Chapter 22
Ever since Rong Yuan defeated Snow with one move, the news that a super-powerful person had come to the Central City quickly spread to the ears of all the big and small leaders, and they all paid a lot of attention to it. Within half an hour of Rong Yuan temporarily staying in the two-story building, many houses around him changed their owners, and in their place, there were countless pairs of eyes staring at the building.
After Bai Xiang and Michelle left, many people assumed that Rong Yuan had joined the Howling Knights. This was natural in their eyes. One of the four would be able to obtain this unparalleled sword. The only difference was which one it was. With this strong support, the Knights would surely gain power. I wonder which one would suffer in the division of power next. But no matter what, the four were still the four. This was the foundation of the stability of the central city and would not be easily changed.
——That’s what most people think.
Some people also think that Bai Xiang was just the first to get the moon because he was close to the water. If Rong Yuan had not entered the city from the south and was attacked by the idiot Bai Le first, the current situation would be unpredictable.
Others said that only two of the four major families had contacted the newcomer, and the other two families had not yet made any moves, and the real power holder of the Tyrant Army family had not yet come forward, so don't think that Howl can now win. The newcomer's destination, who will win or lose, are still unknown.
The increase or decrease of the four major forces is closely related to the vital interests and even life and death of many people on Prison Star, and the key to this wave of turmoil lies in Rong Yuan's position. Therefore, the number of people staring at the small building is beyond imagination. Even many residents who do not have the freedom of belonging, when they are drying clothes on the balcony in the sun, will glance at the beautiful small building and guess what the person inside is doing and thinking.
So, when Rong Yuan returned to the small building, everyone who should and shouldn’t know knew it—he brought back a child from the black market.
East City.
"Child?" In the huge restaurant, the man put down his knife and fork, picked up a handkerchief to wipe the gravy from the corner of his mouth, and asked , "Where did it come from?"
"Yes." A charming woman next to him said tremblingly, "The people below thought he was dead, so they threw him into the animal pen. Who knew..."
“Who knew that the kid was so smart that he could deceive you and crawl back alive?” the man asked coldly.
The charming girl almost knelt down in fear, but she didn't dare to deny it. She said tremblingly: "Yes..."
"It's not like this hasn't happened before, but it never caused any trouble. I guess the people below us weren't vigilant enough and were careless when throwing away the garbage." A man wearing glasses nearby defended the woman, "The child is probably just a little bit stubborn, he's not a big deal."
The man was silent for a while. He thought highly of the man with glasses, and was more receptive to his words. So he said to the woman, "Go to the punishment room and accept your punishment. This matter is over. But if there is any mistake in the future, go back to where you came from!"
The woman shuddered, a look of deep fear on her face, and she hastily assured him, "Yes, yes, it won't happen again! Don't worry, Fourth Young Master, I'll sort out all the people below when I get back!"
"Go away."
"yes."
Behind the man, the charming woman, with tears in her eyes, gave the man with glasses a grateful and tender smile before leaving.
After the door closed, the fourth young master ate two more pieces of meat and suddenly asked, "Does it look good?"
The man with glasses smiled and said, "She is so beautiful that she can topple a country."
"Just go for it. Does she dare to refuse you?" The Fourth Young Master said indifferently.
The man with glasses shook the wine glass in his hand, shook his head and said, "You don't understand, this is called interest."
The fourth young master sneered and said, "Boring."
The man with glasses smiled and said, "How do we deal with that? Do you want me to find someone to warn them?"
"Why?"
"Ignorance is not a crime! He's new here and doesn't know the rules. Just teach him a lesson to avoid things getting out of hand." The man with glasses said, "Boss Bai left his only son there and values that man very much. And the old man also plans to take him into the family. If we break up now, it will not be good in the future."
"Boss Bai is already old, and Bai Le can't support the overall situation. Even if Boss Bai paves the way for him now, it 's too late." The fourth young master said slowly while eating: "As for the old man's ideas, that's the old man's, I have my own way of doing things. What's more... do you really think he doesn't know?"
"Um?"
"That Rong Yuan, even if he didn't know the ins and outs of this at first, but after he brought the person back, do you think no one would warn him?" The fourth young master said, "Don't forget, Bai Le is still over there!"
The man with glasses frowned and said, "You mean... he did it on purpose?"
"We can't rule out the possibility of being used by others... But, someone is restless, that's for sure." The fourth young master said grimly, "There has been no major movement at home for such a long time, it's inevitable that some people will think we are a sleeping tiger and want to try to pluck a few hairs. Take this opportunity to chop off those claws that are sticking out, so that some people know that the so-called 'Four Majors' are just gold pasted on their faces, and it's not their turn to speak in the Central City."
After a moment of silence, the man with the glasses said, "What if... I mean, what if Rong Yuan really smashed the plate?"
The fourth young master was amused by him and said, "Do you think he can really do it?"
The man with glasses said, "Xiao Shiqi thinks very highly of him." After a pause, he added, "It's ridiculously high."
"Seventeen has brains, but his understanding of military power is still insufficient." The fourth young master said disdainfully: "What about General Luca back then? He was known as the strongest warrior in the empire and won the championship of seven consecutive military exercises. But after losing his equipment and mecha, he was almost beaten to death by a group of natives? Even if Rong Yuan has some strange abilities, can he defeat thousands of troops alone?"
The man with glasses smiled and said, "That's true."
A corner of the north city.
Green vines entangled and intertwined, forming a green corridor. Clusters of translucent light blue flowers fell between the vines, and the sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves onto the white stone pavement, creating a sense of comfort and tranquility. This place did not feel like the Prison Planet, but rather like a garden corridor in the normal world.
But there was an old man with white hair and beard sitting in the corridor, and in his arms was a fat cat that was rare in Prison Star, which was quite a spoiler. What was worse was that there was a middle-aged man with greasy sweat and unshaven beard standing next to him, which lowered the level of this beautiful scenery by at least three levels.
"It took me fifty years to build a college, and another one hundred and fifty years to put up a pergola like this. On the entire planet, only this place looks like a university town," said the old man.
"Ah?" The middle-aged man was confused. What was going on?
The old man sighed and said, "I rarely sit here and enjoy myself for a while, and you come to talk to me about such a depressing topic?"
"This... this..." The middle-aged man stammered, thinking: [Is enjoying the scenery really more important than this matter? ]
The old man leaned back on a bench with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep. After a long while, he said, "I have been here for most of my life. Building this academy is my greatest achievement. The rest is just to grow flowers and grass, and cultivate some beautiful but impractical things. There are some things that I clearly know, but I pretend that I can't hear or see them, and I don't even dare to think about them, for fear that I won't sleep well at night."
"Dean Herman..."
"It's been so many years..." Herman sighed, "Finally, someone dares to touch the beard of the Bajun family again."
“But…but,” the middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, “The Tyrant Army has existed on Red Prison Star for more than a thousand years, and its power is unimaginable. Twenty years ago, no one dared to mention the fate of the young man who wanted to expose this matter. That Rong Yuan…”
"Why, do you think anything will happen to him?" Herman asked.
"This...isn't this certain? We, we should do something, right?"
Herman was silent for a long time before he said, "Haha, what are you doing?"
"Stop him from pursuing the matter further!" the middle-aged man said as a matter of course.
"And then?" Herman asked again.
"That..." The middle-aged man couldn't continue.
"Persuade him to hand over the child's body and then apologize to the Tyrant Army?" Herman sneered, "Or, throw the child back to the animal pen and pretend nothing happened?"
“That…” The middle-aged man paused for a while, and said with difficulty: “This is the only solution. That child… I heard that the child is no longer in human form. It may be a good thing to let him go. If you can’t save him, you have to let go and let those who can live live well.”
"Doesn't your conscience hurt when you say this?" The old man asked tiredly without feeling heartbroken. He looked at the little flowers that looked like blue elves in front of him for a long time before he said to the middle-aged man who was full of dissatisfaction: "Except for the group of idiots with the shallowest foundation and muscles in their brains, how many people in the entire Central City who can speak up don't know that Paradise City is the property of Tyrant Army? But does anyone dare to touch it? No! Does anyone dare to inquire about its location and details? Even if they see clues, they will avoid it as much as possible, right? Why? It's not because we, the life prisoners, have become cold-blooded and ruthless monsters, but because - we are all cowards! Shameless and incompetent cowards! People with blood and backbone have been killed by them. The rest are either cowards like you and me, or those who are in cahoots with them!"
"You and I are no different from garbage in this world. Do we have to grab a warrior who dares to swing a sword at a thug and drag him into the mire, turning him into garbage like us?"
"But as long as his life can be saved, it's a good result, isn't it?" the middle-aged man said with a red face.
"Who do you want to save, that young man or yourself?" Herman asked.
"I……"
"I know that the people in the Tyrant Army are all crazy." The old man said calmly: "If that young man really does something, they will not only make him pay the price, but also use thundering means against all those who suspect him. The academy has developed to this point, and its roots are deep and leaves are lush. A big tree attracts the wind, and the possibility of being affected is very high. You are afraid, I can understand and forgive it. But..." The old man looked at the middle-aged man with a sharp gaze and said, "I am very disappointed in you."
"I...I'm also doing this for the academy..." the middle-aged man said with a flushed face and flickering eyes.
"Don't worry." The old man closed his eyes again, leaned back in his chair and said, "If that day ever comes, I will sacrifice my old bones to not let you get involved."
The middle-aged man's expression relaxed and then became full of shame. He explained in a stammer that he didn't think that way, but the old man refused to look at him. He stood there awkwardly for a while, then turned away awkwardly.
After the middle-aged man walked away, the old man suddenly opened his eyes again, looked at the white spot on the ground, squinted his eyes and muttered to himself: "Rong Yuan... Rong Yuan... Could it really be him?"
South city.
The man, whose eyebrows and eyes were even more charming than a woman's, picked up his fingers and carefully painted his nails with red polish. He rolled his eyes nonchalantly and said, "Don't believe everything you hear. You have no future!"
"That man was kind enough to take a child back, but that doesn't mean he's against Paradise City. Even if he's against Paradise City, it doesn't mean that Howl will challenge Tyrant Army's authority - maybe they'll give in as soon as they hear Tyrant Army's name. Even if Howl and Tyrant Army really fight, what does it have to do with us?"
He blew on his nails, his upturned phoenix eyes were indescribably romantic, and said: "The crazier the man, the greater the demand. Then, maybe our business will be even better!"
As soon as Rong Yuan entered the city, he attracted attention from all sides, and his action of bringing Qi Gen back touched the sensitive nerves of many people.
The Central City was in turmoil, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense, especially at the edge of the jurisdiction of Howling and Tyrant Army. Suddenly, the two sides increased a lot of armed confrontation, and even the usual material transactions were reduced a lot. The lower-level people didn't know what was going on, but they also smelled the smell of impending storm in the air. All kinds of outrageous speculations were flying around, and even the odds were set secretly. Those who knew kept silent, while those who didn't know were having a lot of fun.
But everyone thought that this was just a sign, a beginning. Maybe this tiny butterfly wing would stir up a huge wave, or maybe it would just be a tiny breeze. No matter which result it is, it will take time to ferment and brew, and it will require weighing, choosing, and negotiating before we can finally decide whether to turn against each other.
However, Rong Yuan does not intend to act according to anyone's expectations.
He was already standing at the gate of Paradise City.
Move like thunder!
