“You Awakened at eleven?” Lin Xiu looked at Zhao Qingqing in shock.
“I got used to the expressions you’re making a long time ago.” Zhao Qingqing shrugged. “Whenever someone learns about this, they make the same expression you are.”
“It’s hard not to be shocked.” Before Lin Xiu could speak, Kadir said from the side, “As far as I know, only three Awakeners in Dragon Country Awakened before the age of ten in the past hundred years.”
“And of those three, two are now high-ranking dragon guards, while the other was the founder of the Night Watch Division—the man known as Marquis Ye An, Yang Ye'an!”
“I didn’t expect you to know so much about Dragon Country’s Awakeners.” Zhao Qingqing smiled, surprised.
“Learning about Dragon Country’s awakeners is a required course for our Seraphim Legion.”
Kadir raised her head and glanced at Lin Xiu before continuing, “The Archangel once said that Dragon Country would always pose the greatest threat to the Divine Kingdom, even though Dragon Country is currently weakened.”
“Little girl, what your archangel said isn’t entirely correct.” Zhao Qingqing shook her head in denial. “It’s true that Dragon Country is the country posing the greatest threat to your Divine Kingdom, but where does this claim that Dragon Country is weakened come from?”
Hearing this, Lin Xiu could not help clicking his tongue. “They lost the war and have even begun ceding territory and paying reparations. Isn’t that a sign of weakness?”
As a modern-day Gangster raised under the national flag in the warm spring breeze, Lin Xiu felt a strong sense of belonging to his country. However, the motherland he carried in his subconscious was only that vast and flourishing China, whose flag bore a five-pointed star and whose culture spanned five thousand years—not today’s Dragon Country, which had lost its historical continuity and culture and even seen its political regime collapse.
“The people living in Sin City were already heinous criminals, and Sin City had no strategic resources. Even handing it over to the Divine Kingdom would not matter much.” Zhao Qingqing spoke with complete indifference.
“Bullshit!” Lin Xiu immediately stood up. “Even a thug like me knows that we must fight for every inch of territory. Those people in power actually think they can hand a city without strategic resources over to someone else?”
“In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken!” Zhao Qingqing did not back down. She looked directly into Lin Xiu’s eyes and said each word distinctly, “When the time is right, Dragon Country will reclaim everything it has lost, piece by piece!”
Lin Xiu met the other party’s resolute gaze, then waved his hand indifferently. “Do whatever you want. What does it have to do with me?”
Just then, the phone Zhao Qingqing had placed on the coffee table rang.
The sight left Lin Xiu slightly dazed. Three years in Sin City had nearly made him forget that mobile phones still existed in the world. Sin City was an abandoned, forsaken city. Even if mobile phones existed there, no signal could reach them, so contacting the outside world was impossible. That was why his father knew nothing about what had happened to him in Sin City.
“Qingqing, has that boy Lin Xiu gone home?” Lin Zhanbei’s hurried voice came from the other end of the phone.
Zhao Qingqing looked up at Lin Xiu, then said, “He’s back.”
“Pack your things now and take him to Magic City.”
“What happened?” Zhao Qingqing furrowed her brows, while Lin Xiu felt a faint sense of foreboding.
“That boy brought people to smash Shuiyun Jian today.”
“Shuiyun Jian?” Zhao Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, then said indifferently, “So what if he smashed it? Is there any need to run?”
“If it had happened under normal circumstances, smashing it would have been no big deal. After all, he’s about to attend Magic City Martial University. But today is different. One of the five guards of the Dragon Guard, the Scarlet Feather Guard, arrived in Biluo City moments ago. They’re now at the Night Watch Division.”
“The Scarlet Feather Guard!” Zhao Qingqing stood up, her tone turning colder. “Did they make things difficult for you?”
“Not exactly. After all, Marquis Ye An personally appointed me Director. No matter how bold the Scarlet Feather Guard is, they wouldn’t dare do anything to me. But Lin Xiu is different.” A burst of commotion came from the other end of the call. Lin Zhanbei lowered his voice. “Take Lin Xiu and leave at once. Once you reach Magic City Martial University, everything will be fine.”
After saying that, before Zhao Qingqing could reply, Lin Zhanbei hung up.
Zhao Qingqing looked at the disconnected phone in Silence for Several seconds, then Turned around and headed for the bedroom. As she walked, she said to the two of them, “Wait for me. We’re leaving for Magic City at once!”
Lin Xiu had heard Zhao Qingqing and Lin Zhanbei’s entire conversation. His expression became more solemn than ever.
The Scarlet Feather Guard was one of the five guards of the Dragon Guard and was known as the strongest combat power within the Dragon Guard. Lin Xiu smashing Shuiyun Jian would not have been considered a major matter in Biluo City. Moreover, Lin Zhanbei’s punishment of him had already been severe, and the city lord's mansion would not completely fall out with the Night Watch Division over this matter.
But with the Scarlet Feather Guard here, things were different. They would not take the Night Watch Division in a small place like Biluo City seriously. If they insisted on making a mountain out of a molehill and used this matter to punish Lin Xiu, even Lin Zhanbei might not be able to protect him.
As Lin Xiu considered a countermeasure, Zhao Qingqing came out carrying a baby girl and tossed him a backpack.
“There’s money in the bag. We aren’t bringing anything else. We’re leaving now!”
After saying this, she did not give Lin Xiu a chance to speak and walked straight toward the door.
“I still have a group of brothers at the hotel.” Lin Xiu stayed where he was. The situation had exceeded his expectations. The students who had gone home would be easy enough to deal with; after all, they were about to attend Magic City Martial University and were not the masterminds. The Scarlet Feather Guard presumably would not make things difficult for them. But all the Gang members staying at the hotel had come from Sin City.
Although none of them had criminal records, outsiders were deeply prejudiced against the people of Sin City. If they fell into the hands of the Scarlet Feather Guard, it was hard to say whether they would survive!
“Now is not the time to worry about other people. Don’t throw a childish tantrum with me.” Zhao Qingqing did not turn around. She said calmly, “
Lin Xiu did not answer. He remained where he was and shook his head.
He knew that his situation was dangerous, but he still remembered what his first older brother had told him when he was sixteen:
When you enter the underworld, what matters is loyalty!
He had said that some things in life were more important than money, while others were more important than life itself.
Lin Xiu asked him, “What is more important than money?”
He said, “Face.”
Lin Xiu asked again, “Then what is more important than life?”
He said, “Brothers!”
Lin Xiu only half-understood his two answers. After spending two years in the underworld, he understood the older brother’s first answer. Money was important to anyone in the underworld, but once you lost face, you could not survive there—so how could you hope to make money?
He could not understand the second answer until one day, when someone ambushed him and his older brother stepped in front of him without hesitation, taking the fatal bullet meant for him!
After taking revenge for his older brother and attending his funeral, he finally understood the second answer. He sat alone before his older brother’s grave, drunk out of his mind.
Brothers are more important than life!