Chapter 565 - Taking a Vacation
Laura and the others understood Zhao Hai by now. Zhao Hai was a person with little ambition. If he wasn't compelled to upgrade his Space, they wouldn't have reached their current status.
At this time, a voice was heard from the courtyard, Zhao Hai then allowed Megan to open the door. What they saw were people coming into the courtyard. There were two middle-aged people and in their sides were two seemingly 20-year old men.
Kristen was standing in between the two middle-aged people, acting like a spoiled child. Zhao Hai deduced that these two people might be Kristen's parents.
Sure enough, when Kristen saw Zhao Hai open the door, she immediately spoke some words to the couple. The two looked at Zhao Hai and walked over and together they said, "We thank Patriarch Zhao Hai for saving our daughter's life, please accept our gratitude."
Zhao Hai quickly returned the gesture and said, "This one wouldn't dare, it's just a small help."
At this point, Juno came as Zhao Hai was talking to Kristen's parents. He smiled faintly and then said, "It's good that you're back, let's invite Patriarch Zhao Hai for a meal."
Kristen's father immediately nodded and then turned his head to Zhao Hai and gestured his hand, "Please accept our Hurricane family's invitation. Patriarch Zhao Hai, Ladies, please." Zhao Hai complied, and then he led Laura and the others as he followed the Hurricane Family to the dining room.
Although Kristen's home wasn't a castle and their yard was not big, they still had a place specifically used for dining. However, it's furniture weren't up to par with the other Great Nobles. The chairs and tables looked like they were used for many years. Although it was much better than commoners' homes, it was much worse compared to nobles.
Juno was there waiting for Zhao Hai and the others in the dining room. After the group sat down, Juno's wife immediately had the dished served.
After seeing the dishes, Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile. This Hurricane Family surely is very interesting. They're chosen to live this kind of village life, they lived with ordinarly old furniture, and the way they received their guests was the same as how country people receive them.
When Nobles eat meals, they would generally choose relatively good food, the more expensive the better. But country people were different, vegetables, fish, and meat were already good food. The Hurricane Family seems to embody this philosophy as well.
This was the first time that Laura and the others had this kind of food, so they felt very curious. On the other hand, Zhao Hai wasn't, instead, what he felt was warmth. Back on Earth, he had eaten meals like this all the time.
Juno repeatedly offered Zhao Hai the dishes, and Zhao Hai didn't decline. He ate the meal as he chatted with Juno, the meal was very relaxed and comfortable.
Zhao Hai discovered that the Hurricane Family people were very nice to speak to. Moreover, they don't talk like other nobles. You don't need to worry about your words, afraid of offending them. They also didn't go and probe your background, the Hurricane Family just wanted to talk about day to day activities.
After having eaten their meal, the group went to the living room and sat. Kristen's mother had served them something to drink. Kristen and the ladies, as well as Kristen's grandmother, left the room, leaving only Zhao Hai and Juno inside.
After taking a drink, Zhao Hai looked at Juno and said, "Elder, I just want to ask. What do you want to do about the recent matter?"
The matter that Zhao Hai meant was naturally the attack on Kristen. He wanted to know how Juno wanted to deal with it. If Juno doesn't want to make a move, then there would be no need for Zhao Hai to touch the Radiant Church. Otherwise, if he made a move this time, claiming that the Radiant Church attacked Kristen but the Hurricane Family doesn't have his back, then he would be placed in an awkward position.
If the Hurricane Family wanted to deal with the Radiant Church, then Zhao Hai can lend a hand, revealing this matter to the entire continent, making people raise their vigilance.
After Juno heard Zhao Hai, his eyes immediately shined as he said, "Does Mister mean the attack on Kristen? I'm still quite not sure, but it's for certain that I won't let this matter go. Mister Zhao Hai should also understand that even if the Buddha Empire was afraid of being controlled by the Radiant Church, suppressing it, the Church still has their presence inside the Empire. If we deal with them now, they would definitely fight back. And that would not be good."
Zhao Hai nodded, he knew that Juno was right. Seeing Zhao Hai nod, Juno continued, "Therefore, I want to spread this matter in the meantime, letting everyone be on guard against the Radiant Church. I think that as long as the continent knew about this, then they would definitely think of ways to deal with the Radiant Church."
Zhao Hai nodded again and then said, "This action is also good. Dealing with the Radiant Church couldn't be done in a single day. If the Radiant Church's attack on Kristen were to spread, the people would surely dread the church. In the future, it would be much more difficult for the church to attack individual people. Moreover, Great Nobles would also start suppressing them even more. Soon enough, the Radiant Church wouldn't be able to take advantage of any situation."
Juno nodded and said, "This is the only thing that we could do right now. But I can also be sure that the Radiant Church wouldn't let our Hurricane Family go with just this. Although our Hurricane Family doesn't have enemies, it doesn't mean that nobody can bully us."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Elder should already know about my Buda Clan's enmity with the Radiant Church. If Elder needs anything from us, feel free to send word."
Juno laughed and said, "Alright, if our Hurricane Family goes to war with the Radiant Church, then we would certainly ask the Buda Clan for help."
When Zhao Hai heard Juno's words, he couldn't help but feel elated. Juno had already regarded the Buda Clan as allies, and for the clan, this was a great thing.
However, Zhao Hai can also see that Juno doesn't want to specifically state this alliance. But it still made Zhao Hai happy, having a potential ally was already very good.
In the next several days, Zhao Hai and the others lived in Juno's residence. The farmers woke up very early, although Zhao Hai and the others don't wake up very late, they were still much worse than them.
Moreover, from these past several days, Zhao Hai also understood that the performance of the Hurricane Family towards him was not deliberately done. This was because in Zhao Hai's stay in Juno's residence, he can see that the Bamboo rice being planted and taken care of were all done with care. The other farmers who were around Juno's residence were also greeting Juno every single day. It was quite obvious that this was their day to day life.
After observing for several days, Zhao Hai discovered that the Hurricane Family was quite a loose family. They don't look like they share a common family, but just their surname. The people in the family generally lived on their own. Although they had a Patriarch, his authority wasn't as strong as in the other Noble families. Every year, the Patriarch would go and collect the taxes, but this tax would also be circulated back into the family.
Compared to the other Nobles, the position of Patriarch in the Hurricane Family was more of a rallying position than a position of power.
However, if one were to say that the Hurricane Family was dispersed, then they would also be very wrong. The Hurricane Family still had their faith in the Wind God, and each person was fully devoted to the belief. Although they live separately, once a ceremony was required, all of them went in as one. They were more solid than any average Noble family.
Zhao Hai had lived for five days in Juno's residence. And he spent this five days mostly outdoors. He was going all around the mountain and looking at the Bamboo Rice as well as the Oil Trees. He also chatted with the villagers and came to know them by name.
Regarding Zhao Hai's actions, Juno couldn't help but be surprised. Juno has also heard about Zhao Hai's background. He was a playboy from his younger years, but when their clan suffered disaster, he suddenly encountered a fortuitous encounter and managed to make the Buda Clan into what it is today.
However, Juno also thought that Zhao Hai didn't know about the habits and customs of a village. After all, Zhao Hai lived in a major city in the past. He may go outside at the very least, once every year. But this one time might only be about business, or to fight another person. For him to be able to get comfortable in a village was impossible if he didn't live in one in the past. So how was he very familiar with it right now?
Zhao Hai was obviously very used to it, moreover, he looks like he has lived in a village for majority of his life. This made Juno confused. Actually, what made Juno most surprised was the conduct of Zhao Hai's wives.
With their identities, Juno had always thought that they were going to be delicate ladies, just like princesses. Compared to their previous living arrangements, this village setting of the Hurricane Family was too simple and crude.
However, Laura and the others were acting pretty normal, they can actually move on their own. They also weren't very curious about crops like the Bamboo Rice or the Oil Trees. In fact, it was the opposite, they knew a lot about the Bamboo Rice and the Oil trees, this was very surprising for the old man.
Although Juno was very surprised about Zhao Hai's group, he didn't attempt to probe them or ask. In the recent days, Zhao Hai was also not talking about the matter with the Dwarves, nor about the matters with the Buda Clan and the Radiant Church. Zhao Hai seemed to enjoy his current state, one could see the joy and bliss reflected on his face.
Five days passed by in a blink of an eye. And on the morning of the next day, Zhao Hai and the others got up early, combed their hair, and washed their face before going to the dining room to have breakfast. Breakfast in the countryside was very simple, and since they were already familiar with Juno, they didn't need to act too polite.
Juno was already waiting for them in the dining room. After the group sat down, Juno smiled to Zhao Hai and said, "Little Hai, you should prepare yourself. We'll be departing for Dwarf Mountain today."
Zhao Hai stared, then he nodded and said, "Alright. Actually, there's no need to prepare anything, I'm ready to go anytime." To be honest, he wasn't actually thinking about leaving this village life, he was enjoying himself here. The five days that Zhao Hai spent here was the most comfortable he had been in the past year. It seemed very much like a vacation, making Zhao Hai very reluctant to leave.
But as it seems, it looks like the vacation has ended.
Chapter 566 - Frightened
Standing on the deck of the Haven, Juno's facial expression was very calm while Zhao Hai was there standing at his side. They were now navigating back in Iron Warhorse River.
The Hurricane Family's five-master ship had received some damages in the fight, so it was now under repair. Therefore, when they departed this time, they used Zhao Hai's ship.
Not only did Iron Warhorse River span the entire Buddha Empire, it was also quite deep and very wide. The river was an important lifeline for the Buddha Empire's prosperity.
The end of the river was a place not far from the Dwarf Mountains. This was very convenient for Zhao Hai, as they were now heading towards the Dwarves.
They had been sailing for four days after they left the Hurricane Family's territory. In about three days, they should reach the end of the river.
While looking at the river's scenery, Juno sighed and said, "It's been quite a few years since I've left the territory, I don't know how those old folks were doing. Little Hai, this trip to the Dwarves, I can only be responsible for introducing you to them. You must know that the Dwarves are very stubborn. If they decided to not trade with you, then nobody's words can change their minds. Right, what kind of things do you intend to trade with them?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "They're Dwarves, naturally I'd want their metalwares. I intend to trade them with liquor in exchange."
Juno stared, then he laughed and said, "Good, that's a great idea. Those fellows do indeed love drinking. If you give them great wines, they would surely do business with you. Right, what liquor are you selling? Is it Milk Wine?"
Zhao Hai's best selling liquor was also made known to Juno. Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Yes, but I intend to trade them with a higher quality Milk Wine."
Juno smiled and said, "That's good. There's no better business with Dwarves other than liquor. I've also tried your Milk WIne, they're very good. Especially that higher quality one, it's fragrant."
The higher quality milk wine that Juno mentioned was actually the Milk Wine made from cow's milk. This was because cow's milk was much mellower compared to argali milk. Making it's flavor much better, therefore, making a much better wine. Of course, the sellers needed to differentiate and describe the difference of the two, otherwise, the other Nobles wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Grandpa Juno, if you like, I'll have a batch given to you. In any case, those are my products. Me giving them away wouldn't be a big deal."
Juno smiled and said, "Alright, after we head back, you leave some behind for me. By now, I find the other wines quite tasteless. I must say Little Hai, you've been living a great life on board your ship."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "I'm not really that comfortable. As you can see, I always move around, doing things here and there."
Juno smiled and said, "No need to underplay yourself Little Hai, just let this old man complain here for a little bit. Right, Dwarves are generally good people. But don't go and deceive them, if they find out, they wouldn't be able to let you off easily."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Rest assured, I already know this. I quite understand their character, after all, they seem to be like the Beastmen."
Juno smiled and said, "Alright, just be good. Also, Dwarves can take jokes, you can even tease them about their height, and they will never get angry. However, if you say something bad about their metalwares, they will immediately get enraged. Doing that is not a good idea."
Zhao Hai nodded, "Alright, I'll remember that. I will certainly watch my mouth. In fact, most of these ironware would be supplied to the Beastmen. If not for their needs for weapons, I wouldn't be coming here."
Juno nodded, the reason why he reminded Zhao Hai about this point was because he was afraid that Zhao Hai would undercut the price by intentionally saying that the Dwarf goods are no good. If that happens, Zhao Hai would definitely be offending the entire Dwarf Race.
However, when Juno heard that Zhao Hai wanted to get the majority of these ironware for the Beastmen, he immediately became curious. The Milk Wines that Zhao Hai had been selling was definitely related to the Beastmen. What made people confused was that the Milk Wine that Zhao Hai sells were much better than those of the Beastmen. It was actually a peculiar thing.
Juno looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Do you have a good relationship with the Beastmen?"
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "I'm friends with the Cow and Dog Race. I have good relationship with the Black Bears and I also have some deals with the Hawks recently. As for the other races, I don't have too much contact with them."
Juno nodded, then he smiled faintly and said, "The Radiant Church had just made a huge blunder back in Aksu Empire. Does this matter have something to do with you?"
Zhao Hai stared, then he shook his head and said, "I don't. I only received rumors about the matter with the Radiant Church and the Aksu Empire. I don't know any of the specifics. You should know that me and the Radiant Church don't really look eye to eye. So it's quite impossible for me to know about their matters. My scouts don't have supernatural activities to know about their secret plans. Also how could the Radiant Church let untrusted people know about specific things?"
Juno nodded, he believed Zhao Hai's words. The Radiant Church attached great importance to this matter, otherwise they wouldn't have sent a red robed Archbishop to manage their operation. However, this defeat still baffled a lot of people. Nobody knew how the Beastmen found out about the Radiant Church's plan, causing the Church to lose a lot.
Even if the continent was confused, there weren't a lot of people who suspected Zhao Hai. The continent knew about the enmity between Zhao Hai and the Radiant Church. The Radiant Church naturally knew about this, so they should be on guard against Zhao Hai.
At the same time, the Buda Clan was also still an emerging Clan, their background was insufficient. Moreover, Zhao Hai also had a falling out with the entire Aksu Empire, almost no family in the Aksu Empire was on his side. Although his relationship with the Iksa Family and the Purcell Family was good, the Iksa Family was already gone before the Beastman attack while the Purcell Duchy was turned into sacrificial paws by the Radiant Church. Therefore, there would be no way for Zhao Hai to find out about anything.
Because of this, after the war, no matter how strange the Radiant Church's defeat was, nobody had any thoughts that Zhao Hai would have a hand on the Church's demise.
When summarizing the reasons of their failure, although the Radiant Church had turned their internal and external arrangements inside out, they still didn't place any suspicions towards Zhao Hai. In their minds, even if the Buda Clan was strong, their information gathering aspect was still very weak.
It was impossible for the people of the continent to even come up with the existence of the Space. They were still stuck in thinking about the normal modes of gathering information.
But still, Juno's question made Zhao Hai break into a cold sweat. It was great that they had prepared an excuse for this. He didn't want any other people to know that he had used the Beastmen to deal with the Radiant Church. The lesser people knew the better.
The people of the continent might be repulsed with the Radiant Church, but they still think of them as fellow Humans. If they came to know that Zhao Hai sided with the Beastmen in order to deal a blow to the Radiant Church, then they might make Zhao Hai into the number one enemy of the Humans.
It was also good that there were only a few Beastmen who knew about Zhao Hai's hand in the matter. The general populace only believed that there was a mysterious person that helped them. After all, when Zhao Hai visited the Beastman camp, he donned the disguise of another person.
If there were people to suspect, then it might be the Engraved Ark. This organization was very mysterious, moreover, they wanted to subvert the Ark Continent. Such matters was what they might possibly do.
Juno had just blurted this question out thoughtlessly and didn't take it to heart. But even if Zhao Hai told him that he used the Beastmen against the Radiant Church, he still wouldn't it say anything. After all, if the Beastmen were to attack the Aksu Empire, they would be dealing a huge blow against the Radiant Church.
And with their recent attack to his Granddaughter, Kristen, Juno was even more unsupportive towards the Church. Juno had a lot of children, but the one he favors the most was Kristen's father. He already set his heart on having Kristen's father as the future Patriarch of the Family. However, the one Juno loved the most was Kristen. Therefore, the Radiant Church attacking Kristen had managed to touch Juno's bottom line.
The Hurricane Family were good-natured people, but this didn't mean that they would just endure. In their early years, the reason why the Hurricane Family was able to hold on to their territory was because they also punched back. If the Hurricane Family fully mobilized this time, their might would not be worse than the other millenium-old family. They weren't even behind in terms of their wealth. It was only because of their ancestral doctrine that they maintained this kind of life.
In fact, even if Juno said that it was not the time to deal with the Radiant Church, he already sent some people towards the Churches of the Radiant Church inside the Buddha Empire. Nobody from the Radiant Church was spared.
Being a good person didn't mean that you didn't have any temper. If people hit your left face, you turn back and hit their right. If one doesn't fight back, it didn't mean that you have great values, it also means that you are without spine.
The reason why Juno told Zhao Hai that he didn't want to move against the Radiant Church was because he didn't want Zhao Hai to know. Juno knew about how big Zhao Hai's enmity with the Radiant Church was. If Juno told Zhao Hai, then it was inevitable that Zhao Hai would help, elevating the matter by another lever. In the current case, the matter was still under Juno's control.