Mu Linger pulled Ning Jing’s hand aside and continued to scream at the top of her lungs.
“AhhHHHHHH….AHH!”
She didn’t care what time it was, much less where she was. She just wanted to yell like crazy and tell the whole world that Qi gege did care about her! Qi gege’s heart had a place for her after all!
“Ning Jing, I’m the happiest person in the world!” Mu Linger cried while hugging Ning Jing’s arms. She was too excited to calm down. “Ning Jing, don’t you agree? Don’t you?”
“Yes!” Ning Jing couldn’t very well say no. Even if she did, Mu Linger wouldn’t listen.
“Ning Jing, I’m just as happy as you. You’re the happiest person in the world too!” Mu Linger laughed out loud.
Ning Jing felt helpless at first, but eventually she was infected by Mu Linger’s joy.
That’s right. The happiest thing in this world must be knowing the person you love, loves you too.
“Ning Jing, we have to leave this place alive! We must!” Mu Linger declared.
“We shall!” Ning Jing was confident.
“Say, Ning Jing...do you think Qi gege will hug me once he finds me? A nice, tight hug?” Mu Linger asked.
“He will,” Ning Jing wasn’t sure if that was the case, because she neither understood nor knew Gu Qishao well. She only felt that Mu Linger was a little fool, but only fools could be truly happy, right?
Mu Linger thought it over a while, then asked shyly, “Say, Ning Jing...do you think Qi gege would kiss me?”
Ning Jing almost laughed out loud, but she held herself back and nodded. “Maybe.”
No matter whether Mu Linger would be disappointed in the future, at least she was happy now. At least she would have felt happiness once!
Just like that, Mu Linger kept asking Ning Jing a bunch of silly questions that she replied with the affirmative. She had originally planned to wake up Mu Linger to talk about Tang Li, but the two of them ended up discussing Gu Qishao all night. Could this count as small talk between sisters? When the dawn was approaching, the two of them fell asleep amidst foolish grins. How wonderful it’d be to be always so happy?
Meanwhile, Ning Cheng didn’t sleep all night. Bai Yuqiao waited until Jun Yixie went to train his troops to pay him another visit.
“Ning Cheng, do you have a plan?” she asked.
“How am I supposed to come up with one in the s.p.a.ce of one night?” Ning Cheng retorted. Right now, he was even more anxious than Bai Yuqiao, but he kept his expression indifferent.
Bai Yuqiao knew she was rus.h.i.+ng things, but she had no other choice! Jun Yixie had already gone to interrogate Su Xiaoyu once. If he went again, he might try torture. Su Xiaoyu was already so weak and had only recovered a little recently. If she was subject to torture again, Bai Yuqiao couldn’t begin to imagine the consequences.
“Ning Cheng, help me think of a way. Just take it as me begging you!” Bai Yuqiao hesitated, then got straight to the point. “Ning Cheng, your alliance with my senior brother is just so each of you can accomplish your own goals. Whatever terms you want, just tell me!”
Ning Cheng was waiting for those very words, but never expected she’d say them so soon. This proved that his position in Bai Yuqiao’s heart was superior to that of Jun Yixie. Now it was easy for him to give conditions.
“Help me deliver a letter to Kangan Private Bank first. Once that’s done, I’ll tell you the faster way to save her,” Ning Cheng muttered.
“Alright!” Bai Yuqiao agreed. She never guessed that Kangan Private Bank was under Long Feiye’s control. She only knew that it was working in conjunction with Myriad Merchant Hall and a.s.sumed that Ning Cheng was preparing his money.
Ning Cheng immediately went to write a secret missive, which Bai Yuqiao had the tact not to read. Once he finished, he sealed it in an envelope and wrote a single line on its seam. It would show if anyone tried to tamper with the envelope seal beforehand.
“Deliver this letter and get the reply from Kangan Private Bank’s Manager Luo,” Ning Cheng said.
“Fine!” Bai Yuqiao agreed in one breath.
She was about to leave when Ning Cheng asked, “Bai Yuqiao, aren’t you afraid of me ruining your senior brother?” The girl believed that he liked Han Yunxi enough to give up the world for her, but she also knew that Ning Cheng would want the woman and the world if he had the chance!
She was Ning Cheng’s “chance!”
Bai Yuqiao had decided to help him so she’d long thought things through. With her back to Ning Cheng, she replied, “Ning Cheng, I only have two conditions. One, get Su Xiaoyu out within half a month. Two, don’t harm my senior brother’s life! We can talk about how to rescue Su Xiaoyu after I return with Manager Luo’s answer!”
Ning Cheng’s lips quirked into a cold smile. “Alright, I’ll wait for you. And I’ll make arrangements for someone to bring her away.”
He had to thank Ning Jing for her reminder last night. If she hadn’t brought up Kangan Private Bank, he wouldn’t even know where to deliver the letter to. If it wasn’t for this bank, it was unlikely Bai Yuqiao would agree to his terms.
Of course, he wasn’t planning on helping the girl before he sent away Ning Jing and the rest. Nor could he promise not to hurt Jun Yixie’s life! Even if he died, he wanted Jun Yixie to accompany him! Once Bai Yuqiao got the letter to Kangan Private Bank, he would have no more reservations, nor could Bai Yuqiao hold any chip against him to talk terms.
That night, Ning Cheng found a chance to let Bai Yuqiao arrange a meeting between him and Su Xiaoyu. She was already away, so he simply looked at her from a distance before turning to leave.
“Little girl, big brother’s going to cause you some trouble. You have to stay strong and hold on!”
Ning Cheng’s silver drafts were still circulating around the trading firms, but his latest letter had been sent by Bai Yuqiao by the fastest couriers to Northern Li’s sole branch of Kangan Private Bank. Meanwhile, Han Yunxi’s group had just about reached Three-Way Black Market. Currently, Fifth Elder of Myriad Merchant Hall had already been placed under house arrest for his loyalty to Han Yunxi. Because he was too honest and frank, he had delivered Ning Cheng’s first letter to the head elder despite his own fury and let the man publicize its contents.
The other four elders of the hall agreed to hand over the letter to the military so they could make preparations for receiving the 30,000 battle horses. At the same time, they would prepare for war against East Qin. By himself, Fifth Elder was helpless to stop it all. Although Ning Cheng had never written expressly that the Di Clan was to ally with Jun Yixie, the 30,000 horses heading south right now made everyone a.s.sume that was his intention.
Currently, everyone in the Di Clan was ready for battle. Myriad Merchant Hall’s elders knew that Han Yunxi would cut off their revenue, but they had no fears. They were preparing to sacrifice all of the Di Clan’s a.s.sets and businesses to support the army. All they needed was Ning Cheng’s letter--his one word of command to start the war!
As the political situation s.h.i.+fted, Han Yunxi and the rest dropped their search for Perplexing b.u.t.terfly Illusion’s ingredients. They rushed back to the black market within a few days and arrived at night. From Kangan Private Bank, Manager Luo was waiting for Long Feiye at East Origin Hall. He only needed a single word from Long Feiye to stop all business with Myriad Merchant Hall In fact, he just needed to show his face tonight and the news would spread everywhere by tomorrow morning.
This time, they would not only strike against Myriad Merchant Hall’s auction halls, but many other businesses as well. Everyone would fear the fact that Kangan had stopped all a.s.sociations with Myriad Merchant Hall. After all, Cloud Realm Trade Consortium was only a shadow of its former self now. Of course, if news of this reached Jun Yixie’s ears, he would immediately suspect Ning Cheng’s wealth.
“Your Highness, this subordinate has already made all the arrangements. Myriad Merchant Hall has a limited access auction tonight, their activity is huge,” Manager Luo said.
Long Feiye looked towards Han Yunxi, who had a complicated expression. She had never planned to make the Di Clan her enemy, much less have them treat her as their foe. She didn’t understand why they would take this step. Perhaps it was more accurate to say she didn’t know why she and Ning Cheng had ended up at odds. She never wanted to fight them, but the Di Clan had started moving on its own. Cutting off Myriad Merchant Hall’s wealth wasn’t a show of force, but simply a way to keep them in check and delay Ning Cheng’s attempts to mobilize for war.
Han Yunxi had no idea of all the efforts Ning Cheng had expended in Skyriver City, much less how much trouble her choice would give Ning Cheng today. She didn’t realize that everything after this would be irreconcilable.
Without a word, Han Yunxi nodded her head.
Seeing this, Long Feiye nodded at Manager Luo.
“This subordinate understands. I’ll get started right away,” Manager Luo paid his respects and left the room.
Gu Qishao crossed his legs and drawled, “When will Tang Li arrive?”
“What are you planning?” Han Yunxi asked.
“Once he’s here, we can kill our way to Skyriver City,” Gu Qishao said with narrowed eyes, looking both vicious and seductive. “Poison la.s.s, you guys fight your war while Tang Li and I save our people. We can see...who kills Jun Yixie and Ning Cheng first, those two b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”
Han Yunxi rolled her eyes at him. “If you’re going to seek death, don’t drag Tang Li in with you!”
Jun Yixie’s martial arts might not compare to them, but he would definitely have traps in play with hostages on his side. Even Long Feiye’s men found it impossible to approach the center of the Skyriver City army camp, so Gu Qishao and Tang Li were less likely to charge their way in. In fact, they might end up being hostages themselves. Moreover, Gu Qishao couldn’t leave now. What if Tang Li heard his words and galloped off to save his wife in a moment of impulse? Then he’d truly suffer for it.
Speaking of which, Tang Li arrived the next instant. His expression was serious as he held an envelope in his hands. “Big bro, guess what this is?”
“Who sent it? Where’s it from?” Long Feiye asked coldly.
Tang Li raised up the envelope until everyone saw the name of its sender: Ning Cheng.
“Ning Cheng? Where did you get that letter? Who gave it to you?” Han Yunxi asked anxiously. Is this blackmail from him? With Ning Jing and Mu Linger in his hands, Ning Cheng hadn’t sent them a thing until now. He was definitely planning to use their hostages against them.
But Tang Li said something that stunned them all. “Ning Cheng sent this letter to Kangan Private Bank’s Manager Luo. It was delivered by messenger horse all the way from Northern Li. I saw it at the door, so I took it in. What’s that guy planning?”
Ning Cheng shouldn’t know about the relations.h.i.+p between Kangan Private Bank and Long Feiye!
Had Ning Jing and Mu Linger revealed something? Or perhaps, he was asking Kangan Private Bank for help? Strange…
Long Feiye quickly tore open the envelope and took out its contents. His face blanched as soon as he read the words before he cried, “Quickly, go stop Manager Luo!”
“What’s going on?” Gu Beiyue couldn’t help asking.
With no time to answer, Long Feiye rose to his feet and went out the door. Would he make it in time?
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Thanks a lot for the words of support from all you readers! I"m dusting off my flakey self today and embarking on a ma.s.s translating mission to play catch-up with you all. So far for November I owe readers 6 chapters + 1 sponsored chapter, for October, about 9 unaccounted for chapters
...making a grand total of 16 missing PGC!
Let"s make "em up p.r.o.nto in the coming couple of weeks, alright? Double releases ahoy ahead! In response, teasers will be a little shorter while I"m still playing catch-up.
Thanks and stay...