Chapter 46: Ambition Sprouts

Although Qingshi Town was not Lei Qing’s home base, he was very familiar with this place. As soon as they entered the small town, he helped Lei Qing find the best inn, booked two top-grade rooms, and even insisted on paying the bill.

However, he and his brothers could not bear to stay in such an expensive inn. Instead, they found a large shared room in a small inn nearby to stay in.

Speaking of which, half a year had passed since Yu Shanshan ordered the Free Mercenary Group to hunt down Lei Qing. In these six months, Lei Qing’s life was worlds apart from when he was a Young Master. However, it was precisely this half-year that allowed him to complete the most important transformation of his life. He shed his impetuousness, softness, and arrogance. Through hardship, he became much more mature and steady; the sharpness in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by a reserved and peaceful look.

But this did not mean that Lei Qing had truly lost his sharp edge. He had simply hidden that sharpness in his chest. Usually, he kept his brilliance concealed, and only when he needed to draw his sword would his energy burst forth for a fatal strike.

However, being reserved or mature did not mean he no longer enjoyed comfort. On the contrary, he now understood how to enjoy life and cherished every day he lived even more than when he was an ignorant hedonistic son. Having not enjoyed a hot bath for over half a year, he finally soaked comfortably to his heart’s content. He only got up to change clothes when Jiang Yu brought him new ones.

Jiang Yu did not have much taste in clothing. He had once seen some wealthy young masters wear warrior attire, so he gritted his teeth and spent a large sum of money to buy a set.

After changing into the new clothes, Lei Qing indeed looked strikingly heroic. His air of a wealthy Young Master was plainly revealed, which made Jiang Yu secretly speculate about Lei Qing’s background.

Coincidentally, Zuo Qianqian also came to the next room to visit Lei Qing. As soon as she entered, she showed off her nice set of young girl’s warrior attire and said happily, “Brother, look at my clothes. Big Brother Jiang asked someone to buy them for me.”

One had to admit that although Zuo Qianqian was still a young girl who hadn’t fully grown up, she was already a stunning beauty in the making. In that nice red warrior attire, she looked both youthful and lively. It was the first time in her life she had dressed up like this; seeing that it looked good, no wonder she couldn’t wait to come and show it off.

“Big Brother Jiang was very thoughtful.” After praising Zuo Qianqian a few times, Lei Qing cupped his hands toward Jiang Yu and said, “Please deduct the money spent this time from the dividends.”

“What are you saying, Boss Zuo?” Jiang Yu said, seemingly a bit unhappy. “You and Miss Qianqian are the saviors of me and my brothers. Such a small amount of money is not worth mentioning. Also, Boss Zuo, just call me Old Jiang from now on.”

“Hehe, please sit down first.” Lei Qing invited him to sit and personally poured him a cup of wine. “This inn is a property of the Li Chamber of Commerce, right? Hehe, this red wine is shipped back from overseas continents. It is said that only the Li Chamber of Commerce has the ships capable of crossing the ocean to bring back such authentic fine wine. I, Lei Qing, haven’t drunk such good wine for over half a year. However, the Li Chamber of Commerce is very dark-hearted; they sell it at an incredibly high price. Even when I was in the Tianlan Empire, I could only taste it occasionally.”

Lei Qing? Although Jiang Yu was slightly surprised in his heart, he did not show it. Being away from home and facing trouble, it was only natural for one to not reveal their real name. He felt flattered as he took the red wine and took a sip, but frowned slightly. Clearly, he did not like the taste of red wine. But immediately, he put on an appreciative smile. “It is indeed good wine. Thank you, Young Master Lei.”

“Hehe, don’t force yourself if you’re not used to it. I know a bold man like Big Brother Jiang likes strong liquor.” Lei Qing took a sip, put down his cup, and smiled calmly. “I used to think this wine was good too, but sadly, times have changed. Drinking it now, it really tastes bland and lacks kick. Big Brother Jiang, aren’t you curious about my background?”

“Young Master Lei, if you wanted to say something, you would say it. I only know that if not for Young Master Lei this time, we brothers would have been in terrible trouble.” Jiang Yu straightened his body and said solemnly, “If you have any orders, please speak freely. As long as it is within my power, I will not refuse.”

Along the way, Lei Qing had chatted on and off with Jiang Yu and his subordinates. He discovered that this man was very loyal and had also been part of a small mercenary group. However, after an accident, the mercenary group disbanded, and he returned to his hometown.

From his brothers, Lei Qing also learned that this man valued friendship greatly; he would rather go without food and drink himself than let his brothers have a bite to eat. Lei Qing tested him several times and found that he was indeed very loyal. Even knowing that Lei Qing could not offer him any help in the future, he still treated him warmly. He was willing to stay in a large shared room himself just to prepare such good rooms for Lei Qing and Qianqian.

The cost of staying in these two luxurious rooms for one night was enough to buy an ordinary horse.

“I don’t have any orders, but I am actually a direct descendant of the Lei Family of the Tianlan Empire. I am ranked ninth in the family, so Big Brother Jiang, you can call me Lei Jiu,” Lei Qing said calmly. “However, because I offended some people, I had to run to the Free Alliance to hang around for a while. Big Brother Jiang, to be honest and speaking directly, I value your character and mind, and I want to cooperate with you.”

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Jiang Yu’s face. “So Young Master Lei is a descendant of the hereditary Count Lei Family of the Tianlan Empire. No wonder you have such extraordinary bearing. You want to join us? That would be great. I can give up the position of the horse team leader to you. As long as the brothers and their families have food to eat, everything is fine.” He thought to himself that if a master like Young Master Lei joined, not only could this business route continue, but it could also grow bigger.

“Joining is not really the right word, but I can give you some support,” Lei Qing said indifferently. “For example, the heads of the Three Great Bandits.”

Jiang Yu trembled and became a bit excited. “You… do you mean you want me to pledge allegiance to you?”

“Why? Is Big Brother Jiang unwilling?” Lei Qing asked with a playful smile.

“No, no, this is a huge honor for me, and also an opportunity.” Jiang Yu stood up, cupped his hands, and said, “As long as Young Master does not dislike my humble background and weak strength, I, Jiang Yu, am willing to work my heart out for you.”

Jiang Yu’s performance was not fake; various factors drove him to easily accept Lei Qing’s recruitment. Firstly, this trade route was cut off. The next step would be either to take his brothers to join some small force and get swallowed up, or to divide the money and disband. Yet Lei Qing not only saved them this time but also had an extraordinary background. The Lei Family of the Tianlan Empire, although their prestige was not as great as in their peak period, was still a formidable force. For a commoner like Jiang Yu who was struggling on the survival line, they were definitely an existence too high to reach and needed to be looked up to.

If there was a chance to follow Lei Qing, perhaps this would be an opportunity for Jiang Yu to rise in the world. Moreover, his brothers would have food to eat if they followed him. Of course, Jiang Yu wouldn’t just pledge loyalty to any wealthy young master he met.

Lei Qing not only had a good background and strong personal strength but had also saved them. Furthermore, he was a decent person; Jiang Yu found no trace of immaturity or childishness in him. Otherwise, if he met an irresponsible, soft hedonistic son, Jiang Yu would have backed down no matter how impressive the other party’s background was.

“Very good. From now on, you are my man,” Lei Qing said with a satisfied smile. Low strength was not a big problem. How one behaved and whether they could be loyal were what Lei Qing valued more. During the process of being hunted down, Lei Qing had thought carefully about many things.

The fact that his family’s power was inferior to the Yu Family was naturally a major factor. But the main reason was that his own strength was low, and he had no power. Just imagine, if he were a Holy Rank powerhouse, with countless capable fighters under his command, let alone Yu Shanshan daring to order a hunt for him, even the Emperor of the Tianlan Empire would treat him with great respect after seeing him. Besides, Lei Qing was still thinking about that Spatial Ring of the Saint of Thieves. It fell into the bear’s belly, and he couldn’t retrieve it for now. When he became stronger, he would definitely lead a group of people into the mountains to hunt down that Black-backed Giant Bear. Anyway, the material of the Spatial Ring was special; it wouldn’t spoil for a while. Even if the bear excreted it, he would search for it inch by inch with a bunch of subordinates until it was found.

…