QT: Against My Will

247 4.69 – Reunion – Dangerous Angels

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“A simple push to break a soul apart,

thrice the effort for it to recover.”

~ The HeadQuarters

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Bing Shi wouldn’t step as low as to bow on all fours before Fei Lan. Especially after she got to know that Fei Lan didn’t hold such a deep place in Zhao Rong’s heart.

Zhao Rong, the notorious demon, was backed up by the heroic image of a War God and his constant wins. This villainous second male lead was more capable than the current’s world male lead. Everything went his way, so not many could notice.

Bing Shi, however, would compare him to a gambling addict, who craved war the way someone craved drugs or other substances. Despite being capable of having a loving relationship, he would forget his loved ones on the first notion, without any hesitation, since fighting for new territory seemed to be the most important thing in his eyes.

She tried to help him regain a sense of control, and perhaps help him heal his damaged relationships and finances. Wasn’t Fei Lan’s death enough? How much more losses until he admitted he had a problem?

.....

Not much different from a prior gambling addict, he would continue to ruin all the people around him, even if he didn’t mean to.

Zhao Rong wanted to make the world united under his rule and his ‘peace’ when people from each kingdom had their own traditions, laws, religions, and ideologies? It might work if these kingdoms were in a dreadful need of a new ruler. These kingdoms, however, had pretty capable monarchs, according to Bing Shi, who had been investigating this world for the past few years.

Imagine a herd of animals, each one an alpha of different tribes, together in one pen, and try to have them live peacefully together. Good luck with that. People separated and created their own packs for a reason.

After Zhao Rong’s second loss, the military strength of the Rania kingdom dwindled in size. The officials finally noticed that he was bringing their flourishing kingdom into a path of destruction, pleading their demonic prince to buy the Black Sky army so that other countries wouldn’t take advantage of their dire situation.

They even requested, yes, requested, not ordered, a famous courtesan to try to get on Black Sky leader’s good side, knowing how Ru Quan was a Red Light District enthusiast.

Was Zhao Rong’s title as a prince a joke to them? It was the first time when Zhao Rong realized that his death threats and warnings could leave an opposite effect as those officials would respond with even greater threats and warnings. His constant departures caused these officials to gain the power to stake their own demands.

House arrest at its finest. Zhao Rong was forced to stay back and do his duties as a prince.

After making sure his health stabilized, nobody could stop Bing Shi from fleeing the country to pay back all her debts. She refused to recover Zhao Rong’s image unless he stopped invading other kingdoms, raising yet another red flag for herself in exchange to cure his addiction.

These officials had no idea that the said courtesan was the one who asked Ru Quan to survey her competitors’ brothels, to see if anyone could rival Eliaros.

Ru Quan had to say that the brothels in the Zeku kingdom were of the lowest quality; it reflected men’s demands when it came to what they considered as hot. Anything besides sweaty men smelled heavenly to them, make-up was a type of expensive art they didn’t understand and anything that showed them care and attention asked to be loved. Often, they were fine as long as it had a vagina. He didn’t look down on these women that strived to live; sometimes, he would stumble on a gem among the mud, considering whether to send another Lyra to Bing Shi or not.

This particular action caused many to offer their beautiful, skilled, young daughters to this unusual warlord.

With his dreaded tactics, he held the fate of one’s existence. One time he could fight alongside you, the other times... You better start to pray for always having him on your side. Seeing him on the opposite side of a battlefield was a sign that your end was near. During an assault, the feeling could be described to that of a grim reaper, standing above you, ready to reap your soul.

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Out of convenience, Hasan’s slave shop became Tian Shi’s research center. To protect the Lyras, Bing Shi provided them with a prototype similar to a condom, made out of rubber, invented by a group of slaves. She wasn’t the one bringing new products to this world; it should pass the restriction, right? It would take her decades until she finishes going through all the world law’s conditions.

If Bing Shi knew that it was only because she went ‘a bit’ overboard the last time she searched for Xuan Mu, she would flip a table at the HQ. Afraid of her, were they? Stalling time for Fei Lan, were they? And here she thought that the sky would open, the lighting would burn the land while the sea would wash everything away, just to get rid of her traces.

Worth a try, Xuan Mu thought it would be hilarious if it happened just because of one condom.

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Inside a carriage, the half-naked Zhao Rong stared numbly at the ceiling; an eye patch covered his empty eye socket on his left side of the face as he side glanced at the Twins at his right, “Are you trying to overthrow this prince?”

“Would your Highness give the title of a Queen to this subject if I asked for it? If not, the hard work this subject would need to put into it is not worth it.” Bing Shi munched on a sweet potato as she watched how Gu Min changed his bandages with shaking hands, “Your Highness can keep your position.”

“Ugh!” Gu Min almost threw up from the smell of blood and the gory wounds across his whole body while her twin sister was casually filling her tummy with sweet potatoes?! To save Zhao Rong, they came in the middle of a graveyard where thousands of dead soldiers were pilled up upon each other!

Handling the crying Gu Min a throwing bag, Bing Shi blinked at her food, ignoring the malicious aura of the silent battle-field, she promised not to skip meals. The smell of rotten meat and mountains of dead bodies was something she came to contact with on a daily basis.

[Host, Zhao Rong is now linked to you. He’ll be able to find you wherever you are.]

[“?...”]

[“Kuro, shall we put him under House arrest?”]

[We shall.]

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A few weeks of stalking was enough for Bing Shi to decipher Zhao Rong’s character and a bit of Fei Lan’s.

Why did he agree to share Mao An, Tian Shi but not Fei Lan?

Mao An was the most genuine among them; in the past, he would sometimes think about her well being and future, which gave him no excuse to force his way with her whenever he felt horny or angry though.

Courtesans weren’t genuine, and Tian Shi was sure to let him know that. Her goals were transparent; she had no problems voicing out her thoughts and opinions in her specific way, gaining his liking in exchange.

As for Fei Lan...

He should have killed Tian Shi for what she’s done to Fei Lan. But him doing nothing was like giving her permission.

Fei Lan didn’t love him, and he felt it. She faked her affection, similar to his deceased wives. Finding her mystical skills interesting, he tried to find out what were her schemes and purpose. Despite all, she was a great lover and helper, a pity she couldn’t stimulate his brain like a certain courtesan.

The tests and trials were all Bing Shi’s fault; they became Zhao Rong’s new kink. Compared to before when one bigger mistake could get Bing Shi killed, he could control himself a lot better, he didn’t mean to injure Fei Lan and he never did so even after he lost a fortune to a particular courtesan. It was his unique way of having fun. If Mao An came to contact with him sooner like Bing Shi, that poor female lead wouldn’t have survived until the next morning, ending up like his deceased wives.

So how did he decide to punish Tian Shi for killing his lover? He wanted to take away the thing she loved the most. All her money and gold would be confiscated and contributed to his army.

Zhao Rong kept Bing Shi as his pawn. In most people’s eyes, she was only a courtesan who squeezed men out of money. But he knew better. She increased Rania’s economy behind the scenes. If she lost everything, she’d be rendered useless. But she turned the table around and turned him into an accomplice in murder while Fei Lan into a culprit. Like this, she proved her strength.

If Bing Shi didn’t do anything, Fei Lan would keep stealing her stuff without anyone’s notice; all her hard work would go to naught. Standing in her way to reach her goal? Then, Fei Lan better be dead.