âThatâs enough for now. Ole brother Li, you should go choose your house and move in. Thereâs nothing worth staying for in the southern quadrant. Itâs quiet here and more suited for cultivation!
âYou can recruit any of your friends. Donât you know Liu Long? Dominators will absolutely take a step forward in progress if they come. I wanted him to be the team captain of my bodyguards and sent word through my younger brother. What a pity he didnât accept my offer.â
So this was what Mu Sen had been so mysterious about last timeâLiu Long had been put forward to be this oneâs bodyguard captain. Li Hao was at a loss for words!
âWould Captain Liu be a centurion if he came?â asked Li Hao.
âHe can if you arenât! He canât if you are.â Mu Lin shook his head. âWe donât have the quota for so many. One hundred more is fine enough, but two hundred is too much to feed. The Silver Moon Guards canât handle it. Weâve maintained a steady one thousand over the years and thatâs the crux of the problemâour consumption is too great!
âIf you find it inappropriate, Liu Long can be a centurion and you can be his second-in-command. No oneâs stopping you!â
Li Hao twisted his lip. Iâm not doing that! I get more of a cut if Iâm a boss. When it comes to the chief... Iâll ask for him later.
âOh, donât forget to collect a special communicator,â Mu Lin said. âIt covers a thousand kilometers and can contact anything within that range. Thereâs also a location device in it so we can maintain a grasp of your whereabouts. We wonât look for you in normal times, but if something happens and we canât find you, or if you run into danger, weâll be able to quickly lock onto you. Iâm letting you know beforehand so you donât think weâre keeping you under surveillance.â
Li Hao nodded. It was a good feeling. As for his location being known to the Guards... He was a living, breathing person with countless pairs of eyes on him. What did it matter if the Guards also knew where he was?
Was he supposed to start recruiting now and accomplish a big deed or two after he had his people? As for what that deed would be, it was to kill Red Moonâs people and seize scarlet shadows, of course! That was just a convenient byproduct of Li Haoâs own plans. If he really could bring some people with him to the Guards and help them secure benefits to enhance their strength, he might be able to explore some more ruins next. That was his true goal as heâd gained a great deal from Battle Heaven on the last expedition.
...... n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Li Hao went to the area in the back and chose a building off to the side. The man-made forest stood behind the building, the shoreline accessible beyond it. Being close to the shore, it invited Li Hao to look at the sea.
He wasnât much interested in the house since it wasnât under his name. It was just a place to live, no matter where it was. He had a mansion in Silver Cityâa pity that wasnât under his name either. It might become someone elseâs if he didnât return for a long period of time.
The only thing that really belonged to him was his childhood home, but that was a condemned building now. Itâd been cordoned off and awaited demolition. Li Hao would reject any proposal that came through. That was his only real estate and heâd have nothing left if it was dismantled.
......
As Li Hao busied himself, several Novas gathered outside the city.
âThat wuss Hu Qingfeng says he doesnât want to do it anymore.â Blue Moon frowned at a piece of paper he was shaking. âHe says Hou Xiaochen is willing to follow orders, and that idiot believes it!â
Itâd been Hu Qingfeng who contacted them first, saying that Night Watcher superiors supported the decision to eliminate Hou Xiaochen. Now the fellow was getting cold feet?? This was because Hou Xiaochen had agreed to be redeployed and Hu Qingfeng was claiming it as his credit. Heâd made the report to central headquarters that heâd given Hou Xiaochen so much pressure that the man had to agree.
Director General Zhao and the others wouldnât fight him for this merit, in any case. Since he had his deed of accomplishment and two of his men were dead, Hu Qingfeng was afraid to further provoke the intimidating Hou Xiaochen. Therefore, he sounded the retreat and wasnât willing to work with the three great organizations anymore.
âItâs normal that Hu Qingfeng isnât willing.â Half Mountainâs voice traveled coolly from his hood. âHeâs afraid. Yu Xiao and Huang Jieâs deaths were probably a warning. This guy is known for being timid in the central region. He puts himself forward if thereâs something good to be had and runs if there isnât...â
Blue Moon said nothing and reassessed their situation in light of this development. âIs there a need to continue testing Hou Xiaochen if we donât have Hu Qingfeng on our side? Do you folks have any other thoughts?â
âWhy donât we wait?â suggested the Parity King. âWe can wait to test him in the ruins. Hou Xiaochen seems to be preparing to enter the ancient city. We can avoid some unnecessary trouble if we wait until then.â
The ruins!
âMy only concern is that the guy wonât be open to us entering,â Blue Moon raised.
âIt wonât be up to him!â the Parity King said coldly. âWe must enter Battle Heaven! The three great organizations have the same request this time. If Hou Xiaochen thinks he can stop us... thatâs his death wish!â
An incredible number of people wished to share the spoils of an ancient ruin that was yet to be fully explored, one with a premier puppet in residence in its city. Now that the central region knew about the particulars, it was no longer Hou Xiaochen calling the shots.
âNot to mention, itâs not just us!â snorted the Parity King. âHe Yongâs come from the royal family and stayed ever since. Is he here just for fun? Itâll be us monopolizing the ruins next time.
âOnly Hu Qingfeng has come from the nine ministries, but does that mean the other eight really havenât made any movement?
âAlso, do none of the nearby provinces have any ideas? There are nineteen provinces in the north. Apart from the three that are disorderly, the rest have their fair share of powerhouses. Is no one tempted after hearing the news?
âHou Xiaochen will have no way of stopping everyone.â
Blue Moon nodded. The Night Watcher director wouldnât be able to stop anyone. Refusing access might ultimately lead to grave trouble for Silver Moon. âSo all we need to do now is wait. The Night Watchers, army, and Inspectorate have recently teamed up to wipe out our three factions...â
Half Mountain opened his mouth just as Blue Moon brought up something new. âI have business elsewhere, I take my leave!â
The Parity King instantly vanished as well. They werenât interested in discussing this! The Night Watchers were targeting Red Moon and hunting its members all over the place, investigating their strongholds. They werenât bringing such pressure to bear against Celestial or Yama.
The three great organizations werenât really one large family. They didnât care whether Red Moonâs people lived or died.
Blue Moon sneered coldly in the direction the two had left in. Those two wanted nothing more than for Red Moon to lose more people!
It wasnât until the two were gone that Violet Moon spoke from her position off to the side, âSo are we giving up moving against Hou Xiaochen?â
Blue Moon inclined his head. Hu Qingfengâs lack of participation only meant that they were down a Nova; action was still possible if they wished for it. But more importantly, Hu Qingfengâs absence represented certain changes. The guy might flip on them and sell them out, then ally with Silver Moon against the three great organizations.
It was certainly a course of action feasible by that guy. He would betray even Hou Xiaochen, not to mention the three great organizations. He had absolutely no principles and turned in whichever way the wind was blowing. His fair-weather behavior meant a difference of two Novas on either side.
âSince Hou Xiaochen has said heâs going to explore the ruins... thatâs our chance!â Blue Moon heaved a soft sigh, slightly irritated. âWe can avoid certain unexpected factors in the ruins, such as reinforcements! Silver Moon is more than meets the eye and too much can go wrong if we try to kill Hou Xiaochen inside the province.â
âBut... the same goes for us!â Violet Moon raised. âEntering the ruins means we lose the chance to be reinforced by headquarters. Itâs not just Hou Xiaochen...â
Blue Moon remained silent. It was dangerous to be on the same expedition as Hou Xiaochen, but what choice did they have?
âWas Hou Xiaochen really one of the three Skystar Guards commanders before?â asked Violet Moon.
âWeâre not sure. He might be and he might not be...â
Bullshit! Violet Moon regarded his reply wordlessly, then asked slowly, âIs that Manager Yu the Yu Luocha of legend?â
âShe might be!â Blue Moon laughed after some thought.
âYou donât know?â Violet Moon was highly surprised. How do you not know the first generation Violet Moon?
âWhat are you looking at me for?â Blue Moon broke out in a grin. âWhen the Seven Moons convened, the first generation Blue Moon was my master, not me. All of them are very mysterious, including your mother. How am I supposed to know the first generation Violet Moon if you donât?â
Violet Moon nodded. The Seven Moons were a group shrouded in mystery, including the first generation Violet Moon. Was she Yu Luocha? It was just rumors, Ying Hongyue never spoke of the matter. Her mother rarely did as well, opting to be silent whenever the topic was raised.
âBe careful lately.â Blue Moon rose, unwilling to say anything else. âWe are in significant danger now that Silver Moon has decided to mobilize en masse against us. Donât be caught by them. Iâll be in some trouble if you die.â
Violet Moon frowned without a word.
âAnd donât get in contact with that Manager Yu.â Blue Moonâs voice floated back upon the air as he drifted out of the room. âEven if she is Yu Luocha, the first generation Violet Moon and your motherâs best friend, she is the grand secretary for the Night Watchers now! Women do not care about friendships when they feel the rush of love. All of that becomes a joke to them and she really will kill people. You might learn then how she got the name Luocha!â [1]
âIâm not that idiotic! Violet Moon snorted, how was that possible! She wasnât going to look for Manager Yu alright, she didnât want to die! Not to mention, sheâd been scared out of her wits by Hou Xiaochenâs spear jab. Although he hadnât killed her, she didnât dare show herself around the Night Watchers all the same.
âI hope so!â Blue Moonâs laughter lingered upon the air. He was gone.
1. Luochas are evil spirits in Buddhist mythology that eat human flesh. â