Chapter 120 : Chapter 120
Chapter 120
At 9:07 a.m. the next morning, on the outskirts of Huangtie City.
After meeting up smoothly with Miao Miaonian, Ji Qing and the others finally met his father, Miao Weiyong, who was also the client who had posted the escort commission. Ji Qing had already checked his public information in the Hunter’s Guild: Miao Weiyong was currently thirty-six years old, had an Earth Ability, and was a B-Rank Hunter who had been registered for more than eight years.
Judging from the fact that Zhou Que and Miao Miaonian knew each other, the Miao Family had probably once been active in Central City. Then, for some reason—either family decline or the iron mines—they had relocated to the area around Huangtie City and taken over the transport route for the iron ore.
Ji Qing had already prepared himself for that possibility.
He knew very well that he had to identify the person who knew the truth about Licheng’s fall as soon as possible, and within limited time.
But when Ji Qing actually met Miao Weiyong, a trace of surprise still flashed through his eyes. Compared with Father Gu, who was always impeccably dressed, Miao Weiyong wore a standard set of work clothes. His temples were already white, his face was visibly aged, and his shoulders were covered in black dust. He looked more like a miner in his forties or fifties than a man of thirty-six.
“Dad!”
The moment he saw his father, Miao Miaonian ran over to him in a hurry.
Once he reached Miao Weiyong’s side, he could not help complaining, “Didn’t we agree you’d rest for the next two days? We still have to ride with the convoy the day after tomorrow!”
“Wasn’t it because the processing plant had a problem today?” Miao Weiyong replied calmly, lowering his head to comfort his son. “Ah, it’s fine. I’ll go wash up in a bit, then I’ll make preparations for the convoy. But why did you suddenly come to the processing plant?”
Miao Miaonian glared at him unhappily before pointing at the four people behind him. “Wasn’t it to bring them over and help them get familiar with the situation?”
Only then did Miao Weiyong remember the A-Rank Commission he had posted, along with the string of things his son had told him last night.
Because this Hunter commission had been accepted unusually quickly, he had rushed out yesterday to meet them, only to carelessly get into a collision with another vehicle on the way. He had then spent much of the rest of the day unconscious in the hospital.
But according to the nurse, it was not because his injuries were serious. He had simply been exhausted from overwork lately.
The moment he thought of that, Miao Weiyong’s energy visibly drooped. There had been too many matters at the mine lately, and on top of that he still had to help arrange the old man’s meetings, so he had been stuck in a state of constant high-intensity work.
Thank goodness his son was capable. Otherwise, he would not have been able to carve out any time to rest at all.
With that thought, Miao Weiyong quickly stepped forward and introduced himself with an honest smile. “Hello. I’m Miao Weiyong, the client who posted this A-Rank Commission.”
Miao Weiyong did not offer his hand. His hands were covered in coal dust and iron filings, which made them unsuitable for shaking hands with strangers he had just met, and there was no need for Hunter interactions to be so rigid anyway.
“Hello,” Ji Qing replied with a cool nod.
The three people standing beside him responded in turn as well, and none of them overstepped. After almost three months of training away from school, all of them had learned more or less how social rules in the wasteland worked.
Zhou Que still looked sullen.
Ever since parting from Miao Miaonian yesterday, his mood had not improved at all. Ji Qing guessed that Zhou Que did not actually want to deal with an old acquaintance from the past, nor did he really want to come here, and yet he had still chosen to come today and familiarize himself with the situation.
That was not very much like Zhou Que, Ji Qing thought.
If it were the Zhou Que Ji Qing knew, he would have turned around and left the moment he encountered someone he did not want to work with. But the current Zhou Que was behaving unusually. It seemed the forum’s guess had been right after all. Zhou Que also had troubles of his own.
“Long time no see, Zhou Que.”
Just as Zhou Que was standing there with his head lowered in thought, Miao Weiyong suddenly greeted him.
“Hm?” Zhou Que lifted his head with a strange expression.
“You probably don’t remember me, do you?” Miao Weiyong said with a dry laugh. “When our family was still in Central City, I met you two or three times. But back then, I think you were only... seven or eight? Put that way, it’s only natural if you’ve forgotten.”
“I stopped remembering a long time ago,” Zhou Que cut him off impatiently. “And who exactly are you? What makes you worthy of being remembered by me?”
Ji Qing froze on the spot. “?”
Xie Chang’an and Jiang Cuo beside him both turned to stare at Zhou Que, dumbfounded. How on earth did Zhou Que manage to provoke someone for absolutely no reason at all?
Yet that line did not ruin Miao Weiyong’s good mood in the slightest, and even Miao Miaonian only looked helpless.
Miao Weiyong burst into laughter. “Hahaha, that’s true. Back then, I really didn’t have the standing.”
He suddenly wanted to reach out and ruffle Zhou Que’s raised red hair.
But the moment he noticed the thin layer of black dust clinging to the back of his hand, he awkwardly scratched his head instead. “Ah, I’d better go bathe first. Xiaomiao, keep showing them around and continue explaining the commission. And tonight, how about we all go eat together?”
“If you think you have money to waste, suit yourself,” Zhou Que said indifferently.
Miao Weiyong smoothly turned that into an invitation. “Hahaha, then please make sure you come tonight.”
After watching Miao Weiyong walk away, Miao Miaonian turned back with a bitter smile. “Sorry. My father is the sort who always does whatever pops into his head. Please don’t mind it. How about tonight I take you all to eat at a hotel? That way we can talk too.”
“That’s not really a problem,” Jiang Cuo replied blankly.
He had completely failed to understand the dynamic between the father and son of the Miao Family and Zhou Que. What kind of person could remain so calm under Zhou Que’s poisonous tongue, get happier the more he listened, and end by inviting Zhou Que out to dinner?
Jiang Cuo would even dare to swear that everyone except Zhou Que had merely been invited along incidentally.
Once that thought crossed his mind, Jiang Cuo’s gaze shifted toward Xie Chang’an beside him. The two of them immediately looked at each other. Neither of them knew how to explain what they had just seen, and both were too embarrassed to ask Zhou Que directly.
In perfect unison, their puzzled gazes fell upon Ji Qing.
Ji Qing could only shake his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
He had no intention whatsoever of explaining things to the two of them. He simply turned and followed Miao Miaonian to familiarize himself with the precautions to keep in mind during the ore transport route. Ji Qing thought helplessly: let those two fools stew over it themselves.
To be honest, Ji Qing had been puzzled at first too.
But once his gaze fell on Miao Miaonian standing before him, the answer came to him. The way Miao’s father regarded Zhou Que was probably the way one might regard a second son of one’s own. Many parents viewed the neighborhood child who had grown up alongside their own kid exactly like that.
Even Ji Qing himself had once been regarded that way by the parents of his childhood friend.
Still, Zhou Que’s words truly were merciless, Ji Qing thought absently. Rather than someone else’s child, he felt more like a rebellious child of the family.
“I’m heading back first.”
After they had more or less familiarized themselves with the most basic route and terrain involved in the escort commission, Zhou Que suddenly spoke.
He did not wait for anyone else to respond. He simply turned and left.
As they watched Zhou Que’s figure walk farther and farther away, everyone present froze for a moment. Miao Miaonian quickly shouted after him, “Remember to come tonight!”
But Zhou Que gave no response at all.
At that, Miao Miaonian felt the situation grow thorny. On one hand, he did not know whether he ought to persuade his father or Zhou Que. On the other, he could not help wondering whether he even had the right to speak to Zhou Que anymore... It had already been a very, very long time since the last time they had met.
When he had left Central City all those years ago, he had dreamed over and over of Zhou Que dragging him out of his bedroom and beating him black and blue.
But now, it seemed...
A complicated look flashed through Miao Miaonian’s eyes.
It turned out that he was not the only one who had changed.
Seeing the atmosphere sink into an odd silence, Jiang Cuo finally asked the question he had been itching to ask. “So what exactly is your relationship with Zhou Que?”
The moment he said that, Xie Chang’an instantly straightened his posture.
Scrape—
A harsh screech rang out as a shoe sole scraped against the rough concrete ground.
Xie Chang’an instantly became flustered.
Under the probing stares of the other three, he forced out an awkward, stiff smile.
But thanks to Xie Chang’an making a fool of himself, the atmosphere unexpectedly improved a little.
Miao Miaonian smiled helplessly and said in a troubled tone, “The actual situation is just what Zhou Que said yesterday. He and I were childhood friends. But... well... later, because of certain reasons, my whole family moved to another town.”
Jiang Cuo immediately turned to Xie Chang’an and said in shock, “My friend, I’ve discovered that Zhou Que is actually kindhearted!”
“I’ve discovered that too,” Xie Chang’an instantly echoed.
Holy shit—they finally understood the reason.
Zhou Que had made so many mistakes in the past that none of them had ever even considered this angle. So the problem had not been with Zhou Que at all, but with Miao Miaonian? No wonder Miao Miaonian’s words had been so jumbled when they first met, while Zhou Que had seemed much calmer.
Because Zhou Que was not the one in the wrong at all.
“And he didn’t even hit him yesterday, didn’t even hit him yesterday!” Jiang Cuo could not help blurting out again. “This is not the Zhou Que I know!”
“Stop talking!” The more Miao Miaonian listened, the redder his face grew. At last he shut his eyes and shouted, “I know perfectly well that this was my fault too! Stop repeating it over and over. I already spent the whole night before worrying so much that I couldn’t sleep. Do you want me to lose sleep again tonight too?!”
His shout instantly stunned everyone present.
“Ahem, ahem.” Realizing that, Miao Miaonian coughed a few times in an attempt to cover it up, his earlobes burning red. In a small voice, he added, “I feel embarrassed about it too, so... please don’t say it so loudly...”
“Got it,” Jiang Cuo said sheepishly.
“Mm-hm.” Xie Chang’an nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Watching the room shift through such dramatic turns, Ji Qing’s lips curved upward slightly before he deliberately suppressed the expression. He came to a firm conclusion in his heart: there was no need to hesitate anymore... the protagonist of this volume was unquestionably Zhou Que...
But before that, Ji Qing asked with an air of puzzled concern, “Why did your family move away back then?”
“The reason is fairly obvious too.” Miao Miaonian looked embarrassed as he answered. “Although my family definitely couldn’t compare to a Prestigious Noble Family with a centuries-long legacy, we were still a large and harmonious family. But as time went on, each generation grew sparser. By my father’s generation, only the branch he belonged to was left.”
“My father had two brothers. My eldest uncle was an S-rank Ability user, and my younger uncle worked in a government office.”
Miao Miaonian’s voice grew weaker and weaker, until he finally let out a soft sigh. “Later, my eldest uncle died while on a mission, and my younger uncle killed himself. Then, on the very day my younger uncle died, my grandfather took my father and me and hurriedly left Central City.”
Jiang Cuo fell silent for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like a good experience.”
Xie Chang’an asked in shock, “Why did your younger uncle kill himself?”
“I don’t know either.” Miao Miaonian shook his head, his tone tinged with regret. “The news said my younger uncle killed himself to avoid punishment for his crimes. My father and grandfather both denied it, but they never told me why. But one thing’s for certain—we can never go back to Central City.”
“It still feels rather sad when I think about it,” Miao Miaonian said, forcing a lighter tone. “That town was where three generations of our family were born, yet in the end it had no room left for us.”
Ji Qing listened quietly to Miao Miaonian’s words.
But soon, he let out a soft sigh and comforted him. “This wasn’t your fault. Zhou Que surely knows that too.”
Miao Miaonian and Zhou Que were about the same age.
Judging from what Miao’s father had said, both of them had probably been only seven or eight at the time. Miao Miaonian simply could not have managed to run off and tell Zhou Que. The two children had not even had any other means of keeping in contact. On top of that, the Miao Family had left in a hurry. They might not even have had time to take many of their valuables with them.
Miao Miaonian did not say anything more after hearing that.
He only gave a somewhat heavy smile and went on softly lamenting, “We’ve all changed a lot.”