Chapter 13: Rehiring
Linley’s heart stirred. What could Salomon want by suddenly coming to find him?
“Salomon, my wife Delia is cultivating inside. Let’s go outside to talk,” Linley said with a smile.
Salomon’s face was full of warmth. “Alright.” As he spoke, he walked side by side with Linley toward the nearby house.
Linley secretly guessed, “Salomon’s original name is Salomon Boey. And Bebe told me that the reason those people were chasing the black-horned elder and white-horned elder was because those two old men were old servants of the Boey family, carrying the Boey family’s wealth! But now it seems that wealth is likely on Salomon.”
“However, if this Salomon really is a member of the Boey family, he should keep it secret. Why did he tell me his identity back then?”
Linley was puzzled.
The two entered the room, and Salomon immediately deployed his divine domain to block out outside sounds.
“Linley, please sit,” Salomon said politely, then sat down himself.
Linley spoke up, “Salomon, what is it you want to see me about?” As he spoke, Linley looked at Salomon.
Salomon’s expression was bitter, and he let out a low sigh.
“Linley, I imagine you’ve already guessed something,” Salomon said with a sigh.
Linley didn’t deny it and nodded. “Yes, I heard that before the green-robed elder died, he mentioned something about the Boey family. Could it be that the Boey family really has something to do with you…”
Salomon nodded. “Yes, I am indeed a member of the Boey family, the heir of the Boey family.”
Linley was startled inwardly.
Sure enough!
And this Salomon wasn’t just an ordinary family member—he was the family heir.
“The Boey family was indeed a large clan,” Salomon said slowly. “It was one of the top ten families in Liang’an Prefecture. But it’s hard for a massive family to avoid decline forever. Under the schemes of many hidden hands, my Boey family finally fell apart.”
“My father was the patriarch of the Boey family!” Salomon said in a low voice.
Linley nodded slightly.
“To be honest, I was just a chance child my father had when he was wandering the Hell and met my mother. I’m just a bastard,” Salomon said with a snort. “With a status like mine in the Boey family, it was very hard to inherit the family.”
Linley understood inwardly and thought, “So this kind of thing happens in Hell too. It seems Salomon had a tough time in the Boey family back then.”
Though Linley had never experienced it himself, he had heard of it.
Bastards were far less valued than legitimate sons.
“Back then, Nis and I once went to the Bifrost Continent. But that time…” Salomon’s face darkened. “We were kicked out!”
Linley was slightly shocked.
Kicked out?
“I only stayed in the Boey family for one day before being forced to leave again,” Salomon said bitterly. “I returned to the Violet Continent. Later, I found out that my sister and I being kicked out was something my father, the patriarch, had planned from the start. He had already sensed the family was facing a major crisis.”
“At that time, after I returned to the Violet Continent, my father’s people sent me to study under my teacher,” Salomon said with emotion.
Linley listened quietly.
“And sure enough—” Salomon said in a low voice, “The Boey family was finished. Some industries in the ten major cities of Liang’an Prefecture were directly swallowed up. But the wealth our Boey family had accumulated over countless years was secretly carried by those two loyal old servants, who rushed to the Violet Continent and gave it to me.”
Linley said helplessly, “Salomon, why are you telling me all this?”
Keeping such a secret, even if it showed trust, also put pressure on Linley.
Salomon looked at Linley and said calmly, “I trust you. At the same time, I don’t want any discord between Bebe and my sister Nis. It’s better to make things clear.”
Linley couldn’t help but take a closer look at Salomon, then nodded slightly.
This matter had indeed caused suspicion between himself and Bebe. If it wasn’t clarified, there would indeed be a hint of discord between Bebe and Nis.
“This Salomon is worth befriending,” Linley thought to himself. As for the wealth… in his heart, more was always better, but he wouldn’t kill a friend for it. Salomon continued speaking.
“After I got that wealth, a long time passed. When I felt my strength had reached a certain level, I set out with the two old servants and my sister for the Bifrost Continent. I didn’t expect that after so many years, there were still people waiting for me,” Salomon said with a sigh.
Linley smiled faintly. “Salomon, a family’s wealth makes many people greedy. What does waiting a thousand or ten thousand years matter?”
To some experts who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, waiting ten thousand years was indeed no big deal.
“True.”
Salomon continued, “Linley, I came to tell you this today for two reasons. First, I hope there won’t be any discord between us. After all, my sister is going to be with your brother.” When Linley introduced Bebe to outsiders, he always said Bebe was his younger brother.
In truth, the two were indeed like brothers.
“Second, Linley, I also hope you’ll take care of my sister in the future,” Salomon said bitterly. “Even if I reach the Bifrost Continent, there will still be many difficulties. It’s good for her to go with you. I only have this one sister… I don’t want her to be in danger!”
“No problem, you can rest assured on that,” Linley said without hesitation. “As long as I, Linley, am alive, I will definitely protect your sister.”
In Hell, Linley cared most about Bebe and his wife Delia. Even for Bebe’s sake, Linley would protect Nis well.
“Then I’m relieved,” Salomon said with a nod and a smile. “Linley, I won’t disturb you any longer. Go ahead with your business.”
Linley left Salomon’s dwelling.
After Linley left, the smile on Salomon’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold expression. His gaze was sharp. “I told him so much, yet this Linley still hides his secrets from me. Hmph, does he think I don’t know? A core member of the Four Divine Beasts clan…”
Salomon was very familiar with the history of the Four Divine Beasts clan.
“The Four Divine Beasts clan was once famous across the four highest planes. Though now in decline, they are still top-notch in Hell,” Salomon murmured. “When he transformed, his dragon scales were cyan-gold, and his aura was so astonishing. He is definitely a core member.”
Back in the desert castle, when Linley dragonized and absorbed that drop of cyan liquid before chasing the upper-tier god, Salomon had appeared and seen Linley’s transformed form.
As the heir of the Boey family, entrusted by his father to a reclusive expert for training, Salomon naturally knew many secrets of Hell. When Salomon had first told Linley his name, it was not without intention of forming a connection.
The Boey family? Even at its peak, it was just a major family in Liang’an Prefecture, far inferior to the Four Divine Beasts clan.
The reputation of the Four Divine Beasts clan was known to all top experts in Hell, even in their decline.
During their heyday, the Four Divine Beasts clan’s influence spanned all four highest planes.
In Salomon’s mind, Linley was definitely hiding secrets. How could he know that Linley himself only had a vague understanding of the Four Divine Beasts clan?
The metallic lifeform continued forward, and another three months passed in the blink of an eye.
“How frustrating,” Linley sighed inwardly. “I have a clear idea of the sword strike using the velocity profound mystery, but without actual testing, I can’t be sure. Yet inside this metallic lifeform, I can’t experiment freely.” What Linley wanted most now was to find an open space to test it properly.
To finalize the velocity profound mystery strike.
“Everyone, please come to the hall.” Suddenly a voice sounded.
“To the hall?” Linley was puzzled. “That voice sounds like the white-horned elder’s.”
Delia, who had been refining her divine spark, also woke up. “Linley, why is the white-horned elder calling us to the hall?” Linley took Delia’s hand and said with a smile, “How should I know? Let’s go out and see.” With that, the two left the room.
In the hall of the metallic lifeform, a group of demons gathered, all looking at the white-horned elder.
The white-horned elder announced loudly, “Everyone, we’ll be arriving at Yilan City shortly. We’ll stop outside the city gates. Everyone, please rest inside the metallic lifeform for now. After two crises, many demons have died, and the two chefs are also dead. This time, I’ll go into the city to hire some new chefs and also recruit some more demons from the Demon Castle.”
“Recruit demons?” The demons in the hall didn’t object.
This journey was dangerous, but escort missions always carried risk. If there were no danger, why hire demon guards?
The demons were even happy to see more demons join.
“It’s been so boring these days. It’ll be nice to enter the city and relax a bit,” a demon said with a laugh.
“Boss, when we get to Yilan City, let’s go eat at a restaurant in town,” Bebe said, smacking his lips. “Ever since those two chefs died in that bandit attack, it’s been ages since we had good food.”
Everyone started discussing.
But the white-horned elder said loudly, “At the same time, I hope everyone will stay inside the metallic lifeform and not enter Yilan City.” At this, some immediately showed displeasure.
“Why not?” a demon spoke up.
The white-horned elder said calmly, “I hope you all understand. After the battle at the desert castle, you all know about the Boey family matter. I don’t want this news to spread. So… even if you don’t stay in the metallic lifeform, at least stay outside the city.”
Among the demons present, some indeed wanted to leak this information.
The secret of the Boey family?
Linley nodded inwardly. Indeed, if someone leaked this news, the journey would become even more dangerous.
“We understand that reasoning,” the eldest of the Edwards brothers said with a faint smile. “Rest assured, since we’ve taken this mission, we won’t leak this information. Even for our own sakes, we won’t. All of us will stay outside the city and not enter. What do you say, Mr. Rilmont?”
Rilmont nodded coldly. “No one is allowed to enter the city or speak freely with outsiders until this mission is over.”
The white-horned elder was overjoyed. “Thank you, the four of you.”
With the Edwards brothers and Rilmont speaking, the other demons had nothing more to say.
Soon, everyone saw the outline of the city through the windows. The metallic lifeform stopped on an empty grassy field about ten miles from the city gate. The white-horned elder flew alone toward the city gate, while the others exited the metallic lifeform.
They rested around the metallic lifeform.
“I hope everyone will be self-disciplined,” the eldest of the Edwards brothers, the handsome man, said coldly. “If anyone contacts outsiders, don’t blame us three brothers for being ruthless.”
“Hmph, so boring,” Bebe muttered. “Can’t even go in when we’re outside the city.”
But Linley had a smile on his face. “Perfect, I can take this chance to test the sword technique I’ve been thinking about.” Linley walked to an open space nearby, took out the Bloodviolet flexible sword, and began testing his sword technique. Worried someone might recognize the Bloodviolet sword, he deliberately altered its appearance slightly.
In truth, purple longswords were common, and few had ever seen the Bloodviolet sword. Moreover, since Linley had refined it, its aura had changed. Who could recognize it?