Pretending To Be A Boss

"What happened to the offspring of Order afterward?" Ye Feng asked.

"Dead. Only two are still alive, but one of them poses no threat for now. The one we must be vigilant about is called Constantine, and he is the most powerful among them. I know very little about him, but no matter what, we must be extremely cautious when dealing with him. No matter how powerful you think you are or how well-prepared, you must always exercise caution,"

Song Que's tone conveyed the extraordinary nature of this enemy.

However, what Lin Jue and the others were concerned about was that these formidable figures behind the scenes had all been dealt with by Tang Xian.

Speaking of which, Song Que also smiled and said,

"Tang, the one who always seems the laziest, but Li and I understand that he's not lazy; he simply takes on the most difficult tasks."

The offspring of Order, the Myriad Beasts, those whose strength was clearly much greater than that of humans—Tang Xian was the one dealing with them all.

Therefore, Song Que always felt that he did not quite measure up as a hero.

By the time all the stories were finished, everyone had begun to eat. They were now fleeing from the pursuit of the Judgment Knights, so everything was kept simple.

Not quite used to so many people, Song Que walked out on his own.

He took on the role of keeping watch,

while Lin Jue, Gu Luo, Ye Feng, and the rest did not put on airs, each having their own tasks to attend to a bit later.

Lin Sen and Yu Xiaozhe, after all, were accustomed to mingling in the underworld year-round, and became quickly familiar with everyone.

The two were the best at disguise, masters of changing appearances, and could quickly grasp the characteristics of each person.

Lin Jue was rough and straightforward, but careful in his work.

Ye Feng was cautious and meticulous, tending to be a stickler for details.

As for Xiao Shi, she was completely inscrutable, like a robot, only showing some reaction when Song Que spoke.

And Qin Qian... Qin Qian was missing.

Yu Xiaozhe scanned the area and saw Song Que and Qin Qian standing together in the corridor, holding nutritional meal reagents.

Yu Xiaozhe stroked his chin and said,

"It's good to be handsome. We're not even playing the same game."

Lin Sen nodded in agreement.

In the corridor, Qin Qian was once again happy to see Song Que, and after learning about his experiences over the past few days, she felt that Song Que was a true hero.

"Song, water."

"Miss Qin, thank you," Song Que said softly as he took the water.

"By the way, is there something you need?" Song Que asked again.

"Not... not really, I just felt that it has been a long time since I had a chat with Song, and I wanted to talk to you."

Song Que nodded understandingly,

"Actually, I also have some questions to ask you guys."

"Ask away, I'll definitely tell you if I know," she said.

"I want to know, after I left, how the Song Family is doing. Are they all right? Has the First Bastion gone into chaos because of me..."

Song Que inevitably worried about his family.

Qin Qian sighed softly and said,

"The Lord looks much older, the First Bastion is still well-managed, so there haven't been any major upheavals, but the Song Family has indeed been chaotic lately."

"What happened to the Song Family?" Song Que's tone became slightly anxious.

Feelings rooted in blood are not so easily severed. In fact, from the perspective of a ruler, although Song Que did not agree with his father's methods, he knew that he would ultimately forgive him.

"Power struggle."

With just two words, Song Que immediately understood the situation.

His father was getting old and should be considering a transition of leadership. But his second and eldest sisters were unpopular, and other members of the Song Family were probably eyeing the position of the Lord covetously.

The most critical issue was that because of his own reasons, his father was under a lot of pressure, and there were definitely quite a few who wanted him to abdicate in favor of more competent individuals.

For the sake of power, those at the Song Family who usually bowed and scraped were probably now showing their true colors.

Song Que felt somewhat culpable. Qin Qian said,

"Song, this matter itself has nothing to do with you. The choices you've made along the way are neither regrettable to your conscience nor to justice. The situation the Song Family finds itself in can only be due to the greed of your father and the members of the Song Family."

Song Que neither nodded nor shook his head but simply sighed,

"I want to know more about the details, is it the doing of my uncles?"

Upon hearing this, could it be that Song Que was about to stick his hand into the affairs of the Song Family? Qin Qian did not ask further but answered truthfully,

"They should be behind it. But those uncles of yours are very sly; none of them have made an appearance, neither voicing support for your father nor opposing the younger generation's denouncement of him."

In such a scenario, abstaining from taking sides was essentially equivalent to choosing a side.

Song Que was no longer the naïve Song Que of the past; his expression suddenly became cold.

"Is it Song Qinwen and Song Qinwu?"

"Those two brothers do have a considerable following. But those two good-for-nothings, even your sisters outshine them. Both are incompetent, and in ordinary times, they just loaf under the big trees. If they were actually to take the stage, they would make a lot of fools of themselves," Qin Qian paused before continuing,

"The most laughable thing about these two brothers is that they should have been united against outsiders, but they started fantasizing too early about the glory of being the supreme commander of the First Bastion. Song Qinwen can't stand Song Qinwu, Song Qinwu looks down on Song Qinwen, and they are wary of each other. In a speech, they actually started quarreling, leading their supporters to believe both are incompetents."

Qin Qian found it amusing, but Song Que did not laugh; he just shook his head sorrowfully.

He thought back to his childhood when he had been good to those two brothers. Hearts are made of flesh, but in this world... it turns out not everyone has a heart.

Song Que said,

"If it's not them, then there must be another person involved?"

"Yes, the competitor is around your age, usually doesn't stand out, and is said to have a low status within the Song Family, being a bastard, named Song Zhuo."

"Song Zhuo?" Song Que muttered the name and initially could not recall; it was only after a few seconds that he realized that was the child of his Uncle Six, Song Wei.

Uncle Six had children early and kept a low profile, seldom socializing within the Song Family.

Even during festivals, he would just come, give presents, and leave. The Song Family's First Bastion had plenty of business, and the business his uncle Six took care of was not insignificant, but he could have sought a higher position.

Song Que still remembered his father, Song Gengzhao, saying, "Your Uncle Six has a good temperament, he doesn't compete."

Now it seemed... Uncle Six wasn't uncompetitive, but was adept at biding his time.

As for Uncle Six's child, Song Zhuo, Song Que recalled having only met him a few times and heard that his talent was not high, and his achievements were not prominent. He was mediocre in all aspects.

Song Que said,

"Do you mean that Song Zhuo now outpaces the rest of the Song Family competitors and has the highest call for leadership at the First Bastion?"

"Yes, it's quite surprising that such a person suddenly emerged from the Song Family; others seem to be quite astonished. Over the years, the things Song Zhuo has done are quite ordinary, just getting to know those unspectacular people from various strata. The events of his days aren't any earth-shattering matters. If he becomes the leader of the First Bastion, there will surely be people who dig into his past, but his past is extremely clean... There are records of where he went and what he did on certain days and years. These records are also real. You can't find a single blemish.

Compared to other members of the Song Family, whether they are from the younger or older generation, the things Song Zhuo has done may not be dazzling, but are above reproach. Those who know him speak highly of him, and those who do not can't find reasons to dislike him."

"What about his talent?" Song Que asked.

"That's the most terrifying part; this person, like you, Song, is a person of full talent," Qin Qian's tone carried a sense of apprehension.

Clearly, she also knew that Song Zhuo had deliberately kept himself hidden.

"He shouldn't be called Song Zhuo, but Song Cangzhuo. His emergence has made the younger generation of the Song Family seem lackluster in comparison."

Song Que had heard such remarks before, like how he, in his youth, seemed flawless and people said Song Que shouldn't be called Song Que, but Song Wuque.

Song Que hadn't expected the Song Family to have hidden such a person, and he stopped speaking, silently contemplating several possibilities.

Life was always full of surprises, and Song Que suddenly thought that perhaps this was an opportunity...

The First Bastion, perhaps because of this, could become the next sacred bastion, but he must plan carefully.

(More to come in the evening)