Chapter 178: Tuoba Tianyin

Time passed quickly, and in a flash, another month or so had gone by. Leng Yuewu had long since left; she first had to return to the Moon Cold Palace, and then go to the Northern Frontier of Tianlan to guard the North Ice Prison and suppress the chaotic beasts.

Although it had been nearly a month since the incident, the scene from that night still made Lei Qing shudder whenever he thought of it. The Ice Fighting Qi that Fairy Leng left in his body took Lei Qing a full hour to disperse. But just when Lei Qing had nowhere to vent the fire in his heart and had to resort to solving it himself manually, like in the old days, Leng Yuewu floated back like a ghost. Her expression of surprise, astonishment, disdain, and extreme embarrassment almost drove Lei Qing crazy. It took until dawn to explain to her half-believingly that for men to solve things themselves was a normal physiological category. Not just men, but for women to solve problems themselves was also normal.

Fortunately, amidst her half-belief, Leng Yuewu decided to trust Lei Qing, which saved him from being regarded as a pervert.

During this month, although things were calm, various matters arrived one after another. The majority of the Iron Cavalry Regiment’s army had already withdrawn to their respective bases, leaving only a small portion stationed near Yehe Town, preparing to receive resources from Blood Wolf.

With the Eternal Life Palace and the Royal Court acting as guarantors, there was no fear that Blood Wolf would fail to deliver the resources worth thirty thousand gold. However, before Blood Wolf’s resources arrived, the goods sent by the Zhen Family Ranch arrived first.

A vast herd of cattle, sheep, and horses was escorted by a cavalry force of three thousand. Those cavalrymen were strictly disciplined and imposing. Clearly, Madame Zhen was putting on a show, deliberately letting Lei Qing witness the combat power of the Zhen Family Ranch to intimidate him.

This behavior secretly amused Lei Qing; women were women, their actions were petty and not generous enough. Since his son’s life was in his hands, who in the world didn’t know that the Zhen Family Ranch’s cavalry was unparalleled? Since they couldn’t attack him, what was the point of parading out to flex their muscles meaninglessly?

There was an effect, however, which was to remind Lei Qing once again that the Zhen Family Ranch was powerful. In three years, he had to develop to the point where, if not able to contend with the Zhen Family Ranch, then at the very least, if the Zhen Family Ranch wanted to kill him, they would have to pay a price that outweighed the gain.

Many ranches were currently under construction, and everyone in the Black Flag Regiment had been so busy lately that their feet barely touched the ground, just to provide shelter for those cattle, sheep, and horses as soon as possible. The items sent by the Zhen Family Ranch were, upon inspection, all good quality goods. They didn’t try to fool Lei Qing in this regard, clearly fearing that in a fit of rage, Lei Qing might do something bad to Zhen Jimu.

Zhen Jimu meant a great deal to Madame Zhen, not just simply as a son. Her current position in the Zhen Family was very stable because she acted under the banner of helping her son manage the ranch; the family head was essentially Zhen Jimu. If anything were to happen to Zhen Jimu, and she had no other children to inherit the ranch, countless Zhen Family members who were secretly dissatisfied with Madame Zhen would openly or covertly launch attacks. By then, her position would surely be shaken. After all, the Zhen Family Ranch represented the interests of over ten thousand Zhen Family members.

Perhaps to avoid Lei Qing’s misunderstanding, that cavalry unit did not send a Gold-rank general to lead them. The leader was a female general named Tuoba Tianyin. She was young, in her twenties, but already possessed the strength of a High-rank Silver.

At such a young age and with such cultivation foundation, achieving Gold-rank was just around the corner. Lei Qing had privately asked Gongsun Xu and learned that Tuoba Tianyin was an adopted daughter taken in by Madame Zhen. Her aptitude and talent were extremely outstanding, and she had been cultivated with care since childhood.

Lei Qing took the opportunity of her request to visit Zhen Jimu to hold a banquet and invite Tuoba Tianyin. His purpose was simple. This Tuoba Tianyin had such cultivation at a young age, and her future achievements were limitless; he wanted to see if there was a chance to win her over. Incidentally, he could also scout for information. Also, it was because Tuoba Tianyin cultivated the Thunder Element Fighting Qi Technique, just like him. Lei Qing kept this in mind; it seemed that in Zhen Jimu’s Spatial Ring, there was a Silver-rank Thunder Element Crystal Core hidden, which might have been used to curry favor with this woman.

The three thousand troops of the Zhen Family Ranch were stationed outside Yehe Town. Regarding Zhen Jimu, Lei Qing did not dare to be careless in the slightest. He ordered the calm and steady Cheng Xiao to personally lead the troops to guard him day and night. Otherwise, if some accident occurred and Zhen Jimu were rescued, these three thousand cavalry would become a nightmare for the Black Flag Regiment.

Inside Yehe Town, in Lei Qing’s temporary residence, Tuoba Tianyin, who had met Lei Qing once during the handover of goods, was very bold. She came to the banquet accompanied only by a few female Personal Guards.

Lei Qing followed proper etiquette and went outside to welcome her. Upon seeing Tuoba Tianyin, who was wearing exquisite dark leather armor with her long hair tied up, looking cold as ice yet heroic and valiant, he smiled and cupped his hands, saying, “Lei Qing welcomes General Tuoba.” He walked forward with elegant manners to personally hold her horse.

His subordinates, a group of Personal Guards, also rushed forward, scrambling to hold the horses for Tuoba Tianyin’s female Personal Guards.

These Personal Guards under Lei Qing’s command, relying on their youth and priority in resource supply, had all cultivated to the Black Iron-rank. They were full of vigor and spirit, walking with the stride of dragons and tigers, showing an impressive manner. Clearly, Tuoba Tianyin was someone who valued appearances. The female Personal Guards she selected were not necessarily very powerful, but each one had a valiant posture and was quite good-looking.

This caused those brats under Lei Qing’s command to have their eyes lighting up, scrambling forward to flatter them.

Relying on etiquette, Lei Qing looked straight ahead without turning his eyes. This made Tuoba Tianyin, who was very dissatisfied with him in her heart, unable to lose her temper. She could only get off her horse gracefully and say, “General Lei is too polite.” Her voice was faint, revealing a touch of indifference.

Lei Qing handed her horse to a Personal Guard and invited her inside while smiling, “General Tuoba coming to my Yehe Town makes you the most precious guest here. How could I dare to show any neglect? Please, General. Your family’s Young Master is already waiting in the guest hall.”

After leading her into the main hall, they saw Zhen Jimu’s hands and feet were shackled with heavy iron chains, the other end of which was directly hung on the wall. Behind him stood two guardian deities, Cheng Xiao and Xianyu Bao, their hands pressing on their sword handles, their expressions solemn. It seemed as if there was any movement, they would draw their swords and cut off Zhen Jimu’s head.

However, that guy Zhen Jimu also had some advantages, which was his strong adaptability. He was usually locked in a heavily guarded cell, so being able to come out for some air today felt like the New Year to him. Before the banquet started, he grabbed a roast chicken and began to gnaw on it recklessly. Although the food in the cell didn’t shortchange him, it was only enough to fill his stomach; where would he usually get such greasy food to eat?

In his life, he had always disdained this kind of oily roast chicken. If he wanted to eat chicken, it had to be a pheasant from the Great Snow Mountain, carefully cooked with various rare ingredients.

Seeing Zhen Jimu in such a miserable state, Tuoba Tianyin’s face became even colder, and she said with slight anger, “General Lei, why are you torturing my family’s Young Master like this? Why don’t you quickly unlock his handcuffs and shackles?” Although she usually looked down on Zhen Jimu very much, deep down she also disdained and despised him. But after all, this person was the Young Master of the Zhen Family Ranch, and also the beloved son of Madame Zhen, whom she respected the most.

“General Tuoba, your Young Master is my captive.” Lei Qing chuckled, “It’s already good enough that he has chicken to eat and isn’t being abused. As for the shackles, please forgive me for not being able to comply. I am a timid person; what if your Zhen Family Ranch finds a way to rescue Zhen Jimu? Then I’m afraid my Yehe Town would turn to ashes in an instant. Please, General Tuoba.”

Tuoba Tianyin, with her beautiful face and valiant posture, looked livid. She sat down at the table without saying a word. She slammed the table and said angrily to Zhen Jimu, who was gnawing on a greasy chicken butt, “Young Master, watch your image.”

Zhen Jimu shook all over and looked up, as if he had just seen Tuoba Tianyin. He was immediately startled into a panic, threw the half-eaten chicken in his hand, hurriedly wiped his mouth and face, and revealed a guilty smile, saying, “So it’s General Tuoba. Are you here to visit me, or to take me back?”

Lei Qing sat down in the main seat with a smile, clapped his hands to order wine and food, and said to Zhen Jimu while putting his arm around his shoulder, “Brother Jimu, you’re in such a hurry to leave Yehe Town, disregarding our brotherhood. It really makes me heartbroken.”

After a period of time, Zhen Jimu had also submitted to Lei Qing. If he dared to anger him, various methods would emerge endlessly. Immediately, Zhen Jimu revealed a fawning smile and said, “Big Brother Lei is joking. How could I bear to leave a place with such beautiful scenery as Yehe Town? However, I would like to ask Big Brother Lei to make the decision and change a suite for me. That room is a bit small and doesn’t get much light.”

“Okay, I won’t say I don’t take care of you as a brother.” Lei Qing laughed heartily, “Go to Yuwen Hu’s room. His room is big and has a private courtyard. If you are bored, you can chat and talk with him.”

Suddenly, Zhen Jimu had a miserable look on his face and laughed dryly, saying, “Boss Lei, Yuwen Hu and I are not the same kind of people; I’m afraid we don’t have a common language. I suddenly feel that my small room is quite nice, cozy and safe.”

Tuoba Tianyin watched Zhen Jimu’s hopeless appearance as he fawned over Lei Qing. In addition to indignation in her heart, she inexplicably gave rise to a sense of disgust. How could the Zhen Family produce such a spineless thing? Being captured inexplicably was one thing, but to actually shamelessly flatter the enemy like this.

Even Lei Qing, with his extremely hypocritical smile, was hated even more by Tuoba Tianyin. A fake smile, a sinister and treacherous nature, and he calls himself Young General? He was clearly a hypocritical fox. If she hadn’t been ordered by Madame Zhen to visit the Young Master’s condition, she would have left in a huff long ago.

“General Tuoba, guess if I told Madame Zhen that if she gives you to me, I will release her son.” Lei Qing said with a playful smile, “Would she agree?”

……