Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Edited by Aelryinth
While the beastmasters in this area had settled down and were about to have their dinner, Zhang Che stood on a mountain a dozen or so kilometers away, waiting for the Purple Crystal Tortoise to dig into the mountain and create a safe place for him to rest for the night.
Looking over the lands from high up, the beastmasters’ tents could be seen separated into groups, making for an impressive scene.
The young beastmaster they encountered earlier must have hated the Black Locust Tree Hall to the bones. He actually drew so many people here!
Regrettably, if that beastmaster was to learn of the situation here, heavens knew if he would vomit blood from anger.
In his original plan, he hoped to see a huge conflict between the Black Locust Tree Hall and the masses, and a great battle between them leading to the deaths of many. Alas, none of that happened.
The men from the Black Locust Tree Hall weren’t silly. Even though deep down in their hearts they wanted to have sole control over the mountain range and enjoy the benefits of all the storage-type exotic beasts for themselves, naturally they would give up on their original plans and share them with the others when they saw so many beastmasters coming here.
In any case, the Nirvana Snakes weren’t easy to hunt. Without certain organizational strength, the disunified crowd wouldn’t be able to steal too many Nirvana Snakes from their hands.
Moreover, the Black Locust Tree Hall’s main objective this time was the rarer Nirvana Snake Kings. Having successfully hunted one of them already, things would only become easier for them later on.
The only regrettable thing was that the sky had already turned dark.
Even though the Black Locust Tree Hall had sent many men here, they didn’t dare take action at night either.
First, it was truly too dangerous in the depths of the beast world. If anything happened that led to the loss of their men, it would be really not worth it.
Second, there was no good source of illumination at night. It was almost impossible to rely on torches to find the sly Nirvana Snake Kings…
——-
As time passed, darkness gradually shrouded the lands. Zhang Che was in the cave the Purple Crystal Tortoise dug out, enjoying his dinner peacefully.
At the safety zone in this beast world, three beastmasters recalled their respective subdued beasts and crossed the spatial gateway, returning to Mercury.
Although the three were companions, each of their complexions were off, as if there was an argument between them.
Among the three, a muscular man with thick brows and big eyes was looking at a young man with an extremely high hairline. He asked with furrowed brow, warning the latter, “Are you dead set on going to tip off the Zhen family?”
“Have you forgot about that scene? More than twenty beastmasters were wiped out at almost the same time. Will that man be a simple character? Sure, you will obtain huge prizes if you go tell on him to the Zhen family, but you might also offend another powerful faction! Have you thought about that?”
The remaining man at the side with a chubby face tried persuading him as well, “That’s right, Second Brother. Big Brother is right. These matters are something people like us without strength or influence cannot get involved with, or endless troubles will haunt us!”
The young man known as Second Brother smiled in reply. “Really, the more experienced you get, the more cowardly you become, Big Brother, Third Brother. I don’t understand what are you so worried about. If we tell this information to the Zhen family, we’ll obtain huge rewards right away. As for that beastmaster, would he know we’re the ones who snitched on him? For the sake of their own face, the Zhen family will surely ensure our safety.”
The other two were at a loss for words. The thickly browed man thought for a moment and kept trying to persuade him, saying, “But you saw the situation earlier, too. The Zhen family’s men were trying to snatch that person’s prey, and were killed instead because of their own weakness. If we go tell on him, aren’t we disregarding what’s right and wrong?”
The young man scoffed mockingly. He shook his head, replying, “Big Brother, what age are we in now? Why are you still so pedantic? Are you sure that if the Zhen family’s men were the first to discover the exotic beast, that beastmaster wouldn’t try to snatch it for himself?”
Seeing his two brothers unable to retort to him, the young man continued, “So, there’s no such thing as justice or not in this time and age. Everything is for the sake of benefits. If we go inform the Zhen family about this, we’re not going against justice, either. We’re only looking out for our own welfare.”
Seeing as he was unable to convince his brothers, and being afraid that he’d get convinced instead if they continued arguing about this matter, the thickly browed man could only sigh helplessly and say, “Since it’s like that, you go on your own. Third Brother and I won’t get involved in this.”
“Fine, I don’t want you to say that I’m dragging you guys down with me, either.” The young man was blinded by the great rewards dangling right before his eyes. He smiled coldly, “Since it’s like this, we’ll split up here. I’ll go to the Zhen family on my own, and you guys can go wherever you want.”
After saying that, he walked out of the military camp located at the spatial gateway with quick steps, leaving the two behind exchanging glances with one another, not knowing what to say.
“Big Brother, what should we do?”
The chubby man was at a loss. Such a huge rift was born between them all because of a matter unrelated to themselves, leaving him confused.
“What should we do? Let him be. Whether it’s a blessing or a calamity depends on his fortune. Such matters are not something shrimps like us can get involved in,” the muscled man answered with furrowed brow. Shaking his head, he too, started walking out of the camp.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man in military uniform with the rank of Colonel appeared in their path, asking with a faint smile, “You two, can I have a little bit of your time?”
The two’s faces changed all of a sudden, realizing that this man had overheard their conversation.
-But, there was clearly no one within a few dozen meters of them earlier. Could this man be…-
Thinking up until this point, the two’s complexion turned even darker.
This meant that this colonel in front of them was a high-tier beastmaster. His physique was altered with soul force, and his five senses were far better than ordinary people, which was why he overheard their suppressed conversation.
However, the muscled man was still hoping things weren’t the way he thought. He squeezed out a smile and asked, “Sir, we didn’t break any of the rules here, did we?”
The colonel chuckled, saying, “Of course you didn’t break any of the camp’s rules. But, I’m pretty interested in what you guys were talking about earlier. Can you elaborate on that please?”
The two brothers exchanged looks with one another with bitter smiles, and could only follow the colonel into the camp at the side.
—
“What? You’re saying the beastmaster who killed the Zhen family’s men was riding on a blue dragon?”
The face of the colonel, who originally only wanted to learn about the Zhen family’s misfortune for amusement, suddenly changed greatly after hearing what they said. He no longer paid any heed to the two and quickly stood up and left.
“Big Brother, we seem to have really gotten into big trouble…”
The two exchanged looks with one another, garnering a glimpse of something from the colonel’s reaction.
Without a doubt, the beastmaster who killed members of the Zhen family was related to this colonel, and their relationship wasn’t shallow.
” Ai, we’re probably not in much trouble, but Second Brother surely is,” the muscled man sighed. He wanted to open up his personal terminal and tell his second brother to come back immediately, but being in the military camp, he didn’t dare to do so, afraid that the colonel might misunderstand.
After the colonel walked out, he immediately got someone to look for that beastmaster, but the latter was already nowhere to be found. He probably rushed off in a hurry to the Zhen family to inform them of the news, flying on an aerial beast and heading to their nearest gathering point.
-Damn it, it’s already been half an hour. It’s impossible to catch up to him now. I can only inform General about this and ask for his opinion.- Thinking up until here, the colonel quickly returned to his office with a grave expression. He took out his encrypted communication device and dialed a number.
——
At the Huang family’s ancestral house in Bei Du City, Huang Juyun, who had just entered his study to take care of his work, suddenly creased his brow. He heard hurried footsteps from outside. His adjutant officer came rushing in with an anxious look, holding an encrypted communication device.
“General, an urgent call from Colonel Che Shirong.”
“Che Shirong? What matter could it be at this time? Did something unusual happen in the beast world on his side?” Huang Juyun received the encrypted communication device from his adjutant with furrowed brows. After hearing a couple of sentences, his face suddenly changed and he exclaimed, “What?! Are you sure?”
By the time Che Shirong relayed the entire story, Huang Juyun’s complexion had turned extremely ugly.
“Alright, I understand. Get a hold of those two first. Their safety has to be guaranteed! Mhm. Alright, that’s it for now.”
After ending the call, Huang Juyun paced back and forth in his study with a grave expression, his hands held behind his back, mumbling to himself, “Xiaoche is too careless! Why didn’t he notice there were others around? This can’t do, I definitely can’t wait around and let the Zhen family take the initiative. I have to go interrogate them!”
However, after thinking for a bit, he shook his head and directly exited his study, walking towards the back courtyard.
After a short while, Grandpa Huang’s vigorous voice resounded in the back courtyard. “What’s there to be afraid of? Since that brat from the Zhen family dared to snatch Xiaoche’s prey, he’s only reaping what he sowed! I’ll see if the Zhen family has the face to bite back!”
“Father, it’s not like you don’t know that Old Man Zhen. He had always been protective of his own. Regardless of who is in the right or wrong, Xiaoche killed his grandson. I’m afraid it won’t be easy to put the matter to rest,”
Huang Juyun’s concerns were interrupted by Grandpa Huang, “Heh, Old Man Zhen protects his own people, but is this Old Man Huang a pushover? Don’t worry, you don’t have to care about this matter. I’ll go talk to him personally later. He can lay out whatever dissatisfaction he has; am I afraid of him?”
With his father’s guarantee, Huang Juyun finally let out a sigh of relief. However, to be on the safer side of things, he took out the encrypted communication device and called a number, ordering, “Huang Hai, there’s an urgent mission. Have your group move out immediately and head to the spatial gateway at the western suburb. After entering the beast world, immediately head southeast to the Five Poisons Mountain Range’s vicinity and look for that brat Zhang Che. Keep him safe. I’ll hold you responsible if anything goes wrong!”
“Yes, sir!”
After ending the call, Huang Juyun finally relaxed.
No matter what the Zhen family was going to do, first he had to keep his people safe, and he didn’t need to be afraid of whatever moves they were going to make.
