Chapter 131 - Details Are Afterthoughts.

"This…" San Zhe said, his heart and body trembling in fear.

"Don't worry," Yaksha said with a smile on his face. "this is a natural reaction for the Viridian Forest. The river will turn red at exactly noon and just as the sun is about to set. These times are crucial for the life of the forest."

Cheng Xiu looked at Yaksha with curious eyes. "So the water turning red is not something that the Emperor Spirit does when it is looking for its prey?"

Yaksha shook his head. "How can that be? The Spirit Emperors are Special Bosses that only come during the Aniversary month. These kinds of effects of the forest are something that happens every day. There is no connection."

"Good to know," Cheng Xiu said, her heart relaxing.

They walked some more before Cheng Xiu came to a stop.

Yaksha looked at her in surprise. "What happened?"

Cheng Xiu looked at the man in front of her for a moment, considering if she should share her thoughts or not. She did not trust him enough.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Yaksha said on seeing the suspicion in her eyes. He started to walk again.

Cheng Xiu pursed her lips as she thought her next course of action over. Even though it would have been better if she could completely trust him but she couldn't.

He was a high-level player and yet he was doing things that were done by chaperones. What reason did the man have for approaching her? She did not believe it was because of the goodness of his heart.

"Why are you helping me?" She finally asked. There was no need to harbour so many ill-thought about a person if she could ask the person a question and clarify the matter.

Yaksha looked at her for a moment. "Quite an honesty…I first took notice of you because you created a sensation by killing the Emperor Spirit. While I have level-capped in the game, having a Monster Core of that level would surely be far more advantageous in my hands. I could give it to Diana. But then…you seemed to be a talented person who had garnered the attention of far too powerful enemies."

"You seem to care about that NPC friend of yours," Cheng Xiu said with a light laugh.

"I do," Yaksha said with a smile. "And I care about you as well."

Cheng Xiu locked eyes with him, and a soft smile grew on her face as well.

San Zhe felt that he was once again being fed unwanted dog food.

"We are almost there!" San Zhe said awkwardly.

Cheng Xiu and Yaksha blinked and looked at San Zhe.

They then turned towards the hill range. They were closer.

"We will take about half an hour to reach there at most," Yaksha said. He turned to Cheng Xiu. "What do you know about the Rat Pit. And what exactly are your Quest's details."

Cheng Xiu frowned as she recalled what the Quest was. It had been so long since she had left for the Quest that she had even forgotten most of the details until then. Unlike usual, it took her some time to think about the details.

"It is to kill the rats that are climbing the clock tower in the Viridian Forest..." cheng Xiu frowned. "Are you sure that we should be going to this Rat Pit?"

Yaksha nodded. "The Clock Tower is a very unique feature of the Viridian Forest."

"Sister Xiu!" San Zhe said with a smile. "The Clock Tower is the only man-made structure in the entire forest. It was created by a great Cultivation Master 1000 years back according to the lore of the world. It is usually difficult to defeat any creatures in the Clock Tower, let alone the Rats who live in the tower pits. I was very scared until now. But we have yaksha with us today, so there is no need to worry!"

Cheng Xiu frowned and looked at Yaksah. "I just realised...you can't help us as you are such a high-level player."

Yaksha shook his head. "I am allowed to participate in the Quest without any problems. Quests that involve monsters have fewer Level Restrictions."

"I didn't mean that," Cheng Xiu said with a sigh. "I meant I don't want you to help us."

"What!" San Zhe asked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Sister Xiu, since Lord Yaksha can help us and is willing to help us, why can't we ask for his help? This is not the time to let your pride run your logic."

Cheng Xiu frowned at him. "Brother San...I want to do my first official Quest to the best of my ability, not the best of the group's ability. And Brother Yaksha...can I call you Brother Yaksha? Great! Brother Yaksha should not be exploited."

"I don't mind."

"I do," she said to the Black-robed man. "So can we just do the quest on our own?"

"Only to a certain extent," Yaksha compromised. Cheng Xiu opened her mouth to argue but Yaksha stopped her from speaking by raising his hand in a stop sign. "This is not because I don't think you can do it, or that I think the Quest is too much for you...compared to the Immortals you fought, this is easy. The reason is that you have still not completely recovered. And until you have, Quests that strain your nerves should be avoided."

Cheng Xiu frowned.

San Zhe sighed in relief. As it turned out, Immortal Yaksha was such a kind person...or had feelings for Sister Xiu.

"I suppose..."

"So the moment that I see that the Quest is taking a toll on you," Yaksha said, "I will participate in the quest. Can you agree to that?"

"Why are you pretending that you will listen to me?" Cheng Xiu said with a frown.

"Because I will," Yaksha said hesitantly. "I won't like it...but in the end, you know your condition too and are intelligent. So...I will back off."

Cheng Xiu slumped. "Fine. In that case, I need to prepare some more so that I can be at the optimal level."

Yaksha's eyes widened as Cheng Xiu brought an item out of her storage ring. His eyes sparkled.

As expected of his Rival, she was capable of such a thing as well.