Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue ran off at full speed in a northerly direction.
Although there were some soul evolvers who tried to chase after them, by the time they thought they had caught up in reality the two had disappeared too long ago to be caught up.
Unlike before when the two were scouring the lands of China without a fixed course in mind, this time Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue were aiming straight for the city under construction where the Transcendent faction was located. Therefore, it was a lot simpler and quicker to get there.
Even so, the two of them took more than 3 hours in total. After all, nighttime was especially dangerous since that was when the mutant beasts were out hunting and thus the two encountered several obstacles that although only minor still caused the duo's movement speed to drop slightly.
Immediately after arriving, the first thing Bai Zemin did was to look for Evangeline.
Evangeline was the commander in charge of leading the troops and protecting the southern area. The south meant unknown territory as opposed to the north; where they came from. Therefore, apart from Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin himself, he believed Evangeline was the most qualified for such a task.
"Is something wrong?" she asked once Bai Zemin stepped into her tent.
Contrary to most, Evangeline and her troops slept separately from the main camp since at least until the walls were finished they would have to stand guard at all times.
She was currently getting ready for bed so she wore a simple turquoise silk robe and her slightly tousled hair added a different charm compared to that chilling beauty that Bai Zemin and the rest were used to seeing.
"Evangeline, I need you to help me with something." Bai Zemin's eyes only looked at her long white legs for a second before staring into her eyes deeply.
"... I guess it has something to do with that thing you're carrying there?" Evangeline motioned with her head as she looked at the fainted person Bai Zemin was dragging.
"That's right." Bai Zemin nodded and turned around to lay the female soul evolver's body on the ground. Then, he looked at Evangeline again and explained, "I need you to ask her a few questions. I want to know who is the leader of the base this woman belongs to, the number of survivors, and if possible, the division of power. If that's not possible then threaten her a bit but don't go overboard."
Evangeline raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, inadvertently causing her breasts to rise. She didn't realize that her little movement had actually exposed that she wasn't wearing a bra.
Fortunately, Bai Zemin was not interested in her despite her beauty. Therefore, he didn't even flinch and simply listened to her.
"That's weird." She said curiously, "The Bai Zemin I know would definitely get the information he wants to know out of this woman even if he has to throw her to the strays."
Bai Zemin blushed slightly and felt a little embarrassed as he recalled events of the past.
Back then, he had coldly threatened Evangeline by telling her that if she didn't cooperate after trying to murder him he would throw her to the vagabonds of the North Camp with both legs and arms broken so that they would play with her to death.
"Circumstances are different." He cleared his throat and justified, "This woman is a soul evolver belonging to a base far away from here. Besides, the problem is that I'm pretty sure the leader of that base is the father of Wu Yijun."
The eyes of Evangeline finally flashed with understanding as she realized that the point was the father of Wu Yijun... No, the real important matter was Wu Yijun herself.
"I see." She nodded indifferently and while looking at the fainted woman said calmly, "Leave it to me. I'll give you the information you want first thing tomorrow morning, is that okay with you?"
"Perfect." Bai Zemin nodded and did not linger long at Evangeline's place.
After saying goodbye, he headed straight to his tent.
It was past 00 at night, even so, when Bai Zemin set foot inside his tent he saw that Qin Ming was still awake.
"Qin Ming? Why aren't you resting?" Bai Zemin asked in confusion as he took off the top of his armor.
Qin Ming was currently sitting on a wooden chair reading a book with a relaxed expression on her kind face. Hearing Bai Zemin's voice, she closed the book and stood up with a smile, "Lord, I thought you might be hungry so I was waiting for you. Would you like me to warm up your dinner?"
Qin Ming had studied Bai Zemin's face for a second, and seeing him relaxed, she sighed a sigh of relief in her heart: 'Looks like things went well for the Lord or else he might not be so calm.'
She was worried as Bai Zemin had disappeared for almost the whole day to look for his family. Therefore, she had been silently praying that he would not meet disappointments and bad news that would make him suffer. At the end of the day, Bai Zemin was her benefactor in every sense of the word, and thus, she wanted nothing but the best for him.
"I'd like to take a bath first." Bai Zemin chuckled and pointed to himself, "I've been running nonstop all day so I'm a little sweaty right now."
The eyes of Qin Ming flashed with a weird light as they roamed over the now naked torso of the young man in front of her.
"Lord, may I say something perhaps a little out of place?"
"Uh?" Bai Zemin gave her a puzzled look as he stowed the chest plate of his armor in his storage ring before nodding, "Go ahead."
"I'd like to ask you to be a little more careful when you decide to undress." Qin Ming smiled shyly and her face flushed slightly as she said in a low voice, "You are clearly unaware of your current charm. Even a woman who has already seen the world like me can't help but be attracted. Not to mention a younger, inexperienced woman."
"..." Bai Zemin was a bit tongue-tied. The corner of his mouth twitched a couple of times as he nodded stiffly, "I'll keep that in mind..."
Qin Ming chuckled and bowed before excusing herself. She went to prepare a tub of hot water to allow Bai Zemin to take a bath.
Bai Zemin shook his head and didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he muttered to himself, "Damn, even a hot mature woman isn't out of this daddy's reach."
Swoosh!
Lilith appeared without warning like a ghost, causing Bai Zemin to subconsciously take a step back. She looked him up and down before folding her arms and saying with a hint of jealousy, "If you're looking for a mature woman, then don't you have me? I'll be your milf if you so want me!"
Bai Zemin stared at Lilith and couldn't help but say dumbfounded, "You? But you look like someone my age..."
"Didn't I tell you before? Did you forget? I actually-" Lilith suddenly stopped as she was about to say something. She cleared her throat and said calmly, "No, it's nothing."
"Ha?" Bai Zemin made a strange face as he looked at her as if she was an idiot.
"I said it's nothing." Lilith snorted before disappearing.
Lilith was going to say again that she was almost 1 century old but soon regretted it. At the end of the day, even if Lilith was no different from a child in the eyes of most living beings in the universe, in the eyes of people like Bai Zemin she was indeed an old woman in terms of age; more so when he still hadn't shaken off the repressed thought of mankind from the past!
About twenty minutes later, Qin Ming informed Bai Zemin that the hot water was ready so he practically flew into the temporary bath. As he immersed his body in the hot water, Bai Zemin let out a deep growl like that of a satisfied cat as he felt the exhaustion slowly leave his body.
He lay there, silent with nothing but the gentle sound of the water oscillating with his every little movement. There were many things he had to think about and many more to plan so everything had to be perfect; at this moment, Bai Zemin was powerful.... But his faction was still growing in many ways.
A single mistake could mean the total collapse and death of countless followers who respected him, admired him, revered him, and trusted him practically blindfolded. Slowly, Bai Zemin was adjusting to the position of an important leader and apt ruler; he understood that the least he could do to reciprocate to those who followed him was to live up to expectations.
"Let's hope everything goes well..." Bai Zemin closed his eyes and placed a damp towel on his eyelids before relaxing completely and sighing, "Otherwise, it will be a bit of a problem..."
Bai Zemin stayed in the bath until the water finally began to lose its warmth. By the time he reached the living room inside his tent, Qin Ming was standing in a corner while a bowl of soup with meat and noodles steamed on the wooden table.
Bai Zemin rubbed his hands together and thanked her for the care before he sat down at the table and began to taste his dinner. He was really hungry even if he didn't say it out loud.
"Right. My Lord, I almost forgot to report something to you." Qin Ming was smiling slightly at the sight of Bai Zemin eating like an excited child before suddenly something flashed in her memory.
"Em?"
Getting his attention, she explained, "About an hour at most before you returned, Miss Wu Yijun and Miss Cai Jingyi were here to update you about the progress of the first day."
"Oh..." Bai Zemin frowned slightly upon hearing this. The matter of building the city would probably be delayed a bit longer than expected if he wanted to carry out his plan as soon as possible, 'Not that I have much choice either.'
Qin Ming naturally had no idea what he was thinking. After a moment's silence, she said somewhat hesitantly: "My Lord... Miss Wu Yijun seemed really disappointed before she left.... She seemed really eager to see you."
Bai Zemin's movements froze for a second and the spoon filled with soup stopped inches from his mouth. A few seconds later, he nodded and said quietly, "Thank you for informing me."
"You're welcome." Qin Ming bowed before staying in silence.
About 10 minutes later, Bai Zemin wiped his mouth and drank the glass of natural juice Qin Ming had personally prepared before standing up.
"Qin Ming, I'll go see if Wu Yijun is still awake. I need to talk some important matters with her." He said before walking towards the exit.
A smile formed on Qin Ming's lips as she looked at his back and her imagination couldn't help but go wild as she mischievously thought, 'Looks like the Lord might have some fun tonight. Miss Wu Yijun is really lucky if that happens.... Though on second thought, she really deserves it.'
"Qin Ming."
"Y- Yes!" She jumped at the sound of Bai Zemin's voice and when she met his serious gaze she thought her thoughts had been discovered.
To her surprise, Bai Zemin smiled slightly and said in a softer voice, "Go and rest." Then, he walked out not before adding, "That's an order."
Qin Ming released the breath she was holding and patted her chest several times before laughing under her breath to avoid waking the rest.
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