106: Chapter 106 Father's Innocence in Disguise, Night Owl's Reputation Suffers Another Blow

The bedroom door opened.

Su Jianguo braced himself against the wall with one hand while pressing his other hand firmly against his lower back, shuffling out one step at a time.

He wasn't faking it this time; he was genuinely holding his waist.

He forced a smile that said, "I'm fine, I'm great, I'm still the head of the household," but his entire being radiated the exhaustion of someone who had just undergone a massive memory recovery procedure.

Su Yun sat at the dining table, his chopsticks pausing.

"Dad."

Su Jianguo shrank his neck.

"What is it?"

His scalp tingled whenever he heard this kid call him Dad.

Nothing good ever came out of that mouth.

Su Yun's tone was extremely sincere.

"Did you suffer a work-related injury while discussing business?"

Su Jianguo nearly choked on his breath right there.

Lin Wanqing walked out of the kitchen carrying a soup tureen.

"His business acumen is strong."

She set the porcelain basin heavily on the table.

"And he's enthusiastic, too."

Su Jianguo's legs went weak, and he nearly slid down the table leg.

Su Qing had been holding it in for a long time.

She just ate plain rice, her peripheral vision constantly darting toward Su Jianguo's waist.

"Dad."

Su Jianguo shuddered.

"What is it now?"

Su Qing leaned over, which was rare for her.

"Since your back is like this, are you still going to the company tomorrow?"

His own daughter.

Su Jianguo felt his nose sting.

Although this "little padded jacket" of his was usually drafty and her math grades were a constant insult to nine-year compulsory education, she was still on her father's side when it mattered.

He was just about to say something kind.

Su Qing pointed with her chopsticks.

"Why don't you ask Mom for leave? Don't host that foreign female client anymore."

Su Jianguo was struck dumb.

It was over.

Su Yun picked up his bowl to drink some soup.

There weren't many ingredients in it, but it went well with the rice.

Lin Wanqing picked up a clump of greens with her chopsticks and tossed it into Su Qing's bowl.

"Eat your food."

Su Qing poked at her rice grains.

"I'm just concerned about family stability."

Su Jianguo's face twitched.

You're throwing water into a frying pan.

Su Chen and Su Yao didn't come home today.

Su Yun glanced at the two empty seats.

"Is Big Brother working overtime again?"

"Mm," Lin Wanqing replied.

Su Yun continued to pick up some braised pork.

"His cross-border aquatic business is quite busy."

No one else in this house knew yet except for him.

The so-called cross-border aquatic boss was actually the official top wanted criminal, Bai Cang.

Su Jianguo might find out soon, as Bai Cang was now his long-lost older brother.

Su Qing chewed the meat vigorously.

She had suffered one setback after another all day long.

During math tutoring, her teacher had severely criticized her for drawing function graphs that looked like watermelons.

When she got home, she was mocked by Su Yun, who said the cancellation of foreign language studies was just changing a death sentence to life imprisonment.

Now she could only rely on consuming massive amounts of carbohydrates to restore her dignity.

The LCD TV on the wall was playing the evening news.

"Due to the adjustment in foreign language policy, small-scale spiritual energy anomaly events triggered by academic pressure occurred in some parts of our city today. They have currently been swiftly quelled by the Investigation Bureau and the Sanctuary Arbiter."

"Experts are calling on citizens to view policy changes rationally. At the same time, we remind the public that if you discover suspected anomalous items repeating vocabulary words, playing listening Materials, or forcibly grading essays, please stay away immediately and contact the police."

The TV screen showed the charred remains of several Strange Tales on the side of the street.

A yellow warning sign was stuck next to them.

[Temporary repairs, do not approach.]

Su Yun chuckled. He was very familiar with this sign.

Arbiter Qin Feng had been carrying the same one that afternoon.

Arbiter Lei Zhen smashed a Strange Tale that was reciting words with a lightning bolt, then turned around and told passersby it was a leaking street lamp.

So this excuse had already been promoted citywide.

Su Qing swallowed the rice ball in her mouth.

"These Strange Tales are too weak; there's zero challenge."

Su Jianguo hurriedly chimed in.

"That's right, Strange Tales these days really aren't as good as the previous generation."

After saying this, he buried his head into his bowl.

Lin Wanqing cast a sidelong glance at him.

"You know a lot about it?"

Su Jianguo's wrist trembled.

"I watch a lot of news."

Su Qing put down her chopsticks.

"Dad is right about that. An anomaly like today's is at most C-Class; any A-Class could sweep it away easily."

Su Yun looked at her.

"You know about this too?"

"Of course I know!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Qing realized her mistake.

She couldn't let her Dark Blade identity slip.

She forced herself to swallow her words.

"I saw it in an analysis by netizens on the local forum!"

"Which netizen?"

Su Qing widened her eyes.

"What's it to you?"

Su Yun nodded repeatedly.

"Got it, it's that wanted netizen, Dark Blade, again."

"Su Yun!"

Lin Wanqing tapped her wooden chopsticks against the table.

Su Qing immediately straightened her posture.

She was terrified that her mother would suddenly say, "I bought you a few sets of new test papers."

Even an S-Class Strange Tale would have to tutor her on quadratic functions.

The TV screen cut back to the studio.

"Next, we have an international news flash."

Su Jianguo had just been relieved that the interrogation was over, but the next second, he heard that life-threatening name.

"Queen of Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth, arrived in Linhai City half an hour ago for a private visit."

Clatter.

Su Jianguo's chopsticks fell onto his feet.

The three people at the table looked up in unison.

Lin Wanqing slowed down her soup drinking.

On the TV, a red carpet was laid out.

Queen Elizabeth was wearing a deep black haute couture gown, accompanied by Princess Evelyn and several foreign Awakened.

The Queen faced the cameras and microphones, smiling with great composure.

"Her Majesty the Queen reiterated that she will cooperate with the Great Xia authorities regarding the Abyss crisis. Furthermore, Her Majesty specifically emphasized that the legendary Great Xia Awakened, 'Night Owl,' is absolutely not a traitor. She stated that she is willing to guarantee Night Owl's loyalty with the national honor of Great Britain and looks forward to reuniting with this old friend in Linhai."

Su Jianguo went completely rigid.

On the screen, Queen Elizabeth tilted her head and smiled at the camera, full of provocation.

"Pfft!!"

Su Jianguo spat out a mouthful of white rice.

Su Qing jumped up, clutching her bowl.

"Dad, what are you doing!"

Su Jianguo coughed until his face turned bright red.

What kind of bullshit national honor guarantee?

Who was reuniting with her as an old friend!

This foreign woman almost cornered him at the entrance of a public restroom on the commercial street today!

Nearing middle age, his reputation was completely ruined by this woman's mouth.

Lin Wanqing pulled out a tissue and meticulously wiped the grease stains off the table.

"What an impudent woman."

Su Jianguo broke into a cold sweat.

"Honey, it's international news; there's always some sensational exaggeration…"

"Did I ask you?"

Su Jianguo obediently shut his mouth.

"No."

Su Qing sat back down.

"This Night Owl is also an old scumbag. He's already getting on in years and is still flirting around; no wonder he's wanted. Even if he didn't betray the country, he's still a morally corrupt old geezer."

Su Jianguo's blood pressure shot straight to his head.

His own daughter really knew how to deliver a fatal blow.

Yet he couldn't even talk back, as talking back would be equivalent to surrendering.

Su Qing was still ranting.

"He's already reached S-Class and still doesn't know how to keep himself clean. Being wanted while flirting with a Queen…"

Su Jianguo picked up a large piece of pork belly and stuffed it into her bowl.

"Eat your meat!"

Su Qing stared at the meat.

"Dad, why are you so agitated?"

"I'm teaching you to stop badmouthing those big shots behind their backs."

Su Qing pursed her lips and rolled her eyes.

"He's already an S-Class rat crossing the street; what kind of big shot is that?"

He couldn't stay here anymore.

He couldn't eat this meal.

Su Yun swallowed the rib in his mouth.

"I actually think this Uncle Night Owl is quite charming."

Su Jianguo's eyes widened like copper bells.

What kind of mischief was this kid thinking of again?

"To be able to make a Queen of a country travel thousands of miles to publicly claim him. This must be a deeply unforgettable and peerless romance."

Su Jianguo's jaw muscles bulged.

Lin Wanqing turned toward the TV.

"Unforgettable?"

"Think about it," Su Yun added. "For a Queen to personally step in and use national honor to guarantee a wanted criminal, a normal person wouldn't do that."

Lin Wanqing's brows tightened.

The mind of this woman, Elizabeth, was never simple.

She was clearly still obsessed with Bai Cang, yet she insisted on using Night Owl's banner to spout nonsense.

Having these two names mixed together was already taboo.

The codename Night Owl had already caused enough trouble.

Lin Wanqing's gaze turned cold.

"Shameless."

Su Jianguo's forehead was almost touching the table.

Su Yun looked at his father's miserable, half-dead state and felt a bit of sympathy.

This pot that fell from the sky was indeed heavy.

He dodged investigations and became the second-in-command of the Salvation Society, took some medicine and became an S-Class defector, and went for a walk only to be put on the top of the trending searches by a foreign Queen.

Yet no one in the family except for him knew that Night Owl was sitting right at the dining table getting scolded.

Su Yun ladled another spoonful of soup.

It was really good with rice.

The phone on the table vibrated twice.

Li Hao's chain bombardment.

[Brother Yun, look at the group chat! The sky is falling!]

[Something really big happened this time!]

Su Yun opened the Senior Year Class 2 group chat.

The messages were scrolling like a blur.

[Holy crap! The commercial center exploded!]

[This is definitely not a leaking street lamp!]

[My uncle is at the scene! That thing is forcing people to memorize words!]

[It's pinning everyone passing by to the ground to read English!]

[A delivery uncle couldn't pronounce the vowels and was carried away foaming at the mouth on the spot!]

[Will it ever end! The country has already cancelled foreign language studies, why is it still grabbing people to work overtime!]

Below was a blurry, raw photo.

Linhai City Commercial Plaza.

A giant, black phantom of a cross was hanging upside down in mid-air.

Large amounts of pitch-black slime were seeping out from around the cross.

The slime hit the ground, twisting and reforming into hundreds of English letters.

In the center of the cross was a faceless man wearing an English-style suit, nailed to it.

His entire face was just a bloody mouth that split to his ears.

Densely packed letters were biting into his flesh.

That large mouth was opening and closing frantically.

"Abandon…"

"Listening…"