Chapter 169: The Opponent for the Bet

After a small disturbance, Beya and Black Horse Haus walked side by side into the three-story building.

It was clear Beya was very pleased with Black Horse Haus’s recent actions. Both were smiling and chatting warmly. Lin Qi watched them walk away, nodding continuously. This wasn’t strange at all. Both Beya and Black Horse Haus were Military Nobility, though Beya’s family held far greater influence within the Empire’s forces than Black Horse Haus’s Bavell Family.

Lin Qi even suspected that the Bavell Family might be subordinate to Beya’s family. It was highly possible.

The military, a violent beast tempered with iron and blood. In that bloody hell, men fighting side by side easily forged unbreakable bonds. These bonds grew deeper with time, often influencing friendships between their descendants.

Neither Beya nor Black Horse Haus had been to the battlefield, yet this hadn’t stopped their lifelong friendship.

At least Black Horse Haus’s timely intervention for Beya just now was unlikely to be a mere coincidence.

Lin Qi shot a cold glance at their retreating figures and sneered softly. Nearby noble sons and daughters glanced curiously at Lin Qi and Long Cheng. Their eyes casually swept over Yulian. They whispered light laughter and, with a refined air, moved toward the three-story building nestled deeper in the shaded garden, their guards following.

Tonight’s gathering was hosted by Tixiang. Almost every high-ranking young Noble from the Imperial Capital would attend. But this wasn’t just about music and wine; more importantly, it was about a bet—a bet every young Noble here knew about.

The connections behind this bet were complex. On the surface, however, it decided the ownership of ‘Yin Wanyue Commerce,’ the Imperial Capital’s third-largest trading house. If Tixiang won tonight, he gained Yin Wanyue—a colossal profit machine netting millions of Gold Coins annually.

If Tixiang lost, he would forfeit all his shops in the city, several estates outside, and two residential properties within the city walls—a similarly staggering loss exceeding millions.

Long Cheng’s ears twitched like a horse’s, catching every whisper among the noble youths. He chuckled. “Interesting. How bold of that Tixiang. To trust someone he’s known only a few days with a gamble this critical?”

Lin Qi’s keen hearing also picked up the murmurs. He shrugged and thumped his chest firmly. “Just look at me! You can trust me! Hmm… but it is odd. Why is he so sure?”

Shaking his head, Lin Qi was about to gesture to Long Cheng and Yulian to head toward the building when three light golden carriages arrived silently. Fifty Court Guards clad in white leggings, red tight jackets, and bronze armor escorted the carriages, riding tall horses with pride.

The guards who had demanded so many Imperial Capital nobles dismount moments ago didn’t stop this procession. Instead, they parted respectfully onto both sides of the path, bowing deeply. The carriages trundled slowly along the path. As they passed Lin Qi and the other two, someone inside seemed to speak softly. The carriages and the mounted Court Guards halted abruptly.

The curtain of the central carriage lifted. A young man with a gentle, instantly likable face smiled and beckoned to Yulian. Yulian hurried over and performed a complex court bow. “Your Highness Lartus!”

Lartus gave a light smile. His gaze swept over Lin Qi and Long Cheng, nodding slowly. “Are these the two gentlemen Tixiang mentioned?”

Lin Qi stepped forward, offering a slight bow. “Your Highness, it’s an honor to meet you!”

Long Cheng, however, remained haughty. He crossed his arms and glared sideways at Lartus. Yulian called him ‘Your Highness,’ obviously marking him as part of the Imperial Royal Family. Being close with Tixiang, he must be a direct-bloodline Prince. To Long Cheng, any royal here was just an ant on the ground.

Hailing from the immensely powerful ancient Empire in The East, Long Cheng looked down on these primitive monkey kingdoms. Even a Prince amongst them was just a slightly healthier, flashier monkey.

Lartus glanced at Long Cheng with a smile, exchanged a few more words with Yulian, then tapped lightly on the carriage window. The three carriages moved off simultaneously.

After they had disappeared, Yulian returned to Lin Qi’s side, lowering his voice to explain Lartus’s identity: “His Imperial Majesty’s grandson, Your Highness Lartus. His father is the Third Imperial Prince, Prolongs Grand Duke, and is very close to Sir Hualishi. Your Highness Lartus also grew up alongside Lord Tixiang.”

Lin Qi nodded thoughtfully. Long Cheng snorted dismissively beside him. “So Hualishi, the former Prime Minister, wants to prop up the Third Prince? Looking at young Lartus’s delicate face, both father and son probably support the officials and oppose the Military Nobility, right?”

Yulian stared at Long Cheng, startled. His words were blunt but hit the nail squarely on the head.

Before Long Cheng’s voice faded, frantic thumping of horse hooves tore through the air. A huge Knight in black armor and horn-patterned full helmet charged toward them, followed closely by another hundred Court Guards. One of Tixiang’s guards, moving too slowly out of the way, was suddenly lashed with tremendous force by a whip from this Black Knight.

A terrifying scream pierced the night. The whipped guard writhed and convulsed violently on the ground. The blow carved a gruesome gash two feet long and three inches deep into his flesh. Blood gushed from the wound, rapidly pooling crimson beneath him.

Lin Qi’s eyelids twitched. Was that thing in the Black Knight’s hand a whip? It looked like a deadly weapon—a black lash over a meter long and as thick as two fingers, studded with sharp triangular iron spines. A truly vicious implement designed to kill.

Yulian trembled and muttered urgently, “Let’s move! Don’t encounter him. That’s Prince Marrs, eldest son of the Eldest Prince. He’s good friends with Beya! He’s Tixiang’s opponent in this bet!”

This thug was an Imperial Prince?

Lin Qi sucked in a sharp breath. He shook his head and pulled Long Cheng away. The scales suddenly fell from his eyes: The stakes tonight seemed more tangled than he imagined, pulling them into Imperial power struggles.

But Tixiang—how could he throw Lin Qi into this, barely knowing him, to take such a risky place?

How utterly maddening!