21. Ye Lan’s Return

As fast as they were, Libao walked nonstop for merely three days before getting out of the woods. When arriving at the little village, Ye Lan asked Libao to put her down and then hide into the ring as soon as possible, in order not to be noticed by others. However, Libao persisted in staying outside to have a good view of the brand new world.

“Return to the ring at once!”

“No way! I want to enter the village with you!” Libao murmured, shaking his head violently.

“Unless you turn into a cat or dog!” Ye Lan said helplessly.

“Impossible. How could I, a legendary beast, present my nobility and demeanor if I turn into a dog or cat!” Libao refused her proposal in anger.

“Either becoming a dog or cat, or going back to the ring!” Ye Lan, not wanting to waste more time, merely gave him two choices.

Libao twisted his lips and winked at Ye Lan, his clear and bright eyes as lovely as those of a six-year-old kid. She would surely fall into the trap if not knowing Libao’s identity as a legendary beast alive over thousand years!

Seeing Ye Lan not moved by his affectation, Libao bit his lips and snuggled up to her body like a well-behaved child. “Mummy!” He pouted and blinked to Ye Lan while saying childishly.

“My God!” Ye Lan couldn’t help swearing, “How shameless you are to call me mum! You have been alive for thousands of years!”

“However, according to the age of the magical beast, I am less than 2000 years old, exactly the same as a one-year-old baby in the human being society. So it is completely reasonable to call you mum. I didn’t take advantage of you!”

“Get away!” As exasperated as Ye Lan was, she had no choice but to take Libao into the village first and then had a refreshment. Actually, she wasn’t sure whether Xiao Hei was in the village after those dangerous combats. She also had no idea if he had finished those tasks or what he had done to achieve the tasks. On Fengtian Continent, if he did disappear, it was impossible for Ye Lan to find him in a short time!

Was Xiao Hei truly willing do everything for her no matter how dangerous it was? Surely out of the question! Even you saved someone’s life, you would certainly get nothing if that person was ungrateful. Given her experience in previous life, Ye Lan was convinced of a fact that there was nobody to rely upon except for herself! Sitting in the tub and half squinting, Ye Lan felt so comfortable. She hadn’t took a bath for more than a month, but she still stayed alert, following her old habit developed when being an agent. Libao had gone outside to find food. Since he had been stuck in the Forest of Beasts for a thousand year, Ye Lan, of course, couldn’t keep him within the house any longer. Being a little upset, she had warned Libao to keep a distance from human beings.

Given the agreement, Libao didn’t dare to disobey her. Ye Lan thought to herself, therefore, taking a sigh of relief.

The next day, Ye Lan got up early in the morning. Since Libao, huddling himself up, was still sleeping soundly at the side of his bed, Ye Lan, not wanting to disturb him, put Libao into the ring quietly. In order to get to the capital as soon as possible, she found a horse, which, with the assistance of Ye Lan’s spirit power, could advance at a tremendous pace. After three days, Ye Lan managed to arrive in the capital, while the horse, without the protection of her spirit power, fell to the ground at once and frothed, finally dead of exhaustion.

Standing at the city gate, Ye Lan looked up in the sunshine. Two big words, Royal Capital, were carved at the lintel, full of dignity and authority.

High on the tower stood many serious soldiers, among whom the enormous flags rustled violently in the wind!

Ye Lan, a delicate girl, seemed so small beneath such a towering building. She half squinted at the sun, emitting an aura filled with murderous intent, cold enough to chill the passers-by’s bones. Royal Capital! The Ye family! Ye Lan had come back! You must pay back the thousand times you owed to my mother and me!

Just as she reached a hotel and checked in, there came a knock at the door. With the doors pushed open, Xiao Hei entered the room with a smile. He knelt down at once when he saw Ye Lan lost in thought sitting at the window with a glass of wine in her hand. “Welcome back, master!”

“Xiao Hei!”

These two words could represent everything. She had returned to this city, Royal Capital! She would turn the tables!

“My sincere respect to you, master!” Xiao Hei knelt down and presented her a token forged with iron.

“Shadow Guard?” Ye Lan asked.

“Yes. Since you didn’t come back then, I named them Shadow Guards temporarily. It will be you making the final decision!” Xiao Hei answered respectfully.

“I want to call them Storm Assassins!”

“Storm Assassins? We will follow your order, master!” Xiao Hei never disobeyed Ye Lan, not merely because she saved his life, but also for her confidence and unprecedented pride.

With Xiao Hei beside her, Ye Lan had a sound sleep. Though bad memories kept disturbing her in the dream, she no longer felt that frightened any more.

As soon as Ye Lan finished washing her face, Xiao Hei set a bowl of sweet porridge with peach blossoms on the table. She smiled gently, without a trace of anger and murder intention on her face.Watching his master, a pretty girl, sipping the porridge peacefully, Xiao Hei was very pleased. She was too lean! Xiao Hei made up his mind to cook many delicious food for Ye Lan until she became fatter. Although knowing she was not a common girl whose spirit power would overtake his some day, Xiao Hei still intended to protect her, even at the risk of sacrificing his life.

There suddenly came a savage shout, interrupting his thought.

“Where is that girl? Ask her to go down quickly and apologize to me!” Ye Lan frowned restlessly at the gross voice. Noticing her expression, Xiao Hei rose to his feet immediately, planning to settle this trouble for her. Ye Lan stopped Xiao Hei in time, her hand too small to seize his wrist. The murder intent in his eyes was quickly driven out. “Master, I can kill him at once!” Just as he was leaving, Ye Lan seized his arm again. She gobbled down the porridge, wiped her mouth clean, and said with a smile to Xiao Hei who had been confused by her weird act, “Since I have practiced for more than a month, can you guess which level my spirit power has reached?” Upon hearing her words, Xiao Hei knew clearly the bandit on the first floor was doomed today. Ye Lan chuckled cunningly, as a child had found an interesting toy.

Xiao Hei agreed to go downstairs with her. Early in the morning, the hotel was actually filled with bystanders. Thanks to the bandit, it was really a good opportunity for the hotel owner to promote his business.

Ye Lan went downstairs unhurriedly, followed by Xiao Hei.

“Ha-ha! Lord Jin. Since there were a lot of ladies checking in yesterday, who on earth do you want to meet?” Sweating heavily on his forehead, the boss, totally in panic, tried his best to ingratiate him.

Lord Jin clutched the hotel owner’s collar before saying ferociously, “Is there another one? The girl is as beautiful as a fairy.”

“As a fairy!?” The owner was a little bewildered. He received numerous guests every day, none of whom was ugly. He really had no idea which girl Lord Jin was looking for. Even if he knew, the owner, though very afraid now, made up his mind not to tell him, or the innocent girl would surely be ruined by this evil guy.

As furious and restless as Lord Jin was, he knocked the hotel owner to the ground ruthlessly. With his followers keeping acclaiming for Lord Jin, large amount of people had gathered around the hotel, but none of them dared to stand out.

“It seems I am not that pretty, so the owner doesn’t remember me!” Ye Lan said jokingly to Xiao Hei.

“Impossible! You are a drop-dead beauty. What the owner did was to protect you!” Xiao Hei explained.

“Since he is a good man, I must lend a hand!” Ye Lan snatched a handful of chopsticks from the tube and pitched them abruptly at Lord Jin’s followers with a flick of her wrist. All of a sudden, the majority of them slumped to the ground, with their hands covering their arms or thighs. Ye Lan glanced sideways at them. Shameless minions! Such a trading company would surely go bankrupt.

Lord Jin turned around to look at his followers lying on the ground. With a long knife in his hand, he, a little afraid, howled in rage, “Damn! Who did it? Stand out as soon as possible! How dare you to hurt my followers?! You are surely courting for death!” Given his noble identity in the capital, Lord Jin pointed to the bystanders one by one with the long knife in his hand.

“Did you do it?”

“No!”

“It was you, right?”

“Of course not!”

Greatly frightened by him, the spectators waved their hands violently and left in a hurry.

“Enough!” Ye Lan shouted coldly. In the sudden silence, Lord Jin caught a glimpse of Ye Lan finally, which pleased him so much. Wasn’t she the girl he was looking for? How easy it was for him to get whatever he favored!

“Pretty girl, you are here! It took me such a long time to search for you!” Lord Jin recognized Ye Lan at once, while Ye Lan had already forgotten who he was. It was merely the people of great significance she would keep in mind, and Lord Jin, of course, was not included within.