73 Chapter 72: New assignmen (2/2)

It didn't take a genius to guess what Zi Xiao Ji was talking about. That sinking feeling I felt at the bottom of my gut only grew stronger.

”I didn't know you're from Blood Blades,” I mumbled. Zi Xiao Ji shook her head.

”No, I'm not from Blood Blades, but these two are!” she gestured to the slender girl and huge guy beside her. ”Let me introduce you to them! This is Zhao Shi, and Da Ge!”

The girl, Zhao Shi, nodded silently, her slightly pretty face creased into an expression of nonchalance. In contrast, the huge guy, Da Ge, grinned and waved in a friendly manner. I returned the greeting with a polite bow.

”I was also looking for an Ice Soul Python, so when Sister Tang said that she needed scales from it, I jumped at the chance to procure it!”

I knew it. I just knew that Zi Xiao Ji was tagging along for the monster hunting mission…

”Even so, as a Spirit Engraver, there isn't any real need for you to tag along, is there?” I asked, puzzled. Zi Xiao Ji raised a finger and shook her head.

”It's fine! I had nothing better to do anyway! And I wanted some combat experience! Mom is so great at martial arts…and I plan to live up to her reputation as her daughter one day!”

Right. Zi Xiao Ji was the daughter of Zi Da Ji, formerly Su Da Ji, the greatest martial artist in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and the leader of the Blood Blades.

”We'll make sure to protect Miss Zi,” Zhao Shi promised. Da Ge nodded in agreement, a confident grin spreading over his bear of a face.

”Of course!”

”…protect Miss Zi?” I frowned, wondering about their tone. There was something about their words that piqued my curiosity. Shouldn't the mission of hunting an Ice Soul Python be our priority, not protecting Zi Xiao Ji?

”Hey! I don't need protection!” Zi Xiao Ji protested hotly. Neither Zhao Shi nor Da Ge responded to her, which infuriated her even more. ”Stop ignoring me!”

”We apologize, we didn't intend to ignore you.”

That deferential tone that Zhao Shi took with Zi Xiao Ji further aroused more suspicions. Taking a deep breath, I swept my gaze across the three of them.

”You guys sound like you're Miss Zi's personal bodyguards or something.”

”We are.”

Say what?

”Speaking of which, thank you for protecting the Miss last week!” Da Ge inclined his head toward me.

”Yeah, it's our failure as her bodyguards to fail to guard her when she most needs it.” Zhao Shi shook her head, and then looked firmly at Zi Xiao Ji. ”We'll make sure not to let you out of our sight this time.”

”I want to have my own privacy, you know!” Zi Xiao Ji argued, annoyed. Zhao Shi merely shook her head and the two girls argued.

”Oh, and thanks for helping the Miss with her scrolls too.” Da Ge scratched his head sheepishly. ”Normally I should be the one helping her carry her stuff, but I had to buy replacement parts for our car. While I did so, the Miss went ahead and bought her scrolls and carried them before I could get back. Thanks!”

”Oh!” I suddenly remembered the car where Zi Xiao Ji brought me to, where I placed the scrolls in the boot. ”So you're the driver!”

”That's right!” he gestured toward the exact same car that I saw parked outside the scroll shop where I met Zi Xiao Ji a week ago. ”And we're taking that car to the Arctic Mountains!” he frowned after a second. ”Unfortunately, we'll have to park the car at the bottom of the mountain. We won't be able to drive up the treacherous terrain.”

”Huh? Why? The car hovers, right?”

”Too much qi interference, and the qi-producing engine isn't powerful enough to climb up the steep slope.”

I wasn't sure how that worked, but if they say so. Honestly, that felt more like a convenient plot device to put us in danger as we climbed the Arctic Mountain on foot, but given how normal people couldn't simply drive up a mountain in a car in my original world, I guess it wasn't without reason. Not to mention, we might scare off the Ice Soul Python and other magical beasts with the amount of noise the hovering car was making.

Or worse, draw their attention toward us. As advanced as the hover-car was, it was no tank, and wouldn't be able to withstand the elemental and physical attacks from monsters, magical beasts and demonic creatures.

”Let's go!” Zi Xiao Ji tugged on my hands happily. ”I'm so happy that we get to work with you again, Fei Wu!”

”Uh…right.” I wasn't sure how to feel about this, and resisted the urge to yank my hands out of her grip. ”I'll be in your care, Miss Zi.”

”Come on! You can call me Xiao Ji! We're friends, aren't we?”

”…”

Now I knew why Tang Qi Hong was in such a foul mood earlier that morning, when she called me. When she learned that Zi Xiao Ji and her personal bodyguards were the team who accepted her request, she must have flipped out. Zi Xiao Ji was getting overly friendly with me even though we had only met twice before.

Sensing a sharp stare, I raised my head and spotted Zhao Shi glaring daggers at me, suspicions clouding her eyes. I met her gaze coolly, refusing to back down.

Hey, don't give me that attitude, lady. I know nothing about this. I volunteered for this mission first, and you were the ones who decided to take it.

”Don't mind Zhao Shi,” Da Ge assured me with a grin. ”She's paranoid about everyone and everybody.”

”And you lack caution, Da Ge,” Zhao Shi replied frostily as she folded her arms. ”Leaving the Miss alone during last week's errand. You almost let her get hurt.”

”Huh? You were the one on guard duty during the cafeteria incident!” Da Ge retorted, momentarily losing his good humor. ”Nothing untoward happened when I drove the Miss out to the store! But what were you doing when the Miss interfered in the altercation between Junior Pang Feng and Junior Liang Shao Yang?”

”That's…” Zhao Shi's face flushed. ”I let my guard down back then. I'll make sure I won't do it again.”

”She was in the restroom when that happened,” Zi Xiao Ji informed Da Ge cheerfully. ”So please don't blame Zhao Shi for being absent then!”

Zhao Shi's face grew redder. ”There's no need to tell them that!”

Yeah, girl…that was too much info, and it was a delicate subject for ladies. Speaking of which, being a lady herself, Zi Xiao Ji didn't seem to realize that. Then again, she was still young and incredibly innocent.

”Ha ha ha ha ha!” Da Ge guffawed raucously, and then turned away. ”Well, it'll be a long drive, so let's not waste any time! Get ready, folks!”

I approached the car that I saw last week, feeling a little apprehensively. It wouldn't be the first time I had ridden a hover-car, having been a passenger in my dad's hover-car before, but still…it felt surreal. I spent most of my time on public transports, after all.

Before I could climb into the backseat, Zhao Shi stopped me and pointed toward the front passenger seat. Evidently she planned to sit in the back with Zi Xiao Ji, probably so that she could keep her eye on her.

”Please take the front,” she told me coolly.

”Right.” With no reason to complain, I obliged. Besides, Da Ge was clearly better company, so the more I thought about it, the more I would prefer to sit in the front with him. On the other hand, sitting in the back with Zi Xiao Ji would be awkward.

And I probably would not be able to withstand the hostility from Zhao Shi. Hmm, to be frank, it wasn't so much hostility as it was distrust and suspicion.

”Don't mind her,” Da Ge assured me when I buckled myself in the front seat. ”Zhao Shi is like that with everyone.”

”Except you?” I asked dryly. Da Ge chuckled at that.

”We had a long working relationship together. At first, she didn't trust me as well, but over the years we built up quite the solid rapport.”

”That's good.”

”By the way, what's the deal with you and Junior Tang Qi Hong?” As he started the engine and revved the car up, Da Ge abruptly threw a curveball at me. ”I heard all the rumors, but you clearly aren't the cunning, scheming bastard the gossipers make you out to be.”

What the fuck were people gossiping about me? Did they have nothing better to do with their time?

”We've been classmates in Wu Ling Academy for years,” I replied honestly. ”And friends, I guess. But Elder Zhao was the one who invited me to take the entrance exam, and…so here I am.”

Frankly, I had never expected to pass the exam. After unexpectedly being accepted into the outer sect, I had just gone with the flow, rolled with the punches, and did my best to learn forging stuff. It seemed pretty beneficial for me, after all.

Now that I think about it, I want to forge a proper Spirit Engraved armament for myself…one that I can use in the battlefield without always temporarily freezing water vapor into ice swords. I need something less fragile, something infinitely more durable…

Which was why I requested a couple of Ice Soul Python scales from Tang Qi Hong.

”Heh…that makes sense.” Da Ge nodded. ”The both of you seem pretty close.”

”I guess. We've known each other for years, after all.”

”How nice!” Zi Xiao Ji broke in from behind. ”Sister Tang rarely interacts with any of the guys in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect! How is she in Wu Ling Academy?”

”She's diligent, talented and intelligent,” I replied with a nod. ”She's one of the top students in the academy.”

”As expected of Sister Tang! How cool!”

”I heard she's not a match for Bai Ning Xue from the White Tiger Sect, though,” Zhao Shi said from the back.

”I don't think anyone's a match for her, to be honest.” Scratching my head, I sighed. ”Other than Zhu Jiao.”

Because he was the main character.

”Oh, wow! Bai Ning Xue! I also heard about her! She's really famous throughout the Great Zhou Empire! She has a lot of potential!”

Da Ge nodded.

”I also heard that she's quite the ice queen.” Zi Xiao Ji sounded thoughtful. ”Aloof and on a completely different level from everyone.”

Poor Zhu Jiao. He sure as hell had a tough road ahead of him. Speaking of which, so did we, so I focused my eyes on the road ahead and contemplated on how we were going to successfully hunt an Ice Soul Python.