Chapter 30: The Situation Is Grim

( ) was told by the princess about the central matter, Qing'er felt her heart race, steadied herself, and forced a smile, saying: "I am the princess's servant, so of course I hope to stay by the princess forever. Not seeing the princess these few days made me think the princess no longer wanted me."

"Didn't we say that Rushi and Xiaoxiao came to seek refuge with us? You let those two serve me, so why did they leave as soon as they saw the Mars man?"

The school‑uniform girl clearly began to doubt her; Qing'er lowered her head, afraid to meet her gaze, and stammered: "Yes, we clearly promised to be loyal to the princess, so why did they just leave…?" She suddenly knelt and said: "It's all my fault, I can't tell people apart, I carelessly led people to the princess's side. Please, princess, punish me."

The school‑uniform girl pondered for a long while, then smiled: "You acted out of good intentions; the Mars man is my friend, and it was wrong of you to bring her people to me. Forget it, let this matter pass, and don't bring it up again. Sigh… they have gone back to the Mars man's side, how can I be at ease? It seems we still need to send someone to watch over them. Who do you think we should send?"

Qing'er's eyes lit up at the thought of returning to Li Bucai's side, her heart raced again, the lord's gaze never left her, she paused in silence, then shook her head.

"Shen guard needs to look after everyone, and the others don't recognize their people; it would be better if Shuang'er were here."

"If there truly is no other choice, Qing… Qing'er is willing to go."

The school‑uniform girl's eyes flickered; Qing'er's expression was clearly tense, even her voice sounded different from usual, and she suddenly asked: "Did you fall in love with him?"

The words struck her like a bolt of lightning, leaving her mind buzzing. Just one day without seeing the lord made her restless day and night; she constantly hoped to return to the lord soon. She could say she liked him to the point of madness, yet he was the one the princess liked. The princess was her heaven; the princess made us die, we must die; the princess let us live, we can live. Moreover, the princess treated us like sisters, even claimed us as her own, so how could she dare to split her belongings?

Qing'er replied in a low voice: "The lord across the river is so boring, how could I… how could I possibly like him?"

Needless to say, her expression betrayed her; with the school‑uniform girl's keen observation, every slight change was noted, and despite her best effort to hide it, the answer was already known.

……

Inside Li Bucai's tent, Rushi and Xiaoxiao recounted the whole incident to Li Bucai in detail. Of course, Qing'er did not reveal the internal‑informant matter.

Li Bucai let out a light sigh: "Fine, Qing'er was never one of us, let her go." He recalled the lingering past and felt a pang of lingering attachment.

At that moment, Xianghong entered and reported: "Lord, the Lord of Qingyuan, Qian Feng, wishes to see you."

"Oh? Qian Feng? Please, come in."

Rushi and Xiaoxiao withdrew from the tent.

Qian Feng entered the tent and, upon stepping in, said: "Yo, big brother, long time no see."

Li Bucai laughed: "Yeah, a few days apart—how are those beautiful attendants holding up?"

"Hey, don't even bring it up, damn it, a few days ago Goblins raided the camp and killed two. How are things here? Is my Wu Tenglan alright? Haven't dealt with her yet…"

At that moment he noticed Wu Zhuoran standing nearby, staring coldly at him; a sudden pang of an arrow wound on his backside made him shiver, and he dared not utter the words that followed.

Li Bucai shrugged; Wu Zhuoran let out a cold snort, left the tent, leaving only the two of them inside.

Qian Feng said: "Looks like our Marshal won't make it today. How about we gather a few people to wander in the woods, earn some side income, then come back?"

Almost all of the sixteen troops had been attacked by the Ant Tribe. Proudly, Qian Feng drew his heavy sword; he practices the Vajra Mantra, wielding a single‑handed heavy sword and a square copper shield. He unsheathed the blade, which glowed green, waved it a few times before Li Bucai, and said: "How's that, handsome? Green Magic Crystal, harvested from killing ants."

"Damn, three days apart and you're supposed to look at each other anew—this saying is truly spot on. Last time we met you were so broke you sold pots and iron, even the war‑lord‑material Zhuoran was sold cheap, and now you're already looking to make extra cash?"

"The situation is pressing, can't be lazy." Qian Feng sighed: "They haven't come looking for you?"

"Oh? Who?"

"Wei Zidan. By the way, you're from south of Shalanjiang, you should belong to the Tan brothers. Looks like you might not know it yet, the current situation is complicated."

Li Bucai asked curiously: "In what way is it complicated? Tell me."

"Sigh, it's a real pain. The King of Ten Thousand Nations is a real pain in the neck. Putting aside the distant issues, just our Holy Spirit Sixteen Divisions and the five of us who came today—Wei Zidan, Pu Fengtian, me, plus the Tan brothers: Tan Jiang and Tan Ping—are all quite powerful. They've already secretly divided the Sixteen Divisions among themselves. Wei Zidan and his two accomplices Lou Wenfei and He Qingming dominate the north of the river, demanding each person pay a monthly tribute of two gold within a month, or they'll jointly eliminate anyone who doesn't pay. The Tan brothers have just been demanding tribute from the southern river forces. Two gold a month—once we give that, we'll never get a chance to rise, forever their puppets, and after they've fully spread their wings they'll wipe us out one by one."

"Is that all?" Li Bucai sensed the seriousness and asked again: "By the way, what's the story with Pu Fengtian?"

"That guy is an absolute pervert, throwing all his money into skills. I heard he's been obsessively training his abilities these days. Wei Zidan tried to recruit him, but he refused. He only ever hangs out with those two beauties he's torturing, and he's been bragging about snatching Lou Wenfei's maid. A few days ago, under Lou Wenfei's strict guard, he stealthily took the maid away. Yesterday morning, I saw a corpse floating down the river at the mouth—its cruelty was like a human meat bun."

Recalling the scene, Qian Feng bared his teeth and continued: "That woman seemed to be Lou Wenfei's beloved, vowing revenge, but he teamed up with three brothers, led people to storm Pu Fengtian's territory, and managed to escape right under his nose. Nearly a hundred people—none of the three were harmed. My two delicate beauties also fell victim to his poison, so now I can't even recruit any beauties. Even wandering merchants only dare buy a few men from me."

Indeed a pervert; it seems the game is no longer simple.

Qian Feng added: "You'd better make more preparations. My Wu Tenglan is exceptionally beautiful; if he sets his sights on her, you won't get any good fruit."

Li Bucai sneered coldly: "I was just thinking of meeting him."

"We can set that aside for now; you should think carefully about how to deal with the Tan brothers. I think they'll come knocking soon enough. Pu Fengtian is just a lecher; losing a few beauties isn't the biggest issue. The monthly tribute problem isn't that simple—if we keep giving them two gold each month, we'll be eliminated early. Know that the longer we stay here, the more our bonuses will multiply after we return."