Chapter 401 - 400: Explain Yourself

Qin Muye knew Yi Nuo was up to no good.

On the surface, he acted like a mature and reliable steward, but deep down, he was more desperate than anyone to shamelessly claw his way up.

The last time Jiang Qingli saw he wasn’t in his right mind and showed him a little kindness, he’d immediately forgotten his place and gotten full of himself.

Only someone as kind and good-natured as Jiang Qingli would let such an unruly servant slide.

But he, Qin Muye, was no pushover.

Qin Muye took a deep breath, about to teach that restless subordinate a lesson about life, when the car door beside him was suddenly pulled open.

Qin Muye’s first instinct was to pull the girl beside him into his arms protectively.

At the same time, he looked up and met Yuan Liang’s teasing gaze.

Yuan Liang was back from throwing up in the bathroom. He stood at the door, saw Qin Muye’s protective gesture, and chuckled.

Qin Muye’s face flushed under his gaze, and he mumbled in embarrassment, "What’s so funny?"

"I’m laughing—laughing ’cause you two are so close." Yuan Liang slurred his words, then chuckled again. "Back then, back then, your dad was the same... One time, I, I was delivering for Her Majesty—she was still Her Highness back then. My female master sold her a bouquet of flowers, but she was too busy, so she had me deliver it. Shen Chi happened to see me and thought I was trying to steal his girl. He got so mad he wanted to duel me... He even said I was doing this behind my female master’s back and that he’d chop my head off!"

At this, he leaned against the door and roared with laughter, slapping his thigh.

Jiang Qingli glanced at the young man holding her.

’This certain little puppy, who always complained about his mother and never mentioned his father, was now listening with rapt attention, his eyes filled with curiosity about his parents’ past.’

When the story trailed off, Qin Muye’s eyes flickered, but he was too embarrassed to ask for more.

Jiang Qingli held back a laugh and picked up the thread. "What happened then, Uncle Yuan? Did Uncle Shen end up hitting you?"

"He... He doesn’t just go around hitting people." Yuan Liang waved his hand dismissively, then pinched his thumb and forefinger together, leaving just a tiny gap. "Shen Chi, he’s a tiny, tiny, tiny bit easier to talk to than Muye. He just has a sharp tongue."

Qin Muye rubbed the tip of his nose. "...I’m not hard to talk to either."

Yuan Liang continued, "Later, Shen Chi took the flowers and presented them to Her Highness as his own gift. She loved them."

As he spoke, he looked at Qin Muye and wiggled his fingers. "Counting back the days, Muye, you were born right around then!"

"You have your Aunt Zhao’s flowers to thank! Those were some kind of genetically engineered, specially cultivated high-end product! You can’t find them anymore! They’re a collector’s item!"

His drunken state was a complete departure from his usual serious demeanor.

Qin Muye wanted to laugh. "Alright, thank you, and thank Aunt Zhao."

Yuan Liang was satisfied.

He pulled the car door wider and was about to step inside when his eyes landed on the two of them, and he abruptly pulled back.

"Oh, I know you two want to have a private chat. I won’t disturb you."

After saying that, Yuan Liang closed the door, walked around to the other side, and got into the front passenger seat.

He even patted Yi Nuo’s shoulder. "Yi Nuo, you and I can keep each other company!"

Yi Nuo: "..."

Yi Nuo nodded without a word.

Yuan Liang buckled his seatbelt and, lost in reminiscence, began to mutter again. "Those flowers were cultivated by Yin Shen in his spare time... Now that I think about it, Muye, you also have Yi Nuo’s mother to thank for your birth!"

Qin Muye was getting dizzy from all the connections. "Alright, alright, I’ll thank everyone. Just drive."

He had originally wanted to act cute with Jiang Qingli, but with Yuan Liang chattering on the whole way, he never got the chance.

But it wasn’t a big deal.

Because Yi Nuo didn’t get a chance to get close to Jiang Qingli either.

Qin Muye had a positive mindset, so he was fine with this outcome.

-

Qin Muye’s terminal at his quarters could access the internal network to look up information, so after returning to the military district, the two of them planned to go to his place.

Seeing that they were about to leave, Yuan Liang quickly told them to take Que Feiling with them.

Qin Muye was annoyed. "Who cares about him?"

Yuan Liang’s nagging flared up again. "Be reasonable, Your Highness. You live right next door to him, so just take him with you. Yi Nuo doesn’t live there, so he can’t get in with a face scan, and I live in another building. You’re the closest. It’s just a small effort..."

"Stop."

Qin Muye’s head was starting to ache from the lecture, and he quickly raised a hand to cut him off.

He bent down, dragged the dead-drunk Que Feiling out of the car, hoisted him onto his back, and said casually, "We’re leaving."

Afraid that Yuan Liang would start nagging again, he turned and strode away.

Que Feiling made no sound as he bounced on Qin Muye’s shoulder, looking just like a sack of cargo being jostled around on a sailor’s back.

Yuan Liang couldn’t bear to watch. He asked Yi Nuo, "...You don’t think Feiling will throw up all over His Highness, do you?"

Yi Nuo: "He probably won’t."

’But he hoped he would.’

...

Although Que Feiling couldn’t hold his liquor, he was in excellent physical shape.

Despite being dragged upstairs and thrown onto the bed by Qin Muye, he didn’t wake up or vomit.

With the delivery made, Qin Muye didn’t even bother giving him a second glance. He took Jiang Qingli’s wrist and headed for his own room.

Opening the door, Qin Muye let Jiang Qingli go in first.

He followed behind, and as he watched the girl walk straight in, he couldn’t help but feel his breath catch.

This was the first time Jiang Qingli had been in his room.

’There’s... nothing out of place, right?’

’He folded his quilt into a perfect square every day.’

Jiang Qingli didn’t pay attention to the room’s decor. After sitting down, she asked Qin Muye, "How do you know Sheng Langhuai?"

Qin Muye sat across from her and gave a brief explanation.

Sheng Langhuai was one of the officers who received Qin Muye when he first arrived at the military district.

A male Wolf Dog Beastman, S-level Wind Element.

Because of his keen senses and his Wind Element Superpower, he was mainly responsible for search and rescue operations.

Qin Muye had only worked with him once. His impression was that Sheng Langhuai had a gentle personality and was a bit overly friendly, but that was also why he got along well with so many people.

Jiang Qingli nodded. "Okay. You check the internal network first and see what you can find. I’ll look at the file Ye Linyuan gave me."

She took out the file and lowered her head to study it.

Qin Muye finished his search quickly, then sat down next to Jiang Qingli to look at Ye Linyuan’s long file with her.

After reading for a short while, Qin Muye suddenly said, "There’s a problem with this file."

"Hm?"

"Here."

Qin Muye pointed to the last page. "It’s normal that you didn’t notice. Sheng Langhuai went missing on June 30th of this year."

But this file only goes up to the end of May.

"In early May, Sheng Langhuai started dating a researcher from the military district. At the end of June, the two went on a road trip during their vacation. They drove to the edge of the forest’s warning line and then disappeared."

"Actually, there have been cases of High Level males disappearing in previous years, but those were all sentry guards."

Jiang Qingli had heard about this.

The forest where the Mutant Beasts gathered was vast, so its border was naturally long.

The border was divided into sections designated by letters, with each sentry responsible for one area.

"We’ll go find Uncle Yuan tomorrow."

Having finished their discussion, they saw it was already past midnight.

Jiang Qingli planned to wash up and get some sleep, then investigate more carefully after work tomorrow.

But as soon as she stood up, Qin Muye grabbed her wrist.

The young man tugged gently, and she found herself pulled down into his lap.

Qin Muye held her wrist, his brow furrowed slightly. "Aren’t you going to explain yourself?"