Chapter 109 - Frost Memories
Nightmare of Death did not fall to his death after being tossed out of the crowd. Knowing that Gu Fei was right behind him, he did not try to enter the safe zone again. Instead, he quickly climbed to his feet and ran away.
"Pardon me! Make way, please!" Gu Fei shouted as he squeezed his way through the crowd.
These surrounding players were naturally supportive of Gu Fei"s pursuit of Nightmare of Death. Right now, however, quickly making way for Gu Fei could not be accomplished just because they willed it as they were cl.u.s.tered together. Although the cl.u.s.tered players moved away from one another as best as they could, Gu Fei still had to exert colossal effort to squeeze through them.
With Gu Fei"s low Strength, he found it easier to fight the seven Calabash Brothers than to squeeze through the crowd. Lie Lie, who was closely following behind, incessantly yelled "Hold it!" at him. Gu Fei was super mad at her right now and he struggled so much to stop himself from stabbing her with his sword. She might have seemed to be lending a helping hand out of the kindness of her heart, but Gu Fei knew that she had tossed Nightmare of Death away hugely because she wanted to show off. It was truly hard to find her likeable.
By the time Gu Fei got out of the crowd, Nightmare of Death had already distanced himself from Gu Fei by over five hundred meters. It was a distance that even the Repeating Fireball spell could not reach. Without a way to kill Nightmare of Death at such a distance, Gu Fei could only run after him.
Thieves had inherent advantage when it came to Agility. Hence, the now level 24 Thief Nightmare of Death benefited more from Agility than the level 31 Mage Gu Fei. Furthermore, the additional 25 points to Agility from equipping Frost Memories and the 14% boost to movement speed from wearing Shadow Boots allowed Nightmare of Death to run at a decent pace. Fortunately, Parallel World"s calculation of the data for movement speed of each character was very precise. After chasing for a while, Gu Fei"s slightly faster speed than Nightmare of Death"s began to show and the distance between the two gradually shrank.
From time to time, Nightmare of Death would look over his shoulder as he continued running onward. His heart beat faster and faster when he saw Gu Fei get nearer and nearer. He wanted to request for backup, yet he did not dare send a message out while running. That action was akin to reading a book while running; he risked the possibility of tripping or running into a tree - or, worst of all, getting caught by Gu Fei. Nightmare of Death did not want to die this time no matter what. He was now at level 24; dropping another level would lose him his Stealth skill.
The Stealth skill was undoubtedly the Thief job cla.s.s" specialty and what made Thieves valuable. Any Thief would spend substantial time grinding the proficiency of this skill. Nightmare of Death was no exception. Just the thought of losing the time and effort he had placed into grinding Stealth"s proficiency sent a s.h.i.+ver up his spine.
Since he could not send out a message while running, Nightmare of Death could only employ the most primitive method of asking for help, "SAVE ME! I"M OVER HERE!" He hoped that a nearby comrade would hear his cry for help, but what he got instead was the surrounding players" disdainful look. While PvPs were always occurring in online games, a PvPer crying for help was a seldom seen cowardly act.
In the blink of an eye, the two partic.i.p.ants of the high-speed chase were about to reach a junction at the end of the street. The sight of the junction was evidently not favorable to Gu Fei. This was because it would be a lot harder to chase after Nightmare of Death if he took a turning, changed into a disguise, and mixed into the crowd. It just so happened that the streets around this area had a lot of pedestrians as well. Everything seemed to be going in favor of Nightmare of Death.
As Gu Fei had predicted, Nightmare of Death, who was running ahead of him, really took the turning without a second thought when he reached the junction. By the time Gu Fei took the turning as well, not a shadow of Nightmare of Death"s running figure could be seen. Who could tell which among these pedestrians Nightmare of Death was?
Gu Fei carefully walked down the lane, looking at every player left and right, yet he could still not find a trace of Nightmare of Death.
Gu Fei helplessly sent a message on the mercenary channel, "Sorry. I think he escaped!"
"How?""I got careless and he managed to bolt out of the safe zone," Gu Fei reported, regretful.
"It"s alright. We know what he looks like now; we"ve still got opportunities in the future."
"Frost Memories can"t be retrieved at this rate! We were so close, too!" Gu Fei was extremely disappointed. He knew that the chances of Frost Memories dropping were not high, but an opportunity had presented itself a short while ago. He was so close to actually s.n.a.t.c.hing it back, but....
"Hey!" As he was mulling over this matter, he heard someone by his side call him. Gu Fei turned around and saw that it was Lie Lie. He immediately closed the distance between them and grabbed her collar, "Why are you still following me?"
"What are you doing? Let me go!" Lie Lie was not so easily unnerved by Gu Fei"s action given her combative personality.
Some pedestrians stopped to watch the scene unfolding. Gu Fei recalled that Lie Lie was a lady. Thinking that his action was a little uncalled for, he let go of her and fumed, "Stop following me."
"What"s the matter with you?! I"m just trying to help you!" Lie Lie said confrontationally.
"You gave him the chance to escape when you tossed him out!" Gu Fei bellowed, equally confrontational as his patience finally snapped.
"If I hadn"t tossed him out, he would"ve plunged his dagger into you! With you as a weak Mage, he"d definitely instkill you!" Lie Lie confidently voiced out her a.s.sessment.
"Are you blind? Didn"t you see that I already evaded his strike?" Gu Fei asked.
"Stop bluffing!" Lie Lie refuted, not believing him. The average player truly had no way of realizing that Gu Fei had dodged Nightmare of Death"s Backstab previously. Besides Gu Fei and Nightmare of Death himself, no one among the people present at the Thieves" Union could tell that Backstab had already been fully executed. Those around, including Lie Lie, thought that Backstab was still in the process of being executed. Thus, Lie Lie fully believed that had she not timely intervened, Gu Fei would have been stabbed with the dagger.
Gu Fei did not know how to explain it, and he was too lazy to find a way to do so anyway. He simply coldly repeated, "Just stop following me."
"You"re so unreasonable!" Lie Lie cried in frustration.
"If I"m really unreasonable, you"ll find yourself dead," Gu Fei coldly retorted.
"Alright, then. Fight me!" Lie Lie initiated an attack, hurtling her fist toward him.
Gu Fei parried her fist using his open hand. With that punch deflected, his leg apathetically hooked hers and dragged it toward him, sending Lie Lie sprawling to the ground on her back. A cloud of dust scattered about.
"Not everyone will let you do as you please just because you"re a woman," Gu Fei said icily, "Stop hindering me from now on." With that, he turned around and left.
Lie Lie finally got scared. She dazedly lifted her upper body off the ground and arranged herself into a sitting position. Gu Fei had tripped her backward with ease. Lie Lie was sure that he had done so without using a skill or spell in the game. She had studied a bit of kung fu, so she understood something from this exchange: Miles knows kung fu… He was also much stronger than her by who knew how many folds. He really was someone who knew kung fu.
Gu Fei scoured the entire lane after abandoning Lie Lie, but he saw no signs of Nightmare of Death. He could only heave a deep sigh and send a message to the rest of the mercenary group, "I couldn"t find him anymore. Which mailboxes are you guys camping? I"ll go keep watch on one, too."
"West gate is unguarded. Go there!"
"Okay!" Gu Fei acknowledged, closing the mercenary channel. He raised his head to get his bearings and spotted a lady beckoning him with her hands, an enigmatic smile on her face. The lady was Xi Xiaotian.
"I"m in a rush; talk later!" Gu Fei waved his hand in greeting. He then lowered his head and prepared to be on his way.
"Don"t be so hasty!" Xi Xiaotian ran up and blocked Gu Fei.
"I"m really in a rus.h.!.+" Gu Fei insisted.
Xi Xiaotian smiled, pointing at the still seated Lie Lie on the ground, "You went overboard there!
"Gu Fei glanced back, "You may wanna take that back. Or else, I don"t know how you"ll be able to describe me if I twist her head off."
"Is the matter that serious between you two?"
"I"ll tell you about it when I"m free. I"m really busy right now," Gu Fei got around Xi Xiaotian and quickly ran off.
Xi Xiaotian did not let him off. She turned around and caught up with him shortly.
"What?" Gu Fei asked.
"You run yours, and I"ll run mine. Why do you care?" Xi Xiaotian retorted.
"You"re quite fast," Gu Fei commented. Not many were an extremist like Gu Fei who had invested all points into Agility. Even some Thieves and Archers would not be as fast as him.
"I went with a full-Agility build. Plus, I"ve the job cla.s.s advantage," Xi Xiaotian explained.
"Oh… What"s your job cla.s.s?" Gu Fei recalled that he still did not know Xi Xiaotian"s job cla.s.s even now. Determining her job cla.s.s through her attire was impossible. When Gu Fei first met her, she was wearing a purple robe. He now knew that that robe was what a Priest would wear. At the moment, she was wearing a thief cape.
"Archer," Xi Xiaotian"s answer indeed did not reflect her outfit of the day.
A full-Agility Archer would of course not be slower than Gu Fei; it was considered as the job cla.s.s that benefited the most from Agility.
Gu Fei nodded his head and did not say another word.
"Are you off to kill people?" XI Xiaotian tried to engage him in small talk.
"Hopefully…" Gu Fei said. Indeed, he was hoping that Nightmare of Death would appear by the west gate"s mailbox.
No further words were exchanged between them along the way. Gu Fei sprinted his way to the west gate, as Xi Xiaotian followed him all the way. Gu Fei eyed her oddly many times over, but she pretended to not see any of them.
Gu Fei sighed in relief when he saw that Nightmare of Death was not at the west gate"s mailbox. He had rushed here as fast as he could. If Nightmare of Death rushed here from their previous location, he should not be faster than Gu Fei even if he tried his best.
Gu Fei retreated to the side of the road. If Nightmare of Death spotted him from a distance, he would of course not go near the mailbox, especially since it meant his death. Gu Fei settled himself into a corner and trained his eyes on the mailbox. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, "I"m so stupid! I know that Nightmare of Death will be the one holding on to Frost Memories, so why didn"t I just patiently wait till he had to mail it from the start? If he wants to mail something, he"ll naturally take it out of his pocket to put it into the mailbox! Earlier, a bit of effort and skill would be enough to s.n.a.t.c.h that weapon back!"
Currently, Gu Fei was feeling very remorseful for that kick he had sent to Nightmare of Death upon their first meeting over at the north gate"s mailbox. This meant that he had not lost one but two great chances to retrieve Frost Memories from the Thief.
That method of retrieval could not be employed any more. Back then, Nightmare of Death allowed Gu Fei to be beside him and acted very courteous toward Gu Fei as if he was a dear friend. Currently, Nightmare of Death would loudly squeal for help if Gu Fei so much as came within fifty meters of him. Stealing Frost Memories now when he took it out would be a nigh impossible task. Gu Fei was so regretful that he wanted to smash his head to a wall.
"Why do you suddenly look so remorseful?" Xi Xiaotian asked.
"I"m such a dummy. Really!" Gu Fei lamented.
"I agree," Xi Xiaotian nodded her head.
Gu Fei heaved a long sigh toward the heavens, finally asking Xi Xiaotian, "Why"re you following me, anyway? If you want to help, I need to set down all the rules and restrictions to this matter, so you won"t make the same mistake that Lie Lie did."
"Who"s here to help you? I"m here to mail something," Xi Xiaotian replied mockingly. With that, she walked toward the mailbox.
Gu Fei listlessly swept his gaze over her. Xi Xiaotian got to the mailbox and turned her head back to look at Gu Fei. She saw that he was busy looking at the many nearby roads. Xi Xiaotian smiled gaily as she reached into her dimensional pocket and took something out. She knocked her knuckles on the side of the mailbox to get his attention, "I"m gonna mail it!"
"Just mail it already, what"re you yelling at me for?" Gu Fei said as he threw her a glance before turning his attention back to the roads in the vicinity. It was then that his brain registered the familiar object in Xi Xiaotian"s hand. He did a double-take. In her hand, a dagger was giving off a bluish white glow. Gu Fei could identify what it was without the Appraisal skill. He instantly darted over to her, and his hand tightly gripped Xi Xiaotian"s wrist.
"Why do you have it?!" Gu Fei demanded, his eyes turning cold.
"Why don"t you make a guess?" Xi Xiaotian"s smile was dazzling.
Gu Fei did not say anything. Frost Memories was still in Nightmare of Death"s possession when Gu Fei was chasing after him. Xi Xiaotian could only acquire it sometime between Nightmare of Death taking a turning into that lane and her calling out to Gu Fei.
"Actually, you"re right from the start; I"m indeed in cahoots with them," Xi Xiaotian confessed. As the color of Gu Fei"s face changed, she continued, "But you missed one bit. I"m in cahoots with them, but I"ve a different intention."
"To mix into their gang in order to cheat off their top-grade equipment after gaining their trust?" Gu Fei asked.
"More or less. I guess you can call it scamming the scammers," Xi Xiaotian said with amus.e.m.e.nt.
Gu Fei laughed. Seeing that his hand was still holding on to her wrist, he let go immediately.
"Aren"t you afraid I"ll send this away?" Xi Xiaotian dangled Frost Memories in front of his face.
"You won"t show it to me if you intend to," Gu Fei remarked.
"I may have shown it to you, but that doesn"t mean I"m returning it," Xi Xiaotian teased.
Gu Fei refused to humor her.
"Besides, it"s not yours. I didn"t get this from swindling your friend, too," Xi Xiaotian did not stop.
Gu Fei remained mum.
"What"s wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Xi Xiaotian asked.
Gu Fei was indeed speechless. Xi Xiaotian was currently a third party that had obtained Frost Memories. He could not hold Xi Xiaotian responsible for Nightmare of Death and gang"s despicable action of stealing that weapon. Moreover, the method she had used to obtain the dagger might not exactly be proper. But if she had gotten the dagger through the legal method of buying Frost Memories from Nightmare of Death, what should Gu Fei do?
If this were in reality, one could say Frost Memories was a stolen item and any relevant transaction pertaining to it was invalid under the law. Right here, right now, in an online game, Gu Fei truly could not say the same.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! To think I"d see the day when you would be speechless," Xi Xiaotian felt very pleased with herself. She offered Frost Memories to him hilt-first, "Here you go!"
"Wha... A kind gesture?" Gu Fei took it and examined it carefully. It was indeed Frost Memories.
"I"m only returning this because that guy"s your friend," Xi Xiaotian informed him cheekily.
"That"s a lot of face you"re giving me," Gu Fei smiled brightly.
"Well, I don"t particularly hate you," Xi Xiaotian reasoned.
Gu Fei laughed.
"Also, it felt great to see you trip up Lie Lie. I don"t really like that brat, either," Xi Xiaotian said.
"Had you said it earlier, I would"ve brought her head over to you," Gu Fei was feeling particularly jovial now that his sorrow had faded away. While Lie Lie did not seem as hateful as before anymore, he figured it was fine to play along with Xi Xiaotian. "Seriously though, how did you get it?" Gu Fei asked curiously.
"I swindled it back," Xi Xiaotian put emphasis on the word "swindled". "I don"t think you"ll be interested to hear the process."
"Try me," Gu Fei urged her.
"As I"ve just said I managed to get myself recruited into their gang. While I"m not an important member, I"m able to employ tricks on those people to make them misjudge my value," Xi Xiaotian explained vaguely.
"What sort of tricks?" Gu Fei pressed on.
Xi Xiaotian stared at him, "Are you thinking of something impure right now?"
"Uhm, I"m actually not thinking of anything. I"m just curious," Gu Fei answered.
"Some tricks. Like acting like a big shot… Go ponder it more yourself!" Xi Xiaotian dismissed the question casually.
Gu Fei nodded his head, "So that"s how it is."
"Apart from that, it"s also because of your "antics". You persistently hunted Nightmare of Death, yet he did not know why," Xi Xiaotian said, bemused.
"We purposely deceived him. Otherwise, he"d definitely transfer the owners.h.i.+p of Frost Memories," Gu Fei explained.
"And that"s exactly what I told him," Xi Xiaotian giggled.
Gu Fei found it absurd, "That"s all it took for him to pa.s.s Frost Memories on to you?"
"Isn"t it really simple?"
"Logically speaking, it"s very simple. The hard part is earning his trust, right?" Gu Fei asked for confirmation.
"In his moment of crisis, I helped him resolve the problem. His trust in me naturally soared. It"s human nature," Xi Xiaotian elucidated.
"What problem did you help him solve?"
"You failed to catch him, right?" Xi Xiaotian asked, smiling once more.
"You hid him?" Gu Fei suddenly realized.
"I only reminded him that he"s a Thief, so he should know how to use Stealth," Xi Xiaotian elaborated further.
Gu Fei nodded his head. He and Lie Lie attracted so much attention when they fought down that lane. After cruelly causing the beautiful lady to fall on her back, their squabble became more eye-catching. It was impossible for Gu Fei to discover Nightmare of Death who was on Stealth under a situation where many people were focusing their gazes on to him.
"Think you got the gist of it?" Xi Xiaotian asked, adding, "Anything else you want to say?"
"Thank you," Gu Fei expressed his grat.i.tude readily.
"Don"t thank me," Xi Xiaotian laughed daintily, "There will still be times when you"ll hate me."
"Is that so?"
"Of course!" Xi Xiaotian confidently nodded her head.
Chapter 110 - What a coincidence?
"Alright. There"s nothing else now, so I"m taking my leave," Xi Xiaotian said.
"Since you"ve swindled Frost Memories away from them, they"d probably take their revenge on you. It might be best if you stick to me," Gu Fei offered.
"Don"t worry about that. I"ve my ways," Xi Xiaotian flashed him a smile before turning around and leaving.
Gu Fei stood rooted to the ground for a moment or two.
"There will still be times when you"ll hate me." This statement of Xi Xiaotian echoed in his ears repeatedly. He somewhat understood what she meant by it. Although she aided Gu Fei this time, Xi Xiaotian was still a swindler through and through. If Gu Fei was troubled by her swindling ways in the future, he might end up hating her.
Nonetheless, it seemed that he had been very unjust to her! When Xi Xiaotian stole Sword Demon"s Frost Memories, he was very outraged by her actions. Now that she swindled Frost Memories back from that gang, he was singing a different tune. The words Xi Xiaotian had said were very clear: Sword Demon could only get Frost Memories back because he was Gu Fei"s friend. In other words, if that top-grade equipment belonged to another player, she would pocket it without a second thought.
If that had been the case, what would I have done? Gu Fei was at a loss.
As he was pondering on this issue, a message came through the mercenary channel, "What"s everyone"s status?" It was from Young Master Han.
"Great," Gu Fei answered.
"What do you mean?" Young Master Han asked.
"We can call it a day now!" Gu Fei said.
"Ahhh?!" everyone exclaimed in surprise.
"Meet you all at Ray"s Bar," Gu Fei left it at that. Such an exciting story was best told in person; saying it on the mercenary channel was far too emotionless.
Gu Fei was the first to arrive since Ray"s Bar was closer to Yunduan City"s west gate.
"Hey, Ray!" After his excursion in Yueye City, the sight of these familiar faces in Yunduan City really made him feel all warm and fuzzy.
"Long time no see!" Ray smilingly greeted Gu Fei. Since this was an online game, there were a few routines very different from reality. An example was the in-game taverns; the same person could visit a tavern to drink liquor several times in just a day. Thus, if a player did not visit a tavern for even once in a day, he or she could be considered as a long-time-no-see patron.
"How"s business lately?" It was rare to meet someone who provided service with utmost sincerity like Ray, so engaging in small talk with other tavern owners was almost impossible.
Ray smiled, "Same old, same old."
"Six gla.s.ses of liquor," Gu Fei waved his arm casually as they headed toward the room that they usually occupied.
"There"re people there!" Ray hurriedly called after Gu Fei.
"What?" Gu Fei did not hear him clearly and continued to walk toward the room. It was boisterous inside the bar, so hearing each other clearly became harder the more distance the two put between them.
Ray did not answer him anymore as Gu Fei had already lifted the entrance curtain of the room.
"Eh… What a coincidence!" Gu Fei said in greeting to the people inside the room when he peeked in. They were the ladies of Amethyst Rebirth.
Lie Lie was seated at the center of the room. Her eyes were puffy as if she had just cried her heart out. July on the left and Luo Luo on the right were consoling her. Only Ice Glaze was seated on the other end of the table, fiddling with her sleeve. She looked as if she wanted to say something but did not know how to do so.
When Gu Fei stepped inside the room, the four ladies lifted their heads. "Continue chatting; I"ll go somewhere else," Gu Fei did not wish to intrude.
"Don"t leave!" July stopped him as she stood up.
"Is there something wrong?" Gu Fei played the fool.
"Sit down!" July ordered as she sat down once more.
Ice Glaze s.h.i.+fted to the side and made s.p.a.ce for Gu Fei to sit.
"Thank you!" Gu Fei smiled. This lady was really nice, especially when compared to Lie Lie. Seeing his suddenly appearance, Lie Lie showed a wanting-to-cry-again expression. The pained look on her face seemed capable of producing salty tears with just a squeeze.
While Gu Fei already considered Lie Lie"s sin as something minor after obtaining Frost Memories, his dislike for the lady remained the same. He sat himself down. His expression was no longer frosty like before, but he made no move to comfort the lady and merely smiled as if nothing was unusual. Ice Glaze felt somewhat awkward about his att.i.tude, so she tugged the corner of Gu Fei"s sleeve and gave him a look.
This lady"s truly kind! Gu Fei thought to himself. With her pa.s.sive personality, Ice Glaze must currently be feeling distraught at finding herself entangled in such a difficult situation. Wanting to extricate Ice Glaze from the situation, Gu Fei spoke, "Shall we order something to drink?"
Gu Fei"s words made everyone feel faint. July was the first one to recover. Since it seemed that Gu Fei did not intend to broach the subject, such a task would naturally fall on to her, the guild leader.
"What happened between you two? We"re all in the same guild. Talk things over if there"s a problem. No need to be so stiff about this." July was being very objective about the issue and did not appear to be taking sides. Her position as a guild leader compelled her to mediate the issue with zero bias.
Luo Luo also spoke, "It"s true that Lie Lie is a bit impulsive, but I"m sure she hasn"t done it with any ill intent. I"ll apologize on her behalf if she accidentally offended you or caused a setback in whatever crucial task you"re on!" Luo Luo"s words were far more powerful than July"s. She lowered herself to an equal standing and took the initiative to apologize. At the same time, her voice carried a somewhat jesting tone. It somewhat conveyed the message to Gu Fei that her apology was not completely sincere. Thus, he should probably….
Gu Fei suddenly found all this hilarious. He noticed the similarity between July and Luo Luo"s pair and Sword Demon and Young Master Han"s combination. Between the two men, Sword Demon always took the lead while Young Master Han acted as his support in other MMOs. However, Gu Fei could tell that while Sword Demon was the one who acted as the guild leader, Young Master Han was the one who did all the planning and made all the decisions. Based on his narcissistic personality, Young Master Han was not the type people would easily find likeable. It was possible for him to lead a small mercenary group composed of familiar people, but it was a different matter when it came to leading a large guild. A guild he would try to lead was highly likely to fall apart in less than a week. In contrast, Sword Demon was loyal, was heroic, handled affairs delicately, and minded the little things, which made him the perfect man to lead any group of players. This was wholly demonstrated in Yueye City. Instead of a high level of intelligence quotient, it was preferable for a leader to have a certain air and temperament.
As for the pair of July and Luo Luo... Honestly speaking, Gu Fei felt that July"s temperament was not as good as Sword Demon"s. Although she had the impartiality found in guild leaders when it came to dealing with matters, her att.i.tude was far too solemn that it made it difficult for people to believe that that was her true nature. Meanwhile, Gu Fei had always felt that Luo Luo was the remarkable one. She was great at handling affairs, had a cool composure at all times, and could get right to the crux of an issue with a few words. She definitely had the makings of a guild leader.
"Miles, what do you say?" Gu Fei was mum for quite some time, so July asked him once more.
"Oh, it"s nothing. I"ve already forgiven her," Gu Fei answered uncaringly.
Luo Luo also felt like fainting this time. Her carefully phrased words for this delicate matter were easily resolved by Gu Fei. Although his wording was not as clever as hers, he managed to resolve it by being thick-skinned.
Once again, Gu Fei found something laughable. Lie Lie was known for her quarrelsome personality, yet she was currently keeping her silence and depending on Luo Luo and July to speak for her. He he… Guess she"s all bluff and bl.u.s.ter.
"In that case, shouldn"t Miles apologize as well? You did cause Lie Lie to fall down on her back at a busy street," July said helplessly.
"Sure. But she must apologize first since it"s her fault in the first place," Gu Fei demanded mildly.
Lie Lie finally exploded, "Didn"t I already apologize?"
Her self-righteous behavior really makes liking her difficult! Gu Fei thought disdainfully to himself. Sighing, he showed a smile that did not reach his eyes, "You need to bear some responsibility. Is it you who just apologized to me? It"s Luo Luo speaking on your behalf, right?"
If Gu Fei"s tone did not have a hint of disdain and ridicule, Lie Lie would probably not pursue the matter further. She had a quarrelsome behavior, after all. Ignoring July and Luo Luo"s coaxing, she bawled, "Don"t stop me! I must ask him, what did I do wrong? I ran over to help him! Is that wrong?!"
Gu Fei quickly fixed his evaluation of Lie Lie"s personality. She was truly not a dog without a bite. It was only the concerted efforts of July and Luo Luo that had kept her muzzled until then. But since she asked, Gu Fei gladly told her, "Where did you go wrong? Did you know that person took my friend"s top-grade dagger? I put a lot of effort into making him come near me so that I could s.n.a.t.c.h back the dagger, but you actually tossed him out! Where am I gonna go to find him now?" Since he had gotten Frost Memories back, Gu Fei"s tone was not very forceful.
Nonetheless, his empty words still left Lie Lie speechless. July, Luo Luo, and Lie Lie had once witnessed Gu Fei disarming and taking No Smile"s dagger, so they knew he was truly capable of doing it. Therefore, his opportunity to reclaim that weapon from Nightmare of Death more or less made sense.
"I… I didn"t know!" Lie Lie"s indignation disappeared, sputtering as she tried to explain away her mistake.
She"s pretty cute if she isn"t so arrogant and self-righteous! Gu Fei thought to himself, noting the deflated look on Lie Lie"s face now that she knew her mistake.
"Miles, where"s that dagger now?" July asked.
"I don"t know," Gu Fei answered. Naturally, he was not going to tell them he had gotten Frost Memories back. The weapon was swindled back by Xi Xiaotian. He did not know if she had other plans in mind over the equipment-looting gang; casually revealing the dagger"s whereabouts like this might invite trouble to her.
"If that"s the case, I"ll pay back what Lie Lie owes to your friend!" July declared.
Everyone was shocked. Any equipment, once it was deemed as top-grade, would cost thousands of gold coins.
Gu Fei finally understood where July"s élan to be the guild leader came from. Just as he was about to say something, another person lifted the entrance curtain of the room.
"You?" Luo Luo and the newcomer asked the same thing at the same time. The newcomer was…
…Young Master Han.