In the humble private room of the illustrious King of South Border’s little lord, everything was decidedly unflashy. The table had no snacks to speak of—just two steaming bowls of wide noodles.
One bowl for him and one for the middle-aged man across from him, whose face was as square as a brick.
“Not bad, not bad! Looks like my recent training has really paid off,” Zhong Zhenyue exclaimed, glancing at his own name as if it were a magic spell that would summon more food. He roared for the tavern owner, “Bring me two more bowls!”
“The prince will surely be pleased when he sees this,” the square-faced man grinned, his scarred smile not terrifying but rather seasoned like an old wolf.
“Prince never compliments me,” Zhong Zhenyue replied, as he recalled his father, the King of South Border, wearing a stern expression that could frighten the bravest of people. His head shook back and forth like a rattle drum.
His father had only praised three young heroes from the Qianlong List: one was Xie Xuan, the Sword Master of Tianshan, while the other two… were the young boy and girl who had just recently made their debut on the list and were already climbing its ranks.
Zhong Zhenyue couldn’t help but see those two as his targets for catching up.
“I wonder how Ying Bing and Ke Mo have been doing lately,” he thought aloud while flipping to page seven of the Qianlong List.
Nothing?
He slurped on his noodles and flipped back, still nada.
“Couldn’t be…”
Zhong Zhenyue murmured, flipping back to the first page.
“Oh, little lord?!” the square-faced man nearly choked on his spicy noodles at the sight of his young lord and hurriedly offered water.
“Ranked tenth… eleventh now?” Zhong Zhenyue stared at the rankings in a daze, his gaze almost slacking.
“Killing high-tier disaster beasts in the Observation Realm? Or fighting many with few? How did those seven do it?” the square-faced man exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief.
After a long experience in the military, he knew all too well the terrors of disaster beasts. Even in his own realm, he wouldn’t guarantee he could take down two high-tier disaster beasts at once. They were crafty creatures that would escape at the first hint of trouble!
But that wasn’t what made him ponder deeply.
“Deep in the South Border? And they even made it to the Floating Temple?”
“No wonder… no wonder…”
“What do you mean, Uncle Qu?” Zhong Zhenyue took a big breath, trying to gather his thoughts.
“Little lord, do you remember the latest military reports?” Qu Sheng gently nudged Zhong Zhenyue’s thinking.
“Yeah…”
Zhong Zhenyue mulled it over, pondering: “Recently, the disaster beasts in the West of the South Border have been increasingly rampant, and many human clans have started migrating…”
“The disaster wolf clan has clashed with the Giant Whale Clan.”
“The Ming Jiao Clan’s great demon fought alongside the disaster beast, the Nine-Headed Bird, at the Black Water Marsh…”
Suddenly, Zhong Zhenyue realized how messy things had become in the territory of the monster clan in the South Border.
Were the monster beasts and disaster beasts actually fighting? They usually kept to their own business, staring at each other like two rival neighborhoods avoiding a brawl.
The sudden scuffle must mean something!
“Many disaster beasts have left their territories and crossed into the monster territory,” Qu Sheng softly elaborated.
Zhong Zhenyue nodded thoughtfully, mumbling, “I’ve heard about a boy and a girl roaming through the clans of the South Border, slaying quite a few disaster beasts turned shaman spirits.”
He pulled out a map and started marking it, and after a moment he had an epiphany.
“Ke Mo and Ying Bing must have gotten that so-called divine jade from the Floating Temple, which is why the disaster beasts are after them! But they got blocked by the monster clan?”
“They’re returning to South Border City and will pass through…”
Qu Sheng’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
Before Zhong Zhenyue could fully process his thoughts, in came a little attendant with two bowls of noodles, dragging with her the oh-so-familiar sounds.
“Hey, do you have any rooms left?”
Ke Mo strolled in with Ying Bing, approaching the tavern counter.
“Certainly!” The little attendant, initially lost in wiping the table, froze in awe.
She found herself staring at the boy holding a candy art figurine that looked suspiciously like a girl… Well, one could easily guess who that girl was.
Ying Bing wouldn’t eat candied sweets while draped in a veil, so she lifted a corner of it, exposing half her beautiful face, her lips glistening with syrup. It was stunning.
“Hey, Ice Chunk, what do I taste like?”
“Finished it all,” Ying Bing replied, holding a stick that was now sad and bare.
Ke Mo glanced at her tiny, delicate lips, and out of nowhere, he found himself sticking his thumb out to wipe the syrup from her mouth.
Ying Bing paused for a second, gently licking the corner of her lips.
Ke Mo: “!”
Was Ice Chunk being mischievous or was it an accident?
He was just about to resist licking his own fingers.
“…..”
The little attendant’s silence was deafening. After holding it in for half a day, she finally shouted:
“One room, please!”
“Wait!”
Zhong Zhenyue’s voice boomed from above.
—
A moment later…
Inside the room.
“Brother Zhong, how come you ordered noodles and aren’t eating?”
Li Mo had no idea that the moment he found out Zhong Zhenyue was in Qingmu City, they would bump into each other again—last time was at South Border, where he was given a token.
“Uh… I just suddenly feel so full,” Zhong Zhenyue rubbed his chin, puzzled where this sense of fullness had come from. If he could figure out the root of this feeling, the difficulty of gathering military supplies would drop like a rock.
“Hey, I could help you eat them, then!”
“Thanks!”
Li Mo licked his fingers, picked up his chopsticks, and asked, “Brother Zhong, weren’t you in South Border? What brings you all the way to Qingmu City?”
“……”
Zhong Zhenyue was momentarily rendered speechless, gathering his thoughts for a while before saying, “Just… wandering around.”
Should he admit he came here to gain some experience and catch up to these guys?
“This is Uncle Qu, the commanding chief guarding Qingmu City,” Zhong Zhenyue introduced the square-faced man who had been eyeing them.
“It’s an honor to finally meet the famed young heroes,” Qu Sheng nodded slightly.
Zhong Zhenyue couldn’t help but sigh, “Li Brother, you actually ventured into the lands of the South Border’s monster clans to sharpen yourself—right from the get-go, I lost to you in determination and courage!”
“Sharpen myself?” Li Mo shook his head, pointing at the ice chunk beside him. “I came to find her.”
Ying Bing replied coolly, “To pick stars for him.”
That was just her usual way of dealing with the world—except when it came to some people.
Zhong Zhenyue: “……”
Qu Sheng: “……”
Awkwardness had reached its peak.
“Are you two planning to return to South Border together?” Qu Sheng suddenly asked.
“Exactly.”
After a moment of silence, Qu Sheng suggested, “Then I recommend you two stay in Qingmu City for a while. This is a major human city, a good place to avoid disaster beasts.”
These little brats had already begun to show promise, and he intended to befriend them.
“Hmm…”
Li Mo pondered for a bit. He certainly needed a quiet environment to refine his skills and ponder the key concepts he’d been working on.
Sharpening the sword does not delay the cutting of firewood!
Moreover, when he had seen those little kids earlier, he couldn’t help but think about Lu Fuying, and he still had a promise to fulfill to that little girl.
He glanced at Ying Bing, and the girl nodded slightly.
“Well, thank you, Chief Qu.”
After expressing his gratitude, Li Mo felt a little embarrassed and said, “Um, I have one more favor to ask of Chief Qu.”
“Feel free to say it.”
“When I passed through Baoping Town, I promised to help a family deliver a letter. I wonder if any soldiers in Chief Qu’s camp could assist me in this?”
Qu Sheng’s eyes revealed surprise, and after a while, a hint of relief.
He accepted the task and promised to help look into it.
Zhong Zhenyue took a deep breath, his eyes sparkling as he invited, “I actually need to find someone too. Brother Li, why not come with me to the military camp?”
He remembered how Li Mo had guided many back in Yunzhou.
And the girl beside him had martial skills that were simply unfathomable.
He wanted to gauge the extent of the gap between himself and Li Mo using military formations.
“Military men can be rough, especially in a camp where they speak without filters. Li Shaoxia might have a difficult time,” Qu Sheng frowned.
Soldiers were generally roughnecks.
Li Shaoxia with his elegant demeanor, humble gentlemanly demeanor, looked like someone who wouldn’t even harm a fly—a classic young master from a distinguished family.
“We win people over with kindness!” Li Mo chuckled casually.
—
P.S.: There’s still another chapter coming later. Power up your devices, hehe!
