The Deity of War

Qi Ying had a rough grasp of what had happened after seeing Duan Xilai’s head. It seemed that the Duan family had completely fallen. Even Duan Xilai was dead, so there was no way they would be able to make a resurgence.

Master Thirteen appeared to be even more powerful than he had imagined!

With the Duan family eliminated, there was no one he had to be wary of in the Celestial River County.

At that moment, Lu Feifei strode over to them with a smile. “Let’s go back! I’m going to bring out a jug of eighty-year-old Celestial River Wine to celebrate tonight!”

“Alright.”

Qi Ying nodded before latching onto Xuan Yu’s hand. “Let’s go, Mother Yu!”

It was indeed a day that was worthy of celebration.

Prior to getting onto the horse-drawn carriage, Qi Ying looked around with a hopeful expression, but was quite dejected when he was unable to find the person he was looking for.

However, his eyes were filled with renewed hope and happiness, when he looked down at the shiny silver glove on his left hand.

“I can’t see you, but you’re constantly protecting me… There will definitely come a day when I will be able to stand beside you!”

…

In a quiet corner away from everyone else, Madam Butterfly and Qin Susu were standing across from one another. The latter had her head bowed with a concerned look on her face; she clearly didn’t want to look into Madam Butterfly’s eyes.

However, Madam Butterfly cut straight to the chase. “That Qi Ying is the kid from the Nameless Mountain three months ago, right?”

Qin Susu nodded reluctantly.

She knew that Madam Butterfly had found out from the moment the barrier had erupted from that silver glove, as she was the only one who could activate the glove’s ability.

As such, lying would be pointless.

“It’s just as I expected…”

Madam Butterfly’s expression abruptly cooled.

Qin Susu knew how cruel and merciless Madam Butterfly was, and her heart skipped a beat upon seeing her reaction. “Teacher… There’s nothing between me and him. He saved my life once and I was only returning the favor… Please don’t go after him…”

Madam Butterfly contemplated momentarily before replying, “Alright, I’ll make a special exception just this once… But don’t ever interact with him again… You know how your father and everyone else is. Remember that you are different from everyone else.”

“Yes.”

Qin Susu nodded as she heaved a sigh of relief.

Madam Butterfly’s willingness to let things slide was the best possible outcome… As for anything else, she didn’t dare to get her hopes up. A relationship between them would only be possible if Qi Ying managed to get to an extremely high status in a short time…

But was that really possible?

At that moment, Madam Butterfly heaved a faint sigh. “Every woman in the world is young at some point. I know what you’re feeling. But you have to realize that all men are filthy animals! Those handsome men who are always trying to woo women through sweet-talk are unreliable… If you get too close to him, you will only hurt him and yourself!”

…

“Where did you go today, Yan Nine?”

Qi Kaiyang saw Yan Nine at the county army base, and the latter slammed a massive jug of wine onto the table with a smile on his face. “You know me; I’m not into money or women, but I do love myself a good drink… I went to visit a friend of mine in the Celestial River County, and he gave me this jug of Celestial River Wine… Here, let’s drink to our hearts’ content…”

However, Qi Kaiyang laid a hand on Yan NIne’s arm and said, “Setting aside the fact that drinking is prohibited in the army base, since when did you have friends in the Celestial River County? The massive event that happened today must have had something to do with you, right?”

“Well… It’s a bit of a long story.” Yan Nine sighed and said, “The name Yan Nine is actually just a nickname. I am not actually from the Yan family, but the Yan surname was bestowed upon me as I was serving the prince. To be honest, all we did was accompany the prince during his travels, and didn’t really do much else… Coincidentally, I encountered one of those friends from back then in the Celestial River County.”

“He was also given the Yan surname?”

A reminiscent light appeared in Yan Nine’s eyes as he replied, “Yes. Among us thirteen brothers, his cultivation base was the worst, so he was ranked number thirteen. When the prince rose to power, the capital was plunged into turmoil. The thirteen of us either died or fled during that time… Who would have thought that I would still encounter one of them after all this time!”

“That is indeed quite extraordinary.” Qi Kaiyang’s expression softened slightly, “So what happened?”

“Hmph, the Celestial River County isn’t a big place, but there sure are some ambitious hillbillies here! Some of them banded together and tried to rob my brother, so I took care of them for him. Aside from that… I also discovered something else.”

“What is it?”

“The Qi Ying that secured seventy-two badges today is the young man who saved Qin Susu on the Nameless Mountain! He is the one who killed the sixth young master of the Chu family!”

Qi Kaiyang was slightly taken aback before slapping his leg in a moment of enlightenment. “No wonder! Qin Susu was looking at him with a weird expression all day long! But isn’t he supposed to have no cultivation base? Only three months have passed since then… Is his cultivation aptitude that insane?! Could it be that he inherited some sort of special bloodline?”

Qi Kaiyang saw a lot of potential in Qi Ying, and his only concern was his low cultivation base, which indicated that he had limited cultivation potential… However, progressing to the Fifth Energy Martial Stage from scratch in three months was no joke! Furthermore, his combat prowess was comparable to that of a Spirit Martial Stage warrior; his aptitude was extraordinary! Perhaps only the best disciples in the Yun Xiao Academy could match his talent.

However, Qi Kaiyang’s brows then furrowed as he mused, “He’s going to face a lot of difficulties in the future! Setting aside whether the Qin family does anything to him, wouldn’t the Chu family seek revenge on him after he arrives in Yun Xiao City?”

“That is indeed a concern… However, Thirteen told me that Qi Ying’s identity is not as simple as it looks.”

“What do you mean?”

“He won’t tell me, so how am I supposed to know?” Yan Nine shrugged as he poured a bowl of Celestial River Wine for himself and gulped down a large mouthful, “But think about his surname…”

“Qi?” Qi Kaiyang’s eyelid twitched, “You’re saying he has something to do with our Qi family?”

Yan Nine shook his head. “I’m not saying anything! I’m only speculating… Think about it; he’s fifteen years of age… I trust you still remember what happened to the Qi family fifteen years ago!”

Qi Kaiyang’s expression changed as he urged in a serious voice, “Please don’t reveal this information to anyone else! The Qi family has only just recovered from that event, and we can’t afford to have more trouble striking us now… Thank you for the reminder; I will investigate this matter in secret. If it really is as you speculate, then I’m not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Qi family!”

“Haha! Looks like this trip to the Celestial River County has been a fruitful one for both of us!”

Yan Nine raised his bowl and downed the rest of the wine within in one go.