Volume 5 – A Distance Within Reach, Chapter 32: Disaster
Qianye nodded immediately. “No problem. But Evernight is quite far from the Far East Province and moving troops over there isn’t very practical. How about I go with you? The enemies there are also dark race forces anyway. It’s not much of a difference.”
Wei Potian shook his head and said, “No, this problem is bigger than a battle. There’s no longer a problem with the war situation over at Far East Province. The cold wave for this year came early, and the ice will only melt away next spring. So, there won’t be any large-scale movements for either party. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the time to visit you.”
“So what exactly is the problem?”
“You’ll know very soon!” Wei Potian laughed craftily.
Qianye suddenly felt a bad premonition come over him. It seemed this problem wasn’t related to life and death, but might be even more serious than life and death.
Not having seen each other for a long time, they discussed their recent situations over wine that night.
Wei Potian’s topics were all about his battles and how he had been beaten black and blue by those dark race viscounts. He had no qualms about these awkward incidents and was, on the contrary, laughing with great satisfaction.
Qianye could only shake his head as he recalled the first time he had met Wei Potian back at Xiangyang City. Although that was only a number years ago, it felt as if an entire lifetime had passed in between.
Qianye still maintained a basic level of reservation regarding Wei Potian—he only told the latter that he had met Zhao Jundu and that he might be related to the Zhao clan. Moreover, he was still uncertain what exactly had happened that year, and there really was no way to confirm.
Wei Potian didn’t pursue the matter. As someone born of aristocracy, he knew very well that there were countless scandals within those big residences that could never be brought out into the light. The Zhao clan had lost a child for no reason, and now they want to recognize him after ten years. One would know there was something wrong with this even if they used their knee to think.
As such, Wei Potian only patted Qianye’s shoulder—he told the latter to remember that he had a brother in him and that there would always be a foothold for Qianye as long as he was alive.
Qianye was somewhat moved, but he had no intention to drag his friend down.
Wei Potian and Song Zining weren’t the same. Song Zining knew almost everything there was to know about him and was also part of one of the most important periods of his life. When Zhao Jundu had threatened Song Zining back then, Qianye suddenly realized that anyone investigating his past would definitely draw out Song Zining. Temporarily disregarding the matter regarding Red Scorpion, Yellow Springs was just sitting there perfectly fine.
Qianye wasn’t willing to see his personal matters affect his friends. However, he had no proper way to deal with this and could only hope to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Additionally, Wei Potian wasn’t as flexible as Song Zining and might not be able to hold back on certain things. It was for the best that he knew a bit less.
Afterward, Wei Potian asked about that heavy sword East Peak which had left him with some lingering fear.
Unexpectedly, Wei Potian was immediately infuriated. He slapped on the table and began to curse Song Zining for actually pushing Qianye onto a life and death arena.
“I knew from a single glance that sissy is no good! You can’t have a friend like him!” Wei Potian’s eyes were red from the alcohol as he reached such a verdict.
Qianye rubbed his buzzing ears and could only laugh wryly.
Song Zining actually had no intention to fight for a successor’s position. Hence, there was no need for him to try too hard both in the martial and strategic assessments. Bringing Qianye to take part in the examination was, in truth, to provide him with resources. The depository, the sky-grade cultivation room, and the equipment provided to guest warriors—all of these had greatly benefited Qianye.
As for the later developments, they were completely unexpected.
But no matter how Qianye explained, Wei Potian was still like a red-eyed bull and hell-bent on cursing Song Zining. He cried out how the Song clan was blind to have ranked that gigolo second as a successor and that a destructive crisis was imminent for them.
In the end, Qianye stopped speaking. He had realized that Wei Potian was actually so drunk that his eyes were blank, and there was no way he could listen clearly to what others were saying. The angry Wei clan heir was likely moving by instinct and refused to stand down before he had cursed Song Zining to his heart’s content.
The dawn over Evernight Continent was eternally dark. However, the city had already awoken, and the brightening origin lamps on the ground had formed a contrasting belt of light against the pitch-darkness of the sky.
Wei Potian, who had been chattering away all night, had finally collapsed due to the intoxication. Meanwhile, Qianye had already sobered up.
Qianye helplessly shook his head after seeing all the empty wine bottles strewn across the ground. He summoned a number of orderlies who were on duty and had them move Wei Potian to the guest room to rest.
It seemed Wei Potian’s superior recovery had a rather comprehensive effect; he only slept for a couple of hours. He woke up before noon and immediately went to look for Qianye in high spirits.
After seeing Qinaye, Wei Potian began to denounce Song Zining once again after a short conversation. At this moment, the Wei clan’s eldest young master had completely forgotten about the absurd things that had happened last night, including how his Thousand Mountains was shattered by Qianye’s fist. But he clearly remembered each and every one of Song Zining’s evil conducts.
Qianye didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He rotated his wrists and considered if he should knock Wei Potian out with a single blow. That would at least give him enough peace and quiet to finish going through the stack of documents on the desk.
Qianye’s expression suddenly turned solemn as he walked over to the French window and looked out.
A group of black spots had appeared over the distant horizon. It was an entire fleet probably made up of dozens of airships! Moreover, they were actually traveling along the flight path toward Blackflow City.
The dozen-odd airships at the center were of different shapes and sizes—some were steady and dignified, some were swift and graceful, some were shaped like spiritual birds and deviant beasts, while others were adorned with mountain and river ink paintings.
These airships were surrounded by dozens of imperial military use gunships. Among them, the most eye-catching was the main battleship. What a powerful escort fleet! Even a duke’s inspection tour entourage wouldn’t exceed such a scale.
What kind of major character could this be? And what business could he have around Blackflow City?
At this time, the sentry on the lookout tower had already discovered the approaching massive fleet. He immediately turned pale and sounded the alarm with all his might. The sharp bugle sound indicating an imminent enemy attack resounded throughout the skies. Blackflow City hadn’t heard such a sound for several months now. Apart from the army officers, all the people on the streets broke into a commotion.
Qianye was quite calm. With his powerful vision, he could already make out the designation on the gunships at this distance. They belonged to the regular army corps stationed within imperial territory.
He had, for a brief moment, suspected whether it was Dong Qifeng’s assault, but he excluded the possibility soon afterward. The designation belonged to the third corps under the direct control of the imperial army. If Dong Qifeng and his family possessed such power, there would’ve been no need for him to build his own domain on Evernight Continent. After all, there were numerous opportunities to develop new land on the upper continents.
Qianye opened the door and was just about to summon some men when an orderly came running to report this matter. Qianye thus gave him instructions, “Inform the airship port to make preparations. The fleet will likely request to land. Don’t be overly alarmed, that’s an imperial fleet.”
There were a number of Dark Flame officers following behind the orderly. They were all relieved after hearing Qianye’s words and headed out to perform their respective duties.
Qianye did find it quite odd—a third of the Blackflow warzone borders was directly connected to dark race territory, and there weren’t any special natural resources to speak of. So why had a fleet of imperial airships arrived?
The insignias on the luxurious airships were all different. Although Qianye couldn’t identify all of them one by one, he still knew a few of them. Unexpectedly, all of them belonged to upper and middle-class aristocratic families.
Qianye suddenly recalled something. He turned back to glare at Wei Potian and said, “Don’t tell me this is your so-called ‘trouble’?”
Wei Potian scratched his head continuously and said with a mischievous laughter, “It would seem so.”
“What exactly is the matter?” Qianye frowned.
“You’ll find out very soon.” Wei Potian suddenly became embarrassed, but he refused to yield no matter what.
Qianye shot a glance at Wei Potian and then summoned one of his personal guards. “Prepare the car. We must go to the airship port.” With that, he reached out to grab Wei Potian who was planning to escape and dragged him onto the car.
Since Qianye was the current person in control of Blackflow City, he couldn’t ignore such a fleet of airships poised to fly over his head. By the time he jumped off the jeep with Wei Potian in tow, the massive fleet had already arrived in the sky above them.
Gazing from below, that primary battleship, hundreds of meters in length, appeared especially fierce and formidable. It was akin to a giant beast hovering in the air above Blackflow City’s walls. Its twenty-odd main cannons stretched out and slowly adjusted their direction toward the city below.
Qianye had just broken into a frown when he discovered a commotion break out in the air. It seemed all of those luxurious airships wanted to be the first to land and started fighting among themselves for flight paths.
But Blackflow was only a third-grade city even in Evernight Continent. Not only did the public and military share a single airship port, the landing sites could only accommodate two airships at the same time. Even so, it was idle for most of the time.
But Qianye had noticed some things. Although the military gunships were strict and orderly, the airships they were protecting seemed to have been put together temporarily with no one to command them. They began to fight for the descent and no one was willing to give way. A collision actually took place after a number of dangerous aerial maneuvers. Fortunately, the airships produced by aristocratic families were sufficiently sturdy. Otherwise, they would have probably crashed.
The main battleship finally reacted after witnessing this scene. A dozen or so experts flew out and landed on each of the airships. Qianye’s eyelids twitched for a moment—an entire group of champions!
Moments later, the chaos took a turn for the better. The airships formed a line in the air and prepared to land in sequence.
At this time, a general hovering in front of the main battleship slowly landed on the ground. His shoulder insignia indicated that he was actually a major general. Additionally, he possessed a fairly young countenance.
The general swept his gaze over the place. After seeing Wei Potian, his stern expression relaxed as he began to walk over in large strides.
He directly ignored Qianye and said to Wei Potian, “I’m Zhang Zixing of the third imperial army corps in charge of escorting the noble ladies here. Since the Wei clan heir is here, then it makes things much easier, and I can now hand over my duty.”
Wei Potian’s face turned stiff and he merely nodded.
Zhang Zixing then turned around and gestured toward the sky at which point the airships began to land in succession. First, a jade-blue-themed airship began to descend. Qianye wasn’t unfamiliar with the family’s insignia—it was the Yishui Nangong.
After the airship landed, a young girl came down the steps surrounded by a crowd. She was quite beautiful, possessing a noble temperament and a mild, charming expression. She was precisely in the most brilliant years of her life.
Zheng Zixing bowed humbly and performed a salutation usually used when interacting with nobles, “A respectful welcome to the second young miss of Marquis Ningyuan, Nangong Ling.”
Nangong Ling was followed by a large group of people consisting of a dozen-odd maids and almost a hundred guards.
She walked toward Wei Potian on her own. Then she glanced around with a smile and said in a charming manner, “Qiyang, how come you’re in such a place? Is there anything interesting here?”
Nangong Ling’s words sounded rather intimate, but Qianye could see that their relationship couldn’t be considered close. They might not even be friends. All close friends of the Wei clan heir knew very well that he preferred to be addressed by the name he had given himself.
Nangong Ling was all smiles as she chatted with Wei Potian. Her eyes lit up for a moment as she shot a glance at Qianye but then turned back to Wei Potian.
At this moment, another airship landed, and out came a lady dressed in warrior’s clothing. But it was apparent from the materials that the clothes were made by a master. She herself possessed a wonderful temperament—lively yet not fickle, heroic yet not coarse.
Zhang Zixing raised his voice yet again, “Respectful greetings to the adopted daughter of Duke Wei, the third young miss of Marquis of Highsun, Sun Kaiyan.”
“Kaiyan, you’ve also come.” Wei Potian was obviously more cordial toward the young lady who was walking over. Nangong Ling’s beautiful countenance was suddenly covered by a layer of frost.
Within moments, Zhang Zixing’s voice rang out once again. “A respectful welcome to the eldest young miss of Marquis of Righteousness, Shi Dongqi!”
At this point, Qianye had already discovered that something wasn’t right and began to edge backward quietly. He wanted to move away from Wei Potian who was the heart of this calamity.