Life is so tough — the power went out at six yesterday evening and still hasn't come back. My laptop battery is completely drained, so I'm sitting in an internet café again. Sorry for the late update.
***
But no one paid the slightest attention to his words. Xie Hongwen even kicked him viciously. "Get lost!"
Xie Hongwen wasn't particularly strong, but Luo Qing didn't dare dodge the blow. He was sent stumbling back several steps. Regaining his footing, he said urgently, "Young Master Xie, Elder Qian will be here any moment. Please wait just a little longer — if the Elder finds out and blames us, this disciple won't be able to bear the consequences!"
"Insolent!" Xie Hongwen was thoroughly provoked by Luo Qing, his face twisted with malice as he glared. "What I, Young Master, choose to do is none of your damn business. Keep nagging and I'll kill you!"
Luo Qing's expression turned cold, and he indeed dared say no more. Although he was a Return Void Realm expert of the Shadow Moon Hall, he had no powerful patron and simply couldn't afford to clash with Xie Hongwen.
All he could do was turn around and shout toward Yang Kai's direction. "Hold on just a little longer, friends! Everything will be fine soon — just hold on a bit more!"
Yang Kai frowned at him, unable to make heads or tails of the situation, and called out, "Do we know each other?"
Luo Qing shook his head. "No."
Yang Kai let out a cold laugh. "If we don't know each other, why are you helping me?"
Luo Qing looked embarrassed, knowing his actions had aroused Yang Kai's suspicion. After a moment's thought, he explained, "You may not have seen me, friend, but I've seen you. Elder Qian Tong distributed your image to all Shadow Moon Hall establishments throughout Tianyun City and instructed us to treat you warmly if we ever encountered you. I'm Luo Qing, a guard at the Treasured Pavilion, so I've seen your likeness."
"Qian Tong?" Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, then quickly figured out what was going on. It must have been the two previous transactions he'd done with Qian Tong that had caught the man's attention. Both had been large deals, and Yang Kai had sold quite a few Saint King grade artifacts to him — no doubt Qian Tong saw him as a valuable customer.
After all, the strongest artifacts on the Dark Star were only at the low Void grade, so the high-grade Saint King artifacts Yang Kai had sold were immensely valuable with no shortage of buyers. They could dramatically boost several warriors' strength.
But even so, Qian Tong wouldn't need to go to such lengths. Yang Kai even sensed a hint of ingratiation in the man's actions. Yes — it was definitely ingratiation! He had deliberately spread Yang Kai's image to every Shadow Moon Hall establishment in Tianyun City and ordered their staff to treat him well upon encounter. If that wasn't trying to curry favor, what was?
He was just a lone wanderer, and at the time of their dealings had only been at the third level of the Saint Realm. Why would Qian Tong try to curry favor with him?
Yang Kai wasn't a fool. His mind might not have been the most meticulous, but it was sharp enough. After just a moment of thought, he understood immediately — Qian Tong wasn't trying to curry favor with him, but with the person who had crafted those artifacts.
In other words, the person he was actually trying to please was Yang Yan!
It was just that Qian Tong probably didn't know about Yang Yan's existence. Perhaps he assumed that behind Yang Kai stood some powerful artifact refiner master.
At this thought, Yang Kai nodded slightly. Cupping his fists toward Luo Qing, he said, "I appreciate your kind intentions, friend, but there's no need to trouble Elder Qian Tong with this. We can handle it ourselves."
He didn't like owing anyone favors — even if Qian Tong had no ill intentions, it wouldn't do. Once you owed someone a debt, it became hard to refuse their requests later, especially since Qian Tong apparently had his own agenda.
Their conversation reached the others' ears, and Xu Zhibing's legs gave out as he collapsed to the ground. The Xu family members all turned deathly pale, their bodies trembling.
Xu Zhibing hadn't expected that by pulling on an old thread of favor, he'd managed to bring in Luo Qing only to end up in this situation. Yang Kai had connections with Elder Qian Tong — why would he care about a mere Xu family? Had he known this sooner, he would never have asked Luo Qing to come. The family head and the elder retainers could have died for all he cared — there were still Xu family members alive, the bloodline wasn't extinct, and there would always be a chance to rise again. But now, even that slim lifeline had been crushed by his own hands.
The absurdity of it all — the other side hadn't even come to annihilate his entire clan, yet he had sought vengeance! In that moment, Xu Zhibing wished he could dash his head against Dragon Lair Mountain and die.
Upon learning that Yang Kai knew Elder Qian Tong, not only were the Xu family members stricken with terror as though mourning their own parents, but the Haike family's people were similarly drenched in cold sweat. Ba Qingyan pulled out his handkerchief again, ceaselessly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Ian's face was ashen, his skin twitching spasmodically, a storm of emotions churning inside him.
He finally understood why he'd been plagued by that persistent sense of unease — so this was why.
He had thought that by climbing aboard Xie Hongwen's ship, the Haike family would sail smooth waters. But what was Xie Hongwen in front of Qian Tong?
The former was nothing more than a spoiled young master, throwing his weight around because his father happened to be a steward in the Shadow Moon Hall. But Qian Tong was an Elder of the Shadow Moon Hall! Even Xie Hongwen's father wouldn't dare raise his voice in front of Qian Tong, let alone Xie Hongwen himself.
It was over — completely over! Ian's eyes were covered by a film of grey, losing their former luster, his lips turning blue.
Had he known, how could he have possibly offended Yang Kai to the death and even harbored thoughts of killing him as soon as possible? His Haike family had countless opportunities to befriend Yang Kai, but not a single person had seized them, not a single person had seen the situation clearly. Only Wu Yi and Yu Feng and the others had made the right choice.
But they had already left the family and were no longer considered Haike family members!
"All of you, standing there with faces like your parents just died — what's the idea?" Xie Hongwen's face was livid with rage. He lashed out with a heavy kick at Ian, then kicked the fallen Xu Zhibing too, sending him curling up on the ground like a cooked shrimp.