Chapter 85: Alliance

( ) Chapter 92 Alliance

Qian Feng nodded and said: "That makes sense. So, since we're allying, no matter who they attack first, once the war starts we'll immediately send word and quickly dispatch troops to support."

Li Bucai nodded: "That's best. Right now we don't fully understand the threats in our Territory, we can only rely on this river. Our two forts aren't far apart, only a few dozen li by water; if we take a fast boat, we can arrive in less than a day."

"Alright, big brother, from now on I'll stick with you. No matter whether it's the Tan family brothers or the Wei, we'll never give them Monthly tribute."

"It's not a matter of whether we're together or not; we're isolated and weak, just looking out for each other. No matter what, we should develop our strength as much as possible, so we can ally with other forces; otherwise, just the two of us can hardly stand against a force that's an alliance of a dozen or even dozens of lords." Li Bucai observed among the crowd that many lords interacted closely; it was clear that everyone, to avoid being eliminated early, was forming cliques. Only a few were isolated and weak, and they were far from the others' Territories. Even if they allied, distant water cannot quench a nearby fire; they remain a handful of scattered sand.

Just as they were speaking, a girl's voice came from behind: "You two are allying—does that include me, the neighbor?" The school‑uniform girl, surrounded by a dozen guards, came to their side.

Qian Feng said: "Of course we considered it, but you're under Wei Zidan's protection now, no one would dare touch you. Moreover, keeping two boats under your feet is a bit …"

"When did I ever say I wanted someone to shield me? Did I ever say I'd ally with them?" The school‑uniform girl kept staring at Li Bucai, and then turned to Qian Feng: "What's wrong, are you scared of Wei Zidan that you won't even dare to ally with anyone else?"

"This… this…" Qian Feng was indeed a bit worried. The girl was someone Wei Zidan coveted; he wanted to pull her to his side even without demanding Monthly tribute. If they allied with her, it would certainly provoke Wei Zidan. Now that they've decided not to give the Tan family brothers Monthly tribute, angering Wei Zidan would invite attacks from two major forces. Saying that makes his face look bad, so he cast his gaze at Li Bucai to see what he would say.

Li Bucai said: "I was just about to come find you about this, but the past few days have been hectic and I can't spare a moment. Our three Territories are adjacent; if you don't consider us isolated and weak and are willing to ally with us, we would be grateful."

The school‑uniform girl said happily: "Alright, I'll officially join you now. The three of us don't seek to live together, but we seek to die together. From now on we'll rely heavily on Great Lord Li— and also Great Lord Qian."

Qian Feng hurriedly said: "You… you need to think this through. Wei Zidan now has the loyalty of several other lords; he's the Number One Boss of the Holy Spirit Sixteen Nations. The two of us could be swallowed by him at any time. If you follow us, you won't last long either."

"Of course I've thought it through. Even if I ally with him, you're to my north and he's to my west. If one day they provoke you two, and after beating them they turn on me, I'd be in trouble. So I'd rather ally with you. Moreover, Great Lord Li's favor hasn't been repaid yet; how could I be an ungrateful scoundrel?" She was referring to the earlier incident where Wu Zhuoran and Wan'er and others crossed the river to help with wound treatment.

"Even if it's a great favor, you're just a woman, that doesn't count as ingratitude, and moreover …" Qian Feng really didn't want to provoke Wei Zidan, but for pride, the latter part—'you allying with him helped us a bit'—he couldn't say outright, so he gave a look to Li Bucai, knowing it would be very disadvantageous for us.

Li Bucai replied: "What's the difference between interactions between Territories and interactions between friends? If you only associate with yourself, you forbid associating with others. There's no such principle in the world, do you agree?" Making friends between two people, and she also befriends a third party who holds some hostility toward herself—that's perfectly normal. If it's a good friend, they can help dissolve hostility; even if not, having one more friend is far better than having one fewer opponent.

Qian Feng thought the same, so he said nothing further.

【7】 But the school‑uniform girl sensed an implication, thinking to herself: Could it be that back at Luo Ping Hai, I left in front of him with Wei Zidan, and he assumed I…

But the school‑uniformed girl heard that sentence as if it were a hint, and thought to herself: It couldn't have been that earlier at Luo Ping Hai, I followed Wei Zidan right in front of him, and he thought I…

"I… I…" the school‑uniform girl tried to explain to him but didn't know how to start. After half a day of thought, she finally said: "I don't consider them my friends, that day…" It was truly hard to speak.

When Qian Feng heard her say that, he had already seen that she kept looking at Li Bucai with lingering affection. He pushed Li Bucai aside, pulled her aside and said: "Don't say you don't consider them your friends; they must be your friends."

"Do you even want to interfere with who I befriend? If it weren't him, we wouldn't seem that close."

"I know if it weren't Li Bucai, we wouldn't even know each other. I also know you have feelings for him, but if you don't want the three of us eliminated early, you can't break face with the Wei. We're already planning to provoke the Tan family brothers; if we bring the Wei into it, can the three of us hold off ten or more of them?"

The school‑uniform girl pondered for a moment; if she continued to get close to Wei Zidan, she feared Li Bucai's misunderstanding of her would deepen. In any case, for her, the length of time she'd lived here mattered far less than obtaining the person she wanted. If she could get him now, she'd rather leave immediately.

"If you're eliminated, you're eliminated—what's there to fear? We'll go back sooner or later; being later is no better than being earlier. Lingering timidly a few more days is worse than just doing whatever we want boldly. Even if we're eliminated, we won't regret it."

Qian Feng's remark reminded her: instead of watching Li Bucai surrounded by girls across the river, she might as well be eliminated early and have a bigger chance later, using Wei Zidan's help. If we win, we wait a year's pact and then try to take him back from those girls.

Qian Feng, at a loss, shook his head and went to Li Bucai, saying: "Boss, it seems only you can go out and persuade her back to the Wei side. We must not let them lose face; you know the consequences."

Li Bucai, of course, understood the implication, but he couldn't, out of fear of others' attacks, push away someone willing to ally with him to another; who would then dare to ally with him? He shrugged and said: "It seems I still have no authority to meddle in her private affairs, unless she's my girlfriend, but then it would be even more impossible to use my own girlfriend as bait. I can't employ a beauty trap, and I'm powerless."

"Then… what do you suggest we do in this situation? Are we just to wait to be devoured?"

"Give me a moment to think; there should be a way."

"What method?"

Li Bucai looked around and said: "Time difference."

Qian Feng, puzzled, asked: "Time difference? What does that mean?"

Li Bucai said: "If we don't want to be eliminated, the first step is to eliminate the Tan family brothers and Wei Zidan."

"Yes, but we haven't eliminated any of them yet, and now we'd have to provoke both families at once."

Although we've already decided to oppose the Tan family brothers, Wei Zidan is unaware and still thinks we're under the protection of the Tan family brothers. Therefore, until their strength reaches the point where they can wipe out the South Bank's forces in one blow, they won't dare to touch any piece of the South Bank's Territory. In the meantime, we must see if we can seize this window to eliminate the Tan family brothers; if we can't, then even if we go after ten or eight more, it doesn't matter—we'll be eliminated anyway.

"But even if we eliminate the Tan family brothers, the loss will be huge; the Wei can then reap the fisherman's profit."

"When the North Bank's forces fall into internal chaos, the chance for us to profit probably won't happen. Wei Zidan is an ambitious person; regardless of this, he'll strike while we're fighting each other, so this is something we must face. Whether we can hold them off depends on how fast the next developments go."

Qian Feng nodded; his words were indeed sensible, but he feared Wei Zidan might lose his temper over a beauty, become irrational, and attack while our side is unprepared and we've lost the Tan family brothers' protective umbrella.

Li Bucai said: "Now, let's go meet them."