Chapter 70 : Chapter 70
Chapter 70. Ripples
In the Affairs Hall.
“What?! Xu Yuan broke through to the Fourth Meridian and even killed Quan Xiong?”
The teacup in Liu Yue’s hand slipped from his fingers in shock and hit the floor with a smack, shards and tea splashing everywhere.
He shot to his feet from his chair and stared fixedly at the trusted subordinate who had come to report the news. In a deep voice, he asked, “Has the news been confirmed?”
The man stood there with cupped hands, hardly daring to breathe. “It all happened just last night. Xu Yuan crushed the Bai Family’s surprise attack, and not even a Fourth Meridian martial artist could injure him in the slightest. He probably only broke through recently.”
“The timing is too perfect.” Liu Yue frowned tightly and sat back down.
How could he not have known about Quan Xiong’s earlier scheme?
With three martial artists of the same realm backing Quan Xiong up, the matter should have been all but guaranteed.
But who could have expected that Xu Yuan, who had only recently entered the Third Meridian, would break through to the Fourth Meridian again with lightning speed?
“Man proposes, Heaven disposes.” Liu Yue closed his eyes, feeling only heartache for the businesses he had in the Wild Wolf Gang.
“Master, should we...” his trusted aide asked cautiously.
“You may leave first,” Liu Yue said, shaking his head.
The door was gently closed behind him, leaving Liu Yue alone in the room, leaning against his chair, his thoughts in utter turmoil.
The Wild Wolf Gang’s businesses were probably beyond recovery, and Liu Yue could barely force himself to let that go. What truly frightened him was whether Xu Yuan would come settle accounts with him afterward.
After all, he had personally gone to carry Quan Xiong’s message back then. The two of them had been tied together by association.
This anxiety and agitation over the fear of Xu Yuan’s retaliation was simply unbearable.
At that moment, he finally understood Quan Xiong’s old state of mind. All he could do was give a bitter laugh and mutter, “Fourth Meridian... how old is he, anyway?”
The reason he had helped Quan Xiong in the first place was because he had been certain the situation could be controlled. Even if Xu Yuan later reached the Third Meridian, he would still only be at the same realm as Liu Yue.
But who would have thought that now the positions between them would be completely reversed?
...
In the inner court, at the maids’ dormitory.
Ye Qing’er had actually been secretly keeping an eye on Xu Yuan the whole time. Seeing that he had not made any big moves for quite a while, she had even let out a slight sigh of relief.
Yet without making a sound, he had broken through to the Fourth Meridian, seized Changning Street in one stroke, and rendered tremendous merit.
When Ye Qing’er first heard the news, she was completely stunned. At the pace she was going now, who knew how many years it would take before she could slowly rise to become a senior maid?
And yet this man—this man she had effectively “given up on”—had actually ridden the wind and climbed all the way upward?
Thinking back to when Xu Yuan had just broken through to the Second Meridian and become an instructional martial instructor, the two of them had still been more or less on the same footing.
But in the blink of an eye, not even half a year had passed, and heaven and earth had already turned upside down. For a moment, she felt dazed.
“No. I still haven’t lost!” Ye Qing’er’s eyes wavered as another wave of unwillingness surged up in her heart.
So what if Xu Yuan was formidable?
The martial path was difficult and long. Sooner or later, he would run into the great hurdle that belonged to him.
And she, Ye Qing’er, was not without her own opportunity...
When she thought of the news that the Fifth Young Master would be choosing a secondary wife next month, resolve returned to her eyes.
The Fifth Young Master’s martial talent might be average, but within the family, he was quite favored.
‘If I can latch onto that great ship, then that will be true ascent in a single step... When that time comes, whether it’s senior maids or steward maids, all of them will have to lower their heads before me!’
Ye Qing’er picked up a bronze mirror and studied the bright, lovely face reflected within it, feeling a few degrees more confident.
This was the most solid ladder she had for climbing upward in this cannibalistic world!
...
On Changqing Street, adjacent to Changning Street.
Li Shan had just finished another round of patrol and was dragging his exhausted body back to his quarters, already thinking about where he should go tonight to unwind a little.
Once inside, he took off his heavy protective clothing and threw himself hard onto the bed.
“Shanzi, there’s a letter for you!”
At that moment, a martial artist from the same squad knocked on the door and shoved a letter inside. At the same time, with a trace of mockery that was hard to detect, he added, “Oh, right... Captain Xiong’s side wants a word with you.”
After saying that, he seemed unable to hold it in any longer and snickered together with the people outside.
“This guy’s taste is really something. Captain Xiong’s got that broad, hefty build, and he can still handle it?”
“What a pity. He got there before me.”
“...Bro, what the hell??”
“What’s there to say? Captain Xiong gives resources. It’s not like he’s getting used for free, hahaha...”
Bang!
Li Shan yanked the door open and coldly swept his gaze across the group.
“Huh? Shanzi, you finished reading your letter already?” To his surprise, the three martial artists outside were all staring at him blankly, their faces full of innocence.
The atmosphere turned heavy. The two sides remained locked in a silent standoff for quite a while.
“Pfft!”
At last, one young martial artist failed to hold it in and burst out laughing. When he saw Li Shan looking over with a dark expression, he hastily tried to cover it up.
“Sorry, Brother Shan. My wife gave birth yesterday, so I got happy for a moment and couldn’t help myself.”
Having said that, he also seemed to realize it was inappropriate and quickly dragged the other two away with him.
Li Shan watched them go expressionlessly. Only after a long while did he return to the room and open the letter.
It was from his father. Besides the usual family greetings, he had specially mentioned one thing:
“I heard from one of your friends that Xu Yuan, who used to share a dormitory with you, has now broken through to the Fourth Meridian? Son, your father warned you long ago to treat people kindly, so why wouldn’t you listen?
If your relationship with him were still as good as before, he could be pulling you up right now...”
Li Shan did not continue reading the rest.
He sat on the edge of the bed with a complicated expression, and an indescribable regret welled up inside him.
He had already heard yesterday that Xu Yuan had reached the Fourth Meridian. At the time, he had only felt shock and surprise. But now that his father had pointed it out so bluntly, the true regret finally surged up in full.
If back in the dormitory, when Wang Huan clashed with Xu Yuan, he had not chosen to smooth things over and stay in the middle, but had instead firmly stood on Xu Yuan’s side like Chen Sanli from the very beginning...
Then perhaps everything would have been different.
He would not have had to curry favor with that female captain every day, nor endure other people’s disgust, and he might even have secured some steady and reliable post under Xu Yuan’s protection.
“One wrong step, and every step after goes wrong...” Li Shan let out a bitter laugh.
The lessons his old man had taught him were not without value. It was just that some people could not be treated according to common sense.
...
At almost the same time, Gao Yuan, Tian Yang, Xiao Sheng, and the others all gradually learned the news as well. Beyond their shock, each of them reacted differently.
But deep down, they all understood one thing clearly:
From this day on, Xu Yuan and they were people walking on two entirely different roads.