Chapter 393: Face Of A Scholar, Heart Of A Hero

Chen Xiaolian who was inside the other room felt nervous as his mind began conjecturing. He had likely overheard something huge within the guild, especially that ‘Blood Verdict’ matter. Its name alone gave off a dangerous feeling; it was certainly not something good.

Next, a loud laughter came from the room beside as the man with the majestic voice said, “Good! Bluesea truly does have a heroic spirit; face of a scholar, heart of a hero. All right then, since you’ve made up your minds, I won’t try to dissuade you anymore! You can be at ease for this time’s Blood Verdict. My Guild Leader had given the command and I will be personally accepting it. When the time comes, I will see to it that everything is conducted fairly so that you will not find it unfair at all!”

After saying that, the one with the majestic voice left.

The outer room became silent for a moment. Then, Qiao Yifeng began conversing with Bluesea.

“Brother Bluesea, you really want to fight for three consecutive rounds?” asked Qiao Yifeng with a rather tangled tone.

Bluesea was silent.

Qiao Yifeng continued, “Once the Blood Verdict begins, the other guilds will see us as a juicy piece of meat and begin snatching! When the time comes, the ones they send will likely be their high-ranking experts! Bluesea, although your strength is good… participating in the incoming Blood Verdict is one thing, but to be the one to fight in all three rounds… tell me, is that not just courting death?!”

Hearing the anxiousness within Qiao Yifeng’s tone, Bluesea smiled gently and said in a hushed tone, “Brother Qiao, at the end of the day, what we are doing here is to simply seek our deaths. An attempt to seek a way of life amid the storm of death. At present, you no longer have any strength. But, if you still had it, you would probably have made the same choice!”

“Same as you? Fighting all three rounds alone? Son of a bitch! This senior’s name is Qiao Yifeng, not Qiao Feng! Do you take me for a fool?!” [1]

“If I don’t do it, then who else could?” Bluesea sighed. “Our guild is not lacking in members. Generally speaking, our members are a match for the other guilds’ members. However, in terms of high-ranking experts, we don’t have many to show.”

“Where’s that Thunderflame? Where did that asshole die off to?” Qiao Yifeng snorted. “You can’t be expected to go alone for the first stage!”

“That person…” Bluesea said in a whisper. “I know there are some grudges between you and Thunderflame. But, given that our guild has fallen to this point, we should let bygones be bygones. Thunderflame is not that kind of person. We’ve already discussed this through. I’ll be going in for the first stage. As for the second stage, Thunderflame will be going in!”

After hearing that, Qiao Yifeng swore again and again. “Deathseekers! Deathseekers! The lot of you!”

After a few moments of swearing, Qiao Yifeng’s voice became constrained as he snapped, “Damn it! I’ve had only a few bros my whole life, but all of them are deathseekers! Whatever! Since we have to go face death, then let’s go together!”

“You are no longer the you from back then, you can’t go. There are other things in the guild that requires you.”

Bluesea sighed and continued, “We can die, but you cannot! If Thunderflame and I were to die, then the matters that required supervision, the maintenance of our guild that is already in a precarious situation, that will all be on you. Brother Qiao, don’t stare at me like that. Listen to me, to old bags like us, is death something to fear? Which one of us are not members of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild who had to brave through hails of bullets back then?

“For others, going to death is hard. But for you and me, it’s nothing.

“Death is easy. Living on, that is more difficult!

“This time, Thunderflame and I will be risking our lives out there. It might seem difficult, but it is in fact easy. But you, you cannot die. Because there will be more difficult matters awaiting you! Taking a step back for the sake of the bigger picture is even harder than marching toward death.”

After hearing that, Chen Xiaolian suddenly heard Fatty beside him flinching.

Without giving him any time to react, Fatty screamed out. He kicked open the door and rushed out while screaming, “Boss! What is all this dying business?! How can you not include me when you are planning on risking your lives!”

…

Fatty rushed out emotionally and his roundish face was covered in tears. Observing that he had rushed out, Chen Xiaolian knew he could hide no more. Bracing himself, he stepped out as well.

Qiao Yifeng, seeing Chen Xiaolian among the two people who were walking out from the other room, became shocked.

Bluesea on the other hand had a relaxed look on his face despite seeing Fatty running out from the room. It was as though he had already known that they were inside the room. He smiled gently and said, “Nonsense. Who do you think you are? When it comes to the matters of risking lives, it is only natural that we old fellows go. An easily distracted greenhorn like you is unqualified!’

Hearing that, Fatty became saddened again. He rushed forward to hug Bluesea’s thigh as he knelt crying on the floor. “Boss, what kind of problem is it? Why did a Blood Verdict have to happen? That is not something to joke around with! If you go, you’ll definitely die!”

After walking out, Chen Xiaolian found Qiao Yifeng staring at him and he had to poise himself. Now, he regarded the man known as Bluesea. He was indeed worthy of being called a man with the ‘face of a scholar and the heart of a hero’.

Bluesea appeared middle-aged, seemingly slightly younger compared to Qiao Yifeng. He had a distinctly illustrious visage and a scholarly atmosphere emanated out from between his eyebrows. His clement disposition gave off a jade like gentleman aura. However, looking closely into his eyes would reveal a faint but sharp presence.

At that moment, those pair of eyes were gazing at him and Chen Xiaolian felt as though there was an invisible pressure bearing down on him.

Bluesea moved toward Chen Xiaolian. The frown that first appeared on his face eased up; he turned to regard Qiao Yifeng’s expression before showing a thoughtful look. Then, he smiled and said, “You must be the young man that Qiao Yifeng brought. Your name is Chen Xiaolian, right?”

Chen Xiaolian gave a cough. “Mr Bluesea, I’m sorry. I am not purposely trying to spy on your guild’s secret. It’s just that I accidentally bumped into…”

Bluesea waved his hand. There was neither blame nor anger in his face. Instead, he turned to look at Fatty who was kneeling down before him and smiled, “This little brother of mine is simple and straightforward. He acts recklessly without thinking things through. I believe you must have been brought here by him, right? It’s not your fault.”

After saying that, Bluesea then spoke with a heavy tone, “Fatty, hurry up and stand up! Look at you, crying all over!”

Fatty gave an affirmative mumble before wiping his eyes and standing up. He said, “I don’t care! If you want to go risk your life, then I’ll follow you!”

Bluesea no longer bothered with him. He pointed at the door leading outside and said, “You go out first. I still have matters I want to discuss with our guests.”

Fatty hesitated. However, seeing Bluesea’s stare, he shrunk his neck and moved out. After taking a few steps however, he turned around. “I will be waiting outside the door! Don’t try to trick me! I’m deadset on today’s matter! I will be waiting outside! I will talk things through with you once you are finished with your guests!”

Bluesea smiled in frustration. He waved Fatty out before turning around to look at Chen Xiaolian. “Please sit. This young subordinate of mine has an eccentric disposition, how embarrassing.”

Chen Xiaolian felt rather awkward… young? No matter how you look at it, that fatso looked much older compared to me!

Qiao Yifeng stared at Chen Xiaolian, seemingly wanting to say something. However, Bluesea smiled and said, “All right now, Brother Qiao. Don’t be so fussy about it. I’m not even bothered. Please sit. Let’s finish our discussion.”

Qiao Yifeng sighed and cast a glance at Chen Xiaolian before saying, “You… you cause troubles wherever you go!”

Chen Xiaolian gave an awkward smile.

Seeing that both Bluesea and Qiao Yifeng had sat down, Chen Xiaolian sat down as well. Bluesea regarded Chen Xiaolian in detail before slowly saying, “Brother Qiao had informed me about most of it. Now that we’re on the topic, the conditions are not bad. Our guild really does need the Star Sand mine. I also accept the conditions for the cooperation.

“According to Brother Qiao, your guild also need a batch of aiding supplies, right?”

Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment and said slowly, “We had originally agreed upon those conditions. But now… Mr Bluesea, just now, I had inadvertently listened in on your conversation. Your guild seems to be in trouble?”

A light flashed across Bluesea’s eyes. However, he shook his head and said, “That is my guild’s matter. It has nothing to do with our external partnerships.”

Mm?

Chen Xiaolian was momentarily surprised. He turned to look at Qiao Yifeng.

There was a frown on Qiao Yifeng’s face and he interjected, “Bluesea, once we lose our seat in the Board of Patriarchs, we probably won’t be able to use the mine…”

Bluesea sighed and looked at Qiao Yifeng. “Brother Qiao, did you go senile? If I am willing to let our seat in the Board of Patriarchs be taken away, why would I engage in Blood Verdict? Right now, we are risking our lives to protect our guild’s foundation and interests! If so, why would we not want Guild Leader Chen Xiaolian’s mine?”

After hearing that, Qiao Yifeng’s lips trembled a few times. In the end, he held himself back.

Seeing Qiao Yifeng become silent, Bluesea continued talking to Chen Xiaolian, “Since that is the case, I will be making the final decision. The conditions and agreement that Brother Qiao had reached with you will continue. We, Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild will never renege on our promises! We’re taking that Star Sand mine!”

Despite his gentlemanly appearance, Bluesea’s words were spoken with a heroic and unrestrained tone. Chen Xiaolian could not help but feel admiration for him. He turned to Qiao Yifeng before turning back to Bluesea. Then, he slowly said, “Then…”

“What else is there to say? Just hand it over!” Qiao Yifeng gave a harrumph and extended his hand out toward Chen Xiaolian. “The list of aid materials and supplies that you want, show me.”

Chen Xiaolian felt awkward. After hesitating for a moment, he pulled out the list from his Storage Watch.

The list was something that he had come up with after discussing with Lun Tai and the others for the past two days.

Qiao Yifeng accepted the list and swept his gaze over it. A peculiar smile appeared on his face and his eyes turned toward Chen Xiaolian. “You sure are cheeky.”

Chen Xiaolian did not say anything. He simply directed his eyes toward Bluesea.

Bluesea took the list over and gave it a glance. His left hand’s fingers tapped the table a few times as he nodded his head. “The price is quite fair… Brother Qiao, I hear that there is some relationship between this kid and your daughter. Is there any need for you to be so stingy? Who knows? He might become the future son-in-law of our Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild. Just consider this a dowry. I am willing, why aren’t you?”

Pausing for a moment, Bluesea turned to look at Chen Xiaolian. He smiled and said, “Actually, the things that you are requesting isn’t all that much. Compared to a Star Sand mine, the price of all those things are quite cheap. Seeing as how you are not a greedy person, how about this? I’ll call the shots here and add some more stuff in there.”

After saying that, Bluesea reached into his bosom and felt around for a bit. Then, he pulled out a very old-looking Hero fountain pen. After taking off the cap, he pondered for a moment before adding a few more lines of text on the list.

Seeing that, Chen Xiaolian could not help but feel his heart pound up!

After Bluesea was done, he returned the list to Chen Xiaolian. Seeing the list, Chen Xiaolian felt himself panting.

“II-Model Sentinel mech, four.

“Thunderstorm Tank, two.

“[A] class protective suit, six.

“Tidal Fighter, one.

“Assembly Station, one.”

Chen Xiaolian was very familiar with the first three items. There was no need to talk about its price.

As for the last two, the Tidal Fighter was something that Chen Xiaolian had seen before in the Exchange System. It was a technological-type of aircraft with powerful capabilities. It could also carry a great deal of items. Its price within the Exchange System was a whopping 10,000 points!

“The Assembly Station however, was an unknown to Chen Xiaolian. He was simply unable to figure it out.

However, one thing was certain. If he was to add up the price of these items using the price stated in the Exchange System… the total price was enough to buy up a guild like Chen Xiaolian’s several times over!

Qiao Yifeng sighed. “Bluesea, the others are all right. But an Assembly Station… don’t you think that’s too expensive?”

Bluesea smiled. “It’s just some stuff held in storage. Since we won’t be using it, just consider this an uncle sending gifts to his niece.”

Chen Xiaolian had a lost look on him. He turned to Qiao Yifeng who had a wry smile on his face. “Brat, you’re in luck! This Assembly Station is very powerful. Having this item is the equivalent of having an equipment manufacturing plant. As long as you can gather up all the required materials, you will be able to produce the equipment that you want.

“You should know, even though the prices of the products in the system are high, there is a threshold. However, these produced equipment cannot easily be bought even if you have loads of wealth!”

Although Chen Xiaolian did not completely understand those words, he knew that this was a very valuable gift. He immediately stood up and turned to face Bluesea. “Mr Bluesea….”

Bluesea simply smiled and said, “Enough. Since we’ve finished our discussion, let’s quickly get it done. Kid, I’m not fond of ceremonious words and I won’t be asking you to stay for a meal either. Take this list with you when you go out and hand it to Sarah. Then, get Fatty to lead you so you can go get the items.”

Qiao Yifeng sighed and waved his hand. “Hurry and go. After you are done with it, someone will lead you to someplace you can rest. I’ll go look for you tomorrow.”

Chen Xiaolian who was still feeling lost was sent out of the room. When he stepped out of the door, he saw Fatty standing there.

Fatty’s two eyes were red. Seeing that Chen Xiaolian had come out, he said, “Since you are done talking, I’ll come in.”

Before Chen Xiaolian could say anything, Bluesea’s voice came from inside the room.

“Fatty, you are no longer grounded. First, lead Chen Xiaolian to get his things. Only come see me after you are done! This is a task, you must do it properly! As for the others, we’ll talk about them later.”

Fatty was shocked but he dared not disobey his boss’ order. He stopped his feet that was moving toward the room and stepped back. Turning to face Chen Xiaolian, he sighed and said, “Fine. Bro, what is it you want to do? I’ll lead the way for you.”

Chen Xiaolian handed the list in his hand to Fatty and Fatty gave it a glance. Without showing any change in emotion, he shouted, “Sarah, come out.”

A holographic projection of Sarah appeared before the two of them. As always, Sarah had the same respectful expression on her.

Fatty raised his hand to show her the list. “Boss wants me to lead him to fetch these items. Let’s go.”

Sarah nodded her head, bowed once more and led them.

Fatty pulled Chen Xiaolian out of the corridor and they made their way out into the hexagonal entrance area. Sarah continued moving beside the two of them as they made their way through the honeycomb structure.

The AI holographic figure had them stand on two adjacent hexagonal tiles. Next, they were teleported into another floor.

This floor had a row of hexagonal corridors, but all of them were closed.

Sarah opened one of the doors and slowly said, “Please enter. Please remember that every item taken will be scanned. Please do not carelessly touch items that are not in the list in order to avoid setting off the alarm.”

Fatty waved his hand. “I don’t need you to teach me about that. I’m always running back and forth in here. Just wait here.”

After saying that, Fatty pulled Chen Xiaolian through the door and into the corridor.

The door behind them closed up and Fatty’s face changed. The sorrowful expression on his face turned sharp and strong as he stared at Chen Xiaolian. He whispered, “Bro! Tell me the truth, who are you?”

“Mm?” Chen Xiaolian was caught off guard.

Fatty shook his head. “I don’t mean you any harm. However, our guild is now in trouble, yet the boss had still decided to give you a bunch of stuff. What is your background? How about it? Tell me?”

As Chen Xiaolian was hesitating, Fatty quickly added, “Whenever Old Qiao comes, he would quarrel with the boss. But this time, he wants to get items for you. You… are you by chance his bastard son?”

1 Qiao Feng is the main character of Demi Gods and Semi Devils, a novel by Jinyong.↩