Translator: Kuroneko

Editor: Samskor

Chapter 21: The Evil h.e.l.l’s Sword

Ah Dai thought, he was going to go to the Death Mountains soon, and he had no idea what kind of monsters there were. In order to successfully return to see his Teacher Gliss, he decided to just learn it. Uncle Owen was right, it is fine as long as I have kind intentions, I’ll just use the sword when facing evil monsters, using evil to fight evil. As he thought about this, Ah Dai undid his robes, revealing the leather sack underneath.

The black jewel on the hilt of the h.e.l.l’s Sword faintly emitted a chilling feeling, Ah Dai clenched his teeth and took out the whole unsheathed sword. In order to prevent the evil qi from escaping, he circulated his boundless true qi in order to fully cover the h.e.l.l’s Sword. A white light flashed, and the room instantly brightened, while a faint layer of black qi came out from the ancient sword scabbard, a stark contrast to the white colored boundless dou qi.

Even though it was covered by the boundless dou qi, the temperature of the room still dropped when the h.e.l.l’s Sword was taken out of the leather sack. The waves of cold air, caused Ah Dai to s.h.i.+ver uncontrollably.

With one hand wielding the h.e.l.l’s Sword, Ah Dai carefully took out the sheepskin with the h.e.l.l’s Sword Nine Techniques from the leather sack.

Placing the h.e.l.l’s Sword back into its original position, the evil qi dissipated and Ah Dai heaved a sigh of relief. His hands that were holding the sheepskin were trembling, until now, he was unsure of the changes that might befall him after he learnt the h.e.l.l’s Sword Nine Techniques. However, he knew that Uncle Owen would definitely not harm him, and since he had told him to learn it, there ought to be no complications. Therefore, he decided not to hesitate further, and unraveled the sheepskin.

At first, Ah Dai was worried that there would be many difficult words that he might not be able to comprehend, but when he opened the sheepskin, he was instantly mesmerized by all of the pictures within. There was not a single word on the sheepskin, but only an extremely complicated diagram with all sorts of odd lines and strange symbols. In the middle of the pattern, there seemed to be two weird giant eyes, staring at him.

Within Ah Dai’s consciousness, there seemed to be someone talking to him. He was unable to avert his gaze from the diagram, and the voice gradually became clearer.

“The h.e.l.l’s Sword, the evillest sword on the continent, it was once the top G.o.dly artifact of the Underworld. For unknown reasons, it had landed in the mortal’s’ realm, and an Alchemist Feng Yuan chanced upon it, obtaining the h.e.l.l’s Sword Nine Techniques as well. The evil qi of the sword was too rampant, after all, it was an extreme evil qi that originated from the Heavens and Earth, people who do not have a resolute mind, or profound martial arts, must never use the sword, it not, great catastrophe would befall them. There are nine mnemonics of the h.e.l.l’s Sword Nine Techniques, accompanied by their corresponding nine sword moves. After obtaining this sword, I’ve only recorded the cultivation method, but never practiced it myself, and thus, I’m unsure of its actual might. However, the last three moves seemed to possess a power that is not of this world, you must never carelessly attempt them, if not you will surely perish from the backlash. Even experts with a profound level of martial arts may get influenced by the evil of the sword, and turn into demonic beings. After drawing the h.e.l.l’s Sword from its sheath, it must absorb someone’s soul before it can return, if no enemies are killed, you will die instead. When using the h.e.l.l’s Sword Nine Techniques, you must cover yourself with life force to prevent the evil qi from harming yourself. Only practice the Techniques that are within your means, the moves can be learnt, but not to be carelessly executed. Remember, most importantly, once you incite the evil powers of the sword, it is not easily withdrawn…”

By the time the voice stopped, Ah Dai was already covered in cold sweat. Although he did not know who the alchemist Feng Yuan was, he could guess that it was someone from at least thousands of years ago. The moves can be learnt, but never to be carelessly executed. However, where are the moves? Just as this question surfaced in his mind, the diagram on the sheepskin started moving, and a image of a shadow flickered across his consciousness. The shadow continuously moved, demonstrating one move after another, it did not require any effort of memorization, and the nine moves were etched firmly into Ah Dai’s mind.

When the shadow finally faded away, there was a flash of bright light before Ah Dai’s eyes and the sheepskin returned to its original state, as though nothing had happened. However, those nine moves were already engraved into his mind. Ah Dai panted non-stop, in just a short period of time, his clothes were totally drenched from his sweat, and waves of fatigue washed over him, he had fully expended his mental strength.The sky outside was gradually becoming brighter, signifying that dawn had broken. it felt as though everything had happened in a flash, yet it actuality, quite some time had pa.s.sed.

Of the nine moves, each one was more complicated than the previous one. The moves seemed very simple, but each was accompanied by a mnemonic. For example, for the First Move, the body of the shadow had one arm extended out, as he pulled out the sword from his chest area. The sword tip was aimed towards the middle between the brows of another shadow before him, and the first shadow flashed across the latter. This move was called h.e.l.l’s Flash, and the mnemonic was only 11 words long  —— King of h.e.l.l’s First Flash, h.e.l.l’s Sword Heaven Splitting Earth Crasher.

[TN: in Chinese, there are 7 words in the mnemonic 冥王一閃天地動 , but due to English translation, I’ve changed it to 11 (update the name in chapter 12.2)]

Ah Dai stood up, and went to the bathroom to wash away the sweat on his body, while changing into a set of clean clothes. This made him feel much more comfortable and he did not feel tired even though his mental strength had yet to recover. h.e.l.l’s Flash? h.e.l.l’s Sword Heaven Splitting Earth Crasher? Do I just chant this while using the sword to stab towards the enemy? He used his hand to stab towards the air, while chanting, “King of h.e.l.l’s First Flash, Heaven Splitting Earth Crasher.”

Immediately after chanting his mnemonic, he felt the h.e.l.l’s Sword near his chest tremble. A gust of icy cold air instantly flowed across his body from his chest, and his body suddenly flashed across a certain distance according to his thoughts. The h.e.l.l’s Sword started emitting a low buzzing noise, seeming as though it wanted to escape from its sheath.

Ah Dai got a big fright, if the h.e.l.l’s Sword was to be unsheathed, it will immediately release great amounts of evil qi. It would be beyond his control, once the evil qi spreads out, perhaps no one within a hundred meters would survive from its evil powers. Thinking of this, Ah Dai quickly jumped back into bed, and took a deep breath, circulating the liquid boundless true qi in his dantian towards his chest. A while later, an intense white light emanated from his chest area, the white light released faint waves of silver glow, barely managing to suppress the trembling of the h.e.l.l’s Sword.

When the h.e.l.l’s Sword had completely ceased moving, Ah Dai finally let out the breath he was holding. He panted for a while, his right hand tightly pressed against his chest. It’s too scary, really too frightening. The icy cold feeling of that extreme evil qi released even when unsheathed was already so frightening, no wonder Uncle Owen was able to become the top a.s.sa.s.sin of the continent with it.

After a long time, Ah Dai finally calmed his emotions, but he was shocked to discover, that more than half of his boundless true qi was depleted. It was probably depleted when he was suppressing the evil qi.

The sky gradually brightened, and Ah Dai had no more time to cultivate and recover. Thus, he packed his bags and waited for Xuan Yue to wake up. The first time he tried practicing the h.e.l.l’s Sword Nine Techniques, he had already expended all of his mental strength and a half of his boundless true qi. This caused Ah Dai to be fearful, and he no longer dared to carelessly recite the mnemonic. He tried executing just the moves of the h.e.l.l’s Flash, but he did not get the desired effect, it was simply like a normal sword technique. Perhaps I’ll wait till my strength recovers before practicing, this h.e.l.l’s Sword is really dangerous, carrying it is like a ticking time bomb, that may explode anytime.

Walking over and opening the window, the early morning breeze carried a trace of coldness. The sun had already risen, hanging high up in the east, looking like a huge red gem that was embedded within the azure blue sky. The rays of the morning sun, were not glaring to the eye, it seemed extremely gentle, but gave people a feeling of vitality and life.

Inhaling a deep breath of fresh air, Ah Dai’s spirit was lifted. A new day had arrived, and the faraway Death Mountains are awaiting me!

“Ah Dai, Ah Dai.” Xuan Yue’s voice came from beyond the door. She had woke up really early!

Opening the door, Ah Dai saw that Xuan Yue’s complexion did not seem very good, she was still wearing the white magician robes, and her eyes were slightly red, as if she did not have a good sleep.

“Miss Xuan Yue, did you not sleep well yesterday?”

Xuan Yue hmpf-ed in reply, “Isn’t it all your fault! I’ve finally fallen asleep after tossing around, but only to be woken up from the cold in the middle of the night.” Yesterday, she had slept much poorer compared to the day before, she could not help but miss Ah Dai’s warm arms.

Ah Dai got a scare, thinking that Xuan Yue had found out that he was practicing the h.e.l.l’s Sword Nine Techniques. Immediately he apologized, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it in the future.”

Xuan Yue pouted, “It’s good that you know your wrongs, how can you touch a girl’s body so easily? We are about to set off soon, you better listen to me on the journey. If not, I won’t give you a piece of that top-grade magic crystal.”

“Yes, I am Miss’ attendant, I will listen to your orders,” Ah Dai nodded in reply.

Facing Ah Dai’s humble att.i.tude, Xuan Yue felt immense displeasure, and she remarked snidely, “You really are suited to be a slave, in just two days, you’ve already learnt how to be a servant?”

Ah Dai’s whole body trembled as grievances and anger filled his body, he clenched his teeth and glared at Xuan Yue, his eyes almost seemed to be spitting fire.

After she spoke those words, Xuan Yue was dumbfounded, and just stood there in a daze. She did not understand why she would speak such hurtful words either, it was not her intention!

The two of them just stood there silently, not speaking for a long time.

“I’m hungry, let’s go eat and head out directly.” It was Xuan Yue who first broke the silence. Her voice was monotonous, without any trace of emotions. Xuan Yue turned and walked in the direction of the dining hall, while Ah Dai did not move. He continued to stand there, until he saw Xuan Yue’s back disappear. Letting out a faint sigh, he put on his red magician robes, and hid his body underneath the giant cloak. Carrying his TianGang Sword and bag, he then walked towards the dining hall.

Under such an awkward atmosphere, both Xuan Yue and Ah Dai ate very little. Throughout their whole breakfast, none of them spoke.

After leaving the inn, the two of them arrived at the West Gate. Yue Hen and Yue Ji were already waiting there, but of the dozen mercenaries yesterday, only two remained, and in total, there were only four of them.

Spotting Ah Dai and Xuan Yue, Yue Hen immediately rushed over to greet them, “Miss magician, you’ve arrived.”

Xuan Yue looked at Yue Hen, and asked, “Why are there only four of you, where are the others of your Moon Scar Mercenary Group? Don’t tell me they’re not joining?”

Yue Hen gave a bitter smile, “I’ve no choice either, after all we are all good brothers, and this mission is so dangerous, I can’t force them! Many of them still have families to care about, and there were only the four of us in the end, me, my sister, and these two brothers. These two brothers are both orphans, so they don’t have any lingering attachments, and they were very interested in this adventure.”

[TN: In Chinese, 兄弟 doesn’t mean blood siblings, it just means a very close friend, a good buddy, or in this case, a good brother. Only Yue Hen and Yue Ji are siblings, while the others are just referred to as brothers, not actually blood brothers!]

Xuan Yue replied in annoyance, “Hmpf! I hope that you won’t back out when we reach the Death Mountains. If not, let’s just disband right now.”

“You can rest a.s.sured about this, us siblings will definitely not change our minds once we decide on something. Let me introduce you, this brother here is Wan Li, he’s proficient in the heavy sword; and that brother is Miao Fei, he’s proficient in quick-sword and body techniques.” Wan Li had a tall and large stature, around the same as Ah Dai, the heavy sword that he was carrying seemed to be even broader than Ah Dai’s TianGang Sword, but just slightly shorter. His hair was pretty messy, and he seemed very rugged, he looked to be around 24 or 25 years old. On the other hand, Miao Fei was much thinner and shorter, even shorter than Yue Ji by half a head. His limbs were very long, almost reaching his knees. He had a perceptive look, and seemed a little timid, he was currently appraising Xuan Yue and Ah Dai. Xuan Yue did not notice his sword, but looking at him, who looked like a monkey, she could not help bursting into laughter.

Delight flashed across Miao Fei’s eyes as he smiled, “h.e.l.lo Miss, I am Miao Fei, 18 this year, handsome and charming, suave and romantic. I don’t have any girlfriend currently,… …”

Yue Hen coughed, and told Xuan Yue, “Miss magician, why not introduce yourself as well, we don’t know your name yet.”

Xuan Yue glave Miao Fei a side glance, “I am Xuan Yue, this is my friend Ah Dai, he is proficient in fire attribute magic.”

Friend? Ah Dai was stunned, he never would have imagined that Xuan Yue would introduce him as such. Stepping forward, he said, “h.e.l.lo.”

Hearing Ah Dai’s name, Yue Ji let out a grin, “Your name is so strange! Ah Dai, right?” Yue Hen saw the sword hilt peeking out from behind Ah Dai’s shoulder, and a trace of astonishment flashed across his eyes.

Ah Dai nodded his head slightly, he did not dare face Yue Ji’s overbearing gaze, and only lowered his head to look towards Xuan Yue.

Xuan Yue gave Yue Ji a dissatisfied glare, before continuing, “Let’s go.” As she spoke, she grabbed Ah Dai’s sleeve, and led them out of the city.

After exiting the city, Yue Hen took out a map. “The Death Mountains are located in the South-West side, in order to get there, we must pa.s.s through the territories of the Puyan Tribe and the Heaven’s Origin Tribe. If we are fast, we can reach in about half a month. Miss Xuan Yue, do you have any suggestions?”

“Eh, can’t we just go there directly, what suggestion do you need?”

Yue Hen explained, “I’ve never been to the Heaven’s Origin Tribe, so I’m not too sure. However, the Puyan Tribe is a very strange tribe. Even within the Commonwealth, they very rarely interact with people from other tribes, and only live within their own territory. Also, they seem to be very hostile towards strangers, the Puyan tribesmen have very cold temperaments, I’ve been there once… Ay——, it was a horrible experience! At there, even if you wanted to buy stuff, no one would sell it to you.”

Yue Hen’s words ignited Xuan Yue’s interest. “That means, the Puyan Tribe must be hiding some secret? If not, they won’t be so hostile.”

Nodding, Yue Hen continued, “Perhaps so, we just need to pa.s.s through their territory. As long as we try not to get into any conflicts with them, it should be fine. As for the Heaven’s Origin Tribe, it’s even more complicated, there are many different races there, and each race has their own characteristics, the journey might not be very smooth! It’s better to be cautious on the way.”

“What’s there to be afraid of, the cart will find its way around the hill when it gets there, let’s just get there first. If we don’t provoke them, what can they do to us? And this way by walking is too slow, why don’t we hire a horse carriage? It will be faster and less tiring,” Xuan Yue replied nonchalantly.

Yue Hen laughed, “What? Hire a horse carriage? I’ve never heard of mercenaries taking a horse carriage, even mercenaries who ride a horse are quite rare, only those big mercenary groups like the Red Hurricane Mercenary Group, would have their own cavalry unit. I guess let’s forget about the horse carriage, at the most, let’s wait till we arrive at the next city, and buy some horses.”

Xuan Yue grumbled, “Why are there so many restrictions! Why can’t we sit on a horse carriage, hmpf!”

While Xuan Yue and Yue Hen were talking, Yue Ji scooted over to Ah Dai’s side. Looking at Ah Dai who was half a head taller than her, she smiled and said, “h.e.l.lo Ah Dai, I am Yue Ji”

Ah Dai was shocked, and was at a loss of what to do. After all, Yue Ji was the second girl that he had come across ever since he stepped into the continent, and she seemed much more mature than Xuan Yue. “Ah.. He- h.e.l.lo, Miss Yue Ji.”

Yue Ji thought to herself, No wonder he’s called Ah Dai, he really is a little dumb, “Ah Dai, why are you carrying such a big sword! It must be at least 5 feet long?”

Just as Ah Dai was about to respond, Xuan Yue spoke up, “”That sword of his is for decoration, or to open up the route or something, just decoration only, he’s not as powerful as the warriors of your mercenary group.”

“I think so too, however brother Ah Dai’s sword is even longer than mine, and it seems quite heavy! Brother Ah Dai, amongst the magicians, I think your strength should be considered pretty good,” Wan Li voiced his agreement.

Ah Dai glanced at Xuan Yue, he did not understand why, even though they were working together, he still had to hide the fact that he knew martial arts. However, he did not speak anymore, and merely nodded at Wan Li.

Due to Xuan Yue’s poor stamina, after walking for a while, she would clamor to take a rest. Even after walking for a full day, they still had not reached the next city. It was soon evening, and the pearl-like moon gradually replaced the setting sun, the light suddenly dimmed.

Yue Hen looked at the sky, telling Xuan Yue, “Miss Xuan Yue, it seems that we will have to camp in the wild today, we are currently still in the territory of our Red Hurricane Tribe. However, our speed is too slow and when we arrive at the next city tomorrow, it looks like we really need to get some horses.”

Once she heard that they were going to be camping in the wild, Xuan Yue’s big eyes instantly brightened, she lifted the hood off her head and smiled, “Great! Then let’s first set up our tents, where shall we set them up?”

Looking at Xuan Yue’s ethereal smile, Yue Hen was rendered speechless for quite a while. In order to cover his embarra.s.sment, he quickly replied, “To set up a tent, it’s to better a place without wind, and then all that needs to be done is to clear out an open s.p.a.ce.”

Yue Ji pointed towards the forest by the roadside, “Big brother, how about there, there shouldn’t be much wind tonight.”

Yue Hen nodded, bringing the rest into the forest. Under the bright moonlight, the forest was filled with various flitting shadows, and the occasional breeze cause the leaves to rustle, making the silence of the forest even more mysterious. The Yue siblings, along with Wan Li and Miao Fei, put down their bags and took out tents made with soft leather. In just a short moment, four tents were already skillfully set up and tightly secured with nails. The four tents formed a circle, while there was around a dozen square meters of s.p.a.ce in the middle.

Ah Dai had wanted to help, but he was stopped by Xuan Yue, the reason being that he did not know anything, and he would only cause more trouble instead of helping.

After setting up the tents, Yue Hen walked over with a smile, “Miss Xuan Yue, you might need to bear with it for tonight, and share a tent with my younger sister. Although it may be a little tight, but it can at least shelter you against the wind and rain. Brother Ah Dai, you can share a tent with me, although we are both not small-sized, just bear with it for tonight.”

Xuan Yue pouted, and complained, “No, who wants to share a tent with her, I’m used to sleeping by myself, free up a tent for me.” As she talked about sleeping by herself, she secretly glanced at Ah Dai, and could not help but recall the comfort of sleeping in Ah Dai’s arms. A tinge of blush slowly appeared across her cheeks.

Yue Hen was stunned, and awkwardly replied, “But there are only four tents, how do we share?”

“Isn’t that simple, you sleep with that bulky Wan Li, and give your tent to me, while Ah Dai sleeps with your sister,” Xuan Yue answered nonchalantly. She had wanted to embarra.s.s Yue Ji intentionally, as she still held a grudge against Yue Ji for the challenge yesterday. Furthermore, Yue Ji also looked pretty decent, and her figure was… … As women, she could not help but feel a little jealous.

Yue Hen stammered, “What? No way, my sister is a girl!”

Ah Dai also got a fright, quickly shouting, “No, no, I, I’ll just sleep outside, I don’t need a tent.”

Pouting, Xuan Yue retorted, “To think you’re so timid, that day, didn’t you still… …” She wanted to say, ‘that day, didn’t you still sleep with me’, but she suddenly caught herself and quickly stopped. However, her face was already blus.h.i.+ng, and her heartbeats quickened as she glanced at Ah Dai, muttering, “Whatever, I don’t care anymore, I just want to sleep by myself.”

Yue Ji just happened to walk out at this moment, but unexpectedly, she only glared at Xuan Yue, then walked over to Ah Dai’s side with a smile on her face, “Am I that scary? What’s wrong with sleeping together with me?”

Instantly, Ah Dai was dumbfounded as he stammered, “No, no, grand magician Giger said that, boys and girls who are not married, must not sleep together.”

Hearing Ah Dai’s words, Yue Ji could not help but laugh, her laughter was melodious like ringing bells. “What’s wrong, little brother, have you just stepped into society?! It seems that this elder sister will have you educate you.”

Yue Hen furrowed his brows, “Yue Ji, stop teasing brother Ah Dai, tonight I’ll share a tent with brother Ah Dai, while brother Wan Li can share a tent with Miao Fei, this will be fine.”

Yue Ji ignored her brothers chiding, as she scurried over, whispering in Ah Dai’s ear, “Do you really not want to sleep with me at all?”

Ah Dai felt her warm breath against his magician robes and he could clearly catch the sweet scent of her breath, which was like orchids. His body seemed to have frozen as he tried to dodge to the side, “No, no, I.. I’ll go relieve myself.” As he finished speaking, he quickly turned and ran towards the forest.

Looking at the frightened Ah Dai, Yue Ji could not help but burst into laughter. The reason why she teased Ah Dai, was not because she felt any special attraction towards him, but only because she had originally thought that there was some special relations.h.i.+p between him and Xuan Yue. Since she was unable to offend Xuan Yue with her fearsome magic, she could only tease Ah Dai, in hopes of angering Xuan Yue. However, who knew that, after teasing Ah Dai for so long, there was unexpectedly no reaction from Xuan Yue, and she only stared excitedly at Yue Hen’s tent. Yue Ji wondered about their exact relations.h.i.+p, could it be, that they were only just friends?

Glancing towards his sister, Yue Hen was full of disapproval as he chided, “You better behave yourself, brother Ah Dai is so honest (naive in a good way), don’t bully him.”

Yue Ji put on a look of innocence as she said, “When did I bully him, I only saw that he was a little boy, so I was just trying to educate him.”

Helplessly, Yue Hen sighed, “You… just don’t cause too much trouble. I’ll go raise the fire, and cook some dry rations. After eating, we need to get a good rest, we have to set off early in the morning.

After a long time, Ah Dai finally came out of the forest. There was already a pile of firewood in the middle of the four tents, that the others had just gathered. Yue Hen and Miao Fei were crouching there, trying to start the fire with a stone. However, perhaps the air was too moist, they did not have any success. Wan Li was sitting by the side polis.h.i.+ng his heavy sword, while Yue Ji was fiddling with her bow, only Xuan Yue was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing that Xuan Yue was not there, Ah Dai felt worried and quickly walked over to Yue Hen, asking, “Big brother Yue Hen, where’s Xuan Yue?”

Yue Hen did not have the time to reply before Xuan Yue’s voice sounded, “So you’ve finally thought of finding me! I’m preparing food for y’all, don’t you want to eat steamed buns? Come over, I have stuff to speak to you.”

Ah Dai looked in the direction of her voice, only to see Xuan Yue peeking out from Yue Hen’s tent, while waving a steamed bun in her hand. Catching sight of Xuan Yue, Ah Dai was finally able to relax. He hastened over towards the tent, and squatted, “Miss Xuan Yue, what did you want to talk about?”

Xuan Yue glared at him in displeasure, “Just a little scolding and you’ve become so cold, here, I’ll give you this steamed bun, is that okay?” To Xuan Yue, this was a sort of apology.

Ah Dai accepted the steamed bun, muttering, “I am a stupid person, I wasn’t cold, just that I’m afraid that if I spoke too much I’ll offend you again. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll leave first.”

Xuan Yue hmpf-ed, “You are indeed dumb, oh right, don’t tell them about my Phoenix’s Blood, that is my secret. Look.” As she spoke, she lifted up the tent cover, and there were about a dozen steamed buns inside, “This is our dinner for today.”

Ah Dai carried the steamed buns as he asked, “Since we have decided to work together with them, why can’t we be honest with them, isn’t it bad to hide secrets from them?”

Rolling her eyes, Xuan Yue spoke in a soft voice, “Do you understand? My father has taught me, ‘One should not have the heart to harm others, but must be vigilant so as not to be harmed.’ It’s better to be more careful, especially of that Yue Jie, she doesn’t seem to be a good person. You mustn’t interact with her too much, understood?”

Ah Dai nodded, “Okay.” But in his heart, he was thinking, Why do I feel that she is much better than you, at least she doesn’t have a temper like yours.

Xuan Yue came out of the tent and ran over to Yue Hen, “Why is the fire not started after such a long time?”

“It is summer now, and the air is more moist. Although the temperature is high, it is too humid here and the firewood is not dry enough. I’m afraid we will have to eat cold dry rations today.”

Xuan Yue giggled, “Y’all are really dumb! Have y’all forgotten, there’s a fire attribute magician with us! Quickly, Ah Dai, help us light the fire.”

Ah Dai nodded as he walked over to the pile of firewood, but just as he was about to chant the incantation, Miao Fei sounded, “Brother Ah Dai, you are at wrong here, as a fire attribute magician, how can you watch us toil around and not come to help us out.”

Ah Dai wanted to explain, but Xuan Yue interceded, “Ah Dai’s may be slow at thinking, but since when are you allowed to speak badly about him.”

Miao Fei’s expression slight changed, but as he looked at Xuan Yue, his anger instantly dissipated.

“Okay, okay, brother Ah Dai, let us have a look at your magic,” Yue Hen tried to smooth things over.

Hearing that Xuan Yue had spoken up for him, Ah Dai felt moved. He voiced his agreement and chanted, “Fire elements filling the heavens and earth! Please bestow upon me your blazing strength, in my name, by thy power, searing flame appear.” With a whoosh, a deep blue flam instantly appeared in Ah Dai’s palms. To mercenaries like Yue Hen and the others, they had never seen the power of magic, and this sudden flame that appeared had gave them a fright. The surrounding temperature steadily rose, and apart from Xuan Yue, all of the others uncontrollably stepped back.

“Woah, such a pretty blue flame! Bother Ah Dai, you are awesome!” The person who spoke up, was Yue Ji. After she had saw the flame spell that Ah Dai executed, she could not even be bothered about her own bow, as she jumped up and sat beside Ah Dai. Ah Dai stretched out his hand in front of him, and blew gently at the flame while circulating his boundless true qi. A small blue flame instantly flew out, landing on the pile of firewood.

The blue flame had an extremely high temperature, thus it was able to dry up the moisture within the firewood, and light it up, creating a bonfire. Along with the cackling of the fire, their surroundings brightened up, and under the reddish glow of the flames, Xuan Yue seemed even more enchanting. Miao Fei’s pupils were already dilated, while even Yue Hen seemed to be in a daze.

Under the roasting fire, everyone ate the steamed buns that Ah Dai took out, no one had raised any suspicions, as they thought that the steamed buns were from Ah Dai’s bag.

After eating, Xuan Yue called Ah Dai into her tent. Just as he was about to ask her the reason, something appeared within Xuan Yue’s hands, it was precisely the marinated meat that they had bought yesterday in the city.

“Here, for you, quickly eat it.”

Stunned, Ah Dai asked, “Why didn’t you take it out just now?”

Xuan Yue glared at him, “I’m not so dumb like you! This is our food, why should we let them eat it, giving them steamed buns is already good enough. They have no relations with me, but you are my attendant, if you do not maintain a healthy body, how are you going to protect me. Quickly, eat this and go to sleep.”

Although Ah Dai was slightly confused, he still at the marinated meat. The meat was way more savory than the steamed buns, and furthermore, the three steamed buns earlier were simply not enough to fill his stomach.

“Miss, I’ll return first then.”

“Hmpf, I’ve already given you the meat, why are you still calling me ‘Miss’, can’t you change it? I order to to call me Yue Yue.”

Ah Dai hesitated for a moment, “But, but, I’m still your attendant! It’s better if I called you Miss.”

Angrily, Xuan Yue pouted, “Miss, miss, HMPF. Get out now, hateful!”