The awesome seventh young n.o.ble had always been known for his scheming and his proficiency in divination, someone who could become the next Lin Xitang. Who would’ve thought he would be tricked by Bai Kongzhao and a group of mercenaries in this barbarian land? Twice!
Bai Kongzhao’s trick wasn’t worth a dime, nothing more than street-rat trickery. The ones in front would attract the target’s attention while another person grabs his bag and runs away. This was a scene taking place in every small town throughout the empire.
It was just that the one being robbed here was the Song seventh young master, and the stolen bag contained ores he had exchanged for injuries and broken ribs.
Song Zining’s fists tightened as he watched the guffawing soldiers, and it took quite some effort to force himself away.
After calming down, Song Zining suddenly felt that something was wrong with all this. Could it be that Bai Kongzhao had spent so much effort just to rob him?
Even a child wouldn’t believe this.
Nonetheless, he had no answer to this question and there were more important things he had to do. He thus made haste toward Southern Blue.
After entering the city, the progress of construction work therein shocked him greatly. The seventh young master had observed no small number of building projects, and he knew quite well how far it should’ve come. Now that the construction had been half completed in the span of just a few days, it was equal to squeezing out a month’s worth of workdays—how was this possible?
Song Zining went to look for Qianye, to ask about the situation, but he found the office entirely empty. After asking some of the soldiers, he found that his target was at the site, knee-deep in the muddy waters of the still-excavating foundation.
Even Song Zining had to spend some effort to spot Qianye among the muddy people.
He was still clad in that set of old armor, looking no different from an ordinary, mud-covered mercenary.
“Qianye!”
Qianye gazed up to find that elegant seventh young master standing beside the foundation site.
He jumped up to the latter’s side with a resounding laugh and reached out to give him a hug, but a frantic Song Zining stopped him with his folding fan. “Stay away!”
Only then did Qianye remember that he was drenched in dirty water. The fussy Song Zining might actually flip out if he were to hug him.
“I’ll go and wash myself.”
“No need!” With a tap of his folding fan, wisps of fine rain appeared around Qianye and washed him perfectly clean within moments.
After doing all of that, Song Zining asked with an incredulous expression, “How come you’re doing such work?”
Qianye played it down, saying, “Someone has to do it, and I’m free, anyway. Look, all of them are working together with me.”
Song Zining looked over to find Frost Wolf and several other leaders among the mud men. With these people at the lead, no wonder the construction work was progressing at such a rate.
After returning to the study, Song Zining asked, “Are you okay?”
Qianye smiled radiantly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Song Zining sighed lightly. “Look at yourself, and you’re saying you’re okay? Let it be, I know I can’t persuade you, just be strong.”
The brilliant smile on Qianye’s face was replaced by a calm gentleness. “There’s nothing bad about this, I’ve gotten used to it. I just had to do it, at the very least… I’ll have a clear conscience.”
Song Zining snorted. “Do you really have a clear conscience?”
Qianye said after a while of deliberation, “I gave it a lot of thought, this is the best way.”
Song Zining frowned. “How long do you plan to stay tangled up in this?”
“I’m not tangled up in anything.” Qianye broke into a laugh, hoping to divert the topic.
Song Zining, however, wasn’t going to let him do that. “I mean how long are you going to keep up this kind of relations.h.i.+p with her?”
Qianye remained silent for a moment. “I promised to help her ascend the Sacred Mountain.”
Song Zining finally shot up from his seat. He roared while pointing at Qianye’s nose, “That’s not a dream, that’s just wild imagination! She’ll be the end of you sooner or later. At that time, do you think we’ll be able to watch with arms folded? You’ll drag everyone to their ends!”
Qianye laughed wryly. “It’s not that serious.”
Song Zining replied coldly, “You think I’m joking?”
Qianye stood up, placed a hand on Song Zining’s shoulder, and dragged him out of the study. “Enough, let’s not talk about this for now. It’s a long way off, anyway. I see you’re full of injuries and fractures, you have to spill all the misery you went through and make me happy.”
Song Zining was astonished. “Qianye, you’ve learned bad things!”
Nonetheless, Qianye’s arm was like a steel hoop around him, almost immobilizing and lifting him off his feet. The great seventh young master was thus dragged out toward the tavern.
The pub was empty at the moment, and the owner shut its doors after the two arrived, preventing other people from disturbing them.
They were actually each full of their own worries, so a pile of empty bottles quickly appeared around them.
Song Zining was already quite tipsy. “Qianye, you’ve become bad. Who did you l-learn all of this from?”
Qianye smiled. “I’m hanging out with these mercenaries day in day out. Of course, I learn some things from them. Actually, they’re quite interesting after some time.”
Qianye said to the maid who had come to clear away the empty bottles, “Bring ten more bottles.” He then gave her a light slap on the b.u.t.t.
The maid was all smiles as she made to sit down on Qianye’s lap, but he gently pushed her away. “Get the wine first.”
The girl glared at him resentfully before leaving to get the alcohol.
Qianye said to Song Zining, “See? You don’t need to worry about me.”
Song Zining snorted disdainfully. “Ha! Let it be. You can also drop the act now. You might be able to lie to other people, but not me. You’ll probably run away if the girl wanted to get into your bed.”
Qianye chuckled. “I’m a man with family.”
Song Zining almost sprayed out the alcohol. “Tell that to Nighteye if you dare.”
“There’s no need to disturb her for such a minor matter.” Qianye had turned somewhat shameless after interacting with mercenaries for some time.
As clever as he was, even the seventh young master had no way to deal with thick-skinned people. He said with a glare, “Sigh, let it be. I can understand your mood right now, you must’ve closed yourself off. It was the same for me back in the year…”
Qianye’s eyes lit up with interest. “Speak! Make me happy!”
Song Zining was furious. “Not telling, what can you do? I just have to stifle you to death!”
Qianye rubbed his chin pensively. “Don’t tell me you liked Zhang Jing?”
“Who?” Song Zining was somewhat puzzled.
“Zhang Jing, our Yellow Springs instructor.”
Song Zining almost sprayed out his drink once again. “Why her?”
Qianye said thoughtfully, “You were stripped, beaten up, and put up on display for an entire day. Hedonistic young masters like you will usually remember that person constantly until you can do the same back to her.”
This time, Song Zining could hold back no longer. He sprayed out a mouthful of alcohol and asked furiously, “Who told you this nonsense?”
“Tianqing.”
“... Fine.” This name suppressed the anger in Song Seven’s heart.
The two of them kept drinking at a brisk pace. The maid went back and forth several times, seemingly disappointed at Qianye’s lack of follow up.
“Bai Kongzhao is also in the neutral lands,” Song Zining said.
“I know, I’ve met her twice already.”
“You fought her?” Song Zining was somewhat astonished. Fighting Bai Kongzhao was a fairly dangerous thing to do, regardless of how superior one’s cultivation was over her.
“No, she forked out half her loot and left.”
“Wait, you mean…” Song Zining couldn’t believe his ears.
“Both times.”
The seventh young master was overcome by the urge to curse loudly. The young girl had yielded half her spoils to Qianye but actually set up a trap to rob him, depriving him of the fruits of his hard labor. The loss wasn’t an issue, but the girl’s relative disdain for Song Zining was just too evident.
She might not have succeeded if she had wanted to ambush and kill Song Zining. The seventh young master was also a peak expert in terms of true combat strength. However, Song Zining had no way to sense her if all she wanted was his backpack and purse. By the time he had come to, it was already too late.
Song Zining had been feeling rather troubled by this problem.
The two gradually became drunk. Even Qianye was feeling dizzy and distracted, let alone Song Zining—he was fairly close to being comatose.
The latter placed a hand on Qianye’s shoulder, saying, “Qianye, if someone no longer wants something, do you know how you can make them desire it once more?”
“How?”
Song Zining smiled mysteriously. “Easy, you just need someone who’ll fight her for it.”
“What are you saying, exactly?” Qianye was puzzled.
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
The night went by quickly, and soon, the seventh young master saw a blinding light.
He couldn’t help but cover his eyes and peek out from between his fingers. What he saw was a sea of people—people pointing and gossiping while glancing over at his nether regions. Beside him was a familiar yet elegant woman, one whose plump bosom was the unignorable desire of many a male.
Yellow Springs, Zhang Jing!
Shocked out of his wits, Song Zining sat up violently, hoping to see if he had been hung up buck naked.
Only then did he realize that he was sleeping in his room, well-clothed. The sun was s.h.i.+ning in through the curtain gaps and right onto his face.
Song Zining heaved a sigh of relief. His s.h.i.+rt was drenched in sweat, and he felt lightheaded and weak. It would seem this dream had given him quite the shock.
Judging from the angle of the sunlight, Song Zining knew that it was already afternoon. He remembered nothing from last night, except for the fact that he had been drinking with Qianye at the tavern. As for how he had gotten back to his bed, everything was blank.
Blacking out completely was rare for an expert of his level. He really wanted to know how much he had drunk to turn out this way.