Volume 5 – A Distance Within Reach, Chapter 42: A Meeting Doth Not an Acquaintance Make
Qianye had used origin power with this shout and even caused the origin power in the surrounding air to vibrate. All the noble ladies were immediately shaken—their vision dimmed and they became dizzy. For a moment, they forgot to continue their bickering. The surrounding guards were all overwhelmed, and a number of powerful experts almost charged in directly by conditioned reflex. They exchanged a few secretive looks among themselves and seemed to have become much more guarded than before.
Those who were able to become an aristocratic family guard captain were all outstanding individuals of their respective ranks—they clearly understood the implications of a fighter possessing champion-rank abilities. They were also familiar with the terrifying combat strength people like him, who drank blood from the blade’s edge, could display on the battlefield.
The eyes of many a guard lit up after noticing that Qianye had sent all the young misses into a daze, but only enough to draw all attention onto himself.
Qianye could be considered half a vampire and not many humans could surpass him in terms of external appearance.
But, at the moment, Qianye only wanted to put an end to this troublesome business as quickly as possible. As such, he waved his hand and said, “The captives will be divided equally and every family will get two airships! The price will be set according to the market price on Evernight Continent. This is final!”
Quite unexpectedly, Qianye’s impolite and tyrannical demeanor didn’t produce much backlash. Most of the noble ladies felt this wasn’t a bad outcome, and the couple of them who weren’t quite satisfied only pouted.
Qianye had settled this business with such difficulty, so how could he let them linger? He immediately pushed the troublesome group out amidst a loud commotion.
Qianye only breathed a sigh of relief after the last noble lady had left; he was actually drenched in sweat. Communicating with this group of young misses was even more tiring than the martial examination. But the good thing was that the issue regarding the captives and armaments had been completely settled. It could be considered a major problem solved.
The captives and airships were all sold at the current market price on Evernight Continent which, compared to the upper continents, was so cheap that it looked like a free gift. Those old airships, on the other hand, were much more expensive. But the price was nothing to these young misses and they didn’t have any objection either—they could even be considered to have owed Qianye a small favor.
Qianye had no way to sell all these at the market price were it not for these young misses. Spoils of war originating from the aristocracy had always been hot potatoes, and it would’ve been considered fair if he could sell them for sixty percent of the norm.
Dark Flame’s coffers were filled with tens of thousands of gold coins in the blink of an eye. Indeed, murder and arson was the true hegemonic way toward fortune.
After settling this business, Qianye began to consider matters regarding his westward campaign.
The initial path had already been decided. The present issue was to decide where to stop and how to establish a new base of operations. Qianye spent an entire afternoon alone contemplating this matter, but there were a plethora of things to consider, and he was still left with countless unsolved issues.
Establishing a permanent stronghold wasn’t as simple as building a temporary camp. A kinetic tower was an absolute necessity and that, in and of itself, was a major project. Since there was a kinetic tower, there had to be a set of facilities, relevant equipment, and people to maintain it… Qianye’s mind was crammed in the blink of an eye.
Night arrived in a flash. Qianye suddenly slapped his forehead and scolded himself for being dumb. Why would he need to fret about these things on his own? He immediately summoned a personal guard and instructed him to invite Zhao Yuying, Song Zining, and Wei Potian for dinner.
The three arrived soon afterward. It seemed all of them were quite enthusiastic about food, especially since it was Qianye’s treat.
Zhao Yuying arrived first with a large barrel of wine in tow—it was half a person’s height, and one could barely wrap his hands around it. Qianye wondered if Duke You would kick her out of the Zhao clan doors in anger if he saw her present state.
He finally understood why she wasn’t famous despite her outstanding strength. With such gangster-like behavior, she would immediately cause the Zhao clan to become a laughingstock if they brought her into the public.
But Zhao Yuying paid no heed to other people's’ opinion. She tossed the barrel onto the ground with great excitement and said while patting it, “I finally found some good stuff! I really didn’t expect to find good wine in such a poor remote city. After seeing the poverty-stricken state of your room, I’ve reckoned that you won’t have anything worth drinking. So, I went out and found some on my own.”
Qianye began to feel somewhat distressed and asked, “Dare I ask how you ‘found’ this barrel of wine?”
Zhao Yuying laughed mischievously and said, “How else but to go through every house one by one. Rest assured, no one in this rundown place will find any traces of me!”
Qianye muttered “just as I thought” in his heart. Zhao Yuying had actually stolen a barrel of wine. As for which unfortunate fellow had received such a favor from her, there was no way to find out.
Wei Potian’s boisterous laughter rang out from the door minutes after Zhao Yuying arrived. “I finally have a reason to escape those women! Qianye, this daddy won’t let you go tonight. We must go at it again, and this daddy will let you know how powerful he is! There’s no shortage of alcohol anyway!”
Zhao Yuying’s countenance turned odd. She glanced at Qianye and asked, “Is it that idiot?”
Qianye hadn’t even replied when Wei Potian cried out from outside the door, “Which bastard dares insult me? Come out here; this daddy here will beat you until you’re black and blue!”
Zhao Yuying sneered after hearing this.
Wei Potian arrived carrying two barrels of wine by himself and entered the room in large strides. Upon seeing Zhao Yuying, his mouth immediately opened wide and his jaw almost fell to the floor, unable to close it back.
“Why, why is it you?”
Zhao Yuying frowned. She sized up Wei Potian from head to toe and turned to Qianye only after a long while. “Do I know this idiot?”
“How should I know?” Qianye shrugged. He made a wise decision not to wade into these muddy waters.
Wei Potian’s expression immediately dimmed down as he said, “That… it seems we… might’ve met before.”
“Where have we met before? How come I can’t recall?” Zhao Yuying’s expression was somewhat impatient. “Hey, brat. Are you trying to pick up girls like this? Your methods are so dumb that it won’t even work on those young girls, and you’re trying to use that on me? Let me tell you honestly, this mommy here is at least three or four years older than you. So, don’t waste your breath!”
Wei Potian’s face became red and almost swollen. “That wasn’t my intention. We’ve really met before!”
Zhao Yuying clearly didn’t believe this and only sneered. It seemed she was ready to resort to violence.
Qianye hurriedly stood between the two and blocked their lines of sight. He summoned Lil’ Seven and Nine with a loud voice and had them carry the wine barrels to the dining room. Afterward, he instructed the kitchen to serve a couple of cold dishes first.
“Let’s go, let’s go, the table has been laid. Let’s eat first!”
Qianye had just distracted Zhao Yuying with great difficulty when he saw that Wei Potian was about to say something. Hence, he immediately dragged the latter away.
At this moment, Wei Potian simply couldn’t understand why she couldn’t remember him despite having spent a long time together in his sickroom back then.
Meanwhile, Qianye understood Zhao Yuying more than Wei Potian. He knew that this beauty usually had only one thing on her mind. She definitely had some other business when she ran over to the Far East Wei Clan that day, and the bedridden Wei Potian was probably no different from a piece of furniture. Naturally, she had completely forgotten.
In the eyes of the Zhao clan’s younger generation members, those with even slightly weaker strength were mere background scenery that deserved to be ignored. It was so for Zhao Yuying, the same went for Zhao Jundu, and even the seemingly gentle Zhao Junhong was no exception.
The three had just entered the dining room when numerous autumn leaves began to flutter in the room. Afterward, Song Zining’s voice rang from outside the room, “Were you guys planning to start the feast without waiting for me? Isn’t that too unethical?”
Qianye let out a cold snort. Blue ripples began to emerge from his eye as he swept through the room with his gaze, causing the falling leaves to immediately disappear. Zhao Yuying was reaching toward a leaf and hadn’t yet succeeded when it was dispersed into specks of light by Qianye’s gaze.
Only at this point did Song Zining realize that Zhao Yuying was also in the room. He immediately cried out in astonishment, “Beautiful lady, please don’t resort to violence!”
He only let out a sigh of relief after finding that Qianye had destroyed the leaves in advance. He no longer dared to play his mystifying tricks and directly jumped in through the window. The group was now full after Song Zining’s arrival, but the atmosphere had become fairly odd.
Qianye hadn’t expected the three fellows would produce such a spectacle when put together. He decisively interrupted their spark-producing staredown and said, “Let’s go! Let’s eat first!”
A steady stream of food and drinks were soon served. The four of them possessed outstanding strength as well as a similarly powerful appetite. As such, the dishes were cleaned out one by one with tempestuous momentum. Even Song Zining had discarded his elegance; he was eating quite voraciously and scrambled to grab food whenever a new plate was served.
All of them, including Qianye, knew that the feast had just begun and the curtains hadn’t yet been raised over the true battle—the three big barrels of wine were still sitting in the corner. If they didn’t take this opportunity to fill themselves up and build up a foundation, they would definitely face a tragic fate later on.
The three of them wiped out an entire ten portions of food before they felt remotely satisfied. Almost at the same time, everyone put down their chopsticks and glanced at each other with overflowing killing intent.
Wei Potian was completely fearless, or it could also be said that he didn’t know life from death. He laughed loudly and said, “What’s the meaning of food without wine? Come, let’s drink a bit.”
Zhao Yuying sneered, “A bit? Naturally, we shan't return until we’re drunk!”
Song Zining carefully put away his expensive fan and said calmly, “Since everyone is so refined and elegant, then I shall face the peril without fear.”
Qianye was speechless. He stole a glance at the three barrels of wine and felt his confidence waning.
Everyone here was intelligent—even the Wei clan heir was much smarter than ordinary people when he wasn’t overexcited. All three of them sensed Qianye’s lack of confidence and immediately began to pour the wine. Within moments, four big mugs of wine had been placed before each of them.
Fragrance rushed at their noses as soon as the alcohol was poured. Qianye’s forehead began to sweat—all three large barrels were actually full of strong alcohol. Additionally, it was the richest type of aged wine.
Qianye asked while wiping his brow, “Why don’t we ask the kitchen for a couple more dishes?”
“We’ve more or less eaten enough. Empty the cup first and we’ll talk!” Wei Potian raised his head and drained the container in one go.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Zhao Yuying praised and also emptied her own cup.
Song Zining drank in small but unceasing mouthfuls and also emptied his share within moments.
Only Qianye was left staring blankly at his cup. Moments later, he made a firm resolution and emptied it with great ferocity.
Qianye’s face immediately flushed red as the cup of aged wine entered his stomach.
“Very good! This is satisfying! One more round!” Wei Potian simply stood up, held the barrel in his arms, and began filling everyone’s cups.