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  • I Don’t Want to Be Reborn With You v2c4

    v2c4: The End of the Holiday

    October 7th. The last day of the holiday. Lu Li took his hands off the keyboard and let out a long sigh. He had finally completed the task Chu Xiaodong had given him. He sent the document to Secretary Long and received a simple “Okay” in response. A moment later, another message arrived: “Excellent work! I’ll let you know as soon as there are any updates!”

    Older professionals seemed to love using exclamation points. He wondered why.

    Lu Li logged onto the Valve platform and checked the store page for the game he had developed. He had uploaded the demo version on the first day of the holiday. For independent game developers, releasing a demo early to attract attention was the most cost-effective approach.

    There were only thirty-something downloads, which was normal. Games without any marketing were the hardest to get off the ground, regardless of their quality. Some good games only gained recognition after seven or eight years, but by then, the developers had often moved on to other, more sustainable careers. Out of those thirty-something downloads, he estimated three or four were accidental clicks, a few were random clicks, a few were from web crawlers, and a few were from YouTubers who specialized in reviewing terrible games.

    There were also two comments.

    One was a genuine player review: “The art is terrible…”

    Lu Li cringed. Was the art really that bad? He had just used a basic drawing tool to create it. The main issue was that he hadn’t found a suitable artist yet. But the comment was positive overall, indicating that the game was decent apart from the art.

    The other comment was less than genuine.

    “Trash game! Not even worth a single hair on ‘Black Wolf’s Ring.’”

    The username was a string of random characters.

    Only two types of people would say something like that: a troll or Chen Jianing.

    Lu Li hadn’t expected Chen Jianing to be online twenty-four hours a day, scouring the internet for any game that might compete with hers. “Black Wolf’s Ring” was her self-indulgent project, priced at sixty yuan, and overwhelmingly negatively reviewed. She spent her days arguing with haters in the comment section.

    No one else but the eccentric Chen Jianing would leave a comment like that.

    In his previous life, he had also met Chen Jianing after releasing a demo. If he calculated correctly, it should be around these days. A mischievous thought crossed his mind. He opened her private message window and sent a single message: “Plagiarist!” For creative professionals, “plagiarism” was the most damaging accusation. Chen Jianing hadn’t plagiarized anything, but that didn’t stop him from trying to get under her skin.

    To his surprise, she replied almost instantly.

    “Who are you calling a plagiarist?! FNNDP!(Bullshit)”

    Judging by her message alone, you would never guess that the sender was a cute girl. Her profile indicated she was male, her avatar was Orochimaru, and her bio read, “This little mouse is working hard today!” Her online persona was so complex that it was impossible to associate her with the word “female.”

    In reality, she was incredibly socially awkward and only felt comfortable expressing herself online.

    Lu Li, determined to tease her further, typed: “You can’t even plagiarize properly! 90% negative reviews and you still have the nerve to advertise your game everywhere!” He chuckled as he typed, imagining her fuming.

    As expected, she sent a long message defending herself. He replied with two words:

    “Triggered.”

    “Triggered,” “salty,” “filial piety,” “clam,” “numb” – these were the five magic words of online arguments. You didn’t even need to read what the other person was saying. Just send one of these words in response to their long-winded rant, and you would achieve spiritual victory, a more sophisticated form of self-deception. If they took you seriously, they would get angry and lose their composure. Chen Jianing was undoubtedly that kind of person.

    “You idiot! Give me your address! I’ll send you some local specialties!”

    She sent five or six more insults, clearly enraged.

    This was the moment to ignore her, to let her stew in her frustration, unable to vent her anger. After ranting for a while, she saw that the jerk on the other end wasn’t responding. Just as she was about to log off in frustration, she received another message from Lu Li: “Pure dinner.”

    Her anger flared up again. She typed out a furious response, ready to unleash her literary wrath, but then she saw a system notification – she had been blocked.

    “Hahaha!” Lu Li laughed so hard his stomach hurt. He was certain that he had driven Chen Jianing to the brink of insanity. In his previous life, she had tormented him; now it was his turn. He felt no guilt whatsoever. She had a high tolerance for stress and even seemed to enjoy online arguments.

    In his previous life, they had exchanged over two thousand comments, leaving onlookers speechless. It was that intense argument that had prompted Chen Jianing to challenge him to a real-life fight. When Lu Li arrived at the designated location, fully prepared for a brawl, he was stunned to see a petite girl standing there.

    “Little Pear, what are you looking at? Why are you smiling so happily?” Zou Yameng limped into the room, leaning against the wall. Lu Li hurried to support her, his eyes involuntarily glancing at her bare legs. He was puzzled.

    “Where did you get a computer?”

    “Someone lent it to me.”

    “Hmm…” Zou Yameng hummed, not pressing for details. “Is this your game? Are you planning to earn your college tuition with this?”

    “Yes.”

    “How much have you earned so far?”

    “I’m still operating at a loss.”

    Zou Yameng chuckled and looked at him with affection. “You’re so cute.”

    “Am I?” He wasn’t pretending to be clueless.

    In his sister’s eyes, everything he did was interpreted positively. If she called him cute, she probably meant he was silly. He didn’t bother explaining, just smiled sheepishly and helped her sit on the bed.

    “Sis, do you want to watch a movie?”

    “We can watch movies now?”

    “Of course.” Lu Li paused, remembering that his sister had never been to a movie theater. Not just a movie theater, but also KFC, the aquarium, the amusement park… Their lives had been devoid of such entertainment. In elementary school, unable to write an essay, she had copied one from a book about a trip to the Children’s Palace. The teacher had caught her because there was no Children’s Palace in the Low-Rent District.

    Other people had their childhoods; theirs was different.

    “Comedy? Horror? Or romance?”

    “No horror, no horror!” Zou Yameng quickly covered her eyes. “Put that picture away! The cover is so scary!”

    Lu Li clicked on “Flipped.” “Sis, lean against the pillow. You’ll be more comfortable.”

    “Come here and let me lean on you.”

    Lu Li nodded obediently, sitting behind her, letting her snuggle against him, acting as her human cushion. The beautiful woman in his arms, the peaceful world around them… If only time could stop, freezing this moment forever. He couldn’t help but pick up a strand of her hair and gently blow on it, like blowing bubbles as a child.

    “What are you doing? That tickles.” Zou Yameng looked up at him. He had grown taller than her, and now she could fit perfectly in his arms.

    He thought she looked adorable with her flushed cheeks, her eyes sparkling like a clear spring pond in early spring. He suddenly pushed her away, sitting awkwardly with his legs pressed together. Zou Yameng stared at him, then smiled mischievously, saying nothing, yet everything was understood.

    This holiday belonged to Zou Yameng.

  • I Don’t Want to Be Reborn With You v2c3

    v2c3: The Disparity of Humanity

    “Wei Ge and Wei Zi went to work up north. A coal mine owner was looking for people to work in the mines, offering over ten thousand a month.” Sitting by the roadside, Shuming let out a bitter laugh. “They came back after the first year bragging about how much money they made. Then, in March this year, we heard they died in a mining accident.”

    “They were only seventeen. How could they work in a mine?”

    “I don’t know.” Shuming had picked up smoking. “Brother, want one?”

    Lu Li didn’t smoke, but he still took the cigarette, mimicking Shuming’s posture and preparing to light it. Shuming suddenly chuckled. “Brother, you don’t usually smoke, do you? You won’t be able to light it like that. There’s no need to force yourself.”

    Lu Li took the cigarette out of his mouth, smiling wryly. “I was afraid of creating a distance between us.”

    “That’s all I needed to hear, Brother Lu. Honestly, when I saw you earlier, I felt like a peasant meeting the emperor.”

    “That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”

    “Everyone in the Low-Rent District knows you got into Chuanhai No. 1 High School. That school! Full of Second-Generation Officials and Second-Generation Rich! They say you’re going to be successful.” Shuming smacked his lips. “Even as kids, I knew you were smart and bold, always willing to take risks. I always figured you’d do better than us.”

    If Chu Xiaodong had said those words, Lu Li wouldn’t have believed a single one. Coming from Shuming, however, it felt absurd, as if the old, spirited Shuming had died, replaced by someone who had learned to flatter and deceive.

    “Ming Zi, do you remember where the others are now?”

    “The others? From Renxin Elementary School?”

    “Yes.”

    “Most of them left. Only a few incompetent ones like me are still stuck here, scraping by.”

    Lu Li sighed, saying nothing, yet saying everything. The situation of the unaccompanied minors in the Low-Rent District was far worse than he had imagined. He was relatively lucky, at least he had Zou Yameng, a sister who loved him.

    “Can you tell me about your guardian?”

    “…My guardian? I only met him once. He took the government subsidy and ran off. I almost starved to death on the streets. A kind stranger found me and took me to the hospital. I was so embarrassed, clinging to an empty grape juice bottle like it was a treasure. The nurses were all gathered around me, not knowing what to do.” Shuming chuckled, recalling the “funny” memory.

    “Do you remember what he looked like, his identity, or his occupation?”

    “I only remember he was an older man who spoke the Chuanhai dialect.”

    Lu Li frowned thoughtfully.

    His and Sister Yameng’s irresponsible guardians were also from Chuanhai, speaking the same dialect. Could there be a connection? After all these years, could they still find those scumbags who had cheated the system?

    After chatting with Shuming for a while, Lu Li revealed that he had a “mission.” Shuming volunteered to take him to the few remaining minors in the Low-Rent District.

    Shuming pushed his cart home and changed his clothes before they set off. They walked deeper into the district, the environment deteriorating with every step. Trash and unknown liquids littered the ground. Even sanitation workers avoided this area. Groups of emaciated people, haggard and gaunt, huddled in the shadows of the alleyways, like ghosts. This was the underbelly of the city, the shadow of civilization, a breeding ground for misery.

    “Brother, be careful. They’re all drug addicts. Some of them are mentally unstable. They might try to blow drugs in your face if they see a normal person walking by,” Shuming warned.

    “Okay.”

    After walking through several streets, they reached an old, dilapidated residential building that looked like an abandoned construction project. A group of delinquent teenagers sat in front of the building, sharing a cigarette, passing it around after a few puffs. Seeing Shuming, they called out to him.

    “Ming Zi, got any smokes?”

    The old Shuming would have immediately groveled and offered them cigarettes. But the current Shuming simply raised an eyebrow and shouted, “Pipe down! Brother Lu is back. He has something to ask you!”

    “Brother Lu? Who’s Brother Lu?”

    “Damn, Lu Li!”

    “Zou Yameng isn’t with him, is she?”

    Lu Li couldn’t help but chuckle at their panicked expressions. He had been notorious in Renxin Elementary School for his mischievous antics, but his sister was different. Her reputation was built on her fists. From middle school to first grade, which kid hadn’t been beaten up by her? The delinquents at Renxin, unable to defeat her physically, had resorted to sticking notes that read “Violent Girl” on her desk, hoping to annoy her.

    As a joke, even as an adult, if he ever fought his sister seriously, he would be easily defeated. He had often wondered, if he hadn’t met Zou Yameng, would she have become a gang leader?

    Zhou Haiming, Chen Shiwei, and Ruan Qian. Looking at these familiar yet unfamiliar faces, Lu Li felt a mix of emotions. If he hadn’t been accepted into Chuanhai No. 1 High School, would he have ended up like them? Stuck at the bottom of society, living a life of oblivion, unaware of the world beyond their immediate surroundings.

    “Lu Li, what do you want?” They were former classmates, after all. Zhou Haiming and the others sat up straighter, showing him some respect.

    “I want to ask about your guardians.”

    “We don’t have any.”

    Ruan Qian hesitated, wanting to say something, but seeing Zhou Haiming’s darkening expression, she closed her mouth. She had always been close to him. She wasn’t a bad person at heart, but she had followed him down a path of petty crime. Perhaps this was what they called “following one’s husband.”

    The topic of guardians was taboo for all the children in the Low-Rent District. Zhou Haiming’s face was cold. “What’s there to ask? Lu Li, why are you asking about this?”

    “I just wanted to see if I could find them.” This was a lie. He was asking about their guardians to complete the task assigned by Chu Xiaodong, and also to potentially benefit everyone in the Low-Rent District. Having lived two lives, he knew better than to promise anything concrete. It wasn’t about morality; it was about human nature.

    His reason sounded legitimate, something that the bold and daring Lu Li would do. Zhou Haiming’s expression softened slightly. “Go ahead and ask. But I don’t remember much.”

    “Do you remember your guardians’ names?”

    Only Ruan Qian timidly raised her hand. “Brother Lu, I remember. I saw the guardianship agreement when I was little. The first name on the long list was An Gulai.”

    An Gulai? He had never heard of that name. Lu Li stroked his chin.

    “Do you remember anything else?”

    “No.”

    “How are you guys doing these days? Do you have any source of income?” Lu Li suddenly realized that this sounded like something Chu Jingyi would ask. He wondered how Silly Goose was spending her seven-day holiday. Was she traveling with her parents? Hmm… He should remind her not to take any planes next time.

    The three of them looked away awkwardly, their remaining pride preventing them from answering the question. Shuming, who had long abandoned his pride, answered for them. “They’re not doing well. They’re living off the sixty yuan monthly subsidy.”

    “Sixty yuan… How do they even eat?”

    “Once you’re on drugs, you don’t feel hungry anymore.” Shuming’s voice was flat, almost cruel.

    Lu Li was silent for a long moment before taking out the five hundred yuan he had left.

    “Lu Li… what are you doing?” Zhou Haiming’s eyes widened. “Are… are you giving us money?”

    Shuming grabbed his hand. “Brother, you’re still a student. You need money for school. They’re already lost causes. Giving them money will only benefit the drug dealers.”

    Zhou Haiming slumped, his voice filled with self-loathing. “Yeah, Ming Zi’s right. What’s the point of giving us money? Lu Li, Brother Lu, is this the first time I’ve called you Brother Lu?”

    Lu Li raised an eyebrow. “I’m giving you money, just take it. Why all the fuss? If you use it to buy drugs, consider it me feeding a stray dog.” Lu Li was thin, but standing in front of the tall and muscular Zhou Haiming, his aura was overwhelming.

    “I can’t guarantee you’ll have a full meal every day.” He handed the five hundred yuan to Ruan Qian. “But if you have even a shred of fighting spirit left, go spend six months in rehab.”

    Ruan Qian, easily moved to tears, sniffed. “Brother Lu, thank you. We were wrong before…”

    Back in elementary and middle school, Zhou Haiming, Chen Shiwei, and Ruan Qian had never gotten along with Lu Li and Zou Yameng. They weren’t friends. But to Lu Li, these pitiful souls were connected to him by a shared experience. They were all orphans, family in a way.

    “Save the sentimental talk.” Lu Li shook his head and turned to leave with Shuming.

    Zhou Haiming suddenly called out, “Brother Lu, if there’s anything you need, I, Zhou Haiming, will risk my life for you!”

    Lu Li paused, a silent smile touching his lips. How similar these orphans were. People starved for love, despite their attempts to appear detached and uncaring, would pour their hearts out in return for even the slightest bit of kindness. It was both tragic and pitiful. Most of them would never escape this curse.

    As Lu Li and Shuming walked back, he felt the distance between them shrink. The awkwardness and sense of estrangement had vanished.

    “Brother Lu, you haven’t changed at all.”

    “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

    “I don’t know. You just seem different from us, like someone from a fairy tale.”

    “You mean childish?”

    “No. I’m not well-read, I don’t have the words to describe it. Remember that story we learned in school, about Kuafu chasing the sun? I think you’re like Kuafu. I admire you.”

    Idealist. The word popped into Lu Li’s mind. He had always considered himself a realist, a pragmatist. Ideals were always associated with the sky, with being detached from reality. It was a word as dazzling as fireworks, as fleeting as bubbles. Was this a compliment or an insult?

    When they reached the intersection, Shuming stopped. “Brother, I’ll stop here. I still have work to do.”

    “Thank you for everything.”

    But Shuming didn’t move, rooted to the spot.

    “Ming Zi, is there anything I can help you with?” Lu Li noticed Shuming’s clenched fists.

    “Brother Lu, will you promise me something?” He took a deep breath.

    “What is it?”

    “Go to college, and make our Low-Rent District proud. Will you?” Shuming’s eyes were red. “I don’t want us to be looked down upon forever! I want people to know that even orphans from the Low-Rent District can become successful! See the world for us, Brother Lu! See the things we’ll never get to see! Will you?”

  • I Don’t Want to Be Reborn With You v2c2

     v2c2: The Seagull’s Destination

    By the time Zou Yameng limped out of the bathroom, the ending theme of “You From The Sun” was playing on TV. Lu Li changed the channel and made space for his sister on the sofa.

    “Sis, I need to talk to you about something.”

    “Hmm?”

    “A while back, I contacted the government about our situation. They were very receptive and said they wanted me to gather information about the current status of all the unaccompanied minors in our Low-Rent District. They also said they would try to resolve our issues as soon as possible.”

    “Why would you bother contacting those fat cats?”

    “They asked, and I just told them the truth.”

    Zou Yameng picked up the remote and lowered the TV volume before looking at Lu Li with a strange expression. “The official you spoke to, was it your classmate’s parent? The parent of your class monitor?”

    “Yes. So what they said is quite credible.”

    Zou Yameng felt a pang of bitterness. “We’ve managed just fine on our own for so many years. Why do we need them to worry about us now?”

    “We managed, but others didn’t. Remember that kid who lived next door, the one who always fought with me? I heard he was trafficked to Southeast Asia and had his kidney harvested. He was a year younger than me.”

    The topic was a heavy one, and Zou Yameng sat up straighter.

    “…Where were they all this time?”

    “…”

    Seeing that Lu Li didn’t answer, Zou Yameng leaned against his shoulder, staring blankly at the TV. “Just do what you have to do. My little brother is all grown up now, with his own career. It has nothing to do with me.” Lu Li chuckled and put his arm around her. “What career? It’s just a small task. Sis, you haven’t told me about the Six-Province Tournament yet. How did you injure your leg?”

    “I pushed myself too hard against He Ping and couldn’t hold on during the finals. But every cloud has a silver lining. Even though I was the runner-up, I got a better deal than the champion.”

    “Oh?”

    “The champion only received an invitation from the provincial team. I got an invitation from the national team the night after the finals.”

    Zou Yameng proudly opened her phone’s email app, showing Lu Li the official invitation from the Shenzhou Women’s Table Tennis National Team. They praised her performance in the Six-Province Tournament and invited her to join the second team in the Capital City after the New Year. They also specifically advised her to focus on recovery.

    “Why only the second team?” Lu Li asked, pretending to be disappointed.

    Zou Yameng laughed at his teasing. “Silly, I’m just a newcomer. It’s already amazing that I could skip the training camp and join the second team directly. It’s all thanks to Coach Dan’s connections. She never said anything, but I overheard her calling her old teammates that night, asking them to try their best to get me into the second team…”

    “We should visit her and express our gratitude.” Coach Dan had always taken special care of his sister. She had played a crucial role in Zou Yameng’s journey in table tennis.

    “Okay. I’ll listen to you~” She nuzzled against him like a cat.

    Lu Li closed his eyes, feeling a sense of relief that everything was finally falling into place. His sister had secured a ticket to the world championships, he hadn’t rekindled his relationship with An Baili, and his game development was progressing well. If only life could always be this smooth sailing.

    ***

    October 4th. Morning.

    The morning mist hadn’t dispersed yet, the air heavy with moisture. The skyscrapers in the distance were shrouded in fog, their reflections shimmering in the damp air. In contrast to the quiet and spacious city center, the Low-Rent District was bustling with activity. People wearing worn-out, pilling beanies walked numbly towards the city. It was October 4th, 2017. The alcohol ban hadn’t been implemented yet, the plane to Sanya hadn’t crashed into the Pacific Ocean, the amendment to the Marriage Law was still being debated in Congress. Nothing had happened yet; there was still time to change things.

    He was fully aware that his actions would have a profound impact on everyone in this Low-Rent District, including himself.

    Deep within the Low-Rent District lay Chuanhai’s “urban village,” a densely packed area with narrow, dirty streets. Beside a small food cart selling rice noodle rolls was an open sewer, its stench mingling with the aroma of the food, creating an indescribable odor. Lu Li approached the cart and looked at the vendor’s youthful face. “One rice noodle roll, with two eggs, please.”

    “Coming right up!” The vendor looked up, his eyes lighting up. “Brother Lu, what brings you here?”

    That simple question, “What brings you here?” made Lu Li’s heart ache. Since he had transferred to Chuanhai No. 1 High School, he rarely came to the Low-Rent District. His old friends had become somewhat distant. People always encouraged striving for advancement, for climbing the ladder of success, but they often ignored the ordinary people left behind by the relentless march of time. Shuming was his friend, or at least he had been.

    “Ming Zi, how much?”

    Shuming waved his hand dismissively. “Brother, you don’t need to pay me. It’s on the house! Have a seat, have a seat.”

    The “seat” was a small round table and a rickety red plastic stool. Lu Li sat down, not mentioning the payment again. He just watched quietly as Shuming busied himself, the small stall surprisingly busy. Shuming seemed to have fully embraced his role as a street vendor, bowing and scraping, thanking customers profusely. He had lost the spark he once had as a boy. He was the same age as Lu Li, but standing next to each other, Shuming appeared much older.

    The rice noodle roll was delicious, but eating next to an open sewer was unsettling. Lu Li stood up and waited to the side. Shuming, who came to collect the dishes, looked at him hesitantly. “Brother, didn’t you like it?”

    “It was delicious. I just wanted to talk to you about something. We can talk after you close up.” Shuming’s overly respectful attitude made Lu Li uncomfortable. He remembered how they used to steal bird nests together in elementary school. Shuming had gotten scared of being caught by the park warden and run away, leaving Lu Li stranded in a tree. For a whole month after that, Shuming had avoided eye contact, calling himself a traitor, someone who deserved to be publicly shamed.

    “Brother Lu, you should sit down. You must be tired standing.”

    Shuming had always been timid and cowardly, the kind of person who trembled when talking to strangers. The first time Lu Li met him, he was being bullied by his classmates. How different he was now. Time truly was a mysterious force.

    Lu Li stood silently, watching as Shuming quickly got back to work, sweating profusely even in the cool autumn weather. Two hours later, after the last of the breakfast crowd had dispersed, Shuming began to pack up his stall. Suddenly, he smacked his forehead and looked at Lu Li apologetically. “Brother, I’m so sorry! I completely forgot! I’m so sorry!”

    Apologizing too much wasn’t a good habit. It made you seem like an easy target.

    “It’s fine, it’s fine. I had things to do as well. It’s no big deal.” Lu Li stepped forward to help Shuming pack the small tables and chairs into the cart. Shuming stopped him, flustered.

    “Brother, please, let me do it.” From “you” to “Brother,” seemingly more respectful, but actually more distant.

    It reminded Lu Li of a conversation between two seagulls, discussing the ultimate purpose of life. The question itself was an embodiment of nihilism, as was the answer. Perhaps the ultimate goal of life was simply “to get some chips at the pier.” Some people spent their entire lives searching for the answer, while others reached the endpoint of meaninglessness at a young age. Shuming was the latter.

    After packing up his cart, Shuming wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Lu Li apologetically. “Brother Lu, what did you want to talk to me about?”

    “I just wanted to ask about you and Wei Ge, how you guys are doing.” Lu Li was uncharacteristically awkward. “I haven’t been in touch with them much, and I don’t know how to find them…”

    Shuming’s expression was calm, as if he wasn’t surprised that Lu Li had lost contact with them.

    Unlike ten years ago, this time, Lu Li was the traitor among them.

  • I Don’t Want to Be Reborn With You v2 c1

    V2 Chapter 1: The Bathroom is Full Today

    The saying “July, the time of scorching heat” should be categorized as an environmental term. With the intensification of global warming, it wasn’t until October 3rd that the temperature in Chuanhai City finally started to drop. Lu Li had already switched to his autumn attire, forgoing the youthful trend of leaving jackets unzipped to look cool. Instead, he securely zipped up his nylon jacket; he was someone who preferred the cold to the heat. October 1st was Constitution Day, a seven-day national holiday. Instead of going to school, he was at the bus station, holding up a sign and waiting.

    At three in the afternoon, Zou Yameng, supported by her teammates, stepped off the bus. Lu Li tossed his sign aside and rushed to greet her. “Sister!” Zou Yameng’s left leg was bandaged. Hearing his voice, she instinctively tried to hide her injured leg behind her, not wanting her brother to see it. If her teammates weren’t watching her closely, she would have already secretly removed the bandage.

    Zhou Wen handed Zou Yameng over to Lu Li, not forgetting to tease him. “Take good care of your sister, little brother~”

    “Sis, what happened to your left leg?”

    It had only been half a month. How did she suddenly get injured? Hadn’t she just made a comeback against He Ping?

    “Her leg injury acted up during the finals. It’s nothing serious, just needs some rest,” Coach Dan answered for Zou Yameng. Zou Yameng shot the coach a reproachful look; she didn’t want her brother to worry.

    “Leg injury? How bad is it? What did the doctor say?” Lu Li clenched his fists, his forehead breaking out in a sweat.

    “Relax, it’s just a minor issue.” Zou Yameng looped her arm around his neck, preventing him from worrying unnecessarily.

    It wasn’t that Lu Li was overreacting. In his previous life, Zou Yameng had to retire from the national team because of her recurring leg injury. Out of everyone present, only Lu Li knew how serious it would become. When he was in college, he would often visit his sister’s place for meals. Whenever it rained, her knee and ankle would ache terribly, leaving her in agony. And that was when she was only in her early twenties!

    “I just let you down, Silly Goose. I still lost in the finals.”

    Coach Dan chimed in, “It’s not your fault, Yameng. If it weren’t for your leg, you would have won. Everyone could see who the true uncrowned champion was.”

    Lu Li would have been proud if his sister had won, but he wasn’t disappointed that she lost. As long as she was by his side, that was enough. One had to be content to be happy. He smiled warmly as usual, supporting his sister. For once, he splurged on a taxi, bidding farewell to the group from the Chuanhai City Women’s Sports School.

    “Does your leg hurt?” Lu Li had always thought that constantly asking “Does it hurt?” “Are you tired?” “Are you sore?” was pointless and annoying. But when it came to someone he cared about, these words tumbled out of his mouth involuntarily. Zou Yameng smiled brightly and squeezed his cheeks playfully. “Don’t be such a worrywart! I’m fine, really.”

    Lu Li felt that since their trip to Lingyue, Sister Yameng had become more physically affectionate with him. In the past, she would always be mindful of the boundaries between men and women, rarely initiating physical contact. Now, even in the back seat of the taxi, she sat close to him, leaving a large gap on her right side.

    When they arrived home, Zou Yameng dropped her bag and stretched with a sigh of relief. “Finally home! I’m exhausted! It’s so good to be back!”

    “There’s no place like home, even if it’s a dog house.”

    “I’m going to take a shower. You can watch TV.”

    “Okay.”

    Lu Li thought for a moment before settling down in front of the boxy television. “Sis, can you manage the shower on your own?”

    “Do you want to wash me? What kind of question is that?”

    “Just shout if you need anything. I’ll be right outside.”

    He turned on the TV, which was playing the popular drama “You From The Sun.” It was a rather boring time-travel story about a cheerful young man who traveled back to the Three Kingdoms period and became a general, guarding the borders of the Wu kingdom for Sun Quan. Lu Li was watching the scene where the protagonist encountered his arch-rival, Cao Ang, when he suddenly heard a cry from the bathroom. He rushed over immediately.

    “Sis, what’s wrong?”

    “Ouch… N-nothing! Don’t come in!”

    He retracted his hand from the doorknob and asked anxiously, “Did you fall? Cover yourself with a towel, and I’ll come in and help you.”

    “No!” Her response was surprisingly fierce.

    Then he heard rustling sounds, as if she was struggling to get up.

    “Sis, can you get up?”

    “…No… My foot slipped… You… you… come in and help me.”

    Lu Li took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the bathroom door. The room was filled with steam, like a scene from a celestial bathhouse. Zou Yameng was half-lying on the floor, wrapped in a towel, her face flushed. “Could you stare any harder?!” she exclaimed.

    Lu Li coughed awkwardly and stepped forward, taking her hand and helping her sit on a small stool. Zou Yameng avoided his gaze, her back to him. The lines of her back were beautiful, full of sensual curves, every line worth savoring, her skin flawless. From behind, he could glimpse the curve of her breasts, round and alluring, peeking out from beneath the towel.

    “Get out!”

    Lu Li ignored her, squatting behind her and picking up the bath sponge.

    Zou Yameng stiffened. “W-what are you doing?”

    “Helping you wash up.” Lu Li glanced at her left leg. “You liar. Your leg is as stiff as a board, and you told me you were fine?”

    “We’re too old for this… You… you can’t bathe me.”

    “It’s only natural to take care of a patient.”

    He gently scrubbed her back. When his hand first touched her, Zou Yameng tensed up. But seeing that he was genuinely trying to help her, without any ulterior motives, she gradually relaxed. This wasn’t like the drunken incident last night. Zou Yameng wasn’t that bold. Maybe Lu Li would be bold enough, but he wouldn’t do that.

    Sister Yameng wasn’t skinny. Her flesh was soft and yielding, his hand sinking slightly into her smooth skin, like caressing fine silk. If he had to describe the sensation with one word, he would use “supple.” If he had to use an image, he would use “milk.” Perhaps it was the steam, perhaps it was his own inner turmoil, but her skin was flushed a lovely pink, especially her shoulders, which looked like ripe peaches, tempting him to take a bite.

    “Did you wash your hair?” Lu Li untied her ponytail and gently combed through her damp hair with his fingers.

    Zou Yameng, at this moment, had none of her usual authority. She was as docile as a lamb. “…No…”

    “Tilt your head down a bit, and I’ll wash it for you.”

    “Little Pear(Li Zi)…”

    “Hmm?”

    “When was the last time we showered together?”

    “…”

    Lu Li thought for a moment, applying shampoo to her hair. “Elementary school, I think. It’s been a while.” Yes, when they were in elementary school, they were inseparable, even insisting on going to the bathroom together, which had caused quite a stir. Other little boys who accidentally wandered into the girls’ bathroom would be mortified, but not Lu Li. He had clung to his sister, even imitating her squatting posture, much to Zou Yameng’s annoyance. Perhaps that was when he developed his thick skin.

    Zou Yameng also remembered their childhood antics and chuckled.

    Lu Li’s hand reached forward, inches away from her breasts. Zou Yameng’s laughter died in her throat, her body stiffening. Thankfully, she heard him say, “Sis, you can wash the front yourself.”

    “Okay.” Her voice held a mixture of relief, confusion, and a hint of disappointment only she could discern.

    Lu Li dried her hair, glancing at her left leg with concern before leaving the bathroom.

  • As a villain, I just want them to behave 113 p2

    Chapter 113 p2

    ……

    At noon, Saint Chrissy and the assassin girl sent information back to the Temple, saying that everything was going smoothly except for the assassination of Kailun.

    To make the information more substantial and credible, they also informed the Temple that Kailson had betrayed them with his whole family.

    At one o’clock in the afternoon, after a ten-minute long kiss with Kailun, Chrissy left the royal city with the assassin girl.

    Next time they met, she would still be the radiant Saint.

    At three o’clock in the afternoon, Dean Edlin of the Royal Magic Academy came to find Kailun. She took five Golden Agreements and ten thousand Silver Moon Knights from Kailun.

    To protect Dean Edlin’s safety, Kailun assigned her two seventh-rank deputy commanders.

    In order to complete Kailun’s task as soon as possible and get her commission, Edlin left the royal city with her troops without delay.

    Edlin was full of confidence for this trip, as long as she could buy magic crystals worth 4.5 million gold coins, she would make a profit of five hundred thousand.

    To express her sincerity, she even offered to bear the expenses of the Silver Moon Knights.

    For Edlin’s reasonable request, Kailun naturally chose to satisfy her.

    Because of her understanding, Kailun would appropriately lower her interest later.

    With the departure of everyone, the royal city seemed to have really calmed down.

    ……

    In Duke Pit’s territory in the Rose Kingdom, Philip and Laurist had been received in the drawing-room.

    “Hello, Duke Pit, my name is Philip, I’m the shopkeeper of the Magic Shop, I’ll be in charge of this transaction. This gentleman next to me is Viscount Laurist, his identity is not ordinary, it’s all thanks to him that we got this batch of goods.”

    Philip had a professional smile on his face as he faced Duke Pit, who was sitting in the main seat.

    “Oh? Is this Earl Laurist? It’s rumored that Earl Laurist’s daughter is likely to become the new king’s consort, I wonder how beautiful your daughter is.”

    Duke Pit’s gaze fell on Earl Laurist, who was sitting next to Philip. When he heard the information about Earl Laurist’s daughter, his strange hobby started to stir again.

    But his excitement only lasted for a short while before he calmed down, because he had a new target, the Rose Queen.

    In order to gain the Rose Queen’s favor, he had been holding back for several years. Even if he couldn’t help it, he would only do it secretly and never look for married women from prominent families.

    Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the Rose Queen, he didn’t want to let his efforts go to waste, so even though he knew there were excellent married women in the neighboring kingdom, he didn’t dare to make a move.

    According to the information he received, the new king of the Kingdom of Xiya liked Winnie very much, she was very likely to become the queen.

    It was thanks to Kailun’s favor that this Laurist in front of him was able to be promoted from viscount to earl and control a mine with abundant reserves.

    He felt that Laurist had gained his current power by selling his daughter.

    However, this had nothing to do with him, what he cared about was that the price Laurist offered was very tempting, almost 5% lower than the market price in the Rose Kingdom.

    Don’t underestimate this 5%, if he bought one million gold coins worth of magic crystals, he could save fifty thousand gold coins.

    And seeing Earl Laurist’s cowardly look, it seemed that he could continue to lower the price. In his procurement plan, magic crystals were the most important part.

    Earl Laurist replied awkwardly: “You flatter me, Duke Pit, my daughter is just slightly beautiful, all this is thanks to the new king’s favor.”

    Perhaps because he had seen a terrifying devil like Kailun, even a powerful figure like Duke Pit couldn’t make him feel fear anymore.

    After sensing the other party’s gaze, he cursed Duke Pit in his heart, even this trash Duke Pit dared to think about his daughter?

    He was courting death, his daughter was only worthy of an invincible devil like Kailun!

    Inexplicably, Earl Laurist seemed to have found something he could be proud of, so his aura rose a bit.

    However, thinking of Shopkeeper Philip’s request, he shrank his neck and pretended to be cowardly, everything was centered around Kailun’s plan.

    “Don’t be modest, I know that Earl Laurist is a very capable person, I believe in your ability. But let’s talk about the transaction first, how many magic crystals did you bring to the Rose Kingdom this time, and what’s the price?”

    Duke Pit waved his hand, he focused his attention on the transaction.

    “A total of fifteen million ordinary magic crystals, one gold coin for one hundred crystals, I think this is the lowest price you can get, Duke Pit.” Philip said with a smile.

    “Yes, only we can offer such a price, we just want to sell them quickly and get our funds back… ah!”

    Earl Laurist echoed, but he screamed halfway through his sentence because Philip stepped on his foot.

    Philip laughed awkwardly: “Sorry, Duke Pit, Earl Laurist has a problem with his foot, his brain isn’t working well.”

    Earl Laurist acted as if he had realized it afterwards, he quickly covered his mouth and kept silent.

    Seeing this, Duke Pit smiled even more happily: “Hey, it’s not a big deal, everyone has times when they’re short on funds. How about this, I’ll do you a favor, I’ll take this batch of magic crystals all by myself, but the price might be a little lower, how about one gold coin for one hundred and one magic crystals?”

    Earl Laurist hugged his foot and said, “Isn’t that a bit too low?”

    “Don’t fool yourself, Earl Laurist, you should know very well where these magic crystals of yours came from. Now the Rose Kingdom and the Kingdom of Xiya are still at war on the surface, your actions could be considered aiding the enemy. If this matter gets back to the Kingdom of Xiya, even if Kailun doesn’t want to touch you, the overwhelming public resentment will force him to get rid of you. Why don’t we sign a contract, I’ll pay, you’ll supply, if you can’t stay in the Kingdom of Xiya anymore, come to my territory, I, Pit, will guarantee your safety!”

    Pit’s words were almost a direct threat, he thought he had grasped Earl Laurist’s lifeline.

    He had people collect a lot of information, and based on this information, he made the judgment to threaten Earl Laurist.

    “This… this isn’t very good…” Earl Laurist’s hesitant look was very consistent with his cowardly personality.

    “What’s wrong with this? Do you look down on me?” Duke Pit snorted angrily: “If you look down on me, I’ll keep you here, none of you can leave today.”

    As he spoke, a team of knights rushed in and blocked the door.

    “Duke Pit, don’t be angry, it’s not that Earl Laurist doesn’t want to sell you magic crystals, it’s just that the new mine has just started production and the output is very slow, he’s afraid of delaying your use.”

    Philip quickly stood up, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he explained to him.

    “Mine at the fastest speed, I’ll take as much as you have, as for the price, let’s talk about it again. To ensure our cooperation, we can sign a contract with each other, you must guarantee that all your output will be supplied to me first, otherwise…”

    Duke Pit looked at Laurist with malicious intent.

    Laurist also stood up: “We’ll sign, we’ll sign, I guarantee that I’ll supply you first.”

    “Haha, that’s right, what are you all standing there for? Sit down, let’s talk about our cooperation.” Duke Pit quickly changed his face.

    Laurist and Philip looked at each other, both seeing the joy in each other’s eyes.

    There was no mine at all, it was just a deliberately fabricated rumor.

    The only magic crystals Kailun gave them were this batch in their hands. Doing this was just to dangle a low price in front of Duke Pit and make him lose the time to acquire other magic crystals.

    By the time Duke Pit realized it, the price of magic crystals would have skyrocketed.

    However, this wasn’t the most desperate part, the most desperate part was that he would have to buy from Kailun at an exorbitant price.

    After all, Kailun controlled the important trade route of the Kingdom of Malaga. When Duke Pit was in urgent need, it would be too late to acquire them from other places.

    The three of them continued to talk, and under Duke Pit’s threat, Laurist signed a very unfair contract.

    If he couldn’t deliver the produced magic crystals to Duke Pit at the lowest price immediately, he would die.

    It was a very harsh clause, but Laurist was very calm when he signed it.

    He had never owned a mine, this contract had no binding effect on him at all.

    “Haha, Earl Laurist is really straightforward, why don’t you stay here tonight and rest? I’ve recently acquired some married women, do you want to try them?”

    Duke Pit, who was in a good mood, invited them to have some fun together.

    Laurist: “Duke Pit, you don’t know, our mine is in urgent need of funds to continue mining, because of the new king’s order, the miners’ wages are very high now, we are really short of money.”

    Hearing this, Pit sneered: “To be honest, your new king is just rich and has nothing better to do. I think he should only pay one-fifth of the wages to keep the miners from starving to death. Giving them jobs and letting them eat their fill is already a blessing for them.”

    Laurist: “…”

    He didn’t understand whether it was a blessing or not, but he knew that Kailun was sucking Duke Pit’s blood, so the money paid to the miners also included Duke Pit’s share.

    Before setting off, Kailun had sent a magic letter saying that he would deliver Duke Pit to Anna and let her kill him personally.

    The so-called Duke Pit was just a lamb that Kailun had already booked.

  • As a villain, I just want them to behave 113 p1

    Chapter 113: Lost Lamb p1

    “Clank, clank, clank!”

    In the underground prison, Kailun knocked on the iron bars of the cell, making a clanging sound.

    “Sleepyhead, wake up. If you’re late, I might do something strange to you.”

    Kailun woke the sleeping assassin girl with a gentle voice.

    The numbness in her body gradually receded, Helena looked at Kailun outside with hatred in her eyes.

    Because of the poison, she couldn’t move for the whole night, she couldn’t even commit suicide by hitting the wall.

    “Don’t look at me like that, I’m a kind person. If you don’t want to return to the Temple of the Heavenly God, I’ll let Chrissy go back alone. With your Pope’s trust in Chrissy, she will only regard you as a traitor who failed the mission. Think carefully, do you want to stay here and be played with by me as a plush ball, or return to your beloved Temple and shine?”

    The tempting words reached Helena’s ears, Kailun’s smile looked even more evil in her eyes.

    She still underestimated Kailun, her 100% mission completion rate gave her arrogant confidence.

    All her previous mission targets were humans, while Kailun in front of her was a real devil.

    “I will not betray the Temple of the Heavenly God, nor will I betray His Holiness the Pope. Instead of continuing to tempt me here, you might as well just kill me.”

    Helena touched the collar on her neck and smiled miserably.

    “That’s why you’re still too naive.”

    Kailun opened the prison door and walked in, he walked up to Helena, squatted down, and touched her head with his hand.

    Faced with Kailun’s touch, Helena turned her head away and glared at him fiercely.

    “You know, you look like a vicious dog baring its teeth at its master. You want to look fierce, but not only will it not scare me, it will make me even more excited. If it weren’t for your Saint satisfying me last night, you would be in a very miserable state now. How about this, let’s play a game, if you win, I’ll let you go, if you lose, listen to my advice.”

    Kailun reached out and played with the hair by Helena’s ear, this time Helena didn’t bare her teeth at him.

    She stared at Kailun’s eyes, her green eyes locking onto him like a snake.

    Helena didn’t nod, her eyes had already indicated her choice.

    “The game is like this, we toss a coin, the first to win three times wins.”

    As he spoke, Kailun magically pulled out a gold coin from Helena’s hair. In order to gradually guide Helena’s thoughts, Kailun had really put a lot of effort into it.

    Helena: “What are the rules?”

    Kailun: “The rules are very simple, just choose heads or tails. For fairness, we will use two results, heads-tails-tails and tails-heads-heads, to determine the winner. We toss the same coin repeatedly until one of the results appears, then we start the next round, the first to win three rounds wins. I choose heads-tails-tails, then you are tails-heads-heads. If you don’t trust me, you can toss it yourself.”

    He attracted Helena’s attention with this gold coin, making her focus on the coin itself.

    This seemingly fair game was actually completely unfair, Kailun’s winning rate was much higher than Helena’s.

    Even if fate ultimately chose to side with Helena, Kailun wouldn’t mind.

    He could just let her go and catch her again, it would only waste a little time.

    Looking at the gold coin on Kailun’s fingertip, Helena showed interest.

    “If you have no objections, then I’ll toss it, you can completely trust my character.” Kailun said and was about to toss the coin.

    “I’ll do it!”

    Helena snatched the gold coin from Kailun’s hand, carefully feeling its texture and weight, she judged that it was a very ordinary gold coin.

    Since the coin hadn’t been tampered with, then she could control her fate by tossing it herself.

    With the restriction of the magic-suppressing collar, Helena couldn’t cheat with her own abilities, so she could only leave it to fate.

    Fate only favored a small number of lucky people, but the probability was on Kailun’s side.

    “Clink!”

    The crisp sound of the coin landing announced the start of the game.

    Kailun observed the result while casually playing with Helena’s hair, he looked like he was training a food-protective puppy.

    “Clink…”

    Helena watched every result nervously, she hoped for tails-heads-heads to appear, her eyes only focused on the final result.

    If she could escape, it would mean that everything could start over, she didn’t want to be labeled as a traitor, nor did she want to die at a young age.

    In less than five minutes, Helena hugged her knees in disappointment.

    Heads-tails-tails appeared three times, tails-heads-heads only appeared once, the expected result didn’t appear. At this moment, Helena simply thought it was bad luck.

    “It’s a pity, fate didn’t favor you, so now you should listen to me properly, right?”

    Kailun stuffed the gold coin into Helena’s palm, the coin toss game had already broken most of her defenses.

    The first time he saw this girl, Kailun saw the pride and madness in her eyes.

    She was indeed a crazy killer, but her madness couldn’t even compare to one-tenth of his own.

    The second time they met, he saw Helena’s naivety and immaturity.

    In the end, Helena was just a naive girl who was inflated by her power, there weren’t many emotions in her eyes.

    Her experience might not even be comparable to Ella’s.

    The third time they met, Kailun was a little disappointed, he thought she could do something crazy, but it turned out to be nothing special.

    “I said before, I can indeed let you return to the Temple of the Heavenly God, but there’s a condition.” Kailun pinched Helena’s chin and made her look directly at him.

    Although there was a lot of disgust in her eyes, Helena didn’t avoid his gaze.

    If it weren’t for the restriction of the magic-suppressing collar, she would definitely rush up and bite Kailun’s throat.

    “I can let you go back, but you’re not allowed to mention what happened here, let alone anything related to me and Chrissy. You can’t use any explicit or implicit means to tell anyone any information related to us. If you can do that, I’ll let you go back. Of course, during this time, you have to fully assist Chrissy and seriously help her complete the plan.” Kailun lifted Helena’s chin.

    Helena said coldly: “I’ve already said, instead of making me betray His Holiness the Pope, you might as well just kill me. Even if you want to play with my body, it doesn’t matter, all you’ll get in the end is a corpse.”

    “Are you stupid? Didn’t you hear me say ‘during this time’?”

    Kailun looked at Helena with the eyes of looking at an idiot and said, “We can sign a contract, you only need to keep this secret for a month, after that, you can do whatever you want. If no one tells the Pope about this secret, do you know how much impact a Saint will have on the Temple of the Heavenly God? Think carefully, what kind of reward can a month of enduring humiliation bring you?”

    Kailun’s words hit Helena’s weak spot. She wanted to survive, but she didn’t want to be a traitor. Kailun’s suggestion perfectly met her requirements.

    And all she had to do was endure humiliation for a month, until the time was right, and then tell His Holiness the Pope about this news.

    If she died, no one would know that the Saint was a traitor.

    Seeing the hesitation in Helena’s eyes, Kailun let go of her chin and took out a contract scroll from his arms and handed it to her.

    Helena hesitated for a moment and finally opened the scroll. The content of the scroll clearly stated Kailun’s requirements and the price of breaking the contract.

    During this month, she only needed to obey Chrissy’s not-too-excessive orders, overall, she had a lot of freedom.

    The most important thing was that she couldn’t explicitly or implicitly reveal the news that Chrissy had betrayed the Temple. If she revealed even a single word, her soul would collapse and she would die on the spot.

    It was a very vicious price, but it wasn’t unacceptable to her.

    “Think about it carefully, I’m not in a hurry, I have time until noon today.”

    Kailun simply sat down next to Helena and waited for her answer.

    Perhaps because Saint Chrissy had calmed the violence in his heart, Kailun was much gentler towards Helena, he didn’t use any harsh methods as originally planned.

    The advantage of doing this was that when the truth was revealed, it would deal a greater blow to the Pope and make her hate him even more.

    When the Pope found out that the entire Temple had become his inside agents, the enraged Pope would definitely have a very interesting expression, right?

    A mere -20 favorability wasn’t enough, he wanted more.

    ……

    At nine o’clock in the morning, Kailun left the underground prison with the contract scroll.

    Under his “kind persuasion”, Helena made a more rational choice.

    She didn’t betray the Pope, she held onto her last bottom line.

    But her actions were more terrifying than betrayal, because her safe return would mislead the Pope, and this was the effect Kailun wanted to achieve.

    If the eighth-rank Helena died in the Kingdom of Xiya, then it would mean that the Kingdom of Xiya really had the power to counter an eighth-rank.

    But after letting Helena go back, Chrissy would say that the assassination failed because of the eighth-rank traitor Kailson.

    Kailun had already planted a seed called lies in the assassin girl’s heart. After one deception, she had to use more lies to cover up the previous deception.

    In order to tell the Pope the truth a month later, she would continue to fabricate more lies to cover up the truth during this month.

    Her starting point was good, but she couldn’t turn back anymore.

    After receiving the devil’s benefits, there was no reason not to repay him.

    Even after a month, could she really tell the truth?

    Kailun doubted it, he looked forward to seeing the assassin girl break down.

    “By the way, what was her name again?”

    Kailun scratched his head, he suddenly couldn’t remember the assassin girl’s name.

    No, he had never asked her name at all.

    It didn’t matter, let it be forgotten.

    Putting the scroll into his arms, Kailun returned to the small building and happened to bump into Ella, who was sneaking around.

    He lowered his footsteps, sneaked up behind her, and blew a breath on the back of her neck: “Hoo~”

    “Ah!”

    Ella screamed and turned around, she couldn’t help but exclaim when she saw Kailun’s face: “Devil!”

    Kailun: “…”

    Ella in front of him was wearing a black cheongsam and sexy black silk stockings, her whole body exuding the charm of a mature woman, like a ripe peach.

    The only thing that spoiled her beauty was the dark circles under her eyes, it seemed that Ella hadn’t had a good rest for several days.

    “Um… sorry, I heard that you’re back, so I came back to take a look.” Ella lowered her head in fear.

    Although her favorability towards Kailun was 0, most of the impressions Kailun left on her were bad.

    Roughly estimated, she had been made to cry by Kailun no less than ten times.

    “Thump!”

    Kailun pinned Ella against the wall in the corridor: “I’ve been back for more than two days, thank you.”

    Ella’s face was embarrassed: “I was busy with the chamber of commerce, there were too many bills to deal with in the past two days, I haven’t slept well for two days.”

    Kailun: “So?”

    Ella’s eyes darted around: “So I wanted to come back and ask Anna for help, otherwise I would definitely be exhausted to death.”

    “Oh, you might not know, I was the one who arranged the extra work for you.”

    Kailun touched Ella’s smooth face and said, “How is it? Surprised? Unexpected?”

    Ella: “…”

    [Ella thinks you are a heartless man. Favorability -10, Total favorability -10]

    They hadn’t seen each other for a few days, and she already had a temper, this wasn’t a good sign.

    Kailun pressed against her fullness with his chest, pushing her further against the wall: “Come home tonight, if you can satisfy me, I’ll ask Anna to help you with your work. As a pet, you should always remember your identity. I can give you the title of Queen of Commerce, and I can also keep you at home as a simple little doggy. If you deliberately avoid me again next time, I’ll give everything you have now to Anna. After all, your niece is much more obedient than you, understand?”

    Ella bit her red lips and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: “Understood…”

    [Ella thinks you are a tyrant, a devil, she recalled her dislike for you. Favorability -10, Total favorability -20]

    She was clearly a mature woman with an explosive figure, but she gave Kailun the illusion of a little girl.

    Among the girls he had bullied, Ella was the one who cried the most.

    “Slap!”

    “Go, find your niece, if you don’t come home tonight, I’ll have to personally invite you.” Kailun slapped Ella’s perky buttocks and let her go.

    “Oh~”

    The latter covered her buttocks and walked away, looking back every few steps.

    The reason she looked back wasn’t because she was reluctant to leave Kailun, but because she was afraid that he would sneak attack her again.

    Running all the way to the back garden, Ella found her niece Anna.

    When she saw her, tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly walked up to Anna and said aggrievedly: “I just met that devil Kailun, he bullied me again.”

    Anna put down the taboo scroll in her hand and looked at her aunt: “He pressed you down on the bed and bullied you?”

    Ella said angrily: “Not yet, but soon, he forced me to go home tonight.”

    “Hmm, then you should serve him well.” Anna nodded calmly.

    “Hey, are you just going to watch your aunt being bullied like this? Don’t you want to resist? Let me tell you, your aunt is in charge of the finances now, as long as you and I join forces, we have a chance to screw Kailun over.”

    Ella leaned close to Anna’s ear and whispered.

    Although she could no longer escape Kailun’s grasp, because of her resentment, she wanted to take revenge on Kailun, at least let him know that she wasn’t easy to bully.

    Anna: “I’m listening, tell me.”

    Seeing that her niece was serious, Ella said excitedly: “Let me tell you, we’ll do this first, then that, and finally this… This way, Kailun will lose at least ten thousand gold coins!”

    Ten thousand gold coins was already an astronomical figure for Ella, she wanted to express her dissatisfaction in this way.

    Anyway, her virginity had already been taken by Kailun, it didn’t matter if she was screwed again, it wasn’t a big deal, she could enjoy it anyway, it was a win-win situation.

    But gold coins were different, such a large amount of gold coins would definitely make Kailun heartbroken, right?

    Anna looked at Ella with a strange look, this idiot aunt wouldn’t think that Kailun would really be heartbroken over these ten thousand gold coins, right?

    Kailun earned three million by selling the Saint yesterday afternoon, and then took another two million from the Saint at night, earning a total of five million gold coins in just one day.

    This huge amount made even Isabella, who was also from a large organization, dumbfounded, no one thought that a mere plush ball would be worth so much.

    It was no exaggeration to say that these five million gold coins could completely buy a medium-sized kingdom.

    “Don’t worry, I will definitely support you!” Anna looked at Ella, she planned to tell Kailun about her aunt’s plan at night.

    Kailun would definitely reward her well then, right?

    “Ugh~”

    As if thinking of something she shouldn’t be thinking about, a beautiful blush appeared on Anna’s little face.

  • As a villain, I just want them to behave 112

    Chapter 112: A Fight to the Death

    “Go down, let me talk to this assassin miss from the Temple alone.”

    Kailun waved his hand, signaling the dancers to leave.

    Their presence was only to make the atmosphere seem more lively and natural, Kailun never expected them to be of any help.

    After hearing Kailun’s words, they hesitated for a moment before leaving the courtyard and returning to the small building.

    It wasn’t until only he and the assassin girl were left in the courtyard that Kailun pointed to the apple on the table, which had begun to turn yellow, and said unhurriedly:

    “Want a piece of apple? It tastes quite good, even my dog says it’s delicious.”

    Faced with this question, the assassin girl stared at Kailun with her cold eyes.

    For an assassin, striking with one fatal blow and escaping thousands of miles away was what she should do, but the problem was that whenever she was about to strike, she always felt a faint sense of danger.

    In her perception, there was clearly no eighth-rank presence in this manor, the highest was only a few seventh-ranks.

    Unless someone was close to the ninth-rank and beyond her perception.

    But was that possible?

    Obviously not, after all, during this period, whether it was the Temple of the Heavenly God or the abyss, the main forces were concentrated on the battlefield, the battle at the second mine was the key to deciding the direction of the world.

    But even if there was danger, it didn’t matter, Kailun in front of her was only at the fifth-rank, he couldn’t escape anymore.

    Could Kailun be faster than her dagger?

    “Oh, right, what’s your name again? I forgot to ask your name during the negotiations this afternoon, I’m really sorry.”

    Hearing Kailun’s second sentence, assassin girl Helena’s eyes became even colder.

    She was a born assassin, many people who had seen her would quickly forget her name and appearance.

    Except for the ninth-rank existence like the Pope who could barely remember, everyone else was a stranger to Helena.

    Every time someone asked her name, she would feel annoyed, especially Chrissy, who had already asked many times today.

    “My name, you’re not worthy to know.”

    The arrogant Helena gave Kailun the worst answer.

    After saying this, she thought Kailun would be furious, but to her surprise, he laughed at her.

    “Very good, very strong personality, I like arrogant girls like you.” The unreserved compliment made Helena a little confused.

    She couldn’t help but wonder if this guy Kailun didn’t understand the current situation.

    “Hand over the Golden Agreements I gave you today, maybe I can give you a quick death.”

    Helena pointed her dagger at Kailun, she frowned slightly, and her green eyes returned to their coldness.

    She abandoned the mentality of playing with her prey, the person in front of her was worthy of her vigilance.

    If it were in the past, she would have stabbed him dozens of times, inflicting minor injuries and playing with her prey.

    “Really bold words, your Saint also wanted to give me a quick death before, but she still did it in the end, she gave me a lot of pleasure.”

    Kailun propped his chin with his hand and looked at Helena with calm eyes.

    “Don’t you dare insult the Saint!”

    Before her voice fell, her dagger had already stabbed towards Kailun’s eyes.

    Watching the dagger getting closer and closer to Kailun’s eyes, Helena imagined the gruesome scene of Kailun’s eyeballs being stabbed.

    “Whoosh!”

    However, to her surprise, Kailun reacted at an extremely fast speed and caught her dagger with two fingers.

    Helena tried to pull the dagger out, but Kailun’s grip was too tight, she couldn’t move it at all.

    Only then did Kailun’s calm smile stir up a storm in her heart.

    Being able to catch her attack head-on meant that he had the strength to rival her, which also meant that Kailun had the strength of an eighth-rank.

    But was that possible?

    Kailun was only in his teens, how could he reach the eighth-rank?

    “Who are you?” She looked at Kailun coldly, secretly preparing for the next wave of attacks.

    Kailun: “I’m Kailun, Miss Assassin, can’t you even remember my name?”

    “Impossible, you’re not Kailun at all, Kailun can’t possibly have the strength of an eighth-rank, who are you?”

    Helena used the conversation to distract Kailun while taking out another spare dagger with her left hand and stabbing it towards Kailun’s neck.

    Faced with the girl’s ruthless attack, Kailun let go of his fingers, leaned back, and dodged the attack.

    Just as the girl was about to press her advantage, Kailun stopped leaning back and kicked Helena under the table in an incredible posture.

    The immense force directly kicked the girl away, sending her crashing into the rockery five meters away.

    “Sorry, it was a reflex, I didn’t mean to kick you so hard.” Kailun scratched his head sheepishly, he deliberately put on a regretful look.

    To further provoke the girl’s anger, Kailun added: “But it’s okay, even if you’re kicked to death, it doesn’t matter, we can still enjoy you while you’re warm.”

    “You’re courting death!”

    As a pure girl, how could Helena listen to this?

    She jumped down from the rockery and planned to “assassinate Kailun head-on”, but as soon as she took a step, she bent over, clutched her stomach, and grimaced in pain.

    One thing was for sure, it really hurt.

    Looking at the girl’s pained expression, Kailun gentlemanly sat back in his chair and flicked the dust off his trousers: “Don’t worry, let’s take it slow, I can let you rest for a while longer. If you’re well-rested, let me know, and we’ll continue fighting.”

    Helena: “…”

    After being an assassin for so many years, this was the greatest humiliation she had ever suffered.

    Emotionally, she wanted to kill Kailun without hesitation, but after calming down, her injured body did need a moment to recover.

    Did Kailun really have the strength to rival an eighth-rank?

    No!

    Helena felt like she had noticed a key problem. Kailun only had the aura of an eighth-rank when he made a move, after he finished his move, he returned to the fifth-rank.

    Did this mean that his ability couldn’t be used continuously?

    Quickly stuffing a healing pill into her mouth, Helena calmly analyzed the problem.

    Kailun wasn’t in a hurry, he planned to slowly wear down the assassin girl’s energy.

    The purpose of doing this was not only to keep her on edge, but also to test his own strength.

    Of course, the most important reason was to please himself, playing with the assassin girl’s novelty would keep him excited all night.

    Yes, it was this look of desperately trying to figure out how to kill him that was the most interesting.

    Kailun propped his chin with both hands and looked at the girl with the eyes of an old father: “Unknown assassin miss, come on!”

    Helena: “…”

    Her chest ached faintly, it was the first time she felt what it was like to have chest pain from anger.

    Taking advantage of the free time, Kailun allocated some of his strength to agility.

    “Opportunity!”

    Perhaps sensing the change in Kailun’s aura, Helena charged towards Kailun with two daggers in hand. With the enhancement of her own abilities, she disappeared from her spot with a flicker.

    When she reappeared, she had already stabbed Kailun’s neck with her dagger.

    But the feeling of piercing flesh she had imagined didn’t appear. Helena looked to the side in astonishment, she found that Kailun was already sitting in the seat where she had just been sitting.

    “Not bad, you almost killed me, come on!”

    Kailun made a cheering gesture at her.

    As expected of a professional assassin, Helena’s speed just now was extremely fast.

    If Kailun had the same agility points as her, he would definitely be killed instantly.

    In high-level battles, Kailun couldn’t fully utilize all his attribute points yet, he still had a lot to learn.

    However, his learning speed was dozens or even hundreds of times faster than ordinary people, the reason was simple, just add all the points to mental power.

    Helena: “…”

    She had lost count of how many times she had been speechless tonight.

    She had clearly seized the opportunity, but Kailun was always able to react before her.

    This made her wonder if she could really defeat Kailun?

    Before thinking about this question, it was better to ask the opposite question, if Kailun could capture her directly, why hadn’t he done it yet?

    Was he stalling for time?

    Realizing something was wrong, Helena pushed her abilities to the limit and stabbed at Kailun again, but the result was the same as before.

    After trying to no avail, Helena stopped struggling, she took a step back and planned to leave.

    Anyway, the Saint had been rescued, killing Kailun was a secondary task.

    After thinking it through, Helena threw her spare dagger at Kailun to buy herself time to escape.

    “Don’t run, the game has just begun, how about I treat you to an apple?”

    However, as soon as Helena turned around, she bumped into Kailun, who was right in front of her. He kindly stuffed a piece of yellowed apple into her mouth.

    Feeling the foreign object invading her mouth, Helena waved her dagger at Kailun in discomfort.

    “Whoosh!”

    The dagger cut through the air, but it didn’t achieve any results.

    “Ptoo!”

    Spitting the apple in her mouth onto the ground, Helena looked at Kailun with a ghostly expression: “Who are you?”

    “I told you, I’m Kailun, could it be that I’m your father?” Kailun, who was three meters away, spread his hands at the girl.

    Helena said with a dark face: “It was my fault for acting rashly today, let me go, I’ll have someone send you two million gold coins worth of Golden Agreements as compensation later.”

    Kailun shook his head: “The Golden Agreements will be delivered by someone else, so you might as well stay. An eighth-rank assassin who’s a traitor, it’s very attractive no matter how you think about it.”

    Helena: “Even if you kill me, I won’t betray the Temple.”

    “That’s not for sure, after all, is the Temple you’re loyal to really the Temple?” Kailun continued to tempt Helena, at this time, he increased the allocation of mental power.

    Helena frowned: “What do you mean?”

    “Clap, clap!”

    Kailun clapped his hands twice: “Let me introduce you to an acquaintance. Come out, don’t keep our assassin miss waiting.”

    As soon as he finished speaking, a figure with long golden hair walked into the courtyard from the main entrance. Seeing her appearance, Helena’s eyes widened.

    Her voice involuntarily rose two octaves: “Saint, why are you here?”

    “Master called me back, so I naturally came back~”

    Saint Chrissy threw herself into Kailun’s arms, hugged his neck, and said coquettishly: “Master, I’m back, and I brought you good things, look what this is.”

    Chrissy reached into her white and delicate neckline and took out two warm scrolls.

    “Golden Agreements? And two of them, not bad, not bad, commendable.”

    Kailun accepted the fragrant Golden Agreements and rubbed Chrissy’s head with satisfaction.

    Thanks to the gift of nature, the Temple of the Heavenly God was indeed a good person.

    “Saint… what are you doing?”

    Helena didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she felt that she couldn’t even hold her dagger steady.

    In response to the assassin girl’s question, Chrissy turned her head and answered proudly: “Can’t you tell? Are you stupid? Listen carefully, now I’m Master’s… capable assistant, the biggest traitor of the Temple of the Heavenly God.”

    “So it was you who betrayed me?” The string in Helena’s mind called reason was about to snap.

    She had come all this way to redeem someone, what exactly had she redeemed?

    “It was just a task from Master.” Chrissy snorted coldly.

    She didn’t have much pity for this assassin girl whose name she couldn’t even remember.

    “Clang!”

    The girl’s dagger fell to the ground, her fair hand trembling.

    “What’s wrong with me?” Looking at her uncontrollable hand, Helena’s heart turned cold.

    It wasn’t just her hand, she felt her whole body becoming numb.

    “It’s okay, it’s just poison.”

    Kailun let go of Chrissy, walked over, picked up the dagger from the ground, and said, “I heard from Chrissy that you like this dagger very much, so I coated the handle with a special poison I made. This colorless and odorless poison can enter the human body through the skin, the effect is amazing, the only problem is that it takes a while to take effect.”

    A small dagger coated with two different poisons by Kailun, he was truly full of mischief.

    “Is this the eighth-rank? It feels so weak.”

    Chrissy leaned closer and pinched Helena’s face, she didn’t feel the pressure of an eighth-rank from her.

    “Indeed, quite weak. I prepared so many tricks beforehand, but I won just by using poison.”

    Kailun also played with her dagger in front of Helena.

    In fact, Helena wasn’t weak, with her ability, she could instantly kill an ordinary eighth-rank, but she encountered Kailun, who was prepared.

    If it weren’t for the information Chrissy had obtained, Kailun would probably be even more careful.

    “I hate you, Saint.” Helena looked at Chrissy with hatred, she closed her eyes and slowly clenched her teeth.

    Because her body was becoming numb, even the action of biting the poison in her mouth was a little slow.

    “Crack!” This was the sound of teeth coming into contact with metal.

    Helena opened her eyes and found that Kailun had put the dagger into her mouth, stopping her from biting the poison hidden there.

    “By the way, Chrissy also told me that you have poison hidden in your mouth, it seems that you told her yourself.”

    Hearing Kailun’s words, Helena’s heart turned to ashes, now she couldn’t even commit suicide.

    As an assassin, she knew clearly what kind of cruel torture she would suffer after failing.

    Helena: “I hate you both.”

    “I know you hate me.” Kailun put his right hand into her mouth, feeling for the poison hidden in her mouth.

    The girl’s mouth was soft and small, Kailun could only put two fingers in to feel around. Because of his unskilled movements, Helena shed tears in discomfort.

    “Found it!”

    Three minutes later, Kailun finally took his hand out of the girl’s mouth.

    He was pinching a mung bean-sized pill between his fingers, his palm covered with the girl’s sweet saliva.

    Because it was sticky and uncomfortable, Kailun wiped his hand with Helena’s dress.

    “By the way, you should know her contact method and frequency with the Temple of the Heavenly God, right?” Kailun put away the pill and looked at Chrissy.

    The latter looked at Kailun’s fingers with eager eyes: “I asked, she reports to the assassination department of the Temple of the Heavenly God every day at noon. If she exceeds this time or reports to the wrong department, it means that she has either been captured or failed the mission and died. The Temple of the Heavenly God will have follow-up plans based on different situations.”

    Helena: “…”

    Hearing that Chrissy had revealed all her secrets, Helena wished she could bite this traitor to death.

    “Is that so? It’s good that I let you understand the situation first, otherwise it would be troublesome.”

    After hearing Chrissy’s words, Kailun began to feel around Helena’s delicate body, from her full upper body to her slender waist and finally to her perky buttocks under her skirt. Kailun finally found the communication device she had hidden.

    “You might as well just kill me!”

    Helena’s face was flushed with shame and anger, it was the first time someone had touched her body like this.

    Kailun patted her head with the communication device and said, “Don’t be silly, if I use your communication device to scold the Pope and tell her that you have abandoned darkness and turned to light and become mine, what would your great Pope think of you? Think carefully, even if you die, you won’t leave a good reputation, the Pope you respect will definitely regard you as a traitor.”

    “Stop talking, I beg you to stop talking!” Helena showed a pained expression. If her whole body wasn’t numb, she would definitely cover her head with her hands and block her ears.

    Kailun’s words were like the whispers of a devil, echoing in her heart again and again.

    Only then did she understand why His Holiness the Pope deduced that her actions wouldn’t cause too much impact, it turned out that she couldn’t possibly win.

    “Click!”

    Helena, who was wearing a magic-suppressing collar, was still in a daze.

    Kailun found a dancer and locked the almost broken assassin girl in the prison of the small building, then he looked at Chrissy: “Since the negotiation is over, you should also go back to the Temple of the Heavenly God.”

    Hearing this, Chrissy’s face fell: “Are you going to chase me away now? Are you so heartless?”

    “You can come back in less than a month. The main reason for sending you back is to get some information and supplies. It would be even better if you could make the Pope hate me. You are a very important step in my plan. If it succeeds, I will grant you a wish.”

    Kailun sat down on the chair and put Chrissy on his lap.

    “Any wish?” Chrissy immediately regained her spirits.

    Kailun added: “Within reason.”

    Chrissy: “Can I get paid in advance?”

    Kailun: “Tell me about it.”

    The latter hugged Kailun’s neck and shook it: “Right here in the back garden, I want you to spend the whole night with me, just me. On the grass, by the lake, in the pavilion… I want to leave important memories of us in your home.”

    Her eyes were clearly filled with desire, but Kailun felt that her desire tonight was particularly pure.

    “Okay.”

    Kailun didn’t refuse Chrissy’s request.

    No one could refuse a considerate plush ball, especially when the plush ball was very proactive.

    “By the way, how are you going to deal with her? Are you going to satisfy her like you did to me?” On the way to the pavilion in the middle of the lake, Chrissy suddenly asked.

    Kailun looked back at the small building a hundred meters away: “No, there’s only one day, it’s not enough time. I have to use some drastic measures on this assassin miss.”

    How to change an assassin’s perception, this was a science.

    Before Kailun could continue to think about this science, Chrissy pushed him down on a chair in the pavilion.

    “Hmph, I’m going to eat you up tonight~”

    Chrissy licked her red lips, the hearts in her eyes emitting a peach-colored light.

    She took off her shoes, put one of her black silk-clad legs on Kailun’s waist, and said, “If you beg for mercy now, I might let you off the hook.”

    The proud Chrissy was very confident in her long legs. Using these long legs that made Kailun linger, she could output continuously without pressure.

    Even mountains would be eroded, and people would be exhausted. She didn’t believe that Kailun could fight one against two.

    No, it should be three, four… countless, she couldn’t count how many places on her body could fight.

    Tonight was a fight to the death, she would use everything she had to participate in the battle.

    ……

    “Click!”

    After being locked up in prison, Helena’s mood calmed down a lot.

    She summarized the reasons for her failure, studied Kailun’s abilities, and finally thought about the reasons why Chrissy and Kailson betrayed the Temple.

    If the Kingdom of Xiya was really the root of the destruction of the world, then the person who would destroy the world must be Kailun!

    Helena came to this important conclusion, she felt that she should tell His Holiness the Pope about this information no matter what.

    But now she had become a prisoner, she didn’t know what kind of humiliation awaited her.

    Leaning against the dirty wall, Helena’s heart was filled with unwillingness.

    Her dream had always been to be a warrior sung by the world, but in the end, she became an assassin who would be forgotten by everyone.

    “Your Holiness the Pope, your Saint has betrayed you, and your assassin has become their prisoner. If you knew about my situation, would you still come to save me?”

    With unrealistic hope, Helena, whose body was numb, fell asleep in exhaustion.

    ……

    The stars shifted, the moon and stars shone brightly.

    The dim sunlight filled the early morning, white dewdrops covered Chrissy’s body.

    Chrissy, who had already fainted, was lying on the grass, her clothes torn and tattered, her whole body covered with morning dew, like body paint.

    “That’s it? Average.”

    Kailun stood up and stretched, “average” referred to her combat power, in terms of feeling, she was definitely the best of the best.

    Feeling the clarity in his heart, Kailun dispelled the magic circles he had set up around him to isolate sound and sight.

    He took off his robe, wrapped the fainted Chrissy in it, and carried her back to his bedroom.

    It was worth mentioning that Kailun met Princess Hilna, who had woken up early, in the corridor of the small building.

    When she saw Kailun carrying Chrissy, whose hair was dripping with dew, past the corridor, her legs went weak and she knelt on the ground, trembling.

    However, Kailun only glanced at Hilna and returned to the bedroom, entering the bathroom. With Hilna’s little combat power, she would definitely die if she encountered this level of battle.

    After carefully washing Chrissy, Kailun placed her on his bed.

    ……

    “What’s going on?”

    “Why did the divination result show both success and failure?”

    On the other side, the Pope of the Temple looked at the divination result and couldn’t figure it out.

    So did Helena succeed or fail?

  • As a villain, I just want them to behave 111

    Chapter 111: Lord Kailun is a Good Person

    “Kailson, you know, your family has arrived in the royal city. One of your grandsons came to see me just now, he said he wanted to see you. Speaking of which, your family is quite strong, there are three seventh-ranks alone, and the assets they brought are close to a million, plus there are quite a few magic scrolls. How do you think I should persuade them to contribute to the Kingdom of Xiya?”

    Arriving at a heavily guarded prison in the royal city, Kailun told Kailson the good news.

    “Devil, what do you want to do to my family? If you have the guts, come at me, don’t involve my family, your actions will be condemned by everyone in the world.”

    Kailson grabbed the iron bars with both hands, his eyes bloodshot. He only had two pursuits in his life, one was to reach the legendary ninth-rank, and the other was to lead his family to glory.

    This world had a strong family tradition, most people regarded it as an honor.

    “What do you mean by ‘don’t involve my family’? Don’t say such unpleasant things, I clearly invited them to discuss cooperation. You also know that it’s a special period now, the territory I need to manage has suddenly increased a lot, so many things are very troublesome to deal with. I asked them to come here mainly to work for me. Of course, the salary depends on their performance, if they don’t perform well, it will be deducted.”

    Kailun, who was standing outside, spread his hands. If it were someone else, it probably wouldn’t be as simple as just staying in prison.

    Think about the princesses, which one of them hadn’t suffered mental and physical torture?

    It could only be said that Kailson was lucky, Kailun wasn’t interested in torturing an old man.

    It was still more enjoyable to bully the princesses, they would even whimper pitifully when they felt wronged.

    “Clang!”

    Kailson grabbed the iron bars tightly: “You can tell me directly what you want to do. Although I’m not afraid of death, I can’t watch my descendants be buried for no reason.”

    His tone was harsh, but the underlying meaning was that he had given in.

    “Click!”

    Kailun opened the prison door and walked out: “Come with me, I’ll take you to see your family. They are currently in a castle in the royal city, called Youlan(Orchid) Castle, it’s very luxurious.”

    “Can you remove the magic-suppressing collar on my neck?”

    Seeing this, Kailson quickly followed, the magic-suppressing collar on his neck restricted his strength.

    “You’re already hundreds of years old, think carefully, would I easily remove your collar? If you’re not willing to sign a slave contract, then keep wearing this collar.” Kailun said without looking back.

    Helplessly, Kailson could only pull up his collar to cover the magic-suppressing collar on his neck. As a person who was hundreds of years old, he still had some face.

    Following behind Kailun, looking at his straight back and unconcealable composure and confidence, he recalled the day he was defeated.

    It was this young man, who was younger than his grandson, who stabbed him in the abdomen with a dagger and completely defeated him.

    Strange abilities, bizarre decisions, and madman-like actions.

    Frankly speaking, he couldn’t understand Kailun’s behavior patterns.

    Even he wouldn’t dare to confront the Temple like this, but Kailun not only did it, but also did it thoroughly.

    Kailson followed Kailun all the way to the streets of the royal city. Looking at the bustling shops on both sides of the street and the smiles on people’s faces, he wondered for a moment if the place he had arrived at was still a small country where royal nobles ran rampant.

    As he observed carefully, he saw awe, fear, and fanaticism in the way these people looked at Kailun?

    Although it was a bit unbelievable, these complex emotions were indeed mixed together.

    Even Kailun himself didn’t know that in just a few days, the legends about him were becoming more and more magical through word of mouth.

    Fighting the princess, seizing military power, battling the Temple of the Heavenly God, capturing the Saint, instantly defeating an eighth-rank… these stories were even more exciting than biographical novels in their mouths.

    So much so that many people developed a feeling called worship, and even the number of people signing up for various jobs increased.

    For this kind of look that he had never seen in the countries belonging to the Temple of the Heavenly God, Kailson added a new evaluation in his heart.

    In the blink of an eye, they arrived at Youlan Castle. As soon as they reached the gate, Kailun saw a group of people coming to greet them.

    When they saw Kailson behind Kailun, they were overjoyed. They had heard before that Kailson was defeated and became a prisoner of the Kingdom of Xiya, but they doubted it.

    No matter what, Kailson was a renowned eighth-rank, how could he be captured by the Kingdom of Xiya, which only had a seventh-rank at most?

    It was more believable that he had become a traitor to the Temple of the Heavenly God than that he had been captured.

    Moreover, the fact that he was a traitor had been confirmed by the magic letters sent back by “Kailson”.

    “Grandpa!”

    “Father!”

    “…”

    As soon as Kailun arrived, many people called out “Grandpa”.

    He was stunned for a moment and marveled at their enthusiasm, so he waved his hand and smiled: “Don’t be so polite, I’m still so young, wouldn’t it make me look old if I had so many grandsons?”

    Everyone: “…”

    Kailson: “…”

    The atmosphere fell silent, Kailson’s old face darkened slightly.

    “Ahem, don’t just stand there, Lord Kailun is just joking with you, why don’t you all greet him?”

    Considering the safety of his whole family, Kailson coughed twice to divert everyone’s attention.

    He knew that this was Kailun asking him to express his stance. If he didn’t perform well, the descendants present might all be finished.

    “Greetings, Lord Kailun!”

    Everyone looked at this young man who was younger than them and bowed reluctantly.

    “Good, good, as expected of people taught by Kailson, you’re quite obedient.”

    Kailun smiled and took out a scroll from his arms and unfolded it: “I believe you have already moved into Youlan Castle, so I won’t waste everyone’s time. Originally, I planned to give Youlan Castle to you, but Kailson didn’t want it, he didn’t want me to suffer a loss. He said that the housing prices in the royal city have skyrocketed recently and have reached the point where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. If he directly accepted the castle, it would inevitably damage everyone’s feelings. So he decided to buy Youlan Castle from me for one million gold coins.”

    “Cough, cough, cough!”

    Hearing Kailun’s asking price, Kailson almost fainted.

    This time he really started coughing, he was disgusted by Kailun’s exorbitant asking price.

    The descendants present all looked at their elder with astonishment, they felt that Kailson was trying to sell them all.

    Did they know what one million gold coins meant?

    This was all the assets of the entire family, the foundation accumulated over countless years.

    Giving away one million just for a castle with strange props, wasn’t that crazy?

    “Thump, thump, thump!”

    Seeing that Kailson was coughing badly, Kailun kindly patted his back, just that the strength of his patting was a little bit too strong.

    Kailun: “Don’t worry, Kailson, I’ve already said that I won’t take this one million gold coins. If I took your one million gold coins, wouldn’t I become that kind of person?”

    Hearing Kailun’s words, Kailson raised his head in surprise, even forgetting the pain in his back for a moment.

    Kailun continued: “So I’ll only take five hundred thousand gold coins, this is my final concession. If you force me to take one more copper coin, don’t blame me for turning hostile, if I turn hostile, this place will be covered in blood.”

    He took out the assassin girl’s dagger and played with it, this was clearly a blatant threat.

    As for the so-called “forcing him to take one more copper coin”, it should be interpreted in reverse.

    In layman’s terms, if this five hundred thousand gold coins was short of a single copper coin, his whole family would be finished.

    “Father, is what Lord Kailun said true?”

    A man with a somewhat aged face in the crowd asked Kailson.

    Kailson pulled up his collar with a dark face and said, “It’s the thought that counts, it’s the thought that counts, we can give more if there’s a chance in the future.”

    When he said this, Kailson almost gritted his teeth, he even said “it’s the thought that counts” twice. If Kailun’s dagger wasn’t right on his lower back, he would have to hold on for a while.

    That was five hundred thousand gold coins!

    With a snap!

    Half of the family’s foundation was gone.

    “???”

    Hearing Kailson’s words, his descendants looked at him with a “Are you kidding me?” expression.

    “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be so generous, Kailson. If I refuse again, wouldn’t it make me look too stingy? But I can’t take any more gold coins. How about this, give me some high-level scrolls to play with, not too many, just a cartload. Remember, get more eighth-rank scrolls, I like reading those recently.”

    Kailun was amused when he heard Kailson’s words, so he made a new request.

    “Thump!”

    Kailson didn’t faint, but his son fainted.

    There was a little chaos at the scene, but because of Kailson’s presence, this chaos only lasted for a minute. Next, it was one of Kailson’s grandsons, who had fifth-rank strength, who was responsible for communicating with Kailun.

    Kailun threw the scroll in his hand to Kailson’s grandson and said, “This is the deed to Youlan Castle, you have the right to live here for fifty years, after that, you have to pay if you want to continue living here. I don’t know much about the management fees and cleaning fees, but someone will come to you to collect them. The gold coins, deliver them to the gate of my manor before dark tomorrow. If it’s even one copper coin late, I won’t take it, understand?”

    Hearing Kailun’s words that he wouldn’t take it if it was even one copper coin late, the young man’s face lit up with joy.

    If they deliberately delayed, wouldn’t it mean that they didn’t have to pay?

    No wonder Lord Kailun added a “understand” at the end, it seemed that he just wanted to give his grandfather a way out.

    Lord Kailun was such a good person!

    “Understood, understood, I will definitely handle this matter well.” Kailson’s grandson’s face was full of smiles.

    But Kailson couldn’t smile at all, he clearly understood that Kailun’s “understand” was directed at him.

    If his family couldn’t deliver this gold, Kailun wouldn’t just not take it, he would directly wipe out his family and take everything.

    Don’t doubt it, this devil Kailun could definitely do such a thing.

    Seeing that his grandson had obviously misunderstood, he was furious, so he vented his anger towards Kailun on his grandson.

    He gritted his teeth, walked up to his grandson, and directly slapped him: “You bastard, Lord Kailun is so good to our family, yet you dare to have crooked thoughts. I think you don’t want to live anymore, do you want to drag the whole family to their deaths?”

    “Grandpa, what are you doing!?” The grandson covered his red and swollen face with a wronged expression.

    “I’ll beat you to death, you good-for-nothing, always thinking about crooked things, you deserve to die!” Kailson punched and kicked his grandson.

    He had to wake his grandson up, otherwise this kind of thought would destroy the whole family.

    “Calm down, calm down, Kailson, if you keep hitting him, you’ll kill your grandson.” Seeing that the time was right, Kailun quickly stepped forward and stopped the furious Kailson.

    Only then did the others dare to come up and help the grandson on the ground.

    “Before dark tomorrow night, five hundred thousand gold coins will be delivered to the gate of Lord Kailun’s manor. If it’s short of a single copper coin, you all commit suicide!”

    Kailson’s tone was cold, leaving no room for concession.

    After saying these words, Kailson’s image in the family completely collapsed.

    His descendants looked at him with strange eyes, as if they were looking at an elder with dementia, pitiful, infuriating, and hateful.

    “Hey, the child doesn’t understand things and was just joking, don’t take it to heart. I’m an optimistic and open-minded person, I never mind such small matters, everyone should be free. Right, considering that you are new here and might not have jobs, I will arrange some things for you to do to pass the time, I hope you won’t refuse.”

    Kailun had a gentle smile on his face. In their eyes, Kailun was completely better than Kailson, giving people a feeling of closeness.

    “Thank you for your generosity, Lord Kailun, we will definitely work hard.”

    Everyone responded symbolically. The so-called working hard was just a perfunctory statement for now.

    Kailun waved to them with a smile: “In that case, you all step back first, Kailson and I still have something to talk about.”

    It wasn’t until everyone left that Kailson said, “You should be satisfied with me doing this, right? Now they have a grudge against me. Heh, how pathetic, they would rather believe an outsider than me.”

    “This is not what I asked you to do, don’t shift the blame onto me. For me, they can create greater benefits if they are alive, but it doesn’t matter if they die. Or rather, it was your kindness that saved them, not me forcing you to be the bad guy.” When it came to sophistry, Kailun wasn’t afraid of anyone.

    Kailson: “…”

    Kailun looked up at the gradually darkening sky and said, “I have something to do tonight and have to go back early, so sign the slave contract now.”

    He took out a slave contract from his arms and handed it to Kailson.

    “Sigh…”

    Looking at the slave contract in his hand, Kailson sighed softly, his already aged face becoming even older.

    Before his family arrived, he could still hold onto a glimmer of hope, but now it was a foregone conclusion.

    After witnessing Kailun’s insidiousness again, he clearly realized the terror of this young man.

    As stated in the intelligence, his control over people’s hearts had reached a terrifying level.

    And this terror could only be known after witnessing it firsthand.

    Coupled with Saint Chrissy, who had become a traitor, he felt that the huge Temple of the Heavenly God was heading towards collapse.

    The original balance had been broken, the scales had tilted away from their original direction.

    “I’ll sign it, but you have to promise me that you won’t harm my descendants.”

    Kailson helplessly unfolded the scroll, his heart filled with sadness as he looked at the clauses on it.

    No matter what, he was an eighth-rank powerhouse who had been prominent for hundreds of years, but now he had become someone else’s slave, the gap was conceivable.

    If it weren’t for his family, he might have banged his head against the wall.

    Every existence who could reach the eighth-rank was proud, they dared to gamble their lives with death to reach the eighth-rank, they already had the determination to disregard life and death.

    But everyone had weaknesses, and Kailun’s actions were undoubtedly tearing open his chest and exposing his weaknesses.

    “I can’t fully promise you this, if they don’t do anything wrong, I naturally won’t touch them. So you should remind them to abandon their bad habits. But if they do something wrong, they have to be prepared to die, after all, I’m a cruel person, generally speaking, the prisons in the royal city don’t hold people.”

    Kailun spread his hands, as long as they were obedient, he was a good person.

    “I understand, I will discipline them well and definitely not cause you any trouble.”

    As he spoke, Kailson had already signed the slave contract and handed it back to Kailun.

    At this moment, he had completely become a traitor to the Temple of the Heavenly God, he only hoped that Kailun could really fight against the Temple.

    Thinking of the miracles that had happened to Kailun, he couldn’t help but feel anticipation.

    If Kailun could defeat the Temple of the Heavenly God one day, wouldn’t he be considered to have abandoned darkness and turned to light?

    Inexplicably, Kailson had the thought of deceiving himself.

    “Very good, then you go home directly, I won’t lock you up in prison.” Looking at the approaching carriage, Kailun smiled.

    “Wait, can you remove the magic-suppressing collar for me?” Seeing that Kailun was about to leave, Kailson quickly asked.

    Kailun looked back at him: “Indeed, you do look ugly with the collar. Collars are indeed exclusive to beautiful girls.”

    As he spoke, Kailun snapped his fingers, and the collar on Kailson’s neck fell off with a clang. “I’ll give you the collar, you don’t have to return it.”

    Kailun didn’t choose to take back the expensive magic-suppressing collar, the reason was simple, it was just because Kailson had worn it.

    Kailson: “…”

    Watching Kailun get into the carriage and leave gracefully, he turned around and looked at the unfamiliar castle with a dazed look in his eyes.

    ……

    Kailun’s carriage wasn’t empty. As soon as he got in, Phils pounced on him, her beautiful purple hair covering his head.

    After finally freeing himself from Phils’ softness, Kailun pinched her face and said, “Don’t pounce on me like that next time, if you suffocate me to death, you can go find a place to cry.”

    “If you don’t like it, then don’t bite me, you’ve made my chest wet~”

    Phils rolled her eyes at Kailun with a smile and threw herself into his arms: “Chrissy just sent a message saying that Helena will assassinate you tonight, around ten o’clock.”

    Kailun: “Who is Helena?”

    Phils: “The girl you negotiated with this afternoon, she’s an eighth-rank assassin from the Temple of the Heavenly God, it’s said that her assassinations have never failed.”

    “An eighth-rank? Not bad, I just signed a contract with an eighth-rank, and another eighth-rank is coming to deliver herself at night, I’m really lucky.” Kailun played with Phils’ hair and nodded with satisfaction.

    “Since I brought you good news, shouldn’t you reward me?” Phils raised her head and looked at Kailun expectantly.

    Kailun thought for a moment and said, “Indeed, I should reward you, how about rewarding you with a week off to go back to your hometown?”

    “Bah, bad guy, you only know how to give me time off, tell me honestly, are you avoiding me? Why did you even take in Chrissy but not me?”

    Phils held Kailun’s face and threw a straight ball.

    “Isn’t it common sense to save the delicious dessert for last?” Kailun remained unmoved, a faint smile on his face.

    However, his smile now was much purer than when he was outside.

    “You only know how to say nice things, instead of doing that, why don’t you lock me up in prison and whip me hard? Even the princess got that kind of treatment, but I didn’t, it’s not fair.” Phils pouted, a little anger in her eyes.

    Kailun: “Isn’t it because you’re a pervert? I thought about it for a long time but couldn’t figure out how to deal with a pervert.”

    “When it comes to being a pervert, I’m far inferior to you, classmate Kailun.” Phils rolled her eyes at Kailun.

    “Classmate doesn’t sound good, change it.” Kailun poked her delicate face with his finger.

    Phils’ purple eyes rolled: “Then Master?”

    Kailun shook his head and whispered something in Phils’ ear.

    The latter’s eyes flickered with a hint of spring, she let out a soft gasp and looked at Kailun with amusement: “You still say you’re not a pervert, but you’re much more perverted than me. However, I won’t refuse your request, Mr. Pervert.”

    She knelt on Kailun’s lap, hugged his shoulders, and slowly leaned closer, calling out softly in an extremely seductive voice: “Daddy~”

    “Hiss~”

    Kailun took a deep breath, it had been a while since he had been intimate with Phils, he missed her nimble little tongue.

    So he spent the next few hours having a snack with Phils, making her choke several times.

    [The familiar taste made Phils unable to extricate herself. Favorability +1, Total favorability 92]

    ……

    After returning to the manor and having dinner with the girls, Kailun, who had nothing to do, watched the dancers’ hot dance while peeling an apple with a dagger.

    It was still an hour before ten o’clock at night. In order to reduce unnecessary casualties, he deliberately changed the defense of the manor.

    He directly canceled the original shift system and replaced it all with magic circles.

    Now, except for this small courtyard, which didn’t seem to have much defense, his entire small building could be described as impregnable.

    At this time, Afra was having a tea party with the girls in the living room of the small building. This was to prevent everyone from being alone and encountering danger.

    Although Winnie and the others could only be considered pets, Kailun would still be angry if his pets were hurt by others.

    So he asked Afra, who had the strength of a peak eighth-rank, to take care of the pets.

    Never underestimate assassins, people in this profession could always do some outrageous things.

    Now in the backyard, besides Kailun, only Princess Hilna was accompanying him to watch the dancers’ performance.

    This wasn’t Hilna’s own will, it was Kailun who forced her to stay.

    There was still a long time to go, he needed someone to chat with to pass the time.

    In order to let the assassin girl, whose name he had forgotten, find him immediately, Kailun deliberately released his aura.

    In the eyes of an eighth-rank, this was like a bright lamp in the night, very conspicuous.

    Perhaps because she had found new hope, there was a new light in Hilna’s eyes now.

    It was precisely because of this light that Kailun couldn’t help but want to bully her.

    “By the way, I heard that you went to Kano Prison before, I wonder what you went there for?”

    Kailun suddenly turned his head and stared at Hilna.

    The latter was startled: “No… nothing, just passing by and wanted to take a look.”

    Kailun: “Oh, I see, I thought you wanted to lock me up in there and whip me. I’ve been having strange dreams these past few nights, it’s really funny, how could you, a little pet, capture me?”

    Hearing Kailun’s teasing, Hilna was not angry, but rather happy.

    It wasn’t because she was teased that she was happy, but because she saw hope.

    From Kailun’s words, he obviously only regarded the dream as a simple dream.

    It was precisely because of Kailun’s carelessness that Hilna saw hope.

    Now she no longer resisted the dreams, on the contrary, she wanted to dream of more scenes.

    It would be even better if she could have self-awareness and control her body while dreaming.

    “Here, have an apple.”

    Seeing that Hilna was lost in thought, Kailun stabbed a piece of apple with the dagger and stuffed it into Hilna’s mouth.

    Hilna didn’t think too much about it, she chewed the apple with her cheeks puffed out and swallowed it.

    “!!!”

    Suddenly, a tingling sensation surged up, she felt her body starting to go numb.

    “What is this?” She looked at Kailun in astonishment.

    Kailun smiled: “It’s an apple.”

    “That’s not what I meant, I mean the apple is poisoned.” Hilna shook her head with a stiff expression.

    Kailun: “I know, because this dagger is coated with poison, didn’t you know?”

    Hilna: “???”

    Could it be that her plan was exposed and Kailun wanted to silence her?

    “But don’t worry, the original poison has been cleaned off by me, now it’s only coated with a paralyzing poison, you’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”

    Kailun pinched Hilna’s pretty face with amusement, he called Shirley over to carry Hilna to the living room where Afra was.

    Now this stubborn princess shouldn’t do anything reckless.

    “Ha~”

    Kailun put the dagger in the fruit plate and stretched.

    Feeling a little sleepy, he closed his eyes for a nap.

    He didn’t know how long had passed, his fingers suddenly moved, and then he heard a pleasant female voice: “You’re really careless, do you think those magic circles outside can stop me?”

    Opening his eyes, Kailun saw that the assassin girl was already sitting on the chair where Hilna had been sitting, playing with her dagger.

    She had an arrogant expression on her face, disdainful of everything around her.

    They were only separated by a small table with a fruit plate on it. At this distance, for an eighth-rank assassin, killing a “fifth-rank” Kailun was just a matter of moving her fingers.

    “Whoosh!”

    Seeing the arrival of a stranger, the dancers on the stage quickly surrounded the assassin girl. Although they were wearing revealing clothes, their movements were quite agile, and they pointed their shining daggers at the assassin girl from a distance of five meters.

    Sensing her powerful aura, they didn’t act rashly.

    Recalling the plan Kailun had explained, they even took a step back.

    Master Kailun said that they only needed to protect their lives, if their faces were injured, they would be neglected.

    Thinking of this, they retreated again and again, until they were more than ten meters away, so that the assassin girl couldn’t directly hurt them.

    They had always trusted Kailun’s words, and with the time they had spent together, this trust was almost catching up to Isabella’s.

    Assassin girl Helena: “…”

    Are you serious about taking so many steps back?

  • The Azure Longsword 33

    Chapter 33: Heracles

    The Grand Arena of Constantinople.

    “First up is the blue team! Led by the Skolabor ‘Polar Bear’! He once ripped off an opponent’s head from their neck in last month’s battle, using only his bare hands!” The announcer exclaimed through the loudspeaker, skillfully stirring up the atmosphere.

    “Any opponent weighing less than 140 pounds who encounters the Polar Bear should carefully consider whether their neck is made of iron!”

    The crowd in the stands roared wildly.

    The Eastern Solomon Empire, since being culturally assimilated by the Siris, had seen its upper-class nobles turn completely to art, literature, and film, turning their noses up at such bloody and barbaric sports.

    The citizenry, however, still had a soft spot for classical gladiatorial culture. And the lower the class of the commoners, the more they liked to watch people fight, bleed, and die in the arena.

    Of course, the gambling industry, which was closely linked to gladiatorial combat, was also an important reason why gladiatorial culture could flourish among the lower classes.

    “And then, the red team! Led by the Thracian ‘Brown Bear’!” The announcer continued to shout, and you could even hear him jumping excitedly through the loudspeaker. “The Brown Bear’s muscles may not be as developed as the Polar Bear’s, but he’s agile and cunning enough!”

    “This is a duel of strength and skill, two bears fighting, only one can survive in the end, our arena does not recognize draws! Whoever can stand to the end will be able to hold up their weight in gold on the corpses of their enemies!”

    Asker entered the arena with his greatsword, followed by the red team members. Then, the two teams in red and blue cloaks shook hands and saluted each other. Theotis looked at the opposing leader, made a throat-cutting gesture with his hand, and quickly glanced at Asker on the far right.

    This throat-cutting gesture was for him. Asker naturally knew what he meant, but the other side didn’t seem to understand, only grinning fiercely.

    The starting pistol fired, and the gladiatorial fight began instantly. The crowd in the stands almost immediately stood up, waving their fists at the gladiators below, shouting encouragement for their supported team to fight bravely, or cursing the tragic death of the opposing team.

    The red team’s formation on the field instantly contracted, everyone squeezed to the left wing (leaving only Asker alone on the far right), and fought with the right wing of the blue team.

    This was obviously unexpected for the blue team, but of course they wouldn’t miss this opportunity. First, their team’s strength correspondingly contracted to the right wing, and then they sent two people to rush towards Asker on the left wing, naturally with the aim of reducing the opponent’s numbers first.

    “Oh my God! Theotis, what have you done? You abandoned a poor teammate on the far right wing!” The announcer tried to put on an exaggerated crying tone, and then turned into a righteous analysis. “Could this be a bait?”

    “Sure enough! The blue team chose to send two people to take the bait, so the original main battle line instantly became eight against seven! Abandoning local strength in exchange for a numerical advantage on the front, is this your purpose? Cunning Brown Bear?”

    “That damn clown announcer! I’ll rip out his guts and strangle him!” Theotis, who was fighting, was so annoyed that he even lost his focus for a moment and was slashed on the helmet by someone from the other side, making his ears buzz.

    He took two steps back, entering the covering distance of his teammates, and glanced at Asker on the far right wing again. Seeing the two blue gladiators skillfully starting to attack him, a vicious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

    The two veteran gladiators of the blue team approached Asker with lightning speed.

    One raised his two-handed sword high and slashed down heavily, the other moved diagonally to the right, his broadsword thrusting like a viper to the left, aiming straight at Asker’s left rib.

    Then, their hearts sank at the same time. Because Asker, facing their joint attack, just lightly jumped back and dodged both of their attacks.

    At the same time, his greatsword left his shoulder, and he swung it horizontally with both hands.

    Cleanly cutting the throat of the man on the left.

    “Holy shit! Tiger Cut!” In the topmost box of the arena’s audience stands, someone trembled upon seeing the scene below, oblivious to the wine spilling from their glass.

    “Tiger Cut? What Tiger Cut?” The people next to him burst into laughter. “Michael, are you obsessed with martial arts?”

    The Emperor’s Kingsguard was directly under the Emperor of the Solomon Empire, composed of young officers proficient in combat, an elite guard force. During Emperor Constantine’s expedition, he took about two-thirds of the Kingsguard with him, leaving the remaining one-third to stay in the imperial capital to protect the two Purple Princesses.

    After learning of the defeat at Manzikert, these young officers were both worried about the unpredictable fate of their supreme Emperor and afraid of receiving the news of the sacrifice of their comrades-in-arms. After waiting for a long time without receiving any specific news from afar, they could only go to the box of the Grand Arena to watch the gladiatorial fight, using this to calm their anxious mood.

    Of course, for these veteran officers who were already transcendental beings and skilled in martial arts, the gladiatorial fights of ordinary humans were actually nothing to see, they were just more stuffy staying in the barracks.

    Michael, the captain of the guard, originally thought so, but he didn’t expect to see such exquisite swordsmanship in the Grand Arena.

    “Shut up!” He raised his hand, immediately silencing his laughing teammates. “Let me see if it’s a coincidence.”

    His teammates looked at each other and could only follow his gaze, looking at the arena below seriously.

    The neck of the blue gladiator on the left was cut by the greatsword, the flesh and skin around the wound were all rolled up, he fell to the ground convulsing and silent. The man on the right shuddered, realizing that the other party’s choice of greatsword was not just relying on brute force.

    Before he could react, Asker had already jumped up, his two-handed greatsword slashing down quickly. It was too late to dodge, the man could only barely block upwards with his sword horizontally.

    There was a clean “clang,” the greatsword directly cut off his sword, and then, with unstoppable momentum, cut open his helmet, leaving a fatal crack in his skull.

    “Splitting Slash, Cracking the Crown!” This time, several guards saw it clearly and jumped up from their seats in horror. “How is this possible! Who is this guy? A court swordmaster? Why haven’t we seen him before?”

    “It’s Lion’s Fang.” Michael said with a serious expression, slowly rotating the wine glass in his hand. “Remember the Eight Tactical Forms?”

    “Tactics” was a military manual written by Emperor Leo VI more than a hundred years ago, which recorded how transcendental warriors should use their powerful physical strength and transform it into efficient killing skills on the battlefield. It was also an advanced military martial arts manual that the Emperor’s Kingsguard had to study, so everyone almost knew it by heart.

    With Michael’s reminder, his teammates almost immediately reacted, and someone quickly recited:

    “…His Majesty once said, there are four fatal vital points on the human body: the temples, the throat, the chest, and the lower abdomen. Focusing on attacking vital points, killing and disabling, there are eight tactical forms: Lion’s Fang, Left Lion’s Fang, Right Lion’s Fang, Eagle Cut, Tiger Cut, Dragon Cut, Wing Beat, and Rapid Thrust.”

    “Lion’s Fang. A straight slash to the head, splitting and cracking the crown.”

    “Left and Right Lion’s Fang. Slash the left and right shoulders, disabling both arms.”

    “Eagle Cut. A horizontal slash to the eyes, intimidating the mind.”

    “Tiger Cut. A horizontal slash to the neck, severing the throat.”

    “Dragon Cut. A horizontal slash to the waist, damaging the internal organs.”

    “Wing Beat. A sneak attack upward slash, cutting the perineum.”

    “Rapid Thrust. A straight thrust to the abdomen, draining the vital energy.”

    “Pfft.” Someone next to him laughed. “Why are you taking it so seriously? It’s just a straight slash to the head, it may not be the advanced technique Lion’s Fang recorded in ‘Tactics.’ Maybe it’s just a random attack?”

    “Can a random attack break through a block and crack the crown with one blow?” Michael sneered. “When he slashed down, he must have hit the center of gravity of the sword, otherwise it would be impossible to cut off the weapon and crack the helmet so cleanly. This person is not only skilled in martial arts, but he must also be a transcendental being, just wait and see.”

    Two blue gladiators were killed, instantly overturning the stalemate on the field. There were no casualties on the main battle line yet. Theotis and the red gladiators were biting the opponent very tightly, skillfully using the advantage of having one more person.

    “Eight against seven! The red Brown Bear still has the advantage! No, it’s nine against seven!” The announcer exclaimed, seeing Asker carrying his greatsword and bravely breaking into the blue team from behind, his greatsword swinging like a whirlwind, Moon Slash!

    “Frankish war technique.” Michael commented in the box. “Violent, but clumsy, not difficult to dodge.”

    Sure enough, the surrounding blue gladiators were all startled and dodged to the sides. Asker’s Moon Slash missed, but it successfully disrupted the blue team’s formation, so much so that the red gladiators immediately seized this opportunity and isolated and divided the scattered blue gladiators.

    This guy! Theotis was both angry and surprised. He didn’t expect this new recruit to be able to counterattack two opponents unscathed, and even flank and disrupt the blue team’s formation, which was equivalent to stealing the limelight of the entire team.

    Just as he was feeling angry and surprised, he saw the blue team leader, “Polar Bear,” suddenly sidestep and intercept Asker, who was trying to continue disrupting the formation.

    This guy was using a two-handed warhammer, a blunt weapon even more ferocious than a two-handed greatsword. With one swing, he smashed it down.

    Asker sidestepped to avoid it, holding his sword horizontally and thrusting. “Polar Bear” blocked with the handle of his warhammer horizontally. With a “ding,” the greatsword slid off his handle and stabbed straight at his eyes.

    “Polar Bear” hurriedly retreated. Asker had already retracted his sword and raised it high, a small jump forward followed by a downward slash with both hands holding the sword.

    “Lion’s Fang Jump Slash?” Michael looked solemn. “No, it’s Mountain Splitter! Holy Roman swordsmanship, Mountain Splitter!”

    The greatsword slashed down on the handle of the warhammer. ‘Polar Bear’ only felt an overwhelming force on it, almost crushing his spine.

    He struggled to support and block upwards with both arms. The force on the hammer handle suddenly sank again, almost tearing his tiger’s mouth.

    It sank again, and the entire warhammer handle snapped in two with a “rip.” The greatsword had already cut through his right clavicle, disabling his entire right arm.

    The next second, a cold feeling slid across his neck, his vision flipped upside down, and his consciousness quickly fell into darkness.

    Beheaded.

    “This…” The Kingsguard officers in the box were speechless. After a long time, someone finally spoke:

    “It’s the Triple Mountain Splitter… This guy, is he good at our Solomon swordsmanship, or Frankish swordsmanship?”

    “For a two-handed greatsword, Frankish swordsmanship is indeed more suitable.” Michael said lightly, standing up. “No need to watch anymore, this gladiatorial fight is over.”

    “Polar Bear’s” head rolled on the ground a few times. On his face, covered in blood and dust, there was still a painful expression of disbelief.

    The beheading of the blue team leader instantly ignited the passion in the stands. For a while, even the citizens who had bet on the blue team’s victory stood up enthusiastically, clapping their hands on the chairs in front of them like crazy, hoarsely shouting for Asker, the gladiatorial hero.

    Taking advantage of the blue team being divided and at a disadvantage, the red gladiators cooperated and killed two more people. The remaining four blue gladiators could only quickly drop their weapons and kneel on the ground, expressing their surrender.

    “The winner of this gladiatorial fight is!” The announcer shouted with all his might. “The red team! Victory belongs to this newly joined red gladiator! Our new God of War, Heracles! Well, I think he’ll soon have a more resounding nickname. Cheer for this wonderful victory, citizens of Constantinople!”

  • The Azure Longsword 32

    T/N: By mistake, I mixed up chapters 31 and 32, but now they’re separate.

    From now on, I’ll be using the term ‘transcendental’ instead of ‘extraordinary’ as I did in the early chapters, and I think it sounds better.

    Chapter 32: The Weapon Master Bloodline

    Following the underground passage, Asker arrived at the red team’s training ground.

    Pushing open the door, he saw gladiators scattered in the corners, each training on their own. Some were practicing sword slashing, some were practicing spear thrusting, some were holding shields and defending against their companions’ attacks, and some were hitting themselves with sandbags, revealing large muscles with a bronze tan.

    Asker picked up a piece of mail armor from the rack next to him and put it on, then changed into iron boots and helmet, and took a two-handed greatsword from the weapon rack.

    All the gladiators in the room turned their eyes to him.

    “Hey, chick!” A muscular man walked over. He was a strong man about 1.85 meters tall, shirtless, revealing well-developed pectoral muscles and six-pack abs. “This is not the place for you! Go back to your mother and drink milk!”

    “I’m a newly registered gladiator for the red team.” Asker said lightly.

    “Registered? Our red team is already full! Cedric, Cedric!” The strong man immediately shouted.

    “What’s the noise!” After about half a minute, the middle-aged man who was at the counter earlier ran over quickly. “Theotis! Your red team is already full, you’re going to participate in the gladiatorial fight in half an hour, why aren’t you taking your men to warm up?”

    “My brother asked for leave, how can the red team participate in the gladiatorial fight!” Theotis retorted angrily. “And what’s going on with this new chick?”

    “Our arena doesn’t have such a thing as asking for leave, it’s clearly written in the employment contract.” Cedric, the receptionist, said coldly with his arms crossed. “Since he’s not coming today, he’ll have to wait for a vacancy in the team next time! Or he can participate in the single gladiatorial fight.”

    “That’s my brother!” Theotis’ eyes widened, revealing a furious expression as if he wanted to eat someone alive. “How dare you, how dare you kick him out of my team!”

    “Even your grandfather wouldn’t work! If your brother asks for leave for a year, will your red team not participate in the gladiatorial fight for a year?” Cedric sneered and looked at Asker. “And if I find out that you beat up or killed this new teammate in private, you know what will happen to you. Every inch of this place is covered by surveillance cameras.”

    He closed the door and left. Theotis looked at Asker, who seemed indifferent, his facial muscles almost convulsing with rage. After more than ten seconds, his anger turned into cruel and venomous hatred, and his gaze at Asker became like looking at a dead man.

    “Go back to training!” He turned around and said coldly to everyone. In this place full of cameras, Theotis still didn’t dare to attack on the spot.

    So the other gladiators also returned to their original positions sparsely. They didn’t dare to provoke Theotis, who was furious, and they weren’t interested in Asker, the new recruit who was sure to die. For a while, the sound of swords clashing and muffled groans of blows landing on flesh echoed in the room again.

    Asker swung the two-handed greatsword, familiarizing himself with the weapon’s usage, while calculating in his mind.

    The next potion for “Weapon Master” was “Sharp Weapon I,” which would allow him to be familiar with the use of all sharp weapons and know the data attributes of any sharp weapon like the back of his hand. If he remembered correctly, the reward for the “Daily Champion” of this arena was the “Sharp Weapon I” potion.

    For example, if Asker took “Sharp Weapon I” now, even if he had never used a two-handed greatsword before, as soon as he picked up this weapon, he would know that its length was about 170 centimeters, its weight was about 4 kilograms, where its center of gravity was, how to hold it, and how to slash or stab the enemy.

    Of course, being automatically familiar with the usage method was not the same as being proficient. Just like knowing how to use Photoshop didn’t mean you could be a good graphic designer.

    It was enough to become a swordsman with the transcendental ability of “Sharp Weapon I,” but to become a “highly skilled” swordsman was a pipe dream. The experience of fighting to the death, without personally killing people on the battlefield, was absolutely impossible to obtain.

    It was precisely because of this that the potion formulas for “Sharp Weapon I,” “Blunt Weapon I,” “Projectile I,” “Block I,” “Dodge I,” and so on, possessed by the arena, had almost become unwanted garbage.

    They couldn’t greatly enhance the transcendental being’s own physique like the Cornerstone Sequence or the Bloodline Sequence, nor could they give the transcendental being strange or powerful killing abilities like the Spirit Sequence or the Arcane Sequence.

    Their only function was to help you master the basic combat experience in a certain field, and it was only “mastering” not “proficient.” They also occupied one of your transcendental characteristic slots, conflicted with potions of other Sequences, and prevented you from switching to other bloodline paths…

    Therefore, in the early stages of the game, whenever a newbie mistakenly took a potion from the Gladiator Sequence and came to the forum to ask what bloodline it corresponded to, a large number of players would reply below:

    “Congratulations, your account is ruined.”

    “Achievement: You have discovered the malice of the game designers.”

    “Honey, come and watch the account deletion.”

    Later, it turned into ridicule and abuse of the game design team, especially the Iron and Fire balance team.

    As everyone knew, “Iron and Fire” had always wanted to transform from a multiplayer RPG online game to a professionally balanced e-sports game, so similar public voices soon reached the top management of the game.

    So in the next few versions, the Gladiator Sequence began to be continuously strengthened, such as weapon data visualization, etc., but the players never bought it.

    In the 6th expansion, the “Weapon Master” bloodline was added, but it was ridiculed by players as “Acrobatic Master,” which even caused the head of the design team to argue with players on the official forum.

    Then in the 7th expansion, the game element of “Ethereal Blade Art” was introduced, and a new transcendental swordsmanship called “Celestial Ninefold Strike” from the Dragon Kingdom in the Far East was added.

    Thus, the Weapon Master bloodline and the Gladiator Sequence potions immediately rose to prominence, and the game’s popularity began to expand rapidly.

    In the words of the player forum, before you learned “Celestial Ninefold Strike,” the Weapon Master you played was from the Dark Souls series; after learning “Celestial Ninefold Strike,” the Weapon Master you played became the Assassin’s Creed series.

    Within the first two months of the new version, even 30% of the new accounts chose the Weapon Master bloodline, so the balance team hurriedly nerfed “Celestial Ninefold Strike,” mainly by greatly increasing the learning threshold of this swordsmanship…

    Finally, Weapon Master became a profession that was easy to play but difficult to master, and whether or not one could learn “Celestial Ninefold Strike” also became a watershed between professional players and skilled players.

    As for whether one could master “Celestial Ninefold Strike”… Besides himself, Asker really couldn’t remember any other professional player who could master Celestial Ninefold Strike, because this transcendental swordsmanship required a lot of practice, experience, and intuition.

    He continued to swing the two-handed greatsword a few more times, then found a cushion and closed his eyes to meditate.

    Theotis, while furiously training his sparring partner with a greatsword, glanced at Asker out of the corner of his eye, revealing an undisguised sneer.

    This new recruit was also equipped with a greatsword. To be precise, it was a classic greatsword forged in the city-state of Milan, characterized by its weight, thickness, and length. The trick to using it was one word: brute force.

    However, what followed was not a single gladiatorial fight, but a team gladiatorial fight. In a single gladiatorial fight, you could still rely on brute force with your weapon to kill your opponent, but in a multi-person gladiatorial fight, it was often about being “conservative.”

    Equipping such a greatsword with its own eye-catching attribute was tantamount to telling the opponent, “Hurry up and kill me, otherwise I’ll kill you with my greatsword.” In team fights, it was always the target of being besieged first.

    He, Theotis, dared to use a greatsword because he had the whole team to cover and cooperate with him. What did this new chick have?

    When they entered the arena later, he would directly command the team to isolate him. Would the opposing blue team come and fight his team head-on? Or would they attack this isolated chick first? It was a no-brainer.

    …

    “Damn, so many!” In Asker’s ancestral home, Kieran exclaimed in his hometown slang when he saw the transcendental characteristics lined up on the desk.

    He really wanted to ask if they had wiped out the branch of Dreamland Paradise, but he managed to hold back and didn’t ask. Nuo chuckled beside him, not explaining much.

    So this was the advantage of the recruitment system! Kieran sighed. If the Life School still followed the apprenticeship system, then the apprentices would have to stay by their masters’ side all the time, working for their masters in exchange for potion formulas and materials, and they wouldn’t have time to go out and adventure.

    Such a lucky encounter of harvesting more than twenty transcendental characteristics at once would naturally be impossible.

    If the apprenticeship system was fishing, then the recruitment system was casting a net. In the time it took to catch one fish, many nets could be cast. Maybe this time the net would only catch small fish, maybe the next net would be full.

    After a brief discussion about the price with Nuo, Kieran readily bought all the level 1 and level 4 transcendental characteristics at a unit price of 100 pounds and 1200 pounds respectively, and also copied and collected the level I formulas for Dream, Shadow, and Mind at a price of 120 pounds each.

    For a sect, low-level formulas of other Sequences were never too many. The Azure Longsword Mercenary Group Fund instantly received 7760 pounds.

    “We’re rich!” After Kieran left, the girls looked at the numbers in their bank accounts on their phones, and only one thought remained in their minds.

    “I thought of something, everyone.” Nuo suddenly said seriously. “Peggy? I heard that the burned-down house next door was your former home, right?”

    “Hmm.” Peggy replied lightly, a hint of sadness in her eyes. Since there were no “living” immediate family members who could inherit this homestead, the house and land she grew up in had been taken over by the Constantinople municipal government and put up for auction.

    “I plan to buy this land.” Nuo said, “And turn it into a warehouse.”

    “Warehouse, you mean…” Medea immediately understood what she meant.

    “Yes.” Nuo said, “Next, we will buy a lot of building materials and transport them to the warehouse next door for storage. Then, every night, we will secretly transport the building materials from the warehouse to Furnace Island in the semi-plane.”

    Furnace Island was the name the girls gave to the island in the semi-plane fragment sealed in the book “Absurd Dreams.”

    The whole morning when Asker was away, they spent a few hours wandering around in the semi-plane. When they looked down from the top of the mountain, they could see that the southern coastline of the entire island was relatively smooth, while the north shore had three irregularly protruding headlands, like the shape of a furnace, so they called it Furnace Island.

    “And then, we build our own house?” Eleanor said in surprise. “That’s a great idea, Nuo! But we don’t have civil engineers and construction workers, the house can’t just rise from the pile of building materials, can it?”

    “You forgot what my major is?” Nuo smiled proudly. “Military nuns have civil engineering courses in their undergraduate studies. As for construction workers, of course we all work together! After all, we are all transcendental beings now, we should have this much physical strength, right?”