“Long Chen, I know you probably come from somewhere extraordinary, but no matter what power you’re in, you will have to deal with endless bullying and crowding out. Do you really not want to think about joining us? If you’re willing to join, I am willing to give you the leader position. In fact, it wouldn’t even be a problem to change the unit’s name to yours.”
Within the darkness of night, Mu Xue and Long Chen had arrived atop a cliffside. Mu Xue quietly spoke to him.
Long Chen looked at the tents set up at the bottom of the cliff and sighed, “First, I have to thank you for your care. But I really cannot join the Muxue Mercenary Unit.”
“Why not? You’re unwilling to abandon your status?” asked Mu Xue.
“I think you might have misunderstood. I am not some disciple from some powerful family. I’m just a regular country bumpkin. I have no status to lose.
“The reason I choose not to join you isn’t because I look down on you. In fact, I enjoy the atmosphere of your mercenary unit. You’re all bound by deep feelings for each other, and it’s just like family.
“It’s precisely because I like you all that I cannot join you. I’m an unlucky star, and I’ll implicate you all.” Long Chen looked up at the crescent moon, shaking his head.
“You should know there’s no coward in our unit,” said Mu Xue.
“You can think of me as a selfish person. You guys might not be afraid of death, but I am. I can’t bear that pain.
“If I join you, it probably won’t be long before the entire unit is destroyed because of me.
“You’ll all die, while I’ll have to bear the pain of being alone. Being emotionless is less painful than having emotions. Just let me be an emotionless person.” A touch of sorrow appeared in Long Chen’s eyes.
He was someone who had set himself against the entire Heavenly Daos. If someone wanted to fight with him, they needed to be strong enough first. If their lives weren’t hardy enough, they would all fall.
Back in the Righteous and Corrupt battle, there had been many high-spirited core disciples who had fought shoulder to shoulder with him.
But after the Jiuli secret realm, the only ones remaining had been Gu Yang and the others. The others had all died.
Although the path cultivators walked on was one filled with struggle, where life and death were up to the mandates of heaven, Long Chen didn’t know just how many of those dead companions had died because of Yin Wushuang’s sinister schemes. That made him feel extremely bad.
So Long Chen was being more and more stingy with his own emotions. His actions were very likely to cause other people to lose their lives.
That was also the reason he maintained a certain distance from them, especially Mu Xue and the other two women.
Although the Muxue Mercenary Unit was filled with elites who worked hard and would become very powerful, Long Chen was sincerely fond of them and didn’t want them drawn into his own maelstrom. It had been hard enough for them to find their own lifestyles, finding their own goals for their lives. It was best for them not to be caught up in his troubles.
“Long Chen, do you have an interesting story?” Seeing that sorrow in his eyes, Mu Xue’s heart shook.
“My story’s too long. It’s too long to even finish telling.” Long Chen bitterly smiled.
“Then… do you want to try telling it to me,” said Mu Xue.
Long Chen looked at Mu Xue. “Thank you for your care. I will never forget the Muxue Mercenary Unit. I won’t forget these brothers, and I also won’t forget you.
“Aiya, it seems I forgot to feed the Cold Water Bright Crow its medicine. I’ll have to leave first, leader.”
Long Chen patted his head vexedly, saying goodbye to Mu Xue.
Looking at Long Chen’s back as he left, Mu Xue was slightly disappointed. During these years, she was the only one supporting the entire unit. She was tired, very, very tired…
...
The next day, the Cold Water Bright Crow had recovered quite a bit. Seeing Long Chen come, it slowly knelt down.
“Are you sure this will be alright, Long Chen? If it throws us off halfway, we’ll all be turned into pancakes,” said Zhang Wu worriedly.
“Don’t worry. Even if we’re turned into pancakes, you’ll definitely be the biggest one.” Long Chen looked at Zhang Wu’s bulky build.
The two women laughed in secret, but Mu Xue didn’t seem to be in the mood. She had yet to say a single word today.
“Let’s go.”
When everyone climbed onto the Cold Water Bright Crow, Long Chen gave it an order, and its two wings shook as it brought them all into the sky.
They practically soared into the clouds instantly, causing quite a few of them to turn green. At this height, there was no question they would die if they fell.
“Long Chen, can you make it fly lower?” asked one of the women, wrapping her arm around him.
“We can’t. If we fly any lower, we’ll end up attacked by other Magical Beasts. We might not be afraid of those attacks, but the Cold Water Bright Crow has only recovered slightly. If it’s attacked, that’ll be a fatal danger.
“You don’t need to be afraid. Once we fly another mile higher, you won’t be scared of this height anymore,” said Long Chen.
As he said that, they rose in the air. They really were less afraid now because the clouds below them were blocking their sight.
“The more brazen ones can enjoy the scenery; the scared ones can close their eyes and take a nap. The Cold Water Bright Crow will fly very steadily,” said Long Chen.
As soon as he said this, he saw all those previously frightened fellows going to the edges to look into the distance. That was to prove that they weren’t scared. Long Chen laughed inside.
“How fast! If we continue like this, it’ll just take us a single day to reach Qingzhou City.” Mu Xue finally spoke, shocked at this speed.
“We probably can’t. The Cold Water Bright Crow’s injuries have only slightly recovered. It’ll only be able to fly a while before needing to rest for a night again.
“However, it’ll still be much faster than if we traveled on our own. It’ll probably take around three days,” said Long Chen.
Mu Xue nodded and didn’t say anymore. When it was close to noon, Long Chen had the Cold Water Bright Crow descend down to a spacious lake.
He once more fed it healing pills. Its body was just too huge, and it required a vast amount of energy.
After resting a night by the lakeside, they once more continued on their way. They had to rest again after flying for half a day, but on the third day, they finally flew out of the continuous mountains.
From there, it was only ten thousand miles to Qingzhou City. But Long Chen had the Cold Water Bright Crow stop here.
Everyone jumped off from its back, and Long Chen took out a large number of medicinal pills for it.
“Alright, our agreement ends here. This last batch of medicinal pills is enough to make you recover fully. You can return home now,” he said.
The reason why Long Chen released it this early was because he was afraid if they got closer to the city, experts would notice and attack it.
The Cold Water Bright Crow suddenly let out a low cry, and it placed its head against Long Chen, intimately rubbing it back and forth. It was actually moved by Long Chen’s kindness and unwilling to leave.
That made all of them feel emotional. Who was it that said Magical Beasts were all violent in nature? Sometimes they were more emotional than humans.
“The only thing between us was this agreement. I help you heal, and you help bring us here. Now the debt between us is settled, and our destiny together is at an end; it’s time to part.” Long Chen gently patted the Cold Water Bright Crow’s head.
Only then did it unwillingly spread its wings and fly into the air. But then up in the sky, it circled around, still not wanting to leave.
“Go,” sighed Long Chen.
Only then did it let out a bright bird cry and disappear into the clouds.
Seeing this, Long Chen couldn’t help feeling emotional inside. Even Magical Beasts knew how to repay kindness. But why was it that humans always liked to repay kindness with enmity?
This had just been a small kindness, as well as a transaction. However, the Magical Beast still knew how to be grateful. But a human?
The Muxue Mercenary Unit was also moved. But Long Chen’s words rang out within Mu Xue’s mind: our destiny together is at an end; it’s time to part.
Was the Cold Water Bright Crow’s situation a portrayal of their relationship with Long Chen? Her gaze was complicated as she looked at Long Chen’s back.
“There’s still half a day’s travel left. Let’s go.” Mu Xue suppressed her thoughts.
They nodded. It was already close to noon, so they quickened their footsteps. They should be able to arrive before night arrived.
“Hehe, Long Chen, once we arrive, I’ll treat you to a meal!” said Zhang wu excitedly.
“Don’t bring Long Chen anywhere shady,” warned one woman.
Zhang Wu blushed, hastily waving his hand. “Of course not, of course not! Am I, Zhang Wu, such a person?”
Long Chen was speechless. If you weren’t such a person, what were you blushing for? Don’t you know that lying only makes it worse?
“Cough, I’m doing this in consideration of everyone! Brother Long doesn’t want to join our unit, so since we’re about to part, I’m thinking of bringing him to have some fun at the Immortal Intoxication Building. You all know, the ladies from the Immortal Intoxication Building all sell their bodies, not their skills… No, wait, I meant they sell their skills, not their bodies!” Zhang Wu hastily corrected himself.
Long Chen looked at him with disdain. His goal clearly wasn’t to treat him to a meal. It would be better for him to just say it directly rather than keep trying to cover up his desires.
“This is a good idea.” No one expected Mu Xue to now nod in approval.
“Leader?” Everyone let out a startled cry.
“You’re overthinking it. That Immortal Intoxication Building is Qing Prefecture’s most beautiful place. I’ve long since heard of it. I want to go and experience it,” said Mu Xue.
“Leader, this isn’t that appropriate…” said Zhang Wu.
“Long Chen’s helped us a great deal this time. Of course, we have to bring him somewhere nice. Furthermore, I want to go to the top floor of the Immortal Intoxication Building: the Immortal Intoxication Pavilion. Don’t get any weird ideas.” Mu Xue laughed.
“The Immortal Intoxication Pavilion? That costs…!”
“No matter how much it costs, can it compare to the treasures we obtained? Then it’s set. First, we’ll go complete our mission, and then the Muxue Mercenary Unit will take a trip to the Immortal Intoxication Pavilion.
“One reason is to send Long Chen off, while the other reason is to declare to the entire mercenary world that our Muxue Mercenary Unit is on the rise!” said Mu Xue.
“Excellent! I finally have a chance to go experience the Immortal Intoxication Building’s peak ladies…” Zhang Wu almost began to dance in excitement.
“You want to go see the Immortal Intoxication Building’s ladies? Try again in your next life.”
Suddenly, an icy voice rang out, and a group of people rushed over from the distance, surrounding them.