# 383
Chapter 383 – Baili’s Birthday Banquet
“Qiye, we didn’t do what the Great Emperor wanted. You think he’ll be mad?”
On the green-skin train, Baili Pangpang propped his chin on the window-frame and asked uneasily.
Lin Qiye was silent a moment, then shook his head. “No. Compared to that sad, heart-wrenching ending, this outcome is probably the one Li Deyang truly longed for but could never have…”
“True,” Cao Yuan nodded. “That little girl looks much better smiling than bawling her eyes out.”
Lin Qiye rubbed his chilled hands and tucked them into his sleeves, watching the snowflakes begin to drift outside. He murmured:
“The sky here is too cold; it needs stories that bring warmth, not icy, heartless reality… Maybe that’s why stories exist in the first place.”
“But you still told Chen Han the truth,” Baili Pangpang shrugged. “He’s probably feeling awful right now.”
“There was no way to hide it from him,” Lin Qiye said quietly. “Night Watch aren’t the ones who sit and listen to stories; we’re the ones who stand in front of everyone, take the knives in the back for them, and still smile while we tell the tale.”
“Sounds pretty miserable,” Baili Pangpang sighed.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jialan beside Lin Qiye, hugging a copy of “Qiqibao’s Chinese Pinyin Primer” and moving her lips earnestly.
“Miss Jialan,” Baili Pangpang leaned over, eyes shining with scholarly pride, “if there’s any character you can’t read, just ask me. I’m the most learned one here!”
Jialan lifted her head, hesitated, then placed the book on the little table and pointed at two characters, mumbling:
“Sa… sha… sha… sha-bi!”
Baili Pangpang: …
Face contorted, he pointed at the characters. “Not sha-bi, it’s sha-mi! Say it with me—sha-mi!”
“Sha-bird.”
“Sha-mi!”
“Sha-bi?”
“Sha—forget it. Qiye, you teach her.”
Baili Pangpang slunk back to his seat.
Lin Qiye pondered, then pointed at the characters, enunciating: “Sha. Mi.”
Jialan opened her mouth, carefully copying his lip-shape. “Sha-mi?”
“Mm, perfect.”
Baili Pangpang: …
He shot Jialan a wounded glare, beginning to suspect she’d done it on purpose…
“Qiye, mission report handed in?” Cao Yuan asked suddenly.
“At the station I sent the action report plus Jialan’s file—left out the Fengdu part, of course. Commander Ye’s probably reading it now,” Lin Qiye answered.
“So when’s the next job? Any leave?” Baili Pangpang’s face fell. “In a few days it’s my old man’s birthday. I’ll have to go home for his banquet.”
“Your dad’s birthday? The chairman of Baili Group?”
“Yeah. Usually he keeps it low-key, but this year’s different.”
Lin Qiye and the others exchanged glances. “Why different?”
Baili Pangpang scratched his head and chuckled. “This year he turns fifty. After this birthday he’s retiring—so it’s a farewell bash too.”
“The chairman of Baili Group is retiring?” An Qingyu said in surprise. “That’s huge. Baili Group is Great Xia’s biggest conglomerate, involved in the mysterious side, controls loads of forbidden artifacts, and is Night Watch’s second-largest sponsor after the government. The chairman himself is an honorary senior member… Who’s going to run it when he steps down?”
Everyone looked at Baili Pangpang, who grinned sheepishly, cheeks pink.
“You?!”
Lin Qiye exclaimed, first thought: Baili Group is doomed.
“Yep. I’m the only son, heir apparent since birth. Dad retires, I take over—tch, actually we’re nothing special, just a bit of money, and I’m just an ordinary guy, don’t be too impressed.” He waved modestly while beaming.
Cao Yuan rolled his eyes. “So if you inherit the empire, what about the squad?”
“Relax. Even if I inherit, I’m still too young to run something that size alone, and I lack experience. I’ll just be a figurehead—pros will handle everything. I can stay with the squad!” He thumped Cao Yuan’s shoulder.
Everyone exhaled… not because they feared losing Baili Pangpang, but for the future of Baili Group.
“Since the banquet’s that important, you have to go,” Lin Qiye said. “If a mission pops up, I’ll give you a day off to make it.”
“Hey, don’t just let me skip!” Baili Pangpang’s eyes widened. “You’re all my brothers. A ceremony this big—you’ve gotta come back me up! Don’t worry, once we hit Guangshen I’ll treat you so well you won’t want to leave!”
Lin Qiye gave a helpless smile. “If time allows, we’ll drop by.”
The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp ringtone sounded. Lin Qiye started, pulled out the phone Ye Fan had given him, and frowned.
“I need to take this.”
He scanned the noisy carriage, strode to the end of the train, pushed open the door and stepped onto the small platform at the rear.
Cold wind whipped his black hair as he answered.
“Hello?”
“First mission—well done,” Ye Fan’s voice came. “I’ve read your report, but details can wait. Suzhou City has an ultra-emergency; you need to get there immediately!”
Lin Qiye’s brow tightened. “Ultra-emergency? How do we get there?”
“A chopper’s en route. It’ll ferry you to the nearest airfield where a transport’s waiting. Mission brief and feedback from last job are aboard.”
“Where does it pick us up?”
“Your current location.”
Lin Qiye blinked. “But we’re on—”
“I know—a train,” Ye Fan cut in. “Helicopter arrives in two minutes. Gather your team… and jump.”