Chapter 468: Get Back Here! (1/2)

Chapter 468: Get Back Here!

Lan Jue quickly replied to his two brothers. Afterward, he stared for a moment on the next number on his list. His eyes narrowed.

Sensing something wasn’t right, Qianlin looked his way. “What is it? Are you alright?”

He smirked bitterly and shook his head. He hesitated, but after a moment ultimately dialed it in.

“Doooo… dooooo” The low ring sounded twice before someone answered.

“When the tournament’s over get your ass back here!” Click! One sentence and the connection was cut. Lan Jue just sat there in stunned silence for a moment. He shook just a little bit.

“Lan Jue, are you…” She swung around to stand in front of him, and took his hands in to hers. They were cold and clammy.

“It’s fine. Qianlin, after the tournament would you mind coming with me somewhere?” His tones were soft and secretive.

She didn’t hesitate. “Of course,” she answered with a nod.

He breathed a heavy sigh. They lapsed in to silence, with Lan Jue chewing his lip as long-ago memories flooded his mind.

Is he really ok? We should go back.

Just then, Lan Jue quickly made another call.

“Yeah.” The voice on the other end was low.

“He’s called me back,” Lan Jue said. He sounded defeated.

Silence. After a second, Lan Qing answered. “When you plan to go back give me a call. I’ll go with you.”

“Alright.” His brother’s assurances seemed to give him a little bit of backbone. He hung up, then swallowed his half glass of wine in one gulp. The cool and refreshing flavor of the beverage spread through him. He felt like he could breathe again. Lan Jue pecked the back of Qianlin’s hand with a kiss.

Hua Li and Chu Cheng arrived together. They had already been hanging out when they got Lan Jue’s call, discussing the fights to come. They wandered in to the restaurant and looked around for a moment before spying their brother.

The very moment Chu Cheng saw Lan Jue’s get-up he burst in to laughter. “A-Jue! Looks like you’ve finally had your day, eh?!”

“Gloating is hardly gentlemanly,” Lan Jue muttered.

“Congratulations,” Hua Li added with a smirk.

He nodded. “Truth be told, I won because of a fair amount of luck. I didn’t expect him to suddenly get so strong.”

This made Chu Cheng frown. “Shit, the same could be said about you! You Easterners are shameless, you know that? The Pharmacist will win her fight, then the finals will be dominated by your Alliance.”

Lan Jue could only shrug. “The North took that chance when they hosted. It’s not like they can stop us from participating.”

Chu Cheng’s face only soured further. “This is gunna be trouble. Dad’s already been summoned to some meeting. I have a feeling that if the East does sweep the finals, the North and West won’t leave it at that.”

Lan Jue was suddenly fearful, remembering Jun’er a few blocks away. “You think they’ll make a move?”

Chu Cheng grunted. “Hard to say. At the very least, you guys need to be careful. I mean, you won’t have to worry until after the tournament. They won’t do anything with all of humanity watching. Those of you from the Avenue are probably fine, but that may not be the case for those two unaffiliated ones. I’ve heard those two have already been contacted by agents from the North and West – though I don’t know what they said.”

“A-Cheng, I don’t want you anywhere near this,” Lan Jue said, suddenly serious. He didn’t want his friend even remotely incriminated in something so dangerous if it could be helped. There was, of course, the possibility of betrayal – after all, Chu Cheng was a Northerner 1.

Chu Cheng seemed to understand. “Alright, enough about that then. If anything happens I’ll make sure you all get out ok, but you should prepare. You’re already persona non grata out here. And shit, son, talk about sneaky! When did you become a peak-ranked ninth level?! You’re as strong as the big guy.”