QHM Chapter 74 – Part 2

[mfn]TL: Part 2[/mfn]It was a planet that wasn’t particularly advanced. As soon as they landed, they attracted a crowd of onlookers.

As everyone disembarked from their mecha, Xue Yuanqing was the first to be recognized.

The residents were excited and pointed at him, exclaiming, “It’s the son of Chairman Xue!”

“It’s Young Master Xue, he looks exactly like the photos online!”

These residents knew that their planet’s former official had been one of Xue Yuanqing’s father’s subordinates, so they greeted Xue Yuanqing with special enthusiasm. After he smiled at them, they immediately gathered around, showering him with praise.

“Ever since the new planetary official took over, our lives have been getting better and better!”

“Exactly!”

“Our location is near the border, and in the past, we’d occasionally have beasts come through, but now, nothing’s been happening!”

“Truly, he’s the person the Chairman Xue raised—he’s done such a great job!”

“We’re really grateful to Chairman Xue!”

The soldiers with Xu Yin looked over curiously at the commotion, glancing at the crowd.

Meanwhile, Xue Yuanqing smiled gently and said, “This is all part of our duty.”

Seeing how humble Xue Yuanqing, the son of a high-ranking official, was—speaking so kindly and without any airs—the residents became even more excited. They crowded around him, chattering away.

First, they complimented his good looks and foresaw his bright future. Then, they talked about the improvements the new planetary official had brought about, discussing how their lives had gotten so much better. Soon after, their conversation shifted to broader national affairs.

Someone said, “Look, before, it was always fighting and killing, and the beasts never perished. They kept showing up from time to time. But ever since Chairman Xue and the Council took office, everything’s changed! So, the entire Star Nation should be run by the peace faction. If we let the war faction take over, our lives will just get worse!”[mfn]TL: These dumb b*tches really don’t know what they’re talking about.[/mfn]

Immediately, another person chimed in, “Exactly, look at who’s in the war faction—they’re all people who thrive on war. They need war to achieve results, so they’re practically itching for more battles. Do they care about whether ordinary people like us live peaceful lives?”

“Tch, they’re just sacrificing our peaceful lives to gain power!”

These residents, who had lived for years on the border, got all their shallow information from brief news snippets online or from various opinionated comments in the discussion sections. Now, they were here, talking with such fervor and seriousness.

“The military is full of war maniacs.”

“The war faction will ruin the entire Nation.”

“That General Xu who died—he got what he deserved!”[mfn]TL: 🤬[/mfn]

Such words pushed the soldiers behind Xu Yin to their breaking point. They stepped forward and shouted, “What are you all talking about?!”

They risked their lives fighting on the front lines of the battlefield, and the people they protected were talking like this behind their backs?!

War maniacs? Eager for more war?

Power-hungry?

And saying that General Xu deserved to die?

These soldiers had long known that not everyone could understand the choices they made or the things they tried to protect with their lives.

They had long known that every carefully thought-out strategy and every bold action they took on the battlefield would be casually distorted and mocked by those who spent their days sitting in offices, dormitories, and homes.

“Don’t be distracted,” General Huo had once told them, “All that is just useless noise.”

They all knew this.

But hearing such malicious speculations in person, with no bottom line, they still couldn’t bear it.

The shout from one of the soldiers made the smile on Xue Yuanqing’s lips falter, and the people, young and old, were startled, stopping in their tracks. It was only then that they noticed Xu Yin and his group.

They sized them up, and one of the residents, irritated, asked Xue Yuanqing, “Young Master Xue, are these your subordinates? Why do they speak like that?”

The soldiers behind Xu Yin were enraged and wanted to step forward, but Xu Yin held up his hand, signaling them to stop, then calmly looked at Xue Yuanqing.

Xue Yuanqing cleared his throat and said, “These are soldiers from the Ninth Legion of the Star Nation… and the son of General Xu.”

The Ninth Legion.

The son of General Xu.

Hearing this, the group froze, realizing what they had just said, some of them awkwardly shifting.

But soon, they regained their composure.

Weren’t they just talking about them?

Who didn’t know that the Ninth Legion was called “The Star Nation’s Lion”? That’s the legion that fights the best, right?

A legion that is good at fighting must also have the fiercest temperament. After all, how many of the wars were caused by the beasts invading, and how many were intentionally provoked by the Ninth Legion? Who could say?

“They’re just a bunch of war-addicted maniacs!”

“And General Xu’s son—”

One of the crowd immediately added, “Wasn’t General Xu sentenced to exile with his whole family? How could his son—”

Xue Yuanqing seemed a little embarrassed, and explained, “It was General Huo who saw his potential and took him with him…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood. They were incredulous, “How could General Huo have that much authority?!”

“Yeah, doesn’t the Xingyun Council care?!”

“How could a criminal just be brought out like that?!”

“That’s too arrogant!”

Xue Yuanqing seemed at a loss for words, awkwardly glancing at Xu Yin.

Xu Yin raised an eyebrow, “Captain Xue, did you come with us to conduct a search, or just to enjoy the flattery of the crowd?”

Xue Yuanqing froze.

Flattery… of the crowd—

His face immediately turned red, and he snapped in annoyance, “I didn’t mean it like that! I was just stopping here for a moment!”

Hearing Xu Yin’s remark, it was the crowd behind Xue Yuanqing that became furious, “How dare a criminal speak to Young Master Xue like that!”

“Exactly, criminals should be sent back to the exile planets!”

“Right, who gave you the right to come out?!”

The soldiers behind Xu Yin could no longer hold back, but Xu Yin still held up his hand firmly to stop them.

He looked at the group, speaking calmly: “Just because… I’m innocent?”

The crowd, who had been shouting just a moment ago, suddenly stopped. Their eyes widened in disbelief.

…What?

…Innocent?

The young man in front of them was saying, so calmly, that he was innocent?

…Is he implying that the Xingyun Council’s sentence was wrong?

Is he openly questioning the authority of the Xingyun Council?!

The audacity of Xu Yin stunned them all. They were left speechless, and even Xue Yuanqing was taken aback—

Of course, Xue Yuanqing knew that Xu Yin must not accept the charges against his family, but he never imagined Xu Yin would openly state it so blatantly in front of everyone in this situation!

He was here because he was innocent.

He believed he was innocent, and Huo Lingqi also believed he was innocent.

So, what did the Xingyun Council’s judgment matter?

Xue Yuanqing clenched his fists, forcing a smile. “Xu Yin, you’d better not say that…”

“Why? What would happen?” Xu Yin smiled lightly.

Xue Yuanqing was momentarily silenced by the question, suddenly recalling that Xu Yin held the secret that could help others make a huge breakthrough in their mental abilities, yet he refused to share it with them. It was incredibly arrogant.

Xue Yuanqing clenched his teeth in frustration.

Where did he get the nerve from?!!

The onlookers were still in shock, and Xu Yin turned to the soldiers behind him, speaking indifferently: “Since Captain Xue is still busy, we’ll start the search.”[mfn]TL: XY slayyy💅[/mfn]

The soldiers murmured in agreement, “Yes, sir.”

Xue Yuanqing snapped out of his stupor. Realizing how embarrassing it was to stay any longer, he spat out angrily, “Wait… I’ll come with you!”

One of the soldiers coldly mocked, “Wouldn’t Young Master Xue like to stay and enjoy the adulation of the crowd a bit longer?”

Xue Yuanqing’s face twisted in anger. “I didn’t—”

Before he could finish, the soldier turned away without paying him any attention. The soldier then coldly glared at the residents and said, “By the way, do you really think waving the banner of peace will bring you peace?”

“How many powerful interstellar species are there in this universe, and how many more powerful species will appear in the future? Do you think that when they come to invade, all you need to do is raise your peace flag, and they’ll stop and say, ‘Oh, sure, let’s sit down and talk’?”

The soldier laughed mockingly, and the residents’ expressions shifted uneasily.

“If you’re that confident,” the soldier said, eyeing Xue Yuanqing, “then go ahead and disband all the legions! That’s right, stop the wars, who wants to fight? Do you think anyone wants to throw their lives away just to get some stupid battle?”

“Disband the legions, stop recruiting soldiers, and forget about generals. Let’s see if those idiots who sit in offices all day, spouting nonsense and talking peace, can actually use their mouths to create a peaceful world for you!”[mfn]TL: Well said soldier👏 Well said😇🙌[/mfn]

The residents froze, as did Xue Yuanqing.

After the soldier finished speaking coldly, the entire scene fell silent.

At this moment, Xu Yin spoke up, saying, “They won’t understand.”

The residents were stunned.

“What? What do you mean they can’t understand? We’re not speaking a foreign language! Are you calling us idiots?”[mfn]TL: Isn’t it obvious?!! Dumb b*tch![/mfn]

Xu Yin’s tone was indifferent as he responded, “Don’t waste your time. Let’s go.”

These people wouldn’t understand, nor would they be willing to understand.

—Until the day the truth is clear and undeniable in front of them.

So, there was no point in wasting words.

The truth would come to light eventually, and when it did, no one would be able to deceive themselves anymore.

…

Xu Yin and his group left.

Xue Yuanqing was shaking with anger, his mood soured beyond belief. With no intention of staying any longer, he hurriedly left with his men.

The crowd of onlookers stood still for a moment.

The soldier’s words had struck them hard, but as Xu Yin had said, if they were that easy to persuade, they wouldn’t have spouted such ridiculous things in the first place.

Soon enough, they started muttering among themselves in frustration.

“…He said it so dramatically, but ever since the new leadership of the Xingyun Council took over, we’ve had a lot more peace around here.”

“Yeah, exactly. That’s the truth.”

“We haven’t seen any beasts for over half a year.”

“They think they’re invincible after just two battles.”[mfn]TL: My anger issues cannot- !!!!!![/mfn]

As they continued speaking, a few figures walked toward them. Leading the group was the planet’s official, a former subordinate of Xue Yuanqing.

Upon seeing him, the residents brightened up and approached.

“Officer, Young Master Xue was just here! You’re late!”

The planet official’s facial muscles twitched slightly, forcing a smile. “Is that so? It’s fine, I know. Young Master Xue had informed me earlier.”

“Really? By the way, why are they here? What are they searching for?”

“Yeah, we heard something about a search.”

“Did something happen here?”

“It’s not a big deal. Don’t worry,” the planetary official replied slowly. “It will be resolved soon.”

*

The official search began, and they split into pairs.

Xu Yin and another soldier went off to search separately, while Xue Yuanqing stealthily followed behind them.

A few days ago, he had secretly contacted one of the beasts’ current kings. This generation of evolutionary beast kings originally had over a dozen, but only three or four remained alive now.

That particular beast king had stubbornly refused to reveal their plans. Xue Yuanqing was genuinely curious about what they were up to.

On one hand, Xue Yuanqing thought the beasts might be hesitant to communicate openly because they needed to use machine translation for their brainwaves, making conversation difficult. On the other hand, he suspected they might be looking down on him, purposely being cryptic.

So, he decided to follow them and observe.

Xue Yuanqing was genuinely puzzled. They had quietly ceded this star system to the beasts, but they had also been cautioned not to be too reckless before the plan was fully successful. After all, the evolved beasts were massive in size, hard to hide. Any disturbance could cause trouble and ruin everything.

But now, it seemed they had placed their kin on several planets and managed to keep their presence well concealed.

Where were they hiding?

For a fleeting moment, a thought crossed Xue Yuanqing’s mind.

—The evolutionary beasts got their name because of the frequent mutations in their genes, often developing strange new shapes or abilities. However, despite these mutations over thousands of years, they had never shrunk in size. This thought quickly dissipated in Xue Yuanqing’s mind.

He decided that once today’s tasks were over, he would need to discuss this further with the planet’s official.

Xue Yuanqing couldn’t let the beasts become too arrogant.

…

Meanwhile, ahead, Xu Yin and his team had reached the edge of a forest.

There were a few homes nearby, and by the edge of the woods, a mother and her child were playing.

One of the soldiers by Xu Yin’s side whispered, “Someone is following us.”

Xu Yin lowered his eyes and nodded. Just then, the child ahead suddenly scooped up a handful of mud and, with a mischievous grin, hurled it at Xu Yin.

Xu Yin sidestepped, glancing at the child with a calm expression.

The child flinched at his gaze but, likely encouraged by the presence of his mother, quickly regained his confidence. He bent down to pick up another handful of mud and threw it again, laughing, “Haha, firing bullets!”

The mother, standing nearby, merely glanced at Xu Yin without intervening, a smile still playing on her lips.

Seeing that the second throw also missed, the child pouted and bent down to pick up a third handful.

Exchanging a glance with the soldier beside him, Xu Yin prepared to leave.

But the child, seeing them about to walk away, chased after them, shouting, “Don’t go, bad guys, criminals, I’ll beat you to death!”

His mother, still languid, called out, “Minmin, be careful, don’t trip—”

Before she could finish, both she and the child screamed in terror.

Xu Yin and the soldier turned to see a tentacle wrapping around the child’s waist, pulling him into the woods in the blink of an eye.

The mother screamed in panic and tried to follow, but another tentacle struck her, sending her flying and knocking her unconscious to the ground.[mfn]TL: Dasuuurrvvvv 💅[/mfn]

Xu Yin quickly scanned the surroundings and whispered to the soldier, “You stay here, I’ll go.”

The soldier’s face paled. “But—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I know what I’m doing.”

“—Let him follow,” Xu Yin said softly, patting the soldier on the shoulder before heading into the woods.

The soldier gritted his teeth and ran toward the unconscious mother. Having witnessed Xu Yin’s incredible strength, he had no choice but to trust him, despite the danger.

He quickly sent a message to the rest of their team and, as he turned, noticed Xue Yuanqing’s figure darting out of the corner of his eye, quietly following Xu Yin into the forest.