Chapter 140: The Coming Storm

“Human rights?” Lei Qing let out a cold sneer and impatiently smacked him on the head again. “Don’t talk to me about that crap. If you hadn’t been full of nothing to do and come looking for trouble with me, would I have taken such a huge risk to kidnap you? Damn it, you know better than anyone how terrifying your mother is. Few who are targeted by her can keep their whole corpses.”

“Nonsense! Although my mother is a bit domineering, she is wholeheartedly dedicated to the expansion of the Zhen Family Ranch and my father’s last wish.” Zhen Jimu snorted angrily in protest. “Lei Qing, if you dare slander my mother again, I will kill you.”

“Kill me?” Lei Qing curled his lips in disdain. “With your Fighting Qi cultivation that was entirely piled up using resources, you good-for-nothing?”

“Hmph, that was a sneak attack.”

“Even without a sneak attack, I could knock you down within ten moves.”

“Bring it on!”

“Enough.” Li Baobao cried out coquettishly. “Stop arguing. Lei Qing, although Madame Zhen is formidable and a bit fierce, she is still Zhen Jimu’s mother. Don’t speak ill of Madame Zhen in front of him. And Zhen Jimu, you are a hostage now. You’d better have the awareness of a hostage, or you will suffer.”

“Fine, Li Baobao.” Zhen Jimu’s face turned green with anger. “You’re actually turning your elbow outward, speaking for an outsider instead of one of your own.”

“Zhen Jimu, who… who is ‘one of your own’ with you?” Li Baobao scolded angrily. “You and I are just casual acquaintances; we haven’t even spoken a few words.”

“Hmph, Wan Liyun is my Big Brother, and you are Big Brother Wan’s fiancée. You are my future sister-in-law, so of course you are one of my own,” Zhen Jimu said with a matter-of-fact expression.

Li Baobao’s face turned pale. She glanced at Lei Qing with a guilty conscience, then immediately became angry from embarrassment and scolded, “Zhen Jimu, don’t you slander my innocence. I don’t like Wan Liyun at all, and I will absolutely not let him marry into our Li Family.”

Zhen Jimu wasn’t impressive in other areas, but his brain worked quite fast in this regard. Hearing Li Baobao’s tone, he immediately shouted, “Oh~ No wonder! You, you actually fell in love with Lei Qing? Fell in love with a kidnapper?”

“You, you, you, don’t slander me.” Li Baobao defended weakly, her face flushing red. “How… how could I like… like this bandit leader?”

“Stop explaining. My Big Brother was so devoted to you, yet in vain.” Zhen Jimu shouted. “You dare to cheat on him behind his back!”

Cheat… cheat on him?

It was the first time in Li Baobao’s life that she had been labeled with such a shameful term. Overwhelmed with shame and anger, her delicate body trembled violently, and she was so choked with anger that she couldn’t speak.

Several feet away, Wenren Hong’s eyes flashed with anger as her fingers moved swiftly to shoot out a ray of golden finger energy.

A golden light shot straight toward Zhen Jimu’s head on the horse.

“Clang!”

Lei Qing reacted instantly, wielding Lian Zhan with lightning speed to create an arc of light that blocked the finger energy. With a loud clang, the recoil force made Lei Qing’s tiger’s mouth go numb. Shocked by Wenren Hong’s strength, his expression turned ugly. “Senior, isn’t that a bit too much?”

Seeing Lei Qing’s reaction speed and precise swordsmanship, a hint of surprise flickered in Wenren Hong’s cold eyes. She snorted coldly and said, “This scoundrel slandered the Miss’s innocence. He deserves death.”

Lei Qing couldn’t be bothered to argue with this unreasonable middle-aged woman. He urged his horse forward, channeling pure Fighting Qi onto Li Baobao’s back to help smooth her breathing, and comforted her in a gentle voice, “Baobao, this is the Zhen Family’s territory. It wouldn’t be good if Madame Zhen misunderstands. You should go back first.”

“Lei Qing, I…” Li Baobao’s face was a bit pale as she whispered, “I… Wan Liyun and I really didn’t…”

“I understand.” Lei Qing chuckled. “But there’s nothing between us either. I also have someone I like.”

“What?” Li Baobao’s face instantly turned pale, and she stared at Lei Qing in panic. “You, you, when did you get someone you like?”

“Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to say.” Lei Qing said with some “shyness.” “Although I had some conflicts with the Ice Sword Saint, Leng Yuewu, I discovered her otherworldly aura and moving eyes. She is like an unattainable Goddess, and she deeply attracted me. I found that I have fallen uncontrollably in love with her.”

Hearing it was Leng Yuewu, Li Baobao felt a mix of surprise and joy. The surprise was that Lei Qing had fallen for a woman he couldn’t possibly win over, which might deal him a huge blow. The joy was for the same reason; he was just like other brainless fans falling for a Goddess, treating her merely as an idol.

Zhen Jimu had been startled by the surprise attack earlier and was still in shock. But hearing Lei Qing’s words, he immediately became interested. “So, Boss Lei, you also like the Ice Sword Saint, Leng Yuewu?”

“So what? Is that not allowed?” Lei Qing glared back in annoyance. “Watch your mouth in the future. Don’t bring unnecessary disaster upon yourself.”

“Hmph. I really feel sorry for my Big Brother. Li Baobao, anyway, I won’t forgive her.” Zhen Jimu was indeed a loyal guy, and he remained stubborn.

Li Baobao rolled her eyes. Whether you forgive me or not, what does that have to do with me? As long as Lei Qing doesn’t misunderstand, it’s fine. Hearing that Lei Qing had truly become a brainless fan of Fairy Leng, her mood actually improved. Being obsessed with a Goddess wasn’t a big problem; one had to live in reality anyway.

Li Baobao probably never dreamed, even in her wildest imagination, that Lei Qing and that Goddess had already been involved for a long time. No, in fact, they had been involved many times.

“Alright, it’s getting late. This is the Zhen Family’s territory, so it’s not safe.” Lei Qing cupped his hands toward Li Baobao with a smile. “Don’t wander around aimlessly. Be careful of running into real River and Lake Bandits. I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Don’t worry, with Auntie Wenren here, as long as it’s not a Holy Rank powerhouse, no one can harm me.” Li Baobao smiled gracefully. “Lei Qing, you be careful too. The Northwest is quite chaotic.”

Mentioning Wenren Hong, Lei Qing couldn’t help but glance at her again. This woman’s strength was truly impressive. A casual finger flick possessed such power. Although her aura was restrained and her depth hidden, she was clearly no ordinary person; she was likely a Gold-rank powerhouse. The Li Chamber of Commerce indeed had deep foundations to be able to arrange for a Gold-rank powerhouse to guard Li Baobao.

As Lei Qing looked at her, Wenren Hong also fixed her cold gaze on him. She was like a wild beast, making Lei Qing feel a prickling sensation on his back. At the same time, Lei Qing felt a bit puzzled. Logically, a Gold-rank powerhouse should be quite famous, but this was the first time he had heard her name.

“Farewell, Senior Wenren.” Lei Qing nodded to her, turned his horse, and left.

Li Baobao, however, led her group to wait there, watching Lei Qing until he completely disappeared from view before reluctantly withdrawing her gaze. Originally, she had come to Northern Yan City to visit Zhen Huan’er and relax. Unexpectedly, she ran into Lei Qing by chance. Although they didn’t speak much, she felt a small sense of satisfaction in her heart.

“Auntie Wenren, what do you think of Lei Qing?” Li Baobao asked in a low, shy voice.

“This young man appears playful and carefree on the outside, but he has a firm will and great ambition. Given time, if he doesn’t die, he will surely become a hero.” Wenren Hong remained expressionless and cold. “Baobao, this is not a man you can handle.”

“Auntie, what are you talking about?” Li Baobao blushed repeatedly. “Who… who wants to handle him?”

“Baobao, you are the daughter of the Li Clan, and you are excellent yourself. Among your peers in the family, no one can compare with you.” A trace of worry flashed in Wenren Hong’s eyes. “Why obsess over a man? This will disappoint President Li.”

Li Baobao fell silent for a moment, and her expression gradually became serious. “You are right, Auntie Wenren. Father spoils me in every way, and I cannot let him down. I will gradually take over the Chamber of Commerce’s affairs. However, please help me. I don’t want to lag too far behind in personal strength.”

Wenren Hong’s eyes lit up slightly. “Alright, I will help you. With the resources of the Li Clan, as long as you are willing to cultivate hard and put in the effort, becoming a Gold-rank powerhouse in the future won’t be a problem.”

“Auntie, don’t go easy on me. I don’t want to end up like Zhen Jimu, who has Fighting Qi cultivation but is actually a good-for-nothing.”

As Li Baobao spoke, the rumbling sound of galloping horses echoed from the distance. A large group of iron-clad cavalry galloped over, holding high banners with a flamboyant character ‘Wan’ written on them.

Her pretty face changed slightly, and she said angrily, “That pesky ghost Wan Liyun is pestering us again. Auntie, let’s go.” She immediately squeezed her horse’s belly and charged forward.

…

Speaking of Lei Qing’s side, he led Zhen Jimu and the others toward Yehe Town. Since there were many people this time and the soldiers’ horses couldn’t compare to Lei Qing’s Wuzhui, he estimated it would take three full days to reach Yehe Town.

Lei Qing rode leisurely on his horse. But he never could have dreamed that a catastrophe was already spreading over Yehe Town like dark clouds covering the sky.

…

“What did you say?” Xianyu Bao’s stubble stood on end as he grabbed Zhou Han by the collar, his eyes wide with anger. “Over a thousand Horse Bandits are killing their way here? How… how is that possible?”

Cheng Xiao scolded, “Xianyu Bao, let go of Zhou Han first. Speak properly.”

Zhou Han looked unspeakably exhausted and patted the dust off his body. “To be precise, it’s around thirteen to fifteen hundred riders. I originally took Qianqian deep into the grasslands to teach her some scouting techniques. Unfortunately, no, very fortunately, we discovered the tracks of this cavalry unit. We followed them to investigate and found that their target is our Yehe Town.”

Some of the generals under Lei Qing’s command gasped in cold air.

…