Chapter 20: Brothers
Volume 2 – Bloom of the Other Shore Flower, Chapter 20: Brothers
Qianye slowly grasped the hand Sir Zhao had extended. Two fingers had been lopped off, and yet, he did not loosen his vice-like grip on something in his palm. From the gap of his missing fingers, it could be seen that it was a standard, approved medicine bottle, its label clearly indicating its contents as an ordinary drug for mental relaxation.
To anyone knowledgeable who saw it, this medicine bottle would not have been worth more than a couple of silver coins to them. This could have been the reason the killer gave up on the bottle.
However, Qianye knew what the medicine was used for.
This was the medicine Sir Zhao had bought on behalf of Qianye. It was used to soothe the symptoms whenever his blood of darkness acted up. The dispatching of goods had been delayed on the supplier’s end, and it was never delivered to Qianye.
However, it never occurred to Qianye that even at death’s door, even with his legs hacked off, Sir Zhao had never once forgotten about the bottle of medicine.
It was almost as if Qianye saw Sir Zhao standing up, handing over the bottle as he proudly stated, “What I, Zhao, have promised, will be delivered upon!”
The medicine was in his hands, but Qianye no longer needed it.
Qianye had fought for Sir Zhao for some time. Each time he participated in a wagered battle, all he reaped was a silver coin, while a bottle of medicine could be earned through three battles. Since a virtual battle was a display of technical skill, the remuneration was higher than a bloody battle.
In this abandoned land, people who did not fear death were everywhere, but few of those actually knew how to do battle.
This was the reality of the abandoned land. People constantly used their bodies as betting chips, but the reward for putting their lives on the line was not even worth a piece of bread thrown away by the upper continent’s Grand Households.
In the Evernight Continent that had no law or order to speak of, someone who kept his promises like Sir Zhao was unique. On the surface, Qianye was hired on an ad-hoc basis, but in reality, Sir Zhao privately saw him as a brother. This was the reason Qianye had always been willing to work with him, and even had protected him behind the scenes a couple of times.
With Sir Zhao around, other powers in the region would not dare enter Lighthouse Town, and the people in the town could at least live a life with a small degree of order.
Sir Zhao, the officer, and Qianye represented the black, white, and gray areas of the order maintained in Lighthouse Town respectively. Within the area subjected under Blackflow City’s jurisdiction, Lighthouse Town was just a tiny land of happiness, which was why the number of people living there was increasing. Even the rag-and-bone men would hurry over to spend the night there if the distance allowed it.
However, all their efforts had been futile in the face of an enormous organization like the expeditionary army, as everything had been crushed with just a twitch of their pinky finger.
Qianye inhaled deeply as he felt the presence of blood energy slowly bubbling up in his chest! He was powerless against the expeditionary forces, but he could etch a deep and eternal lesson into those accomplices and their lackeys!
Qianye said softly, “Sir Zhao, give it to me, I have received my reward.”
In a seemingly miraculous manner, Sir Zhao’s tightened fist unexpectedly loosened.
Qianye pocketed the medicine bottle, and glanced carefully around the room.
It had also been completely pillaged, with both flaps of the weapon cabinet gone, and its contents empty. This was within Qianye’s expectations, and he did not care for these ordinary firearms.
He left Sir Zhao’s room, and silently moved along the corridor.
While passing by one of the rooms, Qianye stopped briefly and retrieved the hunting gun from his back.
Voices travelled from the room, and one of them belonged to Tiger Yan.
“This time, it’s all thanks to Sir Qi’s assistance that I’m able to sit in this position. Whatever requests Sir Qi has from today onwards, I, Tiger Yan, will brave through fire and water to ensure it’s fulfilled!”
Another rather wretchedly effeminate voice uttered, “This guy named Zhao and the other fellow called Qianye or something have no sense of appreciation, to have refused face when given! Are they taking our sire’s words as something casually thrown around? Hmph! What Sir Zhao, he’s just a local ruffian ringleader, yet he still dares to title himself as a sire.”
Tiger Yan, who similarly was a local ruffian, joined in on the laughter, though there was a note of embarrassment in it.
That condescending voice continued, “You people, to rely on and serve our sire as an underling is a fortune that many would never receive even if they cultivated their whole lives! So long as it’s our sire, even a casually tossed bone would be enough to sustain you for several years! However, should you have any ideas that you aren’t supposed to have, hehe, excuse the unpleasantries, but the outcome of this Zhao today will be your tomorrow!”
Tiger Yan hurriedly replied, “I won’t, I won’t! I will definitely serve the sir with all my heart! Lord Wang, it’s getting late, why not take a rest? If there’s any woman you fancy in the village, I will have someone bring her over to you!”
Lord Wang sighed and said, “In this place, only Min’er has some standard. It’s just a pity…
“She bit our sire. Sir ordered that she must suffer for her sin for a full seven days before she is allowed to die, and today is already the fifth night. She’s no longer in any humanly state, so let’s just get a replacement.”
The other person hesitated for a while before replying, “Alright.”
At this time, Qianye’s icy voice floated in from outside the room, “There’s no need for a replacement.”
“Who’s that?”
“Who is outside?”
The room burst into a state of pandemonium.
Qianye’s substantial enhancement of obtaining a vampire’s physique was currently manifested in the form of his sharpened perception. Purely by listening to the chaotic footsteps, he could decipher the situation in the room in his mind as if he were looking at it with his eyes.
A bodyguard lunged towards the door, which was almost brainlessly courageous.
Qianye pressed the hunting gun against the door and opened fire!
A large hole was blasted through the flimsy wooden door, and at point-blank range, the bodyguard was blown back by the enormous force, his chest and abdomen a haze of blood and flesh.
Qianye kicked the door down, and without looking, he fired into the room once more. Half of the room was pelted with compacted iron pellets in a matter of mere seconds, and the room was filled with cries of anguish.
A huge, burly man leaped out from behind Lord Wang. He was over two meters in height and it seemed like even his skull was filled with muscle. With a height a little over 2.2 meters, Qianye appeared like a child before him.
There were over ten bloody spots on the burly man’s face and body, injuries caused by the iron pellets. However, it was obvious that the locally manufactured double-barrelled hunting gun was not effective against him.
The burly man bellowed, strode over, and slugged a fist that was almost bigger than Qianye’s head, aiming for his face.
Qianye did not even attempt to dodge, but similarly threw out a punch and ruthlessly met the burly man’s fist!
As the sound of bones cracking echoed, the burly man’s fist obviously contorted, and even his arm was twisted to the side. For such a simple, yet brutal exchange of fists, Qianye was actually dominating and crushing his opponent!
Qianye kicked out, his seemingly frail body carrying an explosive strength which sent the burly man flying. The burly man crashed through two walls, making them reverberate as he slumped to the ground, never to get up again.
Qianye dusted his hands and smiled mildly. “Tiger Yan, we meet again. As for this gentleman, you name is Wang?”
Lord Wang, as Tiger Yan had addressed, was a half bald, middle-aged man with a large, cumbersome beer belly. However, it would be a mistake if one were to look down on him purely because of his appearance. Even a fellow like him wielded the power of a rank one Fighter.
“Qianye! You’re still not dead?” Tiger Yan exclaimed, subconsciously pressing closer to the wall.
Mr. Wang, on the other hand, was calm. He had raised a table to deal with the barrage of iron pellets and appeared none the worse for wear.
He asked leisurely, “You are Qianye? Your reputation precedes you. Our Sir Qi is interested in you. I thought you had escaped or were dead, which was why I ‘cleaned up’ this place a little and got rid of some eyesores. Since you’re back, I shall make the decision to give you another chance. Why don’t you come back with me to work for our sire? You’re very young and talented, and it’s only under Sir Qi that you can shine. Otherwise, you’ll be just like the rest of that scum in the wilderness, doing anything just for a scrap in order to get by. Upon your death, you’ll be dinner for the wild dogs! Is that the kind of life you seek?”
Mr. Wang manipulated his effeminate voice to speak softly and mildly, lending him a persuasive edge.
“I don’t like some of the people working under you, though. For example, these guys here.” Qianye pointed at Tiger Yan.
At Qianye’s reply, Mr. Wang unexpectedly sighed in relief. “If you are willing to work for us, then he is naturally useless. You may deal with him as you please and all his governing territories will be yours, how’s that? This matter will be decided by me!”
“No! No! Lord Wang, this will not do!” Tiger Yan jumped in shock, having not expected this outcome at all.
Following that, Tiger Yan appeared to be in a state of extreme fright and he suddenly produced a handgun, ruthlessly aiming the gun at Qianye and pulling the trigger as he laughed cruelly. “Go and die, brat!”
The resulting shot and smoke obfuscated everything, and once Tiger Yan had emptied the cartridge, he saw that Qianye was still standing in his original position, not a single hair out of place.
The corner of Mr. Wang’s eye twitched incessantly. He had seen it clearly from the side. Each time Tiger Yan pulled the trigger, Qianye’s body twisted strangely, coincidentally avoiding the trajectory of the bullet. He had only seen this kind of technique from highly skilled soldiers in the army, and this was an important reason why firearms were no match against origin power users.
The cartridge was empty, yet Tiger Yan desperately pressed away at the trigger. The repeated clicking of the empty gun resounded, like a clock ticking down to his death.
The continuous, enormous disturbances in the room had finally caught the attention of people stationed a distance away, and hurried footsteps echoed from the bottom floor, drawing nearer to the room.
Qianye extended a leg and kicked at a gun that originally belonged to a bodyguard, which then landed into his grasp. He then shot several times into the wall partitioning the room and corridor.
The room partitions were made from planks and iron sheets, but were fragile when faced with a gun. As if they had eyes, the bullets pierced through the thin walls into the bodies of the people outside. Those who were hit let out anguished cries and flipped over from the railing, landing heavily on the ground.
For ordinary people, falling from a height of three stories would result in some fractures and broken bones, and in the unfortunate case where they snapped one of their neck bones, it would be instant death.
Qianye had opened fire five times and shot five people, leaving only one bullet in his gun.
Without even looking back, he slung the gun over his left shoulder and the bullet was fired accurately into Mr. Wang’s left shoulder. This caused the latter to howl in pain and loosen his grip, dropping an especially heavy handgun onto the ground.