Chapter 116: Stopping By for the Spectacle

“Father!” Arthur approached Black Beard with great respect and bowed deeply.

Black Beard chuckled warmly and embraced Arthur enthusiastically. He then glanced back at Lin Qi, a sharp warning flickering in his eyes. It was clear that Black Beard didn’t want Lin Qi to do anything inappropriate in front of the three black-clad butlers who were his equals.

Lin Qi smiled and stepped forward from the crowd, respectfully greeting Kirk and the others and wishing them a happy New Year. Then, he embraced Arthur warmly. “Dear brother, why didn’t you attend the family banquet yesterday? I truly missed you. What have you been up to these days? Oh, by the way, how is your lover—the one with the platinum blonde hair?”

Arthur’s heart sank, but he maintained a bright smile and returned Lin Qi’s embrace with vigor.

“Dear Lin Qi, I have been overwhelmed with matters these past few days and didn’t have time to attend the New Year banquet.” He sighed softly, looking at Lin Qi, and continued slowly, “As for Oya, she has already left Dunkirk. After all, she has her own life to live.”

Lin Qi narrowed his eyes, and Arthur, with his one eye, narrowed his in return. They stared at each other for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter.

Both knew full well that since Lin Qi had asked that question, he must have investigated the little lover Arthur had at the Green Jade Hotel. But Arthur’s answer made it clear to Lin Qi that he would never find that beautiful girl with the long platinum hair again.

With false smiles, the two stood arm in arm beside Black Beard, looking every bit the devoted blood brothers.

Mantis Donn’s eyes widened, and with a feigned smile, he said, “Black Tiger, you have two fine sons!”

Lady Rose of the Black Rose family took out a small sandalwood folding fan and covered her mouth as she chuckled softly. Her beautiful eyes glanced between Lin Qi and Arthur, clearly finding the situation amusing. Lin Qi smiled brightly at her; she was quite a sight to behold, and he didn’t mind admiring her a bit longer.

Of course, Lady Rose wasn’t nearly as captivating as the adorable golden-haired Oh-Oh. Even as Lin Qi appraised her curvaceous figure, his mind was calculating how much she would fetch if sold to the Five Great Islands. This was Lady Rose’s old trade—measuring her worth in gold coins—and Lin Qi found that perfectly reasonable.

“She must be worth quite a lot!” Lin Qi concluded finally.

Only Kirk’s smile was conspicuously insincere, like a mask fixed to his face, utterly devoid of warmth. His narrow eyes scanned Lin Qi sharply like blades, but whenever Lin Qi returned his gaze with a smile, Kirk would cautiously look away.

After the cordial greetings, Black Beard invited the three esteemed guests into his ancestral home and led them to the most luxurious reception room. It was early morning, and none had eaten breakfast yet, so soon fragrant hot tea and various pastries were brought out. Especially before Kirk, a roasted suckling pig and two smoked lamb legs were set, along with a large plate of tuna salad and seven or eight thick sauerkraut sausages.

Lin Qi had never seen anyone with such an enormous appetite. Before the formal talks began, Kirk had already devoured the roasted pig and smoked lamb clean, swallowing even the pig’s bones. The tuna salad disappeared rapidly into his mouth, and he downed those sausages, each as thick as a child’s arm, one by one without chewing.

Lin Qi even suspected Kirk swallowed those sausages whole!

This terrifyingly stout man had an insatiable hunger. Lin Qi silently calculated how many gold coins Kirk had consumed that morning and vowed to extract hundreds of times that amount from him in the future.

What was worse, Arthur had actually emerged from Kirk’s carriage. Lin Qi couldn’t help but suspect some business tie between them. If Kirk was truly Arthur’s external reinforcement, Lin Qi would have to find a way to deal with him—a troubling prospect indeed.

Kirk controlled most of the smuggling operations along the northern coast, so his power was immense. Though his subordinates might not match the Black Tiger family in combat strength, Kirk’s local connections and influence were formidable. After all, smuggling couldn’t thrive without official backing.

A major underworld figure with government support was no easy foe.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Black Beard sipped his tea, stroked his thick black beard, and asked cheerfully, “I’m really curious why you three have time to visit me on the very first day of the New Year? Hahaha, your strongholds aren’t exactly close to Dunkirk!”

Lady Rose smiled lightly, coquettishly batting her eyelashes at Lin Qi. “Lord Black Tiger, I just happened to be passing through. Recently, I had a big deal to attend to in the Vias Commercial Federation. It was a tough journey, and I spent the New Year away from home. I was planning to take the sea route back through Dunkirk and happened to run into these two gentlemen.”

Mantis Donn hunched slightly, casting furtive glances around as he chuckled, “Black Tiger, I’m just passing through too. Hehe, I just completed a big deal. I came to ask if you could dispatch a large ship and reliable men to send me back. After all, Dunkirk is the Empire’s only ice-free northern port. I had no choice but to come to you. The fat pig here is the one who came looking for you.”

Rose and Donn casually pushed Kirk forward. The round and rotund Kirk chuckled a few times, struggled to straighten his posture, and wiped his greasy hands with a napkin.

Clearing his throat, Kirk smiled, “I’m just passing by, haha—passing by to watch the fun.”

After a moment of thought, Kirk looked at Black Beard and smiled, “I heard young master Arthur is returning to manage his biological father’s territory? Black Tiger, you know, the Redhead’s old territory is a key transportation hub, very important to my business. I wanted to inquire about Arthur’s future plans…”

Arthur smiled at Kirk and opened his mouth to reply.

But Black Beard’s stern and icy words froze Arthur’s smile instantly.

“Fat Pig, the affairs of the Black Tiger family are none of your concern, right? How Arthur develops is none of your damn business.”