Chapter 5 - Have a nice trip! See you next fall! (pt 1)

Next morning I woke up sore all over. If it wasn't for the Nine Transformation Pills I would've looked like a chess board. That ancient adolescent really put me through the dish washer. I swear I'll get back at that soulless motherf.u.c.ker even if it's the last thing I do.

Stretching a few times I made my way to get dressed in my regular clothes only to realize I had just my spares available. My very old, crummy spares. Ah right… my regulars destroyed in that dance with Shen Yue's thugs and I was poorer than a country mouse before so they were my only good... eh, decent set. Well, I should go check on the order today anyway so I'll do some clothes shopping at the same time.

It was a day off from school anyway and it was decided to meet the rest during the evening at the library. Lu Piao begged to be allowed to sleep in late, though I don't understand why since the little lovable turd could cultivate on the toilet with his attribute. Well, not to look a gift horse in the teeth.

Deciding to go for a walk I made my way to the more noble neighborhood as it was the shortest as well as safest for me, considering that the Sacred family could've put a target on my back. Walking passed a just two courtyards took a few good minutes , damn rich people and their big a.s.s houses. Anyway, as I was taking in the scenery I managed to sneak a glance at a gate that had two guards stationed there. However, it was not the guards that attracted my attention but the nameplate: Winged Dragon.

I might be signing my own death certificate for doing this but… what the hell, you only live once… eh, twice in my case… .

Well, we could discuss semantics or we can get the show on the road. Putting my hands behind my back I strolled up to one of the guards.

The guard scanned me over briefly before sneering "If you want to beg then you won't find mercy here!" he growled. I raised an eyebrow. This f.u.c.ker thought I was a beggar? Truthfully I wasn't dressed in fine clothes, and the material was on the thinner side, but to go that far…

Swallowing my disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e I turned to him "Please inform Ning'er that Long Wan has come to see her."

"You…" the guard put his hand on his sword. The other guard however stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

Sighing hard I glared at him "Does the Winged Dragon family hire deaf people to stand as guards? I said my name is Long Wan."

The other guard grabbed me by my shirt, pulled me up and brought me close to his face. "Listen you insolent riff-raff! Get lost before I make you!" Yuck! I really should invent toothpaste or breath mints...

I narrowed my eyes at him "Let go!" I ordered "Or don't blame me for being impolite!"

The guard smirked "I won't! So what?"

The next second he flew into the courtyard and landed with a loud splash, maybe in the carp pond, these rich families had their own miniature lakes afterall. The second guard took out his sword and made a motion to attack me before an angelic voice called out "What's going on he… Long Wan?!"

Ning'er had come out in a panic. A man flying and landing in your yard isn't exactly an everyday occurrence, even in Glory City. She was wearing a light summer white cheongsam made of silk that accentuated ever bit of her perfect body. Her hair was up in two buns with two strands hanging freely from them. Hearing the little miss, the guard skidded to a halt. It looked like his mind reset as he heard Ning'er call out my name. Looking at her for a second and then to me his expression turned very frightened as he quickly sheathed his sword and bowed deeply while cupping his hands "Young lord, please forgive us for this terrible mistake!" Seems that age did come with wisdom.

Seeing this, Ning'er's face filled with even more questions "Long Wan, what happened?" she asked as he gracefully made her way to me to scan me over for damages. Unlike her training clothes, this cheongsam restricted movement but it enhanced feminine actions so it looked like a wife was greeting her husband after he returned from battle.

Chuckling I waved my hand in front of her. We were in public so we needed to keep intimate interactions at a minimum. "I was on my way to do some clothes shopping when I noticed that I was walking by your family's estate. Due to this I've wanted to ask if you could join me since I don't have any taste in clothes." It was true. My fashion sense was that of a dead skunk and my artistic skills could cause me to confuse a Picasso with a car crash. "It was then that your guards decided that they would help me cement the skills that Nie Li taught me yesterday."

Ning'er wasn't stupid. It didn't take her more than a second to turn to the guard with an angry expression "You attacked my friend!?" she said with womanly rage making the guard take a few steps back. She was the genius little miss of the Xiao family. Pissing her off was the last thing he should do.

She grimaced "Was it that bad?" she asked with concern.

Rubbing the back of my neck I grunted "I woke up feeling like I made mad passionate love with a heard of horned goats." I said earning a giggle. That laughter evaporated my pain away as sparkles danced around her "But my pride took the most damage. My apologies you had to see that sorry state of mine." she was there in the audience so naturally she would see me at my weakest.

She put her hands around her back as she gazed at the sky "Actually, I thought you were very manly when you put Nie Li in that hold."

Well that was a boost to my self esteem. However I should change into something more fitting to my new confidence. Wouldn't do for these stuck up nobles in this area to think of me as a hobo… again.

Crossing my arms in front of me I asked again "So will you come?" . She tilted her cute head like a puppy asking for what. "Shopping of course. Your guards mistook me for a beggar. I had a half-though to kill him by burying him in demon spirit coins." I said earning another laugh from her "But even I don't have enough funds to crush all guards, and I need someone to help me chose what fits me. A feminine touch would be best."

Ning'er's cheeks became rosy and she nodded "En. I wanted to get a few things too." before moving a hand to her lips "Ah, I forgot my ring inside. Let me go get it real quick!"

I quickly moved between her and the gate "Absolutely not! I will cover today's expenses." I said as I blocked her path.

"Long Wan, you shouldn't…" she tried to sideways me but I still had a longer reach than her and her dress wasn't helping her agility.

"You there!" a male voice called out to me from behind. Not again! These assholes seemed to come out in a never-ending stream like f.u.c.k.i.n.g c.o.c.kroaches. Turning around I could see a man in his late 30s to early 40s rushing towards us, the aura he emanated clearly showing an expert of high degree. "What are you doing bothering my daughter?"

My daughter? Father?! This was Ning'er's dad. I had forgotten his name as he was an unimportant side character in the novel but here he was and considering how far I planned to go with his daughter I had to make a good impression. Too bad that he caught me now when I was in my spares. Damn luck.

Ning'er got in between us, arms stretched wide an stood firm. Seeing this the Xiao Patriarch calmed down.

"This is my good friend Long Wan. He wasn't bothering me at all." she all but screamed at him. His abrupt actions must've scared her into thinking he was going to hurt me. I couldn't back down now.

Swallowing my fear and anxiety I stepped in between them as if to shield Ning'er, looking respectfully but also confidently in his eyes. Cupping my hands I stated politely: "Greetings sir, my name is Long Wan. As Ning'er said we are good friends and classmates. It's an honor to meet you!"

Her dad scanned me over before scrunching his nose "A friend? What are you here for?"

Smiling I repeated for the I-don't-know-what time by now "I was asking Ning'er to join me clothes shopping. My better clothes got ruined during a scuffle at school."

His frowned deepened before realization hit him and his expression softened considerably. He cupped his hands towards me. This was a big move, especially from an elder "Ah! So you are young Long Wan. I heard about you. Please forgive me and my outburst. I am called Xiao Yunfeng." I did a double take. Why did he behave like this. I was expecting him to act.. Well more like a dad of a daughter. Smiling he continued "I heard how you got vengeance on the one who hurt my little Ning'er, chased away his friends as well as how you healed her." Ah of course. He was a noble, and a top middle ranking one at that so there was no way the vice-principal could keep the daughter of the patriarch getting hurt a secret.

Smiling I moved forward summoning another box not unlike the one I gave Ning'er "Ah, it's no problem at all. Misunderstandings happen all the time. Ning'er is a very good friend so please accept these elixirs as a gift on her behalf."

He took the box with both hands (which was a sign of great respect in this world, as was giving with both hands) before opening one bottle and sniffing it. Instantly his eyes widened as he put the box away in his ring "We will gratefully accept. We are lucky Ning'er has such a great friend."

Yunfeng mirrored my actions "Please walk slowly." he said before returning.

As I was distancing myself I vaguely heard him yell at the guards saying they will get a pay cut this month…

We made our way to the market square with Ning'er as close to my side as she could be without raising suspicion. My palm burned with the d.e.s.i.r.e to hold hers and I suspected she felt the same judging by how she kept stealing glances at my arm before biting her lip. Soon my dear, very soon.

The first order of business was to change out of these clothes so we went to the appropriate district. Entering one shop that looked fancy I began browsing for menswear while leaving Ning'er a little to the side to check on accessories. I was looking for some different sets when a buff middle aged man, with a long thin moustache that framed his mouth and went down below his chin approached me from the side. Normally I wouldn't have paid it any mind but he got really close before coughing hard and grabbing me by my sleeve. The fabric was quite a bit old so he tore it.

"I thought I told you urchins to stay the f.u.c.k out of my store!" he grunted as he pulled harder making me lose my balance and fall to the ground. The f.u.c.ker didn't stop there as he kept dragging me towards the door.

This was really pissing me off right now so I grabbed his arm and dug my fingers right below his wrist where his tendons were. The next second he wreathed like some kind of branded stallion before pulling away, cradling the arm as if it was broken "You insolent... Get out of my store before I call the city guards!"

Before I could comply another elderly voice called out "Young master!?". Turning around I saw that it was the store owner from where I had ordered my armor.

The buff man turned to the new arrival asking "Big bro, you know this street rat?"

The elderly salesman made his way to our side with a speed that was uncanny for his age and grabbed the buff man by the ear like a parent scolding a petulant child "You absolute moron! How are you treating my most valuable customer!?"

To answer I simply raised my left hand, sleeve dangling loosely from my pit, hanging on for dear life by, quite literally, a thread.

Blood drained from both their faces as the old man dragged the buff one down to the floor, prostrating themselves in front of me "Our most humble apologies young lord. We will surely make up for the offense."

Chuckling at the scene I raised both of them by the scruff of their shirts as high as my adolescent body could manage "First of all, I'm no lord. It's just that I'm a very rich commoner. Second of all, these were old clothes that I wanted to toss out anyway. Third and finally, I don't want your apologies, I just want to buy clothes." my words came with an amused but slightly exasperated tone.

"But of course! Xiao Xian, go and bring out the best stock!" the elder said before fl.i.c.k.i.n.g his wrist and sending his younger brother away with a kick in the a.s.s as bonus.

Hearing the angelic giggle that I couldn't rid myself of (not that I wanted to) I turned to Ning'er to see her hiding her mouth with her oversized sleeve, rosy color adorning her cheeks.

Moving as close as I possibly could without fear of submitting to the urge to kiss her I said with fake anger "You know, you could've interfered at any time you wanted to."

She giggled even harder and that made it difficult for me not to go in and not intentionally provoke mr muscle mountain again. If she would laugh all her life like this, then even my very soul would be a small price to pay. Recovering her breath she finally managed to say "But that was so amusing." she dismissed. 'Women...' I thought shaking my head.

I looked around and saw no other customers today. It was early morning on the equivalent of their Saturday so most were out shopping for groceries, not for clothes. It was also important to note that this store was the kind only for nobles or people with deep pockets could afford to visit. Even so, consequences be damned, I was drunk on love! My body moved on autopilot scooping her up into a bone crushing embrace. I felt her stiffen in my arms but other than that moment there was no resistance. It didn't take long for Ning'er to return the embrace, her heat warming me up to the core.

My heart didn't want to but my reason said no so I released the girl, my girl. This left her pouting and my heart sank. Shen Fei, when I get my hands on you, you better pray I'm in a good mood because no elixir, no magical potion, hell no deity in the world will be able to fix what I'll do to you.

Turning to Ning'er I smiled "Please help me choose a few." and she blushed deeply but nodded. Why did she blush? Ah! From Long Wan's memories I recalled that boys are usually chosen clothes by their mothers. However in the case of men, that duty falls to the wives. How cutely innocent she is.

Steeling my face I turned to the shop owner "The way you treated me today... I'll forgive the offense if you swear to keep our transactions a secret."

Xian bowed and cupped his hands "Of course young master! No worries, we take customer privacy very seriously."

"Long Wan." Hearing Ning'er call out my name I turned to her only to see her standing with a couple of clothes in hand. Taking them from her with both hands I mouthed a thank you to her before returning to Xian and giving him a storage ring "There are 1.5 million demon spirit coins in there. It will cover any purchase that either I or the young lady will make. You can open a credit line for us with the rest and keep ten thousand as a tip." The man's eyes nearly jumped out. It's really no surprise he acted this way since I doubt his entire store wouldn't match that value even if he included the building as well.

"Long Wan, you shouldn't have done that!" Ning'er scolded while tugging my good sleeve.

Smiling I shrugged "But I did it anyway. So you better chose some things too otherwise it's just wasted money."

Puffing her cheeks she turned towards the accessories again while I went in the back to change. After struggling a few minutes with the unfamiliar clothes I finally stopped to check myself in the mirror. It seems Ning'er chose clothes similar to what I wore before. The shirt was black as well, except that the shirt was now made of fine silk with intricate patterns at the seams and the edges were made of tightly woven gold thread. It was also looser than my previous shirt and closed with a sash rather than buttons. The pants were of matching design. The only new edition was a white sleeveless vest with a high collar, with the edges and decorations made of gold weave. As for the decorations, there were two lotus flowers, one on each shoulder and a Jiao Dragon on the back.

Stepping out of the dressing room I grimaced as one thread of the pants got stuck in between the globes of my a.s.s making it very uncomfortable to walk.

"Long Wa..." Ning'er began but stopped instantly when she got a good look at me, blood filling her cheeks.

"Well?" I asked with a smile, or at least a combination of a smile and a grimace as the thread kept on violating me.

"You look... Regal..." she said with a blush "It suits you very well... Even your expressions seem to have changed."

Catching a glimpse of myself in a mirror I couldn't help notice how much I looked like Shen Yue with the face I was making while the thread dug deeper in my nether realm. "So that's why..."

"What?" she asked with concern.

I sighed "A thread from these clothes came undone and is now in a very uncomfortable place, making me imitate the Sacred family members. It puzzled me how they could always walk around with that 'I can't believe I'm breathing the same air as you peasants' look. Now I know they have something stuck up their asses."

Ning'er blinked twice as she processed what I've just said before she burst into a full blown laugh, the sweet sounds of her happiness echoing loudly into my ears. Tears of joy wet the corner of her eyes as she bet over while holding a crate for support with one hand and her stomach with the other "That, haha, that does indeed make, haha, make sense!"

Flexing my lower cheeks I summoned a void tendril to rip the thread to pieces. Superhuman powers did have some advantages after all. After this I made a motion to call the shop owner who arrived in a flash "I'll take six sets of these clothes. I also want some more flexible clothes for training and a set or two of light but durable clothes that don't restrict movement for adventuring outside the city gates, preferably a combination of dark green and black, no decorations."

"Coming right up!" he said and five minutes later I had 25 sets of clothing in my ring "The total is 23 thousand demon spirit coins, including the young lady's purchase. It is well within your coverage sum. If there isn't anything else I can do for you then please, walk slowly!" he said with a bow.

Now that he said it I did notice some new items on Ning'er. She had new silk ribbons tying her hair buns, a lovely new jade and gold bracelet on her even lovelier right wrist and a tiny gold and silver hairpin kept her bangs away from her eyes "They suit you very well. I didn't think it was possible for you to look lovelier than you did before." I said with a smile and she responded with a shy thanks.

The next move I did was to get some new shoes though no major event happened this time thank the gods. Finally our last destination was the emporium owned by the elder brother of the clothes shop owner.

"Ah! Young master, welcome! I hope that that idiot brother of mine made proper amends. Anyway your order is ready." he said happily.

I nodded "As long as he keeps my business private then I will ignore everything that has happened. I also request the same from you."

The man puffed his aged c.h.e.s.t out "Do not worry young master! We brothers take our customers' image very seriously." he said and I nodded, after which he retrieved three rings. "Here you go. The pink jade ring is the female version while the gold ring also contains the scroll."

"And here is what I promised to give you for a job well done." Summoning a ring of my own I exchanged it with his three "Ah, I wish to try it on now. Is it possible?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes, I can open a storage room. Would the lady like to as well?" he asked towards Ning'er who was behind me a half step.

She shot me a puzzled look as I handed her the pink ring. "There is a Gold rank armor set in there. You can wear it now or wait till you return home."

"Gold rank?! Long Wan, that is too much. I can't accept it." she said as she made to return the ring but I stuck my hands in my sleeves. Can't understand why she thinks it too much considering that not too long ago I gave her 100 pills, each worth more than one armor set.

"It was made to order for you to protect you when I'm not around. If you don't want it then it will have to be thrown away." I shrugged "But if you do then I'll tell your dad about the planned trip. Not sure how thrilled he would be to see his little girl frolic in the dangers outside the city walls."

She gained a look of terror as blood drained from her face "You wouldn't!"

"'I wouldn't', only if you wear the armor on the trip." I smiled.

Ning'er looked conflicted for a moment as she looked at the ring before wrapping her palm over it "Long Wan. Why do you care so much about me?"

"I think I made it clear that night in the hunting grounds." I replied with a hum and a smile.

"But why?" she asked with her own mouth curving slightly upwards.

Tucking my hands behind my back I looked everywhere and nowhere "Why does the sun rise from the east? Some things are what they are for no particular reason. It's just how my heart moves." I said as I made my way towards the storage area where I tucked the armor under my clothes. It was pretty light but definitely tough. There were vambraces, a sleeveless c.h.e.s.t piece , short pants and finally chausses. They were all made of some kind of lizard leather, with it's scales interlocked like lamellar armor.

Walking out I turned to the store owner again "You said you stock only Bronze rank armor. What about Silver rank?"

The man smiled "It's also to order. In stock I have only one set that was ordered previously but the owner didn't show up to pick it up. Rumour has it that the person died. Unfortunately it is for a female fighter so it's not as easy to resell." Even if some girls joined our class they were outnumbered many times by the boys. Even then, those girls would usually focus on crafting and inscription patterns so female frontliners were exceedingly rare.

However that suits me just fine "I'll take it. And also some demon crystals of primary, intermediate and advanced natures, three of each." I said.

"That'll be 798 thousand demon spirit coins." the man said enthusiastically as he went to retrieve the items and put them in a ring free of charge.

I turned to Ning'er who stayed quiet all this time but you could see questions cooking in her brain. Smiling I answered "The armor is for Ziyun. She will be joining us on the trip and even with her position I'm sure that she doesn't own anything like this. Ning'er nodded and accepted it with a kind smile. Ziyun was her best friend afterall (besides myself) so she cared for her very much.

We bid our goodbyes to the store owner and started to walk towards Ning'er's home when the most unpleasant voice called out from behind.

"Ning'er?!" . The voice belonged to a man but the feeling it gave me is like Satan himself slithered up my back while l.i.c.k.i.n.g me seductively.

We both turned around to see a group of teens led by a regal looking young man. "Shen Fei..." Ning'er called out his name in response and I just frowned.

"What are you doing here?" he barked arrogantly before turning his gaze at me "You're walking with another man? Are you putting a green hat on me?" he yelled angrily causing the entire market to stop and turn towards us and made Ning'er look extremely depressed and oppressed at the same time. He dare accuse her of cheating? Him?! Even now while a woman was coiled around his hand, her t.i.t.s swallowing his elbow.

This f.u.c.k.i.n.g asshole just blew my fuse. I growled "Young master Shen Fei, you're disturbing the harmony. If you wish to accuse infidelity perhaps you should first take your hand off the evidence." I said pointing to the woman who pretended that nothing happened.

He turned to me with the most snobbish expression I've ever seen "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? Do you have a death wish?"

My frowned deepened "Do you?" I growled.

"That's it!" he screamed as he launched himself at me. He was faster than anything I have ever faced but he telegraphed his moves even more than I ever did. Compared to my session with Nie Li, he was sending me a perfumed envelope a week in advance with a letter telling me where he was aiming at.

However I was a novice and he was Silver rank as well so the only thing I could do is move in front of Ning'er to shield her from any downfall and guard my face with my forearms. A sickening crunch was heard as Shen Fei recoiled from the hit while my bones reverberated with shock but were otherwise fine. His fist however was red and swelling up by the second. Oh yeah, Gold Rank armor. I forgot about that...

"What did you do to me?!" Shen Fei growled while the girl was cradling his now injured hand and his friends stepped forward ready to attack.

My mouth curved into a grin that would make the Cheshire cat envious as I inhaled a lot of air and mixed it with my soul force. Like idiot little brother, like moronic elder brother. "HE~LP!" I yelled out loud "THE SACRED FAMILY IS ATTACKING ME! MUR~DER~!"

"Y-You!" Shen Fei yelled back "You're Long Wan!"

"HE~LP! MUR~DER~! HE~LP!" I continued screaming as if I was in mortal danger.

"Damn it! Shut him up fast!" he ordered his goons. Unlike with Shen Yue, these people were at least 4 star Bronze, some even Silver so I quickly pushed Ning'er out of the way and curled into a ball, protecting my head and letting those morons hurt themselves on my armor, all the time my screams continued to sound out.

"What's going on here?!" came a duet consisting of a resounding beastly voice and a more feminine one.

"Shit! It's Huyan Xiong!" growled Shen Fei. The Huyan weren't a major family but he was sworn brother with the City Lord so he had some serious backing. Turning to me he sneered like a sneezing snake "You're lucky brat! Next time you won't get off so easily!" and with that he took his cronies and bolted.

Ning'er had just recovered and made her way to help me up. Just as I was about to stand, Huyan Xiong walked behind me, his impressive physique putting me in his shade. At the same time, a young lady of about 16, maybe 17 and impressive beauty came over to the side of me opposite of Ning'er.

"Little brother, are you alright?" she asked in concern before looking in the direction the attackers had fled "I knew that Shen Fei is a lowlife, but to even attack kids now. Has he no shame?" she said while helping Ning'er lift me up "Do you need a doctor?"

Getting to my feet "No thank you miss. The only thing that's hurt is my pride and to cure that all I need is some baiju and a good woman." I said before cl.i.c.k.i.n.g my teeth in annoyance "And I had just bought these clothes."

"Bwahaha!" Xiong roared out like he just heard the best dad joke. "I like you little fellow! You've got guts." he slapped my back so hard that I felt my soul leave with the breath of air I expelled, and that was through the c.h.e.s.t piece. He might as well have killed me with kindness had I not been wearing protection "Hmm?" he kept his hand on my back and felt around

"Dad?" the girl asked. If Xiong was her dad then she must be Lanruo.

"Bwahahaha! No wonder you're fine, you're wearing armor underneath. At least silver rank, maybe even gold rank."

Nodding I took a breath to regain the air I lost before "The later. And thank you for the help patriarch Huyan Xiong!" I said cupping my hands.

The man continued laughing "Help? If you're wearing that kind of armor then Shen Fei is the one who needed help. "

Huyan Lanruo giggled "Little brother that was so devious of you!"

My eyes scanned her figure once. She was indeed a beauty over Ning'er but it wasn't a fair comparison due to the age gap. I don't doubt that it will be truly difficult to choose a winner between the two. Sadly for her, I was a 29 year old man in the body of a teen. I had some experience in my life with women and had seen enough p.o.r.n to write a dictionary.

Sighing I fixed my eyes into hers and smiled "But I didn't do anything to them. Shen Fei attacked me out of nowhere and then set his dogs on me. How am I the devious one?" I said trying to look as cute and innocent as possible.

This made Lanruo giggle out loudly but to also look at me with a sly look. She bent down seductively, letting me have a deep look at the valley between her twin peaks "Little brother is indeed cunning. And if Shen Fei bothers you again you come and tell big sis Lanruo."

Smiling I looked up to her face and shook my head "Thank you big sis Lanruo but a man must fix his own bed." I cupped my hands towards the both of them "Once again thank you. Sorry to be abrupt but it's getting late so we'll be leaving first."

My feet turned my body towards Ning'er who was waiting for me obediently. I guess Xiong's presence made her wait out in silence. "Shall we go?" I asked and she nodded.

I barely made the first step when my world turned dream-like, like I was floating around on clouds of cotton candy. It really tickled my sweet tooth. Speaking of sweet, Huyan Lanruo appeared out of nowhere and she was now wearing a very skimpy swimsuit. Then another appeared in a schoolgirl's outfit, and another in a s.e.xy nurse dress. Soon I was surrounded by Lanruos in different provocative clothing. It was paradise. Too bad my Heavenly Void Dragon God technique gave me resistance to such illusions. Chanting the first verse the dreamworld shattered and my mind immediately returned to reality.

My head turned a bit towards Lanruo with a raised eyebrow to meet her shocked appearance "Snow Cherry Blossom demon spirit. That's a very rare spirit and it really fits big sis Lanruo. That was most impressive."

I sped up my pace and Ning'er slowly followed leaving the two Huyan behind.

Walking towards the Winged Dragon complex Ning'er seemed deep in thought about something. Slowly she angled her head towards me "Long Wan?"

"Hmm?" I answered with a smile.

"Did you like Huyan Lanruo?" she asked all shy and sad.

Smiling even more I nodded "She does seem to be a brilliant, charming girl with some unique talents. Why do you ask?" There was no way I would misunderstand what she was thinking of but I needed to find out more about her views on such things.

"But do you like Lanruo?" she put a hard emphasis on the word 'like'.

Tilting my head I replied "You mean as a woman?" I asked and Ning'er nodded. Putting my hands behinds my back I looked at the sky "She does indeed have a very impressive figure and her face has a m.a.t.u.r.e charm." I replied and peeked at Ning'er with the corner of my eye to see that she now looked like a puppy forgotten in the rain. Smiling I sighed and looked around to make sure that nobody was close.

Feeling that it's safe I let ourselves walk a few more steps in silence as I formed my reply "Do you know why I fell in love with you?" I said softly and she blushed.

"You said that some things just are what they are..." she replied while looking away from me.

I chuckled "No, that is the reason for loving you. But I *fell* in love with you for a different motive and it wasn't for your looks. I fell for you because you are different. When life fed you only adversity you powered through. When you were in pain you didn't beg for help. And when you were alone you fought for many. I didn't fell in love with you because I l.u.s.ted after your gorgeous body. What attracted me most of all was your pure and powerful spirit."

She blushed and turned away. Girls of this world are so sweet.

"So… you don't like her?" she asked

Blessed be her little heart "What you need to understand is that I love you and that will not change, no matter the circ.u.mstances. And it's not like I have a limited supply of love. It doesn't work that way. "

She smiled as well but turned to ask me, this time more security in her voice "Then if I have other lovers other than you?"

I smiled darkly "Simple. I'll kill them."

She giggled "Long Wan."

"Am I a hypocrite? Definitely. But am I a liar? Most certainly not!" the pride in my voice came out clearer than I expected. One would not usually take pride in admitting to hypocrisy.

Her giggle turned into a full laughter "I was just joking. My heart belongs to you and I need no other man. Besides, they would have a very difficult time to match even a shred of you." then her smile turned slightly sad "If I'm not enough for you then I will not stop you from having more wives."

"Then I won't." came my answer without missing a beat.

"Long Wan…" she said, a strange unidentifiable mix of emotions emanating from her voice.

"If me giving you a sister-wife will make you feel inadequate in any form then I will not have any more than you." the conversation went on a path which I didn't want to go on yet "You are more woman than any man could dream of having. It's just that…" I paused to search my heart.

The me from Earth never wanted a harem. Most think it would be sweet to have one but I used to think that those are just either selfish jerks or just reclusive v.i.r.g.i.ns who don't know how incredibly emotional high maintenance even one woman could be. Having had my own experiences I thought that one woman is enough trouble for me. However, here I was, the idea of such a life being one of my greatest wishes. There was a feeling that I needed to pull out.

A sigh escaped my mouth as realization finally hit me "Ning'er, do you love your family?" I asked and she nodded after a confused pause "I don't." came my response following her gasp "It's not that I don't want to. I… can't even remember my parents' faces. My earliest memories are at the orphanage. My mother's touch, my father's voice, I can't remember any of it." my gaze turned to her with a sad smile and she covered her mouth with both hands, tears wetting her crystal eyes "Before meeting you, I wanted neither fame, nor power, nor fortune. My most burning d.e.s.i.r.e was a large family, as large as possible. One where we would all live in harmony and love. It is very selfish of me, I know. However, even I can't control how my heart beats and what it d.e.s.i.r.es."

Ning'er didn't say anything but I could tell she was fighting the urge to hug me tight. Soon my beloved, very soon.

I dismissed the longing in my heart away with a shake of my head "Also, I really didn't want this conversation to happen now." mild annoyance evident in my voice

She didn't reply, just looked at the ground like a child who blamed herself for her parents being angry.

Lovable girl "I wanted to propose in a more intimate setting after settling the issue with Shen Fei."

"What!?" Ning'er reacted quickly, her surprise evident on both her face and in her voice.

"You mean you didn't notice what we were just talking about?" I said with a devious smirk. Sigh, three, two, one…

Her face lit up like a traffic light. No surprise considering that she finally realized that we just spoke for a few good minutes about our marriage. So adorable. After dropping her off I need to think of ways to get the Shens to f.u.c.k up more. I don't know how much more of this secret relationship I can take.

There were people around us so I couldn't touch her but thankfully they were well out of earshot. At least I hope so. You could never know with cultivators and their supernatural powers. "My heart spoke now but I want to make a proper proposal when it's time."

Ning'er looked at me with tears of happiness in her eyes as both hands covered her mouth as we continued to walk to her home in silence. We said our goodbyes and she went deeper into the courtyard until she was out of sight.

Turning around to leave I saw the same guards from this morning stiffen up. Yunfeng, Ning'er's dad must have torn them a new one.

Taking out two cards of ten thousand demon spirit coins I handed it each one a card getting absolutely shocked looks in their eyes. These were at best bronze rank fighters stationed at the gate. Their max annual income was around six thousand so it's natural they would be surprised by something like this.

"Patriarch Yunfeng was too heavy handed on you. Loyal people are hard to come by these days. I'll be leaving first so take care of the young miss." my hand moved to wave as my feet took my body away from them.

"Thank you young master!" they both bowed and cupped their hands at the same time. The youngest of them called out "You can come and throw me in water anytime!" before the elder smacked him upside the head.

My mind kept on raking through my memories about the Sacred Family. How else could I get them to f.u.c.k up so that they lose prestige. One option will be during the youth tournament that they will be holding during school break. However that was still a bit of time away. Hmmm, what about that Dark Guild agent, deacon Yun Hua? I remembered him clearly because he was the first properly introduced antagonist of the novel. And he will be present during the field trip in a couple of days. Sadly, he was 5 star Silver at this point so there was no chance to mess with him...

Moving fast I made my way through the streets and towards the dorms. I extended my void sense through the corridor until I reached a certain room and knocked a couple of times.

A shuffle came from the inside before the door opened and I was greeted by a mop of burnt orange hair "Long Wan?" asked Nie Li with surprise in his voice before it quickly turned into a grin "There is still time before we will hold our cultivation meeting. Is there anything you need?"

Extending my hand I presented a storage ring to Nie Li "There is a set of Gold rank armor in there. I wanted to gift it to you."

"What, Gold Rank?! Those are made to order or found in ancient ruins. How did you manage to get one?" he asked in surprise but didn't hold back and quickly swiped the ring.

"The former option. I ordered this after I got paid by the Association." came my reply.

"But why?" he asked, a little suspicion etched in his voice. Why is it always this question? Does everyone here only receive gifts that always have strings attached?

Sighing I replied "To keep you safe, why else? We're both targets for the Sacred Family so I thought I should take every precaution. I got one for myself as well." Moving aside my shirt collar I showed him mine "And one for Ning'er as well. The others are in less danger so I got them all Bronze Rank armor." I said and his eyes nearly left their place in his sockets "Speaking of the others..." I fished out another ring and tossed it to him which he skillfully caught "That one is for Ziyun. It's only Silver rank which unfortunately is the highest I could get in such a short notice. If I had known she would be coming with us then I would've ordered a Gold Rank set for her as well."

Nie Li frowned and puckered his lips at me "Long Wan?" he lightly growled "Do you... like Ziyun?" he continued. Is that jealousy I'm detecting?

My hand flew downwards impacting with the crown of his head "Whoa~ boy!" Crossing my arms as he crouched holding his head I replied "If I liked her the way you accuse then I would've personally given her the armor. The one I love is Ning'er, so don't get it wrong again. Ziyun however is my dear friend, as are you. On that note if you break her heart, then I'll break my hand on your head. The chop that I will give you would make the others until now feel like love taps." I said keeping the edge of my hand on the new bump on his head.

Nie Li blinked a couple of times before he burst into laughter, with myself joining him. Finally he stopped laughing after a good couple of minutes as he bumped my armored c.h.e.s.t "Long Wan, you're a good brother."

"Just make sure you don't put your foot in your mouth again. She's the only one that could be a sister-in-law worthy of me!" came my reply while puffing out my c.h.e.s.t earning another burst of laughter from Nie Li.

Two days flew by fast and it was now morning. Myself, together with Ning'er, Nie Li, and Ziyun were in the library at the crack of dawn waiting for Chen Linjian to appear with his group. Normally the library wouldn't be open so early but being clerks meant that Nie Li and I had the keys to the place.

Checking my soul force I saw that I was on the very edge of 3 star bronze. By tomorrow I should have a breakthrough. I didn't slouch on my physical training either. Because of the pills from Nie Li and my own efforts I was close to middle 4 star Bronze. Ning'er wasn't that far behind because by her estimates she needed only one more day after me to breakthrough with Ye Ziyun slowly catching up.

The only one without a breakthrough was Nie Li. However, he was on the edge of one star as well. He kept saying he didn't mind at all about lagging behind and kept praising Ye Ziyun's ability, making her endlessly shy.

Deciding that standing around doing nothing wasn't my thing, my hand fell on a half-translated book from the Black-Gold Empire and began reading it, straining my memory and my experience in trying to learn the language. I wanted to graduate from it in order to move on to the Snow-Wind empire language. Eventually I would try and learn the Sacred Empire Era language as well. Call it a hobby. Back on Earth I've always wanted to study foreign languages. Starting with German and moving on to Japanese I found myself lacking in either two very important aspects of studying: ambition and keen memory, so I've never gotten passed learning how to count to 10 in Japanese or how to sing "Oh Tannenbaum" in Deutsch.

Here however, there wasn't much distraction and my spirit force gave me excellent memory so it was the perfect environment. As I was studying, Ziyun approached and began to discuss with Ning'er "Are you also wearing armor under your clothes?" Ziyun asked in surprise. Since women's clothing was tighter the outline of the armor was visible . However, both girls also dressed modestly so it was only if you looked hard enough and from up close.

Ning'er nodded with a blush "Long Wan gifted me with a set of Gold Rank armor a few days ago." she said softly.

"Gold rank?!" Ziyun yelled in a whisper. Even though it was just us we were still in a library. Any loud words would reverberate deafeningly so the volume was kept to a minimum. She did puff her cheeks though and looked away in mild annoyance "Mine's only silver." she grumbled.

Chuckling I removed my face from the book and turned it towards her "Any armor above Bronze is made to order. I had ordered Ning'er's many days in advance, before all three of us became friends. Nie Li was extremely lucky to get hold of a Silver rank armor on such short notice, especially one made for women."

Nie Li just smiled and rubbed the back of his head with an awkward expression on his face, a little sweat dripping from the side. Ziyun just blushed and looked away but not before throwing a smile at Nie Li.

"Thanks again..." whispered Nie Li in my direction.

"If you want to thank me then I could always use more pills." I shamelessly threw at him. Well it's not like he doesn't have a virtually endless supply of them.

The ginger threw me a deadpan stare "Again? If you eat this much then a field of rice won't last you a day." Another saying. Basically telling me that I consume too much.

Shrugging I turned to him "I met Ning'er's father and gave him some dowry in advance." Though I only gave him about ten percent of my stock.

He nodded in approval "That is something I can stand by." He hummed before handing me another ring which I unceremoniously accepted. By my estimates I should have close to a billion demon spirit coins in pills (market value). I should do a headcount as these will be of many uses in the future.

Ning'er came close to us and started whispering to me "You got that armor for her. Why did you say it was Nie Li's?" she asked as her stare fixed on Nie Li who was sweating bullets.

I lightly chuckled "Did I say Nie Li bought it? What I said was that he was very lucky to get one. Second of all, Ziyun deserves someone who will treat her well, and Nie Li is the only one I could think of that is fit for the job." came my answer. Troublesome women… hmm, I was starting to think like a certain shadow using anime character. Maybe I should try to see if that works with Void element.

Ning'er smiled mischievously "What about you?" she poked and Nie Li tensed. Sigh, where did my shy Ning'er go? This little she-devil just loved to poke any hornet nest.

"Ziyun is a good girl but she is someone I could love only as a younger sister." and not the sweet home Alabama kind "I can't see her anymore than that. The one who cares about her in that way is Nie Li. While I would die to save her life, Nie Li would also do so AND sell his soul on top to let her live another day."

"En." Nie Li nodded with a big smile "There really isn't anything in this world I would exchange for her, or her happiness."

Ning'er smiled but stayed silent as she took a seat next to me and looked at the book in my hand "What is that?"

"It's a story from the Black-Gold Empire Era. It's about a hero named Bao Shi and his journey to enlightenment." I answered turning to the book. At least I hope so. Eidetic memory or not, learning a new language altogether was hard.

"Oh, that's a good book." Nie Li smiled a knowing smile. This geriatric ginger probably read all the books in this library many times over.

"Is it that good?" she asked hearing Nie Li's praise. I suspect she focused more on cultivation to escape the Sacred family and left all other p.l.e.a.s.u.r.es aside until a little while ago so naturally she would be curious.

"Unfortunately I can't enjoy it at the moment." I hummed in an annoyed tone "My goal is actually learning the Snow-Wind Empire era language, but their words are somewhat sibylline so I'm trying to learn their progenitor language, the Black-Gold Empire Era. Figured it would be a good place to start. However, it's not going as fast as I hoped as I can barely make out some sentences." Sibylline in this case meant that it carried a deeper meaning not evident from the start. It's like all the people from the Snow Wind empire era spoke only in sayings and poetry. The Snow Wind language was heavily symbolic which made sciences difficult to understand without understanding the basic structure of their language. Many lost arts, inscriptions and alchemical formulas dated to the Snow-Wind Empire era so it would only be useful to learn.

"You don't know the Snow Wind empire language?!" asked Nie Li with shock in his voice. Well duh, the novel author wasn't exactly Tolkien here. The Snow Wind empire was barely skimmed through in the story. "But you knew about the Book of Divine Lightning Fire and about the formulation of the Lightning Flame Burst pattern." the time traveller clarified.

Sighing I turned to him "I have some understanding of structuring base patterns to obtain an effect. My discovery was that most experts focus on the effect and not the cause. For example, say that they aim to add sharpness to a sword through a War Prime pattern. They usually start from a 'sharpness' base and then add base patterns to try and inject it into the blade. They're also taught that so way so little to no breakthroughs are made. My method is to start from blade and understand why the blade is sharp and then focus on simulating what makes the blade sharp and maintaining that effect." The inscription experts of Glory City are kind of big on tradition. This also means that they share a mentality to scientists of old from Earth 'Anything that can be discovered has already been discovered.' And just like Einstein, I wasn't too keen on that train of thought.

"It took me over seventy years to understand that…" he whispered, in a volume barely above silence.

"Hmm?" I asked. Pretending I didn't hear was easier than pressing for the answer.

"Ah, it's nothing!" he quickly dismissed in a panic "It's just that you're amazing. If you weren't my friend I would think you were a monster or something…"

Monster huh? As if you're one to speak…

Shaking my head I returned to my book "Well, it's no point knowing how it works if I don't have the tools to make it work. That's why I'm trying to study."

The rest of the time was spent with Nie Li teaching Ye Ziyun about different areas of the Divine Continent and with Ning'er cultivating at the same table opposite of me. However, it wasn't take long before Linjian and his group were cluttering in, some with one strap backpacks... uh backsacks (hmm, perhaps I should consider expanding my business to include some proper expedition backpacks). While some of the more wealthy could afford storage rings, most commoners still relied on physical storage to prepare for trips.

"Xiao Wan! Everyone!" Chen Linjian greeted with a smile "How come you're already here? The library barely opened a few seconds ago." he asked, curiosity etched on his face. He was always the business man, as was his entire family. Originally being a merchant clan, they rose to a top dominant position through their cunning strategies, herb deals and investments in their men. And in that business, information is a prime resource.

"Vice-principal Ye Sheng graciously offered us positions as library clerks so we have access outside of normal hours." Came Nie Li's reply.

Nodding in acceptance Linjian turned to us "My men have all gathered. Are you ready to go?" and we replied with nods of our own.

"Let's not wait for the rice to grow." I said as I made my way with Ning'er by my side and Nie Li by Ziyun's, both of us flanking the girls who were shoulder to shoulder. It was at that moment I felt a stare burning a hole in the back of my head. Turning my head around slightly, I saw Shen Yue. Oh yeah! The little c.u.n.t is with us on this trip. That means that his goons will be following us shortly.

"Allright everyone, remember that this is a discreet operation. Let's move out!" he called out eliciting a resounding 'Yes'sir!' from the crowd "Quiet you dimwits! Do you want the entire city to know we're leaving?!" he admonished, a vein swelling up on his forehead.

Bending forward and looking passed the four wonderful girl hills I turned towards Nie Li "The area we're going is quite a well known territory of ape type demon beasts. However, the name of the beast eludes me at the moment." once again curse my shitty memory.

"The only ape type demon beasts that I can think of that live in this area are Snow-Wind Great Apes or Giant Blue Armed Apes." said Nie Li while cupping his chin.

"Ah yes, it's the later rather than the former." I didn't remember what they were called but I do know that the great apes are the ones that led the demon beast hoard on the city in this timeline.

Nie Li then smiled deviously and brought out multiple bottles of a potion from his ring which he passed to the girls and myself. "This is a potion especially toxic to Giant Blue Armed Apes. Just smear it on your weapons and it will work wonders."

"Any effect on humans?" I asked out of concern for safety for the user. A small cut by mistake could mean instant trouble for us.

"With the exception of a foul metallic taste, none whatsoever." Nie Li confirmed.

"Do you have a few more? I wish to share some with big brother Linjian and his guards." I asked and he fished out ten more which he handed to me.

Moving close to Linjian I tapped his shoulder and he turned with a surprised look which quickly turned into a smile "Xiao Wan, can I do anything for you?" Flipping my wrist I chucked seven bottles of the poison to him together with five more bottles and he caught them all with high expertise "What are these?"

"We're heading towards a Giant Blue Armed ape area and that is highly effective poison against them. Coat your sword with it and tell your men to do the same. If you have any hand-to-hand demon spiritualists have them keep a bottle and have them rub their hands when… if we meet any apes." I told him, the image of the Silver Rank demon spirit sending shivers down my spine. Well, with the armors we're wearing we would be safer than most them. I got in close to Linjian and whispered in his ear "The more ornate bottles are cultivation pills including Soul Tempering ones, Scarlet Body Enhancing pills and some Nine Transformation pills. All of them courtesy of Nie Li and myself." I said and his eyes widens.

Turning back to the group I moved to approach the group when a feminine voice resounded loudly from my side "Little brother Long Wan, you were also in the group?". The question came from Huyan Lanruo who quickly moved to my side "If I had known you were here I would've made some delicious meals for you." she pouted cutely.

Smiling widely I turned to her and greeted "Big sister Lanruo, nice to see you!".

Before I could act she squeezed me into a tight embrace, squishing my face in the valley between her soft mountains. I returned her hug, no need to act like a prick, especially considering the benefits but after a few seconds of her not letting me go I started struggling. "Mphhh!!!" I tried to protest her actions but it only reverberated against her warm skin. As my vision became blurry I knew I had to act before this chick loved me to death, so I teleported a short distance away leaving her to wrap her arms around herself as a shadowy mist outline of myself slowly dissipated.

I reappeared instantly a few meters away near Ning'er and Ziyun, my hands on my knees as sweet oxygen started returning to my burning lungs. Ning'er came close to me in concern, a shy hand holding on to the shoulder of my clothes. "Smothered by b.o.o.b.s. What a way to almost die…" I gasped softly as my mind returned to normality, only to see both Ziyun and Ning'er blushing up a storm and covering their mouths, shoulders gently trembling in contained laughter. Turning around I could see that even Lanruo sported a heavy blush, as well as the tip of her tongue lightly parting her lips in an 'oops' expression.

Shaking my head with a smile I sighed "I suppose there are worse ways to perish."

"Hehe! Sorry about that little brother." Huyan Lanruo apologized "Anyway, if you need anything I'll be with the girls so don't hesitate to ask!" she made a discrete retreat, but not before giving her h.i.p.s an extra bounce and as such giving me and all males in visual range a good show.

Ning'er giggled "You looked like you were enjoying yourself." she hummed and I just looked at her with a raised eyebrow, causing her to giggle even harder. Ziyun looked with heavy concern between the two of us but I guess there was nothing to warrant her care since she quickly sighed and resumed talking normally. Truthfully, even I wasn't expecting Ning'er to react so casually…

Changing my position I approached Nie Li and whispered to him "Nie LI. Big brother Linjian is a good person who would give his life for Glory City. On his behalf I would like to ask you to extend the same courtesy you showed me and the rest of our friends. It will only benefit everyone in the future." I asked while cupping my hands.

Nie Li touched his chin for a second, probably remembering what he knew about Chen Linjian. In the novel, the young master of the Divine Family slaughtered a few traitors from the Sacred Family when they tried to abandon their post during his first life timeline. Smiling widely, Nie Li turned to me after a few moments and nodded "Very well, when we get a soul crystal I will find a proper technique for him to practice. Any brother of my brother is my brother as well." he said sagely

Making a crystal appear out of my ring I showed it to him "I actually have a few crystals on me. You never know when they could be useful."

My friend nodded in acceptance and we continued walking until

"Thank you Nie Li!" I smiled while bowing my head and he just waved me off like it was nothing for him to help me.

The group kept walking towards the ruins until the sun was close to setting. Chen Linjian was busy coordinating the encampment so I left him a message through one of his men to come and find us when he gets a moment of reprieve. Ning'er and Ziyun went off with the rest of the girls to a nearby creek and after chopping the perversion out of two guys who planned to do some immoral espionage I retreated and took the opportunity to set up my tent near the area where Ning'er had done hers. Nie Li might have no trouble sleeping out in the open but I liked to be sure that rain will not ruin my night.

I was just finishing tying down the last rope when Linjian appeared from behind a tree "Little bro, you wanted to see me?"

Taking a second to think about how to word this properly I decided to f.u.c.k it and wing it "Big bro Linjian, I know a way for you to get even stronger. Can you indulge me for a few minutes?" I said smiling.

"A way to increase my strength?" he looked at me with doubt but it quickly changed to a smile and a nod "It can't hurt to listen and see what it is about at least."

My mind ordered my expression to become as serious as possible "Just so we're clear, I'm only doing this for you because you are the closest thing I have to family in this world. I won't do this for anyone else, even if it's your dearest family or friends. If you can't understand this then there is no point to continue. Can I trust you?"

Chen Linjian smiled and nodded in understanding. He grew up in an environment where trust is a valuable thing to earn so I had faith he wouldn't betray mine.

Nodding I motioned for him to follow me and we both made our way to where Nie Li was cultivating. Sensing us coming he opened his eyes and smiled at us but otherwise said nothing. Sitting down a little ways away from Nie Li I motioned for Chen Linjian to sit down next to me so that we three would form a triangle. Taking out a soul crystal I tossed it to him "Inject your soul force in that."

Linjian looked confused "Umm, I already know my soul force."

"It's for a different reason." clarified Nie LI.

Chen Linjian shrugged his shoulders. It wouldn't cost him anything to do so, so I guess he thought why not. No sooner than he did, did the soul crystal shine with a yellow light, the intensity specific to 5 star Bronze rank. However, the centre of the light quickly changed to show two more colors: muddy brown and hot red. Both Nie Li and I took a look, myself only out of curiosity. It showed some rocks and dust and a raging fire, both rotating opposite of each other forming a yin-yang pattern.

Nie Li whistled softly "This is pretty rare. A dual fire-earth natured soul force with the Heaven and Earth Harmony soul form."

The young master immediately looked to us in a shocked curiosity "Dual nature? Heaven and Earth Harmony soul form? What are those?" he immediately asked.

I put a hand on his back causing him to turn towards me "Judging soul talent by the color of the soul realm is the same as judging the freshness of the egg by the color of the shell. What impacts cultivation is the individual's talents represented by their soul form and using an appropriate cultivation technique that matches the elemental attribute. Basically, if your attribute is fire nature and you practice a fire attuned cultivation, your talents will skyrocket, regardless if your soul realm is indigo or red. However going with a water technique, even if it's a powerful one will only cause you to swim against the current. The final aspect is the quality of the technique as better techniques will cause fewer deviations allowing your strength to soar."

Nie Li nodded and continued "Your soul form doesn't give you any increases to your cultivation speed. What it does is that it offer you incredible stability, minimizing deviation. This means you can abuse your soul realm more than the average person with much less risk to suffer crippling consequences. It's also the reason why you are able to have a dual attribute. Usually one attribute would consume the other becoming dominant. As for your affinity, I have a technique for you to practice that suits you best called the Divine Immolated Earth technique. Pay attention!" he answered and imparted the technique.

Chen Linjian focused on the technique and suddenly, BOOM! His aura exploded with a silver color. "I made a breakthrough…" he whispered before turning to Nie Li and myself and cupping his hands "Thank you for this little brothers! For this technique , for your help, I Chen Linjian am in your debt and a Chen always honours a debt. Should you need anything from me then I will do my best to help!"

Both Nie Li and myself put a hand on his shoulder before the ginger began "It's just a technique, think nothing of it."

Thinking a little I turned with a more serious expression "Please don't forget to keep things a secret. Should the Dark Guild find out about this, then our safety will cease to exist."

Chen Linjian's eyes widened before he frowned darkly "My lips are sealed even under pain or threat of death."

I smiled and got up while stretching "You better leave first before everyone starts to worry." I told Linjian who nodded and gave us another thanks before he left. Nie Li also returned to cultivating in peace and I decided to meditate a few steps away to stabilize my cultivation and try to breakthrough to three star Bronze. It was later in the evening that a strange smell entered the area. Growing up I had a cat, a male that wasn't neutered and the stench that filled up the house during it's first heat was ungodly. This was similar to that.

Nie Li immediately stood up "This smell…" he said with worry evident in his throat before taking off.

Not wasting a second I jumped as well and quickly caught up "It smells like a beast in heat." I said to his side and he nodded, both of us speeding up towards the part of he forest where the smell was getting stronger. We landed at the same time near an area with a jumbled up pile of large branches. Nie Li started investigating on one side and I took to the other, finding some clues of recent activities in this area.

"Who's there?" called out a male from behind a tree. It was Chen Linjian followed by a few of his men and by Shen Yue. Seeing the little shit in tow made me growl internally. I've been keeping watch over my back the entire trip, knowing he definitely set something up before we left Glory City, I just didn't know when the Sacred Family mutts would take action. So far no unknowns entered my sensing range but that doesn't mean that I should relax. "Little brothers?! How come you're here?" he asked with mild surprise.

"Can't you smell it?" I asked him while pointing to the nest.

"Smell what? What the hell are you blabbering about? Being alone here in the middle of the night, you're definitely up to something!" Shen Yue interjected, his holier-than-thou tone pushing me closer and closer to giving him the MOABS (mother of all bitch slaps).

Chen Linjian's face immediately turned vicious "Silence!" he growled at Shen Yue who quickly moved to retort but smartly chose to back off. Linjian's status was the same as his elder brother, while his was just that of another descendent. He couldn't compete with Linjian. At the same time I suspect that us giving Linjian the means to reach Silver rank grew us even more in his eyes. The young master took a whiff of the air and his nose immediately scrunched up "What the hell is this stench?!" he said while tucking his nose in his sleeve.

Nie Li then moved to an outpointing branch and picked up some silver fur "This is a Fox Bear nest. They are Silver rank beasts, about the size of a man but with a very strong physique. This nest is huge so there should be a large population of Fox Bears in this area." he said as he examined the nest closely.

"Look at the state of it! This nest has been abandoned for a long time." Shen Yue barked out, and despite being a brat, he had a very good point as the nest looked like it collapsed a long time ago.

I sighed "Fox Bears use the nest only to breed, so during the cold season they hibernate letting it collapse. However, when it starts warming up they wake up and start rebuilding it. They're also highly territorial so, unless some catastrophe happens then they won't leave the area. When they become active they start marking the areas to attract mates and ward off intruders. Look!" Pointing to an area to the side of the nest they saw a couple of claw marks on a nearby tree and some freshly upturned earth. Now, since they smelled like cats, I suspected they acted like cats so I just recalled stuff I saw on the Animal Planet channel.

"How are you so sure it's Fox Bear nest? Just admit that you're making things up!" Shen Yue called out again, becoming bolder and bolder by the minute.

Chen Linjian's soul force exploded outwards, shining with radiant Silver as he pointed an oppressive force towards Shen Brat "I told you to keep silent. If you can't follow instructions then you can leave!" he growled causing the trembling Yue to take a few steps back. Linjian returned to us after letting out a breath and calming his aura "You said that Fox Bears start waking up when it gets warmer…"

"Early summer to be more exact." replied Nie Li, worry etched in his face.

"Which is now…" Linjian wheezed out, realization finally hitting him.

Nie Li nodded "Fox Bears only mark out their favorite areas and the borders of their territories. My guess is that they should be close. Considering their territorial natures and their very acute sense of smell, then we should leave immediately, least we go to battle with them. A nest of this size is sure to have housed at least five individuals."

Linjian instantly turned to his men "Tell everyone to get ready to leave! We need to move out quickly."

"Yes'sir!" the men bolted after cupping their hands.

By the time we got back to the camp everyone was feverously packing up in a haste. Seeing us return , Ning'er and Ziyun approached us in concern. I guess that since they both have interspatial rings they managed to pack everything out fast.

"Whats going on? asked Ning'er, concern written in her voice.

I looked at her with urgency "We found a demon beasts' nest. They're highly territorial so we need to move out now. With our armors they pose little threat to us as they're just Silver rank but the numbers they sport are guaranteed to cause some casualties. Please help the rest that have not yet finished packing."

Both Ziyun and Ning'er nodded and soon enough we were on the move but not without some protests.

"What's happening?!" some people grumbled. "I was having such a nice dream…" another complained before sounds of trees being toppled and loud demonic howls were heard from the direction of our former camp just as we were exiting the forest.

Their protests immediately turned to praise "Young master Chen is very wise!" "Wah! I don't want to become food for the beasts! Many thanks to young master Chen Linjian!"

Chen Linjian told us to stick close to him so we were part of his surrounding entourage when Lanruo appeared from behind the young Chen "That was close. We are lucky to have you lead us Chen Linjian." she said with a smile, hands cutely entangled behind her.

Linjian chuckled "Actually I owe this to my two little brothers here. They discovered the nearby nest and advised moving out." he said while pointing to us.

Huyan Lanruo quickly looked in the direction he was pointing and immediately flowers appeared in her background "Little brother Long Wan! Everyone!" she exclaimed and moved to my right as my left was taken by Ning'er. "Little brother that was very wise of you!" she said while bending down, her mountains swinging in the night breeze.

Moving a hand towards Nie Li and the rest I smiled "It wasn't all me but a collective effort. I have wise friends."

She didn't say anything else but just smiled and nodded towards them who responded with their own kind smiles and nods, except Ziyun who just jumped a little in surprise as per her shy nature.

A moment later my vision darkened as something entered the range of my void sense from behind us. Turning towards my left I whispered in a low voice denoting the seriousness of the situation "Nie Li."

He nodded with his own frown "One, two… three. Three silver ranks" he responded in a similar hushed voice.

Both Ning'er as well as Lanruo and Linjian turned towards us in surprise. They weren't stupid by any measure so there was no doubt they could tell something was wrong by the tone of our voice. Looking towards them I growled "Don't look behind as it would give out our advantage, but we are being followed by four silver rank experts."

Nie Li frowned a bit before his eyes widened "One was lagging behind…" he whispered, surprise and frustration etched in his voice.

Chen Linjian turned to me and asked with urgency in his voice "Four Silver ranks? Why are they following us?"

"They are probably from the Dark Guild." Nie Li answered with a smirk

I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. My memories of this part from the novel were fuzzy at best but there is no way this guy didn't know they were Sacred Family members. Maybe he thought that Chen Linjian would be more heavy handed towards Dark Guild members but I saw another opportunity here. As Linjian discreetly retreated to speak with his men I turned to Nie LI, not caring if Huyan Lanruo was still here. She was also a trustworthy, albeit flamboyant person, though that last part runs in her family.

"You know that they are most likely members under the direct command of the Sacred Family." I scolded and he pretended to be birdwatching with an all too innocent face.

"Little brother Long Wan, the Sacred family might not be the most upright but they are still part of Glory City. Why do you think that they would send people to trail the group?" Lanruo asked with startled surprise. It wasn't obvious to her why they would need to covertly send men when we could always use the manpower.

"Why else? Us!" I said and she frowned "Both Nie Li as well as I are thorns in the Sacred Family's side. Before leaving Glory City I saw Shen Yue speak to one of his men before that man left the group. This happened only after he saw that we were also joining the expedition. Considering how we exposed their wrongdoings and have also insulted them on numerous occasions, this would be the best opportunity they have to get their revenge."

Her expression darkened as realization hit her "Then why didn't you tell Chen Linjian about this?" she asked, worry edging her words.

Sighing Nie Li looked in the direction of the young master "Chen Linjian has a delicate position so he can't risk a direct confrontation. If he knew that they could be Sacred family fighters then he would've held back and the danger wouldn't pass. They deserve no such mercy if they don't want to follow the rules." he growled.

Huyan Lanruo's mouth made an O before she smiled and looked up "Well, regardless if they are Sacred Family or Dark Guild. If they came here looking for trouble then they deserve what's coming to them." she said in a sing-song voice while holstering her arms behind her. I admit I was starting to like this shrew of a girl. There was an air of fun and enjoyment surrounding her that made it hard to get bored.

Sending a discreet look towards Linjian, I saw that he joined five of his six silver rank experts and went to greet our uninvited guests. However, I still needed to put my plans into motion so I turned to Ning'er and whispered softly with a smile "I'll be right back." before teleporting away a few times, until I was behind the Silver ranks trailing us just as they were engaged by the Linjian's forces.

"Who are you?" Chen Linjian barked out, his voice thunderous as he confronted the three unknown experts "Why are you following us? Talk!" His hand was already holding the hilt of his sword and his aura was exploding outwards with hostile intent.

The three didn't answer and attempted to retreat. "They really must be from the Dark Guild. Kill them!" Linjian told his men and they went into pursuit.

One of the unknown attackers, a fighter by the looks of it was engaged by one of Linjian's men when he was blindsided with a kick by another one from our team, causing him to jump backwards right onto a branch directly below mine, unsteady footing showing he was still dizzy from the previous impact. Linjian's men decided he wasn't worth pursuing as they went to help the young master take down another. Taking this chance I pounced on him like a bat out of hell, Void blade extending from the tips of my knife like fingers. Due to him still feeling the effects of the kick from before he failed to notice me on time and I managed coil one hand around his forehead while piercing his spine at the back of his neck with the blade, the flesh hardened by years of training offering no resistance to my hungry soul force.

Some of his blood dripped down my hand as he slumped forward on the thick branch like a puppet with cut strings and I felt like puking, a strange tremble beginning to take hold of my hand as the blade dispersed. Swallowing the bile that rose from my stomach and wiping the sweat from my brow I walked forward and checked his vitals. Thankfully as per my plan, there was a pulse. Calling forth a gauze I had prepared before departing, I proceeded to wrap his wound to prevent him from dying yet, also using the bandage to gag him up to keep him from biting his tongue.

"Bastard…" his face-down position on the tree and the gag making him gurgle.

I sighed as I picked him up like a potato sack and jumped down near Linjian who tensed but immediately relaxed seeing it was me. "Xiao Wan?" he asked and I unceremoniously dropped the human I was carrying in front of him.

"Ah! That's one of them!" one of his men, the one who landed the kick pointed out with a sneer.

Sighing I ran a hand through my hair "I've been suspecting that the Dark Guild might have a suicide technique which is why nobody has managed to capture one until now so I've paralyzed this one in the hope that they can't activate said technique. This way we might get some information. They may have been only the scouting party and more could be on the way."

Linjian approached the man and removed his mask and moved to taking off the gag when someone from the crowd that had gathered, a girl, called out "Luo Ban?!" . Chen Linjian immediately looked towards him, sending a non-verbal command. The girl made her way closer and looked at him in shocked surprise "It is Luo Ban!" she cried out "Why are you here? Weren't you working as a guard for the Sacred family?!" she called out, trying to get to him but was held back by Linjian's guards.

"Long Wan, you've exceeded what can be tolerated under the heavens and on earth! You dare cripple an employ of my family?" Shen Yue called out to me. However I was in no mood to play games.

I was ready to march over there and slap the nobility out of him when Linjian stepped forward, face hardened like granite until his c.h.e.s.t was almost touching Shen Yue's nose "Why were your men following us in secret?" he growled, suspicion and anger evident in his voice.

Shen Yue started trembling "I-I don't know." Su~re you don't. "M-my family… must have sent them to protect me."

"Then why all the secrecy classmate Shen Yue?" came Nie Li's return with a cheeky grin "Could there be another motive besides protection?" he said causing Shen Yue to sweat out more.

"Ulterior motives?" someone from the crowd whispered.

"I heard that both Nie Li as well as Long Wan upset the Sacred family. Could it be reason?" another responded out quietly. Clever girl…

"No way! That's just too low…" a man responded and the crowd continued to discuss in a hushed tone.

"You!" Shen Yue turned with fury towards Nie Li but was grabbed by the collar and lifted up by Chen Linjian

The young master of the Chens growled viciously in Yue's face, eyes lighting up with silver aura "My loyal men got injured confronting them so answer me this. Why didn't they respond to my calling out for their identities?" While composed like solid stone I could tell that there was a volcano raging inside of him. No wonder he had that soul realm.

"I-I don't know! I will ask my family when we return to give a proper answer and compensation for your men!" Shen Yue quickly answered, trembling like a petulant child being scolded by a strict father.

Chen Linjian stared at him hard before letting him go and walking away, anger so great that he crushed rocks beneath his feet. I opened my mouth to sigh when I felt a metallic taste assault my taste buds. Wiping my face with my left hand I saw that my sweat was red. Looking at my other hand I saw it was also red and then remembered that the Sacred family's fighter's blood was still on my hands. Earlier when I ran my hand though my hair I did so with the bloody one so it trickled down my face.

Instantly I felt my stomach go to war, violently reminding me what had happened so I collapsed to my hands and knees, absolute panic striking me. I may not have killed him but I drew human blood. I destroyed his spine so that man will never walk again or use any of his limbs for that matter. Death might have been easier on him…

"Long Wan!" Ning'er and Lanruo called out at the same time as the both rushed towards me followed by Nie Li, Ziyun and Chen Linjian.

Hearing their voices I took to a knee, aiming to stand up before they got here. As I did so, I moved the bloody hand on top of said knee and instantly the smell of human fluids filled my nose. Retching and heaving twice, I collapsed forward yet again as today's dinner spilled out on the grass.

"Long Wan, what's wrong?!" Ning'er called out by my side as Lanruo moved to support me. How she managed to avoid my disgusting mess I'll never know, nor why she didn't care about it. However I couldn't pay her any mind as said mind was frozen. All I could do was look at my trembling, bloody, hands. I hadn't even hurt a mouse before let alone drawing another's human blood with my b.a.r.e hands.

Had I been able to look to my right I would've seen both Ning'er and Ziyun's worried looks, and more importantly Nie Li's shocked expression. Speaking of him, he sighed and stepped forward to slap me hard. So hard in fact I fell backwards and my mind reset.

"Nie LI!" both Ning'er and Ziyun called out in admonishment but they quickly silenced themselves when they saw the caring look he had for me.

He bent down and took my hands, blood and all and moved them down before grabbing my shoulders "Let it go." he said and I looked at him with an empty mind, hearing his words perfectly but my brain refusing to process them "First time drawing blood is always hard. Killing another is even harder." he said grandfatherly "The fact that you're experiencing remorse is proof that you're no monster. And as long as you don't start to live for the kill then the heavens will accept your deeds or forgive you."

Ho~ly~ f.u.c.k, that was corny as hell, but corny or not , it worked as the trembling stopped and my senses returned to normal. "Thank you brother Li…" I whispered with a smile and he returned the smile. I slowly raised my hand up and the rest, including him looked at me with confusion. That was before I brought it down on the crown of his head giving him an angry red bump.

"What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, almost breathing fire at me.

Smiling I shrugged "I don't like getting slapped…" I answered innocently causing the girls to giggle like angels.

"Ziyun…" a stunned Nie Li breathed out before turning to me and angling his head towards me "Ziyun's laughing so sweetly... Quick, hit me again!" he said while driving his head forward like an orange ox.

The sole of my foot landed softly on his head as I began using my leg to push him away "Hell no! Take your weird fetishes away from me, I don't swing that way!" I hissed at him earning another round of harder giggles from Ning'er and Lanruo and a blush from the innocent yet knowledgeable Ziyun.

Ning'er bent down to my level and began wiping the blood from my hands and face with a damp cloth "Lets get this filth off of you..." She said sofly, except the flex on the word filth showing the extent of her appreciation of the Sacred family and the people who worked for them.

At that moment another youth approached us. He was wearing fine clothing which indicated he was a noble, and a pretty well off one at that. Seeing the girls in our group he threw a l.u.s.tful gaze at them and sneered in my direction.

"What are you guys doing here? Would you mind some company?" he asked, troublesome intent clearly evident in his voice.

"Nothing that concerns you Chu Yuan." Lanruo grumbled in annoyance. Ah, I remember him and I also remember he was a new addition to the group that wasn't present that time when Linjian introduced me in the library, so he probably doesn't know about my relation with Linjian and Ziyun. This might be a good chance to score some extra soul force and save Nie Li from Lanruo' admiration.

Slowly standing up I extended my now clean hand to shake his but he just looked at it with a disgusted look on his face, his hands locked behind him. "Take your filthy hand away from me commoner!" he spat out and I could feel Chen Linjian's hair stand on end.

Big bro Linjian would've probably tore him a new one had I not turned to him with the most mischievous grin I could muster "Young master Linjian you should return to the group first. There is still the matter of what to do with that man from the Sacred family. I'll handle cleaning up the trash myself." The corners of my mouth were almost touching my ears as my eyes were barely open. All in all, a face that said that I'll take care of Chu Yuan personally... Very personally...

Just to remind you once again that Chen Linjian was smart. Really smart. It took less than a moment for him to switch to what I love to call 'business mode' as he nodded and left, leaving us alone with Yuan.

I moved closer to Chu Yuan, scanning him from head to toe, looking for an opportunity to provoke but not seem insulting. Fortunately this noble numbskull made my work that much easier "Is there something you want lowborn?" He barked, scrunching up his nose as if he just smelled his own bullshit.

"Chu Yuan, you're going too far!" Huyan Lanruo countered. She was a girl who cared little for social perception or for politeness so I could tell Chu Yuan was pushing her in all the wrong buttons.

"I don't understand why such lovely girls associated themselves with such sc.u.m as these two. If you need company then I'd love to offer mine!" Yuan boasted making me hard not to whoa~ him too on the spot.

Lanruo's and Ning'er's faces scrunched up as if they ate something sour. Ziyun just frowned and turned away from him. However, I did say that Huyan Lanruo was an outspoken girl, and she was going to prove this right now "You? More than these two? Don't make me laugh. You're thee years older than them but only 3 star Bronze. You've got nothing to gloat about so get lost!"

A vein appeared on his forehead "Don't think that you can talk to me like that just because you're Silver rank! Remember that I'm a yellow soul realm genius. If I wanted to I would break into Silver rank by the year's end."

He made a step towards Lanruo but I moved in between them "Being so overbearing towards a lady... You're no man, you're garbage. And I did promise Linjian I would take out the trash." I growled. Had I turned around I would've caught the stars in Lanruo's eyes.

Chu Yuan fumed "Allright plebeian! You want to fight? Lets draw out a circle and throw it down right here. If I win then you stay far away from me and from these women!" He yelled, getting the attention of nearly all the camp.

Hook, line and sucker "Fine by me. However, should I win, besides apologizing to big sis Lanruo, you will keep your mouth shut unless ordered otherwise either by young master Linjian or by me, regardless of circ.u.mstances. " I said with the most pissed off voice that I've ever put out.

"Hmph, fine, fine!" He said with mild indignation.

We moved to a nearby clearing as the rest of the camp gathered around us.

"What are the rules?" I asked before engaging. It was good to clarify things like this from the start.

"Eh? Rules?" He questioned in a mocking tone "We fight until you are thoroughly beaten or surrender." He laughed.

I ignored how he worded that as it suit me just fine "What about techniques, weapons, pills or items?"

He waved his hand lazily and dismissively "Use whatever you want, I don't care." Famous last words... "Can we start now?" He said with arrogance and annoyance and I nodded. He put his hands behind his back and smiled "You can strike first. Let not anyone say I bully my juniors."

I rubbed my forehead to calm the headache this royal asshole was causing "No need for that. Let's just fight already!"

Taking a stance I moved towards him slowly at first when I noticed that this idiot intended to keep his word and let me attack first. Well I won't look a gift horse in the teeth so I bolted forward with sub-bronze speed as he smirked.

"Amateur!" He mocked and just as I was almost within striking range I accelerated to the max, taking him by surprise and nailing him full-strength in the gut with a solid uppercut that knocked all the air from his lungs. Removing my fist from his diaphragm, I let him collapse onto his hands and knees as he heaved hard.

"Did you drop something young master Chu?" I mocked. The feeling of punching this asshole was one of the most satisfying sensations in my life.

Taking a few more breaths he stood up with murder in his eyes "You're courting death!" He yelled, a trail of saliva going down the corner of his mouth. A moment later he launched himself at me with his maximum speed. However he appeared so incredibly slow, almost slower than Shen Yue's goons. I knew he was 3 star Bronze from the novel so I was thinking I might need to cheat by using my armor (which is why I asked for the rules) but apparently this lazy motherf.u.c.ker neglected physical training so he was maybe 1 star Bronze in that area.

By the time he got to me I had enough time to count the wrinkles on his face. I don't know what he was expecting by throwing a roundhouse kick at me but I simply ducked low and swept his remaining leg to send him to the ground. He got up fast after that and made to punch me but I simply redirected it upwards and away with one hand and countered with an elbow in his now exposed sternum. And once again he fell to his hands and knees after staggering a few backwards steps, his eyes becoming wide and bloodshot.

After he managed to get his diaphragm under control he stood up in an uneasy stance "You bastard! How dare you! Do you know who I am?!" he yelled out to me.

Do all noble asses share the same parents? I smirked "Do you?"

His soul force surged outwards in a violent tornado. Just what I was hoping for...

Lanruo cried out in shock "Chu Yuan stop! Do you want to cripple him?!" She then turned to Linjian with tears wetting her eyes "Stop him! Chu Yuan is 3 star Bronze and he wants to shatter little brother's soul realm!" However Linjian just stood by relaxed, arms crossed as if he was enjoying the weather.

"After this, lets see if you can talk tough to me again!" Chu Yuan barked at me like a mad dog.

I simply rested my hands in my pockets "If this was a battle of words then you would win by attrition." Translation: you talk too much motherf.u.c.ker!

Chu Yuan's soul force became a violent wave that came closer until it washed over me. 'Thank you for the meal!' I thought as I began to silently chant the Heavenly Void Dragon God technique and rotating my soul realm until it became an all-devouring black hole. All of the invading soul force was being absorbed not letting even the light from it escape. The next moment my soul force flamed outwards, a resounding bang filling the area.

"Long Wan reached 3 star Bronze." I heard Nie Li say behind me, and I could feel him smirking even without looking. This wasn't the end, as nearly every bit of soul force was gobbled up and a few moments later my soul realm pulsed again, the bang once again announcing my advancement, this time to 4 star Bronze. Unfortunately it seemed that Chu Yuan also realized that something was wrong for him as his eyes widened. Instantly I felt a tug on soul force stream but it didn't stop flowing, it only got weaker. He was trying to reel in his power but there was nothing he could recover anymore. What's more, my abilities were stronger so while the flow slowed down considerably, it never stopped and I had no plan to make it easier for him.

Seconds later I was approaching the boundary of 5 star Bronze when he let out a blood curling scream and cut the flow of soul energy.

Chu Yuan fell on his knees , a look of utter disbelief etched on his face "My power… What have you done?"

"What any good host would do: you came and I received you. You only have yourself to blame." I replied as I stepped closer and closer to him until I was only a step apart.

He started trembling like a beaten rat, the look of absolute terror he shot me made me almost pity him "I-I surrender!" he yelled out with his remaining strength.

I took the last step and raised him up by his hair with my right hand before burying my left fist in his stomach. As he hunched over in pain I grabbed his head and slammed my knee in his face making him fly backwards until he was on the ground. My frustration with Shen Fei had hit boiling point and this knockoff clone of his would do nicely for stress relief. He shakily started lifting his body up and I made to continue the beatdown when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking back I saw that it was Chen Linjian.

"He already surrendered. What are you doing?" he asked, a little disappointment mudding his voice.

"Following the rules he set up." I replied pointing at Chu Yuan, earning an eyebrow raise from Linjian "He said that the fight will continue until I'm beaten or I surrender."

Chen Linjian smiled but shook his head "That's enough. No need to go that far." he said and then turned to Chu Yuan with a look that one would give something that was scr.a.p.ed off the bottom of the shoe "He's not worth it…"

I turned to Chu Yuan "Since big brother Chen Linjian asked me to spare you I will consider it only if you honor the agreement and apologize to Lanruo!" I said, completely forgoing honorifics as I was still fuming on the inside.

"Ah abmith ma' wongs!" replied Chu Yuan, having trouble pronouncing words as his mouth became swollen from the earlier hits.

I turned on my heel towards my friends, Linjian shadowing me a little ways behind to my left. As we made our way back to our little group the audience parted way, stunned silence. The silence was broken by Huyan Lanruo who jumped at me "Long Wa~n!" she chirped out and made to hug me. As she almost got close to me, my vision became blurry before it all faded to black, the sound of my friends calling my name being the last thing that I would remember....