forward when he was only a few centimeters away from her flawless skin. Eye-widened, he looked around furiously.

The others were stunned too.

Literal ice had formed in the air around him!

A hand was crushing the tall man’s throat as he was lifted off his feet. To his bafflement, there was a man standing next to him.

“Which hand were you planning to touch her with?” Jiang Shuxuan questioned with a cold, merciless voice. His expression was calm, but the look in his eyes was pitch black as if he was looking at a corpse.

1

The man’s face was as red as a tomato as his airway was slowly crushed by Jiang Shuxuan’s death grip. His legs, which dangled in the air, kicked wildly in every direction as he struggled to free himself from his attacker’s grip. With fear in his eyes, he glared at Jiang Shuxuan. However, with his airway completely blocked, it was impossible for him to speak.

“Was it this one?” Jiang Shuxuan shifted his gaze over to his left hand.

There seemed to be a white layer of frost before his eyes.

Crack!

The man’s left hand was frozen into a block of ice before it was shattered into a million pieces, which scattered across the ground.

That sound was like the screams of hell, echoing through the black man’s ears.

“Or was it this one?” Jiang Shuxuan shifted his focus over to his right hand.

Crack! Once again, the man’s remaining hand was sent scattering across the cold hard floor.

Silence descended upon the crowd.

This man wasn’t human!