Mysterious Treasure Trove
If he said that he remained unmoved, it would be a lie. Just thinking of the possibility that such ancient magic spells existed impa.s.sioned Nian Bing. He nodded and said, "I will talk it over with my friends."
Ka Luo grabbed the leather waterskin on his waist and took a swig from it. "I welcome your friends to join us. If they"re your friends, I"ll believe in them."
He had an exceedingly good impression of Nian Bing. With Nian Bing’s aid, the Ice Moon Mecenary Group and the Ice Moon Mage a.s.sociation had formed an alliance which elevated them from the strongest mercenary group in the Ice Moon Empire to one of the strongest in the Continent. Ka Luo wanted to repay Nian Bing for acting as his go-between. The current mission, although dangerous, would not be a problem as he was confident of the strength he had brought with him, so he decided to invite Nian Bing. . Inviting him was remuneration, but also a bribe. When Long Zhi and Ka Luo had been talking, he had hinted that he thought of Nian Bing as his successor.
In order to maintain the cooperation between the two a.s.sociations, Ka Luo had been looking for a chance to meet with Nian Bing again, but he just hadn"t imagined that an opportunity would come so soon.
Nian Bing went over to Feng Nu and the others and quietly recounted the task that Ka Luo had described. "…So, how about it? Are you interested? Ka Luo brought quite a few experts with him, so the treasure trove shouldn’t pose much difficulty. If you don"t want to join, then we"ll part ways here." Nian Bing had already decided to follow Ka Luo since the allure of magic spells was too great.
Feng Nu"s eyes twinkled. "I"ve got no problem with it. I"m in no rush to get to Profound Orchid City, so as this doesn"t take too long I"ll still have time to spare. However, I have a condition; If we really do find the treasure trove, I want to choose an item for myself. Of course, it won"t be the bottle that the employer needs."
Nian Bing nodded. Then his gaze turned to Zi Qing Jian and his sister. "What about you two?"
Zi Qing Jian hesitated, his gaze shifting to his little sister. "Little Meng, why don"t you go back to the college and wait for me. Sounds like it"ll be dangerous, and I"m afraid…"
Zi Qing Meng snorted and said, "What’s there to be afraid of? If you"re going, then I"ll go too. The reason we left the college in the first place was to learn through experience. This is a pretty good chance to do that!"
Nian Bing smiled. "Looks like there won"t be any problems. If we all work together, there shouldn"t be any problems with our strength." Just like Ka Luo had said, this time, the Ice Moon Empire had mobilized all of its elite. Including him, there were four magic experts of rank advanced mage and up, as well as Feng Nu, a martial saint. What could stop them?
He returned to Ka Luo. "President Ka Luo, we will partic.i.p.ate in your task this time. However, I have a friend who has a request. If we find the treasure trove, she wants a single item as a reward."
Ka Luo frowned. "Nian Bing, this is a very demanding request. Although I"m the leader of the Ice Moon Mercenary Group, this operation is very dangerous, and so the possibility of reaping rewards is high. Promising you to choose three items is already the most I can do. I can promise your friend some money, but, as for choosing items, I"m afraid…"
Nian Bing smiled. "President, there"s no need to be so troubled. You said I could choose three things right? Then, in that case, I"ll just choose two and leave the last for my friend. That wouldn"t be a problem for me. However, I believe that if we ever encounter any true danger, you"ll definitely see that my friend has the qualifications to choose an item for herself." Nian Bing did not feel uncomfortable when Feng Nu had raised her condition. After all, Feng Nu had the strength to make such a request.
Ka Luo looked at Nian Bing in surprise, then at Feng Nu gripping her longsword. He said, "Then we will do as you say. We can deal with the specifics once we actually find the treasure trove. Nuo Qi, Ha De Ya, go grab your horses. Nian Bing, I"ll give you and your friends two horses. Once we arrive at a city, we will buy more."
Nian Bing nodded. “Then, let’s set off!” The two mercenaries led their horses over to Nian Bing, but Nian Bing couldn"t help but feel troubled. Logically, he and Zi Qing Jian should be on one horse while Zi Qing Meng and Feng Nu rode the other. However, when the four were about to get on the horses, a problem appeared. Although Nian Bing was tall, he wasn’t particularly muscular. However, Zi Qing Jian’s stature was one rarely found in this world. It would be difficult for the two of them to fit on a single horse, so he didn’t know how they should distribute themselves. The Ice Moon Mercenaries had already given up two horses. When the two mercenaries had given up their horses, they looked so despondent that Nian Bing would feel very guilty asking them for another horse.
Zi Qing Meng suddenly spoke up and took large strides over to Nian Bing. “Then you and I can ride together, and Big Brother and Feng Nu can ride together. That should work.”
Nian Bing went blank for a moment. When he raised his head, he saw Zi Qing Jian’s eyes full of excitement. Zi Qing Jian had always regarded him as a brother. Although Nian Bing wanted to ride together with Feng Nu, how could he speak up now? Zi Qing Meng asked to ride together with him obviously be cause she wanted to give her brother a chance to get closer to Feng Nu. A strange feeling pervaded his heart which momentarily stopped Nian Bing from speaking.
Feng Nu walked over to Nian Bing and Zi Qing Meng. “Big Sister Qing Meng, can you ride a horse?”
Zi Qing Meng was stunned. She then shook her head and said, “I can’t. Although I have always studied in the martial arts faculty, my heart has always been divided with cooking. I didn’t have the time, like big brother did, to study horsemanship. However, I will definitely learn later. Feng Nu, my big brother is a wonderful rider so you don’t need to worry. It won’t be a problem if you and him ride together.”
Feng Nu snorted and said, “I’m afraid that that won’t work. You can’t ride a horse, and neither can Nian Bing. How could you keep up with the group?”
Zi Qing Meng was stunned once more. She turned to Nian Bing. “You can’t ride a horse? But you are a man.”
Nian Bing laughed bitterly. “Why must a man be able to ride a horse? To me, there doesn"t seem to be an obvious connection. Moreover, I am a mage, not a warrior.”
Somewhat embarra.s.sed, Zi Qing Meng said, “Then what should we do?”
Feng Nu grinned. “It’s fine. Nian Bing and I will ride together, and you and your brother will ride together. That should solve the problem. I have also studied a bit of horsemanship; riding with Nian Bing shouldn"t be too big of a problem.”
Nian Bing’s heart filled with happiness, though his face remained impa.s.sive. “Then let’s do it like that. Feng Nu, I will be troubling you.”
Feng Nu glanced back at him. “What trouble? You"ll have to be careful; I ride very fast.”
Zi Qing Jian was at a loss. Zi Qing Meng’s careful machinations were futile due to her inability to ride a horse. She walked over to her big brother. “Let’s ride together.”
Zi Qing Jian nodded sadly and pulled himself onto the horse. When he put his weight onto its back, the steed whinnied and suddenly stood up on its high legs. Then it slammed its forelegs onto the ground, bucking up violently as if it wanted to throw Zi Qing Jian off.
Zi Qing Jian didn"t have time to consciously respond, but when he sensed the danger, he unconsciously pulled on the reins and plastered himself to the horse’s’ back. Green qi surrounded his body, making him light as a leaf and thoroughly adhering him to the steed. The steed now had no way of throwing him off. This horse had acted up at a bad time; right now,, Zi Qing Jian was currently in a dark mood. He reached out with his large hands, roughly tugging on the horse’s neck. He bellowed, “Behave, will you?” His body, currently as light as a leaf, suddenly turned a thousand times heavier. The horse bayed sadly and its four limbs were planted on the ground. It had no way of continuing its previous movements.
When he felt that horse gradually submit to him, Zi Qing Jian released his hand. He motioned to his sister, and she pranced onto the horse, settling lightly in front of him. She leaned back against his wide and firm chest.
“Great horsemanship,” Ka Luo couldn’t help but clap from the sides. He faced Nian Bing and shot him a frosty gaze. Nian Bing shrugged meaninglessly.
Nian Bing was a bit displeased. The horses they had been given were obviously specially trained horses. It wouldn"t be easy for people other than their owners to ride them. He was trying to test his friends. Although Feng Nu"s martial arts weren"t bad, how was her horsemanship?
Just as Nian Bing was feeling doubtful, Feng Nu grabbed onto the reins of the other horse and a strange scene lay before their eyes. Her actions weren"t as vigorous as Zi Qing Jian"s, but from when she tugged on the reins to when she settled on the horse’s back, the horse actually meekly submitted to her. Ka Luo and his underlings watched this wide-eyed. They knew that this horse was much more irascible than the other.
Nian Bing watched Ka Luo and his group"s surprise. Although he felt a bit suspicious, he didn"t ask anything. When he walked over to the horse, he felt somewhat awkward. Feng Nu was already holding the reins and her feet were in the stirrups. How was he supposed to get on? He didn"t have any light body martial arts skills. Was he supposed to use a snowstorm? But the horse might not be able to bear the effects of his magic. Right at this moment, an arm as white as mutton-fat jade reached out for him. Feng Nu said, "Grab my hand."
The voice as beautiful as the sounds of nature fixed Nian Bing"s heart. Eagerly, he grabbed the warm, slender hand. When he raised his head, all he saw was Feng Nu looking at him. Without waiting for him to say thanks, a warm force sent him flying. Fortunately, Nian Bing had experience flying on the snowstorm so he didn"t make any sounds of surprise. HIs whole body shook, and he discovered that he was seated on the horse"s back, Feng Nu"s slender and pretty body in front of him. "Grab onto my waist to steady yourself."
When he saw Nian Bing and the others on their horses, Ka Luo waved his hands. All of the cavalryman simultaneously mounted their horses. The sound of horse hooves pounding against the road grew faster as they went along the main road.
At the moment, the most excited one was Nian Bing. He distinctly felt his heart pounding faster. Both hands were wrapped around Feng Nu"s slender waist, a faint fragrance wafting up to his nose. His chest was pressed up against Feng Nu"s back. It looked like he had encircled her in his embrace. A warm sensation emanated from her. Feng Nu"s waist didn"t have any excess fat at all. Even with several layers of clothing between them, Nian Bing could easily feel Feng Nu"s flexible waist. A wonderful feeling filled up his body. Even if the horse was galloping forward, Nian Bing couldn"t feel it. He was completely intoxicated by the atmosphere.
Feng Nu"s feelings were even more intense than Nian Bing. Her whole back was pressed to Nian Bing"s body, the feeling of his masculinity completely invading her. In particular, Nian Bing"s large hands were hot against her waist making her face heat up. The beating of Feng Nu"s heart wasn"t any slower than Nian Bing"s.
The team of horses continued to rush onward as the jostling ride atop the horse"s back turned into a garden of pleasure. Nian Bing"s arms were tightly wrapped around Feng Nu, and unconsciously, he hoped that it would never end.
At the very back of the group were the Zi siblings. Zi Qing Jian"s powerful arms protected his sister in front. While maneuvered his horse, extremely dejected. When he looked at Nian Bing and Feng Nu in front of him, his eyes blazed with complicated emotions.
"Big Brother, don"t think about it," said Zi Qing Meng quietly. Zi Qing Jian"s whole body shook. "Me? I"m not thinking about anything."
Zi Qing Meng sighed faintly. "Stupid Big Brother, your expression is easy to read. I know without you saying anything. Feng Nu and Nian Bing were obvious from the start. You might as well give up, or could it be that you can"t see it? Feng Nu and Nian Bing"s relationship isn"t something you can barge into. Feng Nu agreed to ride with Nian Bing. Don"t you understand?"
Zi Qing Jian went blank and said, "That"s because you and Nian Bing can"t ride a horse! Little Sister, I, actually I"m not hoping for anything."
Zi Qing Meng smiled bitterly. "Stupid Brother, don"t think about it anymore. You and Feng Nu were never meant to be. Nian Bing is very good-looking and a great mage. In this respect, you"re more than a little inferior. Don"t let yourself fall in too deep, or it will be even harder for you to bear."
Zi Qing Jian fell silent for a moment. "Little Sister, she is truly beautiful. When I first laid my eyes on her, she had already captured my heart. Brother Nian Bing is indeed stronger than I, and if she chooses him, then I will wish them happiness. I never expected her to like me, but is it wrong for me to like her?"
It was Zi Qing Meng"s turn to be silent. She hadn"t thought that her brother would be this infatuated. As the two were discussing this matter, a change appeared with Nian Bing"s and Feng Nu"s situation.
As she directed the horse forward, Feng Nu suddenly breathed out, "Nian Bing, what are you doing?"
Nian Bing suddenly woke up from the intoxicated haze he had fallen into from the warmth of Feng Nu"s back. He discovered that a certain part of his lower body was having a response and was prodding into Feng Nu"s b.u.t.t. This discovery caused him great distress and he hurried to shift backwards. "Feng Nu, I-I- it wasn"t on purpose."
Feng Nu"s voice was equally shaky. "Qui-quickly make it go away." The firmness on her back had made her heart agitated as a strange feeling filled her body. Her martial saint strength was of no use in this moment as her beautiful body suddenly grew limp.