Star Gate

“What nonsense are you cooking up now, Li Hao?” someone chuckled outside the door. Accompanied by Manager Yu, Hou Xiaochen walked in with his hands behind his back. He was smiling, but looked like he wanted to kill the young man when he looked at Li Hao. What do you think you’re doing, kid?!

“Director!” The assembly snapped to attention. Their superior officer was here.

“I’m seeking a future for our brothers, director!” Li Hao chuckled. “You know how much I’ve collected lately. I have no place to spend all of this extra wealth. Money is money only when it’s spent. It’s just worthless rocks if not! Here I am, wanting to fight for some extra benefits for everyone because we’re colleagues.”

“Then you can just outright give it away!” Hou Xiaochen curved his lips in a half smile.

“I’d like to, but Silver Moon martial masters are not the sort to accept handouts. I know everyone and understand everyone. People won’t be able to accept something that I hand out for free. It will leave an internal demon in their hearts!”

No it won’t! The group roared internally. It won’t create internal demons, you can just give it to us!

But how could they voice those sentiments after Li Hao spoke those words? Were they supposed to be so thick-skinned as to say that they loved handouts? It wasn’t like they were all He Yong…

Ahem, He Yong wouldn’t take handouts either. He would fight for another so long as he was paid.

Hou Xiaochen had nothing to say. What was he supposed to say to that?

“Right, Commander Li is right.” Mu Lin smiled awkwardly. “Our brothers aren’t like that. We come by our gains only after putting forth the required effort. We should adhere to this spirit of ancient martial dao!”

“You hear it too, director.” Li Hao spread his hands with resignation. “So… can I not give thought to everyone’s heart of martial dao?”

“……” Hou Xiaochen looked at him for a very long time. “You can just give it to me…”

“It would be a waste on the director!” Li Hao sighed. “Mysterious power stones aren’t of much use to you and they wouldn’t be converted to battle strength in the short term. We need time, but we happen to be short on time!”

Hou Xiaochen wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes! This little bastard’s trying to steal my Guards!

His thoughts flew rapidly and he said slowly after coming to some conclusions, “Are you really going to establish a Skystar Commander Office?”

“Eh?” Li Hao blinked. “Didn’t you say that yourself, director?”

Hou Xiaochen was truly speechless. That’s what I said, but I didn’t mean to actually establish a place. I just wanted to hang my hat somewhere. So it sounds like you’re really going to conduct an epic undertaking and not leave after that?

“I am currently focused on being alert against certain powerhouses,” he said after a while. “I do not have sufficient time to oversee this. The nine ministries and royal family will show certain upheaval in the days to come…”

He looked at Mu Lin and the rest, searching his thoughts again. “If they are willing… it is fine that they join your Demon Hunters. But you must promise one thing…”

“What?”

“You cannot needlessly send them to their deaths.” Hou Xiaochen looked at Li Hao. “You are too much in the public eye, which is both a good and a bad thing. At the moment, however, your strength isn’t enough to support your arrogance. You can run away if you encounter danger, but they aren’t able to!”

It was actually a great idea for these people to follow Li Hao. The young man had money, methods, and could teach them the true path to Summoner of Spirit. The road that Hou Xiaochen and the rest walked was not suited for universal adoption. It was a way meant for elites! Only the greatest among martial masters could learn it, whereas Li Hao had mentioned that it was possible to popularize Summoner of Spirit.

Hou Xiaochen didn’t mind the young man trying to steal his people, just that the boy made enemies too quickly. He could get away, but the Silver Moon Guards could not.

“You have operated by yourself thus far and have no ties concerning you apart from your master. You are brazen and unscrupulous. A true general, Li Hao, does not abandon his comrades! You led troops in Silver Moon, if only a few dozen of them. But you had them stay in Silver Moon, likely because you know full well how dangerous your enemies are…

“When you really lead one thousand, you must remember that they are people, martial masters, comrades, and colleagues. They’re not just your subordinates or tools. Therefore, you must consider their safety and future. This might be a limitation placed on you!”

Would it be good or bad?

“You worry about too much, director!” Li Hao laughed. “I understand things quite well that in this day and age, we have to put everything on the line in order to break free of our place in society. If we wish to do something or become outstanding, then full effort is required! They can come if they wish to take this risk and put in hard work, or they can decide not to.

“I will consider them when possible, but I am not a nanny. Risks are inevitable in our line of work. If I lose, I will do my best to arrange a way out for everyone. But if the situation is impossible, I might run away…”

Hou Xiaochen frowned slightly at him.

“This is putting our lives on the line to fight for our future!” Li Hao remarked calmly. “I don’t know what the future holds or if the path ahead is this dark, and I also don’t know what will happen to me in the future. It might be good, it might be bad. A general achieves his success on a mountain of ten thousand bleached skeletons! People will eventually die, director. It’s up to everyone to see if it was worth it!”

The young man turned to the martial masters. “Martial masters are carefree in Silver Moon’s martial world. They are unrestrained in both manner and style of living. They also pursue strength, but martial masters also have motivation. We can give it a try if there’s motivation, but leave it behind if you are afraid of death!”

It was deathly quiet on the premises. Hou Xiaochen looked at Li Hao for a while before saying, “Everyone is free to make their own decisions, I will not interfere! You cannot be a deserter since Silver Moon invested a great deal for everyone’s current accomplishments. But if you wish to be a Demon Hunter and join the Skystar Commander Office, there is no problem with that.”

“Everyone can do as they see fit!” Li Hao smiled. “I won’t force anyone to join me. The heart is the most important and nothing forcefully done is agreeable. For instance, I wouldn’t agree to it if Manager Yu wanted to join me right now…”

Manager Yu blinked, looked at Li Hao, then at Hou Xiaochen. She kept her eyes fixed on the latter. Never!

The assembly held in their laughter. Hou Xiaochen was extremely speechless. They were talking about proper business, but that little bastard just had to touch on Little Yu. What did he mean by that?

“You handle those nobles first!” Hou Xiaochen didn’t want to continue the conversation.

“No problem!” Li Hao laughed heartily. He could now freely stand in front of Hou Xiaochen and talk with ease. This was a kind of confidence and a sign that he knew his true heart.

When he decided to leave Silver Moon and visit Skystar City, he’d felt that he didn’t need to fear anything. Whether it was danger or death, his heart saw the path ahead.

I know that I should probably do something, so there is no need for me to be afraid. If I can face myself and my original intentions, then I have no need to fear anyone. When even death does not give rise to fear, what else can I be afraid of?

Nothing at all!

Perhaps it is as you said, teacher. There is no need to consider what other people may be thinking. It is enough if I want to take action.

Everyone had their own path to walk. Living a carefree life of freedom and taking revenge in a dashing manner was one such way. But perhaps I, Li Hao, want to leave something behind in this process. Maybe there will be those who remember the great Li Hao of Silver Moon!

Perhaps the leader of the ninth troop of Battle Heaven would no longer assess him with such poor marks the next time they saw each other. Perhaps he could stand up straight the next time he saw Hong Yitang and casually tell him that, “Little Hong, you won’t do. You shrink in on yourself and cower within Silver Moon. I have seen the world and still retain a clear sense of self after my travels. This isn’t a revenge plot or a rescue mission. My heart is turned to the light—killing others or hatred didn’t send me to hell.”

How proud he was of that!

……

Li Hao walked forward with pride, moving as if a dragon or tiger. He was no longer the timid and cautious innocent hidden in the shadows. There seemed to be a ferocious tiger superimposed on his body. A tiger bounded through the mountain forests, loftily overlooking the mountain ranges around it.

Hou Xiaochen was watching him. He’d been watching for a while and uncertain of how to describe the feelings in his heart. Li Hao had changed so incredibly much in one short month. He’d tried to persuade the young man to come with him to the central region. Li Hao had spent a long time thinking about it, grappling with the idea before ultimately deciding to stay.

Hou Xiaochen had been slightly disappointed, but also resigned. Yet, here Li Hao was a month later, and he seemed to be someone entirely different. The man suddenly felt rather lost.

Manager Yu was watching Li Hao as well and said softly, “He seems like someone…”

Hou Xiaochen blinked. Who?

“Yuan Shuo! Yuan Shuo of twenty years ago…” Manager Yu said softly. “This was how he was then, incomparably domineering and running rampant through the world. Perhaps his strength wasn’t the greatest beneath the heavens, but he dared challenge heroes from the four corners! He felt that a man should be without fear in both life and death. Master and disciple are becoming ever similar to each other!”

Yuan Shuo?

Hou Xiaochen blinked, thinking back on things. Was that so? He’d almost forgotten the old man. Had Yuan Shuo been like this back in the day?

“Ah, he has something else that Yuan Shuo didn’t have…” Manager Yu continued.

“What?”

“He… looks a bit better than Yuan Shuo…”

Hou Xiaochen blinked, staring at her. “Who do you think looks better, me or Ying Hongyue?”

“……” Manager Yu looked at him with confusion and surprise. The director… was crazy, was he not?

You’re obviously not as good looking as him…

“The director is masculine and he is feminine, so of course he’s less than the director!”

Hou Xiaochen thought silently for a bit. Was that so? But… if I remember correctly, I was called Sickly. Everyone said that Sickly was unmatched when it came to feminine qualities, so when did I become masculine?

This response is so fake!

etvolare’s Thoughts

HXC needs to marry YLC already.