Chapter 308 “Gat1her Together” (part one)
Du Wei have always believed, if a person were to be extremely talented in one area, then they are bound to have some certain peculiarities in their personality. Like this Mr. White for example. To call him a genius was saying it nicely because if Du Wei were to be blunt, he's better deserved to be called a madman!
Riding westward all the way with Du Wei, this White River for some reason refuses to board a boat no matter where they were, only willing to travel on road. Even though he was strong, but Du Wei wasn't a warrior at heart or body. Moreover, even a knight that went through strict training would be like him, exhausted at this point after days of continuous journey.
How comfortable it would be to ride a boat… Du Wei can only sigh in his heart over this idea.
Seeing through his thinking, White River coldly left him this statement: people like you who only covet after comfort can never achieve anything great, even if you do, it will be limited! Who in history that's successful hasn't endured great difficulty to hone themselves?!
Not replying or trying to defend himself, Du Wei can only stick his tongue out again after hearing the lectured.
Fortunately, after learning that set of taijutsu moves from the Snowy Mountain, his body's been faring much better than before. Every day when they stop to rest, Du Wei would endure the aching fatigue on his body and force himself to practice several times before calling it a day. At first the aches and pains almost sent him into tears for this type of hardship wasn't something a common person can endure. Du Wei may have become accustomed to an extravagant lifestyle in recent years, but hidden underneath that lazy and scheming personality was the same hard working and determined temperament from his past life. What's more, in front of those eyes full of contempt and smirking mouth of this White River, Du Wei couldn't bear to be looked down upon by this asshole.
Along the way Du Wei suffered immensely, but eventually those pains did bear fruit for on the fourth day, he was delighted to find great improvements to his body like he's never seen before!
Originally when they were journeying, the most painful time was the morning. He would be aching in pain like his entire body and bones were falling apart. However, this morning when he woke up, his body felt light and relaxed without a bit of soreness running through it. Pleasantly surprised inside, Du Wei's delight didn't go unnoticed though. White River who was beside him only shot him a glance before dragging him back down to reality: “This is only the first stage where your body saw some minor improvement. Fifteen days later, it will usher in a fatiguing period which will bring pains like you never felt before. After repeating this process twelve times, about a year or two, then you can claim to have achieved some success. Right now, you are still a long way off."
Since White River refuses to ride a boat along the Grand Canal, the two can only travel along the bank as they headed west. By noon of the fourth day, they arrived at a small town.
The settlement was more or less only a few miles away from the Grand Canal, making it a popular resting point for merchants that have moored their ships nearby. The town didn't have much of anything, but it did have a lot of taverns and brothels with a wide variety of prostitutes for the sailors to choose from. A heaven for those that spent months away on the water without returning.
Riding into town on their horses, Du Wei immediately raised a suggestion when he saw how bustling the place was: "I say Boss White, we've endured many nights in the wilderness already, why don't we find a hostel and enjoy the night. My stomachs been protesting nonstop during this period and we can also take the chance to clean ourselves. Even if you want to bring me back for severing or beheading, at least let me enjoy a full meal before dying!"
Getting a nod from White River, the two found a seemingly clean hostel and entered the place after handing their horses off to a waiter.
The town wasn't very big by any means, but this hostel did fairly well when it came to boarding. Picking out a spot furthest inside with a window opening, Du Wei ordered a wide variety of dishes to cover the table. Seems this Shaman King's mood was quite good today too because he also drank a cup of wine with Du Wei, something out of his usual cold demeanor.
Taking advantage of the fact that the sun's about to set in the west, Du Wei took the opportunity to suggest that they lodge here for the day. Getting the agreement from White River easily, Du Wei was just about to call a waiter over to book their rooms when the sound of footsteps from outside the main hall caught their ears: "What, you still not giving up? We fought six times and you lost all six times. Even if we continue to fight there's no meaning to it."
The voice was calm and indifferent, but it was also vaguely familiar. A second later, Du Wei's eye brightened for he knew who it was!
Immediately, from the front door first came in a middle-aged man. The person was of thin build, wearing an ordinary martial robe that looked plain and simple with his hair randomly bundled up with a rope. The man didn't come armed with a weapon and his right hand was always hidden inside the sleeve. Nevertheless, the person had a handsome appearance that looked peaceful at first glance. But then, once you look up to those eyes, it was deep with meaning like he could take on the world.
This man was the one and only one-handed Saint Class Knight, Rodriguez!!
Back when Du Wei was heading for the capital, he had sent Old Smoke back to Loulan City to get help. Back and forth, the help didn't even arrive yet and Du Wei was already snatched away by White River.
But as fate would have it, the two parties wound up bumping into each other in this small little town.
Seeing Rodriguez, Du Wei's scheming characteristic instantly flared up. Looking through the entire world, the only possible candidates to rescue him from the grasp of this old monster would have to be a Saint Class warrior. Though barely, but Rodriguez should be passable for this task. He's not going to expect the knight to defeat this old monster, but saving him and making a run for it should be enough.
Upon entering the hostel, Rodriguez was followed up with several more people from the back.
The first one to follow would naturally be Du Wei's guard captain, Old Smoke. Then the second one to come inside was a lady with long silver hair and a tall stature. This girl had an extremely hot body with an enchanting face, but this was all marred by the fact that she carried a fierceness that would drive any man away. Aside from this, she didn't carry any weapons like Rodriguez, only a green flute tugged away on her waist.
Naturally, this person would be Green Hat's disciple, Joanna, or better known as JoJo to her closest kin!
Finding JoJo here also, Du Wei was a little surprised by this.
So what happened was that when Rodriguez received news to immediately head off to aid Du Wei in the capital, he coincidentally passed through the capital of the Nuling Province and met JoJo there. Finding out it was Du Wei giving Rodriguez the task, this violent sorceress took the opportunity to ditch the stuffy residence at Governor Bohan's place. It's not like Bohan didn't treat Joanna and the magic apprentices at his place well, in fact, he worshipped them like deities. Catering to their every need, gathering every material they asked for, nothing was impossible.
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But the problem was, after the peace talk with the prairie natives, the Northwest Army for some unknown reasons became honest again and didn't rouse up any trouble during this period. Without action or danger ahead, JoJo can only idly stand by doing nothing, leaving her extremely bored. Sure, she had the magic apprentices to torture, but even that form of amusement will wear off eventually. It must be mentioned, JoJo may be rough and violent at times, but she did have her own style when it came to training people. Through her careful and brutal tutelage, the overall strength of the magic apprentices that went with her to Bohan's place had soared like never before. Just as she was moping around after losing all interest in her surroundings, that's when she met Rodriguez. Guessing immediately at why Du Wei would summon a powerful knight like him to the capital, JoJo knew there's bound to be some amusing things happening at wherever they are going. As such, she ditched everything at Bohan's place and tagged along for the ride.
Rodriguez's personality was calm and kind to begin with, vastly different from the violent and ruthless Hussein. In the face of Joanna being so forceful of wanting to come along, he couldn't say no. Not to mention, who doesn't know in the Duke's residence that this Miss Joanna shared the same magic teacher as the Duke! Moreover, the future Duchess was this lady's younger sister. With that level of intimate relationship with the duke himself, how can Rodriguez refuse such a person?
It's definitely true that Du Wei wasn't expecting to find JoJo here today, but she's not the one that surprised him the most.
When Rodriguez first entered the hostel, the words he said weren't directed at JoJo, but someone else further behind!
After Rodriguez and his companions entered the hall, another stalwart looking young man also followed inside.
Wearing a standard warrior outfit with a cape fluttering in the back to match his long hair, this was the man that Rodriguez was talking to: “Mr. Rodriguez, it's not like we are not competing against each other. To lose to you six times only means that your Ice Dou Qi is far superior to my own! The reasoning for my travel is to improve myself. Although you and I don't agree on many things, but as a warrior yourself, you should understand my heart of wanting to pursue the martial path!"
Once this young man came inside, he followed up to Rodriguez and said: "To be able to meet a strong master like you is too rare of an opportunity to ignore. Unless you kill me, I won't go anywhere."
Just the demeanor and tone of this person was enough to startle Du Wei, but once he got a clearer picture of the man's face, he can only think of one word: absurd!
Wearing a metal mask that only showed his mouth, if this wasn't the young general of the Northwest Army, Cybuster, then who else can it be?!
Rodriguez only frowned at that reasoning, but he didn't get angry or impatient. Instead, he replied with a mild tone: "Young general, I would of course understand the heart of a warrior, but I'm on business here, hardly the time to be teaching. If you are interested, then wait until I'm finished with my task and I'll personally make a visit to the Watt fortress."
Cybuster still shook his head: "How can I just leave with such a good chance. I may have lost to you six times in a row, but I also gained more insight with every battle. I won't cause any delay for you, just pretend I'm a guest that's sending you guys off to the capital. Once we are there, I'll take my leave and stop entwining myself."
Rodriguez didn't even get a chance to speak when Joanna interjected due to impatience. Staring at the young general with a bit of gloom in her voice: "How can a person like you be so nagging! Seriously, I've never seen anyone that likes to get beat up so much! You say you won't delay us, but just the fact that you keep tangling with us have delayed us far longer than what we would like! If you continue to be so thick skinned and not leave, then don't blame me for not warning you. Mr. Rodriguez may be kind enough to not harm you, but I'm not him! If I don't like you then watch and see if I won't turn you into a popsicle. I don't care if you are a general or not, if I want to kill someone then they are dead meat, humph!!"
As she says this, JoJo was already folding up her sleeves with her chest puffed out: "Didn't you like to fight?! Come on then, let's get on with it. I'll send you flying with one finger. What Ice Dou Qi, I'd like to see it!" She shouts with clear disdain in her voice.
Seeing the tyrannical Joanna, Cybuster smiled and took several steps backward. Slightly making a bow in the knight's standard, he slowly spoke: "Dear lady, I am a knight, how can I possibly face a lady like yourself. Moreover, your strength may be respectable, but my goal this time isn't with you. I only want to raise the level of my Ice Dou Qi… If I were to practice magic in the future, I would most certainly seek your advice." At that, he stands there with his hands tucked to his sides, completely ignoring Joanna's challenge.
JoJo immediately became furious, her eyes turning cold: "Humph, you ungrateful deadbeat. What you escorting us to the capital, more like you are afraid of going into the city. Your Northwest Army is nothing but rebels. If you take one step inside the capital then you will definitely be arrested and hanged on the spot!"
As soon as her words came out, Rodriguez, Old Smoke, and Cybuster, all three of them looked somewhat unnatural at this point. Although its common knowledge now among the higher ups that the Northwest Army and court are on odd terms, but nominally they are still part of the imperial army. Everyone may be aware of this fact, but that paper between the window has never been pierced yet.
Hearing that accusation, Cybuster didn't dare delay and quickly rebuked this claim: "Dear sorceress, what you say there is not right now. My father is faithful to the empire, even the regent himself gave my father a commendation. What rebel, that's utter nonsense!"
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