Star Gate

“That’s enough for now. Ole brother Li, you should go choose your house and move in. There’s nothing worth staying for in the southern quadrant. It’s quiet here and more suited for cultivation!

“You can recruit any of your friends. Don’t you know Liu Long? Dominators will absolutely take a step forward in progress if they come. I wanted him to be the team captain of my bodyguards and sent word through my younger brother. What a pity he didn’t accept my offer.”

So this was what Mu Sen had been so mysterious about last time—Liu Long had been put forward to be this one’s bodyguard captain. Li Hao was at a loss for words!

“Would Captain Liu be a centurion if he came?” asked Li Hao.

“He can if you aren’t! He can’t if you are.” Mu Lin shook his head. “We don’t have the quota for so many. One hundred more is fine enough, but two hundred is too much to feed. The Silver Moon Guards can’t handle it. We’ve maintained a steady one thousand over the years and that’s the crux of the problem—our consumption is too great!

“If you find it inappropriate, Liu Long can be a centurion and you can be his second-in-command. No one’s stopping you!”

Li Hao twisted his lip. I’m not doing that! I get more of a cut if I’m a boss. When it comes to the chief... I’ll ask for him later.

“Oh, don’t forget to collect a special communicator,” Mu Lin said. “It covers a thousand kilometers and can contact anything within that range. There’s also a location device in it so we can maintain a grasp of your whereabouts. We won’t look for you in normal times, but if something happens and we can’t find you, or if you run into danger, we’ll be able to quickly lock onto you. I’m letting you know beforehand so you don’t think we’re keeping you under surveillance.”

Li Hao nodded. It was a good feeling. As for his location being known to the Guards... He was a living, breathing person with countless pairs of eyes on him. What did it matter if the Guards also knew where he was?

Was he supposed to start recruiting now and accomplish a big deed or two after he had his people? As for what that deed would be, it was to kill Red Moon’s people and seize scarlet shadows, of course! That was just a convenient byproduct of Li Hao’s own plans. If he really could bring some people with him to the Guards and help them secure benefits to enhance their strength, he might be able to explore some more ruins next. That was his true goal as he’d gained a great deal from Battle Heaven on the last expedition.

......

Li Hao went to the area in the back and chose a building off to the side. The man-made forest stood behind the building, the shoreline accessible beyond it. Being close to the shore, it invited Li Hao to look at the sea.

He wasn’t much interested in the house since it wasn’t under his name. It was just a place to live, no matter where it was. He had a mansion in Silver City—a pity that wasn’t under his name either. It might become someone else’s if he didn’t return for a long period of time.

The only thing that really belonged to him was his childhood home, but that was a condemned building now. It’d been cordoned off and awaited demolition. Li Hao would reject any proposal that came through. That was his only real estate and he’d have nothing left if it was dismantled.

......

As Li Hao busied himself, several Novas gathered outside the city.

“That wuss Hu Qingfeng says he doesn’t want to do it anymore.” Blue Moon frowned at a piece of paper he was shaking. “He says Hou Xiaochen is willing to follow orders, and that idiot believes it!”

It’d been Hu Qingfeng who contacted them first, saying that Night Watcher superiors supported the decision to eliminate Hou Xiaochen. Now the fellow was getting cold feet?? This was because Hou Xiaochen had agreed to be redeployed and Hu Qingfeng was claiming it as his credit. He’d made the report to central headquarters that he’d given Hou Xiaochen so much pressure that the man had to agree.

Director General Zhao and the others wouldn’t fight him for this merit, in any case. Since he had his deed of accomplishment and two of his men were dead, Hu Qingfeng was afraid to further provoke the intimidating Hou Xiaochen. Therefore, he sounded the retreat and wasn’t willing to work with the three great organizations anymore.

“It’s normal that Hu Qingfeng isn’t willing.” Half Mountain’s voice traveled coolly from his hood. “He’s afraid. Yu Xiao and Huang Jie’s deaths were probably a warning. This guy is known for being timid in the central region. He puts himself forward if there’s something good to be had and runs if there isn’t...”

Blue Moon said nothing and reassessed their situation in light of this development. “Is there a need to continue testing Hou Xiaochen if we don’t have Hu Qingfeng on our side? Do you folks have any other thoughts?”

“Why don’t we wait?” suggested the Parity King. “We can wait to test him in the ruins. Hou Xiaochen seems to be preparing to enter the ancient city. We can avoid some unnecessary trouble if we wait until then.”

The ruins!

“My only concern is that the guy won’t be open to us entering,” Blue Moon raised.

“It won’t be up to him!” the Parity King said coldly. “We must enter Battle Heaven! The three great organizations have the same request this time. If Hou Xiaochen thinks he can stop us... that’s his death wish!”

An incredible number of people wished to share the spoils of an ancient ruin that was yet to be fully explored, one with a premier puppet in residence in its city. Now that the central region knew about the particulars, it was no longer Hou Xiaochen calling the shots.

“Not to mention, it’s not just us!” snorted the Parity King. “He Yong’s come from the royal family and stayed ever since. Is he here just for fun? It’ll be us monopolizing the ruins next time.

“Only Hu Qingfeng has come from the nine ministries, but does that mean the other eight really haven’t made any movement?

“Also, do none of the nearby provinces have any ideas? There are nineteen provinces in the north. Apart from the three that are disorderly, the rest have their fair share of powerhouses. Is no one tempted after hearing the news?

“Hou Xiaochen will have no way of stopping everyone.”

Blue Moon nodded. The Night Watcher director wouldn’t be able to stop anyone. Refusing access might ultimately lead to grave trouble for Silver Moon. “So all we need to do now is wait. The Night Watchers, army, and Inspectorate have recently teamed up to wipe out our three factions...”

Half Mountain opened his mouth just as Blue Moon brought up something new. “I have business elsewhere, I take my leave!”

The Parity King instantly vanished as well. They weren’t interested in discussing this! The Night Watchers were targeting Red Moon and hunting its members all over the place, investigating their strongholds. They weren’t bringing such pressure to bear against Celestial or Yama.

The three great organizations weren’t really one large family. They didn’t care whether Red Moon’s people lived or died.

Blue Moon sneered coldly in the direction the two had left in. Those two wanted nothing more than for Red Moon to lose more people!

It wasn’t until the two were gone that Violet Moon spoke from her position off to the side, “So are we giving up moving against Hou Xiaochen?”

Blue Moon inclined his head. Hu Qingfeng’s lack of participation only meant that they were down a Nova; action was still possible if they wished for it. But more importantly, Hu Qingfeng’s absence represented certain changes. The guy might flip on them and sell them out, then ally with Silver Moon against the three great organizations.

It was certainly a course of action feasible by that guy. He would betray even Hou Xiaochen, not to mention the three great organizations. He had absolutely no principles and turned in whichever way the wind was blowing. His fair-weather behavior meant a difference of two Novas on either side.

“Since Hou Xiaochen has said he’s going to explore the ruins... that’s our chance!” Blue Moon heaved a soft sigh, slightly irritated. “We can avoid certain unexpected factors in the ruins, such as reinforcements! Silver Moon is more than meets the eye and too much can go wrong if we try to kill Hou Xiaochen inside the province.”

“But... the same goes for us!” Violet Moon raised. “Entering the ruins means we lose the chance to be reinforced by headquarters. It’s not just Hou Xiaochen...”

Blue Moon remained silent. It was dangerous to be on the same expedition as Hou Xiaochen, but what choice did they have?

“Was Hou Xiaochen really one of the three Skystar Guards commanders before?” asked Violet Moon.

“We’re not sure. He might be and he might not be...”

Bullshit! Violet Moon regarded his reply wordlessly, then asked slowly, “Is that Manager Yu the Yu Luocha of legend?”

“She might be!” Blue Moon laughed after some thought.

“You don’t know?” Violet Moon was highly surprised. How do you not know the first generation Violet Moon?

“What are you looking at me for?” Blue Moon broke out in a grin. “When the Seven Moons convened, the first generation Blue Moon was my master, not me. All of them are very mysterious, including your mother. How am I supposed to know the first generation Violet Moon if you don’t?”

Violet Moon nodded. The Seven Moons were a group shrouded in mystery, including the first generation Violet Moon. Was she Yu Luocha? It was just rumors, Ying Hongyue never spoke of the matter. Her mother rarely did as well, opting to be silent whenever the topic was raised.

“Be careful lately.” Blue Moon rose, unwilling to say anything else. “We are in significant danger now that Silver Moon has decided to mobilize en masse against us. Don’t be caught by them. I’ll be in some trouble if you die.”

Violet Moon frowned without a word.

“And don’t get in contact with that Manager Yu.” Blue Moon’s voice floated back upon the air as he drifted out of the room. “Even if she is Yu Luocha, the first generation Violet Moon and your mother’s best friend, she is the grand secretary for the Night Watchers now! Women do not care about friendships when they feel the rush of love. All of that becomes a joke to them and she really will kill people. You might learn then how she got the name Luocha!” [1]

“I’m not that idiotic! Violet Moon snorted, how was that possible! She wasn’t going to look for Manager Yu alright, she didn’t want to die! Not to mention, she’d been scared out of her wits by Hou Xiaochen’s spear jab. Although he hadn’t killed her, she didn’t dare show herself around the Night Watchers all the same.

“I hope so!” Blue Moon’s laughter lingered upon the air. He was gone.

1. Luochas are evil spirits in Buddhist mythology that eat human flesh. ☜

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