Volume 5 – A Distance Within Reach, Chapter 74: Little Miss Trouble
Zhao Yuying shrugged at Qianye with a helpless expression. She then scuttled over toward Song Zining with a whoosh and slapped his shoulder. “Bring out a couple of leaves for me to play!”
Song Zining said proudly, “My humble self is not an entertainer.”
Zhao Yuying pinched his ear with a pow.
Song Zining continued smoothly without a change in expression, “But I’m willing to jump into water or flames as long as Miss Yuying commands it!” With that, he shot out two masses of origin power and condensed them into leaves. However, it was no longer easy for Zhao Yuying to counterattack Song Zining through these two leaves.
Zhao Yuying immediately discovered this and waved her hands in a bored manner. The leaves turned into motes of lights which gradually vanished.
Wei Potian couldn’t help but move his chair away with a snort. He was deeply familiar with this fellow’s shamelessness.
Qianye was too lazy to pay attention to these three. Comparatively, Nangong Xiaoniao was the biggest problem. Those old fogeys from Red Scorpion might arrive in Evernight to chop him up if something were to happen to the lass in his domain.
Qianye spoke after a moment of silence, “Xiaoniao.”
“Eh?!” An apparently startled Nangong Xiaoniao bounced up and knocked against the table, sending all the refreshments in front of her spilling toward Qianye.
Qianye felt helpless. He casually grabbed East Peak from beside him and, with a shake of the long sword, produced an invisible energy barrier to block the refreshments mid-air. Only afterward did he get up and hurriedly take a step back.
Nangong Xiaoniao jumped up along with the flying tableware in a bid to remedy her mistake. But she tripped over and ended up landing a square kick on the table, sending it whizzing toward Qianye.
Qianye instinctively swung his hand to block and completely shattered the tea table. However, this caused the pool of green tea to go out of control. It proceeded to pour down over his head, drenching him completely.
“Eh?!” Nangong Xiaoniao was frozen midway in the same posture—rushing forward with her hands outstretched. She could neither advance nor retreat.
Qianye didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He went inside to change into new clothes and had Lil’ Seven and Nine clean up the room before returning to Nangong Xiaoniao.
After witnessing this scene, Wei Potian and Song Zining excused themselves in quick succession. They claimed to have just remembered some things they needed to do and left this mess to Qianye without a shred of brotherly spirit. Zhao Yuying didn’t stay either. It was just that, before leaving, she made a fierce clawing gesture at Qinaye and then pointed at Nangong Xiaoniao’s chest. She then swaggered off while laughing heartily.
Nangong Xiaoniao’s face was so red that it seemed ready to drip blood, and her head hung lower and lower until it was almost buried in her own chest.
Qianye cursed the three fellows countless times in his heart, but it was all in vain.
The two of them were now alone. Qianye did his best to express his heartfelt words, “Xiaoniao, we’re fighting every day here.”
“I know.”
“That… I have to be at the front lines quite often. Moreover, my city is located close to the borders, and dark race forces appear here quite often.”
“I know.”
Qianye felt truly helpless and decided to be more direct. “It’s very dangerous here.”
“I’m not afraid of danger,” Nangong Xiaoniao replied with a fresh set of words.
Qianye laughed wryly. “But I am. If something happens to you, I’ll be cut up alive by the people from Red Scorpion.”
“That’s fine. I won’t know anything at that time.”
Nangong Xiaoniao’s words choked Qianye half-dead. He finally understood that she was here to stay no matter what. Qianye recalled, amidst his distress, that he would neither have returned early nor met Nangong Xiaoniao were it not for the sudden change in circumstances that made him give up the assault on the werewolf viscount’s territory.
But from a different perspective, if they hadn’t met here, there was no telling what kind of trouble a special character like Nangong Xiaoniao would cause if she had gone to perform an unrestrained search for him in the Darkblood City region. Zhao Yuying had secretly warned Qianye that this Nangong Xiaoniao was only gentle on the surface but was, in fact, strong and unyielding at heart. She would go all the way once she was determined to do something.
Presently, Qianye had begun to understand Wei Potian and Song Zining’s suffering. They couldn’t get anything done with such ladies of important background hanging onto them. His only hope at the moment was that Nangong Xiaoniao wouldn’t insist on following him to the front lines.
“Very well then. You’re staying at the seventh division headquarters, right? I’ll have someone move your lodgings to Dark Flame headquarters after a while. You can go about as you wish under normal circumstances, but you have to be accompanied by your guards at all times. You must notify me in advance if you want to leave the city.”
Xiaoniao’s large eyes were filled with delight as she nodded with all her might.
“Then it’s settled.” Qianye got up and saw Nangong Xiaoniao out.
The Red Scorpion soldiers shifted their gaze toward Qianye at the same time, immediately putting him under great pressure. At this point, anyone with eyes could see that the lass’ so-called field trip to Darkblood City was just a pretense, and that she was here to find Qianye. Hence, all the Red Scorpion warriors were curious—just how outstanding was this person to be able to make the darling of their corps travel thousands of kilometers just to find him.
Afterward, Qianye spent the entire afternoon handling official matters. Dark Flame officers, both the ones stationed here and those who had returned with him, were filing in and out of the office like flowing water. The city defenses needed to be rearranged since the third army corps was about to leave. This was of utmost importance because Blackflow City was his foundation. Now that there was an untouchable special character like the little rookie here, there was no longer any room for even the slightest bit of failures.
Wei Potian came to see him at dinner time. He was scheduled to leave the morning after tomorrow. Song Zining and Zhao Yuying also arrived after a while. Qianye instructed the kitchen to produce a sumptuous feast since it could also be considered a farewell dinner for Wei Potian.
Everyone had just sat down when a high-spirited Zhao Yuying immediately asked, “How was it? Have you touched it? It’s quite big, right?”
Qianye glared at her. “Touch my a*s! The only thing big about her is the trouble.”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s obvious that she’ll be yours sooner or later. You should just sleep first and talk later. Isn’t that right, Zining?”
Song Zining only smiled without paying her any heed and said, “Qianye, you need to think this through. Are you really going to shelter Nangong Xiaoniao here? I suggest you send her back.”
Zhao Yuying was immediately displeased. “I like that lass a lot. Why must we send her back?”
Song Zining replied calmly, “Leaving her here is equal to going against the Nangong family. Yuying, you’re naturally unafraid since you have the Zhao clan and Duke You behind you. But what does Qianye have?”
Zhao Yuying was even more annoyed and said furiously, “You think this mommy here needs to rely on the clan?”
But, for the first time, Zhao Yuying felt a spell of diffidence under Song Zining’s sharp gaze. She naturally understood that it wasn’t her who had forced Nangong Ling to leave in disgrace today, but Duke You, Zhao Xuanji.
Qianye asked, “What exactly is the problem between her and the Nangong family?”
Actually, both Wei Potian and Song Zining had heard of this matter, but Zhao Yuying was familiar with Nangong Xiaoniao and understood more. She immediately waved her hands and said, “An utter mess! That’s what!”
“The ancestor of her family originally belonged to the eldest lineal branch. But it’s said that they later committed a grave offense and nearly caused the Nangong family to be demoted. This resulted in their entire branch being expelled from the direct line of descent. They remained in the clan but were considered a side branch. Thereafter, the situation deteriorated quickly. At her grandfather’s generation, a certain elder set his eyes on her family’s estate. He found a reason to drive the entire branch out and then devoured their family property.”
Such incidents existed in every clan, but it was a different feeling when the implicated party was someone close. For no reason at all, Qianye suddenly recalled his own childhood at the junkyard. Perhaps, to a certain extent, he could be considered a victim of clan conflict.
Zhao Yuying continued, “It’s fine if things ended there. Xiaoniao’s family struggled to survive and wanted only to live an ordinary civilian life. Unexpectedly, a certain elder from the clan fancied Xiaoniao after she grew up and entered her room one night to force himself upon her. Goddammit, Xiaoniao was only twelve at the time!”
“Which bastard is it?” Wei Potian was furious. This kind of conduct was too despicable! It made one feel great contempt.
Zhao Yuying replied, “That bastard is Nangong Ling’s father, Nangong Yuanbo. Nangong Xiaoniao’s father was also a genius warrior and possessed outstanding cultivation. It was just that he had always kept a low profile. That night, he attacked in anger—to save Nangong Xiaoniao, he killed all of Nangong Yuanbo’s guards and gravely injured the man. However, he was also irreversibly injured and passed away soon after.”
At this time, Song Zining said, “Back then, it was reported that Nangong Yuanbo had fallen ill and he nearly lost his successor’s position. He recovered only after several years of recuperation. So this turns out to be the case.”
Wei Potian shot Song Zining a glance. “I also heard that Nangong Yuanbo relied on the Song clan to hang on to his clan lord position.”
Song Zining’s expression was indifferent. “He paid a great price, and the Song clan has already maintained a relationship with his branch for three or four generations. Having Nangong Yuanbo at the clan lord’s position is better for the Song clan than having a more powerful stranger there. Will your Wei clan have done differently in our place?”
Wei Potian was immediately at a loss for words.
Zhao Yuying sighed. “Near the end of his life, Xiaoniao’s father entrusted his daughter to a good friend of his, a retired general from Red Scorpion. And thus Xiaoniao joined the corps.”
Song Zining said, “Nangong Yuanbo is petty-minded and extremely vengeful. Under present circumstances, he won’t dare do anything to Nangong Xiaoniao in the open. but he will definitely take it out on you if he discovers that you’re somehow related to her. Must you offend an aristocratic family for a total stranger? The Nangongs are not like the Sishui Dong Family. Qianye, you must think this through.”
Zhao Yuying suddenly stood up and said angrily, “Xiaoniao is my friend. You might not dare to offend the Nangongs, but I’m not afraid.”
This time, Song Zining showed not the slightest sign of fear and faced Zhao Yuying’s killer glare with due calmness. “You’re not afraid of offending the Nangongs. Wei Potian and I aren’t either. But it’s not the same for Qianye.”
Qianye shook his head and said calmly, “Zining, no need to say further. I’ve thought this matter through. Let her stay.”
Song Zining’s expression shifted. “Qianye...”
Qianye raised his hand and stopped Song Zining’s words. “Rest assured, I won’t do things forcefully. I’ll have Red Scorpion send her back if things take a turn for the worse. In any case, they’ve also dispatched people to accompany her. As for Nangong Yuanbo, if he really decides to take it out on me for this, then let him come. Us brothers are still young—we still have ample time to make him regret.”
Wei Potian’s blood was immediately sent boiling. He shot up and said loudly, “Well said! The first thing this daddy will do after assuming command of the Wei clan is raise an army to beat up that old brat!”
Song Zining shot him a sidelong glance and said coldly, “The Far East Wei Clan and the Yishui Nangong Clan are not even on the same continent. Raise an army? Where are you going to do that?”
The empire wasn’t free of civil war, but most of them were conflicts between adjacent territories. Not to mention that the imperial family and army wouldn’t allow him to do as he pleased, first he had to find a way to move the massive force through the territories of other nobles.
Wei Potian replied in anger, “This daddy will go alone, alright?!”
“Then you won’t ever return, idiot!”
“Shut up!” Qianye roared, unable to endure any longer, and finally managed to silence the two.