Chapter 110: Arthur Was Just a Facade

Blackbeard swayed his large body as he slowly stood up, and Lin Qi quickly followed.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, it became clear that Blackbeard was half a head taller than Lin Qi and noticeably broader. Yet, unlike Lin Qi’s bulkiness, Blackbeard was tall, imposing, and solid as iron—like a hero’s statue from the Primordial Era, exuding an unbreakable aura.

“Change your clothes and come with me!” Blackbeard muttered. Lin Qi hurried to the dressing room, changed, and put on a pair of thick-soled, high-top laced boots.

Blackbeard led Lin Qi out of the bedroom and pushed open a hidden door at the end of the corridor. Descending a steep, spiral metal staircase for nearly a hundred meters, they arrived before a deep, shadowy passage. Blackbeard murmured softly, “Remember how to open the door just now, and where the mechanisms for the traps are—this tunnel is one of the family’s most important eighteen secret passages.”

Lin Qi glanced around. The passage was completely cast in metal, extremely sturdy. Fine Magic Arrays were carved into the walls, ceiling, and floor, inlaid with Magic Gemstones as small as mung beans. With these arrays maintaining it, the tunnel could withstand almost any natural disaster, and even human assault would struggle to damage it.

“Red-Haired Ghost was my ally!” Blackbeard’s enormous frame nearly filled the whole passage. He walked ahead while Lin Qi followed. With each swaggering step, Blackbeard tapped along the walls, deactivating various traps and hidden mechanisms. After they passed through, he reactivated them elsewhere.

“But Red-Haired Ghost has always been ambitious, I knew. He wasn’t content to just be a pirate captain—he wanted, like me, not only great power at sea, but also to extend his influence on land.” Snorting coldly, Blackbeard sighed. “But the Northern Coastline was crowded enough already. If Red-Haired Ghost came ashore, there wouldn’t be enough room for his forces.”

“If he insisted on that, it would inevitably lead to chaos along the Northern Coastline. Such chaos would eventually trigger an Underworld war.” Blackbeard frowned. “The Underworld may not be like the recognized Empires and Kingdoms, but the manpower and resources it can mobilize are no less than those of ordinary kingdoms.”

“If Red-Haired Ghost insisted on landing and establishing his bases ashore, a war would be unavoidable.” Blackbeard shook his head. “But war… Lin Qi, when you eventually take charge of the Black Tiger Family, you must understand—balancing interests is the fundamental rule that maintains the Underworld’s existence. Once that balance is lost, an Underworld war becomes far more cruel and bloody than wars between Empires and Kingdoms.”

Lin Qi stared at Blackbeard’s broad back. “So, how did Red-Haired Ghost die?”

Blackbeard gave a faint smile and said calmly, “Naturally, he encountered the Alien Race fleet from the Five Great Archipelagos at sea—that’s how he died. Because he tried to upset the balance that had been stable for so long, he had to meet that Alien Race fleet.”

Sighing deeply, Blackbeard shook his head. “What a shame, such a good enforcer. Even worse, he actually managed to escape and brought Arthur to me, begging me in front of so many people to adopt his son.”

Turning to pat Lin Qi’s head, Blackbeard said plainly, “In the Underworld, you must let everyone know you’re trustworthy. Of course, I am trustworthy, so naturally I had to adopt Red-Haired Ghost’s son. Moreover, I gave Arthur the best of everything—food, drink, attire, even maids and guards—all the finest, even better than my own son.”

“That’s why all the brothers along the Northern Coastline say I, Blackbeard, your father Lin Hu, am bound by loyalty and chivalry!” Blackbeard snorted in satisfaction. “In truth, I always intended to treat Arthur that way, but he was already old enough to understand when he came—he was like a wolf cub that couldn’t be tamed. But I had to keep him, because as long as he lived well, your father would remain the chivalrous leader of the Dun Er Ke Black Tiger Family in everyone’s eyes!”

Lin Qi understood—Arthur was just a facade, even akin to the most vital layer of a Young Girl. Whether that layer was natural or artificially restored, as long as Arthur lived, Blackbeard’s reputation would be praised by all the big shots of the Western Continent’s Underworld. That reputation was often very useful.

“But that ungrateful Arthur—truly an untamable wolf cub!” Blackbeard said coldly. “Ever since he was thirteen, he lost his innocence with a maid, and at fourteen, he tried to push you into a well. So on his fifteenth birthday, I made him drink heavily, and just like I helped you clear your Meridians today, I expended great effort to ‘help’ him too.”

Lin Qi chuckled oddly. He was Blackbeard’s own son; Blackbeard used great energy to open his Meridians, so Lin Qi would encounter no bottlenecks in his Combat Qi training until he reached the Middle Heaven Rank Knight. But Arthur? Lin Qi clearly remembered when Arthur nearly pushed him into the well to drown him… so the consequences of Blackbeard helping Arthur open his Meridians were easy to guess.

“He’s already a cripple, so I’ve always restrained you from actually killing him.”

Frowning, Blackbeard said coldly, “But precisely because he’s a cripple, I’ve relaxed my watch over him these past two years. I didn’t pay much attention to what he did outside. But now it seems he’s gotten involved with some influential people again.”

“So, father, what do you plan to do?” Lin Qi chuckled a few times.

Blackbeard said gravely, “When fledglings grow up, they must leave the nest to fly freely. You go to the Imperial Capital to develop the Iron Fist Brotherhood, while Arthur naturally returns to inherit his father’s old territories and properties. Heh, my own son thrives in the Imperial Capital, while Arthur… piracy is always dangerous.”

Lin Qi nodded thoughtfully. Blackbeard said calmly, “If one day Arthur, like Red-Haired Ghost, is killed by Alien Race armies, I’ll avenge him. Then everything will be neatly wrapped up. But this takes time to arrange—you need to learn patience.”

Lin Qi lowered his head, accepting the advice. He suddenly realized that compared to his father, he still had much to learn.

The facade that was Arthur would only be allowed to die when Blackbeard had squeezed out every last bit of usefulness from him.

But he deserved it—who told him to scheme against Lin Qi and the Black Tiger Family first?

They walked for a full hour until a bronze door appeared at the tunnel’s end.