Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! Enjoy this next chapter :)

Beta & Co-author: jeangirlmy

- Chapter Start -

Wu Xie is under no illusions as to what his strengths and weaknesses are. And more importantly, his likes and dislikes.

Exploring ancient tombs with Pang Zi, Zhang QiLing and Princess? Great!

Solving mysteries and murals and murders? Fantastic!

Running an empire? Not so much.

Pleasing stakeholders? Even less.

Managing accounts and assets and equities? Nope, nope, nope.

He prays that Wu ErBai will make a swift and complete recovery. Apart from it being a load off Wu Xie's mind, it would also allow him to go back to doing whatever he likes. Namely, nothing.

However, Wu ErBai's lawyers contact him that same day with the surprising news that Er Jing's will has been found. It bequeaths all his assets and monies to Wu Xie in the event of his death. Wu Xie whistles softly, looking from the document in his hands to the shellfish on his shoulder.

"Are you surprised, Princess? I know I am."

She pats his cheek as he wonders why. Maybe Er Jing wanted to show Wu ErBai how loyal he was. Maybe he was simply drunk at the time. Or maybe there was a time when he actually... cared.

Whatever the reason, it's still a valid and binding document. Er Jing has accumulated a small fortune over the years. Even after hiring mercenaries and buying equipment, explosives and weapons for his recent adventure to Thunder City, there's quite a bit leftover.

Wu Xie doesn't know if he can forgive him for deliberately injuring Wu ErBai, but he purchases a niche at the local columbarium for Er Jing's ashes and offers a quick prayer of thanks for the unexpected windfall.

Then he stops by a fast food outlet before making his way to the hospital.

- o -

The first person Wu Xie visits is Wu ErBai. He's sleeping soundly, but Kan Jian greets him with a wide grin.

"Laoban, thanks for coming! Er-shu just fell asleep so - ahh!" He jerks back when Princess sticks her head out of Wu Xie's jacket collar. "She's here too."

"Stay hidden, Princess. This is a hospital," Wu Xie chides before handing Kan Jian one of the many bags he's carrying. "Bought you some lunch. I'm off to see the others and will pop by again later."

"Thank you, laoban. See you later." Kan Jian gulps and clutches the bag to his chest as Princess wriggles her fingers at him.

Next, Wu Xie goes to see Jia KeZi and Li JiaLe who were also admitted for the slashes on their necks. They thank Wu Xie for their lunch, greet Princess, and promise to drop in on Pang Zi later.

Finally, Wu Xie makes his way to Pang Zi's room. Zhang QiLing is in the hallway outside Pang Zi's room door, leaning against the wall with his hands in his jeans pockets. He turns his head to smile at Wu Xie and Princess. Wu Xie smiles back while Princess waves back so enthusiastically that she almost topples off his shoulder.

"Stay hidden," Wu Xie hisses and sighs when Princess leaps to Zhang QiLing's hood and vanishes under it.

"Pang Zi has a visitor," Zhang QiLing says without batting an eye.

- o -

The visitor turns out to be PiaoPiao who's fussing with Pang Zi's blankets and smiling. There's a delicious aroma which Wu Xie suspects is coming from the thermal food jar on the bedside table.

"Sao-zi, you're here!" He greets in a louder than usual voice, chuckling when Pang Zi and PiaoPiao turn pink in unison.

"I'm working on it," Pang Zi mutters.

"It's good to see you again, Wu Xie," PiaoPiao says with a bright smile. "Where's Princess?"

"Outside with her current favourite," Wu Xie says. No, he's not rolling his eyes.

"Well, Xiao-ge did save her from a nasty fall back at the hotel." Pang Zi nods like he's not in the least bit surprised.

Traitor.

"Jiang ZiSuan saved her from Jiao's men," Wu Xie points out.

"But this is Xiao-ge, Tianzhen," Pang Zi counters. "He's special."

PiaoPiao looks from one to the other, a tiny frown pulling her delicate eyebrows together. Then the door opens a crack and a dark blue clad arm appears with Princess sitting on it. There's a whispered "Go on."

The shellfish leaps to Wu Xie's shoulder and pats his cheek as the door closes again.

"Princess!" PiaoPiao beams as the shellfish jumps to her shoulder and starts playing with her earring. "Thank you to you and Wu Xie for looking after Pang-ge."

"Hey, I was the one who looked after them," Pang Zi protests. "Ooh, is that a burger? And fries? Bring them here!"

Catching PiaoPiao's raised eyebrow, he gives a sheepish smile.

"Your braised pork trotter was delicious, PiaoPiao. But Tianzhen will be sad if i don't give him face."

PiaoPiao shakes her head and helps herself to a French fry. She passes one to Princess who holds it delicately with two fingertips... before shoving it in her mouth.

"I owe Xie YuChen one for taking care of PiaoPiao and Xiao Mei while we were at Thunder City," Pang Zi says, busily chewing. "I'll treat him to a nice hotpot dinner - no expenses spared - once I get out of here."

"Sounds good," Wu Xie says.

Sitting down, he grabs the newspaper and pretends to read it while PiaoPiao and Pang Zi have a whispered conversation. After PiaoPiao leaves to fetch Xiao Mei from school, Zhang QiLing enters the room again. Wu Xie tells them about Er Jing's unexpected good news and promises to split it equally between the three of them. Pang Zi gapes at him in shock, mouth falling open when Wu Xie discloses the amount.

"Tianzhen, that's more than half the amount needed for Xiao Mei's bone marrow transplant!" He almost upends his Coke in his excitement. "I'll try to scrape up the rest as soon as I get out of here!"

"Just split it between you two," Zhang QiLing says, passing Princess another fry. "I don't need it."

"Thank you, Xiao-ge!"

"Tell you what," Wu Xie suggests. "We'll use it to pay for Xiao Mei's operation and use what's left for our daily expenses at Wushanju. It's our home from now on. PiaoPiao and Xiao Mei's too. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Zhang QiLing says with a smile, passing Princess another fry.

"Agreed!" Pang Zi shouts, grinning from ear to ear with his eyes welling up. He flings his arms out wide. "Bring it in, you guys!"

The three of them share a long hug before stepping back. Wu Xie's eyes are wet and even Zhang QiLing's are suspiciously bright.

"I guess deep down, Er Jing still cared for you, huh, Tianzhen?" Pang Zi mutters, wiping his eyes. "After all, he watched you grow-"

He breaks off at a rustling sound coming from the packet of fries.

"Oi, leave some for me, Princess!"

- Chapter End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter :)