Chapter 438: Meeting Fang Lei Again; the Purpose of the Thunderstorm Bandits!
Chapter 438: Meeting Fang Lei Again; the Purpose of the Thunderstorm Bandits!
Chapter 438: Meeting Fang Lei Again; the Purpose of the Thunderstorm Bandits!
Translated by: pokka
Editor: Reckeva
As Tang Bing’s new identity was gradually accepted by the people, the preparation for the enthronement ceremony was in full swing.
When the preparation entered its final stage, Tang Bing released an announcement.
On the day of his accession to the throne, he would use a grade-nine pill – the Skypatch Pill, which would not only let him advance in power but also mark a good beginning, to show his determination to lead Ancient Yue to a new peak.
The whole imperial city was shaken. Not at Tang Bing’s plan, but at the legendary grade-nine pill!
However, Bai Xiaofei read between the lines and understood Tang Bing’s intent. The guy had no intention of letting the Thunderstorm Bandits off. He released this bait to lure them into showing up!
This gave Bai Xiaofei some expectations. Since the well-prepared Tang Bing would definitely turn the ceremony into a huge quagmire, barging into it was simply unrealistic and the only result would be death. Therefore, if there was no surprise, the Thunderstorm Bandits would definitely ask for help.
And looking around, Bai Xiaofei was the only one who could help them!
In other words, he now had the opportunity to confront as well as explain to the Thunderstorm Bandits. In fact, Bai Xiaofei couldn’t care less about them. After all, they could only be regarded as enemies. However, the existence of Nie Qing forced him to give them some consideration.
To thoroughly hurt a woman was something he couldn’t live with. This might be Bai Xiaofei’s only weakness...
Sure enough, in the end, Bai Xiaofei’s expectation wasn’t wrong. On the night before the upcoming ceremony, Bai Xiaofei saw the person he wanted to see – Fang Lei.
Unlike before, Fang Lei hadn’t come to fight this time, even though his eyes towards Bai Xiaofei were still full of hostility...
“You knew I would come?” Looking at a smiling Bai Xiaofei, Fang Lei’s brow furrowed. The feeling of being seen through irritated him.
“I didn’t know, I only hoped for it. I have been looking forward to this day a very long time.” Immediately realizing Fang Lei’s thought, Bai Xiaofei subtly gave him an out from the embarrassing situation. This successfully made Fang Lei relax a little.
Creating a harmonious environment would greatly affect how far the dialogue could get.
“Looking forward? What is there to look forward to from us, a group of bandits spurned by the world?” Fang Lei coldly snorted. His tone was laced with self-deprecation, yet his face held nothing but disdain.
His disdain was for the ‘world,’ and also for Bai Xiaofei’s act. In Fang Lei’s view, Bai Xiaofei was just faking it.
“I look forward to thoroughly understanding the Thunderstorm Bandits. Your so-called ‘world’ does not include everyone. I want to see for myself how different you guys are from the rumors,” declared Bai Xiaofei in a serious manner as he stared fixedly at Fang Lei with shining eyes.
This time, Fang Lei was startled. He didn’t expect Bai Xiaofei to actually be serious.
“What do you mean?” Fang Lei frowned again, but this frown was completely different from the previous one. Before it was disdain, and now it was pure doubt.
“In the objective records of the All-Knowing Pavilion, it points out that your targets are all those who have done bad things, and a large portion of the inflow from your heist seems to be used to help displaced people. From this point, you have good hearts.”
“However, every time you acted, you cruelly massacred everyone who opposed you, be they good or bad. From this point, you are bad.”
“But those are opinions of others. Opinions of the world can only be used as a reference. What I want is a judgment of my own. From what I have learned, I thought what you have done was going a bit overboard, but my talk with He Tian and Nie Qing made me hesitate. I really want to know what you guys are like. After all, your excessive actions against the Bright Road Merchant House can be explained as being too anxious to save someone.”
Bai Xiaofei explained his analysis in an orderly manner. During this, Fang Lei’s expression constantly changed before finally stopping at surprise.
“How do you know we want to save someone?” With disbelief in his tone, Fang Lei suddenly felt like he was being stripped bare.
“Among the fixed members of the Thunderstorm Bandits, there is a Support Stream puppet master who excels in analyzing situations and formulating strategies, a woman named Qing Shuang. But she hasn’t shown up so far, and according to the records, your group was schemed against by the Globe Merchant Group not long ago. If I’m right, she must have been injured by Tang Bing.”
“Because of this, you guys are particularly persistent about the Skypatch Pill. For this reason, you wouldn’t even hesitate to seek me, someone you don’t want to see at all, to barge into an enthronement ceremony that is obviously a trap!”
Bai Xiaofei paused a little, a glint flashing in his eyes.
“In addition, you guys risked exposing yourself to save Nie Qing before. It can be seen that you are a group of people who value relations and righteousness. Therefore, my views have changed a little, and therefore, I wanted to have a good talk with you.”
When Bai Xiaofei finished, Fang Lei sank into silence. He had thought too simply of Bai Xiaofei. To put it bluntly, Bai Xiaofei had basically figured them out, while he knew very little about Bai Xiaofei. He might have made a mistake by making this meeting happen...
But there was no turning back after an arrow was fired. Fang Lei could only follow his decision to the end!
“Killing all corrupt people, vanquishing all injustice in the world. This is the purpose set by our Thunderstorm Bandits when it was established. Ever since, we have followed this for many years. You are right, we target bad people, and we kill every single one who opposes us to avoid future troubles. As for going overboard? We don’t think so, because they are even more so! Our members have died, but none have regretted. We have gone all the way to reach where we are today, and we intend to keep going until all of us fall.”
Fang Lei’s tone was firm. During his speech, Bai Xiaofei stared intently and found no trace of deceit from him.
“What about your recent actions against the Bright Road Merchant House? How many people did you kill for the Skypatch Pill? Are you sure they all meet your standards of ‘corrupted’?” Bai Xiaofei inquired, gritting his teeth so hard that they creaked.
Every time the mercenaries set out from the city, they got killed and forced back. As far as Bai Xiaofei was concerned, they were but outsiders. Was it really necessary to kill so many outsiders?
“As long as it can save Qing Shuang, we are willing to bear all notoriety! As for those people, indeed, there are barely any who don’t deserve to die.”
Fang Lei was resolute, and this was just the beginning of their exchange...