Night Without End -
Chapter 122 - 79 Best Friend
Chapter 122: Chapter 79 Best Friend
Qin Ming, no matter how composed he was, was still a teenager. He did not hide his feelings, and with a "why should it be so," he expressed his frustration.
Meng Xinghai laughed and said, "Only when you hold the ’rules’ can you talk about reason, right?"
At this moment, Qin Ming was holding a Mutton Fat Jade Iron Blade, not because he couldn’t control himself, but because he did it on purpose, showing a bit of youthful spirit in front of an elder.
"I shielded him from disaster, yet he was dissatisfied in the end. Where can one reason about that?" Qin Ming spoke, these experiences indeed easily infuriated a person.
"It seems that although you have lived in the Cui Family for more than a decade, you have never considered yourself a noble’s son, have you?" Meng Xinghai said.
Qin Ming was startled, then understood his implication.
"Is it because the heir of the Cui Family is noble and beyond reach?" He asked calmly.
"Yes, from his perspective, understanding his mood might make you even more angry," Meng Xinghai said with a smile.
Qin Ming felt that it might be better to ignore Cui Chonghe and not ponder why he was furious.
Because in Cui Chonghe’s eyes, his status was so low as to be ignorable, yet he ended up traveling with his fiancée, which was a serious overstep.
Meng Xinghai said, "You think you shielded him from disaster, but as the heir of a thousand-year-old family, it’s impossible for him to care about your feelings."
Qin Ming self-deprecatingly said, "It seems I’m just an ordinary person. Living in the Cui Family for years didn’t cultivate that nobility in me, I didn’t immediately adopt that mindset."
But the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. The so-called maturity and steadiness of a youth were useless now, he was struggling to suppress his inner rage.
Clearly, in Cui Chonghe’s eyes, he was just a servant who could die in his place, a servant raised by the Cui Family to be used at any time, how could he possibly walk side by side with the Wang Family’s legitimate daughter?
Qin Ming thought about his experience in the Cui Family, where the hierarchy was indeed very strict. So, he shielded someone from disaster, only to end up "offending" someone?
"To be fair, Cui Chonghe truly has the talent nearing that of an Immortal. That old senior hadn’t taken any disciples for over a hundred years but made an exception for him, taking him away when he was just three or four years old," Meng Xinghai spoke.
In fact, he was also hinting to Qin Ming not to be too impulsive, as the situations and gaps between them were quite significant.
Qin Ming nodded, then suddenly realized, were all those fellow disciples of Cui Chonghe over a hundred years old? If they were still alive, that would be rather terrifying.
At this moment, he strongly desired to become stronger, to venture into the deep mountains and marshes to search for Spiritual Material.
Additionally, he hoped for another occurrence of Spring Thunder.
Although there was a belief that entering the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall during the initial stirrings of spring thunder was the safest and yielded the most Spiritual Materials, he still wanted to try entering during other times.
"Li Family, Wang Family, Cui Family are like three unshakable mountains, and I’m just an ordinary teenager who doesn’t want to get involved," Qin Ming sighed.
He learned from Meng Xinghai that when the Wang Family realized they had been deceived, they were extremely furious, and the Cui Family originally wanted to quickly dispose of the fake Cui Chonghe to calm the storm.
"Cui Lao Qi is a sentimental person, he considered you like his own nephew and couldn’t bring himself to kill you, almost causing a fallout with some people of the Cui family."
It was because Cui Hao stepped forward, and since the issue had become somewhat blown up, leaking some information, the Cui Family couldn’t proceed harshly, fearing it would stain their reputation as ungrateful.
"It turns out that without my knowledge, I’ve hovered near death multiple times." For Qin Ming, the thousand-year-old family was indeed too colossal, he even thought about fleeing far away.
Meng Xinghai seemed to see through his thoughts, saying, "For now, just stay in Chixia City. When early spring arrives, those long-standing traditions and some special academies will start selecting disciples one after another. You can look closely at them, some organizations are quite averse to noble families."
He himself was a descendant of a noble family, not good at elaborating further on this topic.
Qin Ming was inattentive, the Yewu World was immensely vast but also fraught with dangers, where could he fit in?
Meng Xinghai assured him, "Don’t worry, the token I gave you is still very effective. Within Chixia City, you don’t have to worry about your safety for the short term."
Qin Ming carefully examined it; it was a Black Jade Token, with the character "Meng" on one side and "Patrol" on the other.
"Thank you, Uncle Meng!" He immediately stood up to express his gratitude.
This was a token taken from the Meng Family, extraordinary in its nature. The character "Patrol" was engraved by Meng Xinghai temporarily to grant him the authority to patrol the city or the mountains.
With this token, Qin Ming was temporarily under protection.
Meng Xinghai said, "I’ve told you so much and divulged quite a few pieces of information because Qing Yue asked me to look after you. Some people don’t care about who Cui Chonghe is, knowing only that an old friend once used this name. However, I must also remind you, many others are very concerned about the identity of Cui Chonghe, and you must be extremely cautious when encountering old acquaintances."
Qin Ming nodded seriously, "If Qing Yue encounters any trouble in the future, even if it’s thousands of miles away, I will rush to support her as soon as I hear the news!"
Without Li Qingyue, would Meng Xinghai know who he, Qin Ming, is? Even if he had heard of him, he wouldn’t have any reason to take such good care of him.
In the past, when Qin Ming lived in Qinghe City under the identity of Cui Chonghe, though he had many friends, there probably weren’t many left now that he could still call close friends.
Meng Xinghai said, "Qing Yue said, the closer a true friend is to you, the more troubles they will bring you."
"I understand!" Qin Ming nodded. The Cui Family, in order to extinguish the fury of the Wang Family, once wanted him to completely disappear to calm the storm. If he were to re-enter that circle and interact with familiar people, trouble was certain to arise.
Qin Ming felt a suffocating pressure in his chest, but the situation was more powerful than the individual; others had already drawn lines for him, forbidding him from stepping into certain regions or contacting people of that level again.
"With my talent, I should be able to rise quickly. Once my strength is sufficient, if I go to the Cui Family to obtain the silk scripture, re-entering that circle could provoke Cui Chonghe, Li Qingxu, and even some people from the Wang Family; the road ahead is filled with challenges, I need to grow quickly."
These thoughts were swirling in Qin Ming’s mind. His journey ahead was treacherous and arduous, but it also filled him with a fighting spirit, his eyes ablaze with fire.
If he himself lacked confidence, he might as well return to Black and White Mountain immediately and voluntarily seclude himself in that remote place!
"Mm, the reason I can discuss these matters with you is not solely due to Qing Yue. I also see potential in you, especially since I noticed you entered the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall last time," Meng Xinghai pointed out directly.
His candidness surprised Qin Ming. Was the incident not concealed at all?
Meng Xinghai smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I was the only one in the whole Chixia City who noticed something off about you and that you left there alive."
"That’s a relief!" Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
"Besides you, Qian Cheng also survived, but he disappeared mysteriously the next day."
Qin Ming knew who he was talking about—the taciturn young boy, who was actually not foolish.
"I’m not joking with you. Lately, you should carefully study those ancient Taoist lineages and special high-level Academies, where even noble families cannot easily extend their influence."
When Qin Ming stood up to take his leave, Meng Xinghai mentioned these points again.
"Thank you, Uncle Meng!"
Qin Ming left the City Lord’s Mansion and returned to the inn, playing with the Black Jade Token, somewhat lost in thought. If he went to the mountains, he would be a member of the Patrol Team, and hold a relatively high rank.
He felt emotional because, for the first time in his life, he had killed someone, specifically targeting Fu Entao, Feng Yi’an, and other members of the Patrol Team.
In a restaurant not far away, a few people inside a private room closed the windows. They had watched Qin Ming enter the inn.
"As he dares to meddle in the affairs of Xinyi Hall and seems to have connections within the City Lord’s Mansion, we shouldn’t touch him."
"Not only should we not act rashly, but look, someone has sent us a scroll requesting us to keep a close watch on him. This young man may have a significant background."
"When you encounter someone inscrutable, it’s best to involve less and keep an eye on him. But if a client asks us to act, we must politely decline."
"For now, the other party hasn’t indicated that we should make a move, and it looks like he’s a visitor from afar."
...
Over the next two days, Qin Ming and Wu Zheng researched the organizations and Taoist lineages that have been selecting disciples in Chixia City over the years.
He suspected that Meng Xinghai was referring to those special high-level Academies, which surprisingly hold joint examinations open to everyone, even the children of noble families cannot enter directly.
Unless they truly possess exceptional talents and have considerable real-fight achievements that could impress locally, everyone must undergo the same testing and trials.
Then, Qin Ming started to carefully study the map of the mountain range outside Chixia City, eager to find Spiritual Materials, inspired by the three big mountains, Cui Family, Wang family, and Li Family, itching to rise immediately.
The next day, he went to a reputable weapon shop and bought a Wujin Hammer, still with a long handle, but much heavier than the previous one he used.
"Brother Qin, it looks like you really did spend fifteen Day Gol at my place and haven’t grasped Gun and Arrow Double Excellence at all. Changing to practice with a Big Hammer now?" Wu Zheng, unlike the conservative Old Wu, lamented the lack of exchange and really wished Qin Ming could teach him.
Qin Ming smiled and said, "I actually know a thing or two about gun skill, so you can ask me directly if you have queries. I’m now practicing with the hammer to deal with giant beasts with tough skin and meat. Ordinary weapons are too gentle and light to impact such massive creatures."
He was making preparations to go into the mountains. With his current strength near five thousand jin, even clashing head-on with someone reborn six or seven times wouldn’t pressure him.
This time, if anyone dares intercept him again, he will definitely make them realize what it means when the hammer falls, and a thousand peach blossoms bloom!
...
Three days later, Xu Cheng appeared, his face pale as he had been injured.
"Brother Xu, what happened to you?"
Both Qin Ming and Wu Zheng asked him worriedly, wondering what had occurred.
Xu Cheng sighed, "Ah, Zhou Lin and I went to help a friend in the forest when we were ambushed. I suddenly feel that being a Spiritual Hunter is even tougher than being a traveling merchant."
"It’s good that you came back alive and without major issues. By the way, how is Sister Fenfang?" Qin Ming inquired.
"Sister Fenfang? Who is she?" Xu Cheng looked puzzled.
"That... Sister Zhou Lin."
Xu Cheng started to laugh, "Haha, she’s fine, dodged faster than me."
"Did you get intercepted again?" Qin Ming asked.
Xu Cheng sighed, "Not yet, we just entered the habitat of spiritual creatures and hadn’t found its lair when we were ambushed."
"How about we go take a look again?" Qin Ming was tempted.
Xu Cheng initially wanted to say something but then realized that the other party was already stronger than him! He, being reborn five times, could only lift over three thousand jin, significantly less than Qin Ming now.
"Alright, let’s go!"
Soon, Sister Fenfang Zhou Lin also got the news and joined Xu Cheng and Qin Ming to head into the mountains again.
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