Chapter 102 Guilt

Like well-trained soldiers, the respectable figures in the hall parted smoothly to left and right, precisely clearing a wide channel two meters across and dozens of meters long from the group’s position straight to the banquet hall’s grand entrance. Following this passage, one could see at its far end Dragon City in his striking blue fox-fur coat standing with a peculiar smile, facing off against a dashing young man clad in tight-fitting attire, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

“This damned fool! What on earth was he up to all afternoon?” Lin Qi’s unease surged as he observed the strange smile on Dragon City’s face. That expression was much like the lazy, deeply concealed killing intent of a proud steppe lion that had just lavished affection upon every lioness in the pride of the Black Spirit Continent; should anyone dare provoke it, the beast would spring to violence without hesitation.

Hei Hu Zi’s gaze had only just settled upon Dragon City.

Throughout the long day, while Lin Qi and his companions returned, Hei Hu Zi’s full attention had been fixed solely on Lin Qi, never noticing the man who had deliberately concealed his presence. Without question, Dragon City possessed an exceptional mastery of aura concealment; even Hei Hu Zi’s formidable and perceptive intuition had failed to detect anything amiss.

Yet now, confronting the sword-hilted provocateur, Dragon City was like a slumbering lion suddenly kicked in the flank. He lazily bared a sliver of lethal gleam from his claws. The frigid, bone-chilling light sent Hei Hu Zi’s muscles rigid with tension; upon Dragon City he sensed a threat of such magnitude that it could imperil his very life.

This was a formidable opponent on par with Hei Hu Zi himself. Even had his vitality not been somewhat inflated, as if he had lost considerable essence, Hei Hu Zi judged he would scarcely prevail against Dragon City.

A terrifying and powerful being! Fleeting visions flashed through Hei Hu Zi’s mind. At last he recalled that Dragon City had slipped down from the whale-hunting vessel right behind Lin Qi. In other words, Dragon City was at minimum Lin Qi’s companion—perhaps not quite a friend, yet assuredly no foe.

With a resentful glare, Hei Hu Zi’s fury flared at Lin Qi’s reckless conduct. Lin Qi could conceal their conflicts with the alien races, but how could such a perilous figure as Dragon City be omitted from his knowledge from the outset?

It was akin to a male lion wandering carelessly into another’s domain beneath the lead of a mere cub; such matters were exquisitely delicate, and mishandling them could precipitate dire consequences. Should one of Hei Hu Zi’s subordinates, ignorant of Dragon City’s identity, rashly offend him and perish, Hei Hu Zi would inevitably clash with that subordinate, an outcome he most ardently wished to avoid.

Lin Qi met Hei Hu Zi’s stern gaze and helplessly spread his hands. Yes, he had overlooked the issue; he ought to have informed Hei Hu Zi of Dragon City’s existence sooner. Yet the afternoon had been so fraught, Lin Qi having spent the day ensuring the narwhal king’s interests were apportioned precisely as he desired, sparring heatedly with Hei Hu Zi until their spittle flew; he had long forgotten Dragon City entirely.

Seeing Dragon City embroiled in fresh trouble, Lin Qi could only roll his eyes heavenward in prayer that the man would not slay his opponent on the spot; that would be far beyond his power to remedy.

Within the banquet hall silence reigned, every eye fixed rigidly upon Dragon City and the sword-hilted youth.

That youth was universally recognized: Tang Jier, sole heir of the Dunke Joint Chamber of Commerce’s current president, an enigmatic wanderer.

As the sole son of the Chamber’s president, Tang Jier had enjoyed every luxury from childhood and could easily have dominated the ranks of Dunke’s indolent nobles. Yet he was consumed by an obsession with the chronicles of legendary knights and heroes of old, devoting himself single-mindedly to the dream of becoming an epic figure who transcended mortal station, slew demons, and preserved the continent’s civilization at its farthest reaches.

Thus from the age of seven Tang Jier had squandered prodigiously, hiring legions of boastful “warriors” with untold gold coins and receiving a jumble of knightly instruction. Once older he brandished his long sword in acts of righteousness, inflicting no small amount of vexation upon Dunke’s ruffians and rowdies.

Particularly Lin Qi; among all of Dunke, Tang Jier was the sole soul capable of troubling him. Despite being struck unconscious time and again by Lin Qi’s bricks from behind in alleys, tumbled into sewers and cesspits by his traps, or hounded on the streets by slatterns demanding overnight fees, Tang Jier still pursued his grudge with unwavering diligence.

“This blockhead!” Lin Qi clutched his head with a rueful smile. “I had wondered what was missing when we returned this time; it was simply that I had not encountered this fellow! Very well, very well—what scheme has this rogue Dragon City concocted to stir him up?”

Tang Jier, this peculiar creature, spurned the carefree existence of a noble playboy to adopt the guise of a chivalrous knight errant. Somehow he had obtained the knightly code said to have descended from the primal era before the Cataclysm, adhering strictly to its eight cardinal virtues with the rigid solemnity of a tomb-bound corpse. He would never seek out quarrels of his own accord; therefore it could only be that Dragon City had provoked him!

At Long Cheng’s feet lay a single white silk glove. Dragon City regarded it with a half-smile, idly flexing his fingers.

Without doubt, moments earlier Tang Jier had hurled his glove at Dragon City’s face in accordance with the Western Continent’s custom of challenge. Only in a duel to the death could such an act occur; Tang Jier demanded a contest wherein but one survivor would remain.

The current president of the Dunke Joint Chamber of Commerce, Tang Qiao, stood trembling with fury among the crowd. He hissed sharply, “Tang Jier, what are you about? This—this is no place for your antics!”

The tall, imposing Tang Jier fixed his gaze upon Dragon City and enunciated each word: “Coward, retrieve my glove, then let me plunge my sword through your heart! You vile knave—you dared to harm Miss An Lin in such fashion! You struck her until she bled between her legs!”

Gasps rippled through the hall, accompanied by a few eerie chuckles.

Enzo’s throat produced a guttural gurgle; his limbs twitched as he stared at Tang Jier. Merciful heaven, she bled down there? What a pure child! At twenty-odd years of age, Tang Jier still retained such innocence!

Lin Qi glanced around at the peculiar expressions with some bewilderment. Long Cheng had beaten An Lin until she bled down there—surely that was a grave offense. Why did so many faces wear such subtly knowing smiles?

Dragon City cleared his throat and addressed Tang Jier with deliberate calm: “You overlooked another person as well.”

Tang Jier’s face brightened with sudden understanding. “Precisely! You struck Miss An Qier until she bled down there as well! You shameless cad, how dare you lay hands upon two noble young ladies? Moreover, An Lin is my betrothed!”

A clamor of astonishment filled the hall; two elegantly attired matrons simultaneously rolled their eyes and fainted dead away.