Chapter 401 - Next goal

เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มี.ค. 2569 03:54

Chapter 401: 401 - Next goal In the Eagle Peak Valley, things were calm. The city continued to grow, surpassing the two hundred thousand inhabitant mark, and after Margareth’s disappearance, a new leader had already been appointed to govern. This time, it was a woman of the church, a devout follower of Auranys who harbored a deep hatred for everything she considered heretical. As usual, she was disrupting the lives of the local residents. To be more specific, the woman was inside the main office of the Burning Red Pavilion, tormenting the poor manager of the establishment. "Who do you think you are to deny donations to our holy church? You damned infidel! Do you think you won’t burn in the fires of eternal damnation?" The old woman yelled, pounding the table violently. Although she looked frail, she was a seventh-ring mage, equivalent to the Enlightened Soul Realm, and was much stronger than most of the guards in that place. "Please, ma’am, I just ask for calm. Miss Meilin is the only one who can grant such things! The manager said, sweating nervously. He had already received the message that Meilin was alive and would be back soon, but damn it, couldn’t she be a little faster? "B-but I can offer you a loan at a very friendly interest rate!" The manager suddenly suggested. "One million superior Qi crystals at a rate of—" Before he could even finish speaking, the sacred book carried by the old woman hit him in the face with a bang. The mere suggestion of a loan instead of a donation made the old woman even more enraged. Her angry screams echoed throughout the Burning Red Pavilion, causing the attendants in the main hall to look up with concern. Their manager wasn’t going to be killed by that damn old woman, was he? Although it looked small, that book was filled with metal and weighed over two kilograms, enough to kill a mortal if thrown hard enough. Fortunately, the manager had some level of cultivation and only got up with a bloody nose. Regaining his composure and wiping the blood from his face, he prepared to respond politely. Fortunately, she had already left, muttering angry words along the way. That had been his routine for the past few months. Every single day, religiously, that old woman came to disturb him. Making his life miserable seemed to be her therapy. In the end, the manager just grunted, ready to return to the peace of his documents. However, the moment he sat down, he was forced to get up again. A crash echoed through the skies and a commotion began outside. With quick steps, he left his office and ran to the courtyard, looking up. There, he saw a huge, luxurious flying ship tearing through the clouds. The flying vessel hovered over Eagle Peak Valley for a brief moment before disappearing, revealing three figures. One of these figures headed toward the city lord’s mansion, while the other two descended toward the Pavilion. The moment he recognized those people, the manager bowed respectfully. "This lowly one greets young miss Jin Meilin and young master Long Qingyi!" He shouted, his heart leaping with joy. Finally, his suffering was over! Jin Meilin looked at her subordinate’s face for a brief moment before letting out a sweet, soft laugh, her delicate fingers flowing to her lips. "What happened to your face?" she asked, looking at the book-shaped mark on the man’s fair skin. He was an honest and dedicated employee whom she trusted almost completely. "N-nothing much, young lady, just... the new Lord of Eagle Peak Valley isn’t very friendly, hahaha." The manager smiled awkwardly before making way for Meilin. Obviously, the first thing they went to check were the vaults. The pavilion had two in total: a fake vault in the basement and a real one that used special spiritual distortion formations, capable of storing absurd amounts of resources. Even so, the place was already reaching its limit, filled with piles and piles of treasures, artifacts, jewels, and Qi crystals, more than they could count. These were the gains from the last few months of trade at the Burning Red Pavilion. The Third prince’s victory had brought considerable stability to the kingdom, even if only temporarily and the money injected by many nobles and the plans for reconstruction were making the trade routes flourish even more. Even the export routes for goods were booming with prosperity, although no new ones had been opened since Meilin’s departure. "Has the king already paid the first installment of his loan?" Meilin asked, calculating the amount of wealth there with just her eyes. "No, young lady, but I’m about to start collecting!" "Don’t worry, he’ll start paying soon." Meilin gave a soft smile. She was quite impressed with herself. Her current wealth was probably not much less than what she had when she was the manager of the Blue Sea Kingdom branch of the Five Colors Pavilion. No, in fact, she was even richer. In the end, even though she had complete control over the money from the old branch, that amount still belonged to her father. This wealth here belonged to no one but her, her husband, and of course, his other wives who had helped her build it all. With a satisfied sigh, she left the vault with Qingyi and the manager, asking for a little privacy. Soon, the couple found themselves alone in the private garden of the huge main building of the fiery red pavilion, enjoying each other’s warmth. "We’re back... what shall we do now?" she asked. "I don’t know." Qingyi shook his head. "I was thinking of going to the Western Continent, or maybe the Illuminated Sky Empire. My cultivation is stable, but I want to test my limits." "Hm..." Meilin exhaled, turning her gaze to the horizon as she noticed a figure approaching. It was Margareth, who had gone to the lord’s mansion just to pick up some personal belongings. She seemed hurried, landing beside them. "Husband... while I was away, an important letter arrived for me. It’s from the Kingdom of Valemont, regarding Isabel’s family." Margareth said, handing the envelope to Qingyi. The moment the handsome young man read the contents, his heart sank. Apparently, the Western Continent was indeed his next goal.

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