This chapter has been brought to you by me, and WanderingGummiOfDoom.
Chapter Four – Bodyguard
The ta.s.seled belt appeared soft and light. They softly “snapped” as though swatting a mosquito. However, Lei Yufeng who was. .h.i.t felt something completely different.
Was the “magus beast armor” manifested from a sacred beast something easy to stop?
Lei Yufeng felt as though the hardest whip struck his back. Even with the protection of the divine beast armor, the blow caused his organs to shift. Adding on Aofeng’s strong blow from the front, his back and front were both wounded. With a “ah,” he felt from the sky!
Lei Yufeng immediately released the armorization in this dangerous situation. The Gold Winged Roc revealed it true form, caught its falling master, and landed steadily on the ground.
Lei Yufeng gritted his teeth and struggled to sit up, grabbing the feathers of the Gold Winged Roc. Looking over, he saw Aofeng who was pursuing him closely.
Dressed in black armor, but had two pairs of silver wings, this person stood in the air and looked at him with cold and emotionless eyes. An angel from h.e.l.l, magnificent and cold! In this moment, Lei Yufeng felt this appearance was so enchanting!
“I will not let you harm my master!” Jin Peng stared furiously at Aofeng with eyes sprouting fire. The Electric Panther next to him hunched over nervously. They knew they were in unprecedented danger.
“Humph, so what, a divine beast and a nine-star magus beast, will I not have those?” Aofeng waved her hand to adjust her armorization. The Nightmare Warhorse, and Si Jian revealed their true forms and faced Lei Yufeng’s two magus beasts. Ben Lei was in full-body armorization, as Lei Yufeng still maintained his protective silver winged state as they charged at Lei Yufeng!
The armor of a magister could be varied. They could be combined together based on the situation to their greatest effect.
The Gold Winged Roc and the Electric Panther felt powerless when they saw Meng Yan and Si Jian. The enemy was much stronger than them, they had no hope. The two magus beast showed their resolve to fight to the death. Aofeng gripped her short black blade, her murderousness surging.
“Wait a moment!” Just as the fight was about to start, Lei Yufeng who just managed to struggle up panted and suddenly spoke. His long and narrow eyes looked towards Aofeng who had reached him.
“I know that it is normal to kill people in the Forest of Neversetting Sun. However, killing me is of no benefit to you. While I have some money in my spatial ring, but for a person who possess divine beasts, that isn’t much. You and I do not have any great grievances between us. We only fought for an earth dragon, which is not very valuable, due to a misunderstanding. If you are willing to spare me, I, Lei Yufeng, will do everything in my power to help you reach the goal you came to the Forest of Neversetting Sun with. I will also not pursue this matter. You should know the value of a celestial magister who possesses a divine beast.”
The events being what it was now, Lei Yufeng should not doubt who had killed the Sawtooth Spined Earth Dragon. As he cursed this d.a.m.ned b.a.s.t.a.r.d for throwing down his spoils and going somewhere else, causing him to make such a great mistake, he was still nervous and worried Aofeng would not spare him.
Hearing him say this, Aofeng turned her head and thought. Her eyebrows creased. What Lei Yufeng said was true.
They didn’t have any great grievance or enmity between them, just a small conflict over an earth dragon. While she was slightly discontent by this arrogant person who appeared suddenly, he had not known the truth.
Also, this man did not seem like those malicious adventurers that would kill freely. When he thought she was a “bandit,” he only told her to leave. They started fighting when her att.i.tude had been unyielding. He had tried to “appease” her. He wasn’t a bad person.
When she thought of this, Aofeng’s murderousness retreated. Her short blade shifted behind her back. Detecting the change, Lei Yufeng sighed in relief and relaxed.
“The condition is that you cannot spread any information about me to anyone.” Aofeng looked over coolly. She desired to kill Lei Yufeng mainly because she was afraid he would expose information about “Zhui Yun.” After the City of Neversetting Sun, Zhui Yun had to disappear completely from the world. Her magus beast were extremely eye-catching. If they were seen, she had to get rid of the causes for concern.
Lei Yufeng heard her condition and stilled. While he didn’t quite understand, he hurriedly nodded and said, “Alright, I can swear.”
Aofeng considered for a moment and then spoke, “I came to Neversetting Sun to gain experience and become a celestial magister. In this time I am in the Forest of Neversetting Sun, you will be my bodyguard. Also, you will tell me everything about your experience of becoming a celestial magister. If you can do this, I will spare you.”
“Become a celestial magister?” Lei Yufeng’s eyes contracted when he heard this. He paused and then said, “I can help you cultivate and guard you for a time, but if you cannot become a celestial magister and spend your whole life in the forest, will I have to follow you for my lifetime? There has to be a time limit”
“Do not worry about this. In at most three months, I will leave the Forest of Neversetting Sun. At that time, regardless of whether I became a celestial magister or not, we will part ways. You won’t work for free. If we get something good during this time, I will not treat you unfairly.” Aofeng’s cold eyes stared at the male and said casually, “Of course, the decision is with you.”
“Do I have any choices? I really don’t know which deity I offended to encounter a freak like you … ..” Lei Yufeng laughed bitter. However, Aofeng’s conditions were not overly stringent. He raised his hand and swore solemnly, “I, Lei Yufeng, swear to the Heavens I will not divulge any information about … … uh, your name?”
Pausing, Lei Yufeng asked.
Aofeng glanced at him. “Didn’t I just say it. I am Qin Aofeng.”
“Ugh … …” Lei Yufeng was so depressed he wanted to spit blood. He really hadn’t expected the name which infuriated him wasn’t made up. He sighed inwardly at his own misfortune. He continued, “Will not divulge any information about Qin Aofeng before leaving the Forest of Neversetting Sun. I will act as the bodyguard, and pa.s.s on my experiences as a celestial magister. I will not pursue this matter in the future. If I break this oath, my head would fall to the ground!”
Aofeng raised her hand and said coolly, “I, Qin Aofeng, swear to the heavens, to give Lei Yufeng back his freedom when three months is up and I leave the Forest of Neversetting Sun. I will also give him payment as a bodyguard, and will not pursue this matter in the future. If I break this oath, my head will fall to the ground!”
When she finished, the silver pattern of the Rules of the Universe lit up under the pair’s feet. The oath was in effect.
Lei Yufeng hadn’t thought that Aofeng also swore an oath. Inside, he felt that this boy was honorable. While he didn’t believe that he would get any significant payment, his feelings took a more positive turn. He put away his magus beasts and asked, “Alright, Employer, what do you plan to do next?”
“I heard you call yourself Lei Yufeng of the forest. Are you familiar with the Great Forest of Neversetting Sun?” Aofeng put her magus beast back into the Inexhaustible Life Ring, including Meng Yan. She walked with Lei Yufeng towards the Midorren River.
“Uh, you … … really hadn’t heard of my name before? Have you just come to the deeper parts of the forest?” Hearing this unexpected question, Lei Yufeng felt as though there was an egg stuck in his throat. He glared in shock at Aofeng.
“What? Are people not allowed to come in?” Aofeng rolled her eyes at him. “Didn’t you hear me say I’m here to gain experience. If I was familiar, what would I be doing here?”
Lei Yufeng almost choked to death. So this person hadn’t been arrogant and dismissive of him, this person just knew nothing! Then why did he start a fight with this person for? This cost him three months of his freedom. So unfortunate!
But with Aofeng’s personality, even if she had known, she would have been as proud as usual. The result would not have changed too much.
“I’ve stayed in this forest for a few years. I’m familiar with all the places in the surroundings except Death Ridge’s deeper parts. There are many high ranking magic beasts there, and even high star level divine beast. It is extremely dangerous. Even I do not dare to go very deep. I only hunted a few sacred beasts at the perimeter.” Lei Yufeng said dispiritedly. He was still depressed at having to pay such a great price due to a misunderstanding.
Aofeng nodded and asked, “Then do you know where the nearest adventurer base is?”
“Yes, not far ahead at the base of Death Ridge. However, that place has been busy recently, and is chaotic,” Lei Yufeng responded and his brow furrowed. “You want to go there?”
“Someone you are afraid of is there? With your strength, you can do what you want in the forest.” Aofeng detected the strangeness in his tone and asked in puzzlement.
Lei Yufeng sighed. His handsome brow furrowed slightly and he showed a faint melancholy. “I’m not afraid of a person, but of trouble. The elder of my family doesn’t want me to be a magister, but I cannot bear to part with my friend so I ran away from home to come here. In the beginning, I stole a magus beast egg that my Grandfather got and reared Tun Xiao, becoming a magus beast. My grandfather is a swordsman and desires to raise me as a swordsman. After learning of what I did, he was extremely angry. I was afraid that Grandfather would do something to Tun Xiao so I left home by myself. Unless I can become as strong as my grandfather, I do not want to return.”
Aofeng was slightly shocked. A swordsman that could injure a first-cla.s.s divine beast like the Gold Roc would have to be at least a high-star level sword master. Lei Yufeng was a two-sword celestial magister right now but seemed to not have any chance of victory. Who was his grandfather?
Rubbing her chin, Aofeng seemed to understand. “I understand. You are afraid people in the adventurer base will recognize you. Have you not gone to the adventurer base in the past years?”
“No, Grandfather has his own matters, and cannot come to capture me. I’m not afraid of ordinary people. However, this time is special.” Lei Yufeng took a deep breath and said, “Every spring is when the four great magister families will send teams of their younger generation to gain experience. Only through experiences will they be truly recognized by their families and accepted as adults. Each family will have a celestial magister leading the team. My Grandfather probably reminded these people to capture me and take me home if they encounter me. One or two is alright, if I encounter a group of four, I cannot win.”
“Four great magister families?” Aofeng stilled. Her eyes lit up and then dimmed. Big Brother had pa.s.sed the age of maturity. He should have pa.s.sed this test a long time ago, and wouldn’t have come.
“Is something wrong?” Lei Yufeng perceptively pondered. “You have the Qin surname, are you from the Qin Family?”
“No, my surname is Qin, but I’m not a member of the Qin Family. You do not have to worry,” Aofeng said coldly. In the moment she left Qin City, she was not a member of the Qin Family. She only had Big Brother and Youngest Uncle. She didn’t have any sects or family!
“You … … did you run away from home like I did?” After thinking for a while, Lei Yufeng suddenly asked.
“I don’t have a home.” As though she was affected by homesickness, Aofeng raised her head to look at the sky, her voice filled with rare melancholy.”My home is not in this world. While I say I do not miss it, I cannot forget it.”
In this moment, Lei Yufeng suddenly felt some empathy with Aofeng. A kind of resonance between their hearts. Yes, didn’t he miss home? The feeling of having a home but unable to return was so painful! He missed that sky, but he had to leave his home. He came here and it had been many years.
Lei Yufeng became silent.
“However, I do not regret it.” Aofeng turned back to look at the man clad in short robes. She said in a firm tone, “For my friend, I have no regrets!”
The depression swept away. The two coincidentally walked out of the forest at this time and came to the gra.s.s-covered bank of the Midorren river. The sun shone down brightly.
Lei Yufeng felt his heart suddenly tremble. He laughed lightly, “Yes, not regret. This is for my friend!”
While he was being forced to be Aofeng’s bodyguard, Lei Yufeng felt now that moving together with Aofeng was not bad luck. He had been very lonely these past years by himself.
“Let’s go to the adventurer base. Even if the celestial magisters of the four great magister families are all there, most likely no one will be able to stop the two of us together. If we cannot win the fight, we can still escape successfully.” Aofeng jerked her lips and smiled faintly.
Hearing her aloof yet arrogant words, Lei Yufeng felt a swell of spirit. He laughed loudly and said, “Yes, with a freak like you, even if we fight head-on, they might not be a match! Let’s go, it’s right underneath that small mountain up ahead!”
The two came to the opposite bank of the Midorrean River and entered the border of Death Ridge. In the valley made from several small mountains, they found the so-called adventurer base.
When they walked in, Aofeng discovered the camp was a small village. While it was small, it had all the amenities, all kinds of shops. However, there were no large building. Tents made up this place. When she looked over, thousands of tents formed an extremely attractive and unique scene.
When the two walked into the camp, the people in the surroundings gasps and whispered as they started to point.
“Look over there! It’s Lei Yufeng of the forest!”
Translator Ramblings: How do you threaten someone with your reputation if they do not know who you are?