Chapter 161: b.u.mping into a familiar face
Outside of Valen City, Han Shuo set Lisa down when they arrived at an outcropping of randomly scattered rock in the wilderness.
Suddenly, having been set down, Lisa hugged Han Shuo tightly from behind. Her burgeoning b.r.e.a.s.t.s were pressed tightly against his back and he could clearly feel their soft, smooth firmness.
Han Shuo had been carrying Lisa back all along, but because he’d been fighting in a dangerous situation and had been busy avoiding hits, he hadn’t focused his attentions on anywhere else. Now that the two were out of danger, Lisa suddenly embraced him tightly from behind, giving rise to strange feelings in his heart.
“Do you like that?” Lisa perched her lips next to Han Shuo’s earlobes as she plastered her chest against his back, huffing out a breath of hot air and asking shyly in a low voice.
Taking a deep breath in, Han Shuo turned around and looked at Lisa, prying her from his body with a small bit of effort. He smiled, “Alright, we’re safe now. Now that we’ve left Valen City, it will be harder for the Gryphon Legion to capture us than it would be for them to ascend to the heavens. You can be at ease.”
Pouting, Lisa once again approached Han Shuo and hugged him tightly, her two arms squeezing him tightly around the waist. She said softly, “I’m nothing now, all my kin is gone. What should I do in the future?”
Clapping Lisa’s shoulder, Han Shuo comforted her, “Don’t worry, Lawrence will take care of you. He rushed here from the capital when he heard that something had happened to you. He truly dotes on you.”
“I often played with cousin Lawrence when we were young. He already doted on me back then. Heh heh, he’s been like my own brother all these years. I’m very grateful to him!” Lisa said proudly when she heard Han Shuo mention Lawrence, and then cried out in surprise, saying with worry, “Oh no, he didn’t leave with us, could he possibly be in danger?”
“Don’t worry, your brother Lawrence isn’t an ordinary person. If he can’t handle even this little bit of danger, then all his years of living will have been wasted.” As the third prince, Lawrence had always been educated by his ambitious mother. He was also heavily valued by the king and had experts by his side. It wouldn’t be a problem for him to leave peacefully at all.
“Right, you haven’t answered me, why can you fly?” Han Shuo’s comfort had great effect on Lisa. She heaved a sigh of relief and suddenly thought of this matter, fixing her beautiful eyes onto Han Shuo.
“Eh, this is difficult to explain. I can only say that I’m using a levitation spell that’s not limited to archmages. As for how I can fly, I can only say that it’s a marvelous technique.” It was difficult to explain anything regarding the “Art of the Demonic Ninth Heaven” to either Emily or Lisa, and it was impossible to put things plainly. Therefore, he could only gloss over the matter.
More than ten people suddenly appeared in the distance and slowly walked towards Valen City. Han Shuo looked at them from afar and paid them no attention when he saw that they weren’t wearing the uniform of the Gryphon Legion. He stood there and continued to talk to Lisa.
The slope of random rocks that Han Shuo and Lisa were standing on happened to be where the group of people would soon pa.s.s by. When they drew near, a soft exclamation suddenly rang out, “Eh? Bryan, what are you doing here?”
Han Shuo started and then paid close attention to the group of people. He suddenly discovered a familiar face among them — Candice. Boasting a fit body and wearing a broadsword on her back, Candice was wearing the thin, tight uniform of a swordsman and seemed to be unafraid of the a.s.sault of cold air.
When she saw Han Shuo, she made a gesture to the mercenaries behind her and then walked over das.h.i.+ngly to Han Shuo. She swept her eyes up and down Han Shuo when she walked over and frowned, “You’re bringing a small girl to feel her up behind this random outcropping of rock on such a cold day?”
“None of your business!” Lisa flicked a glance at Candice, seeming to not like her tone and hectored in an unfriendly manner.
Han Shuo struggled a little bit and broke free from Lisa’s grasp. He looked at the Battlefire mercenary band members behind her and noticed that they numbered six in total. Five of them were spread out and surrounded a girl with a better figure wearing a thin veil, seeming to be protecting her.
Looking at Candice, Han Shuo understood that Candice should have accepted a mission and was protecting the thin veiled girl behind her. He then looked at Candice and said with a slight laugh, “Long time no see Candice. You must’ve accepted a mission and are in the middle of carrying it out?”
Nodding, Candice admitted to it readily. She laughed heartily, “Indeed, I have a tough life! Not everyone can be as carefree as you, able to make out with a girl in a place like this on such a cold day!”
“Don’t you think random thoughts! We’re only here because of some matters.” Han Shuo smiled at Candice ruefully.
“We’re on a date, and what business is it to you!” Lisa’s lip curled as she seemed to resume the usual spitfire she had at school, glaring at Candice like she was a little hen itching for battle.
“Alright, alright, what are you posturing for?” Han Shuo felt things were a bit bizarre as he smiled and patted Lisa, indicating for her to say a few less words.
“This little girl is rather interesting, heh. Right, Bryan, how are things between you and Phoebe now?” Candice looked in amus.e.m.e.nt at Lisa and then stared at Han Shuo in inquiry.
“Same old, I’m business partners with her. She’s taken over the guild now and has been incredibly busy lately.” Han Shuo responded carelessly and then asked Candice, “Are you going into Valen City?”
Nodding, Candice said, “That’s right, we’ve accepted a mission to escort Miss Belinda to Valen City. We’ll take her safely back when Miss Belinda concludes her business in the city.”
Because Candice and Han Shuo had gone through a life and death situation with each other before, Candice had accepted Han Shuo in the depths of her heart. Therefore, she fully revealed the details of her mission this time.
Thinking rapidly, Han Shuo weighed things up before warning Candice, “Valen City has been a bit uneasy during these past few days. The chief of the Gryphon Legion, Bob Ascher, has seen one son gone missing for a few months and his eldest, Clark, was just killed two days ago. The chief is enraged to the extreme and is turning Valen City upside down. I recommend that your employer not venture into Valen City at this time if there’s nothing too urgent.”
“Thank you, I’ll mention your suggestion to my employer, but I can’t decide whether or not she’ll listen to me.” Candice was very surprised by this news, and it was apparent from her furrowed brows that she too was placing high emphasis on this matter.
But she was a mercenary, and since she’d accepted an employer’s mission, she had to proceed according to the original contract. She had no power to modify the contract even if some abnormalities cropped up along the way, or else she’d have to pay additional compensation. Therefore, she could only speak thus.
Nodding, Han Shuo was about to say something when his brow suddenly furrowed as he suddenly turned in the direction that they had come from. He hesitated and asked Candice, “Did you run into any danger along the way here?”
Candice first started in surprise, and then remembered Han Shuo’s miraculous abilities. Her pretty features immediately stilled as she quickly responded, “We did run into some danger along the way, but we quickly handled it. Why do you say this? Did you discover something?”
“There was another group of people behind you since you’ve appeared. I thought they had nothing to do with you and was just another group of people wanting to enter Valen City, but a huge gust of wind blew by just now and I happened to hear the word ‘Belinda’. If I’m not mistaken, this group of people that’s continuously kept their distance from you must have something to do with your employer ‘Belinda’.” Han Shuo responded with a frown.
If it’d been anyone else to say these words, Candice would’ve never believed him because even she hadn’t detected anything out of the ordinary at such a far distance. Not only had Han Shuo picked up the traces of another group of people, he could even make use of the wind to hear what they were saying. This was a completely unimaginably queer occurrence.
Only a wind archmage would have such miraculous hearing to be able to pick up on what others were saying so far away. Han Shuo was obviously not at this level.
However, after going through life and death with Han Shuo last time, Candice understood that he did happen to have such miraculous abilities. She had long since seen his capabilities and thus believed him without hesitation. Her long eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she contemplated with a furrowed brow, then spoke to Han Shuo, “What direction are they in, how many and what’s their strength like?”