TRWSB – Chapter 196 Visitors from the Sea Clan of the Merchant Alliance

Zuo Yunfei’s Courtyard.

Qi Heng looked up at the approaching Zuo Yunjing and said, “Miss Zuo, Yunfei has gone out.”

“I know. It’s precisely because I knew he left that I came to find you,” Zuo Yunjing replied.

“Is there something you need, Miss Zuo?” Qi Heng leaned back in his chair and asked.

“It’s nothing much. I just feel that Yunfei has become increasingly extreme in his actions. I was hoping you could persuade him to return to the right path,” Zuo Yunjing said.

Qi Heng looked at her and said, “Miss Zuo, you overestimate me. That’s a responsibility I really can’t take on.”

Zuo Yunjing disagreed. “I know my younger brother. If there’s anyone who can talk some sense into him, it has to be you.”

Qi Heng gave a helpless bitter smile, shook his head, and said, “Miss Zuo, you may know your brother well, but you don’t know me well enough.”

Zuo Yunjing looked at him, somewhat disappointed. “Young Master Heng, you’re not willing to help me?”

Qi Heng sighed. “I’m very willing to help—but I’m afraid I’m powerless to do so.”

“What are you two doing?” Zuo Yunfei walked over, his expression dark.

Qi Heng glanced at Zuo Yunfei’s face and thought he looked like a jealous husband catching his wife in the act. The thought amused him, and he laughed out loud.

Zuo Yunfei saw Qi Heng’s smile and flew into a rage. “What are you laughing at? What’s so funny?”

Qi Heng: “…”

Zuo Yunjing looked at Zuo Yunfei and said, “Little brother, don’t get so worked up. I just came to talk with Qi Heng.”

“Sister Jing, if you’ve got so much free time, you should go find a husband instead of mooching off the family at your age!” Zuo Yunfei spat venomously.

Qi Heng’s eyes flicked, and he thought to himself: So Zuo Yunfei isn’t just harsh to me—he’s harsh to everyone.

Zuo Yunjing’s face turned red with anger. “Brother, what are you saying!”

Zuo Yunfei replied impatiently, “Did I say anything wrong?”

Zuo Yunjing glared at him fiercely and left.

Zuo Yunfei watched her leave and snorted. “She spends all day doing nonsense. What did she talk to you about?”

“She said your temper is out of control and causing the whole family distress. She asked me to try to talk you down,” Qi Heng said.

Zuo Yunfei snorted with laughter. “She must be out of her mind—asking you of all people.”

Qi Heng nodded, completely agreeing. “I thought it was ridiculous too.”

Zuo Yunfei stared at Qi Heng for a long moment, then suddenly reached out, lifted Qi Heng’s chin, and said through gritted teeth, “If I didn’t know what a vicious heart you have, your face would be quite deceptive.”

Qi Heng brushed Zuo Yunfei’s hand away, clearly annoyed. “However dark my heart is, it has nothing to do with you. Or are you planning to play the righteous hero and eliminate me as a scourge?”

Zuo Yunfei frowned deeply, glaring at him fiercely.

Qi Heng and Zuo Yunfei stood in silent confrontation until a guard cautiously approached and said, “Young Master Zuo, there are guests.”

“What kind of guests?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

“People from the Merchant Alliance and the Sea Clan,” the guard replied.

“I don’t recall having any ties with those two forces,” Zuo Yunfei said.

“They’re not here for you, Young Master Zuo. They came to see Young Master Heng,” the guard said.

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

Qi Heng smiled. “Got it, thank you.”

Zuo Yunfei turned to Qi Heng. “What do the Merchant Alliance and the Sea Clan want with you?”

Qi Heng shrugged. “No idea. But it probably isn’t anything bad. I’ll go take a look.”

Zuo Yunfei followed as Qi Heng walked away.

“Young Master Heng.”
As soon as Qi Heng appeared, the representatives of the Merchant Alliance and Sea Clan both stood up and greeted him respectfully.

Qi Heng nodded in acknowledgment.

“Young Master Heng, this is the Merchant Alliance Token entrusted to me by our Grand Elder. With this token, you can receive assistance from any branch of the Merchant Alliance,” said the Merchant Alliance representative.

“Much appreciated,” Qi Heng said with a smile.

“Also, these ten are guards sent by the Merchant Alliance to protect you. They may not be the most powerful, but we hope you won’t mind,” the representative added.

“Very thoughtful of you. I was just short on manpower,” Qi Heng replied.

“Being of service to you is our honor,” the Merchant Alliance representative said respectfully.

Qi Heng smiled again, knowing full well this wasn’t really for his sake—it was for his master’s. Ever since Zhuang Hao’s power was revealed, all major powers had started taking him much more seriously. Qi Shaorong now had the status to stand on equal footing with the Merchant Alliance.

Then, the Sea Clan representative—marked clearly by their aquatic features—stepped forward, unwilling to be outdone.
“Manager Qi Heng, under the orders of Young Master Hailing, we’ve brought you twenty Sea Clan guards.”

Qi Heng nodded. “Thank you very much.”

The Sea Clan rep then handed him a conch. “This is our Sea Clan’s signal horn. You can blow it by the shore to summon our assistance.”

Qi Heng took a deep breath. “I’m truly grateful.”

“You are a close friend of the Sea Dragon Prince’s consort. As long as you ask, the Sea Dragon Clan will do everything in our power to help you,” the Sea Clan representative added.

“Thank you,” Qi Heng replied.

After the people from the Merchant Alliance and the Sea Tribe came to the Zuo family, the Zuo family’s members instantly held Qí Héng in much higher regard.

Zuo Yunfei crossed his arms and looked at Qí Héng playing with the conch shell. “You’re quite popular, huh?”

Qí Héng glanced at Zuo Yunfei and said, “Yeah, I’m pretty well-liked. Unlike you.”

Zuo Yunfei rolled his eyes. “You really think highly of yourself. They’re not doing this out of respect for you.”

“True. The young master probably reached out to the Merchant Alliance and the Sea Tribe again. He’s always worried about me,” Qí Héng replied.

Zuo Yunfei rolled his eyes again. “I don’t think he’s that worried about you. The people the Merchant Alliance and Sea Tribe sent are all useless. Even if you add them all together, they wouldn’t last a few moves against me.”

Qí Héng looked at Zuo Yunfei, speechless. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“You want to talk to Qí Shaoróng, huh? Too bad he’s with Zhuāng Hào now, thousands of miles away,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Qí Héng gave Zuo Yunfei a look, shook his head, and muttered, “Ridiculous.”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

+++++

“Miss, Zuo Yunfei seems to really like Qí Héng,” said the maid beside Zuo Yunjìng.

Zuo Yunjìng nodded. “Yes. Yunfei hasn’t cared about anyone like this in a long time.”

“But Qí Héng hit Miss Jūn. The Jūn family probably won’t let this go,” said the maid.

Zuo Yunjìng shook her head. “After what happened today, the Jūn family probably won’t be able to do anything to Qí Héng.”

Both the Merchant Alliance and the Sea Tribe showed up at the Zuo family’s home at the same time, clearly to support Qí Héng. The fact that both these powerful factions are backing him shows how highly Qí Shaoróng regards him. The Jūn family is definitely going to have to swallow this loss.

“Honestly, Miss Jūn was at fault too. The young master rejected her multiple times, yet she still shamelessly chased after him,” said the maid.

Zuo Yunjìng shook her head. “Back then, if it weren’t for Yunfei’s incident, a marriage between him and Lányuè wouldn’t have been a bad match.” She used to have a very good relationship with Jūn Lányuè—though they’d grown distant, they were still on decent terms.

“The young master has a terrible temper these days.”

Zuo Yunjìng took a deep breath. In front of the Jūn family, Zuo Yunfei hadn’t shown her any respect at all. Her younger brother had changed far too much.

+++++

Jūn Residence

Jūn Lányuè lay on her bed. Her sister, Jūn Zǐyuè, sat beside her, taking care of her.

“Lányuè, don’t think too much. Just get some rest,” Jūn Zǐyuè said, adjusting the covers.

“Where’s Qí Héng? What is the family planning to do about him?” Jūn Lányuè suddenly grabbed her sister’s sleeve, eyes wide open.

Jūn Zǐyuè shook her head. “The family has decided to let the matter go.”

Jūn Lányuè became agitated. “I suffered such a huge humiliation, and the family’s just going to let it go?!”

Jūn Zǐyuè narrowed her eyes. Initially, the family had intended to stand up for Lányuè. But the Merchant Alliance and Sea Tribe had both offered protection to Qí Héng, clearly siding with him. After weighing their options, the family decided there was no benefit in making an enemy of Qí Héng.

Furthermore, what Zuo Yunfei had said that day was extremely harsh—he made it clear he had zero interest in Jūn Lányuè.

After being rejected twice, and with Zuo Yunfei showing no signs of reconciling, Jūn Lányuè no longer held much value to the family.

“Sister, I’m not willing to accept this!” Jūn Lányuè pounded the bedboard in frustration. “I was humiliated like this, and the family is just going to let that lowlife off the hook?”

Jūn Zǐyuè sighed helplessly. “That Qí Héng isn’t simple. The moment you went to provoke him, the Merchant Alliance and the Sea Tribe immediately sent guards to him—that says everything.”

At the mention of the Merchant Alliance and Sea Tribe, Jūn Lányuè’s expression changed. While the Jūn family had some influence, it was nothing compared to those two behemoths.

“Qí Héng—what has he done to deserve this?!”

Jūn Zǐyuè narrowed her eyes and said, “Well, he serves a very powerful master, doesn’t he?”

+++++

The Capital of the Former Kingdom

“I wonder how Qí Héng is doing,” Qí Shaoróng said, resting his chin on his hand.

“Didn’t you already reach out to the Sea Tribe and the Merchant Alliance to look after him? Don’t worry—he’ll be fine,” Zhuāng Hào said, patting his shoulder.

Now that Qí Héng, the third wheel constantly hanging around them, was gone, Zhuāng Hào didn’t say it, but he was actually a bit pleased.

Qí Shaoróng took a deep breath. “I don’t know, I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling.”

“Let Zuo Yunfei deal with Qí Héng’s problems. If you interfere too much, Zuo Yunfei might think you’re meddling,” Zhuāng Hào said.

“Really?”

“Of course,” Zhuāng Hào nodded.

“Zuo Yunfei’s that petty? Being that petty isn’t a good look,” Qí Shaoróng remarked.

“Oh, that reminds me, I heard something,” Zhuāng Hào said.

“What is it?” Qí Shaoróng asked.

“When Qí Héng first arrived at the Zuo household, he had a bloody fight with Zuo Yunfei’s ex-fiancée…”

“They fought?” Qí Shaoróng asked.

Zhuāng Hào nodded enthusiastically. “Yep! They fought. Qí Héng won, of course. His strength isn’t something ordinary people can match. He whipped that girl so badly she was covered in bruises—he came out completely on top.”

Qí Shaoróng looked doubtful. “He beat her that badly? That doesn’t sound like Ah Héng…”

Zhuāng Hào nodded. “Yep. People get especially ruthless when they’re jealous.”

“Ah Héng doesn’t seem like the jealous type,” Qí Shaoróng said.

“You know a person’s face, but not their heart. Maybe you’ve only seen one side of Qí Héng,” Zhuāng Hào said.

Qí Shaoróng: “…”