Chapter 272 - Staying Or Leaving (2)

Ying Yue He was quick to get it and opened it to see a man who didn't look much older than them. It was hard to tell ages with cultivators who may or may not have stopped aging or used items to stop it. "Senior Longwei, what can I do for you?"

The cultivator sighed and held up a tray of food currently covered. He gave a rather nonchalant shrug. "Eh, the rest insisted on me bringing the dinner to you guys. Maybe check up if you aren't trying to escape the island and all that—we know how jumpy some people are."

The last part ended with a direct glance in Li Yang's direction.

Li Yang barely bothered giving the senior cultivator a look as he held onto the hair dryer and continued drying his suit which he chose to get out of the bathroom in order to look busy.

"Please know who you are speaking to, Senior Longwei, that's my boyfriend we're talking about. Why would we try to escape?" Ying Yue He on the other hand flicked a wrist and disagreed with the beast tamer cultivator with a dismissive answer, before shutting the door and then making her way to Li Yang.

She could actually lie better than him.

Even Li Yang paused for a moment to comprehend what she said, while Senior Longwei himself probably looked like he had swallowed his tongue and words at Ying Yue He's remark. She shut the door in his face before he could even give an answer.

In one of the windows, Li Yang kept his gaze on the man that returned and slinked back into the forest. The cultivator rode on some kind of feral-looking beast monster that he couldn't quite place.

Either way, he had to hand it to Ying Yue He for her response.

Or she wholeheartedly believed that him asking her to leave with him meant tomorrow and by asking properly—he was never the type to simply do insane things like this.

"Do you know where we can get a boat?" Li Yang looked up to her and asked once he was sure that the Senior was already long gone. Possibly off to return to his friends or report on their presence.

This was as good a time as any to escape.

"Huh?" Ying Yue He blinked at him as she opened the cover on the food tray and revealed a sumptuous meal. If he wasn't mistaken, that seemed to be the Nian Beast and a quick status check confirmed it was some Nian Beast Meat Dish. "Um, I think I know where the port is, but maneuvering one—"

Li Yang nodded and then stared into thin air. "If I do the mission, does the protection while in sea mean a free ship? Safe voyage can only mean one thing."

"Mister Li?" Ying Yue He blinked at him in confusion. What was with the mission? Did he have a walkie talkie? Some earpiece that didn't get wet? She didn't see any spatial ring on his person and she didn't think that he would be in contact with the Shen Society if he  approached someone from Liu's Group.

The Panda Bao appeared in front of them and raised a paw. "I suppose they could offer a Ghost Ship—and ah, okay. Confirmed that once you reach the port as indicated in the System's map, they will automatically provide a sea vessel for you and your secretary to travel in. But good luck leaving undetected."

[ Heaven Granted Quest: Odyssey ]

If the Individual is able to escape into the sea without being detected, the Celestial Observers, OwlBrain and Trite are willing to grant a safe voyage to return to Shanghai without any sea monsters, sirens and other deadly undine creatures that may have noticed the death of the Nian Beast. The pursuers will not find them while at sea in the event of discovery.

Requirements: Stealth Escape

Rewards: Protection While In The Sea

Ying Yue He finally saw Bao because it let her see it—and the expression on her face was worth the amusement. She spluttered and pointed at Bao as if it was some kind of object. 

"Mister Li—do you have a spirit animal? What—what do they call this? Bonded creature? Like a little ghost attached to some ghost cultivators?"

Ying Yue He was aware of them—which spoke volumes to how much training she was receiving. She didn't seem disturbed by the thought and simply curious.

Bao on the other hand, jerked a paw at her. "I am no mere creature bonded to this insufferable jerk like you and other women are."

Li Yang raised a brow at the derogatory words. The term insufferable jerk seemed more applicable to the creature itself than himself, but it may have just been a two-way street.

Ying Yue He only stared at it in awe at its ability to display cunning intelligence, but then felt her face heat up at its words about her and Li Yang. Bonded? That wasn't what she had in mind when she was just reunited with her old boss… her boyfriend.

"But what about other women? What kind of bond are you speaking of?" Ying Yue He blinked and stared at the creature with a hint of both skepticism and incredulity. 

This was hopefully the drama that they in the Heavens were all waiting for.

Li Yang got away by telling Narissa that it was a curse but could he make that excuse again with Ying Yue He—before anyone could say anything else. He got up and threw the Enshrouding Shawl on the creature and found that it muffled the Panda's words perfectly. 

"It's nothing important as compared to leaving right away, Miss He." Li Yang offered her the Invisibility Cloak. "I know that they seem nice and they have taken care of you for the last months since I was gone, but they have an agenda with you. They want to use you as some kind of pawn in their organization. I won't stand for it."

".... I agreed to it."