While everyone else was panting heavily, Yi Tianyun was completely at ease. The fight hadn’t been difficult for him in the slightest, and being out of breath was out of the question.
"You’ve all worked hard. Here are so Recovery Elixirs. Take them and get your strength back."
Yan Lingxue took out a bottle of Elixir Pills and distributed them to the guards. Finally, she walked over to Yi Tianyun, offered him one, and said, "Sir, this is a Recovery Elixir for you. Thank you so much for Lending a Helping Hand."
’Lending a Helping Hand?’
The guards glanced over, their expressions filled with disdain. ’More like "lending a fist." What’s so great about sending a bear flying? For all we know, the other giant bears only charged because he failed to kill the first one.’
However, none of them spoke up. He would be leaving soon anyway; there was no point in saying more.
Yi Tianyun accepted the elixir. ’It’s free, after all. Might as well take it.’
"Thank you,"
Yi Tianyun said. He had already achieved his goal, so it didn’t matter what anyone else thought of him.
"Think nothing of it. My na is Yan Lingxue. May I have the honor of knowing your na, sir?"
Yan Lingxue gave a faint smile. Her delicate face was like a white lotus; though not stunningly beautiful, she had a pure look that easily inspired goodwill in others.
’A Favorability of 100 is enough to make her see as a friend, so it’s not surprising she’s being so warm.’
"My na is Yi Yuntian."
He had simply reversed his own na. He had already put on the Hundred-Change Mask, which altered his features, though his apparent age remained roughly the sa.
The Hundred-Change Mask could alter his appearance to that of a man of any age, but it couldn’t transform him into a woman.
He didn’t know if the Divine Forging Sect had issued a warrant for his arrest, but to be on the safe side, he chose to use an alias and change his appearance. It was undoubtedly much safer this way. When you’re out in the world, one mont of carelessness can be your last.
"So it’s Young Master Yi," Yan Lingxue said, striking up a conversation. "Are you here for training? May I ask which family you hail from?"
"I co from a minor, declining family," Yi Tianyun said with a smile, not revealing the truth. "I was just wandering around, hoping to get so experience in the area, when I happened upon your group. And, well, here we are."
’In any case, this was just a chance encounter. Once the quest is complete, I’ll be on my way.’ But her next words stunned not only him but everyone else as well.
"Well then, Young Master Yi," Yan Lingxue inquired, "since you’re out here for training, I would like to invite you to join us as a guard and help escort to gather a certain Spirit dicine. I will compensate you, of course. This way, you can continue your training while also earning a reward. Would you be willing to accept this position?"
"Ding! Would you like to accept the quest ’Escort Yan Lingxue to Gather Spirit dicine’? Completion Reward: 10,000 Experience, 20 Favorability with Yan Lingxue, and 15 Character Value."
A quest notification popped up in his mind. It was an instant quest, issued to him by Yan Lingxue; all he had to do was decide whether to accept. ’The Character Value reward is good, but the Favorability increase is smaller this ti.’
He could understand why the increase was so small. ’One hundred points is the threshold for being "good friends." Pushing it higher would change the nature of our relationship. I’ll have to keep completing quests if I want to truly change her feelings toward .’
’Accept!’
Yi Tianyun didn’t overthink it. Since their paths aligned, he might as well take the job. All they had to do was find the Spirit dicine, and he refused to believe they couldn’t find what Yan Lingxue was looking for here.
Just as he accepted the quest, however, a discordant voice cut in from the side.
"Miss Yan, are you sure you want to take in this kid with a questionable background?"
Tan Yongsheng walked over, eyeing Yi Tianyun with clear displeasure. When his gaze fell upon Yan Lingxue, however, it softened, revealing a hint of adoration.
"Tan," she began, "the Illusion Beast Mountain Range is fraught with danger, so I want to find another helping hand. Young Master Yi is skilled and incredibly strong. He was a great help in the fight just now."
Yan Lingxue said with a smile, "We were in too much of a hurry before and didn’t recruit enough people. It’s clear now that we really do need more guards."
The old man accompanying them remained silent, clearly deferring to Yan Lingxue’s judgnt.
"Rely on a kid who only knows brute force?" Tan Yongsheng frowned, clearly unwilling to accept Yi Tianyun. "He couldn’t even kill one of those giant bears with a single punch! All he did was enrage them. Soone so sloppy will only cause more trouble!"
"I believe things would be different if we simply gave Young Master Yi a weapon."
’Apparently, Yan Lingxue thinks I’m so pauper without even a decent weapon to my na, forced to fight with my bare fists.’
Her words, however, only made Tan Yongsheng look down on him even more. ’He doesn’t even have a weapon? How is he supposed to fight?’
"Miss Yan, that’s not necessary. The few of us are more than strong enough to protect you. We don’t need to hire anyone else."
Tan Yongsheng said gravely, "Inviting certain people might just make them a burden!"
Though he didn’t na nas, his words were clearly aid at Yi Tianyun.
Yi Tianyun frowned. ’Doesn’t this Tan Yongsheng stick his nose in too many things?’
Yan Lingxue also frowned, feeling Tan Yongsheng had gone too far. Yi Tianyun might not have been as ruthlessly efficient as them, but he had still Lent a Helping Hand rather than abandoning them and running away.
"Tan, I know what I’m doing. Having an extra person will make things safer. That’s my final decision."
And just like that, Yan Lingxue made her decision, ignoring Tan Yongsheng’s objections.
Tan Yongsheng frowned, anger flashing in his eyes. In the end, he just let out a cold snort and turned to warn Yi Tianyun, "Kid, you listen to my orders, got it? If you cause any trouble, you’ll face the consequences alone!"
"No," Yi Tianyun said calmly. "I take my orders from Miss Yan. She’s my employer, not you."
’Listen to Tan Yongsheng? What a joke. I’ll only take orders from Yan Lingxue. If I listened to that fool, I’d be the first one to get killed.’
’I get the feeling Tan Yongsheng isn’t really here to be a guard, but to win Yan Lingxue’s affection.’
’Looks like he’s trying to latch onto the Yan Family, which is why he’s acting as a guard. Of course he’d be hostile to an outsider like .’
"You!" Rage flared within Tan Yongsheng, but he couldn’t find any fault in Yi Tianyun’s logic. He was left completely speechless.
With nothing more to say to the man, Yi Tianyun turned to Yan Lingxue with a faint smile. "Miss Yan, I’ll be following your instructions from now on. If I may ask, what is the Spirit dicine we’re going to gather?"
Yi Tianyun completely ignored Tan Yongsheng, not taking him seriously in the slightest. ’He’d better not provoke ,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, he’ll be the only one to suffer!’
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