Chapter 90: Chapter 89: Pursuit Across a Thousand Li
He let his companion get taken hostage and had no strategy to resolve it. He was indecisive when he should have been firm, hesitant when he should have fled. He couldn’t control his own subordinates, which led to disaster. He couldn’t enforce his own orders. When things went wrong, he didn’t stop it; he made it worse. He not only missed his real target but also had the gall to try and kill a witness to cover his tracks. This... this was the work of a complete and utter fucking moron!
That was exactly how Qin Hongyuan had cursed them out. He immediately took a silver note for one million taels of silver and over a dozen Earth Level Spirit Beasts, and personally rushed to the Mo Family estate to apologize to Mo Feifei.
It was an immense gesture of respect. No matter how much Mo Feifei hated the brothers Qin Feng and Qin Hu, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse this powerhouse of Yellow Sand City.
Having paid the price and swallowed his pride for his two grandsons, Qin Hongyuan finally settled the matter. He then directed all of his fury at Qin Li.
After a trip to the Shangguan Family estate, he returned and made an announcement: Qin Li was exiled from the Qin Family! Furthermore, for committing an unforgivable crime, a bounty of one hundred thousand taels of silver was now being offered for his capture!
At the same time, the Shangguan Family Patriarch, Shangguan Buhui, also made a public announcement: After careful consideration, the Shangguan Family had unanimously decided to nullify the engagement between Qin Li and their young lady, Shangguan Shiyu.
However, Mo Feifei, who had originally hated Qin Li the most, begged her father not to get involved. Mo Feifei might have been willful and headstrong, but to her friends, she was also righteous and magnanimous. She wasn’t stupid in the slightest. She had liked Qin Feng—liked him a lot, in fact—but after seeing his true nature, she had given up on him completely. She would never forget the way Qin Li’s sword descended from the sky... It was like a strike from a celestial being!
At that moment, Mo Feifei was certain she was going to die!
Later, when Qin Li held her hostage, she felt an iciness and killing intent that she would never forget for the rest of her life. ’I was so stupid. Why did I ever pick a fight with him?’
’I won’t. Not ever again!’
But Qin Hongyuan’s anger didn’t end there. After the incident was settled, the men the Qin Family had dispatched finally found those two little bastards and brought them home.
He had expected them to feel remorse for their foolishness. But to Qin Hongyuan’s surprise, Qin Feng and Qin Hu both said the same thing: they regretted letting Mo Feifei get away. They claimed that if they had just killed that little bitch, the Qin Family wouldn’t have lost so much face!
Qin Hongyuan was so furious he immediately gave Qin Feng and Qin Hu two hard slaps each across the face. In all their lives, it was the first time he had ever struck his two beloved grandsons.
If not for his extreme anger, why would he have done such a thing?
Meanwhile, Qin Feng and Qin Hu’s hatred for Qin Li had reached its peak. They clamored that as soon as Qin Li returned to Yellow Sand City, they would tear him limb from limb.
Finally, with the New Year just days away, Qin Hongyuan kicked his two grandsons back to the Imperial Capital. He’d rather they be far away than remain an infuriating eyesore.
Little did he know that this single act would be what preserved a sliver of the Qin Family’s bloodline.
...
Qin Li’s Lightweight Skill left the two Qin Family ancestors in relentless pursuit of him completely astonished. They were almost certain that the damned youth’s power wasn’t even at the Earth Level, yet like a slippery eel, he repeatedly escaped their grasp.
The chase had already lasted for a full day.
As dusk fell, the boy was still running ahead, as energetic as ever. The two elders thought in extreme frustration, ’Doesn’t he get tired?’
What infuriated them most was that the kid didn’t seem to care about powerful Spirit Beasts. He just charged forward recklessly. Relying on his incredible speed, he would zip through their territories like a gust of wind. By the time the Spirit Beasts even reacted, the two Qin Family elders would show up right behind him. This, in turn, enraged the beasts. ’Is there no end to this? You think this is a public road?’
The two miserable High Tier Celestial Level experts not only had to split their focus to keep track of Qin Li, but they also had to fend off the enraged Spirit Beasts. As a result, despite being more than capable of capturing him quickly, they still hadn’t caught up to Qin Li by nightfall.
But while they were having a hard time, Qin Li was suffering just as much. Though he possessed an Unparalleled Lightweight Skill and his body was filled with Innate Purple Qi—far superior to ordinary Primordial Power—he ultimately couldn’t match the vast, enduring reserves of two Celestial Level Martial Artists.
In short, the quality of his Primordial Power was high, but he just couldn’t compete with their sheer quantity.
If not for the unwitting assistance of countless Spirit Beasts along the path, he probably would have given up on escaping long ago. ’Better to fight to the death,’ he thought. ’Even if I die, at least I can try to take them down with me. This endless running... when will it ever end?’
As night fell, the older of the two Qin Family elders, Qin Hengtian, grew impatient and yelled, "Stop right there, you little bastard!"
The younger one, Qin Hengdi, chimed in, "You son of a bitch, I’m going to skin you alive today! Do you have any idea how much trouble that one shout of yours has caused the Qin Family?"
"Bullshit! I was just shouting for fun! So what? Got a problem with it? Well, too bad, I already did it! Hmph, I was just taking a little dip in the lake, and you two fossils tried to rob and murder me. So yeah, I framed you! Ha, come and get me!"
"Damn you! You little bastard, I’ll definitely kill you!" Qin Hengtian was so enraged he almost coughed up blood. The little son of a bitch wasn’t just slippery; his words were razor-sharp. ’Dammit, taking a bath in Phoenix Lake? Does he have a death wish?’
"Young man, stop. How about we have a proper talk?" After his outburst, the younger elder, Qin Hengdi, calmed down. He realized that this wasn’t going to work. ’The boy’s stamina is far from spent,’ he thought, ’and that shout of his will be a fatal blow to the Qin Family. I can just imagine how many people are heading back to Yellow Sand City right now to make a move on our family.’
"Stop? Stop my ass!" Qin Li shouted back as he ran. "You two shameless old relics! You think I’m an idiot? That’s right, I got a ton of treasure from Phoenix Lake, so what? That was my good fortune! Heh, if you want it, then come and get me! If you can catch me, maybe it’ll all be yours!"
"Fine, just fine! You little bastard, I swear I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I do!" Qin Hengtian had a volatile temper and was already so furious with Qin Li that smoke was practically pouring from his ears. If he had known that this young man was a descendant of his own family—a genuine member of his grandchildren’s generation—he probably would have dropped dead from rage on the spot.
"Big Brother, this isn’t working," said Qin Hengdi. "This kid has nothing going for him but speed. You continue the chase. I’m going back to the family to see what’s happening. It would be a disaster if real chaos breaks out!"
"Fine, Second Brother. You go on ahead. I have to kill this kid and vent my anger!"
Qin Li suddenly felt the pressure from behind lighten. A quick glance from the corner of his eye confirmed that one of them had flown off. Understanding dawned on him, and he sneered, "What’s the matter? Giving up the chase? Hey, you, the one leaving! Aren’t you afraid your partner will snatch all the treasure from Phoenix Lake for himself?"
"Snatch my ass!" Seeing Qin Li falter for an instant, Qin Hengtian thrust out his palm, sending a blade of dark blue light slashing toward him.
Qin Li accelerated abruptly to dodge the strike, muttering, "I didn’t know you could lay eggs."
He’d never felt any sense of belonging to the Qin Family to begin with. These two Celestial Level experts were distant relatives at best, separated by seven or eight generations. As such, Qin Li felt not a shred of respect for these so-called ancestors who were trying to kill him.
One chased while the other fled. They didn’t move too quickly through the night, as both were trying to recover their stamina. Ahead, Qin Li saw a colossal mountain peak looming. It soared into the clouds, resembling a giant beast lying in wait in the dark.
Qin Li’s body suddenly dropped, plunging into the primeval jungle below.
Behind him, Qin Hengtian was startled for a moment, then overjoyed. ’Has he been chased stupid? He’s running to his own death! Hmph. Forget the fact that the dense jungle will make it impossible to run; the powerful Spirit Beasts in there will be more than enough to devour him! I’ll just follow from above. Let’s see where you can run now!’
It was a fine plan, in theory. But a moment later, Qin Hengtian discovered a fact that sent him into a flying rage: the little bastard’s aura... had completely vanished!
