Chapter 216: The Factory

I was astonished that he would say such a thing right to my face, leaving me at a loss for words. Lu Qianshan’s voice wasn’t loud, but the place was deathly quiet, making it obvious that he was set on humiliating me in front of everyone.

I wasn’t someone who cared deeply about saving face. Had it been He Yu in my place, he would have gladly traded three hundred rounds of insults with him. Sitting beside me, Old Qian heard the commotion and tried to step in to smooth things over. Without looking back, I signaled him with a hand gesture not to act rashly.

Lu Qianshan was no He Yu. In just this short span of time, I could tell he possessed a deep-seated arrogance and wouldn’t buy Qian Deli’s usual routine. I figured that except for Lu Ayao, anyone passing by would get kicked by him. He had only restrained himself earlier because Lu Ayao was still around, but now that Lu Ayao had stepped out, he wasn’t going to stop until he’d thoroughly trampled on me.

Being called useless naturally made me angry, but considering my position and the fact that Lu Qianshan was a member of the Lu Clan after all, I didn’t want to sour our relations completely. I had no choice but to suppress the anger in my heart and put on a peaceful, calm demeanor.

“Brother, we both belong to the Five Masters, and our ancestors had many dealings with one another. I might have entered the trade late and don’t know all the rules of the business, but I haven’t offended you before. For you to come out swinging with insults… if word gets out, I’m afraid it won’t look good for the Lu Clan’s reputation,” I said, heavy with subtle sarcasm.

Lu Qianshan was clearly provoked by my words and let out a cold laugh. “Word on the street is that the Young Master of the Gan Clan is a man of few words. It seems rumors can’t be trusted. If I’d known you had such a silver tongue, I should have let that Man-Bear bite you to death earlier.”

“You brat, watch your mouth!” Old Qian started to push himself up, but then, fearing he might be targeted by Lu Qianshan, he simply stayed on the ground and shouted an insult.

Seeing Lu Qianshan speak with such malice actually caused my anger to subside. It was as if I truly had some deep blood feud with him. Feeling puzzled, I asked, “Why do you loathe me so much? How have I offended you?”

Lu Qianshan threw down the bridle in his hand, letting it hit the ground with a loud clatter. He lunged toward me, his teeth gritted. “You haven’t offended me, but can you be sure your family hasn’t offended ours? You people of the Gan Clan are all liars! Who are you putting on this innocent act for? Gan Rukui was like this, and so are you!”

His temper flared so suddenly that I realized I must have said something wrong, stepping right into a minefield. He pressed forward step by step, forcing me back several paces until I stumbled, nearly tripping over my own feet.

“Lu Qianshan!”

I heard Lu Ayao’s voice. I didn’t even see how he descended the steps because he moved so fast. He seemed to appear before my eyes in an instant, extending an arm to block Lu Qianshan.

He Yu wasn’t as fast on his feet and arrived a bit after Lu Ayao, but he quickly ran to stand in front of me. In an instant, I was firmly shielded behind both of them.

“What’s going on here? Old Lu, look at this guy from your family! He took advantage of a quick trip for firewood to bully our Xiao Yao. Do you not give a damn about your Uncle He?” As He Yu spoke, he kicked Old Qian, who was sitting nearby. “Old Qian! What are you just sitting there for? Why haven’t you gone over to bite him?”

“Me? Have me bite him?” Qian Deli was stunned for a second. “Hey! Wait a minute, who are you calling a dog?”

I didn’t bother with those two. I stepped around front, but Lu Ayao reached out his other hand to hold me back. Stopping in front of Lu Qianshan, I asked him, “What did you mean by those words just now?”

Lu Qianshan’s aggressive posture had cooled down quite a bit. He looked ready to answer me, but Lu Ayao beat him to it. Lu Ayao looked at me and said, “I apologize for what he said just now. He spoke without thinking.”

“I didn’t speak without thinking! What I said was the truth!”

“He is the Young Master of the Gan Clan,” Lu Ayao snapped. “What kind of bullshit rules allow you to blacken the name of a deceased elder of the Gan Clan? If you can’t control your mouth, you’ll leave the moment the snow stops. Go back to wherever you came from. I remember everything that happened; I don’t need you traveling ten thousand li^[1] just to remind me.”

Because he had insulted my grandfather, I had intended to speak up, but Lu Ayao’s way of reprimanding someone was truly terrifying. It was the first time both He Yu and I had seen it, and it left us standing there, not daring to utter a word.

After being chewed out so fiercely by Lu Ayao, Lu Qianshan didn’t dare say another word. He glaring viciously at me, clearly still defiant in his heart, but with Lu Ayao right there, he could only find a corner to sit down.

Lu Ayao barked at him again, “Is this how you were raised at home? You forgot everything the moment you stepped outside. Where is your apology?”

Lu Qianshan didn’t look very old. After being scolded like that, hearing that he still had to apologize brought tears to his eyes. Since things had reached this point, I couldn’t be unreasonable, so I stepped forward and grabbed Lu Ayao’s arm.

“It’s fine, no need for an apology,” I said, pulling at him. Seeing that he was still staring at Lu Qianshan, who was wiping away tears, I quickly caught He Yu’s eye and said, “What took you two so long? We’re about to freeze to death here. Can we get this fire started or what?”

He Yu took the hint and crouched down to start messing with the firewood on the ground. “Aiya, you’re so high-maintenance every single day. Either you’re too hot or you’re too cold. Come on, Old Lu, get over here and help! Use that fire-starter of yours!”

Only then did Lu Ayao finally shift his gaze to the ground. He walked over and crouched down to help He Yu organize the fresh firewood. I took off my down jacket, rolled it into a ball, and walked over to my backpack to stuff it inside.

Lu Qianshan was standing right next to me. He whispered to me, “Does it feel good to be protected all the time? Don’t think I’ll be grateful to you just because of what you did.”

Squatting on the ground, I gave a helpless smile. I turned to look at the backs of He Yu and Lu Ayao, and a sudden thought struck me. I wanted to deliberately annoy this brat. Turning to Lu Qianshan, I said, “Actually, there’s nothing wrong with being a useless waste.”

He turned to look at me, his face full of shock.

I stood up and patted his shoulder. “I suggest you just take a rest. Before you act, weigh your place in your master’s heart first.”

Lu Qianshan looked at me. “How important do you think you lot are in his heart?”

Important? Was he joking? The three of us were brothers who had faced death together. During our most recent trip to the South China Sea, it was my silver tongue, appealing to emotion and reason, that finally convinced Lu Ayao to come back. He Yu and I spent our time buying him medicine and bandaging his wounds. Damn it, a bond like ours could practically move heaven and earth, alright? What was there to question?

I figured he was only saying this to provoke me. After all, Lu Ayao had spent every New Year with us for years, and he always told me where he was going in advance. I wasn’t going to give Lu Qianshan the satisfaction, so I simply nodded in agreement.

Lu Qianshan laughed. “It seems you really don’t know him at all,” he said to me. “He has always been cold-blooded and ruthless. I’ll be bringing him back to the Lu Clan soon. When that happens, you’ll be stunned to realize just how laughable your words are right now.”

“Fine, we’ll see about that,” I said, rolling my eyes at him.

Chen Canghai watched our exchange from the side in total silence. It was impossible to tell if he was even listening. A moment later, He Yu got the fire going and called us all over.

We sat in a circle around the fire. I made a point of sitting right next to Chen Canghai. After everything that had happened, his past fascinated me. It felt as though answers to so many questions could be found through him.

“With your connections, you must have uncovered a lot of information, right?” I asked him.

Chen Canghai looked at me with those clear eyes of his. “What do you want to know?”

I smiled. “Anything related to Northwest Outdoor. I came here for those black crates on the ship. As you probably know, we found some things inside them.”

Chen Canghai hesitated for a moment. “Actually, there isn’t much information about Northwest Outdoor circulating in the underworld. It started as a munitions factory in the last century, specializing in military supplies. After the wars ended, the original site was abandoned. Later, a company bought the property and turned it into a private factory, primarily manufacturing agricultural tools and outdoor climbing gear.”