Chapter 124: The Qiaos (III)
“Whatever you say then!”
The elevator stopped at the top floor. There were only two large offices here—Qiao Peng and his father’s. Li Hao made a beeline for Qiao Senior’s office.
“That’s my father’s office.” Qiao Peng frowned. “He’s in a meeting right now. Don’t go too overboard, Li Hao...”
“Shut up!” the young man brayed with the arrogance of a small man intoxicated with success. He growled, “Qiao Peng, you and I originally had no grudge with each other, but you put a foot wrong when you harassed Sis Liu! I have nothing to say about her husband dying in your mines, but you set your sights on Sis Liu after killing her husband! We’ll see about that!”
Qiao Peng cursed inwardly again and frowned deeply. “You can’t go around saying stuff like that, Li Hao. Don’t you dirty me with that! It was an accident and the Inspectorate closed the books on it a long time ago!” €mbark 0n a qu€§t to th€ commencement at n0v#lbin★
“Hmph!” Li Hao pushed open the door. An old man inside raised his head to look at his visitor, glancing questioningly at Qiao Peng.
The latter quickly stepped forward and whispered a few sentences. The elder rose to his feet with a chuckle.
“Hello, Commissioner Inspector Li! You have achieved so much in your youth! I am familiar with your teacher Professor Yuan. Who would’ve thought that I’d bump into the professor’s prized pupil here!”
“You are too kind!” Li Hao grunted and walked around with the probe, declining further pleasantries. Smiling benignly, the old man didn’t stop him. Waves of shock rose in the young man’s heart!
He didn’t detect anything outside, other than there were powerhouses at the Qiao Mining Industries. He’d realized that as soon as he set foot through the front doors. The supernatural was very bold as he stayed close to Qiao Peng. He was a Darkmoon and seemed to be a bit stronger than Wang Ming. He might be a Plenilune.
Even so, that wasn’t enough to push Li Hao into losing his composure. But now, he was having trouble keeping a straight face. Thankfully, he could mask it through grimacing as he walked around with the probe.
What he didn’t detect and startled him so much was the elderly man in front of him, Qiao Peng’s father! A legendary figure of Silver City’s merchant scene, Qiao Feilong was more than seventy years old and built his commercial empire from scratch.
Li Hao was in perfect control even before he pushed open the door, but cold sweat soaked his back when he saw the other. A bright ball of light!
Indeed, a ball of light that couldn’t be seen through the door. The young man was almost blinded when he opened the door.
Fucking hell!
The ball of light seemed slightly weaker than Divine Brokensky, but only just. A Solar? Or peak Sunflare?
Why hadn’t he sensed anything outside? One had to know that this ball of light wasn’t something that could be obstructed by matter. It was the seepage of energy that Li Hao could see through. But he hadn’t seen anything earlier!
“A life is more important than the heavens themselves!” sighed Qiao Feilong. “This will also help me sleep better at night. It’s just what little I can do!”
“Well... Sis Liu might not want it...” Li Hao was conflicted.
“That’s alright. If Vice Captain Liu doesn’t want it... just throw them away!” Qiao Feilong sighed again. “The Qiaos can afford to gift or lose something like this. I only hope that the vice captain can be more at ease, in which I can look at myself in the mirror.”
Li Hao’s internal struggle was evident; Qiao Feilong gestured to his men. Someone quickly walked up with a box.
“This box is an energy storage box from the central region! It can hold mysterious power as ice crystals are embedded within its structure. All ten cubes are inside, but they’re all of the fire attribute. I’m not sure if they suit Captain Liu.”
Li Hao subconsciously accepted the box. It wasn’t heavy, but he still tightly clenched his arms around it.
“Then... I accept?” Reluctance warred with struggle. “I’ll... bring this back to you if Sis Liu doesn’t want it?”
“That’s alright, throw it away if she doesn’t want it!”
Li Hao grimaced with reluctance and concluded with embarrassment, “Then... then I’ll take this... and throw it away if she doesn’t want it...”
“Whatever you wish!”
“My apologies for the disturbance and breach of etiquette, President Qiao is truly my idol!” Liu Yan immediately broke out into smiles. “There will be many areas in which I’ll have to rely on the president as I carry out my duties in Silver City. As long as Qiao Peng no longer harasses Sis Liu, I will not make things difficult for the Qiaos. I hadn’t wanted to in the first place, but Qiao Peng was simply too out of line!”
Qiao Peng couldn’t stop cursing to himself. How was I out of line? You little bastard, you care for nothing but money! Look at all the excuses you’ve made for a woman! Now that you’ve received our token, you still act like I’m the one who stirred up trouble first. Holy fuck this sucks!
The young man was a deft hand at bureaucracy at a young age. As expected of a student from the Veteris Institute! Li Hao had a trove of slick responses that he could quickly trot out for any occasion.
Qiao Feilong murmured his agreement with a smile.
“Um... I do still have to make a round of the mines,” Li Hao continued awkwardly. “But rest assured, President Qiao, it’s just a formality. Qiao Peng will be with me, I’ll just take a look from the outside. I must carry out my orders to the letter! We can leave the supernatural probe, I’m sure that there will be no trouble.”
“But of course!” Qiao Feilong smiled. “Commissioner Inspector Li is a fine person. Please visit whenever you have time, you are always welcome!”
“Then I thank you for your hospitality!” Li Hao merrily walked toward the door. “Qiao Peng, you should learn more from your father. I’ll be waiting downstairs. Don’t lecture him too harshly, sir.”
“Hahaha, I hear you. I’ll give him a good talking to!” Qiao Feilong laughed heartily. His smile didn’t drop until the elevator doors closed on Li Hao and the Night Watcher started his descent. He furrowed his brow at his son. “You should keep your act to an appropriate level! You know that Li Hao has intentions toward Liu Yan, but you insist on getting involved! Isn’t that blatantly giving offense? Go on, accompany him to the mines, but remember not to let him walk around. The same goes for you too!”
“Understood!”
“Go on, then!”