Chapter 90: Two Parties Race Walking
Bai Zhi and her group had already relocated, but to stall for time, when the gate guard called for instructions, she told him she didn’t want to see anyone and to turn away all visitors.
At the same time, she got a message from Xiao Yu, saying her uncle had agreed to help. As Hu Yan had advised, Bai Zhi relayed the terms to Xiao Yu.
Bai Zhi wasn’t asking for a free favor. She promised to purify a batch of ten items for them each month, regardless of their value.
After all, Leon Grey’s auction house frequently received all sorts of items, some of which required purification. They had their own Purification Masters, but none were as high-level as Bai Zhi. When she proposed this arrangement, Leon Grey agreed without a moment’s hesitation.
Although this might offend several of the major families, as long as he wasn’t personally hiding her, the most they could do was voice their displeasure. And if they tried to do anything more, the Grey Family wasn’t afraid of them.
With the Grey Family’s involvement, both sides quickly began to coordinate their efforts.
Meanwhile, a second group arrived outside the Grand Domain Estate: men from Qianxin Hall.
Seeing the men from Qianxin Hall, the Lin Family decided not to wait any longer and stormed in just before the new group arrived.
Arriving on the heels of Qianxin Hall was Rodmond, the grand steward of the Main Star’s fourth-ranked major family.
Rodmond hurried to catch up, a wide smile on his face as he addressed the Hall Master of Qianxin Hall. "We meet again, Master Wu."
Master Wu’s expression soured. He had no desire to run into this man.
Master Wu said grimly, "You’re in the mood for a chat? I just saw the Lin Family’s men storm the place. If we don’t hurry, they’re going to take her."
Rodmond’s expression flickered at those words, but he kept the smile plastered on his face. "Then what are we waiting for? Surely Master Wu doesn’t want to get beaten to the punch?"
Master Wu let out a cold snort and quickened his pace.
The two men were nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. But if Rodmond sped up, Master Wu was forced to move even faster. They jockeyed for the lead, one moment Master Wu ahead, the next overtaken by Rodmond. A large crowd followed behind them, their uniforms clearly separating them into two distinct factions.
This created a ridiculous scene outside the Grand Domain Estate. The two groups looked like they were in a race-walking competition, constantly overtaking one another. It started with their subordinates subtly hooking ankles and trying to trip each other, but soon escalated to the point where the two factions nearly came to blows right there on the street.
If the two groups started a brawl, the Lin Family members already inside would be able to approach the S-Class female without lifting a finger. Worse, they could just take her away and hide her, then negotiate at their leisure. Rodmond and Wu’s missions would be a failure before they even got to lay eyes on her.
Therefore, to prevent the Lin Family from reaping all the benefits, both Rodmond and Master Wu quickly ordered their men to stand down.
After enduring the Lin Family’s violent intrusion, the gate guard was now confronted by two more large parties.
When they finally reached the door, however, they discovered the Lin Family was already inside the house.
Just then, the Lin Family’s chief steward, Kleiss, finished his inspection. He set down a teacup from the coffee table, clasped his hands behind his back, and announced, "Her things are all still here. She can’t have gone far."
Rodmond and Master Wu arrived just in time to hear those words.
The hearts that had been lodged in their throats dropped back into place. They were a step behind, but at least the Lin Family hadn’t found her either.
This just meant they had to start the search from scratch. Before, they had an address to go to. Now that she wasn’t home, finding her would take far more time.
Everyone was back to square one. Finding her now would come down to who had the better resources.
Xiang Ling heard the commotion next door and came out to see a crowd gathered at Bai Zhi’s entrance. Judging by their attire, she could tell they were three different groups and guessed they must be the people from the great families on the Main Star, here to find Bai Zhi.
Her face instantly turned cold as she rebuked them. "What do you think you’re doing? Did the owner give you permission to enter? You just barge right in! I’m contacting the Female Alliance right now and reporting you for forcibly entering a female’s home against her will."
Rodmond heard Xiang Ling and noted she had come from the unit next door. He guessed she must be the S-Class female’s neighbor. ’Perhaps they have a good relationship?’
So Rodmond offered a genial smile. "I apologize for the disturbance. We’re from the Main Star. You seem to have a misunderstanding; we just arrived and certainly did not force our way in."
Xiang Ling didn’t buy his nonsense for a second. ’They might not be together,’ she thought, ’but if that first group hadn’t already broken in, would these ones have acted any differently?’
’They’re all cut from the same cloth.’
’No wonder Bai Zhi doesn’t want anything to do with these so-called great families.’
’Not only are they bound by countless rules, but they’re always boasting about their power and looking down their noses at everyone.’
Xiang Ling sneered. "Aren’t you with the group inside? Aren’t you all here for Bai Zhi? I suggest you leave immediately, or I really will call the Female Alliance."
Rodmond said, "I don’t know about them. My only wish is to invite Bai Zhi to the Main Star as our honored guest. We would never do anything to harm her. We’ll leave immediately, but before we go, may I ask you one question? If you answer, I’ll give you this B-level Beast Core."
Seeing Rodmond’s act, Master Wu let out a cold laugh.
Xiang Ling saw right through his intentions. She gave them an indifferent glance and said, "What is it you want to ask? If I know where she went? Sorry, no comment. And by the way, I already have several S-Class Beast Cores. I really don’t need your little B-level one."
The smile on Rodmond’s face froze. Master Wu burst out laughing.
Rodmond shot a glare at Master Wu, who simply laughed again and led his men away.
Kleiss had apparently heard the exchange outside as well. He led the Lin Family out of the house and departed without a word.
In an instant, more than half the crowd was gone.
Realizing he would get no information here, Rodmond departed as well.
As he left, however, his expression was grim. Xiang Ling’s public rebuke had cost him face in front of the other two families.
Once they were all gone, Xiang Ling went over to take a look inside. Fortunately, since they all wanted to "invite" Bai Zhi to the Main Star, they hadn’t damaged anything in her home.
Xiang Ling closed the door and sent Bai Zhi a message, telling her what had just happened.
Bai Zhi already knew from the gate guard that one group wanted to see her, but she hadn’t expected three separate factions to show up.
After hearing Bai Zhi’s summary, Lang Qiu frowned. "Looks like they move fast."
Zelda, who had been listening, spoke up. "Don’t worry, my side is all arranged. I’ll take you to the Starship now. The only thing is, I can’t go with you. I have to stay behind and keep up appearances."
He then looked at them, his expression turning solemn. "Please take care of Hu Yan for me. I’ll catch up and join you as soon as I can."
Yue Junxiao let out a short huff. "Hu Yan is our family. We’ll take good care of him, you don’t need to ask."
But the words had barely left his mouth when Zelda’s expression changed abruptly at something he saw.