Volume 2 – Bloom of the Other Shore Flower, Chapter 9: The Lamplight under the Cover of Night
The young man gritted his teeth, “Don’t fret! It’s not like I can’t bear to lose something miniscule like this! “Blackfang” will be delivered to you tomorrow, and I’ll even throw in five specially-made origin bullets!”
“Thanks a lot, then.” The man left the box seat right after saying this, silently exiting the place.
The young man stood in front of the window and looked at Qianye, his gaze growing colder by the second.
Liu Zifan had also walked down the stage.
Wiping off the bloodstains on his mouth, he walked right up to Qianye, not bothering to disguise the naked killing intent in his eyes as he spoke coldly, “What impressive military combat techniques. I never thought that you’d actually be a true expert. Someone like you, selling his life for a mere hooligan is indeed surprising. However, kid, today’s event isn’t over yet. How about a round of real bloody fight?”
Qianye’s eyebrows crooked up a little. “Sore about losing?”
Liu Zifan’s anger surged and he called out in a low voice. “Virtual battles are but child’s play! Completely different from that of a life-and-death battle! Why, you scared? Or are you saying you’re a pretty boy that can’t stand the sight of blood?”
Faced with such naked provocation, he didn’t expect that Qianye would suddenly smile, saying, “Indeed, I can’t stand the sight of blood.”
Having spoken, Qianye walked to Sir Zhao’s side, his eyes slightly drooping downwards, ignoring Liu Zifan.
While Sir Zhao gestured towards Min’er, “Come here.”
Min’er bit her lip as she spoke in a low voice, “I…”
“You are from Lighthouse Town so you’re one of mine. Come!” Sir Zhao mildly said.
Just as Min’er was about to leave, a knife suddenly appeared at her neck, and the hand that held it was one of Tiger Yan’s hired thugs.
Sir Zhao glared at that thug and coldly said, “I will count to three. If you don’t put that blade down, then don’t think about leaving here alive!”
That thug’s face turned ashen and white, and finally set down the knife with trembling hands after shivering for a while. Tiger Yan’s days of power were evidently over, and what awaited him if he continued following Tiger Yan would only be a dead end.
Sir Zhao smiled. “Not bad, you’re rather smart, and obedient too. I like smart and obedient people. Come here, from now on, you are part of my gang!”
That thug immediately ran over, repeatedly bowing, “Thank you, Sir Zhao!”
Min’er hesitated for a moment, then walked over as well.
Sir Zhao threw her a piece of clothing. “I like to be thorough in everything I do. Even if they make a mistake, as long as they’re one of my people and are willing to return, then they’ll still be one of mine. I, Zhao, will never abandon any of my brothers! Come, let’s go home!”
But Liu Zifan walked over, blocking Qianye’s way with his arm while speaking in a overcast voice, “Want to leave? Don’t dream about it! Speak your origins clearly! No one’s allowed to play me like this!”
Sir Zhao wrinkled his brows. “Instructor Liu …”
Sir Zhao was still in the middle of his sentence, but Liu Zifan interrupted him with nary a bit of respect, “F*ck off! This is a matter of the expeditionary army, who do you think you are, trying to butt in?”
Sir Zhao’s face paled and turned green. He, at the very most, was only the gang leader of a small town, and in Blackflow City, he could merely be considered a second-rate. How could he contend with the colossus of expeditionary army? Liu Zifan, despite being a military instructor with no real power, was still someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
This wasn’t saying anything about how much face Liu Zifan personally had, but rather it involved the dignity of the expeditionary army. Every officer of the expeditionary army acted without any qualms out here. If it were not for the fact that Qianye’s skill in the military martial arts were so excellent, so much so that the possibility of him having learnt it stealthily by chance without permission was absolutely nil, which evidently showed that he was related to the Empire’s military, Liu Zifan even had the thought to directly shoot him dead.
Qianye looked at Liu Zifan, then smiled, saying, “You really intend to push this matter?”
Liu Zifan’s face sunk, and he coldly replied, “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, if this matter really blows up to the point that we go to the commander of the expeditionary army, of course nothing good will await us. However, do you really think that you’ll end up any better than I would?”
Liu Zifan’s eyes narrowed, and he laughed coldly. “I don’t understand what you are saying!”
“Then I’ll make myself clearer! You’ve already lost in a virtual battle, but instead you’re being such a sore loser in front of so many people, even daring to say that a virtual battle is just a child’s game! Even if the dignity of the expeditionary army hasn’t been completely tarnished by you, would all of the big shots in the army who gained their fame via virtual combat let you off? The Empire’s military has always placed great emphasis on its dignity, so if word of this kind of matter make their way to the senior official’s ears, how will you be dealt with? From what I see, you’ll most likely be directly thrown into the barracks of cannon fodders!”
Liu Zifan expression fluctuated in an exaggerated manner, and, with a hmph, spoke slowly, “You indeed understand the expeditionary army very well. I’m even more curious about you now.”
Qianye replied without much feelings in his tone, “It seems that you’re far too free, no wonder your combat techniques are so subpar. Curiosity kills the cat, you know.”
After he finished speaking, Qianye no longer minded Liu Zifan, and pushing Sir Zhao from the back, they walked out together.
“Qianye, will it be alright?” Sir Zhao’s voice was full of concern.
“I’ll be fine.”
They had just walked out of the underground arena, when suddenly a youth walked over from the side, mildly asking, “Your name’s Qianye? What’s your surname?”
“I have no surname,” answered Qianye.
His body intuitively tensed up when the the youth approached within ten meters of him. This was a reaction against formidable opponents. This youth’s strength was unexpectedly great, and was definitely not just a simple rank two Fighter.
The youth smiled. “I am Qi Yue. You’re pretty good. Even I was fooled and lost a big sum because of that, and I am not amused by it. In Blackflow City, if I, Qi Yue, am not in a good mood, then someone’s day is about to be very unfortunate. However, you are different! You can become my follower, then I’ll be in a good mood.”
Qianye frowned a little, “I’ll… consider it.”
“Sure, but don’t take too long. I don’t have much of a patience.” Qi Yue didn’t keep nagging either, and turned to leave right away.
Sir Zhao’s face went dark, and then he sighed. “I’m sorry, I got you involved. You should seriously consider his suggestion, I heard… this Sir Qi, although he’s hard to get along with, he’s rather good to his own subordinates. If you follow him, you might even get an origin firearm.”
“Leave that for the future, let’s go back for now. I’d rather not trek over a hundred kilometers on foot,” said Qianye.
Sir Zhao patted Qianye’s shoulder, and boarded the vehicle first. Right after, the two vehicles started on their return journey roaring with noise.
When Qianye returned to the Red Spider Lily, it was already nine in the evening. Once he got back to the bar, he immediately rushed into the bedroom, pouring out a pill from the medicine bottle and immediately swallowed it. Then, his face began to flush with a strange shade of captivating redness.
That was a type of nerve relaxant, which could help ease the various kinds of suffering caused by addictions to drugs. Qianye used it to ease the pain caused by the resurgence of the blood of darkness, as it also had some effect on that.
However, this medicine could only relieve the symptoms and not the cause. The symptoms when the blood of darkness flared up still grew increasingly severe. Furthermore, such medicine was very hard to obtain; in order to obtain some, Sir Zhao even had to rely on his connections.
Once the feeling of thirst subsided, Qianye shook the medicine bottle, and the loose rattling sound inside indicated that there were only a few pills left. This implied that before Sir Zhao could get the new batch of medicine in, he would have to entirely rely on himself to resist against the blood of darkness for an entire week.
Qianye let out a long breath, sat down cross-legged, then began to cultivate the Combatant Formula again. The pain of origin tides during cultivation could also let him temporarily forget the thirst for blood.
The wasteland at night was not at all peaceful, and the blood-colored full moon still hung high in the sky, painting the whole wasteland in a rich, dark red. This time around, the Crimson Moon had lasted an especially long time, but the people were already numb to it. Whether the gate of darkness opens or not, before the wilted thumb of death pressed onto one’s neck, life had to go on as usual.
In the wasteland, several wandering wolves of the night seemed to have felt something, their ears shot up as they growled uneasily. Suddenly, they all turned about and swiftly fled far away.
Under the curtain of night, a black silhouette flitted across the wastelands like the wind.
It was a slim and graceful figure, and behind her, were ten-odd black shadows in hot pursuit. As they sped through, they split apart in a fan formation to flank her, clearly intent on surrounding her.
One party was chasing and the other was running. Under the light of the blood moon, if there was someone of Champion rank strength around, they would be able to see that there were threads of dark red ripples linking the two parties.
The silhouette at the front suddenly stopped and then turned around to pounce!
The eerie moonlight illuminated an incredibly beautiful woman, her pale, white face giving her an air of mystery. Her pupils suddenly turned as clear as a red ruby, and each reflected one of her pursuers’ silhouettes!
Those two pursuers suddenly froze where they were, completely unable to move!
The young woman swept past them like a flash of lightning, and with a wave of her hands, she cut apart their throats with ease. Blood immediately began to spray out for several meters like a fountain!
She looked at another two of her pursuers. As their silhouettes were fully captured within her eyes, the two of them were, just as before, fully immobilized, fixed where they were. With that, their throats were slashed open.
“Shit! It’s the night of the Blood Moon now, she’s too strong!”
“We aren’t her match right now!”
“Retreat first, not like she can escape anyway.”
The pursuers slowed down, and one of them who seemed to be their leader called out, “Nighteye! You’ve already been struck by our Blood Shackles, it’s impossible for you to get away! Give up and come back with us, then you might at least have the chance to defend yourself in front of the elders!”
The woman named Nighteye coldly laughed, “Want me to just give up? Dream on! Even if I did want to explain myself in front of the Elders, that would be after I kill you, and those behind you!”
That leader didn’t get angry. “With the Blood Shackles, both your and our powers have all been suppressed below rank five. We’re already in the area of influence of the humans, so if you continue on, you should already know the consequences! By tomorrow, Lord Wilde will have made it here, then you won’t have a chance either.”
Nighteye scoffed, coldly saying, “That’ll have to wait until Wilde is here.”
That leader seemed to have made up his mind before he spoke in a low voice, “Lady Nighteye, those who are pursuing you are not limited to us, there are also… other sacred blood races.”
Nighteye’s gaze frosted, and her killing intent surged as she said frigidly, “You guys actually allied with those dirty feral wolves?”
The leader did not deny it and sighed, before he spoke “You should know what the consequences will be once you’ve been discovered by them. Those werewolves are not under our control. How about you just come back with us?”
Nighteye coldly laughed. “I will never compromise with anyone who would work together with werewolf. If you still won’t leave, then I won’t hold back anymore!”
The lead gritted his teeth, and with a wave of his hand, he signalled to them. “Let’s go!”
The ten-odd pursuers that were fortunate enough to still be alive slowly retreated backwards, with their faces toward Nighteye, and melted away into the darkness.
Nighteye stood there for a while, before finally turning to leave. She began to run at full speed, and just like a black bolt of lightning, she flitted across the land, far into the distance.
Within night’s vast darkness, a glimmer of light of a lighthouse suddenly emerged.
