Chapter 554 - The Black Sands (2/2)
“Enough with all that nonsense,” spat Qin Tianyu, glaring at him again, “Just work on your practice. I’m sure he’ll be back in a few days!”
“Oh… Okay…”
On the other hand, at the next area, Beigong Qin sulked in silence. A youngster went to him and spoke hushedly, “Senior Brother Beigong, have you heard what happened last night? One thousand Black Horns were killed last night. Gods, a thousand… What monstrosity is this… It’s terrible…”
“What is there to be afraid of?!” an irate Beigong Qin, whose dark look only intensified, scowled exasperatedly, “You bumbling bumpkin! This is nothing compared to real battles which would have thousands of more corpses strewn around everywhere!”
Beigong Qin could not suppress a cold snort right after finishing his admonishment of his fellow student. His eyes wandered to the Mystic Sky Rankings and spied Xiao Chen’s name. “Could he really… No… Impossible… He lacks the means even if he is indeed so reckless… No one would be reckless enough to attack Black Horn…”
More buzzings abounded the training areas, and no one knew who it was behind the huge ruckus last night. But one. Only one person knew who.
Perched atop the lush-green crest of a mountain with his robes snapping and his long hair fluttering proudly in the wind, he studied Xiao Chen’s name on the board of the Mystic Sky Rankings with utmost silence.
Noon came, and far away, inside the tavern in Black-horn City, Xiao Chen and his companions were still at a loss as to how should they proceed. It was foolhardy, if not impossible, for them to storm the Wuyan Chamber to save Yang Qing’s two companions and Ren Yuntian.
“I can see no other way,” breathed Yang Qing dejectedly, “We can only go to the Black Sands.”
“Black Sands?” asked Xiao Chen.
“The Black Sands are a company of underground sellswords that spills blood in return for payment. Unlike regular mercenaries, the Black Sands do anything. Inciting chaos and anarchy in any nation-state, pilfering of intelligence and secrets, assassination; you name it. They’d do anything so long as you can afford them.”
Xiao Chen mulled in silence, his brows furrowing in deep thought. Enlisting the help of the Black Sands sounded viable to him. They needed to rescue Yang Qing’s men. And quick. They have had a glimpse of his savagery last night that one could even argue that he was more monster than human after all.
“Very well. So be it then. We leave at once!”
“That’s fine, but Brother Xiao, there is one thing you should know: Lord Black Sand, the chief of the Black Sands, is a mercurial, if not difficult, figure. I need not remind you that we need to be careful when we speak to him. I’ll tell you more on the way. Let’s go.”
They set off at once for the stronghold of the Black Sands, which was quite a distance away from the Moon-river District they were at. The journey took almost four hours. Despite being within the limits of Black-horn City, the Black Sands ruled this district freely, without any trouble from King Shen and Black Horn.
They came to a building and they saw four sentries guarding the stone steps leading to the entrance. “We’re here to do business,” Xiao Chen revealed quickly before they could say anything.
“I see,” said one of them politely, “On you go then. Inside.”
The company of six followed the guard until they came to a wide chamber. Scores of people scurried about inside, each of them seemed to be busy with work and among them, there were also others who were here like them—to talk business.
The guard arranged a large table for them to sit and wait. “If you’re here seeking audience with Lord Black Sand,” informed the guard, smilingly, “Please wait here a moment. He’s dealing with some guests at the moment and shall join you shortly.”
The sentry left to return to his post. Xiao Chen sat at the table and brooded quietly. There was something about the atmosphere here that did not quite agree with him, although he could not say what. A foreboding and ominous sensation that tingled at his senses, unlike the stronghold of usual Cultivators’ sects of the Orthodox Path. Yet it varied differently from the lairs of those belonging to the Devil’s Practice too. He thought of Shui Yue suddenly, wondering how would she chastise him for coming to a place like this.
After a quarter of an hour and some tea, one of the doors leading to an antechamber opened. A dark-robed stranger, looking almost in his late-twenties with his heavily-tattooed arms and a vicious scar down one of his eyes that accentuated an air of ferocity and viciousness about him, appeared. No one needed any telling that this was a dangerous man. More so, when everyone got to their feet reverently and greeted him, “Lord Black Sand.”
Enter Lord Black Sand. The leader of the Black Sands sellswords company strolled over to Xiao Chen’s table and sank pompously into a chair and propped his feet on the edge of the table. He raised a hand into the air and snapped, and a servant came scuttling over, offering him something that could only be a cigar and lighted it for him.
Lord Black Sand took a swig and exhaled a smog of fumes before he finally regarded Xiao Chen and his companions. “Let’s hear it,” he muttered bluntly.
Xiao Chen frowned on the inside. His instincts confirmed what Yang Qing had warned him: Lord Black Sand was a difficult person with an effervescent temperament indeed. Knowing words could hardly impress their host, Xiao Chen’s hand snuck into his robes and he produced two plaques that he slid across the table.
Lord Black Sand eyed narrowly the words inscribed on the two little plaques, reading them aloud, “Ji Xiu, Chang Ning.” He looked up and peered at Xiao Chen, “To save or to slay?”
Those were the names of the two companions who were being taken. Xiao Chen needed only to speak a one-syllable word, “Save.”
Lord Black Sand snapped again and a servant materialized next to him. He nudged a chin at the plaques on the table and uttered, “These two names. To save.”
“Understood,” replied the servant who retrieved the plaques and walked away. “You have not asked me the location where they’re held,” Xiao Chen observed quietly.
The remark made the servant froze. But Lord Black Sand took in another draft from his cigar and blew a mouthful of smoke at Xiao Chen, hissing brusquely with ice, “I know what to do. What are you being so anxious for?!”
The atmosphere grew tense suddenly.