Chapter 150 – From Dawn till Dusk (1/2)

Not only did Qian Rongzhi give Zhuo Zhibo no warning that Li Qingshan might have been hiding his strength, but she even purposefully misled him, making it seem as if Li Qingshan had won out of pure luck. Even when there was no element of profit in the matter, she was tired of this old thing right in front of her. She hoped very much that he would be killed like that old bag of bones called Qian Yannian. These methods of just allowing matters to develop without making a sound would often be much more terrifying than those straightforward schemes.

Zhuo Zhibo also sneered just like he would normally. “It’s good that he’s alive. That’ll save me a trip, and I’ll be able to take his life personally. I’ll be able to vent what I’ve pent up.”

“Are you going to kill him as soon as he returns?” Qian Rongzhi’s smile was hidden deep within her pitch-black eyes. She was ready to watch a fascinating show.

However, Zhuo Zhibo said instead, “I’ll need to put further thought into this matter.” Despite being the commander, he was not bold enough to kill a Hawkwolf Guard in public. Afterwards, he sneered, “But he’s still under my command, so do you think he’ll be well off? I’ll show him just whose command this Hawkwolf Guard office is under.”

Qian Rongzhi said, “Is there anything on this mountain, in Jiaping city, that doesn’t belong to you? Even I’m no different.”

Zhuo Zhibo let out a hearty laugh. He would continue watching over Jiaping city until the day he died; he was just like the iron hawk, watching over everything.

When the Clear River twisted around the mountain once more, Li Qingshan directly leapt off the boat. Under a series of cries from the people on the boat, he climbed up the cliff face.

He returned to his residence first and set Xiao An down before going to see Zhuo Zhibo. He wanted to see just how this commander Zhuo would treat him now.

Li Qingshan clasped his hands. “Subordinate Li Qingshan greets commander Zhuo.” That was what he said, but he stood with his chest held high, standing as straight as an arrow. He showed no respect at all.

Zhuo Zhibo no longer tried to act all polite either. He questioned coldly, “Why didn’t you return immediately after completing the mission?”

Li Qingshan answered in a manner that was neither too humble or arrogant, “I obviously had matters to attend to.”

Zhuo Zhibo became even more displeased. To think that someone who was about to die would still be bold enough to act so arrogantly. “I’m deducting half of your contribution. You can leave!”

He had actually lost half of the contribution he had earned after so much difficulty. That was equivalent to several dozen Qi Gathering pills. Anyone would be irritated by that.

Li Qingshan held back his anger. He did not try to dispute it. He just turned around and left. He also could not kill a Black Hawk commander on this mountain.

As soon as Li Qingshan left the office, he ran into Ge Jian.

However, Ge Jian had been waiting for him. He sneered as he said, “Li Qingshan, do you really think you’re a big deal just because you killed an old man who had a foot in the grave? How dare you speak to the commander like that? Now you know the consequences, don’t you?”

Li Qingshan said, “You really are a good dog raised by Zhuo Zhibo.”

He said that with confidence. Obviously, he did not need to worry that Zhou Zhibo, who was in the office, would miss it; the latter’s face darkened.

“What did you say?!” Ge Jian lost his temper after being insulted right to his face. This was no longer the first time Li Qingshan had humiliated him. He had only endured it because he was worried about the latter’s backing.

Li Qingshan mocked, “To think that you would be bold enough to bark at me here!”

Ge Jian choked up. Originally, he wanted to infuriate Li Qingshan. As long as Li Qingshan attacked him first, there would be grounds for Zhuo Zhibo to interfere. But indeed, without Zhuo Zhibo, where would he get the courage to provoke Li Qingshan? This fellow was a monster who had killed a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.

Li Qingshan waved his hand. “Come, let’s go to the front, and you can tell me clearly. I’ll let your scheme succeed for once. Let’s see whether Zhuo Zhibo comes to save you or not.”

Ge Jian would never follow him. Once that happened, even if Zhuo Zhibo’s plan succeeded, he would be dead. He tried to put on a front. “D- don’t be cocky. I’m looking forward to the fate that you’ll suffer.”

Li Qingshan did not spare an additional glance at him. He made his way to the library. Just when he was about to climb up the stairs, he was stopped by the old man who guarded the library. “Who let you up?”

Li Qingshan said, “I have contribution, so of course I can go up!”

“Move. The library is currently under maintenance. Miscellaneous people are forbidden from entering.”

Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed, and he frowned slightly.

All the old man felt was an invisible pressure against his chest, so heavy that he struggled to breathe. He forcefully endured it. “What, do you plan on forcing your way in?”

Li Qingshan slowly raised his right hand. The old man gulped as all of his muscles tensed up. His measly amount of true qi that had been eaten away by the passage of time began to circulate furiously. He could feel that as long as Li Qingshan tried, he could launch a devastatingly terrifying attack. Under the tremendous pressure, he did not even have the confidence to receive a single attack from him.

However, all Li Qingshan did was pat the old man’s shoulder. “Take care!” Afterwards, he turned around and left the library.

The old man broke out into a cold sweat and breathed heavily as he leaned on his knees. He had wandered the jianghu for many years, but he had actually been frightened by a half-grown junior. He was utterly humiliated. He yelled at Li Qingshan, “You’re the one who should take care!”

What Li Qingshan experienced afterwards was basically the same. There were no spiritual artifacts or pills. The contribution he had earned after great difficulty became a meaningless number.

Li Qingshan wanted to exchange for a new Wind-entwining blade, but he was turned down. Originally, Hawkwolf guards could exchange their weapons destroyed in missions for free. However, none of these people said that he did not deserve to. They just came up with various reasons to shrug off his request, but unless he gave them a beating, there was no other way for them to yield to him.

These important places that held items and wealth were obviously under the control of Zhuo Zhibo’s trusted subordinates. As a matter of fact, there was not even a need for Zhuo Zhibo to say anything. All he needed was a signal and that would be enough to prevent Li Qingshan from accessing anything in the Hawkwolf Guard.

In the end, Li Qingshan arrived before an extremely old building, with one, large word on it—Falconry. This was where the Hawkwolf Guard issued missions. It was probably the only place on the mountain not under Zhuo Zhibo’s control.

It was not that he was unable to control. Instead, it was because there were no spiritual artifacts or pills here. There were just a pile of troublesome missions. However, exchanging the contribution from the missions for actual things required Zhuo Zhibo’s permission.

Li Qingshan smiled. As long as this place was still open to him, all was well. To him right now, whether it be spiritual artifacts or pills, none of them were urgent. What he required the most right now was in the falconry.

There were a few Black Wolf guards accepting missions in the hall. When they saw Li Qingshan enter, they immediately fell quiet. Their mouths moved soundlessly as they communicated via true qi. They discussed between one another silently.

Li Qingshan made his way over to the counter. The envoy in black stood up in a hurry and said politely, “Sir, you’ve just returned. Do you plan on going out again?” On this small mountain, there were not a lot of secrets. He had heard about the disagreements between Li Qingshan and Zhuo Zhibo, but he was afraid of disrespecting Li Qingshan as well.

Li Qingshan said, “I want to see what missions there are.”

The envoy in black immediately took out a thick book. “Please have a look, sir.”

The book was dark all over as if it was covered in countless layers of filth. It also seemed like the colour of congealed blood. It felt ominous just from a single sight of it. However, it shone with a gentle glow, and as he held it in his hand, it gave off a slight warmth.

Li Qingshan said, “This book is probably pretty old.”

The envoy explained obediently, “It has existed since the office was established in Jiaping city. It’s probably over a millennium old.”

Li Qingshan said, “Then it really is quite old. Does this book have a name?”

The envoy said, “This is just a low grade spiritual artifact used to record missions. It does not have a formal name, but the people of the jianghu call it the blacklist!” Although he was just an envoy, he naturally revealed pride as the person in charge of the blacklist.

Li Qingshan said, “The blacklist? Why’s that? What’s the story behind it?”

The envoy said, “That’s because names that make it onto the blacklist will definitely die.”

Li Qingshan smiled, “Dearth, old age, illness, and death go hand in hand. Even if you don’t make it onto the blacklist, you’ll still die.”

According to his knowledge, the White Lotus Mother who had sacrificed two hundred thousand people should have made it onto the list as well. She even required a mighty White Hawk Commander like Gu Yanying, a Golden Core cultivator, to personally take action. However, Gu Yanying still seemed to have failed to bring her to justice. At the end of the day, it was still all about strength in this world. Nothing was definite.

However, to the people of the jianghu, it basically was a list of death considering the fact that it was written by Qi Practitioners. Afterwards, Li Qingshan realised the things he was about to do next was quite similar to what the White Lotus Mother had done. However, he was on the side of law, moving as someone carrying out the law. He had the license to kill.