Chapter 58: Qin Churan, The Three-Year Pact!

"Honey, there are so many people around! How embarrassing!"

"What are you afraid of? Come on, let me kiss you again!"

"Oh, please, Ah Hu is going to come looking for me any minute now. It'll be bad if he sees us. Honey, you should go!"

"What an annoying guy. When on earth is he going to leave?"

"I don't know. He should be heading back to Modu in a few days!"

"All right, then I'll wait a bit longer."

With that, the man planted a heavy kiss on Qin Qin's neck before reluctantly walking away.

Shortly after, Bai Hu arrived from the opposite direction.

Qin Qin naturally slipped her arm through Bai Hu's, acting as if nothing had happened, and left with him toward the city gates, chatting and laughing.

Bai Hu had no idea that the woman walking beside him had cuckolded him, nor did he know that the man who had been flirting with Qin Qin was standing in a nearby shadow at that very moment, watching them while lingeringly touching his lips where the lingering fragrance remained...

Lu Ming had originally intended to mind his own business.

However, Ye Ling'er's betrayal had filled Lu Ming with a deep hatred for anyone unfaithful in love.

Therefore, Lu Ming sent a brief WeChat message to Qin Churan: "Remind Bai Hu to keep an eye on his girlfriend."

After that, Lu Ming let the matter drop.

He continued taking Lin Youwei toward the Western Farmland.

Upon reaching the farm, he summoned all his Necromancer Warriors and gave them the command to slaughter monsters.

In order to reach level 20 as soon as possible and synthesize the second summoning scroll, they had to work overtime tonight.

Previously, they always logged off around ten o'clock every night.

Tonight, the two of them farmed all the way until midnight!

Finally, Lin Youwei managed to collect 1,000 Summoning Scroll Fragments, synthesizing a complete Silver BOSS-tier Summoning Scroll!

Lin Youwei handed the scroll over to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming checked his progress: Level 19, 63%.

"Still a bit short... Oh well, I'll farm more tomorrow."

Thinking this, Lu Ming recalled all his Necromancer Warriors and left the Western Farmland with Lin Youwei.

As they neared Starlight City, passing through a patch of jungle, a faint cry for help drifted faintly from the trees.

"Spare me, brother! I'll never dare do it again!"

"Help! Help me..."

When Lu Ming looked in the direction of the voice, he saw a figure clad in black assassins' garb emerge under the shroud of darkness. With a swift flash of a blade and a crisp slash, the assassin slit the throat of a man standing before him.

As the slashed man collapsed to the ground with a thud, the assassin turned back under the silvery moonlight.

As Lu Ming locked eyes with him, he realized with a start that the assassin was none other than Bai Hu!

At that moment, Bai Hu wore a look of exhaustion mixed with a bitter smile as he said to Lu Ming, "Thanks for the warning."

Only then did Lu Ming realize that the man killed by Bai Hu was none other than the fellow he had seen earlier that night in Starlight City, flirting with Qin Qin!

At this point, Bai Hu walked up to Lu Ming, looked at him, and said somewhat powerlessly, "Care for a chat?"

Lu Ming looked at Lin Youwei: "You go on ahead."

Lin Youwei glanced at Bai Hu, then back at Lu Ming, and nodded. "Okay, sure!"

As soon as Lin Youwei left under the escort of ten Necromancer Warriors, Lu Ming expected Bai Hu to talk about the situation between him and Qin Qin.

To his surprise, Bai Hu seemed to brush the matter aside entirely.

Instead, he led Lu Ming to a nearby potter's field.

Following Bai Hu's gaze, Lu Ming saw a solitary figure moving gracefully amidst a horde of level 35 corpses in the gloomy, lifeless graveyard.

To Lu Ming's astonishment, that figure was Qin Churan!

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Amidst flashing blades and gleaming swords, Qin Churan, a level 33 Fourth-Turn Assassin, swiftly cut down the zombies surrounding her.

Without pausing for rest, she quickly consumed a potion to recover, turned around, and plunged right into the next wave of combat.

"In the eyes of outsiders, Ranran is the younger sister of the captain of the God-Slaying Team—ranked seventh on the Great Xia National Leaderboard—and the esteemed young lady of the prestigious Qin family in the capital. She is someone admired by countless people."

"But in reality, she only has a glamorous exterior. Behind the scenes, she is the most pitiful and unfortunate person in this world."

Gazing at the lonely figure in the graveyard, Bai Hu's eyes were filled with untold stories.

"Ranran was abandoned by the Qin family since she was a child. Because of her aloof personality in the orphanage, she was ostracized and bullied. Only I, Ah Long, Xiao Wu, and Old Zhu didn't look down on her, protecting her and staying by her side all along."

"Just as she finally grew up, she was fished back by the Qin family to be used as a tool for a political marriage."

Hearing this, Lu Ming felt a slight jolt in his heart.

Little did he know that this Qin Churan had such a bumpy and difficult past!

Bai Hu continued, "Three years!"

"If Ranran fails to lead a team to break through the siege and enter the top one hundred of the Great Xia National Leaderboard within three years, she will be forced to marry Wang Long, the idiotic son of the capital's Wang family."

"Do you know how much of an idiot that fool is? The motherfucker would climb onto strangers' cars on the main street, drop his pants, spin 360 degrees while taking a dump, and then smear his shit all over pedestrians' faces..."

As Bai Hu finished speaking, Lu Ming's body jerked violently, and his complexion suddenly turned extremely unsightly.

In his memories from his past life, he had finally managed to make something of himself and planned to take Ye Ling'er to develop their future in the capital.

He never expected that on his very first day in the capital, while walking down the street, someone would inexplicably smear shit all over him!

"Damn it!"

"So it was him!"

"Shit!"

Seeing Lu Ming's furious and shocked expression, Bai Hu assumed Lu Ming was feeling empathetic and couldn't help saying, "You think it's bizarre too, right?"

Thinking of that scene, Bai Hu couldn't help but cover his face with his hand.

"If Ranran marries a fool like that, her life will be completely ruined!"

"There are still two and a half years left. I've already made up my mind. If Ranran fails to achieve her goal by then, I'll risk my life to hack that idiot from the Wang family to pieces! I will never let Ranran marry him!"

Bai Hu's gaze was as firm as someone pledging allegiance to a cause.

At this moment, Lu Ming finally understood why Qin Churan had gone to such great lengths to recruit him.

Building a team capable of reaching the top one hundred on the Great Xia National Leaderboard was no easy feat.

Especially within a mere three years—it was practically as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

Yet, from Lu Ming's perspective... this actually seemed like a great opportunity!

"It seems my previous worry that you and your sister were too close, and that even in the end you wouldn't bear to betray your brother for my sake, was completely unnecessary."

No wonder Qin Churan reacted so strongly when Lu Ming criticized her brother in front of her last time.

Lu Ming had thought she was defending her brother; it turned out she simply hated hearing others mention him at all!

Perhaps one day, if Lu Ming made Qin Churan kill her brother with her own hands, she might actually feel a sense of catharsis!

"That scene is bound to be fascinating," Lu Ming mused, feeling a slight surge of anticipation.

"Ranran works harder than anyone else, but relying solely on her own efforts is far from enough."

With that, Bai Hu looked at Lu Ming and said, "Kid, all of us think very highly of you. You must help Ranran! Do it for the two of you as well—after all, only by dealing with that idiot from the Wang family will the two of you have a future!"

"Ever since Ranran was dragged back by the Qin family, she has never forgotten us four brothers. Without Ranran, we wouldn't be where we are today."

"So, I'll put it bluntly here: during this process, if there's anything you need our brothers to do, just say the word! We will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Buy one, get four free?

And four free national-level elite mercenaries at that?

A wave of joy washed over Lu Ming's heart.

This deal was entirely worth it!

Therefore, Lu Ming answered with absolute conviction, "Don't worry, leave it to me."

Bai Hu nodded. "With your word, that's enough!"

At this point, Lu Ming changed the subject.

He asked, "What are your plans regarding your girlfriend?"

Bai Hu smiled and replied, "What plans? Marry her, of course!"

Lu Ming found it utterly baffling.

Even a cuckolded saint couldn't endure to this extent!

"You don't understand," Bai Hu said earnestly. "I have an elderly grandmother with bad legs back in my hometown of Yunzhou. I haven't been able to take care of her, but Qin Qin has always taken care of my grandmother without a single complaint."

"Who hasn't made mistakes? Come to think of it, it's my fault too. Over the years, whenever Qin Qin fell ill, caught a cold, had a fever, or was bullied—whenever she needed me the most—I wasn't by her side. That's what gave others the opportunity to take advantage."

"Besides, Qin Qin already apologized and confessed her wrongs to me just now. She cried and begged me not to leave her. No matter what, Qin Qin is the woman I am destined to marry in this lifetime!"

Lu Ming suddenly realized that Bai Hu's feelings for Qin Qin might not be love, but rather a profound sense of gratitude.

Parting ways with Bai Hu, Lu Ming returned to Starlight City and logged off.

The next morning.

Swish!

Lu Ming pulled back the curtains, bathing in the morning sunlight.

He woke up Lin Youwei, who was still fast asleep, and took her downstairs for breakfast.

"Today's goal is to reach level 20 and break into the black market."

Just as Lu Ming was making these plans,

Ding-dong!

Qin Churan suddenly sent a WeChat message.

"Do you know where Ah Hu went?"