Chapter 301 – You Help Me Convince Them

Just as Feng Qing’er had said, they had inexplicably gained an extra year of age after waking from a single night’s sleep.

They would never imagine what they had been through, and even more difficult to accept were certain irreversible facts that had already occurred.

For instance, they wouldn’t have thought that they were the only ones who survived, while all their other companions had met with misfortune.

For instance, they struggled to accept that their original team had been wiped out, leaving only the three of them barely clinging to life.

Naturally, it was even harder for them to accept that their once-respected Commander had joined another team—and that this commitment was for life, with no possibility of leaving.

If this was all because of them, to save them from the brink of death, it became even more unbearable.

Su Ming didn’t know exactly what Mu Yan and the others had experienced over these three days, or whether they had managed to emerge from the grief of losing nearly all their companions.

But judging by their current demeanor, it was clear they couldn’t easily accept that Chi Qian had signed what amounted to a life-binding contract because of them.

That’s why they had come today.

They came for Chi Qian, but they also came for Su Ming.

Su Ming glanced at Chi Qian.

Her expression was heavy, bitter, and seemed incredibly complex.

Su Ming knew that Chi Qian hadn’t told Mu Yan and the others everything.

At the very least, she hadn’t revealed his true strength, the specifics of how he rescued them, or the existence of Little Hai’er to her former companions.

Those matters involved Su Ming’s personal privacy and the team’s confidential information. As a member who had signed a contract pledging lifelong service to Su Ming’s team, Chi Qian couldn’t disclose these secrets.

This was one of the major obligations of joining a team: members were required to protect the team’s confidential information. Even if the contract expired and they could leave the team, they still couldn’t casually reveal these secrets. This was a fixed regulation that every Professional joining a team had to abide by, and every team included it in their contract—Su Ming was no exception.

This meant Chi Qian couldn’t provide too many details and could only give a general overview of the outcome.

Because of this, Mu Yan and the others clearly found it hard to believe that Su Ming—a young, low-ranking Professional and the leader of an E-Rank team—could have rescued them from an S-Rank Realm like the Venomous Insect Cave.

Of course, that wasn’t the main issue. What mattered was that Chi Qian had signed a life-binding contract for this reason, and that was what they wanted to address.

After understanding the current situation, Su Ming had a general idea of what to do.

So, Su Ming smiled at the three of them.

“I understand your thoughts and your intentions,” Su Ming said. “But the agreement between Chi Qian and me is clearly written in black and white in the contract. Now that the contract is in effect, proving that I’ve upheld my end of the bargain, it’s only natural for Chi Qian to join my team as agreed. Isn’t that right?”

This was an undeniable fact. Whether Mu Yan and the other two accepted it or not didn’t change its existence.

They were well aware of this themselves.

Therefore…

“I want to talk to you.”Mu Yan looked directly at Su Ming and spoke thus.

“Alright.” Su Ming showed some interest and said, “What would you like to discuss?”

“It’s simple.” Mu Yan spoke lightly, “Just as you said, regardless of anything, you honored the contract and saved us. That’s a fact, and we’re very grateful to you.”

“But since you saved us, it should be us who pay the price and compensation. There’s no reason for our Commander to bear all this for us.”

This was Mu Yan’s meaning.

“That’s right, that’s right!” Feng Qing’er also nodded repeatedly, looking at Su Ming with a pitiful expression as she said, “Brother, could you please revise the terms of the contract?”

“Yes.” Tong Xinyao also whispered, “Making Sister Qianqian serve for life without compensation is just too harsh.”

The three of them wanted to salvage what they could and negotiate properly with Su Ming.

This was only human nature.

No one wanted to see their respected Commander sell herself to someone else like this.

It was lifelong service, and what’s more without compensation – no benefits, no rewards whatsoever.

If Su Ming wished, he could completely make Chi Qian work for him day and night without even providing a single meal, until Chi Qian died.

Such霸王条款, even if the person herself accepted it, those around her couldn’t accept it.

Chi Qian herself didn’t think this way.

“Yanyan, Qing’er, Yaoyao, please stop.” Chi Qian still wanted to prevent her companions’ actions, saying this, “I’ve already told you, this is a responsibility I must bear. If not for me, you wouldn’t have fallen into that state, and so many companions wouldn’t have sacrificed themselves. Both emotionally and logically, this is something I should take responsibility for.”

Chi Qian’s argument, however, was unanimously rejected by the three women.

“That’s not true at all!” Feng Qing’er protested, “That wasn’t Sister Qianqian’s fault at all! Sister Qianqian tried hard enough and made sufficient preparations, but the mission was more dangerous than we imagined, much more difficult than we thought. In that case, when something went wrong, it shouldn’t all be blamed on you alone, Sister Qianqian!”

“Mhm!” Tong Xinyao also nodded heavily, saying, “That mission was something we all decided to accept together. Sister Qianqian even sought our opinions beforehand, and we all agreed to it. We just failed, that’s all.”

Even Feng Qing’er and Tong Xinyao said this, and Mu Yan, the ice beauty, was even more explicit in her stance.

“Just like you, we all knew beforehand that mission was dangerous, but we ultimately decided to take the risk with you. That’s what you call a team.”

Mu Yan looked at Chi Qian, speaking word by word.

“We’re all Professionals. Since we’re Professionals, we’ve long known how dangerous the things we do, the missions we undertake, and the battles we experience can be. Yet we ultimately chose to join your team and do this with you.”

“We were all prepared for this.”

“Now that something went wrong and there were sacrifices, if you want to bear it all alone, then we must beg to differ, Commander.”

Mu Yan’s every word seemed to strike Chi Qian’s heart, making Chi Qian wear a heavy expression, unable to speak anymore.

Only then did Mu Yan turn back to Su Ming.”Let’s renegotiate the terms of our contract,” Mu Yan stated bluntly. “Since you saved us, we’ll join your team and serve you. How about that?”

Neither Feng Qing’er nor Tong Xinyao interrupted Mu Yan’s words.

Clearly, they had already reached an agreement among themselves.

“Yan Yan!”

Chi Qian ultimately couldn’t remain seated and stood up.

Yet Mu Yan didn’t even glance at Chi Qian, instead addressing Su Ming directly.

“Mu Yan, Four-Star Hunter, currently at my limit and not far from reaching Five-Star.”

“Feng Qing’er, Four-Star Hunter, though not at the limit yet, has reached the upper tier and surpasses seventy percent of professionals at the same star level.”

“Tong Xinyao, Three-Star Sorcerer. Even though she’s still a lower-rank professional, as a Spirit Bearer, you know what her talent and potential are like.”

Among the three survivors from Chi Qian’s former team, not a single one was an ordinary professional.

As Chi Qian’s right-hand woman in the team, Mu Yan’s personal strength was naturally exceptional, nearly reaching Five-Star level.

Feng Qing’er was also an upper-rank professional. Though not at the Four-Star limit like Mu Yan, she was three years younger than Mu Yan.

The achievements and strength of these two were no less than geniuses like Bai Xuefei whom the Wang Family valued.

Of course, this didn’t mean Mu Yan and Feng Qing’er had better talent than Bai Xuefei.

Though Bai Xuefei became an upper-rank professional at twenty-six—the same age as Mu Yan now—she had grown up in a remote base city like Longyao City.

With Longyao City’s resources being far inferior to Tianfeng City’s, Bai Xuefei’s ability to develop there and become an upper-rank professional at twenty-six meant her talent and potential, while perhaps not matching a heaven-blessed genius like Xu Xiayan, should still be somewhat stronger than Mu Yan and Feng Qing’er at the same age.

Yet this couldn’t conceal the fact that both Mu Yan and Feng Qing’er were upper-rank professionals.

Two upper-rank professionals, both quite promising and still young—such talents wouldn’t be rejected even by those major S-Rank or A-Rank teams.

As for Tong Xinyao, she went without saying. As Tianfeng City’s only Spirit Bearer, already a Three-Star professional at just fourteen years old—far surpassing Xu Xiayan who became a Three-Star professional at eighteen—coupled with her near-certain potential to become an upper-rank professional, not only would teams want her, even major Families would compete to recruit her.

These three were the most valuable and capable members of Chi Qian’s team.

That they survived the disaster a year ago wasn’t just luck—it was because they either possessed considerable strength or extraordinary potential that enabled them to withstand that near-fatal crisis.

“The three of us combined should definitely be more valuable than just our Commander alone, right?”

Mu Yan stated this plainly.

“If you can nullify the contract with our Commander, the three of us will serve you without compensation for ten years. How about that?”

As she spoke, Mu Yan clearly maintained a posture suggesting further negotiation was possible if unsatisfied. Feng Qing’er and Tong Xinyao sat beside her, presenting a united front.

Undoubtedly, the three were determined to rescue Chi Qian from the “tiger’s mouth” today.

“You…!?”

Chi Qian was both angry and anxious.Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao did not even change their expressions, their resolute demeanor clearly visible.

Su Ming noticed that the three of them occasionally glanced at Chi Qian’s disfigured face and severed hand, their eyes simultaneously revealing a trace of heartache and pity.

Su Ming could easily guess their thoughts at this moment.

They undoubtedly felt heartache and sorrow for Chi Qian’s suffering, even sympathy and grief, which was why they were determined to ensure Chi Qian no longer bore such heavy burdens or endured so much guilt.

Su Ming had also seen photos of Chi Qian’s former appearance—a stunning beauty who could easily score ninety-eight out of a hundred.

Moreover, this beauty was once a legend of Tianfeng City. Born an ordinary person, she relied on her own efforts and determination to rise powerfully, reaching the Five-Star Peak level by her thirties. It was easy to imagine that in the eyes of Mu Yan and the others, Chi Qian was undoubtedly great, powerful, and a heroic woman worthy of admiration and aspiration.

Such a widely admired heroine now had her proud beauty ruined and one hand severed, becoming half-crippled. One could only imagine how deeply this affected Mu Yan and the others.

Given this, they absolutely could not allow such a Chi Qian to continue living under the weight of heavy costs and responsibilities.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Just as Chi Qian was willing to sacrifice everything for them, Mu Yan and the other two were the same.

Ten years of service was merely the baseline.

If Su Ming was unsatisfied, they would even consider twenty years, thirty years, or even a lifetime of unpaid service like Chi Qian.

“Alright,” Su Ming smiled wryly and said, “I have to admit, you’ve truly won me over.”

That’s right.

Su Ming was won over.

Two Upper-Rank Professionals and one Spirit Bearer—for Su Ming, who had just established a team and was eagerly seeking talent, this was indeed very attractive.

He had originally intended to recruit only Upper-Rank Professionals to ensure his team started off stronger than any other. Mu Yan and Feng Qing’er perfectly met his requirements, and if they could join his team, Su Ming would be overjoyed.

Among the three, only Tong Xinyao was not an Upper-Rank Professional, but she was a Spirit Bearer, even more precious than an Upper-Rank Professional.

This young girl, who could be considered one of the most promising geniuses in Tianfeng City, would undoubtedly advance to an Upper-Rank Professional at the fastest speed with his assistance, making her future even more promising.

If Chi Qian, Mu Yan, and Feng Qing’er gave Su Ming the impression of three potential stocks who might rise to Six-Star in the future, then Tong Xinyao gave him the feeling of a super potential stock who could possibly reach Seven-Star.

Especially as a Spirit Bearer, her descendants would have a high probability of inheriting the Spirit Bearer trait, possessing stronger spirituality and higher potential. Recruiting her would bring immense benefits to the team in the future.

So, Su Ming was genuinely won over.

“Wait!”

Chi Qian knew she could no longer remain silent.

If she stayed silent any longer, she would almost be treated as nonexistent.

But just as Chi Qian prepared to speak, Su Ming stopped her.

“Hold on, let me have a chat with your Commander first.”Su Ming first addressed Mu Yan and the other two with those words, then turned to Chi Qian.

“Come with me.”

With that, Su Ming took Chi Qian aside temporarily, and they began talking.

Mu Yan and the other two exchanged glances, ultimately unable to avoid showing some concern.

Not knowing what Su Ming and Chi Qian were discussing, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

In fact, the matter Su Ming and Chi Qian were discussing was indeed enough to surprise them.

“I want to recruit them into our team. Do you have a way to help me persuade them?”

Su Ming actually said this to Chi Qian.

Chi Qian was stunned.

Me, persuade them?

What kind of move is this?

(End of Chapter)