Qianye had just returned to his study after the meeting when Song Hui followed him in. Once inside, she said directly, “Are you planning to fight Overlord Sousa?”
Qianye was surprised. “You’re quite smart.”
“The resources you asked for are not for ordinary people. I gave it some thought and realized that Sousa is the only opponent you would need to use them on.”
Qianye asked, “What advice do you have?”
“What else? I want to stop you from going!”
“Why?”
Song Hui looked into Qianye’s eyes and said seriously, “You can’t win! Do you need a reason? Besides, you’ve done so much for the Empire all these years. And look at how they treat you? Why would you risk your life for the Empire?”
“This is for myself.”
“Is that even possible?” Perhaps noticing that she was too harsh, Song Hui softened her tone. “If you were really thinking about yourself, you wouldn’t be facing Sousa at this point. Fighting a great dark monarch is a heavenly monarch’s job. There’s no reason for them to stay their hand and let you die!”
“The heavenly monarchs have important duties. They probably can’t make it,” Qianye replied.
Song Hui scoffed. “It’s not that they can’t make it, they just don’t want to come at all! These people want to borrow Sousa’s hand to kill you. How long has it been since you sent that letter asking for help? If they wanted to come, even the Emperor would be here by now. Even I can see through their scheme, why can’t you figure it out?”
Qianye said after a moment of silence, “So what? I never hoped for too much. If I ignore the Moorland werewolves, their armies will pour into the new world undeterred. It’ll be impossible to repel them by the time they capture a couple of forests and stabilize their footing. In this accursed place, who knows when they’ll come into contact with the Empire’s rear lines? I have a lot of grievances against the Empire, but my siblings and brethren are still there. I don’t want to leave a powerful enemy force on the battlefield just because of personal problems.”
“But what about Nighteye? Isn’t she in Evernight?” Song Hui regretted saying this. She stomped her feet and said hatefully, “Whatever, I don’t care anymore!”
With that, she ran out without even looking at Qianye.
Qianye only shook his head but didn’t chase after her. Instead, he opened the window and said, “Your Elderly Grace, how come you didn’t notify us beforehand. I could’ve sent someone to receive you.”
“I can’t stay for long, so why bother with the unnecessary formalities?” The one standing outside the window was Eunuch Liu. His back was slightly bent, and like an old person, his steps were slow. He came to stand before Qianye almost as though he were standing on solid ground and not in the air.
Qianye invited the eunuch to sit. “I haven’t thanked you for saving my life in the neutral lands. I wonder what business do you have with me? I’ll do my best as long as it’s within my power.”
Eunuch Liu sized Qianye up from head to toe. The spirited glint in his eyes erupted in a flash of lightning that filled the room. All of a sudden, Qianye felt as though he had been seen through entirely, that there were no secrets left to hide. Reflexively, he soared into the air and used his luminous wings to protect himself and block Eunuch Liu’s vision.
This was a momentary reaction. Qianye soon noticed that something wasn’t quite right, but he didn’t retract his wings, either. “Eunuch Liu, what is your intention?”
The eunuch remained seated. The gleam in his eyes receded as he said, “This old servant was tasked with helping you with something, and to do that, I need to understand your strength.”
Now that his suspicions had been cleared, Qianye retracted his wings and sat down once again. There was no change in his expression, but auric flame blood surged throughout his body. He was ready to attack at a moment’s notice.
Eunuch Liu sighed as though he hadn’t noticed anything. “A peerless talent as expected! Sigh, our generation is indeed getting old.”
He glanced at Qianye. “The Pointer Monarch’s gun barrel, Heartgrave, is still with you, right?”
Back then, Song Zining had sent Heartgrave back to the Empire for assembly, and Zhao Jundu had also used it to slay the incoming sword-bearers in Whitetown. The weapon caused quite a commotion since then. Add to that the widespread fame of the Martyr’s Palace, relevant people from all levels of society knew that Qianye had received the Pointer Monarch’s inheritance.
Qianye nodded and passed Heartgrave to Eunuch Liu.
The old man’s murky eyes lit up somewhat as he caressed the weapon that had gone beyond grade-nine. “This gun barrel has a long story behind it. Who would’ve thought it would land in your hands after so many years. You have quite a long story yourself. Looking at you feels like looking at the elder prince when he was young.”
Qianye replied, “How can I ever compare to the elder prince?”
Eunuch Liu scoffed. “He didn’t have your accomplishments when he was your age. Sigh, heroes must be born for the upcoming chaos. Your group is indeed much stronger than us old men.”
Qianye had yet to come up with a reply when Eunuch Liu twisted his hands. With a loud crack, the body of Heartgrave was twisted into pieces!
Qianye was stunned as he looked at the falling components of the rifle. He didn’t use Heartgrave that often, but it was still a top-grade weapon in his arsenal. It was even a level higher than East Peak. Eunuch Liu had destroyed it for some reason, but looking at his carefree expression, it didn’t seem like he had evil intentions.
Eunuch Liu brushed off the shattered components, leaving only the smooth gun barrel in his hands. Only then did he say in satisfaction, “A bright pearl covered in dust, this is much better.”
He then produced a gun body, from which Qianye could feel deep pressure assaulting his senses. There was an inexplicable murderous will in the body, an intent that seemed to look down on all living beings.
Just from the aura, it was obvious that this gun body was extraordinary.
Eunuch Liu said, “This gun is called Dragonspring, once wielded by the Martial Emperor himself. Despite the damage, it can still be considered one of the strongest weapons.”
“You mean…”
“Dragonspring and Heartgrave make for a perfect match.”
“But this gun has to be a priceless treasure. What price do I have to pay for it?”
Eunuch Liu said, “You said it just now, your family and brethren are all in the Empire. The regard you have for the nation is sufficient compensation. But I’ll need some materials in order to affix the two weapons. I heard you managed to get your hands on some stony metal from the holy tree lake, bring me some.”
Qianye retrieved a few pieces from Andruil’s space. The ones he had kept in hand were naturally of the best quality. They were more or less recovered from the six-armed general’s throne.
Eunuch Liu’s eyes lit up immediately upon seeing them. “Priceless treasures! Truly priceless treasures!”
“You can take these if you like them, Eunuch Liu.” Qianye had a lot more of these rocks in Andruil’s space. The six-armed generals possessed gigantic bodies, so their thrones were naturally big as well.
Eunuch Liu hesitated for a bit. “I have some family members in the secular world. This ore possesses special qualities, perfect to forge them some familial weapons to pass down through the generations. I thank you for this gift, Sire Qianye.”
Qianye replied hurriedly, “There’s no need, Eunuch Liu. I’ll never forget how you saved my life back in the neutral lands, these material objects are far from enough to pay you back.”
Eunuch Liu sighed. “Humans ultimately can’t get rid of worries and attachments. It just gets worse as one grows old. I had never thought much about my family when I was following the previous Emperor into battle everywhere. Now that I’m old, I feel a bit ashamed of my negligence. I don’t have much hope for them, but it’s enough if they can hold onto their position as a low-ranking aristocratic family.”
The topic reminded Qianye of a certain matter. “Eunuch Liu, my adoptive father had never mentioned anything about his family when he was alive. How are they doing now that he’s gone?”
“The Lin is a military aristocratic family, but they have always occupied a low-ranking status. They rose higher after producing a genius like Xitang. Even though the marshal never sought any benefits for his family, other people would always treat them favorably on his account. But Xitang left too early, before the family could gain a steady foothold. As I see it, they’ll be demoted to a mid-rank in less than three years.”
“What are they lacking? Territory or contributions?”
“Xitang’s contributions keep them afloat. That won’t be enough in the end, but people won’t talk about it for at least a decade. Xitang was the Emperor’s teacher, and His Majesty treats him with the utmost respect. He most certainly will not stand by and watch as the Lin family declines. But some people have found various reasons to freeze the lands that should’ve been granted to him when he received the duke-title. Currently, the Lin family is sporting the title of a high-ranking aristocratic family, but their foundations are no different from when they started out.”
Eunuch Liu said emotionally, “The previous Emperor granted Xitang the marquis title too early. In order to appease the masses, he never gave him the corresponding land. He must’ve felt that it was just a matter of time considering all the contributions Xitang was making. Later on, things became… difficult in the Imperial court. Xitang never fought for his rights, either.”
A cold gleam flickered in his eyes. “Who’s so bold as to do this? Shall I go and reason with them?”
Eunuch Liu glanced at Qianye. “You’re already quite aggressive at such a young age, but there’s really not much you can do with your current abilities. Even I might not be your opponent after a couple of years, but you’re no longer a citizen of the Empire. To be precise, you’re not even a human. It won’t be appropriate for you to go knocking on their doors to reason with them. Additionally, those people have a good reason to take over the land.”
“What reason?”
“There are four territories promised to the Lin family, two on the Western Continent and two on Transcendent. The latter lands aren’t big, but they are certainly quite bountiful and fertile. But the continent was overrun by the invading beasts, and even now, there are still pockets of beast activity that hadn’t been cleared away. Every family on Transcendent has to take responsibility for losing land. The Lin family’s lands there were ravaged beyond recognition. As for the Western Continent, their territories are located at the borders and would have to face the attack of the dark races. No one in the Lin family is willing to go there and take up this responsibility. Hence, there’s no way to access those lands.”
Qianye was stunned. “No one is willing?”
Eunuch Liu looked up at Qianye. “Of course. Not everyone graduated from Yellow Springs, not everyone is used to killing and fighting since a young age. To most people, the best life involves peaceful days and not making the family worry about them. Fighting at the borders could get you killed any day.”
Qianye pondered for a while. “If the Lin family’s descendants aren’t willing to go to the Western Continent, I can help them guard the lands there.”
Eunuch Liu shook his head. “You can help them for a while but not forever.”
Qianye frowned as he had no good response.
If it was just as Eunuch Liu had said, the Lin family neither possessed the land nor resources that were fitting of the title, and the family had not produced any talented youths. It would seem the Lin family—rather than their willingness—did not have the power to guard their territory. This wasn’t a problem a couple of experts could solve.
It was just like the Highland Song Clan—there were no capable people in two generations, which ended up in a great collapse in the third. Even a genius like Song Zining didn’t have much sway over the overall situation.
