Chapter 223 Cause and Effects (Part 1)

“What did I say? Did I say anything? I said nothing, alright? I’m merely pointing out your unhealthy practice! It’s a known fact that you like teasing Gongzi You! Did I say anything wrong? Why would I have any indecent thoughts about her? I was talking about you all this while, alright?”

Fleeting Time threw another punch at Absalom before he could finish his sentence. However, Absalom learned from his lesson, and was able to dodge the blow, “Fool me once, shame on you. Full me twice, shame on me!” said Absalom with a pleased tone.

Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows at Absalom, and his shoulders sagged. It appeared as if he has given up on trying to score another hit on Absalom.

Just as Absalom began to let his guard down, Fleeting Time’s fist connected with Absalom’s face once again. With a loud shriek, Absalom clutched at his face.

“What the heck are you doing? Fleeting Time, I’m going to beat the shit out of you!” roared Absalom as he glared at Fleeting Time. It was apparent that he was angered by Fleeting Time’s action.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just want to remind you that I don’t like the words ‘Gongzi You’ coming out of your mouth.” Fleeting Time chuckled. He was indeed in a very good mood. Ignoring Absalom’s protest and the inquisitive gazes of his guild members, Fleeting Time casually walked away, whistling as he went.

“I did not say anything…” Absalom was filled with grief. I really did not say anything! Why did I get hit twice by Fleeting Time? Even with a 70% pain reduction in Fate, being on the receiving end of two punches from Fleeting Time was still a very painful experience, “You’re the one who have been teasing Gongzi You, so why am I taking a beating for that?”

Without warning, Fleeting Time stopped right on his tracks, and turned around to face Absalom with a smirk on his face. Absalom immediately turned his head to another direction, and began whistling a song that was out of tune.

Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow, satisfied by the fact that his intimidation of Absalom was a success, and continued his way to the guild hall.

Silent Hymn, the vice leader of Genesis, who has been observing the interaction between Absalom and Fleeting Time said with a sigh, “Absalom, why are you so terrified of Fleeting Time? If I’m not mistaken… You seem to be the Top 1 Sorcerer in the Western Continent. Don’t you think that you’re not living up to your name?”

Absalom glared at Silent Hymn, “Oh yeah? Why don’t you try picking a fight with that jinx, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Silent Hymn visibly gulped when he was reminded of his crushing defeat against Fleeting Time and shook his head, “I said nothing.”

Humans are always interested in even the tiniest bit of gossip. Some loved to gossip a lot, while others preferred only slightly less gossip. Absalom was exactly the type of man to immerse himself in the art of gossipping, while Silent Hymn was a the person who gossip slightly less than Absalom.

Of course, he would never miss an opportunity to obtain information from Absalom who was a literal gossipping hub, “Oh, by the way, I saw what was going in in the World Channel. Did Fleeting Time really lost to Gongzi You?”

“Well, According to the guys in the World Channel, Fleeting Time’s party did lost the battle, but the fight between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You as inconclusive.” Absalom immediately seized the rare opportunity to have a gossip about Fleeting Time.

Thus, the leader and vice leader of the largest guild of the Western Continent, Absalom and Silent Hymn began a long conversation in the guild encampment main square.

“Achoo!” Ye Ci let out a loud sneeze. For some reason, her ears burning with a bright shade of red after leaving the Golan Arena. With her exhaustion after her encounter with Fleeting Time, Ye Ci made the decision to head to the town hall and log out of the game.

She received a message from Green Hill’s Moon before she could enter the town hall.

“You have news for me?” Ye Ci immediately got straight to the point.

“Yup.”

“I’ll be waiting for you in my private room in the Red Lake City town hall. I’m sure you know the way.” Ye Ci sighed. It seemed that she was not able to go offline after all. In truth, Ye Ci had conflicted feelings about the news. She needed the information to prepare for her next move, but it would also mean that her comfortable life in Fate would be ending soon.

This was why Ye Ci was conflicted.

As a prominent figure in Red Lake City, Ye Ci’s room was lavishly decorated.The jewel-embedded goblet on her table, the are and expensive wine in her cabinet, and all the extravagant furniture were all telltale signs of her position in Red Lake City.

The first thing that came into Green Hill’s Moon’s eyes was Ye Ci sitting on a elegantly made chair and staring out the window. It was a rare sight to see her in such a serene state. Based on his knowledge and memory of Ye Ci, she was a violent and calculative person. It was the first time he saw her to be so serene.

Everybody has two sides. Just like how all things under the sun will cast their own shadows, the cold and calculative Gongzi You had her own soft side.

Ye Ci turned around slowly when she heard Green Hill’s Moon’s movements, “Sit. You can eat and drink anything you want.”

Green Hill’s Moon raised his eyebrows and smiled at Ye Ci, “What? You don’t seem to welcome me.”

“Exactly. You’re reminding me of how poor I am lately. You’re reminding me of how money can make even the Devil himself work for you. But I… Am a poverty-stricken peasant at the moment.” said Ye Ci with a smirk as she lifted one of the bottle of wine from a table and poured its content into a goblet on the seat opposite to hers.

The amber colored win glistened under the light. It was brilliant and dazzling.

Green Hill’s Moon was not at all courteous with Ye Ci. He immediately took his seat, and lifted the goblet. He swayed the goblet from side to side, savoring the aroma of the expensive win, “How much do you think this wine cost?”

“I can tell you that it’s not something that I can afford.” said ye Ci with a smile.

Green Hill’s Moon pursed his lips and silently gulped down the wine.

Ye Ci smiled at Green Hill’s Moon, “You acted as if you’re well-versed in the art of wine tasting with your action, just to gulp it all down anyways. It’s just…” she did not continue her sentence, but Green Hill’s Moon understood the meaning behind her words.

“So what?” Green Hill’s Moon laughed, “As long as you’re happy, all is well. Why do I have to put up airs just for show? How troublesome would that be.”

His words were like music to Ye Ci’s ears. Maybe… I’m just one of those callous people.

“Alright, let’s get to business, shall we?” Green Hill’s Moon narrowed his eyes, “Gleaming Sunshine and Thousand Sunsets have acting strangely these days.”

“They’ve been acting strangely?”

“Yup. Their behaviors were very strange.” Green Hill’s Moon nodded, “Although I’m not interested in a small fry like Gleaming Sunshine, I still did a thorough investigation on her upon your request.” he continued after a slight after staring intently at Ye CI, “And that includes her real life.”

Despite Green Hill’s Moon’s gaze, Ye Ci remained as serene as she was when he first walked into the room. It was as if she was a lifeless wax figurine that betrayed no emotion. She did not even flinch when Gleaming Sunshine’s real life identity was mentioned.

Green Hill’s Moon was impressed.

She knew that an investigation into the private life of Gleaming Sunshine would definitely lead to her identity in real life. She knew the consequences of having her real identity exposed. However, even with that knowledge in mind, she was able to remain calm.

“Gongzi You, certainly you know that if I’ve investigated the private life of Gleaming Sunshine…” said Green Hill’s Moon with a gentle tone after a slight pause, “It means that I know who you are in real life.”

Ye Ci stared at Green Hill’s Moon. She could not tell what was going on in the man’s mind, but if she remembered correctly, Green Hill’s Moon was a very trustworthy person even if he was a businessman. She was not afraid of being exposed by Green Hill’s Moon.

“So what?” said Ye Ci with a slight smile.

That’s right. So what if he knew?

Green Hill’s Moon was stunned into silence. “What? You’re not surprised?” he asked after a long moment of silence.

“Why should I?” Ye Ci paid no heed to Green Hill’s Moon’s words, “I knew that a day like this would come the first time I met you. Since I chose to trust you, I might as continue with that trust.”

Green Hill’s Moon found a whole new level of respect for Ye Ci. She exactly the opposite of what he expected her to be after acquiring her data in real life.

“What? Is the real me that much of a disappointment?”

After studying Ye Ci’s intently and making sure that her calmness was indeed genuine, Green Hill’s Moon sighed and spoke with a grimace, “It’s not that. But…”

“But what?”

“But your appearance in real life doesn’t really fit your personality in game.”

“What do you mean?” Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, “Did you investigate the wrong person or something?”

“Are you doubting my professionalism?” Green Hill’s Moon shook his head with a smile, “Are you really 19 years old?”

“Why is that?” Ye Ci smiled at Green Hill’s Moon, “Do I not look like a 19 years old to you?”

Green Hill’s Moon shook his head, “Nope, not at all. You were so shrewd and ruthless that you gave me the impression that you’re at least 29 years old. I did not expect you to be a 19 years old.”

Ye Ci laughed out loud as she stared at Green Hill’s Moon. Well, aren’t I 29 already? If I add my current age to my age in my last life, I’ll be way older than 30 years old.

“I’m sure you’re not here to talk to me about my age.” she attempted to change the topic.

“No, I’m not. Let’s just talk about Gleaming Sunshine, shall we?” Green Hill’s Moon could tell that Ye Ci was not interested in a discussion about her age as well, “Dong Yin was not the only person behind that incident that caused your injury.”

“So He Xiao was involved as well?”

“Indeed.”

Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows, and sighed after a moment of thought, “Green Hill’s Moon, there’s something that I don’t quite understand here.”

“What is it?”

“My relationship with Thousand Sunsets is bad, but we’re not exactly going at each other’s throat as well. Why would he intervene in Dong Yin’s stead? Was it because she’s his girlfriend?” Ye Ci shook her head, “Based on what I know about Thousand Sunsets, he’ll never sacrifice his benefit for a woman. Even if I’ve been ignoring him in-game, as long as open conflict does not break out between us, there’s still a chance that we can work together. So why did he do such a thing?”

“Have you heard of the saying ‘to choose the lesser of both evils’?”, Green Hill’s Moon responded with a question of his own.

“Of course I’ve heard of it, but what does it have to do with this?”

“Because you’re the lesser evil.”

“Oh?” Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. Her interest was piqued by Green Hill’s Moon’s statement.

“Do you remember the weird thing going on between Thousand Sunsets and Gleaming Sunshine that I was talking about?”

“I do.”

Hiya minna-san! Here's another awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel translated by an awesomtacular translator, Jimminx(that's me, by the way)! Hope you people enjoyed the chapter!

So how's everybody doing? I watched The Predator with some friends yesterday, and I have to say that I was not quite satisfied. It felt as if they're screwing the lore over. It's just like the recent Alien movie! I mean, the action is cool and all, but it's confusing the hell out of me! Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't humanity quite ignorant of the Yautja and xenomorphs until space travel is a thing?

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