However, Zhou Xuan is now almost certain that his Nine Dragon Cauldron is definitely a high-tech product from outside Earth's civilization, perhaps even a time machine. The energy generated by this machine is probably no less than his own golden ability. He can be sure that the Nine Dragon Cauldron is a high-tech product of an extraterrestrial civilization, but he is not so sure about the golden stone ability within him. He only knows that it is also an extraterrestrial object, but he cannot guarantee whether it is a high-tech product, because the shapes of these golden stones are very natural and are completely different from those of the Nine Dragon Cauldron when it was actually made.
These two things are probably not from the same planet, but they are both energy bodies, so they can be fused together. However, this Nine Dragon Cauldron really puzzled Zhou Xuan. When his supernatural energy detected inside, the ice energy couldn't detect it before, but now this newly fused supernatural energy can detect how the beads work. However, it can only detect how the beads work and the situation, but it cannot transform the Nine Dragon Cauldron into gold and devour it. This is the third object besides the golden stone and the crystal that he cannot transform and devour.
He practiced the new ability again and again until he was proficient. This ability was indeed much more comfortable on his body than the pure ice energy he used to have. The color of the pill condensed in his left wrist had turned into the yellow of the sun, which was slightly different from the color of gold. Moreover, the skin on his hand was normal and no difference could be seen.
What worries Zhou Xuan the most about An Guoqing is his martial prowess. Judging from the aura Zhou Xuan sensed, even if Wei Xiaoyu and Fu Ying attacked together, they would not be a match for him.
An Guoqing is a master of such a level that Zhou Xuan's knowledge of the three of them naturally couldn't escape An Guoqing's eyes. However, the only advantage was that An Guoqing was definitely unaware of Zhou Xuan's special abilities. Moreover, the tiny bit of molecules obtained from the well water in Poxin Village today triggered the activation of the beads in the Nine Dragon Cauldron, and the absorption of sunlight caused Zhou Xuan's special abilities to be strengthened and mutated by space. This was something An Guoqing hadn't anticipated. If An Guoqing were to make a move now, he would be no match for Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan was also puzzled as to how An Guoqing, a martial artist, could develop such a powerful aura. He wondered how An Guoqing had achieved this. Generally speaking, human strength is limited, and once a limit is reached, it becomes impossible to overcome that bottleneck.
Take Zhou Xuan himself for example. Although his supernatural abilities have evolved and grown to such an extent, he still cannot activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron. His abilities are far inferior to the energy absorbed by a Nine Star Pearl from the sun. However, even if the Nine Star Pearl in the Nine Dragon Cauldron absorbs more solar energy, it still cannot fully activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron.
Therefore, Zhou Xuan understood that he could only activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron after obtaining the remaining eight Nine Star Beads. For now, he would have to be patient. If he forced it, he could only activate a small part of the Nine Dragon Cauldron's power, and he was not even sure what kind of power it would be. It might be going back to the future, going back to the past, or freezing time, but Zhou Xuan was not sure. The most crucial thing was that Zhou Xuan could not be sure that he could return to the original time.
What if it were at another time? Then Zhou Xuan would be helpless, because after activating the Nine Dragon Cauldron, the bead would completely absorb his supernatural abilities. If he were in another unknown time and his abilities were gone, he might never be able to return, which would be even more terrifying than now.
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Volume 1, Chapter 382: A Special Affection
Chapter 382 A Special Affection
Zhou Xuan spent the entire night in excitement, and when he woke up in the morning, his spirits had not diminished. It seemed that his new ability was no less than that of the Ice Qi ability. With the Ice Qi ability, he would still be full of energy the next day after staying up all night, and this new ability still had the characteristics of the Ice Qi ability.
Zhou Xuan didn't call Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoyu. He left the hotel alone. With the two of them around, it wouldn't be good for him to be with either of them. Besides, Fu Ying didn't remember him at all. Even though he came to Fengshan with her, it wouldn't change his relationship with Fu Ying. Moreover, Wei Xiaoyu would only cause trouble by going against Fu Ying.
After leaving the hotel, Zhou Xuan didn't know which direction to go. This city was completely unfamiliar to him. After thinking for a moment, he just walked in one direction at random, not caring about anything, just wandering around.
However, after walking only a few dozen meters, Zhou Xuan suddenly felt someone following him. He immediately turned around and saw An Guoqing's female secretary, An Jie, walking towards him.
When Anjie saw Zhou Xuan suddenly turn around and see her, she couldn't help but smile and say, "Mr. Zhou, it's like you have eyes in the back of your head. How did you know I followed you here?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "It was unintentional. I just glanced back casually, and I didn't expect Miss An to follow me."
Anjie smiled, a disbelieving expression on her face, then walked up to Zhou Xuan and walked beside him, asking, "Mr. Zhou, I didn't come here to follow you. It's just that our Chairman An couldn't come today, so she specially arranged for me to accompany you for a stroll. I just arrived at the hotel entrance and saw you coming out, so I followed you."
Zhou Xuan tilted his head and looked at An Jie. Seeing the strange look on her face, he was probably sent by An Guoqing to monitor him. Perhaps An Guoqing was still worried that he would run away. His mind was definitely on his Nine Dragon Cauldron.
However, it might be because he went with him to explore the underground river of the skylight. In any case, the Nine Dragon Cauldron was no different in his body and in An Guoqing's body. In the underground river of the skylight, no one knew whether they would live or die. Only the person who came out alive in the end could be considered to truly possess the Nine Dragon Cauldron.
If Zhou Xuan hadn't come to Fengshan with An Guoqing, Zhou Xuan believed that An Guoqing would definitely have tried to seize the Nine Dragon Cauldron from him. The biggest reason they were able to coexist peacefully was the remaining eight Nine Star Beads. However, if they eventually discovered and obtained those eight Nine Star Beads, that would be their last resort, and that would be when their true colors would be revealed.
“Miss An, you must be very busy. You should go on your own. You don’t need to come with me. I’m just wandering around since I have nothing else to do.” Zhou Xuan felt that An Jie was very uncomfortable with him, so he told her to go do her own thing.
Anjie paused, bit her lip, blinked her pretty eyes, and then said, "My job is to accompany Mr. Zhou, as assigned by our Chairman An."
"I see..." Zhou Xuan scratched his head, looked around, and said with a wry smile, "Miss An, I'm a very easygoing person, and I feel very uncomfortable if someone is following me. Besides, a beautiful girl like you would feel even more uncomfortable with me around."
"Hmph..." An Jie spat, then snorted again, and said, "I don't believe you. You know, I already used my charm on you, but you didn't even glance at me. Who would believe your nonsense?"
Zhou Xuan felt a little embarrassed when An Jie spoke wittily, but it did bring the two of them closer, making them less distant than they had been the first two days.
Anjie continued, "To be honest, I used to think the same way, but after seeing your two female companions the day before yesterday, my confidence was completely shattered. That's what you call beautiful, isn't it? With two such beautiful girls by my side, I naturally don't care about other pretty girls anymore. So, my honey trap had absolutely no effect on Mr. Zhou."
After saying all that, Anjie asked curiously, "Mr. Zhou, I just don't understand, which of your two beautiful female companions is your real girlfriend? You can't possibly have both of them, can you?"
Anjie found it quite strange. In her observations over the past two days, Zhou Xuan's relationships with these two exceptionally beautiful girls were peculiar. Wei Xiaoyu clearly liked Zhou Xuan, while Zhou Xuan seemed only interested in Fu Ying, who in turn paid little attention to him. Both girls possessed an air of extreme nobility, suggesting they came from prestigious families. This seemingly ordinary Zhou Xuan was actually quite extraordinary.
Anjie felt increasingly mysterious about Zhou Xuan, unable to figure out what charm this young man possessed. Her boss, on the other hand, was clearly more interested in this young man. Having been his assistant for so long, she had never seen An Guoqing show such attention to anyone before.
An Jie completely ignored Zhou Xuan's wishes and insisted on following him, saying it was An Guoqing's rule that if Zhou Xuan wanted her fired, he should let her go back. Zhou Xuan smiled bitterly and acquiesced.
Anjie excitedly took Zhou Xuan for a stroll, but Zhou Xuan lost interest. Anjie skipped around like a little girl. After visiting several supermarkets, she took Zhou Xuan to a famous snack street in Fengshan to eat.
Zhou Xuan was quite satisfied with An Jie's intelligence. Despite her girlish habits, An Jie was actually very selective in what she did. Zhou Xuan didn't like lavish banquets, but he was very interested in local delicacies and specialties.
After enjoying the local snacks, Anjie took Zhou Xuan to a cold drink shop for ice cream and cold drinks. Zhou Xuan was a little helpless, but she still went along with her. Unexpectedly, this girl was not afraid of gaining weight and ate a lot.
While eating her ice cream, Anjie looked at Zhou Xuan and said, "You look so strange. You're so young, yet you're as rigid and composed as an old man. Girls don't like that."
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly, not answering her question. What other girls did he need to like? Having Yingying in his life was enough. All his efforts were for Yingying. These past few days, the thought of not being able to be with Yingying in the future, of living without her, caused his heart to ache like it was being torn apart.
"Hmm, let me guess," Anjie blinked, then said, "That Miss Wei, she seems to like you a lot, but you don't like her. And you like Miss Fu, but she doesn't seem to pay much attention to you. But what I don't understand is, if she doesn't like you, why is she still with you? I really can't figure it out."
Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, "Miss An, is this all you think about all day? What do you do at work?"
Anjie replied nonchalantly, "I work for my boss. I'm responsible for everything concerning him, big or small. And right now, our boss's most important thing is you, Mr. Zhou, so my job is simply to serve you well."
He paused, then continued, "I work as a secretary. The most important thing for a secretary is to have keen observation skills. You have to understand what the boss is thinking as soon as possible and solve the problem for him. Otherwise, you're not competent. What I've been training in is figuring out what the boss is thinking. After a while, I can understand other people's actions and thoughts at a glance. However, Mr. Zhou is someone I don't understand."
Zhou Xuan just chuckled. He wasn't bored with An Jie, but he didn't want to talk to her too much. This girl was too smart. If he wasn't careful, she would see through him. Obviously, she was sent by An Guoqing to monitor him. Of course, monitoring might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the main purpose was to prevent Zhou Xuan from suddenly changing his mind and leaving. Secondly, An Jie was sharp-eyed and discerning, and she might discover some of his secrets over time.
Seeing that Zhou Xuan was being cautious, An Jie didn't press him further. Instead, she changed the subject, bringing up his relationships with Wei Xiaoyu and Fu Ying: "Mr. Zhou, hehe, can you tell me, which one do you like more, Miss Wei or Fu Ying? If it were me..."
With that, Anjie sighed and said softly, "If it were me, I would choose one openly and one secretly. I couldn't bear to part with either of these two peerless beauties."
Zhou Xuan couldn't help but chuckle. An Jie was clearly teasing him on purpose, speaking in his tone. He smiled and said, "Nothing is perfect, just like the moon has its phases. How can things in this world be as you imagine them to be? Haven't you heard the saying, 'You can't have your cake and eat it too'?"
“That’s it,” Anjie said with a smile. “Mr. Zhou, you do want to, but these two ladies are both extremely proud and naturally can’t tolerate each other. However, I have a way, Mr. Zhou. Would you like to ask me about this way?”
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "I don't want to."
Anjie was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected Zhou Xuan to answer her so readily without even thinking. It seemed her assessment had been wrong.
"Mr. Zhou, you don't seem to want both of these beauties? Which one do you prefer? Can you tell me?" Anjie asked curiously.
Zhou Xuan didn't want to say more, but An Jie's words made him feel uncomfortable. After thinking for a moment, he replied in a low voice, "Don't talk about these things anymore. I can tell you, I won't love anyone but Miss Fu."