Monarch of Evernight (Web Novel)
chapter-73

[Volume 2 - Bloom of the Other Shore Flower]

“It’s you!” When Yu Yingnan saw Qianye, she was immediately overcome with joy and surprise.

“What are you doing?” Qianye looked at her attire and asked.

Yu Yingnan gritted her teeth and said, “I’m going to fight those Sky Snake Gang bastards!”

Qianye smiled helplessly and said, “You will only be throwing your life away.”

“I’m not afraid of death.” Yu Yingnan said coldly.

“But we all wish that you’ll live nicely.”

When she heard this, Yu Yingnan suddenly felt an indescribable sense of nervousness. She actually couldn’t look straight at Qianye and averted her gaze to the side.

Qianye grabbed over the shotgun in her hands and gave it a look. He then said, “This shotgun looks pretty powerful. It’s great. If you don’t mind it, please lend it to me for a few days.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Yu Yingnan only just finished half her sentence when Qianye sealed her mouth with a finger.

“This is my war, and I can I do anything I want because I have no bonds to tie me down, but you’re different! Your companions and family are still waiting for you to protect and care for them. If you die, what would happen to your companions? Your younger brother?” When he was done, Qianye forcefully took off the bag holding the shotgun bullets and tossed it over his own shoulder. He then turned around and headed outside.

“Wait!” Yu Yingnan stopped Qianye and took out a bullet box, pushing it into his hands, “There are three origin bullets here. This is all I have, but I will find someone to provide you support immediately.”

“I prefer to act alone. Plus, it’s actually better for me if you don’t do anything. Thank you for this!” Qianye waved the origin bullet box and stepped into the night.

While staring at Qianye’s back, Yu Yingnan felt lost for the first time in her life.

She didn’t know if she should charge out and help him, or listen to his words and do nothing. She herself knew that Sky Snake had definitely sent out a great number of men to monitor her movements. Perhaps this was what Qianye had meant earlier.

Qianye began to run slowly under the night sky. He ran through the streets, the alleys, and even the low shacks. Finally, he suddenly changed his directions and sped up, leaving behind Sky Snake Gang’s eyes once more as he returned to his own house. He then had a good night’s sleep.

Perhaps the Sky Snake Gang’s people did not consider at all that Qianye would actually dare to return home, but they did not even send a single person to check out his own house, allowing Qianye to sleep through the whole night.

When the alarm clock’s hand pointed towards six, a noisy ringing sound woke Qianye from his sleep. Qianye looked at the time and was greatly surprised that he had actually been able to get a good night’s sleep, without any disturbance at all. Right now, he was like a lone wolf that was completely rested and was capable of hunting several days and nights in a row.

He briefly tidied up his room and even had the leisure to put a mustache on his face before he slipped through the window, leading to a narrow passage between the kitchen and the walls.

Right when Qianye exited the window, the front door got kicked in by someone. A person said in a shrill voice, “Check inside! Do not let that little bastard leave!”

Qianye shook his head at the cry that came too late and leaped over the walls, vanishing into Darkblood City’s lightless morning.

Darkblood City was a giant place with streets circulating around the four Perpetual Dynamo Towers. Its skies were covered in messy pipes and wires, and its streets were as complicated as a maze. In the west and north areas were the residences of the expeditionary forces and nobles, so they could still be considered clean and tidy. On the other hand, the east and south areas, with a slum in their midst, were filled with gangs and all kinds of people.

Even if the Sky Snake Gang had over ten thousand of members and controlled one third of the south area’s streets, they would still not be able to act however they wished in such an environment. After they’d retreated from Home of Hunters last night, they had spread out and stationed their spies on all city gates and major streets. Sky Snake paid no heed to Qianye’s resistance at all. However, hunters were good at hiding their tracks, and if their carelessness led to Qianye sneaking out of city without them noticing, they would have to spend several times the effort to find him again.

A moment later, at a dark and decrepit bar, Qianye sat at a corner, with his face completely hidden in the shadows.

Bottom-level inhabitants loved these kinds of small bars the most. It might be small, but it had everything it should have, such as booze and women. More importantly, the price was low.

By spending only several dozens of copper coins, they could get a large cup of home brew rice wine and sit for an entire day. The jobless men who were idle during the day loved to gather at this place and boast to other people to pass time. They would also check around to see if they could get a job the next day in passing. Therefore, this was also the gathering spot of many news and rumors. Most news was spread swiftly through places like these.

The air was filled with the smell of cheap cigarettes, perfumes, freshly cooked food and all sorts of other weird scents. It was also clamorous. Qianye shut his eyes and slowly channeled the Combatant Formula in patience.

When dusk arrived once more, Qianye’s ears caught the news he needed.

“Hey! Did you guys know that something huge is going on! The Sky Snake Gang has issued a kill order on a one star hunter named Qianye! If anyone can get his head, they’ll be rewarded one hundred gold coins! If anyone can provide accurate information about his tracks, they could get ten gold coins as well!”

“Oh my god, one hundred gold coins!”

This number caused the entire bar to boil up. It was a sum that exceeded the limit of most of the people’s imaginations here. Almost no one here knew how they would spend such a huge sum of money if they did acquire it, so someone at the side of the bar began to scheme and plot on another’s behalf. However, the guy who suggested the ideas did not actually know how to spend such a huge sum of money either, so the conversation quickly turned into an argument between both sides. For a sack of gold coins that they’d never gotten, the duo began to fight it out in the bar.

Amidst the chaos, Qianye quietly squeezed his way out of the bar. He raised his head and looked at the moonless, starry night sky. A hint of a smile seemed to appear on his lips.

Kill order? Qianye was waiting exactly for this.

It was obvious that the Sky Snake Gang had become a little anxious after losing his trail for an entire day. However, they were also very sure that Qianye had not exited the city, so the reason they gave out such a high bounty was to stop him from staying idle inside the city.

However, this kill order brought an entirely different kind of meaning for Qianye. It meant that he now had a strong reason to lose himself in battle.

On its own, the Sky Snake Gang was not worth the caution he was displaying. There was no way Sky Snake could’ve made his gang the third biggest organization in all of Darkblood City, so that meant that there must be someone who was supporting him from the shadows. Old 2 might be able to force Sky Snake out of Home of Hunters, but he might not be able to stop the important people behind him.

However, the war was now limited to only Qianye and the Sky Snake Gang.

Qianye began to walk aimlessly inside the maze-like alleys.

When he passed through a small street, a group of Sky Snake Gang henchmen just happened to come through from the side lane. Qianye immediately halted his footsteps and waited patiently. Those people immediately froze on the spot, and when they saw Qianye’s face clearly, they almost couldn’t believe their eyes!

“Is that him?” A person asked tentatively.

The guy who looked like the group’s leader yelled loudly, “Of course it’s him! What are you guys waiting for, go as one and cut him to death!”

A few people pulled out their knives and daggers and rushed towards Qianye while roaring!

There were two loud bangs, and two henchmen fell backwards while looking badly mutilated. At close range, a shotgun’s terrifying power was almost unstoppable.

Qianye’s figure flashed once, and he avoided the incoming slashes while dropping the two shotgun shells into his palm. He then calmly refilled the shotgun chamber as agilely as a little bird. The second he finished reloading, the barrel spat out two long flame tongues that blasted yet another two people into fiery deaths.

Qianye calmly opened the gun bolt, ejected the shells, reloaded the bullets and resumed his stance once more. He then aimed at the last two Sky Snake Gang members.

Under the threat of the gun barrel, the two Sky Snake Gang members shook all over like leaves in the wind. Suddenly, they fell on their knees in front of Qianye and cried for mercy.

Qianye said indifferently, “It’s not so easy to earn the gold coins, now is it?”

The Sky Snake gang members stared at each other, unsure how to answer his question. They did have some smarts in their brain, and they knew that a wrong answer on this kind of question might result in immediate death.

Qianye slowly holstered his shotgun and said, “Take a message back to your gang. From this day onwards, i will kill any Sky Snake Gang member who dares to patrol the streets! Now get out!”

The two Sky Snake Gang members immediately ran off like chickens.

Darkblood City was bustling with activity even at night. Some businesses that couldn’t see daylight would only have life in them during this time. There was always a way to find a channel of income in this city that never sleeps.

Later on, Qianye continued to stroll about, and encountered several more Sky Snake Gang groups. His mustache disguise didn’t actually change his appearance by much at all, so he was recognized almost every time.

The next night, Sky Snake Gang’s members showed Qianye how crazily far they were willing to go for the bounty of a hundred gold coins. Qianye also let them know just how much a different a Red Scorpion soldier was from a normal human being.

Gunshots occasionally resounded in the dark streets. The messy and disorderly shots belonged to the Sky Snake Gang, whereas the steady and low rumbles belonged to Qianye. The shotgun had a unique timber that sounded like a heavy drum beat, beating again and again at the gang members’ hearts. Every time it beat, it would take away a life.

Before he knew it, Qianye had arrived at Black Copper Street once again.

Not far away, the luminous powder on the shop sign of A1 Firearms was glowing dark green.

Qianye pushed the door and entered. The old man, A1, continued to wipe his gun parts behind the counter, without even bothering to lift his head.

Qianye leaned against the counter and lit up a cigarette. He said, “I’m back.”

When the old man lifted his head and saw Qianye, his expression immediately changed, instantly destroying his usual image of a mysterious elite.

“I’m telling you now, but I absolutely do not accept return goods after they are sold!” the old man said fiercely.

Qianye passed over a cigarette and said, “I should be calling you Old 1?”

Old 1 sniffed the fumes breathed out by Qianye and looked slightly surprised, saying, “This is mixed with military use stimulant? Let me see. Oh my god, these are the goods of an elite corps! I can’t believe you actually acquired something like this!”

Old 1 immediately lit up the cigarette and breathed in deeply. He held his breath, and a long while later, a flush appeared on his face before he sighed, “What a good taste! I haven’t had something like this for a long time.”

Qianye did not say anything. He simply pushed the whole pack of cigarettes in front of Old 1.

Old 1 hesitated for a moment before keeping the cigarette pack in the end, saying, “I’m not accepting return goods after I sold them no matter what!”

“I’m having a good time using this Ambusher. I have no plans of returning it.”