"Meiling, how nice of you to come see me," Li Daoming said with a relaxed smile.
"What do you want?" Long Meiling asked, her glare cold. She didn't want to deal with this scumbag while she was trying to de-stress.
"Can I not even have a chat with my future wife?" he replied, his smile becoming even more ingratiating.
"Hmph," Long Meiling scoffed, crossing her arms and giving him a disdainful look.
"I broke off my last engagement. I'll break off this one as well."
She turned to leave, but found her path blocked by some of Li Daoming's cronies. Li Daoming simply shook his head mockingly, clicking his tongue.
"I think you'll find it harder this time, my fiancee. I'm not like that trash, Luo Shuchang."
He sidled up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, only for her to swat it away. He shook his head again and sighed, putting his hands up in mock exasperation.
"This would all be easier if you would just accept reality," he said in a low voice, eyes growing slightly cold.
"Do you think the Long family is still in a position to hold a spot as one of the Five Grand Dukes? Your father didn't even hesitate to sacrifice you to my Li family just to keep from falling out of power."
Li Daoming moved to stand directly in front of her, looking down with an emotionless gaze.
"Do you think you can change this situation with what little strength you have?"
Long Meiling could only clench her fists at his words, unable to retort. Was she really just playing into their hands when she annulled her engagement to Luo Shuchang?
Did her father already have arrangements in place and simply waited for her to break the engagement herself, so he wouldn't have to lose face by reneging on an agreement with an old friend?
"Young Miss!"
Right as she was about to do something she would regret, the voice of one of her most trusted guards brought her to her senses, and she turned to see Wang Yuhan hurrying in her direction with Ryker in tow.
"Thank goodness I found you!" she exclaimed, pretending to have been searching for her. She turned to Li Daoming and bowed her head, finding an excuse to leave.
"Pardon us, young master Li, but the young miss has some important business she needs to take care of. If you'll excuse us..."
"Hm."
Li Daoming just watched as Wang Yuhan led Long Meiling away, with Ryker looking between the two parties in confusion before following along.
Seeing this tall stranger with them, however, reminded him of the 'mysterious young man' that was reported, yesterday, and he smirked as he thought of an entertaining idea.
"Wait."
Long Meiling's party stopped in their tracks, looking back to see what he could possibly want.
"I just realized I don't know this gentleman with you. Is he a guest of yours, Meiling?"
"And so what if he is?" she asked warily.
"Nothing. I just thought he must be a man of some skill to catch your eye," Li Daoming said with a mocking tone.
He of course didn't mean his words, seeing as this man was only at the third level of Qi Gathering.
"He's passable, I suppose," Meiling said disinterestedly, seeing where Li Daoming was going with this conversation.
She looked away as she hid her smile, sensing that she might be able to relieve some stress today, after all.
If only he knew how 'passable' Ryker really was...
"Then you wouldn't mind if he were to display his capabilities for us? My men can help him demonstrate."
At his signal, Li Daoming's goons moved to block their paths once again, crossing their arms intimidatingly.
They were your typical burly meatheads, muscles rippling underneath their shirts, and they cracked their necks in preparation for the 'demonstration'.
At this time, a crowd was gathering, attracted to the commotion. They all whispered in excitement when they saw it was Long Meiling and Li Daoming confronting each other.
"Look, it's the Zhang brothers!" one of them cried out, "They've both reached the Foundation Establishment realm, and only in their thirties, as well!"
"So what? Young master Li Daoming has reached Foundation Establishment without even being twenty-five!"
"Well, of course you can't compare them to our young geniuses. They're impressive, either way."
"Are they going up against that tall freak? He's only in the third realm of Qi Gathering!"
"Haha, I guess it's another one of young master Li Daoming's hazings."
"Hmph."
Long Meiling just rolled her eyes at all the fuss, the crowd lining both sides of the streets, now, and casually waved a hand in the Zhang brothers' direction.
"Ryker, go handle those fools."
"Uh, what?"
Ryker looked at her in confusion, having had some trouble following what was going on ever since Wang Yuhan suddenly dragged him over to the unfolding situation.
"I'm asking you to go beat them up," Long Meiling said impatiently.
"Oh... Okay."
He simply shrugged, rolling up his jacket sleeves. He might not have had any idea what was going on, but the request was simple enough, at least.
Li Daoming laughed to himself, inwardly. Was this guy a fool? There was no way a third level Qi Gathering trash could stand up to two experts in the Foundation Establishment realm.
And what was Long Meiling's game, sending such a trash to his death? She must not have cared about him all that much, after all.
"Well, y'all can go first, I guess," Ryker said with a grin, giving them an inviting motion.
The Zhang brothers just glanced at each other and nodded. The look Li Daoming was giving them signaled the usual: beat him half to death.
They rushed forward, fists flying at his face.
Their eyes widened in shock, however, when Ryker leaned in and met their fists with his forehead, causing their fingers to curl in on themselves, painfully.
Ryker followed it up with a quick left jab to both of their noses, causing them to reel back in pain.
"Haha, what's wrong, boys? Still gotta warm up?" he teased them as he backed out of reach playfully, shaking out his arms and loosening up in a boxer's shuffle.
The thugs looked to each other in disbelief. Was this guy really just third level of Qi Gathering? Punching his forehead felt like they were punching a heavy steel wall!
"Quit fooling around."
Li Daoming's terse admonishment caused them to jolt and involuntarily rush back in, attacking desperately so as not to disappoint their boss.
'Hm, so what cultivation level are these guys at?' Ryker wondered, leisurely, as he continued to easily block their fists. Instead of silence, however, he got a reply from Mini C.
[Third and fourth level of Foundation Establishment,] he said, transmitting the words directly into Ryker's mind.
After walking around and getting a feel for this place's technology level, they realized it was way behind what they had in Greyson Shores.
The only mode of transportation they saw was horse and carriage, and there were no light fixtures in any of the stores they visited, relying only on sunlight to illuminate their buildings.
Mini C suggested they not reveal his existence unless absolutely necessary, to avoid unwanted attention. Hence, their communication within Ryker's head.
'Which level was that again...?'
[The major realm directly above your Qi Gathering realm.]
'Ah.'
"So no big deal, then," he said aloud, grinning as he kicked out and sent one of the thugs flying.
The other one only had time to see his brother flying past him before he felt Ryker grab onto his arm and flip over him, dragging him along.
Ryker rolled in the air a few times with the goon still in tow, spinning wildly before slamming him into the ground, and he used his body as a lever to break the thugs arm for good measure in a stylish takedown.
"Wow! Brilliant technique, Sir Ryker!" Wang Yuhan cheered, while the rest of the crowd that had gathered stood there in stunned silence.
Who was it that said this guy was only in Qi Gathering?
Li Daoming's face, which had been growing more sullen this entire time, was now set in a frown so severe that his brows visibly creased. He stormed off without a word, the crowd not daring to get in his path as he left.
Long Meiling watched him go with a refreshed expression, and turned to see Ryker finishing off the brother he had sent flying in the beginning with a roundhouse kick to the face.
"Good job bringing him here, Yuhan," she said, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Yes, young miss!" Wang Yuhan replied cheerfully, happy to have helped her mistress.
They watched in satisfaction as Ryker continued to beat the shit out of the Zhang brothers.
--
"Phew, good fight, fellas!"
Ryker wiped the sweat off his brow, standing over the now unrecognizable Zhang brothers.
They moaned in pain, just barely conscious; what did they do to deserve this, today?
"Good work," Long Meiling praised as she walked over to him.
"Yes, excellent performance, Sir Ryker!"
"Heh, no sweat!"
He rubbed a finger under his nose smugly, grinning. He looked around when he remembered Li Daoming, however, wondering where he went.
"So, uh, who was that guy, anyway?" he asked, "Looked like y'all had some bad blood."
"No one you need to worry about, right now," Meiling answered curtly, looking Ryker up and down. She frowned slightly at what she saw, giving him a questioning stare.
"...What's with your outfit? I see you've made *some* efforts to fit in, but..."
After their little shopping trip, Ryker now sported somewhat less conspicuous clothing, with some black trousers tied up just below his knees and a blue, coarse linen shirt in the style of most commoners.
However, he still had on his favorite red bomber jacket with a black hood, and his colorful socks and sneakers still made him stick out painfully from the crowd.
In her opinion, he now looked more strange than when he had his original attire on.
"Well, you know, this is my favorite jacket, so of course it stays on," he said matter-of-factly.
"And the shoes around here are super uncomfortable, so I'm sticking with my sneakers."
"...I see."
Meiling shook her head in resignation. She figured it would be much easier to just let him do what he wants.
"Well, again, good work," she said, turning to leave. Wang Yuhan saluted him and smiled before following a step behind.
"Ah, wait!"
Ryker remembered what he needed to talk with her about and quickly caught up, walking along at her side.
"Hey, about me staying at that inn..." he started.
"Stay for as long as you like," she said, cutting him off before he could continue, "I'll have Yuhan come check on you every now and then, and perhaps have you do some things for me in return."
She didn't even look at him as she kept walking, making a shooing motion at him with her hand.
"Oh... Okay."
And so he was left standing there once again, a blank expression on his face.
"Well, she acts kinda cold, but maybe she's actually a nice person?" he said to himself, tilting his head to the side as he wondered.
"She *is* letting us stay for free, after all."
Ryker truly was a sucker for free things.
[I wouldn't be so sure,] Mini C chimed in inside his head, [She's certainly looking to benefit from this relationship, as well.]
{More importantly!!!} Bestie interrupted, also able to speak to Ryker telepathically thanks to Mini C's functions.
{You're making progress on your system task. Just a few more steps and you'll become friends with her!}
Ryker lifted his arm to check his holoscreen, which was made invisible to everyone but him, again thanks to Mini C.
Relationship with Long Meiling became: Slightly Favorable |
Received: Snow-Rimed Sword x 1 |
Relationship with Wang Yuhan became: Friendly |
Received: Guardian's Soft Armor x 1 |
"Sweet," he said, smiling at the thought of more stuff.
"So I just have to get her status to 'Friendly', right?"
{Well, it's different for everyone,} Bestie explained, rubbing her chin, {Long Meiling is a particularly tough nut to crack, so you'll still have to go through her 'Favorable' and 'Somewhat Friendly' stages.}
{Luckily, you only need to get to 'Somewhat Friendly' to complete the system task!}
"Hey, no problem," Ryker said, turning to head back to the market while rubbing his belly.
"For now, I'm starving, so let's go get something to eat! It looked like they had some good stuff back at the market stalls!"
[...We don't have any money, though,] Mini C pointed out. Wang Yuhan was the one who had paid for everything while they were shopping.
"...I forgot to ask about that."
He returned to the inn with an empty stomach.