CHAPTER 565: CHAPTER 22: CHI XI’S LONG-HELD WISH

When the three of them returned to Duke Mansion, it was around the third period of the night. Walking through the courtyard, Yue Jinghua saw that there were still lights on in Chi Xi’s lodging. Under the lampshade, Chi Xi sat at the table, her brow deeply furrowed, heaving sighs from time to time.

"Captain," as soon as she saw Yue Jinghua, Chi Xi immediately stood up respectfully.

After some questioning, Chi Xi no longer hid her concerns, but rather laid out her heart.

Although Yue Jinghua was old enough to be Chi Xi’s daughter, and Chi Xi herself was a Four-star Mercenary, she always held an inexplicable respect for Yue Jinghua.

This young girl, barely in her teens, had eyes of wisdom and calm. Her speech and actions gave Chi Xi a long-lost sense of reassurance, as if no matter the problem, it could always be resolved in her presence.

What troubled Chi Xi was her son, whom she left behind at her husband’s family.

In the July Mercenary Team, almost everyone had their own story.

Chi Xi’s husband’s family was indeed known to be in Wo Hua Imperial City.

"It’s only natural for a mother to miss her son. If you want to see him, just go and visit. Surely your husband’s family wouldn’t dare to stop you," Lie Rou, who often thought of her eldest son, Yue Minzhi, while in Shang Kingdom, believed it entirely reasonable for Chi Xi, who had not seen her son for over a decade, to want to meet him now.

"When I left Zhuzhu, he was only four years old, only this tall," Chi Xi’s eyes flickered lovingly as she gestured with her hands, "I remember, the night before I left, I promised him I would take him with me."

Over a decade ago, unable to bear the despair of being a concubine and learning secretly that her husband’s first wife planned to dispose of her, Chi Xi resolved to leave her husband’s family.

She intended to flee in the night and secretly take her son with her, but her plan was betrayed by her personal maid and she was caught by people sent by the first wife who had heard the news.

Her husband’s family was powerful, and the Dark Practitioners they nurtured left Chi Xi completely unable to resist.

"I was severely beaten and driven out of Qing Residence that same night, without even seeing my child for the last time. The child, unaware, thought I had abandoned him, and he must hate me to death, how could he ever want to see me?" Chi Xi said somberly, shaking her head.

"Qing Residence?" Upon hearing this from Chi Xi, Yue Jinghua felt that the surname of her husband’s family sounded somewhat familiar. Upon careful consideration, the Qing family was not a major surname in Wo Hua Imperial City and not common, coupled with their wealth and power...

"Correct, my ex-husband is Qingfeng from the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce. Ever since I was driven out of Qing Residence, that Qingfeng’s first wife has been unable to have children of her own. My child was taken under her name as the legitimate heir to the Qing Residence, and was raised as Qing Zizhu, the first heir to the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce," explained Chi Xi, who had secretly attempted to contact her son in earlier years but was always blocked by her husband’s family.

As the first heir of the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce, regardless of Qing Zizhu’s own Cultivation prowess, the number of skilled bodyguards around him was as plentiful as hairs on an ox.

With Chi Xi’s current level of Cultivation, it was difficult not just to meet Qing Zizhu, but even to catch a distant glimpse of him.

"Auntie, leave this matter to me. I assure you that I can arrange a meeting between you and Qing Zizhu," Yue Jinghua comforted Chi Xi.

The night quietly passed, and in the following days, Yue Jinghua continued to participate in the Beast Fights at the Underground Beast Fighting Arena with Little Shanshan, without interruption.

With guidance from the Gold Eater Worm, Little Shanshan skillfully avoided other War Beasts, maintaining an unbeaten record of five battles each night for six consecutive days, and the prize money she won also soared with each victory.

This inevitably attracted the attention of some interested parties, and there had been successive inquiries about Little Shanshan’s worth. Several times, there were attempts made through the Underground Beast Fighting Arena to purchase Little Shanshan from Yue Jinghua.

But all were declined by Yue Jinghua.

On the sixth day, the female receptionist who had welcomed Yue Jinghua on the first day approached her again.

"I have already mentioned that this beast is my first Dark Beast, which holds significant meaning to me personally. I will absolutely not sell it to anyone," Yue Jinghua seemed to have guessed the receptionist’s intentions.

"Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not persuading you to sell your Dark Beast. Instead, someone wishes to get to know you through the Underground Beast Fighting Arena," the receptionist, seeing Yue Jinghua effortlessly produce such a strong Dark Beast, had long speculated the young man before her likely hailed from a prestigious family.

The Underground Beast Fighting Arena had also secretly investigated Yue Jinghua’s origins and background, yet every time they sent someone to tail her, they were cleverly eluded.

No matter how tempting, Yue Jinghua never revealed even a hint of vulnerability in her words.

"Oh? You should know that I am not someone who agrees to meet just anyone," Yue Jinghua smiled and shook her head.

"This person, however, you must meet him, as he is the Young Master of the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce, Young Master Qing," the receptionist whispered, and the smile on the corner of Yue Jinghua’s lips deepened.

The Yanyue Chamber of Commerce had been facing some troubles recently because there had been issues with their Dark Beast supply.

The reason the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce could stand shoulder to shoulder with Yunhu Commerce as one of Dragon War Empire’s major commerce chambers, was that it was the largest supplier of Dark Beasts in the Dragon War Empire.

The Qing family, having Imperial breeders as ancestors, operated through multiple generations, establishing a unique method of obtaining and cultivating Dark Beast cubs both domestically and abroad.

Add to this that several descendants of the Qing family became noble concubines, which propelled the Qing family to the status of Imperial Merchants, even providing some of the Dragon Eggs for the annual Dragon Pulling Test.

The two had been cooperating smoothly for years, but this month, the situation had changed, stemming from the appearance of the unknown Dark Beast at the fighting arena.

Due to Little Shanshan’s popular victories, causing significant gambling losses at the fighting arena, the arena blamed the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce for supplying inferior Dark Beasts and demanded they quickly supply higher quality Dark Beasts to prevent further wins by Little Shanshan.

After hearing the report from the person in charge of the Xuan Beast Store, Qing Zizhu’s brow furrowed deeply.

Providing high-quality Dark Beasts was not something that could be solved overnight, but if they did not find a suitable solution quickly as per the arena’s demands, the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce’s reputation would suffer greatly.

Although Qing Zizhu was known as a "villain" of the Empire, unlike the other few, he did not possess profound Dark Skills; he was a true businessman, always surrounded by Dark Practitioners of high cultivation.

"Have we found the owner of that unknown Dark Beast yet?" Unable to find new supplies temporarily, Qing Zizhu thought of another solution – to find the owner of the Dark Beast, buy it at a high price from him, or directly recruit him into the Yanyue Chamber of Commerce.