187: Chapter 187 Lord Feng, the Bandit Lord
The agreed-upon battle time was 3:00 PM at the Beast Taming Guild's battle arena.
Li Yu and the others left the cultivation room and headed downstairs, chatting and laughing along the way. Unwittingly, Li Yu, Wei Long, and Chu Xiaolian walked ahead.
Chen Qing and Feng Hou followed behind.
As they passed a corner, Feng Hou's footsteps abruptly stopped.
A sword was pointed at his throat, and a trickle of blood slowly flowed down as Chen Qing gazed at him expressionlessly.
Feng Hou flashed a harmless otaku smile. "Chen Qing, what are you doing? I haven't offended you."
"It's nothing. I haven't killed many people lately, so my hands are a bit itchy. I'll have to trouble you to let me kill you," Chen Qing said. A flash of killing intent shot from her sharp eyes as the longsword suddenly thrust forward.
Feng Hou was shocked. In the next second, his body moved like a ghost, dodging the longsword. His speed was no weaker than an average Silver-rank beast; he was even faster than his own monkey beast.
He bypassed the longsword, intending to launch a sneak attack on Chen Qing from behind, but his vision blurred and his throat tightened.
Bang!
The man was slammed against the wall by Chen Qing. The sharp sword tip was pointed at the center of his forehead, and another trickle of blood flowed down. The sharp Sword Qi piercing through his skin made Feng Hou shudder.
"You're still too weak to play tricks with me."
Chen Qing's voice rang out coldly.
Feng Hou cursed "lunatic" in his mind, then dejectedly raised his hands and said, "Alright, alright, you win. Ask whatever you want. They'll soon realize we're gone."
"What is your objective?"
"The organization has its eyes on the items at the core of the Blood Refining Ruins. They told me to find a chance to steal them."
"What items?"
"I don't know either. I won't know until I enter the ruins."
"You're not here to kill Li Yu?"
"Big boss, since you recognized me, you must know my reputation in the organization. Aside from stealing things, when has Thief Hou ever done any killing?" Feng Hou looked helpless.
Chen Qing stared at him, not believing him immediately. Helpless, Feng Hou handed his phone to Chen Qing. After a few operations, she saw the mission information.
Just as Feng Hou had said: gain Li Yu's trust and enter the Blood Refining Ruins to seize the core treasures.
It made sense.
With the organization's style, there was no way they would pass up something as significant as the Blood Refining Ruins.
Chen Qing's expression flickered uncertainly.
The appearance of Thief Hou made her situation even more delicate. Killing him rashly would inevitably attract the organization's attention and suspicion, but not killing him might expose her own stance and bring about a fatal disaster.
"Hehe..."
Feng Hou suddenly started laughing.
"If you want to die, I can fulfill your wish," Chen Qing said coldly.
"No more giggling," Feng Hou instantly retracted his smile, his expression turning a bit strange. "I just didn't expect that the great Chen Qing would one day act as someone's bodyguard, and you're even acting the part quite well."
Chen Qing's eyes flickered slightly as she said expressionlessly, "It's just for the mission."
Hearing this, Feng Hou immediately understood what Chen Qing's mission was.
Unlike himself, who only knew how to steal, Chen Qing's missions had always involved killing. That illustrious, fearsome reputation of hers was built upon the lives of hundreds or even thousands of people.
"Then again, this doesn't seem like your style, Chen Qing."
Feng Hou's underlying meaning was that Chen Qing had taken a killing mission but had delayed completing it for so long, even acting more and more like a Guardian.
Chen Qing said, "Li Yu has a protection charm from Ming Yueguang on him; it's not the right time to strike. That idiot Jin Yulong was too impulsive and is already dead."
These words both explained why she hadn't acted and gave Feng Hou a signal that one "couldn't move against Li Yu in the city."
If Feng Hou's true purpose was to deal with Li Yu, he wouldn't dare act lightly after hearing this.
"Chen Qing, Feng Hou, aren't you coming yet?" Li Yu's voice rang out.
"Coming!" Chen Qing shouted back. She sheathed her sword and said to Feng Hou, "Go kill someone."
"Big sister, you know that I, Thief Hou, have never killed anyone."
"Qi Mao, who is dueling you today, cannot be left alive. Find a chance to kill him."
"Why kill him? Besides, how would I, Feng Hou, know how to kill?"
"Qi Mao's livestream has exposed both you and me on the internet. The risk of exposure has increased infinitely. This kind of person cannot be left alive."
After a hurried explanation, Chen Qing turned and left, leaving Feng Hou alone.
He stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment, then revealed a smile. "Kill Qi Mao, huh... hehe... this is a good mission."
...
Qi Mao's livestream had drawn the attention of the entire Ningyang City beast-taming circle to this afternoon's duel. Even Beast Tamers from other nearby cities were following the situation.
Beast Taming Guild, battle arena.
Many Beast Tamers from Ningyang City had heard the news and arrived early to claim spots. Before 3:00 PM had even arrived, the place was already packed. Every seat in the audience was filled, and the chatter made it as noisy as a wet market.
He Long, Qi Mao, and the other elites had already arrived.
He Long stood on the battle platform, trying hard to maintain a serious expression, but the irrepressible joy on his face still betrayed his mood.
The afternoon's cultivation had gone unexpectedly smoothly. He was confident that even if Wei Long's beast had successfully evolved, his own beast could easily crush him.
He would leave those people involved in backroom dealings with absolutely nothing to say.
Thinking that he was eliminating a public nuisance and exposing the darkness, He Long's sense of justice swelled, and his back straightened a bit more.
Below the stage, Qi Mao was fiddling with his livestream equipment, his face flushed with excitement.
His usual livestreams had at most tens of thousands of viewers. He hadn't expected that by playing the victim online, he would get over 300,000 viewers—ten times his usual amount.
He estimated that after this duel, he would be completely famous and become a renowned big influencer in Ningyang City.
"Has the match started yet?"
"What time is it, man? Give them a nudge."
"Brothers and sisters, resolutely boycott the privileged class and support Brother Qi!"
"Yes! Support Brother Qi!"
The comments in the livestream room scrolled rapidly, all of them supporting Qi Mao. Seeing this, he became even more triumphant. Just then, there was a commotion nearby. He turned to look and saw Li Yu and the others walking in.
"Family, they're here. Let me show you."
Qi Mao pointed the camera toward the entrance.
Li Yu's group, along with the President and Director Wang who had been waiting at the entrance, walked in. Seeing such a lively scene, everyone was surprised.
"This Qi Mao is really good at writing sob stories; he's drawn so many people," Li Yu remarked.
Wei Long and the others had never seen such a spectacle and couldn't help but feel increased pressure. However, thinking of Li Yu's evolution results, they immediately felt at ease again.
If they still lost after evolving like that, they really might have to do as Li Yu said... and have a wolf meat feast.
Director Wang and President Wu frowned when they saw the commotion.
"This is not good. If things aren't handled well, it will cause a significant blow to the reputation of the Guild and the Cultivation Department," Director Wang said.
"It's not all bad," President Wu said. "As long as we win the battle and verify the correctness of Li Yu's claims, all the demonic rumors will collapse. In fact, Ningyang City's cultivation industry might even see a new spring."
"That's true." Director Wang patted Li Yu's shoulder. "Li Yu, we're counting on you this time."
Li Yu smiled slightly and patted Wei Long's shoulder. "Wei Long, we're counting on you this time."
Wei Long also wanted to pat a shoulder, but realizing there was no one left to entrust, he rubbed his nose awkwardly and said with a firm face, "Leave it to me!"