Chapter 953 - Sun Qingnian: That’s My Informant!
Jia Gui had actually performed well this time, so Han Wu accepted his invitation. They agreed to meet at a small tavern just outside the Blood Coliseum.
By the time Han Wu arrived, Jia Gui had already ordered him a drink. It was the cheapest beer on the menu.
Jia Gui grinned, his wrinkled face crumpling like a dried chrysanthemum, and waved Han Wu over.
Han Wu glanced at the cheap beer and tapped the table with a finger. “Whatever you’re about to ask, it’s going to be hard to do.”
“Huh? I haven’t even said what it is yet,” Jia Gui said.
“Then go ahead.” Han Wu picked up the beer and took a small sip. The sour, bitter taste mixed with a hint of alcohol made him feel like he was drinking three-day-old dishwater. He discreetly spat it back into the glass.
Jia Gui’s attention wasn’t on Han Wu at all. He sat with his fingers interlocked, fidgeting in his chair and looking almost shy. “Brother Han Wu, do you believe in love at first sight?”
Han Wu nearly choked. After a violent coughing fit, he looked at Jia Gui’s face, which had to belong to someone pushing sixty at least.
“When a handsome guy says it, that’s love at first sight. When you say it, that’s just being a creep,” Han Wu remarked.
“I don’t care whether you call it love at first sight or being a creep. All I know is one thing. I’m in love!” Jia Gui said bashfully. His aged face even seemed to flush.
Han Wu felt a chill run down his spine. He remembered how Jia Gui had kept telling him to go easy during the fight with Elina.
“The person you’re in love with wouldn’t happen to be Elina, would it?” he asked, though he was already ninety percent certain.
Jia Gui’s face lit up as if he had just learned something wonderful. “So her name is Elina! What a lovely name.”
Han Wu rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t even remember her name, and you’re calling it love? You just want her body. You’re pathetic.”
“Brother Han Wu, how could you say that? I have always been upright and honest. Is it wrong to like someone? Is it wrong to love someone?” Jia Gui asked passionately.
“Elina hasn’t done anything wrong either! Why should she have to be liked by you?” Han Wu argued.
This was the first time Han Wu had ever spoken in Elina’s defense. She was arrogant, stubborn, and more than a little unhinged, but if he had to choose between helping her and helping Jia Gui, he’d side with Elina.
Jia Gui deflated, but he refused to give up. “Brother Han Wu, I know that the Wisdom Faction and the Light Faction don’t get along. I still like Elina, though. Ever since I first saw her, she’s been in my dreams every night. Please, help me.”
Han Wu furrowed his brow and considered the odds. To put it bluntly, the chances were zero, if not negative. Forget Elina herself, Jia Gui couldn’t even get past the Light God King. The latter could develop dementia and still never approve of Elina being paired with Jia Gui. If that actually happened, where would he even put his face?
A thought suddenly crossed Han Wu’s mind. If Jia Gui and Elina somehow did end up together, what would the scene look like? The Light God King would probably cough up blood on the spot. It would be a devastating blow to the Light Faction’s morale on a spiritual level.
Han Wu pictured Jia Gui and Elina standing side by side in a photo and burst out laughing.
Jia Gui saw him laugh and assumed he had come up with a plan. “Brother Han Wu, if you’ve got an idea, tell me!”
Han Wu fought to suppress his laughter and waved the question aside. He was capable of murder and arson, but forcing someone into a living nightmare? Even he wouldn’t stoop that low.
Nonetheless, he knew the right person for the job. He placed a video call to Sun Qingnian, and the connection went through immediately.
Sun Qingnian appeared on the screen shirtless, sitting in front of a red-lit backdrop with a large circular bed behind him. A woman’s figure darted across the frame.
One glance was all Han Wu needed. That wasn’t the Blazing Goddess Shi Shan. It wasn’t Lina either. It definitely wasn’t Jin Tuantuan, who had emigrated to the Divine Civilization.
Han Wu swallowed hard. When it came to being a player, nobody could beat Sun Qingnian.
Sun Qingnian caught the look on Han Wu’s face and scrambled to explain. “Han Wu, don’t get the wrong idea. She’s an informant I’ve planted inside the Life Faction!”
“What kind of informant? A prostate informant?[1]” Han Wu scoffed. “I’ve never seen an informant meet her handler at a love hotel.”
Sun Qingnian scratched his nose awkwardly. “Quit roasting me and get to the point. Did you need something? You’ve been stirring up quite the mess lately.”
Han Wu reined in his sarcasm. Sun Qingnian was who he was, and Han Wu had long since gotten used to it.
Han Wu spoke bluntly. “I have a friend who wants to learn the art of being a man who... relies on a woman.”
Sun Qingnian’s expression turned amused. “Han Wu, you and I are brothers who’d lay our lives on the line for each other. Qin Shuang is also a good friend of mine. I’d hate to see you do something you shouldn’t. That said, if you did, I’d do my best to keep it from her.”
“Get lost. Do you think I’m like you? I’m asking for Jia Gui,” Han Wu corrected him.
Jia Gui leaned into the frame. Sun Qingnian took one look at that universally despised face and, for the first time in his life, he felt genuine pressure.
“Look, it’s not that I don’t want to help. In a case like this, I generally wouldn’t recommend trying to be a kept man. He’d starve,” Sun Qingnian said.
“What if his target is Elina?” Han Wu asked.
Sun Qingnian’s face froze. Nearly half a minute passed before it finally clicked, and he exploded with laughter. “Han Wu, you really are devious. The Light Faction has been quietly arranging a wedding between Elina and the Holy Son of Darkness, An Yunian. If you pull this off, the Light God King will absolutely lose his mind. Leave it to me. I’ll do everything I can to help Jia Gui win Elina over.”
Sun Qingnian was already imagining the Light God King’s reaction and the blow it would deal to the entire Light Faction.
Han Wu nodded.
Jia Gui beamed with delight, grinning like a lovesick teenager despite looking every bit like an idiot who had lived for more than 800 months.
Han Wu was about to end the call when Sun Qingnian gestured for him to wait.
After solving Jia Gui’s problem, Han Wu was in a good mood to help Sun Qingnian. “What do you need? Just tell me.”
“There’s a goddess from the former Dark Faction named Fangfang. She’s under your wing now. I need you to look out for her,” Sun Qingnian said.
Han Wu was confused. He knew Fangfang. She was a close companion of the Goddess of Enchantment. She wasn’t as beautiful as Su Lan, but she was still attractive in a mature way.
Why did Sun Qingnian ask me to take care of her? A bold guess surfaced in Han Wu’s head. “Don’t tell me she’s another one of your informants?”
It was phrased as a question, but he already knew the answer.
Sun Qingnian nodded.
Han Wu’s head started to ache. He worried that the Blazing Goddess Shi Shan would snap and boil Sun Qingnian alive one day.
“Can I ask you something? Exactly how many informants do you have?” Han Wu asked with a pained expression.
Sun Qingnian answered without a shred of evasion, “That depends on how many factions there are in the Divine Civilization!”[2]
1. So informant is pronounced as ’Xian’ Ren in Chinese, and prostate is Qian Lie ’Xian’. They sound the same. ☜
2. goated ☜