Juzi had been wandering when she encountered nefarious individuals and was rescued by Ji Yingying, who then brought her back. However, before the trials for her could even begin, Lu Jingming discovered her.
After all, the name "Juzi" held too strong a sense of déjà vu for Lu Jingming.
"Let's go," Ji Yingying nodded slightly, speaking indifferently to Juzi. Her personality was extremely cold, even somewhat ruthless. Aside from Lu Jingming's words, she paid almost no attention to anyone else.
After all, her past experiences had already transformed her into a cold killing machine, and many human emotions had gradually faded away. Lu Jingming found Ji Yingying's personality quite troublesome, but for the time being, he had no solution.
He could only hope that with the passage of time, through long-term subtle influence, Ji Yingying might slowly change.
Although Ji Yingying's attitude was cold, perhaps due to her having saved Juzi's life, Juzi trusted her more. She said nothing, simply followed closely behind Ji Yingying, and quietly departed.
Time flew by, and three days passed in an instant. During these three days, Lu Jingming did not go to find Juzi, but he also didn't let her leave.
Today was the day Zhang Lexuan and Keqing returned from their outing.
When they had departed, they traveled on an airship with a large team of over a hundred people; the scene was truly grand. But now, only three people returned.
Jingliu descended slowly with Zhang Lexuan and Keqing. The moment Zhang Lexuan saw Lu Jingming, a spark of delight flashed in her eyes.
Like a bird returning to its nest, she unhesitatingly rushed towards Lu Jingming. She stretched out her arms and hugged Lu Jingming tightly, as if afraid he might suddenly disappear, unwilling to let go for a long time.
"Sister Lexuan, long time no see. Did you miss me?" Lu Jingming asked softly, his face beaming with a warm smile.
"Mhm." Zhang Lexuan simply hummed in response, inhaling Lu Jingming's scent, replenishing her "little brother energy" that had been missing for an entire year.
"Squeak squeak squeak—"
The pink fox leaped into Keqing's arms. Perhaps because they came from the same world, the little fox was particularly close to Keqing.
"Welcome home, Teacher, Keqing!"
Lu Jingming comforted Zhang Lexuan, then looked at Jingliu, who wore her usual black eye patch, and Keqing, with her cat-eared hairstyle.
"Hmm, it seems you haven't been lazy while I was away." Feeling the aura emanating from Lu Jingming, Jingliu's lips curled into a smile.
Lu Jingming chuckled. He knew very well that in this world, strength reigned supreme. Even if he could use True Power to summon Jingliu and others as helpers, if he himself was too weak, he would become a vulnerability, and that was not what he wanted.
Moreover, to fulfill his ambitions, strength was essential. And being weaker than his own "wives," wouldn't that be like being a kept man? Though in his previous life, the doctor said his stomach wasn't good and he could only eat soft things!
To celebrate the safe return of Zhang Lexuan and the others, Lu Jingming gathered everyone in the mansion and sent out invitations to the important figures of Haiyuan City, hosting a grand banquet.
This banquet served both as a welcome home for Zhang Lexuan and the others, and as an internal social event for Haiyuan City.
As soon as the news spread, the entire Haiyuan City instantly buzzed with excitement. Nobles and merchants, upon hearing that the City Lord's Mansion was hosting a banquet, were all eager.
After all, this was a rare opportunity to strengthen ties with the City Lord's Mansion, and no one wanted to miss it. However, only a select few were eligible to attend this banquet.
Lu Jingming also intended to use this opportunity to meet these various individuals who usually only dealt with Chang Li. As a young City Lord, he had never formally appeared at such occasions before.
The banquet was held at the City Lord's Mansion's striking Sea Cliff Villa. The moment the nobles and merchants of Haiyuan City stepped into the villa, they were all astonished by the unimaginably grand architecture before their eyes.
The villa's style was distinctly different from the traditional mansions they usually resided in, blending extremely high-level soul tool technology. Every detail exuded uniqueness and luxury, giving them a tremendous visual and spiritual impact.
Amidst their amazement, they also developed a strong interest in the villa. But upon hearing that building such a villa cost hundreds of millions of gold soul coins, most people instantly recoiled.
After all, in Haiyuan City, apart from the wealthy City Lord's Mansion, no other force could easily produce such an enormous sum. Even powerful Titled Douluo wouldn't have assets of this magnitude, let alone families and sects whose strongest members were only Soul Saints.
At the banquet, Lu Jingming politely greeted each of the Soul Master families and sect representatives who arrived, but he had no intention of engaging in lengthy conversations.
This wasn't because he looked down on these people; it was simply that he wasn't good at such social maneuvering. It was clearly more suitable for Chang Li to handle these matters.
At this moment, his attention was drawn to something more interesting. Near the dessert table, two adorable little lolis were entirely focused on their "battle" with delicious desserts.
Lu Jingming watched their cute appearance, a faint smile playing on his lips, and gently pushed a strawberry cake towards them, asking softly, "Is it tasty? There's more here."
"Mhm, it's tasty, even better than Mom's. Thank you, big brother."
Two identical little lolis with smooth blue long hair answered in unison. Their crisp, soft voices seemed to possess a healing power, and Lu Jingming couldn't help but be immersed in their innocence.
"What are your names, you two?" Lu Jingming asked with a smile, looking at the two identical little lolis.Don't misunderstand; he wasn't a loli-con. It was just that these two little ones were truly extraordinary.
They looked even younger than him, yet they were already one-ring Soul Masters. Such talent, in Haiyuan City, would definitely be considered top-tier genius. Of course, if he and Zhang Lexuan and Keqing were included, that would be another matter.
"I'm Lan Susu, and I'm the older sister," the little loli whose blue bangs perfectly covered her right eye replied crisply, taking a bite of a strawberry in her hand.
"I'm Lan Luoluo, and I'm the younger sister, but I was only born one minute after my sister," the other little loli, whose blue bangs covered her left eye, added immediately, deliberately emphasizing that she was only born one minute later.
It wasn't hard to tell that she felt a tiny bit of unfairness about being stuck as the younger sister for just that one minute. Hearing her sister's words,Lan Susu raised her little head with some pride.