"Young Master, I'm sure Chief Fan, Great Hero Pei, and the others watching from heaven wouldn't want to see you like this."
Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou knew that mentioning Qiongqi and the great battle a year ago had reminded Yang Qing of Fan Liyou's death, followed later by Pei Buji's, so they spoke up to console him.
After a brief dip in his spirits, Yang Qing quickly recovered.
People like them simply had no time to dwell on the sorrows of the past.
Besides, the best way to remember those who had gone ahead was to finish what they had never had the chance to accomplish. That was the finest tribute they could offer.
Seeing that Yang Qing looked noticeably better than before, Bu Er and Jiang Zhizhou both breathed a sigh of relief.
Still, their concern for him deepened.
"Qiongqi is no ordinary beast. It possesses great intelligence, so we cannot treat it lightly. If we let our guard down, we'll be the ones who suffer—or even lose our lives."
Yang Qing steadied himself and told Bu Er and the others, "That's why we must make every preparation as thorough as possible and consider every worst-case outcome that might arise."
Only by first placing themselves in a position of defeat could they see whether their arrangements still contained any errors or oversights.
Bu Er and the others split up, each going off to attend to his own tasks.
Meanwhile, Yang Qing accompanied Mo Chong on a thorough tour of the manor, inside and out.
Apart from their small group, the vast Mo Family Manor was completely deserted. Yet this seemingly empty estate carried a palpable air of tension.
It was the atmosphere of an impending battle.
At last, another three days passed.
This was the day Yang Qing