Quinn Shepherd shook out the "sweat towel," inspected the fabric, and said, "I always thought you smelled nice and familiar. Turns out we use the same kind of cloth."
Lynn Ling saw the "sweat towel," and her cheeks instantly flushed bright red. She snatched it from his hands, both embarrassed and angry. "That's mine! How did it end up with you? And you even use it as a sweat towel! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
The girl stomped off in a huff, squatted atop the dragon's head, rested her chin in her hands, and gazed into the distance.
Quinn was stunned. "That was your sweat towel?"
"It's not a sweat towel!"
Lynn Ling snapped, "It's mine, it's mine... I'm not talking to you!"
"If it's not a sweat towel, then what is it?"
Quinn looked puzzled. "Crippled Joe gave this to me, said it was for wiping sweat. I thought the fabric was nice, so I kept it on me. If it's yours, I'll give it back—no need to get mad."
Lynn Ling tossed the chest wrap down in a huff. "Even if you give it back, I don't want it!"
Quinn sent out a surge of yuanqi, picked up the chest wrap, and laughed, "If you throw it away, someone else might pick it up and use it to wipe their sweat. You might as well let me have it—I'm always sweating when I train."
Lynn Ling pouted angrily, "Give it back!"
Quinn was even more baffled. "If I give it back, you'll just throw it away again. What's the point? Might as well let me use it to wipe my sweat..."
Lynn Ling hurriedly snatched it back, thought for a moment, then handed him a handkerchief. "This is a girl's thing. Doesn't it embarrass you, a big guy, to use it? Here, this scented handkerchief is made of heavenly silk, and I embroidered the design myself. You can use it to wipe your sweat."
Quinn took the handkerchief and saw a crooked pig's head embroidered on it. He laughed, "That's an ugly embroidery."
Lynn Ling grew both annoyed and anxious, reaching out to snatch it back. "If you don't want it, then give it back!"
Quinn quickly tucked it away, walked over, and sat down beside her. "You took my sweat towel, so it's only fair you give me something in return. Mine was bigger, yours is smaller, so honestly, I'm the one at a loss here."
The sun was already high in the sky. The early spring sunlight was sweet and warm. Quinn felt utterly content, lying back and gazing at the slow-drifting white clouds overhead.
Lynn Ling blinked and asked, "Do you think that chubby Lord Marcus looks good?"
Quinn thought for a moment. "I guess he's alright, but he's way too effeminate—doesn't look like a man, more like a woman."
Lynn Ling couldn't help but laugh, smoothing the hair over her chest. With a mischievous smile, she asked, "Then do you think I'm good-looking?"
Quinn looked at her seriously. "Your face is a bit chubby, but you're still pretty cute."
Lynn Ling was satisfied, then asked curiously, "You killed Felix Fu's son—why didn't you escape the city, but came back instead?"
"I came back because I have something to do."
Quinn closed his eyes and said calmly, "The Everpeace Empire's army is about to arrive here. I came back to resist their invasion."
Lynn Ling's heart trembled slightly, her expression grew serious, and she said slowly, "You know you're just throwing an egg at a stone, right? Besides, what's so bad about being ruled by the Everpeace Empire? Their people live in peace and prosperity, all the sects obey the court, everything is orderly, no wars—just a few minor disputes. Isn't that better than the Great Ruins? The Great Ruins is such a chaotic place: people barely survive, fighting and killing every day, never knowing where their next meal comes from. When I came here, I saw countless families selling their children—it's tragic. The Everpeace army is a righteous force. You should stop resisting and welcome King Everpeace's troops."
Quinn opened his eyes, his gaze deep. "People from the Great Ruins don't want to live here either. But I've heard that we're called 'people abandoned by the gods.' If we leave the Ruins, the Everpeace border guards either capture and execute us, or sell us as slaves to mine until we're dead in a few years."
He sat up, fingers interlaced on his knees, and said calmly, "They want a better life too, but if they go to Everpeace, they die even faster. It's better to stay in the Ruins, where at least you can barely survive. If the Everpeace Empire conquers the Ruins, what will happen to us 'abandoned people'? Will they kill us or enslave us?"
"Yuxiu, the emperor and Imperial Preceptor of Everpeace don't care about the people here—they want the land, the forsaken land. The abandoned people live in the forsaken land, facing nightly darkness and constant dangers when hunting, but at least we can survive, and our children can survive. If Everpeace rules here, even that chance is gone."
Lynn Ling was stunned. She'd never considered this before. She always thought Everpeace was righteous, never imagining what life here was really like.
She couldn't help but say, "Do you know? If you go up against the Everpeace army, you're doomed. There's no way you'll survive!"
Quinn broke into a bright, confident smile and looked east. "No! The emperor and Imperial Preceptor of Everpeace will hit a wall here, they'll be defeated. They have no idea what awaits them on this mysterious land! The legend of Everpeace's invincibility ends here!"
Lynn Ling stood up angrily. "You're so stubborn! You'll definitely die in this city—why bother?"
Quinn stood up and met her gaze. "For the abandoned people, going to Everpeace means certain death. If Everpeace invades and takes this land, the abandoned people will die for sure. If not resisting means death, but resisting offers a sliver of hope—why shouldn't we fight back?"
Lynn Ling was flustered by his stare. She climbed down from the dragon's head, stood on the platform, looked back at him, and said through gritted teeth, "I'm from Everpeace. I came here to help occupy the Great Ruins and turn it into Everpeace territory."
Quinn nodded.
Lynn Ling said, "I could never betray Everpeace. Anyone who opposes Everpeace is my enemy!"
Quinn nodded again. "I'm an abandoned person—I could never betray the Great Ruins either."
Lynn Ling turned and walked toward the steps at the edge of the stone platform. Her figure vanished, but her voice echoed from the stone pillars: "If I meet you on the battlefield, I won't show any mercy!"
Quinn gazed into the distance, where clouds of dust rose like mist, rolling over a hundred li toward them. He whispered, "Me neither."
In the mist, thousands of giant beasts cleared the way. These creatures were as massive as mountains, with long tusks and bodies covered in bone armor. They carried heavy loads but moved quickly, their bone plates clattering as they walked.
Following the giant beasts was a vast army, banners waving, the air thick with killing intent. War chariots rolled through the center of the ranks, and tower-ships soared overhead.
The decks of the tower-ships were packed with soldiers. At each ship's heart, a dozen alchemists worked furiously to refine elixirs, while young assistants fed the finished pills into the ship's furnace core.
As the pills were thrown into the furnace, they erupted into wild magical power, which surged into the ship's twin blower-beast sculptures at the stern. The beasts spewed violent streams of air, lifting the tower-ships and propelling them forward.
The Everpeace army advanced from the border forts—and this was just the vanguard. Even greater forces were gathering behind them!
There, the banner of the Imperial Preceptor flew.
Quinn watched the Everpeace army draw closer, his heart sinking. Every soldier was a seasoned warrior—the so-called 'tiger-and-wolf army' was just like this.
Faced with such an army, even Dragoncrest City, which seemed so solid, looked like a mere speck—easily crushed.
"Everpeace..." Quinn murmured, suppressing the tremor in his heart.
The Village Chief once said that Everpeace was a sect disguised as a nation. Quinn saw that a country truly was stronger, more cohesive, and more explosive than any sect.
When a sect becomes a nation—with a tight organization, a complete bureaucracy, and schools to train the next generation—how powerful would that be?
Becoming a nation is the ultimate goal for any sect!
Inside the City Lord's Manor, Granny Sue—wearing Felix Fu's skin—stood with her hands behind her back. Eight Heavenly Gods appeared behind her, radiating Felix Fu's boldness and dominance. She thought, "The Imperial Preceptor of Everpeace has finally arrived..."
At the gambling house entrance, Grandpa Blind stood leaning on his staff, listening intently to the approaching march.
At the market, a butcher with only an upper body was sharpening his knife with a hiss. In the next street's bookstore, Deaf—with iron ears—was painting in the courtyard, his brush over a zhang long. Deaf painted with wild abandon; suddenly he lifted his brush and a thundercloud painting, several zhang wide, soared into the sky.
The painting vanished into the sky, and in an instant, thunderclouds gathered. Countless bolts of lightning crashed down from above.