[V6C151 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
The colonel hurriedly left because continuing this conversation would only result in his humiliation. He glared at Qianye in rage and was surprised to find that Qianye was also examining him in due seriousness.
“What the hell are you looking at?” The colonel lashed out.
Qianye said with a smile, “Nothing much, just memorizing that face of yours.”
These words were spoken calmly, but everyone understood the meaning within. Killing one another was, of course, impossible in the Li family base. However, Li Ji’s outlook didn’t look too great if they were to meet again in the wilderness or on the battlefield.
The colonel quickly turned pale, and he gripped his handgun even tighter as he hurried away. Judging from the direction, however, he seemed to be headed straight for the main camp, clearly to call upon the second elder.
Li Weishi glanced askance at the colonel’s receding figure with obvious killing intent in his eyes. Afterward, he turned about and asked, “Have General Qianye’s contribution points been counted?”
The dumbstruck logistics officer broke into a sweat. “It’s been completed. We only need General Qianye to confirm!”
Qianye signed the booklet immediately since he had nothing to dispute after adding the insignias back into the sum.
Only at this point did Li Weishi have the time to glance at the results. The numbers there startled him to no end—it was almost as though his eyes had gone blurry.
Qianye had actually collected an inferior first-rate merit during the most recent hunt. This contribution was equal to killing a mighty marquis of the Evernight faction. Qianye naturally had no way to kill a character of such a level, but it was exactly because he had accumulated kills to such an extent that Li Weishi was even more astonished.
Li Weishi had naturally seen Qianye’s information and remembered quite well that the latter had accumulated a second-rate merit during the bloody battle. That was already a terrifying number, yet this time, he had harvested a first-rate merit in less than a month!
The man was clear as to what this meant—it was nothing short of a one-sided slaughter. It could be said that the iron curtain battle had exaggerated the accomplishments of those geniuses who were unmatched among their peers. However, there was no such advantage in the Misty Wood.
At the thought of this, Li Weishi’s back was drenched in cold sweat. He felt relieved that he had acted quickly just now and handled things decisively. Otherwise, even the defensive forces of this base wouldn’t be able to capture him if they had broken out in hostilities. Qianye would definitely be able to break out of the encirclement and the situation thereafter would be unsalvageable. Moreover, none of this was taking into account his complicated background.
Li Weishi’s attitude became even more polite after seeing direct proof of Qianye’s combat strength. Under his supervision, the entire registration process was completed smoothly. The crowd nearby also dispersed gradually since there was nothing more to see. There were, however, a few who stayed behind in an attempt to rope Qianye into their combat squads.
That box wasn’t merely proof of Qianye’s contributions. It was also a testimony of Qianye’s ferocity in harvesting accomplishments. Any group capable of recruiting him would likely be undefeatable on the rankings.
Soon, someone came forth through the crowd and said, “General Qianye, would you be interested in joining our Yuanyin Lu Family? Although our Lu family is only a lower rank aristocratic family, we’re willing to support you with the entire strength of our family. Anything is negotiable as long as you can help us take first place on the rankings! Moreover, our family has a pair of sisters only sixteen years of age and at the prime of their youth. We can offer them to you. Eh? General, don’t go… General!”
Li Weishi acted promptly and dragged Qianye out of the crowd.
Qianye noticed at this point that he had misjudged Li Weishi. This branch family member appeared fairly mediocre and his origin power seemed have reached the end of its potential, however, its purity was far above the standard.
Even those at the same level would be easily pushed to the side with a light nudge. In terms of purity, the man was already comparable to people at Zhao Jundu’s level.
Li Weishi ran about with Qianye in tow and finally managed to escape the aristocratic families. The man panted a couple of times after reaching a quiet place and said with a wry smile, “Brother Qianye, our Li family has indeed wronged you this time. Please don’t take it to heart. How about this? You go back and rest first, and I’ll bring the things to you personally at night. Additionally, I’d also like to drink with you as an apology.”
Qianye said with a smile, “It’s nothing major. I’d bet the second elder ordered him to cause trouble for me.”
Li Weishi sighed indignantly. “Li Tianquan’s branch is acting unscrupulously in their quest for power! Now that things have escalated to this point, I won’t let them go so easily. The matter today has harmed our Li family’s clean reputation. If I can manipulate things correctly, I might be able to kick Li Tianquan back to the family.”
Qianye shook his head. “No rush, I have a bet with the second elder. If I can take the first place on the rankings, both the Stillwater Rebirth and Cloud Pearl will be mine.”
Li Weishi said with a nod, “I heard about that too. Li Tianquan was so intent on driving you away that he has made this matter rather well-known. He hopes, by doing this, to prove how arrogant and ignorant you are. Heh, heh, Qianye, you don’t need to take a bet made in anger so seriously!” At this point, he seemed to recall something all of a sudden. “Y-You… don’t tell me you’re seriously going for the top rank?”
Qianye only smiled.
Li Weishi was somewhat stunned, and his intended response trailed off into an awkward laugh. Although he had lost a fair bit of authority after Li Tianquan’s arrival, something as major as the contribution rankings couldn’t be hidden from him.
The contributions Qianye had brought back were indeed significant, so much so that he was a large margin ahead of the others. There were some squads that still hadn’t returned just yet, but most of the others were already back for supplies, including two of the Li clan’s units. The contributions these people had submitted were a far cry from Qianye’s—it was already quite good if they could squeeze out a second-rate merit.
However, these complete squads were at least several dozens strong. How could the contributions harvested by entire squads be less than Qianye alone?
The deadline was forty days away, but Qianye could go back to do battle all the same. If his performance was just as crazy on his next return…
Li Weishi trembled. He didn’t dare continue the thought, but the possibility still emerged in his mind.
Could it be that Qianye would really take the first place on the boards?
The notion was indeed outrageous. Even a slim chance was shocking because one had to know that Qianye was but a single person.
Li Weishi maintained his smile as he accompanied Qianye to his residence. After which, he left with many thoughts in his mind.
At dusk, Li Weishi arrived as promised with a heavy box of ammunition in tow. He was also accompanied by a number of other aristocratic family members.
One could tell from his expression that he wasn’t that willing to bring these people over, yet it seemed he couldn’t refuse them outright, either. Those people had come to buy dark race weapons from Qianye. They had witnessed the ruckus at the exchange area during the daytime and naturally realized that Qianye had only turned in proof of contribution and no weapons.
Seeing as how he could bring out so many insignias, it was quite likely that he would have some high-grade goods in hand, no matter how difficult they were to carry.
After hearing of their intentions, Qianye brought out a number of daggers without hesitation. Among them were two Umbral Edges, three vampiric blades, and a knife—all of them were more or less equal in quality.
The guests were fairly satisfied since the items were fairly high-grade despite the small number. Moreover, they were good items of vampire and demonkin make. It was reasonable that Qianye couldn’t carry too many weapons back on his own. These people didn’t linger around after the deal was struck and promptly excused themselves after reaching an agreement regarding future purchases.
Qianye gained a small fortune after selling the weapons, with tens of thousands of gold coins in his wallet. Li Weishi had wanted to speak when Qianye promised to give these people priority in selling dark race weapons, but he chose to remain silent after recalling the two Umbral Edges.
Qianye was quite satisfied with how appropriate Li Weishi was in his behavior, and the two exchanged some basic pleasantries before Qianye saw the man out.
Qianye didn’t remain in the base for very long. He didn’t even stay the night before leaving the base and once again vanishing into the Misty Wood.
It was deep into the night, but the lights in Li Tianquan’s office were still glowing brightly. He was pacing about in his room amidst the fragments of torn paper and shattered chinaware. He had shattered several of his beloved porcelain items in a fit of anger.
However, this did little to reduce the fury in his heart. If anything, the heartache intensified his wrath even more.
That colonel called Li Ji was from his wife’s branch of the clan and the two lineages were closely related. This person was usually quite handy, but he had failed so bad this time and actually stirred up such a big fuss.
The Li family’s contribution rankings were under great scrutiny this time as it involved the Storm Pearl and Stillwater Rebirth. Who would dare play tricks under such a situation? His promise with Qianye was already pushing it.
Yet, this Li Ji had actually attempted to cross off Qianye’s contributions. The man had likely acted after observing Li Tianquan’s intentions, and it could be considered his merit if done in a clever manner. However, things would be practically unsalvageable if they were blown out of proportions.
Speaking frankly, it was also because of Qianye’s shocking accomplishments. If the Li family dared bully such an expert today, there was no telling which aristocratic family they would take advantage of tomorrow. Although it was a fact that the Li family didn’t think much of the other nobility, this wasn’t something one could just put out in the open.
These aristocratic families shared complicated relationships due to their marital and lineal relationships. It wasn’t difficult at all for them to spread the word about this matter. At that time, public clamor would override the truth, and there was no telling how much of these rumors would reach the clan lord’s ears.
At the thought of this, Li Tianquan secretly rejoiced about Li Weishi’s appropriate handling of the matter. Otherwise, if the two sides were to break into a fight, their Li family’s reputation would hit rock bottom even if they could successfully capture Qianye. At that point, his status as second elder would’ve reached the end.
Li Tianquan was both relieved and furious. He snorted loudly and exclaimed, “This little animal again!”
He became increasingly furious as he thought about it. “How dare this Qianye be so bold as to cause such a clamor? Does he think Li Tianquan is so easily taken advantage of?”
“Men.”
Li Tianquan had regained his calm and was back behind the desk when the timid clerk walked in. “Clean up this place and bring those people over.”
The young clerk’s face went slightly pale. She was apparently quite apprehensive as she reconfirmed the order. “D-Do you mean those people?”
