LWGP - Chapter 220
Chapter 220: Scum
That future, perhaps it had nothing to do with Wang Jiu, at least not right now.
While everyone was sinking into this worried mood, only Wang Jiu was indifferent, coldly watching the few vortexes appearing in the distant sky.
It was too far. Even with her vision, she could only see the vortexes and couldn't make out who was arriving.
Perhaps Qing He could see.
"The returners are divided into two waves. One is like Wei Yuan and me, and the other is their current wave, who will ultimately descend as the Eternal Night Race arrives early to intercept and kill them… But how many can survive is unknown."
Qing He had already successfully brought her people to this world, descending into a large territory with a protective area, ensuring a safe period for their return.
The arrival of the Eternal Night Race had pinned down the timing for these returners.
Qing He didn't say much more, as she had no intention of getting lost in simple worry. Speaking pragmatically, she needed to discuss matters with the people from the central government.
The people from the central government had the same intention, so Liu Wuren took the initiative to extend an invitation. Qing He accepted. After taking two steps, she saw that Wang Jiu hadn't moved. So, she also paused, looking back at Wang Jiu, seemingly pondering something.
Liu Wuren noticed this and stepped forward to call out to Wang Jiu, inviting her to join the meeting as well.
Wang Jiu had just been pondering the matter of the spacetime tunnels. Coming back to her senses, her gaze swept over the central government people and Qing He.
"You all can talk business. I'll sit this one out."
She had no intention of getting involved in matters of national importance.
Grand-uncle Xie had some understanding of Wang Jiu and was about to try persuading her again, but Qing He thoughtfully interjected, "Wang Jiu, that's not what you said when we discussed our cooperation before."
Everyone almost instantly understood the meaning behind Qing He's words: You had me come over to suppress Wei Yuan, and as soon as he's dealt with, you discard me like a tool. You're so cold to me and don't want to handle anything. Is this a proper attitude for cooperation?
Originally, Qing He could have descended directly in Luoyang's Gobi, but her true self came specifically to Bashu. The reason was clear.
Thinking about it this way, Lao Wang was indeed not being very decent.
"You're so powerful, they'll respect you. As for me, whether I participate or not doesn't make much difference."
Wang Jiu's attitude was clear; she truly didn't want to be distracted by national affairs. Qing He fell silent for a moment and turned around. Everyone thought she had tacitly accepted Wang Jiu's choice, but then…
"So you do know how powerful I am. And it seems we haven't signed an agreement yet."
Her tone wasn't forceful, no different from her attitude when they communicated through documents before.
Hearing this, Wang Jiu narrowed her eyes slightly, smiled, and sauntered over, saying leisurely, "Threatening me now, are we? As expected, beautiful women are the most terrifying."
Qing He lowered her gaze, ignoring the teasing, and said flatly, "A beautiful woman who tricks me onto a pirate ship is even more terrifying."
Things were fine when we were just talking, but now that we've met in person, how can her character be like this.
Wang Jiu froze for a moment, then glanced at Qing He. "Which bed?"
Grand-uncle Xie, Liu Wuren, and the others: "…"
Song Yuanqiao, who had just arrived: "…"
Wang Shu and the others in the courtyard: "???"
Wang Shu hugged Gun Gun tightly, almost letting loose a stream of rainbow farts: Daring to flirt even with a king from another spacetime. You're truly worthy of being my master.
Perhaps because she was a king and hadn't been offended for many years, Qing He was stunned for a moment. But she quickly reacted, her expression turning stern and cold, and her hand lightly rested on the hilt of the sword at her waist. But Wang Jiu had already calmly pressed a hand to her chest, a haggard look on her face.
The implication was obvious—I'm injured, because of you.
Qing He frowned. In the end, with a hint of forbearance in her transcendentally beautiful brows, she walked past calmly.
As they brushed past each other, the unscrupulous Lao Wang even sidestepped to stand next to a handsome, fair-faced young man.
"Ah Lu, I'm very weak right now. You must protect me."
Xie Lu blushed but did indeed move to protect Wang Jiu.
Qing He: "…"
She suddenly understood why Wei Yuan wanted to kill Wang Jiu.
This person wasn't just ordinarily vile.
The people attending this meeting were quite comprehensive.
From Bashu, there were Liu Wuren and Shen Wan. The lords of several other major territories, people from the central government, Song Yuanqiao, plus Wang Jiu and Xie Lu from Gobi.
Qing He was the guest of honor. After she sat down, Grand-uncle Xie, as a matter of diplomatic courtesy, asked if they could record the meeting. She gave a slight nod of agreement and then, without any superfluous words, went straight to the information everyone most wanted to know.
"Regarding this return, at this point in time, we survivors have only three choices. 1, either continue to stay in the Second Spacetime and endure the slaughter by the Eternal Night Race. 2, either hide in the spacetime tunnels for a period and wait for the Eternal Night Race in your spacetime to leave. 3, force a descent and escape by relying on our own abilities."
Qing He was a typical career-oriented person. Her composure had been tested by Wang Jiu earlier, but as soon as she sat down, she entered a professional state. After saying this, she paused slightly and continued, "Initially, we all chose the third option. First, people like Wei Yuan and I would descend early to assess the situation. At this point, we could either find a territory to take shelter in, or go to a territory we had already contacted."
Her words were also conveying three pieces of information to everyone.
1, Like Wei Yuan, she had been wary of the Eternal Night Race causing trouble from the very beginning, so she found a landing spot in advance—and these landing spots were the various well-established territories that had protective barriers.
2, She sought out Wang Jiu and adopted a cooperative model, which was relatively stable, but Wei Yuan clearly intended to take an invasive approach.
3, People like them were not isolated cases. Other returners might have also chosen similar methods.
Grand-uncle Xie and the others had taken note and recorded this. Then he asked, "I have three questions. 1, I know there are currently four spacetimes, but I don't have a clear understanding of their specific distribution. I wonder if you could enlighten us. 2, Assuming your Second Spacetime is in a state of defeat and extinction, forcing you to descend into our Third Spacetime, what is the situation in the other two spacetimes? 3, What is the general strength of the survivors from your Second Spacetime, and will most of them choose to violently seize the territorial resources of our spacetime in order to make a comeback? Of course, I know that you, Lord Qing He, are not such a person." The old fellow's words were full of implications, but Qing He's expression remained serene and unruffled, and she answered the three questions one by one.
The first question.
1: The First Spacetime is the original generation, codenamed Ancient. Calculated by the time nodes in that spacetime, it spans from 2029 BC to 268 AD.
The Second Spacetime is the modern history from which she and Wei Yuan originated, 1840-1920.
The Third Spacetime is the world of Wang Jiu and the others, considered contemporary history.
The Fourth Spacetime is the interstellar future, starting from the year 2540.
The second question.
2: The First Spacetime was annihilated long ago; even its spacetime dimension was shattered by the Eternal Night Race. The Fourth Spacetime should still be in a period of intense battle with the Eternal Night Race.
"The separation of the four spacetimes is a supreme secret, and no one currently knows the details. I only know that the four spacetimes were forcibly split by the System's power, so you need not ask a fourth question. As for the third question, it's too subjective. I can only offer my own perspective. We returners have undergone spacetime travel, and factoring in the attacks from the Eternal Night Race, we have suffered extremely heavy losses. Moreover, we carry after-effects from the travel—a persistent negative state that cannot be quickly restored with resources. I believe some of you should have already noticed this, otherwise you wouldn't have deliberately used verbal offenses to test me."
As Qing He said this, everyone simultaneously looked at Wang Jiu, who was holding a thermos given to her by her filial disciple and drinking something from it.
She wore a dress that was so ascetic yet incredibly alluring, revealing her figure as she crossed her legs. But the way she held the thermos was just like an old cadre.
A group of old gentlemen inexplicably twitched their noses, curious about what she was drinking.
Wang Jiu noticed everyone's gazes. With a melancholic expression, she swept her eyes over them, her inexplicably rosy lips parting slightly. "What, goji berry and red date soup. You want some too?"
Honestly, if she didn't still need Wang Shu's braised pork trotters to deal with the Frost Bone Dragon King, Wang Jiu felt she might have violated the Old Lady's bottom line.
This damn fatty.
Grand-uncle Xie cleared his throat and changed the subject. "It seems the returners also have their limitations. Thank you for the reminder, Lord Qing He. We very much hope to cooperate with a returner like you to resolve the current crisis together."
Next came the matter of cooperation.
Gobi Territory was just a landing spot Qing He had chosen; the central government was the party she currently needed to contact and negotiate with.
She could see it now. This Lao Wang was a bit of a scum, even more unreliable than a man. She wouldn't act as a middleman for her negotiations.
Wang Jiu was indeed a total scum. Aside from asking if they wanted soup, she didn't say another word for the rest of the meeting, only listening as Qing He, the various lords, and the people from the central government established the framework for a friendly and harmonious joint development plan…
When the one-hour meeting ended, all the lords had added Qing He as a friend, and Liu Wuren even invited her to stay for a few more days.
Good heavens. Composed, wise, and graceful, handling everything in an orderly manner. So much better than a certain lord who revealed her scummy nature after luring someone in.
It was unclear if Liu Wuren had any intention of poaching her, but in any case, Qing He's attitude revealed nothing. As for Wang Jiu, she got up and left as soon as the meeting was over.
Xie Lu watched her retreating back and sent a message to Qing He, whom he had just added as a friend. "Lord Qing He, our lord's style has always been like this. She doesn't mean to be neglectful; she treats us in Gobi the same way. Actually, she's very kind-hearted."
As he typed out the last few words, "she's very kind-hearted," Xie Lu was inexplicably glad he hadn't sent a voice message. Otherwise, the perceptive Lord Qing He would have surely heard the lack of confidence in his voice.
However, Qing He didn't reply. She was probably getting too many private messages.
Powerful and stunningly beautiful, calm and independent, not without principles, and bearing no ill will—such a king was like a goddess to the major lords.
Liu Wuren wanted to poach her, and so did they.
So Lord Qing He's private message channel was probably very busy. Xie Lu subconsciously wondered: I wonder if she's added our own Lord Lao Wang as a friend.
Wang Jiu had already left the inner courtyard. At this hour, it was even late for dinner. Song Yuanqiao was walking behind, and Qian Cheng went up to call out to her, intending to ask if she wanted to eat. But he saw her holding the thermos and lightly tapping one end of it on the head of Wang Shu, who was gleefully hugging Gun Gun.
"My dear Ah Shu, tell me, what made you think of putting chili and vinegar in the goji berry and red date soup?"
Usually, when Lao Wang used that gentle and charming tone to say "my dear," it meant the sky was turning dark and someone was about to die.
As expected, Wang Shu trembled three times. Even Gun Gun in his arms struggled to run away, but Wang Shu held the black-and-white furball tight and said in an infinitely wronged voice, "Master, sour and spicy whets the appetite! You've had a poor appetite recently."
Recently. All the time. Poor appetite.
Put together, these few words didn't sound like much, just the filial piety of a disciple. But taken apart, Qian Cheng and Song Yuanqiao seemed to think of something, and their expressions turned grim. Meanwhile, Lin Guiwan and Qiao Xuejing immediately noticed the change in Yan Hui's expression. They couldn't help but exchange a glance, both revealing worried looks.
Wang Jiu's body… what exactly is its condition right now?
Just how great was the effect of that ritual on her?
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