Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

Chapter 344: Chapter 343: You Can Keep Her to Play With

"Estelle? Erin?"

That evening, Gu Zhao went to pick the two girls up from work after spending the day shopping for the New Year. Hearing the names, he asked, "So someone really did come looking for you two?"

Jiang Shishi pointed at Xiao Ya. "They were looking for her, not us."

"They even brought up the Juilliard School of Music."

Xiao Ya sighed. "To be honest, I used to really believe that Berklee College of Music, the Juilliard School of Music, and schools like them were the hallowed halls of music, and that anyone who earned a full scholarship had to be a musical genius."

Gu Zhao smiled. "Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a musical genius."

Xiao Ya let out a helpless laugh. "I know my own limits. I love music, but my talent is ultimately limited. I’m just a little better than Shishi, that’s all."

Jiang Shishi, annoyed, started tickling her. "What do you mean, ’a little better than me’?"

Giggling, Xiao Ya dodged her attacks and said bluntly, "For the New Year’s recital, I have a guzheng solo. You only get to play your pipa as part of an ensemble."

Just then, however, Jiang Shishi stopped tickling her. Instead, she pointed out the car window and said to Gu Zhao, "Look! That’s Erin. She’s gorgeous!"

Gu Zhao looked back and saw a tall, slender blonde woman in her twenties walking out of the folk music ensemble’s building. She was, in fact, quite beautiful.

"She also invited us to go shopping with her this weekend," Xiao Ya said. "And to hang out during the New Year holiday."

Jiang Shishi looked at Gu Zhao, hesitating for a moment. "Do you think she’s a spy?"

Gu Zhao raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you and Xiaoya just say she’s the one who approached you?"

"That’s just speculation, isn’t it?"

After spending the day with her, both Jiang Shishi and Xiao Ya felt that being around Erin was like a breath of fresh air.

"She’s beautiful, has a great personality, is a talented musician, speaks Mandarin, and seems genuinely interested in and respectful of our culture." Xiao Ya sighed. "If we didn’t suspect she was specifically looking for us, we’d think we had found a friend for life."

"That’s why I’m starting to wonder if we’ve misjudged her," Jiang Shishi added, also sounding hesitant. "Being a talented musician who also speaks Mandarin... that’s no easy feat, is it?"

Xiao Ya added quietly, "So can Estelle."

Jiang Shishi: "..."

Gu Zhao burst out laughing. "Well, we can find out if she is with a single phone call."

While driving home, Gu Zhao dialed the security captain’s number.

Previously, Gu Zhao hadn’t had any direct contact with the Taoist Office. But after he learned about Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi’s situation and subsequently saved a planeload of people with the security captain, they had exchanged contact info.

"Old Li?"

"Mr. Gu!"

At the entrance of the Taoist Research Institute, the security captain was about to close the main gate when he received Gu Zhao’s call. He quickly motioned for the others to halt. "Just give the order, sir!"

Gu Zhao casually mentioned the two women. "An Estelle, and an Erin Lawrence. Do me a favor and check up on them."

The security captain was both shocked and furious. "This is a failure on our part! To think we let someone with ulterior motives get so close to the two young ladies. I’ll report this up the chain immediately. It will never happen again—"

"It’s not that serious." Gu Zhao shook his head with a smile. "They came in through legitimate channels. We’re not that fragile. I’m just asking to be sure. Let’s not wrongly accuse an innocent person."

"Yes, sir! One moment!" After Gu Zhao hung up, the security captain immediately relayed the report up his chain of command.

...

A short while later, files on Estelle and Erin were laid out on the desks of the Taoist Office staff.

"Estelle Zoe is a famous pianist from Huaqi Country. And this Erin Lawrence... she’s the daughter of the current Lawrence Clan Patriarch’s younger brother. Her status is quite distinguished."

"They aren’t the type to do dirty work, nor are they professional spies. They’re more like public-facing messengers, operating within established rules. Plus, they both have clean records."

Someone shook his head and chuckled. "And here we were, worrying that someone might make a covert move on them. Turns out the other side just contacted them through legitimate channels."

"According to intel from White Cloud Temple, the other side is likely trying to win over Taoist Yi Hong. Xiao Ya is probably a means to that end; they must think she can influence him."

"So, you mean..."

"They’re luring her with benefits," the chief agent said flatly. "At least, that’s the first step."

"Looks like they have some sense after all," a middle-aged man said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was expecting their first move to be a ’negotiation from a position of strength’."

Another person joked, "But aren’t *we* the ones operating from a position of strength right now?"

Hearing this, the room erupted in laughter.

"You have to admit, Taoist Ming Yu’s first move was earth-shattering. It certainly had a deterrent effect," said a middle-aged man, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Well, that’s a Taoist Master for you," another middle-aged man chuckled. "Always helping people see things more clearly."

"Get a message to Mr. Gu," Zheng Hongsheng said, shaking his head. "Tell him our theory. Also, let him know that we’ll be speaking with the two women soon, that it won’t affect Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi’s daily lives, and that we’d like his input on the matter."

...

Back at home, Gu Zhao received a message from the security captain.

"Hahaha!" Gu Zhao couldn’t help but laugh.

"What is it?" Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi crowded around him.

Gu Zhao shared the results of the investigation with them. "They’re not professional spies, but you are indeed their target. Or to be more precise, Xiaoya is. The ultimate target is Martial Uncle Yi Hong."

"We don’t know who’s backing Estelle, but Erin is from the Lawrence Clan," Gu Zhao said with a smile. "Well, at least she didn’t use a fake name. I guess their whole approach is to be completely open about it."

Xiao Ya retorted sarcastically, "Wow, I should really thank them for holding me in such high regard!"

Jiang Shishi giggled. "Are you going to go to the Juilliard School of Music? Once you graduate, you’ll be a world-class maestro!"

"As if!" Xiao Ya huffed. "I’m turning her down tomorrow!"

Gu Zhao nodded, still looking at the info on his phone. "They approached you through legitimate channels without any open hostility, so we can’t be too aggressive in return. Just turn down the invitation from the Juilliard School of Music. As for this Erin..."

Gu Zhao raised his eyebrows. "That’s rare. Turns out the Lawrence Clan is actually the reasonable type."

The ’reasonable type’ meant they knew when to push and when to pull. They made an effort to understand their opponents as well as themselves, and they were willing to cooperate even while they competed.

Xiao Ya leaned closer. "No wonder she speaks Mandarin."

Gu Zhao nodded and said nonchalantly, "If you don’t want to play along, we can have someone get rid of her. If you want to have some fun, you can keep her around and play."

Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi exchanged a look.

Jiang Shishi asked instinctively, "We can keep her around and play? How do we play?"

Gu Zhao raised an eyebrow, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "How do *you* want to play?"

Xiao Ya giggled, while Jiang Shishi leaped onto Gu Zhao’s lap. "This is how I want to play!"