The Frail Guide Who Devoured an Entire Pollution Zone

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Enraged Elder Chen

Qiu Fang was now a completely different person from the man who had just received Shen Ling’an.

”Elder Qiu, how dare you bring up what happened last time? I never knew you were so fond of smoothing things over.”

Xie Qingling stared coldly at Qiu Fang, not giving him an ounce of respect.

Qiu Fang wasn’t angered. ”Guide Xie, you’ve misunderstood me. You should know Lu Jingyu better than I do. Once he’s made up his mind, he’ll never change it. Since it couldn’t be changed, I could only delay.”

Xie Qingling shot Qiu Fang a sideways glance, looking unconvinced, but she didn’t bring the matter up again.

”I came here to hear you talk about what happened this morning. You caused such a huge commotion, with so many dead and injured. Do you not care at all about the safety of Zone 9? Do you have no regard for the lives of the Alliance members?”

A hint of contempt flickered in Xie Qingling’s eyes. There were many people who would do anything to achieve their goals, but they were nothing compared to Qiu Fang.

Qiu Fang smiled faintly, as if he couldn’t care less about these matters.

”Guide Xie, wasn’t I just trying to prop someone up to replace Lu Jingyu? And wasn’t the ultimate goal to force him out, to make him return to your side?”

Xie Qingling shot him a cold glare, and Qiu Fang quickly laughed and corrected himself. ”My mistake. This has nothing to do with you. I just wanted to force him out and send him back where he came from.”

Xie Qingling looked away. ”Your plan is feasible, but be careful not to push too hard, or it might backfire.”

In front of Xie Qingling, Qiu Fang was extremely deferential, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

”Jing Yu cares a lot about the Alliance’s situation right now. Things are critical, and he’s running around trying to gather potions. Since you’re the one who caused this mess, you should at least make a gesture, right?”

Xie Qingling knew Lu Jingyu too well. Ultimately, she didn’t want to see him in too much trouble, so she had made this trip.

”Don’t worry, Guide Xie. I am a guide of the Heiyu Alliance, after all. If there had been any other way, I wouldn’t have wanted to involve the other Alliance members. Even if you hadn’t come today, I would have certainly done my utmost to help if Lu Jingyu had come to me.”

Heh!

Xie Qingling sneered. ”You care about them? All you’re thinking about now is how to keep climbing after you get to Capital City, isn’t it?”

She had mercilessly exposed Qiu Fang, who only showed a flicker of unease.

But he immediately composed himself and continued to smile. ”Man strives upward, water flows downward. I won’t deny it. But this place is still something I built with my own blood and sweat. Naturally, I don’t want to see it completely collapse.”

Xie Qingling had heard too many of these pious platitudes and couldn’t be bothered to listen anymore. She waved a dismissive hand. ”Just get done what you need to get done. Capital City won’t treat you poorly. As for how high you can ultimately climb, that’s up to you.”

Qiu Fang nodded repeatedly and personally saw Xie Qingling to the main gate.

Only after Xie Qingling’s figure had vanished from sight did Qiu Fang’s expression darken.

Zone 9, Capital City! He wanted them both!

Lu Jingyu led Xu Qingsui through a series of turns, eventually arriving outside a very plain residence.

Looking at the ordinary-looking house, Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.

The people Lu Jingyu had taken her to visit were all elders of the Heiyu Alliance, each holding a certain social standing in Zone 9.

Of the three they had visited previously, Qi Qin’s old residence had been the plainest.

But that solemn, old residence had an air of profound heritage. You could tell at a glance it was something special.

This house before her, however, was just an ordinary home, nothing more. If Lu Jingyu hadn’t told her an elder of the Heiyu Alliance lived inside, she would never have guessed.

Seeing Xu Qingsui’s surprised expression, Lu Jingyu smiled. ”Let’s go in first. I’ll tell you about this elder later.”

Xu Qingsui nodded. She then watched as Lu Jingyu, without even knocking, pushed the door open and walked right in.

Xu Qingsui moved to follow but was blocked by Lu Jingyu, who kept her behind him.

Just as she was wondering what was going on, she heard the sound of something slicing through the air ahead.

Because Lu Jingyu was blocking her, Xu Qingsui couldn’t see anything, but her powerful spiritual power sensed a dangerous presence.

’What’s going on?’

She stared at Lu Jingyu’s back and saw him wave his arm. With a clang of metal on metal, something went flying away.

Before Xu Qingsui could ask, Lu Jingyu’s voice rang out, ”Mr. Chen, couldn’t you try a different way of welcoming me?”

Xu Qingsui’s eyes widened. ’From the sound of it, Lu Jingyu has been here before—and more than a few times, apparently. Enough for this to have become a habitual welcome.’

”I’ve told you, you’re not welcome here. If you insist on coming, then I have no choice but to be impolite.”

Lu Jingyu shook his head helplessly but walked into the courtyard anyway. Fortunately, once he was inside, the person within didn’t attack again.

Lu Jingyu then let Xu Qingsui out from behind him.

Xu Qingsui looked around. The courtyard was perfectly ordinary, with nothing remarkable about it.

’Judging by this residence alone,’ Xu Qingsui thought with deep skepticism, ’what kind of potions could this elder possibly have?’

Lu Jingyu acted as if he were in his own home, leading Xu Qingsui directly into the room on the west side.

As soon as she entered, Xu Qingsui was hit by the thick smell of medicine.

The room was somewhat dim, lit only by a single oil lamp.

By its faint light, Xu Qingsui could finally make out a figure by the bedside.

”Elder Chen, has there been no progress with Yun Fei’s condition?”

’From what Lu Jingyu said, there’s someone named Yun Fei here?’

Xu Qingsui looked around again and finally noticed someone else lying in the bed.

”We don’t need your concern. If you stop thinking about Yun Fei, he might be able to cling to life a little longer. Your concern is like a death sentence.”

Elder Chen’s words were heavy with resentment. Xu Qingsui sensed that there was something she didn’t know going on.

And it had to be something serious.

Xu Qingsui looked at Lu Jingyu and saw his wry smile. ”Mr. Chen, I...”

Lu Jingyu trailed off, but then, remembering the main reason for his visit, he changed the subject. ”Mr. Chen, I’m sure you already know what’s happened outside. I came this time to...”

”That old bastard finally did something right for a change. The way I see it, the Heiyu Alliance should have been training a few more captains long ago to prevent certain people from holding all the power.”

Elder Chen cut Lu Jingyu off directly, his words sharply targeted.

Lu Jingyu looked helpless but remained uncharacteristically good-natured. ”Mr. Chen, that’s not what I came to talk about. The casualties today were severe. The infirmary is already overflowing, and our medical resources, which were already strained, have now hit a breaking point. That’s why I’ve come to bother you. I was hoping you could spare some potions.”

Sensing Elder Chen’s resentment toward Lu Jingyu, Xu Qingsui felt sure that after hearing his request, the elder would throw him out immediately.

She immediately tugged on his sleeve, warning him to be ready to dodge.