Harvey Li looked over at Evan Lin, his eyes full of playful curiosity.
He didn’t know Evan Lin well, but he’d heard a bit about that Moonshade mission from before.
He knew someone from the Ancient-Martial Rowe clan had gone out causing trouble, clashing with Nightstar, which ended up spiraling out of Nightstar’s control.
To solve the mess, Moonshade issued a task—anyone in Nightstar who could handle it would get fast-track admission into Moonshade.
Back then, Harvey Li thought about giving it a shot, but after asking around, he found out the Rowe guy was apparently a third-grade Pointing-to-Mystery master, so he chickened out and didn’t dare go.
Plus, he wasn’t actually part of Nightstar, so even if he solved it, he wasn’t sure Moonshade would really let him in. With so much uncertainty, Harvey just gave up on the opportunity.
He never expected a young guy would end up completing the mission.
Afterwards, for quite a while, Harvey tried to dig up the boy’s identity, but whether it was Hidden Dragon’s hint or Moonshade and Nightstar’s mutual agreement, the kid who finished the task stayed a total mystery.
Harvey asked around, but never got a clear answer, so he just let it go.
He never imagined that kid would actually get recruited by Moonshade, snatching his quota and leaving him out of Moonshade this year.
That left Harvey Li stewing with resentment for a long time, totally dissatisfied.
Now, Harvey looked at Evan Lin and grinned, his gaze openly full of provocation.
Inside the helicopter, the atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
Yvette Ye frowned and glanced at Jenna Jiang, signaling her to stop Harvey from talking further.
After all, Jenna Jiang and Harvey Li were much closer than with Yvette.
But Jenna ignored Yvette’s look, just sat there, relaxed and silent, joining Harvey in watching Evan.
She was curious too—curious if this kid would get scared by something Harvey said.
The Ancient-Martial Rowe clan was a real powerhouse. Even with Moonshade backing him, if the Rowe Patriarch really wanted payback, it’d be easy to set a trap, kill with one strike, and erase all traces.
For an Ancient Martial Clan, that’s barely even a challenge.
“You tell him, and then what?”
Evan Lin spoke calmly, meeting Harvey’s gaze with a perfectly normal expression—not even a hint of fear.
Harvey frowned a bit, and even Jenna Jiang glanced at Evan, surprised.
That kind of reaction was way too ordinary.
Harvey’s point was to have the Rowe Patriarch come after him—did this kid seriously not get it?
“Ancient Martial Clan folks aren’t exactly known for their tempers. If the Rowe Patriarch finds out you got into Moonshade by beating their people and stepping on the Rowe clan’s face, you think he won’t go ballistic?”
Harvey looked at Evan, explaining as he went, his face full of malicious smiles.
“If I told you, the Rowe Patriarch would have to bow respectfully to me if he showed up in front of me—would you still be smiling so happily?”
Evan spoke lightly, absolutely unruffled.
Harvey was stunned by Evan’s words—he hadn’t expected Evan to say something like that right now.
“You’re saying the Rowe Patriarch would bow to you?”
Jenna Jiang frowned, looking at Evan like he was an idiot. “Are you serious?”
“You can’t just say stuff like that—if the Rowe clan hears about it, just that one sentence is enough for them to come after you!”
Jenna’s tone turned cold.
She really looked down on Evan for talking big with nothing to back it up.
“You sure know how to crack jokes.”
Harvey’s expression kept shifting, then he snorted. “I heard there was some fearless kid who charged alone into the Rowe clan’s estate.”
“That kid never made another sound—probably got buried in the Rowe clan for good.”
“Don’t tell me you’re claiming you were that kid—went solo into the Rowe clan, beat up the whole Ancient Martial Clan top to bottom, made their patriarch respect you, then just strolled out and showed up in front of me?”
Harvey stared oddly at Evan.
Even as he said it, Harvey himself felt how absurd the whole thing sounded.
Jenna Jiang stared at Evan Lin without blinking.
If this kid didn’t look so confident, she wouldn’t even bother listening to his nonsense.
But now, after Harvey finished talking, Jenna was even more curious—curious how Evan would weasel his way out of this lie.
“Nope.”
Evan shook his head.
Seeing that, Harvey’s expression finally relaxed a bit. “See? I knew it—that’s just impossible.”
“Yvette, before we reach the Mysterious Ruins, you really ought to make this kid watch his mouth.”
Jenna felt oddly relieved too, then glanced at Yvette.
But Yvette didn’t say anything, just kept staring at Evan, lost in thought.
Before Jenna and Harvey could keep talking—
“I wasn’t alone—I had a girl with me back then.”
Evan’s calm voice sounded again, and as it reached Jenna and Harvey, their nerves instantly tensed up all over again.
Both of them looked sharply at Evan, watching him sit there.
“Other than that, everything you said—the solo trip, beating up the Rowe clan top to bottom, making their patriarch apologize to me—you guessed all of it.”
“So, does that make you feel clever? Aren’t you honored to meet me?”
Evan smiled, squinting at Harvey. “That Rowe Patriarch you see as untouchable is nothing but an ant or a grasshopper to me—easy to crush.”
“If even the Rowe Patriarch can be tossed around in your words, what right do you have to brag in front of me?”
“Did Liang Jingru give you the courage?”