Translated by: pokka

  Editor: Reckeva

  “I don’t mind, but I want to know whether it’s you or the Third Prince who’s looking for me.” Bai Xiaofei’s eyes grew sharp as he closely scrutinized the mysterious man.

  “Is there a difference?” asked the man, his doubt clear in his voice.

  “Of course there is,” asserted Bai Xiaofei as he smiled.

  “What if I said it was me looking for you?” The man gave an ambiguous answer.

  “Choose a place to talk.” That answer was enough for Bai Xiaofei, who decided to put away his plan to hang around the city. If this played out as he expected, the opportunity he had waited for was here!

  Following the lead of the mysterious man, the two arrived at a remote noodle restaurant with only three tables. The shop owner was an uncle with one arm, and the helper was a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old.

  “Boss, two bowls of plain noodles.” The mysterious man took off his hood, revealing an approachable uncle’s face, with sparse stubble that made him look a bit worn-out.

  “I didn’t expect a handsome uncle, I thought there was something unsightly that needed to be hidden.” Bai Xiaofei sighed with surprise before turning to the shop owner. “Add four more bowls please, two is not enough.”


  Since we’re eating, we should at least have enough to feel something in my stomach, right? Not to mention there’s this uncle too……

  “Oh? Is that the vibe I give people? No wonder I’m always unpopular with girls. Seems like I have to reduce wearing a hood in the future. I even thought it looked cool.” The mysterious uncle laughed.

  From an outsider’s point of view, they were like old friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

  “Uncle, I still don’t know your name yet, but you already know mine,” Bai Xiaofei asked a seemingly insignificant question, but the expectation in his eyes was far from the case.

  “Names are just a label. You can just call me uncle.” Uncle chose not to answer.

  “Further communication between us is impossible then. Your treat will be in vain.” His hands folding in front of his chest, Bai Xiaofei looked like he would not say another word.

  “Your noodles!” Amidst the silence, the little girl and the shop owner came up with a tray. Six noodle bowls were set on the table one by one. “This is a side dish, please enjoy.”


  The amount of noodles was sufficient, the shop owner was particularly enthusiastic, and the little girl was well-behaved and lovely.

  “Thank you.” Giving them his thanks, Bai Xiaofei gave two bowls to Huskie and Blackie, then picked up his chopsticks and started the performance.

  While Uncle was still in a daze, Bai Xiaofei had already finished two bowls and was pulling the third towards himself.

  No wonder you wanted more. You can eat ten bowls at this rate!

  “He Tian, my name,” Uncle slowly said. Bai Xiaofei revealed a smile.

  “Now that’s how you do it. Bai Xiaofei, nice to meet you.” Swallowing the noodles in his mouth, Bai Xiaofei extended his right hand and looked at He Tian expectantly.

  He Tian sighed. He extended his hand as well and gave a gentle shake.

  “I remember last time you said that you came here for a mission on the Starnet Ranking. I guess the progress hasn’t gone very well?” After the foundation of communication was built, He Tian got straight to the point.

  “It’s going okay. I made a mistake, but I’m still quite confident,” replied Bai Xiaofei with a smile, not trying to hide anything.

  “Just stop here. This troubled water is not for you guys. I know that you have made a lot of noise in Starnet recently, but this is completely different from the academy. Some things are not as simple as you think.”


  When He Tian finished, Bai Xiaofei didn’t show a surprised expression as he imagined, but slowly raised his head to look at him.

  “I have no such plan. I’ve finally found muddied water to jump in, I can’t climb out just like that. What’s more, I can’t leave even if I want to at this point. Those who left today were all violently shoved back. I don’t want to be the next unlucky fellow,” Bai Xiaofei remarked. He Tian subconsciously frowned.

  “I can ask the Third Prince to send people to protect you and ensure that you’ll leave Nabu City safely.” He Tian was unusually solemn. He had already come up with a path of retreat for Bai Xiaofei.

  “Can you tell me why? Why do you want us to leave, and why do you come here to say all this to a stranger?” Bai Xiaofei stared fixedly at He Tian, not wanting to miss the slightest change on his face.

  “I want you to leave because I know how horrifying the Thunderstorm Bandits are. The reason why I want to help you is because I am a graduate of Starnet. Before I graduated, several of my good friends died on a mission because of my arrogance. I just don’t want you to make the same mistake as me. There are many missions on the Starnet Ranking, you don’t have to risk the safety of you and your companions on something impossible.”


  He Tian’s eyes never moved from Bai Xiaofei when he said this. There was not a single hint of guilt. At least, Bai Xiaofei didn’t see any.

  “You’re my senior, then. This little one has been impolite. I won’t leave, though. However, you can rest assured that I’m not an arrogant person. I guarantee to bring everyone back to the academy safely!” Putting down his chopsticks, Bai Xiaofei drank the last bowl of noodle soup.

  “You will really regret it,” stressed He Tian as his brows creased, but Bai Xiaofei remained unbudged.

  “Maybe, but I will regret it even more if I just leave like this.” With a smile, Bai Xiaofei made He Tian give up on persuading him any more.

  “Alright, but if you change your mind, you can come to me at any time. As long as it’s not the last minute, I can get you out safely. But I’ll have no way if you get in too deep.” In the end, He Tian still left Bai Xiaofei a chance.

  “Senior, how much do you know about the Thunderstorm Bandits?” asked Bai Xiaofei suddenly. His eyes showed that he wouldn’t welcome a refusal to answer.

  “A lot, but I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. Don’t ask me why, I won’t tell you either.” He Tian gave Bai Xiaofei a glimmer of hope, then personally put it out.

  “What is your relationship with the Thunderstorm Bandits?” Bai Xiaofei stared at He Tian, his expression unprecedentedly serious.

  He Tian slowly inhaled a deep breath and then turned to the shop owner who was playing with his daughter.

  “Do you think they are pitiful?”


  This suddenly, seemingly irrelevant question startled Bai Xiaofei.

  “There are many such people on the continent. They work at the bottom and live an even harder life than this, but not many people care about them. Their only hope is that miracles would be upon them one day. Isn’t that ridiculous?” He Tian chuckled wryly and placed a gold coin on the table. “There is only so much I can do, but some people can do more……”