[V7C028 – In Life and In Eternal Rest]

Qianye didn’t comment on the captain’s words, but he knew just from looking at the route map that his high-speed airship couldn’t reach the neutral lands. The path there wasn’t a straight line, either. Although their current airship was old, it was a model made for intercontinental travel and should have no problems driving to their destination.

Qianye left the control room. He soon arrived at a room one floor below and knocked on the door. This was where the old man nicknamed Great Master was staying. The already narrow cabin room was filled with numerous crates and hardly had any place left to set foot. These containers were filled with instruments—the old man was loath to part with them and insisted on piling everything up in his quarters. Hence, Qianye could only stand after entering.

“What do you think of this ship?”

“Not bad.”

The Great Master’s words surprised Qianye quite a bit. He simply couldn’t figure out what was so good about this two-hundred-year-old antique.

“This ship has been remodeled in many key areas. The main structure, for instance, has been reinforced many times over. I’ve also looked at its engines, they have a very high capacity. This airship should be able to fly really fast even with another layer of armor.”

“Really fast?” Qianye was fairly skeptical.

“At least fifty percent faster than the current speed!” the old man replied confidently.

In Qianye’s eyes, it made no difference even if this turtle moved fifty percent faster. But the old man said, “Don’t underestimate this difference. This means that this airship is faster than most cargo and civilian airships, even with armor. Airship chases in the void typically go on for several days, and every little bit of advantage will be magnified countless times.”

The more Qianye listened, the more he felt that this was a pirate ship—except the captain had stopped doing this line of work. Perhaps Red Pipe had decided to stop temporarily and then resume his trade after arriving at the neutral lands. Nonetheless, Qianye wasn’t interested in all that. It was fine as long as the man delivered him to his destination.

After a brief chat, a sudden clamor arose outside the room, and a loud bang emerged as though something heavy had fallen to the floor. Then, the entire ship shook briefly.

Qianye’s expression changed as he rushed out of the room immediately. There was only one fellow on the ship who could cause such a ruckus—Zhuji.

Qianye’s silhouette flickered, reaching the rear end of the ship in just a couple of steps. There, he saw a large dent in the cabin walls and a young crew member embedded within it. Zhuji was standing not far away, tearing down one of the cabin doors. These doors were made of two layers of steel, each as thick as a finger, with sound and fire-proof materials sandwiched in between. Yet, in the little girl’s hands, they looked as soft as cakes.

Judging from the situation, Zhuji was picking up something handy with which to smash the young man into paste. Although she could just as easily tear him apart on her own, the cleanly lass seemed quite hesitant to soil her hands.

The door came off fairly quickly. Zhuji raised her newfound weapon high above her head and hurled it at the young man.

Qianye reached out and duly blocked the incoming cabin door, his hands trembling ever so slightly in the process. One could see from this just how powerful Zhuji’s attack was. If it wasn’t for Qianye’s obstruction, the young man would be torn apart, along with several layers of cabin walls behind him. The attack might’ve even smashed through the airship’s outer wall.

The bearded captain was naturally alerted of such a loud ruckus. He came over in a hurry but was one step slower than Qianye. Upon seeing the captain, that young man immediately became spirited and cried out with a trembling voice, “Boss, save me! She’s trying to kill me!”

Qianye discarded the cabin door in his hand and asked in a gentle voice, “Zhuji, what’s going on?”

Zhuji replied, “He made sis angry.” What exactly the man did, though, the little girl didn’t explain. All she said was that he had entered Nighteye’s room.

But that was enough for Qianye. He looked back at Red Pipe and said calmly, “Daring to have designs on my woman, you people are quite bold.”

The captain shivered somewhat under Qianye’s gaze but still said, “My men have always been well-behaved. This youngster has followed me for three years and is a fairly reliable person. He can’t have done something like that.”

Qianye said indifferently, “Are you saying that Zhuji is lying?”

The young man called out at this moment, “It’s her! She’s lying, I didn’t do anything. Boss, save me! She’s not human, she’s a demon!”

The bearded man seemed rather conflicted, but he gritted his teeth and said, “This matter is unclear, we need proof...”

Qianye cut him short, “Will you do it, or should I do it?”

The captain’s expression changed. “Wait! We should make things clear first!”

Qianye said calmly, “I guess you want me to do it. There’s no proof regarding this matter, and there’s no need for one. I trust my people.”

The captain growled, “Don’t forget that this is my ship!”

“Makes no difference,” Qianye stated the truth.

The captain’s voice became cruel and cold. “I’ve been in the long-distance shipping business for thirty years, it’s not like I’ve never done a losing deal. But all these years, I’ve never abandoned any of my brothers!”

Qianye remained unmoved by this. “Then you’d better make an exception today or I’ll toss you out.”

The captain’s beard twitched and his momentum fluctuated wildly. Apparently, he was quite conflicted at the moment and might attack any time soon. Qianye, on the other hand, was standing calmly without the slightest trace of origin power around him.

It was at this moment that the latter turned back and saw Nighteye appear at the cabin door. Supporting herself on the wall, she said, “He entered my room but probably wasn’t expecting Zhuji to be there.”

The young man cried out in his anxiety, “It’s not like that! Boss, they’re both lying…”

Qianye’s eyes gradually turned blue with the captain’s figure reflected clearly within them. “You’ve heard everything, right? My patience is running out.”

The captain’s countenance transformed drastically. He suddenly shouted, “Men, throw him out!”

The other crew members were all surprised. One of them said, “Boss! This is our ship, I think that woman might be lying…”

With a snort, Qianye made a pressing motion in the air, sending that person flying backward with the momentum of a bullet exiting the barrel. He was soon buried in the wall at the end of the corridor, his chest sunken, and his life, lost.

The captain cried out in astonishment, “You!”

“All of you should know that it’s not important who this ship belongs to. Don’t get stupid ideas that you shouldn’t get, and don’t say things you shouldn’t say.”

Shocked and apprehensive, the captain kept repeating, “Fine, fine!”

He turned back and shouted, “What are you all staring at? Toss him out!”

The surviving crew members stepped forward timidly and carried the heavily injured youth away. Moments later, a miserable cry was heard from the deck—then everything became silent once more.

Inside the room without a door, Nighteye and Qianye were sitting face to face. She held his hand gently and said, “You really didn’t need to do that. Weren’t you thinking about recruiting Red Pipe? Now you can’t anymore.”

Qianye smiled. “These things aren’t important. I won’t tolerate anyone who wants to harm you, even if he’s just thinking about it!”

Nighteye sighed. “Stupid.”

Qianye dragged her into his arms and said, “I was stupid in the past, but I’m going to try to be clever from now on. I need to control everything in my hands. Only then will I be able to give you a quiet life.”

“I don’t want anything as long as I can stay by your side.”

“Okay.”

The cabin room was completely silent. Nighteye asked while shifting her posture, “Why did you want to recruit Red Pipe?”

“They have a ship and they know the way. I wanted them to head to Evernight Continent and bring back everyone from Dark Flame who wants to follow us to the neutral lands. I’m actually quite worried about them.”

Nighteye replied, “They should be fine with Song Zining on their side. If it’s something even he can’t handle, then you won’t have a better method, either.”

“That’s true.” Qianye sighed.

At this moment, some squeaky crunchy sounds rang out behind them. Qianye looked back and saw little Zhuji hugging a huge piece of beast meat, her cheeks puffing up as she chewed on it with great ferocity. The meat was deep-frozen for easy storage and as hard as a rock, yet Zhuji was making crisp sounds with every bite. It seemed as though nothing could remain intact under the assault of her little teeth.

Qianye and Nighteye looked at each other and smiled—they knew that the little lass was throwing a tantrum. Qianye walked over and patted her head, asking, “Does it taste good?”

Zhuji’s little face deflated. “Not good!”

The little fellow had been following Song Zining all this time and had learned to appreciate exquisite food. Chewing on frozen meat wasn’t her style, even if it was the meat of a fierce beast.

Qianye slapped his forehead. “Then, cook it first before eating.”

The lass immediately passed the meat to Qianye, indicating that he should cook it. Qianye laughed helplessly as he received the meat and entered the kitchen. Zhuji followed closely behind and climbed onto a stool to watch Qianye cook.

Qianye picked up his chef’s knife and began preparing his ingredients. His blade moved like the wind, cutting the frozen meat into several thin slices which he tossed into the pot with other ingredients. A dish was thus produced. Qianye had been fighting everywhere all this time and had little time for other matters. It had been quite a while since he had cooked. Fortunately, he didn’t feel too green because his basic skills were still there.

Since he had already begun, Qianye decided to put on a full display of his abilities. Before long, a table full of food had been prepared, some of which he delivered to the old weapons master.

This meal was full of warmth. The little lass was still hungry after sweeping through half the table. Qianye quickly realized that this little fellow had a bottomless abyss for a stomach and that there was almost nothing that could fill her. Only when she began swaying about sleepily was she truly full.

After dinner, Qianye tucked the sleeping lass in and finally obtained some peace and quiet. He and Nighteye sat holding each other, gazing at the stars outside the window. They felt that growing old like this wouldn’t be all that bad.

At this very moment, the Blackflow City Qianye was so concerned about was burning in the flames of war. Flames surged into the sky throughout the city as explosions filled the air. An airship whistled past above the city, its two ballistae blowing up one of the city’s cannon turrets and causing it to slowly topple over. Large amounts of steam gushed out from the broken pipelines and brought an area dozens of meters around it into a world of white mist.

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