Chapter 128: Bees and Butterflies Dancing Wildly

Lin Qi, with gold coins rustling in his sleeves, brought Enzo to a small tavern near Fifth University. A bowl of salted fish and onion soup, and some black bread mixed with bran—that was their lunch. Though simple, the food was warm. After eating their fill, the two men, whose feet had been numb from soaking in melted snow, finally regained their energy.

Lin Qi let out a loud burp and tossed twenty Copper Coins onto the greasy table of the tavern. He hummed contentedly, “Enzo, this place offers great value for money, you know? Value for money. I don’t really have high demands when it comes to life’s pleasures; being full is enough for me. I just want to see more Wowo Calls flying into my pockets—that would satisfy me!”

Enzo struggled to drink the last mouthful of soup from his bowl, then pulled out a piece of betel nut and tobacco and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed the pungent mixture vigorously and mumbled, “Alright, boss, I know you always pick the cheapest little taverns to eat at. I’ve gotten used to it over the past three years. Where are we headed now?”

Lin Qi stood up, wrapped himself tightly in his Bearskin Coat, and walked out of the tavern with Enzo.

A few idlers with pale faces lingering inside the tavern squinted at the priceless Bearskin Coat Lin Qi wore, glanced at the twenty Copper Coins he had left on the table, and then quickly looked at the sword hanging from Enzo’s waist. In the end, they gave up the idea of secretly following Lin Qi to make some profit.

Bracing against the cold wind, the two full-bellied men strolled slowly eastward along Wisdom Avenue in University City. After walking for over an hour, they arrived at Shenghui Avenue, which ran north to south.

Shenghui Avenue was the top residential area in Imperial Capital Borealy, comparable to the noble districts near Victory Palace. It housed the Empire’s largest Radiant Cathedral, a magnificent complex built entirely on Radiant Mountain. Shenghui Avenue lay at the foot of Radiant Mountain, stretching twenty miles from north to south, and was home exclusively to wealthy and powerful families—the most distinguished members of high society in the Imperial Capital.

No.1 Shenghui Street was located at the northernmost end of the avenue, adjacent to the Imperial Capital’s International Botanical Garden.

As the name suggested, the International Botanical Garden of the Gaul Empire was a vast garden covering dozens of square miles, filled with rare plants from various Continents and countries. No.1 Shenghui Street, commonly known as “Greenwild Wonderland,” was situated next to the garden and was one of the ten most famous and luxurious estates on Shenghui Avenue.

Greenwild Wonderland used the entire International Botanical Garden as its backyard. Its main gate, however, was not on Shenghui Avenue but on a side road called Xianglan Road, which ran east to west. This side road was lined with precious flowers and trees, and the wide street was spacious enough for eight carriages to travel side by side. The sidewalks on both sides were as broad as small plazas, and along the centerline of the road stood twenty-four small fountain ponds arranged in a row.

Lin Qi and Enzo leisurely made their way along Xianglan Road toward No.1 Shenghui Street. Along the way, the two men had already altered their appearances. Enzo draped himself in a large gray cloak; if he lay down casually on the snow-covered ground, he would be nearly impossible to spot. As for Lin Qi, he applied some strange gel-like substance and pigments to his face and inserted two small colored crystals into his eyes. In an instant, he transformed into a Westerner with red hair and blue eyes.

The two of them, one after the other, wandered up to the main gate of No.1 Shenghui Street but froze in surprise.

As the Imperial Capital’s top residential area, Shenghui Avenue naturally had no trace of snow. But it was the heart of winter, and there weren’t many pedestrians on the avenue. In front of Greenwild Wonderland, however, there was a bustling crowd and a parade of carriages. Over a hundred extravagantly decorated Four-Wheel Carriages slowly circled in front of the main gate. Some young men in luxurious attire, riding Pureblood Horses, arrogantly swung their whips and strutted back and forth near the entrance.

Meanwhile, people who were clearly servants and guards stood neatly in two rows along the curb of Xianglan Road. At a glance, there were at least two thousand of these servants and guards—a spectacle comparable to the honor guard the Imperial Emperor would muster to welcome a visiting foreign monarch.

In fact, the Empire’s honor guard wasn’t as flashy as these servants and guards. At the very least, the honor guard didn’t issue pure gold cufflinks, while these flamboyant servants and guards not only had delicate cufflinks made of pure gold but also extravagant accessories crafted from pearls, tortoiseshell, and other marine treasures.

Lin Qi stood dumbfounded under a camphor tree, staring in astonishment at the bizarre scene.

Dozens of meters behind him, Enzo was also stunned.

What were all these people doing? Judging by the complex and ancient emblems on their carriage doors, these vehicles belonged to the oldest and most powerful Noble families in the Imperial Capital. Each of these individuals held significant influence in the Empire. Why were they gathered here? Were they planning to overthrow the Imperial Emperor?

Nearly all of the Empire’s most powerful and influential Noble families were represented here. If they were to hold a meeting together, the Imperial Emperor would surely lose sleep at night. United, these Noble families controlled nearly all absolute power in the Empire’s military, politics, economy, education, and other domains.

“What’s going on here?” Lin Qi wondered aloud, his gaze fixed on the gate of Greenwild Wonderland. The pale green gate, entwined with fine vines, was tightly shut, without even a hint of sound.

Just as Lin Qi was racking his brains to figure out the mystery, a low Tiger’s Roar echoed through the air. A handsome young man in golden armor rode arrogantly into Xianglan Road from Shenghui Avenue atop a giant silver-white magical beast. The majestic beast, clearly a high-ranking magical beast, let out a roar toward the sky, causing the Pureblood Horses to tremble, their legs giving way as they collapsed to the ground.

Dozens of well-dressed young men tumbled to the ground in disarray, cursing loudly.

The handsome young man laughed heartily and declared, “How embarrassing for the Empire’s Nobles! Do you really think you can compete with me for the favor of the esteemed young ladies Aling and Aya? How about we settle this with a duel? The winner stays here.”

As soon as the young man spoke, Lin Qi suddenly understood—so all these people were here for those women, Ya and Ling?

What a swarm of bees and butterflies! The situation was just as Cripple had described, if not even more exaggerated. Cripple mentioned that someone had offered a million Gold Coins just for the women’s first night, but now it seemed things had escalated even further?

After watching the clamoring Noble sons for a while, Lin Qi’s eyes suddenly lit up. He spotted a familiar figure among them.