Chapter 137.1
Editor: Sahloknir
Ever since Shi Qing took over the Shi family’s businesses, he’d basically become so powerful he was untouchable. His previous friends were content with their prodigal playboy lifestyles, so Shi Qing didn’t have anyone to show off the mountain of wealth he’d earned.
As a result, the little master was very excited about his cousin w.a.n.g Zhancheng’s arrival. He tugged at his cousin’s sleeve and talked his ear off.
w.a.n.g Zhancheng was too busy recovering from the altruistic image he’d had of his cousin being shattered to react.
That was, until a bone-chilling stare startled him back to reality.
He shivered subconsciously and looked up, only to find that the manservant following his little cousin around was staring at him.
This servant was tall and good looking enough, but his features were cold, hard, and gave off a vicious feeling. His light coloured eyes were looking at w.a.n.g Zhancheng like he was a dead man walking.
If looks could kill, then he would probably already be stabbed into an unrecognizable lump of meat.
w.a.n.g Zhancheng shivered again.
The image being shattered was the least of his problems right now. In accordance with the inexplicable sense of crisis that rose in his heart, he carefully took the corner of Shi Qing’s sleeve and removed the hand his cousin was using to tug on his arm enthusiastically.
As expected, that glare lessened in intensity after Shi Qing’s hand was gone.
w.a.n.g Zhancheng breathed a sigh of relief.
The little master was so excited to have someone to talk to, that he didn’t even notice what had happened.
“Cousin, you were right to come to Crane City. I know all the best places here to have fun. After we eat, I’ll take you around and show you the sights.”
He then patted his chest. “Don’t worry Cousin, I’ll clear the rest of my schedule today for you. We’ll be together all day.”
As Shi Qing’s words fell, the harsh gaze that had left w.a.n.g Zhancheng returned to him with a vengeance.
And it seemed to be even more fierce this time, almost as if someone was staring at him while sharpening a large knife.
w.a.n.g Zhancheng: “…”
He couldn’t figure out what was going on. All he could do was swallow dryly and squeeze out a weak smile. “I appreciate the offer Cousin, but the long journey has left me weary. I would like to rest awhile first.”
Since he was the guest and he wanted to rest, Shi Qing, as the host, couldn’t force him to go for a stroll.
The little master could only reluctantly acquiesce and promise to arrange the best guest room for him, among other pleasantries.
So w.a.n.g Zhancheng was led away by a servant to rest.
The only people left in the study were Jiang Bieyu and Shi Qing. The man immediately shed the disguise of a loyal and demure servant.
He stepped forward and took Shi Qing into his arms from behind.
Jiang Bieyu’s deep voice was quiet and pleasing to the ear. He knew that Shi Qing was both a facecon and a voicecon, so he deliberately showed off his charm when in front of the little master.
“Qing-er, you’re so cruel. I travelled all this way to see you, but you’re going to ditch me to accompany that n.o.body cousin of yours?”
Shi Qing struggled for a while but could not break free. Frustrated, he lifted a foot to stomp on Jiang Bieyu’s boots.
He hissed, “How many times do I have to tell you?? Stop this before someone comes in.”
Jiang Bieyu kissed the little master’s hair and said soothingly, “Don’t worry, no one will come in.”
The little master immediately glanced back at him warily, “You planted your people around me again??!”
The man took the opportunity to slightly lower his head and nuzzle the tip of his nose. “There’s been some unrest in Crane City lately. I was worried about you.”
“Pei!”
Shi Qing tried to push him away, to no avail, which only set him off more. “Aren’t you the cause of the unrest? Do you know how much business you cost me in the last three years by fighting everywhere?”
“Qing-er, you’ve wronged me.”
Jiang Bieyu coaxed, “I’ve never touched Crane City in the past three years. In fact, I took detours just to avoid harming the Shi family. As for your businesses, I would always instruct my men to leave the civilians and shops alone every time I took over a new city.”
While he spoke quietly, Jiang Bieyu took advantage of the little master attentively listening to him to secretly guide him towards the bed used for naps in the study.
“The chaos in Crane City is a sign that the time of the king here is up. It’s due to the power struggle between his sons.”
Ever since Shi Qing took over the Shi family’s businesses, the Shi family’s reputation had spread everywhere.
Everyone knew that the Shi family had a Shi Qing who could turn stones into gold, including of course, the people of Crane City.
In such a troubled world, a family as rich as the Shi family that lacked military power would have perished long ago had Jiang Bieyu not taken care of things behind the scenes the last three years.
Alas, he could cut off the claws of those outside, but his influence was limited within Crane City.
As that king was on his deathbed, his sons had all set their sights on the Shi family in order to secure the position of heir.
After all, if they had the strong financial backing of the Shi family, they were almost guaranteed victory.
The Shi family would be dragged into this conflict whether they wanted it or not.
Jiang Bieyu knew that they only wanted the financial support of the Shi family, so they would be unlikely to harm Shi Qing, the only heir…
Still, he couldn’t leave things up to chance.
Even if there was only a 0.0001% possibility of Shi Qing being harmed, it was still 0.0001% more than Jiang Bieyu could accept.
Now that he had taken the relatively nearby Wei City, he had finally set his sights on Crane City.
It seemed like the little master came to a similar conclusion.
He stopped twisting and kicking altogether and gave the man holding him an astonished look. “Are you really going after Crane City?”
“Of course.”
Jiang Bieyu looked indulgently at the little master as he got up. He said softly, “Don’t worry, I know how much effort you’ve invested into this place. I will minimize damages.”
Crane City had indeed prospered under Shi Qing’s influence.
Internally, the various policies implemented by the Shi family here did turn them a tidy profit, but they also improved the lives of the common people.
Externally, there was the secret protection of Jiang Bieyu.
In this chaotic world, almost every city-state was either embroiled in war with one another or being invaded, leaving their citizens adrift like leaves in a river.
If City A became uninhabitable due to conflict, the commoners would flee with their families and belongings to another city.
But there was a high chance that the new place would also become a warzone soon after they settled down.
As this vicious cycle continued, many commoners who used to lead good lives were reduced to wandering refugees.
But Crane City was different.
In the past three years, only Crane City was left untouched amongst the major city-states. It was like the ones in charge had come to some implicit agreement to leave it alone. No one has ever tried to invade it.
In addition, the Shi family, who were living there, rose to prominence.
Their benevolent acts made this prosperous city in a war-torn world an oasis in the hearts of all commoners.
Others might be unaware, but Shi Qing knew what was going on.
What implicit agreement? It was just Jiang Bieyu, who everyone else knew as the devil incarnate, protecting this city.
Over the years, once anyone tried to lay a hand on Crane City, their forces would be incorporated into Jiang Bieyu’s army within a few months.
No one made the connection. They just thought that Jiang Bieyu was an eccentric genius commander.
When others waged war, they fought places that were close by, places that had abundant resources, or places that were enroute to their target destination.
But Jiang Bieyu fought like a lunatic.
There was seemingly no logic or sense to the places he targeted.
He fought whenever the urge struck him, taking over the territory of whoever he wanted to. It left people at a loss as to what he was after.
Was it territory? Unlikely. Have you ever seen such a fragmented territory?
Resources? But the cities he took over weren’t particularly rich or anything…
Just what was this guy planning???
Naturally, none of those bigshots would have ever guessed that Jiang Bieyu fought like a lunatic just to try and protect one person.
And now, he’d finally decided to capture the gold lined cage of Crane City that contained Shi Qing and take it to his nest.
When he thought about how Shi Qing would soon be able to accompany him day and night, a great deal of joy nearly flooded the man’s heart.
His happiness transformed into excitement.
And when he got excited, he dragged Shi Qing along so they could be happy together.
The little master was not happy. Not at all.
He grumbled under the blanket, “I’m trying to be serious here. Stop being so touchy-feely. I’ve never seen a commander trying to conquer the world as inappropriate as you.”
“How could the world possibly be as important as my Qing-er?”
Shi Qing always felt that this person would evolve one day.
In just three years, his cheekiness grew exponentially.
But he liked it.
Although his body was still huddled under the blanket, the little master poked his head out to look at the man. He petulantly kicked him.
Well, calling it a kick wasn’t right. It was more flirtatious than anything.
“So when are you going to invade Crane City? Tell me beforehand so I can close my shops early and stave off looters in the chaos.”
The man looked at the little master who still nickel and dimed even when he was one of the richest people alive. Adoration flooded his being.
He rubbed the little master’s hair and said, “I rushed here first. The army is to follow later at a normal pace. They’ll probably arrive in a day or two.”
“So soon?” Shi Qing asked him, “How many men have you brought? How certain are you of victory?”
Jiang Bieyu answered quickly, “100%.”
“Snort.”
The little master felt that he was talking out of his b.u.t.t. He turned his face away with disgust, muttering, “You arrogant fool!”
The man only looked at him with a smile.
What he didn’t say was that he had brought almost all the soldiers under his command in order to take this city that Shi Qing held dear without casualties.
Although Crane City was prosperous, its army was not very strong.
If Jiang Bieyu hadn’t been secretly protecting it for the past three years, it would have been annexed already.
Now that his army was approaching the city…
To put it nicely, half of his forces would be enough to take over Crane City.
If Crane City wanted to fight against him, it would be like a mantis squaring up with a carriage.
As long as the person in charge wasn’t a fool, he would definitely choose to surrender rather than fight to the death.
Thus the 100% certainty.
With all the effort Shi Qing had put into this place, anything less than 100% was unacceptable.
“Fine, let’s talk about something else. I’ve already placed my people in Crane City. They’ll cooperate with the army outside when it’s time. The king here is nearing his time, and his squabbling sons are all paper tigers. There’s no doubt I’ll be able to take this city without a single casualty.”
“You make it sound so easy. Who knows what will actually happen.”
Shi Qing glanced at him before diving back under the blanket. “No matter what you say today, I’m not going to do that with you again.”
“Really? Hasn’t Qing-er missed me after so long? Qing-er is all I dream about every night.”
Jiang Bieyu coaxed his soft little hand out from under the blanket and placed it on his cheek. He smiled and continued his persuasion, “Haven’t you always said you like my face? Why don’t you take another look? Maybe it’s grown to suit your tastes even more after so long.”
As expected, this tempted Shi Qing out of the blanket again. His soft hand squeezed and played with the man’s cold, hard cheeks like they were toys.
His expression lightened up a bit. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re slightly more valiant than before?”
Jiang Bieyu let him play with his face. He tilted his head slightly so that the tip of his tall nose touched the youth’s soft hand. He sniffed and warmly asked, “Did you like the milk I sent you? I know how you love to drink it, so I went to the gra.s.slands to find the best milk makers and the best dairy cows there. Even in winter, I ensured they had a supply of fresh gra.s.s.”
“So that’s why the milk tasted like fresh gra.s.s. I could barely choke it down.”
Jiang Bieyu had planted quite a number of people in the Shi family manor. He knew exactly what Shi Qing did every day, from what he ate and drank to even how many times he yawned. Naturally, he knew how the little master loved the milk, insisting on having a gla.s.s each day. Shi Qing was just trying to retaliate against Jiang Bieyu bullying him right now.
The man smiled and hugged him tightly, humour audible in his deep voice, “Alright, since Qing-er doesn’t like the taste of fresh gra.s.s, I won’t have the cows fed that anymore. I’ll ask them to be brought here so we can spend the whole day together. That way the milk they produce will taste like me. Then you’ll love it.”
Saying this, he leaned down slightly and whispered into Shi Qing’s ear, “You’ve drunk it before, so I know you love it.”
The little master’s face flushed violently.
A pair of beautiful and moist eyes widened slightly. He fumed and pushed this pest away. “Jiang Bieyu, are you begging for another whipping?!”
Jiang Bieyu had been fighting on the battlefield for three years. His time with the soldiers and the rabble had refined his shamelessness and smooth talking abilities to the max.
The frustrated little master’s flushed cheeks painted a pretty picture that made his eyes darken slightly. He lightly pushed the other person down on the bed.
Inside the study, the man’s deep and seductive voice could be heard.
“Qing-er, would you like to see the new whip I got you?”