Reign of the Hunters
chapter-205

Liu Chang heard Yi Cang as well. She cast a glance at Yi Cang, and spoke in a leveled voice, “Wow, then I would like to thank Young Master Yi for granting us the opportunity.”

Such harsh words were rare from a soft hearted person such as Liu Chang. She was apparently quite angry on this day. Perhaps, it was her pent up anger resulted from their last gathering. With Yi Cang’s presence, she could no longer hold herself back.

However, Liu Chang acted at a wrong timing. The expression of Dong Yin’s and Yi Cang’s family members darkened, and Liu Chang’s parents began glaring daggers at her.

“How could you say something like that? Quick, apologize to Yi Cang!” Liu Chang’s mother immediately shouted at her.

Liu Chang was not from a wealthy family, but she had a strict upbringing. Her parents were the strictest among the four families.

With her feelings hurt by her previous encounter with Yi Cang and the anger that was currently raging within her, Liu Chang was reluctant to apologize. Besides, she did not feel that she was in the wrong –

Noticing that Ye Ci was still munching on the pork trotter throughout the entire ordeal, Zuo Xiaolan slapped the chopsticks away from her daughter’s hand and glared at her, “Apologize to Uncle Dong right now! What have I taught you? Listen when the adults are speaking! Why are you still eating?”

Despite her strict tone, Ye Ci knew that Zuo Xiaolan was not at all angry at her, but was disgusted by Yi Cang’s behavior. However, this did not change the fact that Ye Ci had lost face as a result.

Ye Ci creased her eyebrows and lifted her head. She shifted her cold gaze towards Yi Cang. At that moment, Yi Cang was still waiting for an apology from Liu Chang with his chin held high. Ye Ci had never realised that Yi Cang could be so obnoxious. She had the urge to splash a bowl of hot soup at his annoying face.

However, Ye Ci refrained from doing so, as she noticed that Liu Chang was ready to explode in a fit of rage. She grabbed hold of Liu Chang’s hand, and faced Dong Yin’s father with a fake smile, “I’m sorry, Uncle Dong. We’ve never been to such a high class restaurant before. We do not know the proper table manners. Please forgive us.”

Ye Ci’s words were like razors scraping on the faces of the parents of Yi Cang and Dong Yin. Yi Cang’s parents could only stare at their son with darkened expressions, and tried their best to salvage the situation.

“Didn’t Uncle Dong have something to say?” Ye Ci smiled at Dong Yin’s father. She noticed that the originally jovial atmosphere has died down. She did not want to kill the atmosphere, as she was the one who caused the commotion in the first place. The adults were caught in an awkward position. They did not know what transpired between their children. They still had the impression that their children were still very close to each other. Unfortunately for them, things had changed.

Ye Nantian was the first to react. Following his daughter’s lead, he attempted to lighten the atmosphere, “Yup, Old Dong, were you going to say something just now? So what did you want to tell us?”

Liu Chang’s father immediately joined in on the effort, and the atmosphere once again became warm and lively.

Ye Ci leaned back against her chair and stole a glance at Liu Chang, who had her gaze lowered, appearing deep in thought. She gave Liu Chang a nudge, drawing her attention. Ye Ci spoke with a soft voice, “Don’t make things too tense. We might not like them, but we have to think of the feelings of our parents.”

Liu Chang sneered coldly and stood up. “Uncle Dong, uncles, aunties, I’m going to the toilet, please excuse me.” said Liu Chang to Dong Yin’s father who has not begun his speech yet and left the room.

Everybody was stunned by Liu Chang’s sudden behavior, and Ye Ci was no exception. Liu Chang’s mother creased her eyebrows. She was about to call out to Liu Chang but decided against it. “This child…” mumbled Liu Chang’s mother after a short while, and she turned towards the father of Dong Yin, “Old Dong, I hope you don’t mind.”

Ye Ci could no longer hold herself back. She pushed her chair aside and stood up, “I’m going to the toilet as well.” and she followed after Liu Chang.

The adults were chatting away happily and paid Ye Ci no heed. However, Yi Cang and Dong Yin were wearing tensed expressions on their faces, as if they had just lost their parents. Ye Ci did not even pay any attention to the duo. She did not expect that she would lose her cool. She could not bear to stay in the same room with the people she despised. It was as if the room was filled with a deadly virus that will kill her if she stayed any longer.

Ye Ci spotted Liu Chang was leaning against a pillar upon leaving the compartment, and the latter waved at her.

Ye Ci walked up to Liu Chang and laughed, “Aren’t you going to the toilet? Why are you still here?”

“I’m waiting for you.” Liu Chang shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

This triggered a laugh from Ye Ci, “How did you know I will leave the room as well?”

Liu Chang slung her arm over Ye Ci’s shoulder and smiled, “Who am I? I’m Liu Chang! Why wouldn’t I know what you’re thinking about? Heh, with me gone, will you stay in that place?”

Liu Chang was correct about Ye Ci. “What’s with you today? Yi Cang’s words were directed at me, and I’m not even angry, but you’ve already talked back against him.”

Liu Chang snorted coldly, “That guy disgusts me. I feel that my lifespan will be shortened if I don’t talk back.”

“Did something happen?” asked Ye Ci, who sensed that something was wrong.

Liu Chang who appeared to be deeply troubled let out a long sigh, “I feel disgusted just by talking about it.”

“Come on, stop beating around the bush.” by then, the two already entered the washroom. They had no real intention to use the toilet. After washing their hands in front of the mirror, they left.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but I don’t even know where to start! It’s really pissing me off.” anger was written all over Liu Chang’s face.

“What happened?”

“Do you still remember my grandma’s little house?”

“Yup! We used to play there a lot. Didn’t it get torn down in favor of building some shop plots? Why are we talking about that?” Although Liu Chang’s grandma has passed away for years, Ye Ci could still remember the kind old lady clearly. She was someone loved by the children in her neighbourhood. She had always liked having children around, and would never scold them even if they made mistakes. She would even treat Ye Ci and Liu Chang to some snacks whenever they played at her house. Unfortunately, the kind lady was ravaged by a serious illness, and passed away even after Liu Chang’s family expended their wealth in an attempt to cure her illness.

No matter how beautiful something was, it will never be able to stand against the test of time, and would crumble into dust.

“Yup! That’s exactly the case!” Liu Chang snorted, appearing to be angered, “Do you know that Yi Cang’s grandma had a house in that area as well?”

“Ah, I didn’t know that!” Ye Ci stared at Liu Chang, “So what does it have to do with you?”

“I know, right?” Liu Chang’s gritted her teeth in anger, “Some people in this world can put two completely irrelevant things together. Don’t you think that’s some talent?”

Even if Ye Ci was unaware of the meaning behind Liu Chang’s words, she could guess that it had something to do with the two houses. But how were those houses related? “I don’t get what you’re trying to say.”

“The developers have notified us about it more than a year ago. I’ve even told you about it.”

“Yup, you sure did.” Ye Ci let out an awkward smile. The event that happened 1 year ago to Liu Chang was like a distant past for Ye Ci. No matter how well her memory was, it was impossible for Ye Ci to remember such a thing.

“The day Fate first launched their waiter was the day the developers had a talk with my family about my grandma’s house. They told us that we could get a good storefront and a commercial housing. My parents were overjoyed!”

“Yeah. If this happened to me, I’ll happy as well. To get a storefront in that area…” Ye Ci clicked her tongue. The place was now a development zone that many would soon invest in. To own a storefront in that area would guarantee a lot of income.

“What storefront?” Liu Chang’s face distorted into a mask of rage as she cut Ye Ci off mid-sentence. She looked as if she could eat a person alive.

“I thought you told me that your grandma’s house is worth a storefront and a commercial housing?” Ye Ci was baffled by Liu Chang’s sudden outburst.

“I wouldn’t be angry if that was the case! Do you know what happened when we went to retrieve the keys one month ago?”

“What happened?”

“The storefront was gone! We’re left with 3 commercial housings, and 2 of them are in very bad locations!”

“Huh? What the hell happened?” Ye Ci was unable to make sense out of Liu Chang’s words, “Haven’t you reached an agreement with the developers? Didn’t you sign an agreement or something?”

“This is where we took a wrong approach. We signed a provisional agreement instead of a formal contract! My family would of course never agree to such arrangement, so we caused a scene in their office. One of the employees took a pity on us and told us that the storefront has always been there for us, but they were swapped away by someone else a few days before we went there.” Ye Ci could almost see fire spewing out of Liu Chang’s eyes.

Ye Ci could understand Liu Chang’s anger. She would react in a similar way if it happened to her family.

“Have you guys thought of getting it back?”

“We’ll talk about that later. What I want to say is.. Do you know who was the one who swapped away our storefront?”

Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. But after placing the pieces of information together, she was able to make a guess, “You’re not going to tell me that it’s Yi Cang’s family are you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to tell you!” Liu Chang anger was apparent, “His mother had a brief conversation with my mother when the developers talked about the development project. She asked my mom about the property we’re going to get, and my mom told her everything! So that was why they were able to swap away our storefront with the two of their worst housings!”

“F*ck!” Ye Ci’s anger soared as well, “Are they still humans? Are they still friends of your parents? How could they do that?”

“This is exactly why I’m pissed off!”

“Have your family confronted them about this?”

“Of course we did! They denied everything, and even warned us against making false accusations as it will sour the relationship between our families! They even tried to use the fact that they found my grandma a good hospital when she was sick to guilt-trip us into backing off.” Liu Chang’s face was flushed red with anger. She turned around and threw punches on the nearby wall, as if they were Yi Cang’s parents.

“So how did it end? You’re not going to just let them off the hook are you…”

“What else can we do?” Liu Chang leaned against the wall after venting her frustration, “We’re poor, and they’re rich. How can we expect to win? When Dong Yin’s parents invited us over for dinner, my parents were quite reluctant. They wouldn’t have come if not for your parents.”

Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. Friendship is indeed thin as paper.

“Hah… Some friends they are.” Ye Ci snorted coldly, “They’re animals! Yi Cang’s mom has always been a bitch. She’s stingy and very calculative, but I’ve never expected her to pull something like this off.”

“Now you know why I’m so pissed off,” Liu Chang grimaced, “Now you know why I’m so annoyed when he spoke up. I’m thoroughly disgusted by him. They really think of us as country bumpkin that they can just push around! They didn’t even blink when they bullied us.”

Ye Ci was suddenly reminded of something, “You told me before that the families of Yi Cang and Dong Yin have invested in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear am I right?”

Liu Chang was able to calm down after her fit of anger. She spoke calmly to Ye Ci, “Yup. That’s like two days ago. They came just to brag to my mom about it. They’ve even told her to not cling on too tightly to her money, and learn to make some investments.”

Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and a smile formed on her lips. “Why don’t you invest in Upwards Ho! then? I know you made quite a lot of money recently. You can invest some of them to the guild! Surely Upwards Ho! is as good as or even better than Steel-Blooded Battle Spear?”

“Heh! As expected of someone like you. You’re always thinking of the guild’s benefit.” Liu Chang rolled her eyes at Ye Ci and laughed, “It’s not that I’ve not thought about it, but I really am short of money right now. I’ll just wait til I earn more.”

Ye Ci did not continue the topic. She walked to the front desk and nodded at the waiter, “May I have the receipt for the Blossoming Wealth compartment?”

The waiter immediately handed Ye Ci the menu with a smile on his face. Liu Chang, who was curious, inched forward to have a look, “What are you doing? Why are you looking at the receipt?”

Ye Ci did not offer her a respond, an instead spoke to the waiter, “Can I order a few more dishes into our compartment?”

The restaurant would of course hope that their customers would order more. A menu was immediately handed over to Ye Ci, who ordered some of the most expensive dishes available without much of a glance. “I would like to pay the bill now.” said Ye Ci to the waiter as she closed the menu. She then handed her bank card to the waiter.

“I’ll chip in as well then.” Liu Chang understood the meaning behind Ye Ci’s action. She pulled her bank card out of her purse, but was stopped by Ye Ci, who shook her head, “Forget about it. Save the money and invest in the guild. I can earn the money real quick anyways. You don’t have to be so courteous.”

Liu Chang nodded, “Alright then.”

After paying bill, Ye Ci returned to the compartment with Liu Chang.

“I don’t really feel like going in.” Liu Chang grumbled when they were at the entrance.

Ye Ci pulled Liu Chang into the compartment with her, “Come on, are you planning to sit in the toilet until the banquet ends? You don’t have to be all riled up because of them. They’ll receive their retribution soon enough.”

“The good people always die early, while the wicked ones live on for an eternity.” Liu Chang could only let out a sigh and followed Ye Ci into the private compartment.

Dong Yin’s father had already finished speaking by the time Ye Ci and Liu Chang entered the room. They were met with silence and a tense atmosphere. The duo immediately became the focus of everyone’s attention as soon as they entered the room. Dong Yin’s father stood up, “Old Ye, your daughter is back. Why don’t you ask for her opinion? Even if you don’t trust my judgement, surely you’ll trust the judgement of your daughter?”

Ye Ci was baffled by his words. She turned around and faced her parents, “Dad, mom, what is it? What sort of judgement?”

Signs of wariness were written all over the faces of Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan. They exchanged looks with each other, and Ye Nantian was the one who spoke up, “Aiya, we’re confused ourselves. Bai Mo, you heard what Uncle Dong said as well. Why don’t you explain it to Little Ci?”

Bai Mo who was busy digging into his food almost gagged when his name was called. He lifted his head, “Uncle, you want me to explain it to her?”

“Yup.” Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan nodded their heads, and stared right at Ye Ci.

Ye Ci was flustered. She had suddenly became the center of attention of every single person in the room. She cleared her throat and looked at Bai Mo, “So… You have something to tell me?”

Bai Mo let out a sigh. Before he could speak up, the door of the private compartment opened, and a number of waiters walked into the room, serving up a number of dishes, filling up the already empty table. All the dishes were exotic and luxurious. One could tell that the food was very expensive just by judging from the looks of the plates alone.

The attendees were stunned into silence, and Dong Yin was the first to react, “Oi, did you guys enter the wrong room? All the dishes that we’ve ordered has been served.”

“No, this food was ordered by your Blossoming Wealth compartment.” the head waitress said with a smile as she served the food.

Dong Yin’s mother stood up immediately, “No, we did not order these dishes.” Her expression darkened when she took a look at the freshly served food.

“Yup, we did not order this. You must’ve been mistaken! Remove them at once or I will file a complaint on you!” Yi Cang’s mother stood up as well. She even attempted to shove one of the plates back into the head waitress’s hand.

Ye Ci, on the other hand, wedged a piece of venison between her chopsticks and placed it into her bowl, and another piece straight into her mouth. Yi Cang glared at Ye Ci with towering rage, “Did you not hear that, Ye Ci? We did not order these! Why have you started eating? Do you know just how much these dishes cost?”

Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan turned pale when the heard Yi Cang’s voice. “What are you doing! Behave yourself!” they attempted to stop Ye Ci, and smiled apologetically at the parents of Yi Cang and Dong Yin, “We’re sorry, we will pay for these di-”

“Can you even afford it?” Yi Cang slammed his fist onto the table, “These are abalone, shark fin, and even swallow’s nest! Any of these dishes is worth your monthly salary! Will you be able to pay for them?”

Yi Cang’s words were full of disdain and disgust. When Ye Ci thought back to this incident, she came to a conclusion: Yi Cang’s words represented what his and Dong Yin’s parents truly felt about the parents of Ye Ci and Liu Chang. If that would not bet the case, they would not have remained silent when Yi Cang threw his tantrum. No matter what plans Dong Yin parents might have had for organizing the banquet, it was a fact that they thought themselves to be superior.

“You take that back!” Bai Mo stood up as well, “We have adults here, and who are you to speak when none of them have spoken?” Bai Mo snorted and scanned the faces of the adults, “Is this how things work in your house? The youngsters can just behave rudely without fearing repercussions? Is this how you educate your child?”

“I dare you to say that again!” Yi Cang was fairly afraid of Bai Mo, but the presence of his parents gave him the courage to roar out at Bai Mo.

“Just what you think you’re doing Yi Cang? Respect your elders! Shut up and sit down!” Yi Cang’s father could no longer remain quiet when he heard Bai Mo’s words. He would lose face in front of so many waiters if he did not discipline his son.

Yi Cang was flustered. He sat down and glared at Bai Mo, “Just you wait, Bai Mo.”

“Shut up!” Yi Cang’s father roared at his son again, and then turn around to face the lead waitress. He offered her an apologetical smile and started, “You see, we did not order these dishes. We will pay for the ones that we have touched, and you return the rest, how about that?”

Ye Ci was still munching away at the venison despite the ongoing argument. The meat was just so nice. It was worth the price. She spoke up softly, “Put everything down, I was the one who ordered those.”

“Ye Ci! Do you really think you can order anything you want just because you’re not paying for it? Do you know just how much they cost?” everybody present were stunned when they heard Ye Ci’s words. Even Dong Yin who has remained silent throughout the ordeal spoke up against Ye Ci, “Even if my family was the one who invited all of you to dinner, we’ve already ordered all the dishes. If you’re not satisfied with the food, you could’ve just told us! We could order more! We do you have to act on your own accord?”

Liu Chang who was holding in her anger all this while finally lost her temper. She snorted coldly at Dong Yin, “Ye Ci has already paid for everything, so why can’t she eat what she paid for? Have you seen what you ordered for us? Those are like food for beggars!”

Dong Yin’s anger dissipated immediately. She was frozen in place, and her face was flushing with a bright shade of red. The waiters glanced at the dishes subconsciously after listening to Liu Chang’s words. The food that was served previously was indeed more common compared to the dishes they had just served.

Dong Yin’s father could no longer stand the embarrassment. He pulled his daughter down back into her seat, “You silly girl, don’t you speak out of turn!” He then smiled at Ye Ci, “Little Ci, you should’ve told uncle that you do not like the food. I was the one who was going to treat everybody to a meal, so why don’t you let uncle pay for the food?”

Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and spoke softly, “It’s just a meal. It doesn’t matter who’s paying, does it? I’m a person of the younger generation, so just think of it as me fulfilling my filial duties. It’s nothing.”

The face of Dong Yin’s father darkened when he heard Ye Ci’s words. Just then, she head waitress nodded at Ye Ci with a smile, “Miss, we’ve served everything that you ordered, is there anything else you need?”

Ye Ci glanced at the dishes that had just been served. They were nowhere as lavish as the food she used to have in her past life, but her parents would definitely be alarmed by the price of the food. Despite her intention to deliver some face-slapping to the families of Dong Yin and Yi Cang, she still had to take her parents into consideration. Ye Ci nodded and ordered two slightly more expensive dessert, “Bring them in when we’re almost done with our meal.” and she handed a few banknotes to the head waitress, “Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you, miss.” the head waitress accepted the tip with a broad smile and left the room.

Ye Ci’s movements were fluid and natural. It was as if she was used to doing such a thing. Even Bai Mo was surprised. Since when has she learned to act like this?

They would never know that Ye Ci acquired it from her extravagant way of life in her past life. Despite her present self, her elegance would surface occasionally, just like this time.

“I believe you have something to tell me?” Ye Ci turned around and faced Bai Mo.

Bai Mo snapped out of his daze, and relayed the words of Dong Yin’s father to Ye Ci. According to him, both the families of Dong Yin and Yi Cang have invested in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, giving their support to Thousand Sunsets.

The parents of Dong Yin and Yi Cang were quick to find out that Ye Ci was actually Gongzi You, and that ‘Upwards Ho!’ has secured a First Blood for Castle Ruins. Just like any other human being, they were not going to just let their money go to waste. They had to do something to help Thousand Sunsets out. Without prior knowledge that Dong Yin and Yi Cang had a fall out with Ye Ci and Liu Chang, they decided to organize a banquet, and hoped to pressure Ye Ci’s parents into persuading their daughter to offer her aid.

Of course, those were not the words of the father of Dong Yin, nor were they spoken by Bai Mo. It was a conclusion made by Ye Ci after calmly listening to Bai Mo’s explanation. She raised her eyebrows and studied Bai Mo’s expression, which further confirmed her theory.

Ye Ci was very sure that if they had a private messaging channel in real life, the following would be their conversation:

“You must be kidding! They really said that?”

“Yup, that’s what they said!”

“Why won’t they give up?”

“In this world, only the shameless will survive. Those who are honorable will slowly die off.”

……

Yup. That would definitely be their conversation.

When Bai Mo was finally done, Dong Yin’s father spoke up before Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan could react, “Little Ci, I’m sure you understand the situation.

“Of course.” a ghost of a smile appeared on Ye Ci’s lips. She was not an idiot, of course she would understand everything. Unfortunately for them, her mind was already set. There was nothing they could say or do that would change her mind.

“So what do you think?” the eyes of Dong Yin’s father were filled with desperation. It was exactly the desperation a starving beggar looking at a sumptuous meal through the glass window of a shop would show.

“I think…”

Before Ye Ci could even complete her sentence, she was cut off by the boisterous laughter of Dong Yin’s father, “Aiya, I know Little Ci is a good child. You see, you’re such a good friend of Dong Yin, and our families have been friends for ages! Uncle know that you will definitely help uncle out right?” the man then turned to his daughter and smiled, “See? I told you that you can talk to Little Ci. She’s such a good girl. She agreed to help right away. Why didn’t you ask for her help earlier on?”

The laughter of Dong Yin’s father reverberated in the entire room, accompanied by the the laughter of Yi Cang’s father. The same could not be said for Ye Nantian, Zuo Xiaolan, and Liu Chang’s parents, with their mouths twitching in annoyance.

Dong Yin and Yi Cang were silent as well. Dong Yin stared right at Ye Ci. She had already been humiliated by Ye Ci’s words, and she was even more embarrassed by her father’s actions. She studied Ye Ci’s face anxiously. She knew that Ye Ci would not agree to help, but she was filled with hope at the same time. Maybe, just maybe… Ye Ci might help out at her father’s request….

That was why Dong Yin stared at Ye Ci’s face. She wanted a confirmation from Ye Ci, but she was offered none. Ye Ci’s face betrayed not even a single shred of emotion.

“Little Ci, since you’ve agreed to help, why don’t you help Steel-Blooded Battle Spear out today when you log into the game? I’ve heard from Yin Yin and Yi Cang that you’re very good at the game. Steel-Blooded Battle Spear will be able to secure a spot in the First Five with your help. What do you think?”

Ye Ci remained silent. She spun the spinny spinny thing around, bringing the shark fin soup in front of her. After ladling some of the soup into her bowl, Ye Ci sighed as she looked at Liu Chang, “Oh dear, I should not have ordered this. Sharks are an endangered species. A shark has to die in the process of making this. How shameful!”

Liu Chang rolled her eyes, “You sly fox.”

Dong Yin’s father was humiliated by Ye Ci. He stared at Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan with a darkened expression and spoke with warning clear in his voice, “Old Ye…”

Ye Nantian paid no heed to him as well. He mirrored his daughter’s action, and began partaking in the meal. The dishes on the table were paid for by his beloved daughter, and it would be such a waste if he did not savor the food. Zuo Xiaolan, on the other hand, turned around and started a conversation with Liu Chang’s mother, pretending that she did not notice the expression of Dong Yin’s father.