Chapter 866: Difficult Choice

It was dusk by the time Cui Yuanhai woke up. Qianye rushed over immediately after getting word and had his men prepare some wine and dishes in the quiet room.

"Old Man, who would've thought? So much time has passed since our last meeting." Qianye felt somewhat emotional.

Cui Yuanhai sighed. "Had I known this would happen, I would've stayed back on the Western Continent to enjoy life."

Qianye smiled. "With your skills, there's no way you can enjoy peace anywhere, someone will come knocking on your door sooner or later."

These words seemed to stir up his emotions. He emptied his glass and said, "The reason I fell to this state is because I was impetuous during my youth, believing myself capable of conquering the world with my own hands and refusing the aristocracy. Nonetheless, just the equipment involved in the research of firearms costs tens of thousands of gold coins, not something a single person can afford. Without these things, I had no choice but to rely on myself and the road grew increasingly narrow. I'm not different from a smith at this age."

Back when Qianye had met the old man, the latter had nothing but a small workshop behind a store, and all the equipment he possessed could fit inside that tiny chamber. That miraculous "bullet" was something he had hammered out bit by bit.

For the current Qianye, however, the design of that "bullet" was simply a shortcut and not the proper path.

The "bullet" was indeed an intricate work, but its low-grade limited its firepower and could no longer impress the Qianye of today.

Cui Yuanhai himself wasn't very strong. Without the aid of powerful machines, his understanding of major arrays and cutting-edge gun arrays was fairly restricted. This had long since become his bottleneck. He improved gradually in certain minor skills, but there was a ceiling to what he could do. Just like how a true expert could no longer use his "bullet".

Be it in terms of cultivation or expensive equipment, only the rich aristocratic families would have enough resources to support Cui Yuanhai's continued progress. However, he was already too old by the time he realized this. He had already squandered most of his great talents in a small workshop.

Qianye couldn't help but feel emotional at the mention of these things. If Lin Xitang hadn't picked him up at the dumpster, giving him the chance to develop in Yellow Springs and Red Scorpion, he might not enjoy his current success today. After all, no one could surpass the empire in resources.

Cui Yuanhai's heart was full of melancholy after recalling the past. He drank silently for a good while before bringing up other matters.

Due to his master machinist status, Cui Yuanhai didn't suffer much during the war. Nonetheless, he was sold off several times and had to work for different masters until one of the attendants from the Tidehark city-lord manor bought him. Only then did he settle down.

That was why Qianye couldn't get any news of him despite asking around repeatedly. If he hadn't seen those weapons by chance, who knew if they would ever meet again?

The two drank repeatedly while talking about the past until they were both tipsy.

"Where's Nighteye and the little lass?" the old man asked. He had already brought this question up several times, but Qianye would always steer the conversation away. This time, Cui Yuanhai stared fixedly at him, preventing him from skirting around the issue.

Qianye forced a smile. "The little fellow is well, she's in her growing phase, so she's been asleep most of the time. Nighteye... she's no longer here."

"Not here!?"

"She's left, this isn't her home."

The old man glared angrily. "Nonsense! You two were clearly doing well back then, how could she leave just like that? Something must've happened, right? Did you wrong her in any way?"

Qianye laughed wryly and shook his head. "No, how should I put it... let's not talk about it."

The old man understood the implications behind this. Seeing Qianye's demeanor, he no longer insisted on revealing everything.

He poured Qianye a drink and changed the topic. "You still seem to remember me after all this time. I've also gained some insights during my time working at the weapons factory. I don't feel as old anymore. Whatever you need me to do, brat, just tell me."

Qianye became spirited. "I've found a pretty good place recently, and I want to build a large-scale weapons factory there. If you don't mind, I'd like you to oversee the project."

"That suits me well, but the equipment won't be cheap!"

"Everything has been prepared, no need to worry."

Cui Yuanhai was shaken as he asked for more details. He couldn't hide his astonishment when Qianye reported the equipment models. "These things are restricted goods even in the empire, how did you get your hands on them?"

"Someone will always have a way, even if they're restricted objects."

Qianye didn't elaborate on the exact means, but Song Zining had been operating his business in the empire for many years, and his fame in the military was also quite resounding. It really wasn't hard for him to get his hands on some machinery.

The old man fell onto the table soon afterward. After all, he was still weak and unable to hold his liquor. Even in his intoxicated state, he was still sighing, seemingly regretting the choices he had made during his youth.

Qianye carried Cui Yuanhai back to his room and left quietly after putting the man on his bed.

He walked out and a light jump took him atop a nearby kinetic tower, much like a nocturnal bird traversing the skies. This was the highest point in the immediate vicinity—above him hung the stars while the myriad of lights flickered in the city below.

Qianye was subconsciously affected by Cui Yuanhai's emotions. He was in no mood to do anything and only wanted to remain undisturbed for a while.

He toyed about with a little box while sitting on the kinetic tower, his conflicted thoughts written all over his face. Apparently, he couldn't quite make up his mind about something.

The past was still vivid in his mind, and the merriest times were when Nighteye was at home and he was out fighting. Despite having to shoulder the burden of raising a family, it made him quite happy.

If he could redo everything, Qianye would choose to stay beside Nighteye for as long as he could.

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs" in this world. Even someone as strong as the Pointer Monarch had to bury his heart in that secret realm.

"What's that in your hand?" Ji Tianqing's voice echoed nearby, shocking him to his feet.

She sat down unceremoniously beside Qianye and snatched the box away, preparing to open it.

Shocked out of his wits, Qianye reached out to grab the container. "Don't!"

Ji Tianqing hid the box behind her with a little twist. She then puffed her chest out and looked down at Qianye with a provocative expression. This made it so that Qianye's hand was going straight for her chest. He hurriedly moved his hand away, but even for someone of his constitution, the abrupt change in movement still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Ji Tianqing turned away in a bid to open the box.

"Don't! That's..."

"A Dreameater King, right?"

Qianye's hand froze midair. "How did you know?"

Ji Tianqing tossed the box back, saying, "This kind of box is used to store Dreameater Queens, and who wouldn't know with so much aura leaking out?"

"Aura leaking?" Qianye instinctively felt that something was off.

"That box in your hand isn't for storing Dreameater Kings, so it can't seal off the bug's aura completely. It would've become useless if you hadn't kept it in your spatial equipment all this time."

Qianye was astonished. All of his efforts would be in vain if the dreameater bug were to become useless. He immediately turned pale at the thought of this.

Ji Tianqing glanced at Qianye meaningfully. "You must've kept it for some time?"

Qianye didn't reply. Only after a good while did he nod quietly.

"Actually, I already sensed it when you put Heartgrave and East Peak back into your necklace. It felt fairly odd, so I would've asked you about it anyway if you hadn't brought it out."

Qianye clenched his right fist until it was trembling from the excessive force.

Ji Tianqing sighed lightly as she tossed Qianye a small bottle. Qianye was surprised as soon as he caught the mysterious scent wafting out of it. "Stillwater Rebirth?"

"A small portion of it, enough to revive the Dreameater King and increase its effects by several times. You decide whether or not you want to use it."

"This..."

"Stillwater rebirth will expire in one more day, and the Dreameater King, one day at most. If you keep it in this box after the revival, it'll last three days."

Qianye hesitated for a moment. "Y-You don't happen to have a container for it, do you?"

"I can't have everything on me, can I? Why would I carry such a useless item around?" Ji Tianqing replied unhappily.

Qianye replied helplessly, "I understand, and thanks for tonight."

Ji Tianqing shook her head. "No need, I might have other bad intentions, who knows?"

"..." Qianye was startled. He seemed to have recalled something, but he also looked incredulous.

"Enjoy the wind and thoughts, I'm going to bed." Ji Tianqing got up and jumped off the kinetic tower, denying Qianye the opportunity to question her.

After she was gone, Qianye gazed at the Stillwater Rebirth and the Dreameater King. He knew there was no escaping it; he had to make a choice.

There was only one reason Qianye had chosen to forget the Dreameater King, and that was because he felt that Nighteye's current state was brought about by consuming the dreameater bug.

To Nighteye herself, there was no clear distinction between her past conscience and the current one. Perhaps both of them were real, or perhaps it was just a small part of each. To Qianye, her past persona was the real one—up to this point, he still couldn't decide how to treat the current Nighteye or if he should treat them as the same person.

Qianye hadn't given the Dreameaster King to her because he was somewhat worried. Would this completely awaken her? Would it completely erase her past, destroying all hopes of ever going back?

From a different perspective, though, Nighteye's spirit was still incomplete, and that would affect her strength. It could be said that she would have no chance of approaching the Sacred Mountain as long as her spirit remained unmended.

Currently, Nighteye's combat strength had barely reached the duke level, while her blood energy was still at the count rank. She was still relatively weak compared to the massive Evernight system. If the Lightless Monarch were to send a powerful duke or arrive himself, Nighteye would be hard-pressed to escape.

With the Dreameater King in one hand and the Stillwater Rebirth in the other, his hands were both trembling.