Chapter 93: Return to Port

Lin Qi shared drinks with Lieutenant Colonel Neville in the Sea Windmill’s cabin. Since the Sea Windmill was returning to Dun Er Ke, Lin Qi gave all the ship’s extra supplies to Lieutenant Colonel Neville. The crew of the patrol squadron was overjoyed. After all, the rations provided by the Empire’s Military Department weren’t as generous as those from the Sea Windmill.

Amid the celebration, Lieutenant Colonel Neville found time to glance at the small paper slip Lin Qi had slipped him. An unremarkable slip—but it held a sight that made Neville’s heart tremble. It was a Gold Note, issued by the Dun Er Ke Golden Lettuce Family’s bank, payable at sight. Written on it was a figure that made Neville shiver: twenty thousand Gold Coins.

With military merits involving a Stone Titan and aiding Long Cheng in encircling Viking Great Axe Gorge—plus twenty thousand Gold Coins in personal profit—by the time Dornick Port finally appeared on the horizon, Lin Qi and Neville had become close friends.

As Lieutenant Colonel Neville returned to his flagship to resume patrol duties, he and Lin Qi embraced warmly one last time. Lin Qi eagerly invited Neville to visit the Black Tiger Family whenever possible. Neville, in turn, promised that any ship connected to Lin Qi’s household would receive the squadron’s unwavering protection at sea near Dun Er Ke.

From the bow of the Sea Windmill, Lin Qi waved nonstop at the departing patrol ships. On the stern of the flagship, Lieutenant Colonel Neville gazed back for a long while. Both knew they had found a true friend.

The patrol squadron’s sails vanished into a sudden blizzard, and Long Cheng silently appeared at Lin Qi’s side.

“In this wretched place of yours, what would happen if someone were caught bribing military officers?” Long Cheng asked, peering at Lin Qi with open curiosity.

Lin Qi widened his eyes in pure, childlike innocence. “Who did I bribe? Gods above, mighty Celestial Knight! Even you can’t accuse someone without proof! Either show evidence or admit you’re slandering me!”

Long Cheng sneered. He had no evidence—that Gold Note was likely hidden in Neville’s quarters by now. He muttered under his breath, “Viking Great Axe Gorge and those two Temple Warlocks? That was all my doing. You gave those merits away to your new friend? Then I want extra shares from that big fish’s profits.”

A dangerous glint flickered in Lin Qi’s suddenly sharp eyes, shining like a wolf starved for weeks. He hissed lowly, “Even a Celestial Knight can’t just change the deal! You won’t squeeze one extra Copper Coin from me!”

Long Cheng glared coldly. “But I killed those people!”

Lin Qi shrugged shamelessly. “Sure, you did. But what good did it bring you? Long Cheng, we must always maximize our profits—as my most respected mentor Professor Kouen always taught!”

In a swift, smooth motion, Lin Qi brushed a snowflake from Long Cheng’s Blue Fox Fur Coat collar. “You’re not from our Empire, Long Cheng. Kill a man here, and you get nothing. But handing me the credit?” His smile turned sly. “I can provide other rewards. Forget Gold Coins… How about beautiful women? I’ll introduce you to some!”

Long Cheng’s eyes instantly brightened, gleaming with wolfish hunger. He puffed his chest out, hands clasped haughtily behind his back. “Don’t bring common beauties to insult me! I’m not some reckless drifter you can taint my precious purity—”

Lin Qi cut him off mid-arrogance; he knew Long Cheng’s pompous vanity all too well. “Don’t worry!” he grinned like a cat who’d stolen cream. “The Western Continent can’t rival the East for riches, but it has beauties aplenty. Right here in Dun Er Ke, I’ll find you the finest girls!”

Then he sighed wistfully, eyes narrowing with sly reminiscence. “Too bad you were late by days. There was a pair of twins—gorgeous as Goddesses, like nothing I’d ever seen. If you’d crossed their path? You’d have snatched them, no hesitation.”

Long Cheng lifted his chin defiantly, pretending he’d met every beauty under the sun. Yet his subtly perked ears betrayed his intrigue. Beauties deserving of my abduction? Truly?

Lin Qi’s smile deepened. “Their names were Aling and Aya. Twins sisters… Skilled in Divine Art—fire-based Divine Art. Just left Dun Er Ke days ago… But you might cross their path someday.”

Their ship neared the harbor. Guide boats emerged from the port, ropes guiding the Sea Windmill on its approach. Crowds thronged the distant pier—people of Dun Er Ke eager to see what prizes the Sea Windmill, so recently set sail, might hold.

Long Cheng’s eyes scanned the starkly different architecture. A curious smile curved his lips. Twin sisters skilled with Divine Art? An… interesting encounter indeed. Excitement pulsed through him at the thought. No need to drag them back to the East… But to have them? Oh yes, that was a goal worthy of his attention.

Noticing Long Cheng’s shifting mood, Lin Qi chuckled inside. Perfect. Odds were Long Cheng would never meet those awful women. But planting that seed cost nothing. And if he did cross their path? The Gods alone knew what delightful chaos—“honored guest” of the reckless Celestial Knight—would unfold for them.

Standing right at the Sea Windmill’s bow, Lin Qi started waving cheerfully at the crowd.

Shocked gasps erupted from the pier: “Is that Lin Qi?! Didn’t he leave for a mountain villa retreat? Then why’s he aboard the Sea Windmill?!”

Blackbeard stood on the docks puffing a Cigar, welcoming the ship’s return. Lin Qi’s unexpected appearance caught him totally off guard. Overhearing the confused exclamations around him, he slowly turned—utterly flustered—toward his son.

Ruthless as a wolf, sly as a badger. Blackbeard vowed silently: I’ll teach Lin Qi a lesson for this.