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Novel: [Night Without Borders]
Chapter 79: [Close Friend]
Author: [Chen Dong]
Translator: [Shadow Knight AK]
Editor: [Shadow Knight AK]
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No matter how composed Qin Ming tried to be, he was still a young man.
He didn't hide his frustration, his indignant "Why?" betraying his anger.
Meng Xinghai chuckled. "Only those who hold the 'rules' can reason, right?"
At that moment, Qin Ming gripped the Jade Iron Sword, not because he couldn't control himself, but deliberately.
In front of an elder, he felt he should show some youthful spirit.
"I shielded him from disaster, and he still resents me. Where's the justice in that?" Qin Ming demanded, his experiences clearly fueling his anger.
"It seems that even after living with the Cui Family for over a decade, you've never truly considered yourself a scion of a noble clan," Meng Xinghai observed.
Qin Ming paused, then understood his meaning.
"Is it because the Cui Family's heir is so noble and unattainable?" he asked calmly.
"Exactly. If you could see things from his perspective, understand his mindset, you might be even more furious," Meng Xinghai said with a smile.
Qin Ming thought it would be better to simply ignore Cui Chonghe and stop trying to understand why he was so angry.
Because in Cui Chonghe's eyes, Qin Ming's status was so low he could be disregarded.
Yet Qin Ming had accompanied his fiancée, a grave act of overstepping his place.
Meng Xinghai said, "You think you shielded him from harm, but as the eldest son of a thousand-year-old noble clan, he couldn't possibly care about your feelings."
Qin Ming scoffed, "Looks like I'm just an ordinary person. After living in the Cui Family for so many years, I never developed that kind of noble bearing, never instinctively adopted that mindset."
But the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
His so-called maturity and composure were useless now; he could barely suppress the fire in his heart.
Clearly, in Cui Chonghe's eyes, Qin Ming was merely a disposable servant, a tool the Cui Family had raised to be used and discarded at will.
How dare he walk alongside the Wang Clan's eldest daughter?
Qin Ming recalled his experiences in the Cui Family.
The hierarchy had been rigid, and now it seemed that by shielding someone from harm, he had somehow "offended" them?
"To be fair, Cui Chonghe truly possesses the potential of an immortal," Meng Xinghai said. "That elder hadn't taken a disciple in over a century, yet he made an exception for Chonghe, taking him away when he was only three or four years old."
Meng Xinghai was subtly warning Qin Ming not to act rashly, reminding him of the vast disparity in their circumstances and status.
Qin Ming nodded, then suddenly realized that Cui Chonghe and his Senior Brothers and Sisters must all be over a hundred years old.
If they were still alive, that would be terrifying.
At that moment, he felt an intense desire to grow stronger, to venture into the deep mountains and vast marshes in search of spiritual substance.
He also longed for another Spring Thunder.
Although it was said that entering the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall was safest and yielded the most abundant spiritual substance only during the first Spring Thunder of the year, he still wanted to try at other times.
"The Li, Wang, and Cui Families are like three immovable Great Mountains, while I'm just an ordinary youth who doesn't want to get caught up in their affairs," Qin Ming sighed.
From Meng Xinghai, he learned that the Wang Clan had been furious upon discovering they had been deceived.
The Cui Family had originally planned to swiftly eliminate the fake Cui Chonghe to quell the turmoil.
"Seventh Master Cui is a sentimental man. He said he regarded you as his own nephew and couldn't kill you, nearly causing a rift within the Cui Family."
It was precisely because Cui Hao intervened and the matter had already escalated, with rumors spreading, that the Cui Family hesitated to act ruthlessly, fearing they would be branded as heartless and ungrateful.
"So, without my knowledge, I've been hovering near the Gates of Hell multiple times," Qin Ming thought.
To him, the thousand-year-old Noble Clans felt overwhelmingly vast, and he even considered fleeing to a distant land.
Sensing his thoughts, Meng Xinghai said, "Why don't you stay in Chi Xia City for now? When early spring arrives, the ancient Dao Traditions and some special Advanced Academies will begin selecting disciples. You can study them carefully—some organizations are quite hostile to Noble Clans."
As a scion of a noble clan himself, Meng Xinghai couldn't elaborate further on this topic.
Qin Ming's mind wandered.
The Night Mist World was vast and boundless, yet fraught with danger.
Where could he possibly find a safe haven?
Meng Xinghai reassured him, "Don't worry. The token I gave you is quite useful. Within Chi Xia City, you won't have to fear for your safety for the time being."
Qin Ming examined the Black Jade Token closely.
One side bore the character "Meng," while the other displayed "Patrol."
"Thank you, Uncle Meng!" He immediately rose to express his gratitude.
This token, brought from the Meng Clan, was no ordinary item.
The character "Patrol" had been hastily inscribed by Meng Xinghai to grant him authority to patrol both the city and the mountains.
Possessing this token meant Qin Ming was temporarily under the protection of the Meng Clan.
Meng Xinghai said, "I've told you so much and shared so much information, initially because Qingyue asked me to look after you. Some people don't care who Cui Chonghe is; they only remember that an old friend once used that name. But I must also warn you that many others are very concerned about the Cui Chonghe identity. You must be extremely cautious when encountering old acquaintances in the future."
Qin Ming nodded solemnly. "If Qingyue ever needs help, even if she's ten thousand miles away, I'll rush to her aid the moment I hear the news!"
Without Li Qingyue, Meng Xinghai wouldn't even know who Qin Ming was.
Even if he had heard of him, there would be no reason for such care.
Back when Qin Ming lived in Qing He City as Cui Chonghe, he had many friends, but now, only a handful could still be considered true friends.
Meng Xinghai said, "Qingyue warned me that the closer true friends get to you, the more trouble they'll bring you."
"I understand!" Qin Ming nodded.
The Cui Family had once tried to make him disappear completely to appease the Wang Clan's wrath and quell the turmoil.
If he re-entered that circle and associated with familiar people, trouble would inevitably follow.
A suffocating feeling pressed against Qin Ming's chest, but he knew he was powerless against the circumstances.
Others had already drawn the line, forbidding him from stepping into certain territories and forbidding him from interacting with people of that social stratum.
"With my innate talent, I should be able to rise quickly. Once I'm strong enough, I'll retrieve the Silk Book from the Cui Family."
"But if I re-enter that circle, Cui Chonghe, Li Qingxu, and even some members of the Wang Clan might target me."
"The path ahead is fraught with challenges, and I need to grow stronger quickly."
These thoughts raced through Qin Ming's mind.
The road ahead was not smooth, bordering on treacherous, but it ignited his fighting spirit, a fiery glint flickering in his eyes.
If he lacked confidence in himself, he might as well return to Black White Mountain immediately and voluntarily seclude himself in that remote region.
"Hmm, I'm telling you this not entirely because of Qingyue," Meng Xinghai said, cutting through Qin Ming's thoughts. "I also have high hopes for you. I noticed you entered the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall last time."
Meng Xinghai's bluntness startled Qin Ming.
Had his actions been exposed all along?
Meng Xinghai chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm the only one in Chi Xia City who noticed something was off about you—and that you made it out alive."
"Thank goodness!" Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
"Besides you, Qian Cheng also survived. But he mysteriously disappeared the next day."
Qin Ming knew who Meng Xinghai was referring to: the seemingly dull-witted youth who was actually quite astute.
"I'm not joking," Meng Xinghai said as Qin Ming rose to take his leave. "You should carefully study the ancient Dao Traditions and special Advanced Academies. There are places even the Noble Clans can't extend their reach too far."
"Thank you, Uncle Meng!" Qin Ming replied.
Leaving the City Lord's Manor, Qin Ming returned to his inn and idly turned the Black Jade Token over in his hand.
He fell into a daze, realizing that if he went into the mountains, he would become a member of the Mountain Patrol Group—and a high-ranking one at that.
A wave of emotion washed over him.
The first people he had ever killed had been Fu Entao, Feng Yi'an, and the other members of the Mountain Patrol Group.
In a private room at a nearby tavern, several figures closed the windows.
They had been watching Qin Ming enter the inn moments earlier.
"Daring to meddle in Xin Yi Hall's affairs? It seems he does have connections at the City Lord's Manor. We should leave him alone."
"Not just leave him alone—look at this scroll someone sent us. We're to keep a close eye on him. This youth might be more important than we thought."
"When you encounter someone you can't see through, it's best to stay out of it. We can observe him, but if a client asks us to act, we'll have to politely decline."
"For now, they haven't asked us to move against him. Besides, he looks like a traveler from afar."
...
Over the next two days, Qin Ming and Wu Zheng researched the organizations and Dao Traditions that had selected disciples in Chi Xia City throughout the years.
Qin Ming suspected Meng Xinghai was referring to those special Advanced Academies, which required a standardized entrance exam open to all, even scions of noble clans.
Unless one possessed exceptional talent and verifiable combat achievements that surpassed regional standards, everyone had to undergo the unified testing and trials.
Afterward, Qin Ming began meticulously studying maps of the mountain range outside Chi Xia City, seeking spiritual substances.
He was spurred on by the towering presence of the Cui, Wang, and Li Families, desperate to rise above them.
The following day, he visited a renowned weapon shop and purchased a Black Gold Hammer.
Still long-handled, it was significantly heavier than his previous weapon.
"Brother Qin, it seems you really wasted fifteen Day Gold at my place," Wu Zheng said regretfully. "You didn't grasp even a fraction of the dual mastery of spear and arrow. Are you switching to the hammer now?"
He was disappointed at the lack of sparring partners; unlike the conservative Lao Wu, he had hoped Qin Ming would mentor him.
Qin Ming chuckled. "I'm actually quite proficient with the spear too. Feel free to ask me any questions you have. I'm training with the hammer to deal with thick-skinned Giant Beasts. Ordinary weapons are too light and gentle to penetrate their massive hides."
He was preparing for his expedition into the mountains.
With his current strength approaching five thousand catties, even facing someone who had undergone six or seven awakenings posed little challenge.
This time, anyone who dared to intercept him would learn what it meant to have ten thousand peach blossoms bloom with a single hammer strike!
...
Xu Sheng, whom they hadn't seen in three days, arrived looking pale and injured.
"Brother Xu, what happened to you?" Qin Ming and Wu Zheng asked anxiously.
Xu Sheng sighed. "Ah, Zhou Lin and I went to help a friend. We were ambushed in the mountains. It made me realize how tough it is to be a Spiritual Hunter—maybe being a Traveling Merchant would be better."
"At least you made it back alive and unharmed. By the way, how's Sister Fenfang?" Qin Ming asked.
"Sister Fenfang? Who's that?" Xu Sheng asked suspiciously.
"Um... Sister Zhou Lin."
Xu Sheng chuckled. "Haha, she's fine. She dodged faster than I did."
"Did someone try to steal your prey again?" Qin Ming asked.
Xu Sheng sighed. "Not yet. We'd just entered the spiritual creature's habitat and hadn't even found its lair when we were ambushed."
"Why don't we go check it out again?" Qin Ming suggested, his interest piqued.
Xu Sheng was about to reply when he suddenly realized Qin Ming had surpassed him.
As a fifth awakening expert, he could lift over 3,000 catties, far less than Qin Ming's current strength.
"Alright, let's go again!"
Soon, Sister Fenfang, Zhou Lin, received the news and joined Xu Sheng and Qin Ming on their return to the mountains.
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END OF CHAPTER
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