by Tinalynge
Cou Ling held her hand on her chest and held her breath as she watched Hui Yue fight. The tentative look in her eyes and the doubt she had felt towards Hui Yue had been completely replaced by astonishment. Seeing the young man battle so fiercely, she was incapable of doing anything but admire him greatly.
Chapter 330 - Compensation
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Chapter 330: Compensation
While Cou Ling was mesmerized by the ability which Hui Yue showed, the other four experts were anything but thrilled. Two of them were entangled by the mist wolves, and although they had found a way to get rid of the wolves, it was a somewhat hard way which required for the experts to insert Wu Wei into the wolves and manually use it to explode them from within. Although the mist energy was capable of regenerating from a fist or a kick, it was incapable of returning to its shape if it had been completely shattered.
Glancing towards the two experts who had found a way to destroy the mist wolves, an icecold gleam appeared in Hui Yue’s eyes and with Spiritual Energy flowing into the sword, ice shards appeared once more, only to be tossed at the two experts he was currently fighting.
Neither of the experts dared looking down on the shards shot out from the sword, and while taking advantage of their retreat, Hui Yue activated Velocity Flow to the limits and he travelled through the battleground as though he had been teleporting. Only a shadow remained from his speed.
As the expeert in front of him was protecting himself with the a Wu Wei cloak around his body, Hui Yue smiled a sinister smile and with all his force did he use both hands to stab the sword into the throat of the expert.
Although the expert had sensed someone behind him, he was currently withdrawing from the ice shards and it was simply impossible for him to do anything to avoid the stab. Moments later blood gushed out of the wound as the sword was withdrawn and yet another King ranked expert collapsed on the ground, his eyes devoid of any life, his limbs never to move again.
Seeing that not only did the Duke ranked experts die at the hand of Hui Yue, even a King ranked expert easily died, the eyes of the three remaining experts all turned increasingly alert and although there was rage hidden deep within a fear had also emerged.
The three remaining experts all retreated together and made a triangle around their young master, all of them were feeling dread deep within.
“We apologize for having insulted you, I hope we can end the battle here,” one of the King ranked experts said as he looked at Hui Yue, his entire body taut as a bowstring, ready to defend his master should Hui Yue attack.
“We will overlook the amount of guards you have slain as long as you agree to end it here,” another King ranked expert said, he was as careful as the first, but just as his words had been said, a sour expression appeared on the young master’s face.
“I told you all to kill him! Kill him this very instant! You have the benefit of numbers, he needs to be killed for all the deaths he has caused!” the young man yelled out and complicated feelings were seen in the eyes of the experts.
“Please excuse our young master,” the third and final King said with a slight bow to Hui Yue. “We did not expect to meet such a strong person at the stone altar, but our goal is not to fight you, our goal is to try and forge a weapon. Please excuse our lord.”
“Haha,” Hui Yue could not help but laugh as he heard the experts in front of him, “You are all believing that just because you say sorry I will be fine? This battle was started by you, if you wish to end it and keep your life, you better pay up a hefty sum of money or valuables. I’m not in the mood to be played a fool by someone. Not even a young master from the Yueliang Province.”
Hearing the words the faces of the three kings turned increasingly sour but at the same time they knew that they had started the battle. It was only natural for them to have to compensate him somehow.
Looking at one another for some time, one of the Kings picked up a golden memory stone and tossed it to Hui Yue who caught it in his red wolf paw. Inserting a bit of his conscious into the stone he noticed that it contained twenty four spirit coins and a smile appeeared on his face. Cupping his hands to the three experts and the young master he turned around and got ready to leave.
Although he had turned his back at the experts he still kept Velocity Flow activated so that if he should have any problems then he’d be capable of avoiding an attack instantly, yet nothing happened, the three Kings did nothing to attack him and although their young master was yelling and screaming for them to kill Hui Yue none of them moved an inch.
Moving to the stone behind which Cou Ling and Fang Wei were waiting, Hui Yue stayed in hs beast shape as he gently helped both of them to stand and with a long furry arm made both of them walk in front of him so that if the group behind were to attack, then he would be there to look after them.
The three had a tensed atmosphere around them as all of them were expecting a sneak attack but as they had left the group of experts behind and nothing had happened, Hui Yue finally relaxed a little, however he did not change his appearance before they had left the desolate landscape behind.
As they reached a beautiful forest with a stream, Hui Yue went to the stream to wash, the water which went through his red fur dyed the water red, coagulated blood slowly vanished from the wolf-man.
Finally he finished washing himself and with no extra thoughts did he transform back to his human shape before he roamed through his storage stone to find a set of new clothes. The old had been completely destroyed as he had transformed.
As Hui Yue had bathed Cou Ling had watched him curiously as she did not understand whether this young man was human or beast, but her cheeks flushed red the moment she saw that Hui Yue transformed back to his normal shape without clothes on his body.
Cou Ling was around ten years older than Hui Yue but her appearance did not seem much older than Hui Yue, looking at her, one woud guess that she was around twenty five years of age, but this was due to the age she had when she reached the Master rank. Scolding herself, Cou Ling could not understand how she, a woman who had lived far longer than this young man, could be so embarrassed from looking at his nude body. It was after all not the first time she saw a man naked.
Hui Yue was too busy getting the robe on his body to look at the spiritual blacksmith and see which reaction his brazen actions had caused, but he felt much more clean now as he stretched his body. Seeing the laziness in Hui Yue’s body, Cou Ling decided that the tree of them should stop for the day and return to the city the following day. Although Hui Yue had not used all his strength to defeat the experts he had used quite a bit and due to this he did nothing to disagree with the woman.
Instead he sat down, closed his eyes and crossed his legs as he slowly went to training state and started cultivating, restoring all the energy within his body. While he was solely focused on training Cou Ling sent a long glance his way before she ordered Fang Wei to watch over him. Relying on her own strength Cou Ling was more than capable of catching some low ranked magical beasts that could serve as their dinner for the night.
“I wonder if he can eat magical beasts,” she mumbled to herself as she made her way through the forest, “I mean he is clearly some kind of a magical beast. Eating another one would be considered cannibalism i guess?” Her thoughts were confused but Hui Yue had eaten magical beasts before. “Perhaps I should just avoid wolf meat,” she continued her mumbling. After a brief silence she nodded her head, “yes, definitely no wolf meat.”
While Cou Ling was busy looking for meet, Fang Wei was observing Hui Yue. He was a seventeen year old young man, and looking at Hui Yue he understood that this young man was not much older than him, yet his maturity was on a completely different level, his cultivation was completely different. The young man was completely astonished by Hui Yue and he could not get his eyes away from the outstanding young man.
“Our worlds are different,” he mumbled to himself as he stood up. Deep within he wished that he too one day would be as stron
g as Hui Yue, be a hero who could defeat twenty Dukes and six Kings all by himself. That he would become a strong man. Thinking like this a chuckle escaped his lips as he stood up and started collecting small branches to build a fire. “What am i thinking about,” he grinned to himself, “although I am around his age, my life is different. I am fated to become a spiritual blacksmith and although I might not be able to become a hero, I will do fine in my life.” he said with a nod. Instead of feeling jealous that Hui Yue had such strength, instead he feel gifted that he was allowed to be close to one of the experts who would one day shake the world and gain a reputation that could rival the Frozen General. Fang Wei had no doubt that Hui Yue would become that strong.
The afternoon went by swiftly and after approximately an hour, Cou Ling returned with a Dragon-Scaled Deer. This was fortunately enough the first beast she had encountered and although the battle had dragged out a little she had been stubborn and finally managed to smash it’s head with her Nine Heaven’s Devouring Blood Metal Hammer. Although the Dragon-Scaled Deer had a formidable defence it had no way of standing against her hammer.
Returning to camp she saw that Hui Yue was still focused on training but Fang Wei had started a small campfire and with an approving nod did Cou Ling start cleaning the deer before she placed it on top of the fire and started spit roasting it. The meat would need at least a couple of hours before it was finished and Cou Ling assumed that this time frame would suit Hui Yue as well. Although he still had energy left, he had used up quite a bit of his energy to battle that many experts. It only made sense that his body needed time to restore.
It took another hour before the eyes of Hui Yue slowly opened and looked at the delicious looking meat that was being spit roasted in front of him. “Oh my, to think that you have cooked food for us. I feel like you are spoiling me, especially since I hired you as a blacksmith, not a guide.”
Hearing the words a red hue spread on Cou Ling’s face but she quickly turned away and looked at the deer instead, pretending that she had not heard what he said. Hui Yue was a King ranked expert and his senses were keen. It was simple for him to notice the red hue on Cou Ling’s face and a wry smile appeared on his lips. He would gladly become friends with this spiritual blacksmith, but more than that was something he could not give her. “I better tell her that i already have a woman,” he mumbled to himself, yet he said nothing out loud. He needed the right moment.
After a short while did he accept the meat which had been made by Cou Ling and with a comfortable silence did the three experts eat the food that had been prepared as they slowly conversed about what they had experienced these few days they had been together.
Chapter 331 - Support
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Chapter 331: Support
The return to Muchuan City was smooth, and no problems occurred. The three experts traveled together at a steady pace, neither rushed nor took their time on the return trip. During their trip Cou Ling and Fang Wei both asked Hui Yue countless questions about what it was like to be a high ranked expert at such a young age, and although the majority of the questions caused Hui Yue to laugh, he still answered them to the best of his ability.
Reaching Cou Ling’s smithy, Hui Yue waved his hand and was about to leave when Cou Ling suddenly spoke, “Wait for a second,” She said as she looked down, her fingers fidgeting with a memory stone. “I heard that you are currently looking for people to support you within this city of ours…” She continued hesitantly as her eyes raised from the ground to look at Hui Yue questioningly.
Hui Yue was taken aback, but he showed none of his feelings on the surface as he nodded his head quizzically at the woman. “I do indeed need friends here in town. I currently have a few, but I need more to improve my strength and help my word carry more power.”
Deep inside, Hui Yue’s heart started beating rapidly as he hoped that Cou Ling was bringing up the subject for the sake of helping him in the future. Having the best spiritual blacksmith in Muchuan City supporting him would definitely help his words carry far more authority.
“Why did you make a faction of your own?” Cou Ling asked curiously as she timidly looked at Hui Yue, uncertain whether or not the young man in front of her would answer her question. Even though she wanted to know, she was not surprised when she saw the young man shake his head apologetically. “I have some things I need to deal with in the capital, and I can only do so if my word carries enough strength.” He said apologetically, and Cou Ling nodded her head absentmindedly.
A tranquil atmosphere developed between the three acquaintances, and it was a comfortable silence that none of them felt like breaking, but after some time, Hui Yue decided that it was time to leave. Nodding to Cou Ling, he felt slightly disappointed that she had not decided to assist him, but he had been gone for some time and needed to return to the mansion to hear what had happened while he had been away.
“If possible, I would like to support you in the future if you wouldn’t mind.” She said with a quiet voice as she looked at him. Her entire being was hesitant but when hearing the words a great smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face.
“I’ve already told you that I cannot go into detail about the goals of our group. Are you sure that staying by my side is what you want to do?” He asked gently as he turned back and looked at the spiritual blacksmith behind him. A gentle smile was present on his lips; a smile which caused Cou Ling’s legs to almost melt. A red hue appeared on her face, and even her ears burned as she mumbled with a low voice, “Seeing you fight and your strength, I am sure that following you will be a good decision. Even if I don’t know what you seek to accomplish, it does not matter much. Zhan Weisheng’s aim is to improve the conditions we work under. Although that is great, it has been years since anything has changed and I feel like by following you there might be mutual benefits.” She continued. The red hue had subsided, and her eyes were clear and direct as she looked at Hui Yue. She made her decision, and she was not going to change it.
A gentle smile slowly spread on Hui Yue’s lips, and he nodded his head. “I would be more than honored to have the assistance of the most skilled spiritual blacksmith in town.” He said, and deep inside he was cheering loudly; he needed someone as skilled as this woman to support him. Up till now everyone who supported him were just his friends, yet this woman was someone whom he had no former relationship with and after only a few days, she was already willing to support him. This was something which greatly satisfied Hui Yue.
“I need to return now and see if anything happened while I was out,” Hui Yue said enthusiastically to the young woman. “I will come back soon to talk about what your support means to me. I do not expect your support me without giving you anything in return, but I need to speak with the Ma family first.”
Hearing this Cou Ling nodded her head, and without saying anything more, she looked at the young man who turned his back before he slowly left the smithy, not looking back even once.
Seeing the back of the young man disappear, the woman heaved a heavy sigh as she had mixed emotions stirring within. On one hand, she was happy that the young man had left because her feelings were impossible to control when he was around, but although she was happy he had left, she had also felt pain in her chest as she watched him leave her with no words whatsoever.
Fang Wei, who noticed the complex emotions on Cou Ling’s face, said nothing but a grin appeared on his lips as he silently left the from of the shop and rushed into the smithy. He brought the fire to life which was a process that took quite some time. He knew that now when Cou Ling was distracted by her thoughts and emotions the way for her to avoid her feelings was to focus her full attention on forging.
While Cou Ling and Fang Wei focused solely on their job, Hui Yue was happily returning to his mansion to hear if he had missed out on anything in the days he had been gone.
He felt that the last few days had been incredibly beneficial to him. He had managed to get his sword restored to even better than original condition.
He had managed to practice fighting with his sword against the arrogant young master Jing and his men, and not only this, he had managed to get the best spiritual blacksmith in town on his side. No one would be able to say that this was not a couple of usefully spent days.
The guards were polite and bowed deeply the moment their employer appeared, none of them saying anything. Moving slowly he entered the house only to see that it was completely empty. The only living thing within sight was a maid who came walking down the stairs with her arms full of laundry.
Sighing, Hui Yue wondered where everyone was, but he came to the conclusion that they most likely were in their rooms cultivating, out dealing with their own issues, or simply was busy elsewhere.
The first thing Hui Yue did was to rush towards Cai Jie’s room. Although he did not assume that the young man was home, he still wanted to find out. As he arrived at the room, his suspicions were confirmed.
Seeing this all Hui Yue did was shrugging his shoulders before he rushed to Xu Piao’s room and saw that the older man was inside. The moment he saw Hui Yue a smile formed on his lips, and he instantly stopped cultivating. Xu Piao was incredibly grateful towards Hui Yue for giving meaning to his life once more, giving him a goal in life to once more be together with his beloved. Because of this, he had sworn to help Hui Yue with anything he might need help with in the future.
