11 JUST LEAVE IT TO ME, BOSS! (1/2)
”To live... Together with me?” Cheng Hao inquired: did he perhaps misinterpret what he had just heard? Was this body he had taken over mentally impaired by any chance?
”Yes! Sorry if the sudden news startled you, it was decided on the spot by Senior Lao and this Disciple went along with it!” Xiao Li giggled.
Startled? Cheng Hao had indeed been startled! But it was the kind of being startled that made people want to choke certain old men on the spot…
What was that old fart thinking? Is he actually a shotacon planning to build an harem of unsuspecting eight-year olds?
Sigh... seriously, what the hell is going on in this world? Why would a declining Clan still recovering from almost three centuries of war send one of its precious Young Masters six months' worth of travelling away?
The golden-eyed youth scratched his head. A thought, or more accurately, a memory from his life as Xu Ling, had suddenly surfaced in his mind...
Back then, the him from his past life had been just a little older than forty. Although he was clearly much older than what he looked like, breaking through to the Ageless Realm would bring a stop to the body's aging process… at least on the outside.
He had stopped aging after he had broken through the Ageless Realm at the staggering age of twenty-four. As such, his appearance had staled at that of a handsome young man, with long, flowing black hair and his signature; the breathtaking blue eyes.
At that time, he had just assassinated a Patriarch from a certain Family. The assassination attempt had been akin to a suicide mission so, as per usual, he had chosen to undertake the ordeal himself and had infiltrated the mansion before his comrades could stop him. After all, it's not like he could be killed anyways… Sure enough, the Patriarch was assassinated. However, the blue-eyed youth was being trailed and couldn't directly retreat to headquarters without revealing its position. To avoid his pursuers, he had even gone as far as running away to another plane of existence, but was followed and was ultimately cornered after more than a week of playing hide and seek. Although his opponents were many times weaker than his usual self, at the time his wounds had prevented him from using the full extent of his power. Furthermore, having to run away he could spare no energy to heal himself, so when he finally came face to face with his also tired but mostly fuming chasers, he barely had any strength left to stand. Just as he was about to be caught and brutally tortured, the figure of a purple-haired youth with emerald eyes had suddenly appeared!
When this person had first jumped out, the wounded blue-eyed man had momentarily failed to recognize this youth. It was only later that it would dawn to him: this child, still in his late teens, was none other than the youngest, weakest member of Cheng Hao's band of ragtag rebels. Being still in his late teens and still not in the Ageless Realm, what could that youth possibly do to stand in the way of several powerful Ageless Realm cultivators?
And yet…
For two days and three nights, this 'weakling' had actually stood his ground! Against dozens, hundreds of enemies many times stronger than himself, he had somehow managed to last long enough for the blue-eyed youth to recover and slaughter the remaining enemies himself!
”How… How did you find me?” the, blue-eyed youth had asked in astonishment, as he held in his hands an injured, purple-haired, green-eyed youth. ”And just why… Why would you go so far for me?”
”What do you mean 'how' and 'why', boss?” had replied the wounded man while smiling blissfully. ”I'm your number one stalker and self-proclaimed number one fan, boss! I have your presence memorized by every single cell in my body! Of course I'd know where you'd be! I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking gorge, in this strange-looking mountain range! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to catch up to you, you run really fast! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss!””
At the time, after pondering for a long time over the meaning behind the words of this child that had called him boss so enthusiastically, the blue-eyed man had ultimately chosen to disregard the statement from the wounded youth and concluded that him being found had been a fruit of luck… and nothing more.
Years later, the now forty-five-something-years-old blue-eyed cultivator had fallen to a scheme of some shrewd cultivators, had his strength sealed, and was thus caught and soon to be executed. Just as he was about to be killed, the purple-haired youth, without any regards for the countless injuries he received, had charged amongst countless enemy cultivators! After bathing the floor with blood, the young man somehow managed to freed the trapped, blue-eyed man at the very last moment before falling unconscious from the pain.
Having had his shackles removed and seeing the wounded figure of the purple-haired youth laying on the ground, the blue-eyed youth had slaughtered everybody present in a fit of rage.
The emerald-eyed youth: ”See boss? I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking hall, in this strange-looking castle! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to get past the guards outside! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss!”
But... Hadn't the location for his execution decided on the spot? Barely half an hour had passed since the time he was caught until the executioner was ready to go! And yet, this brat found him?
Could it be...
No!
Once again, he had been 'lucky'! Next time, he might not have such luck and although he might not truly die, he might drag others down in his place! He would have to be more careful in the future...
Again! He had let down his guard… Again!
He had been exploring an underwater ruin full of defensive measures, when he had carelessly fallen into a sealing formation.
Alone, no guide… EH! Honesty, what exactly was I expecting?
And now, trapped into a neigh-Indestructible Seal that could neither be seen nor sensed, and all that while in an ancient Tomb at the depths of an ocean, the blue-eyed man in his fifties could only sigh as he began to ration his food: he could only hope for a miracle now.
Suddenly, mere hours after the activation of the death trap, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed throughout the darkness of the Tomb as a familiar cascade of purple strands hastily entered the blue-eyed youth's field of vision...
The blue-eyed man had been shocked, but would not lose his calm just like that. First things first, he checked whether he could somehow grab the attention of the green-eyed youth... Nope, nothing worked. The seal blocked light, sound and even smell from passing through to the outside.
Sigh, in the end, that boy would probably leave, wouldn't he? After all, why would he even stick around? He was not even aware of the existence of this formation; it was just by chance that he had entered this room first…
Yes, that has to be it!
Reality, however, would prove the blue-eyed man's thoughts to be wrong: even after six days had passed, the purple-haired youth still had yet to leave! Instead, he had spent all that time scouring every inch of the room like a madman! Looking at this unbelievable scene from behind the walls of the invisible formation, a pair of blue eyes followed the young man's movements. Finally, on the dawn of the seventh day, the youth with purple hair had found the switch to deactivate the formation!
No food, no water, not blinking, not resting for seven days straight: the green-eyed young man immediately collapsed on the ground.
”Just...” The blue-eyed man had muttered as he held the exhausted youth in his arms, ”How?”
You are so much younger. You are so much weaker. And yet, you are always there when I need you the most...
”See boss?” A weakened voice rang out. ”I knew you'd be here, in this strange-looking room, in these strange-looking ruins! Sorry if I was late, it took me a while to find the switch! I will always find you and save you, wherever you might be, boss! Just leave it to me, boss!”
The blue-eyed man fell silent and used a special method to allow the other to rest peacefully. Then, he allowed himself to shed a tear.
Luck? How could he possibly think of this as being 'Luck'?
How could he discard this child's efforts as them simply being fruit of something as feeble as 'Luck'??? He would not insult him like this, after all that he had done and sacrificed for him!!!
”Leave it to you?” He chuckled bitterly and then nodded, caressing the sleeping youth. ”Fine. I'm counting on you… Xiao Lan.”