Chapter 106

Translator : Mukyuu

Editor : Mikyuu

Wang Xiaoming looked at their faces full of fake smiles and asked very seriously, “In a situation like this, should I be doing something?”

The applause stopped.

The Elders looked at each other, not sure what he meant.

Wang Xiaoming reminded them nicely, “Maybe a present?”

The Noferre Elder with an ugly face scoffed, “Oh? What do you plan on giving us?”

Wang Xiaoming asked cautiously, “Maybe a red envelope or something?” Since Baal had said they were now juniors, it meant he was an elder. Giving the younger generations a “first meeting present” was a custom in his hometown. But, there were thirteen here… “Do you take Chinese yuan?”

The Noferre had no response.

Singh coughed once. “It’s just a formality. The gesture is enough.” His assistance was actually an attempt to get on their good side. After all, he had once planned on getting rid of Wang Xiaoming and Edward. Based on what had happened, that plan had been extremely unwise, even illogical. So he very much needed a way to ease the tension between them so they wouldn’t give him any trouble.

Wang Xiaoming didn’t think that much about it. He naturally assumed that Kindred customs and human customs were about the same, so he turned around to quietly ask Baal, “Could you take out my wallet?”

Baal said, “This is the Bloodnight Mountain. I can’t use a ward.”

With regret, Wang Xiaoming looked into the “expectant” eyes of the Kindred Elders and asked apologetically, “Can I write an IOU?”

…

So, the first thirteen IOUs of the Kindred Realm were born.

Each Kindred Elder gave the IOU of fifty CNY in their hands a complicated look.

“I earned the money myself. Though it’s not a huge amount, it’s still a sign of my sincerity. Whenever you come to the Mortal Realm, you can cash them in,” Wang Xiaoming said happily.

Singh was the first to express his gratitude. “This is really a… special gift. I’ll treasure it.” Meaning: he would never exchange it.

The Noferre used his eyes to convey how much he scorned Singh changing his behavior according to whichever way the wind was blowing.

Leslie spoke up to interrupt their silent conversation, “Since you’ve decided to make your home in the Mortal Realm, I’ll send someone to prepare what you need as quickly as possible.”

Singh said hurriedly, “The mansion I gifted you is still yours. You can absolutely make it your home in the Kindred Realm.”

The Noferre actually snorted from his nose to convey his disdain.

Singh pretended not to hear.

Leslie asked, “So, are you planning on staying in the Kindred Realm to familiarize yourself with the surroundings, or do you want to return to the Mortal Realm?”

“Back to the Mortal Realm,” Wang Xiaoming answered without thinking. Then he glanced at Baal, as if apologizing for making the decision unilaterally.

Baal ruffled Wang Xiaoming’s hair. There really wasn’t anything worth staying for in the Kindred Realm—if he had to choose something, then it would have been the Blood Chess. Unfortunately, that required using a bat as chess pieces.

…

Bat?

Baal bent down to look at Wang Xiaoming and a small smile slowly appeared on his face.

Wang Xiaoming felt something cold on the back of his neck and he looked up stupidly at Baal.

“Why don’t we stay for a few days before leaving?” Baal’s smile deepened.

“…” Wang Xiaoming looked confused.

They stayed for seven days.

In those seven days, Wang Xiaoming went from being baffled and barely understanding his identity as a Kindred to understanding it thoroughly. Baal’s contribution to that was undeniable. If he hadn’t supervised Wang Xiaoming every day and encouraged him to transform, fly, summon bats, etc., Wang Xiaoming wouldn’t have gotten a grip on the skills of the Kindred so quickly.

But he got an even faster grip on Blood Chess.

Baal held six boxes of Blood Chess made of various materials, still not fully satisfied. Though there were certain conditions necessary to playing this kind of chess, it was still exciting to play. He decided to investigate it thoroughly with Wang Xiaoming once they got back.

Wang Xiaoming, “…” At the moment, whenever he saw Blood Chess he had the impulse to transform or summon bats.

As they watched Baal and Wang Xiaoming get into the carriage, the chess players let out a round of cheering.

For them, it was a day to memorialize.

—The destroyer of rules leaving counted as a victory for the rule-abiding players!

Wang Xiaoming turned around at the sound of cheering behind them and said in confusion, “They look very happy.”

“Is that so?” Baal lifted an eyebrow and raised a hand. Before Wang Xiaoming could stop him, he snapped his fingers loudly.

Those that were cheering very quickly realized their surroundings had changed.

The cheers became cries.

“Where is this place?”

“Why are the trees purple?”

“… I may have heard about this place.”

“Ah! This is…”

The cries then very quickly became screams.

“The Forest of Shattered Illusions?!”

Wang Xiaoming asked nervously, “Where did you put them?” No matter what happened, these chess players had been quite subservient toward them these past few days. Whether out of logic or consideration, he couldn’t just not care.

“The Forest of Shattered Illusions.” Actually, Baal didn’t consider it a punishment to send them to the Forest of Shattered Illusions. After all, it was so hard for the challengers in the Sacrificial Night of Fresh Blood to get into the Forest of Shattered Illusions. He was basically giving the Kindred a free ride on the tour bus.

Wang Xiaoming suddenly cried out, “Ah.”

Baal frowned and asked, “You didn’t just remember what the Forest of Shattered Illusions is, right?”

“No, I was going to ask if we could go somewhere else first before we left?”

“What place?” Baal frowned. He didn’t think there’d be anything worth seeing there.

Wang Xiaoming answered, “The Forest of Shattered Illusions.”

Baal, “…”

Being in the Forest of Shattered Illusions again, Baal and Wang Xiaoming had a completely different mindset.

After all, they were purely sightseers this time around.

Especially when they caught sight of the other sightseers, the sense of being in a tourist location became even more obvious.

The eyes of the chess players who had been trapped there for a while lit up and they surrounded Baal and Wang Xiaoming like flies, crying out in a chaos of voices.

“Lord Wang Xiaoming.”

“Lord Xiaoming.”

“Lord Wang.”

…

Though he had heard that term of address so many times, Wang Xiaoming was still awkwardly embarrassed every time. For the Kindred, a second generation was practically a government official, but… he really was not mentally prepared to be “Lord Wang.”

He couldn’t help but recall, once again, how he had been named Ming Wang and Queen when he first joined the Silver House. If this continued, he would sooner or later develop a fear of names.

Baal asked with a happy smile, “Did you guys run here so we could play another round?”

The flies scattered like sand.

“Baal, don’t tease them,” Wang Xiaoming spoke up for them.

“Baal?” The Kindred chess players repeated blankly.

…

Wang Xiaoming realized that he had been too careless in his pride. “Uh, I mean… It’s uh… ball, ball, a ball up your ears!”

“…” The Kindred chess players’ eyes turned into flat lines of incomprehension.

Baal suddenly yanked Wang Xiaoming over and held him in his arms. “What he means is this.”

A whoosh , and two black wings instantly unfurled like a well-oiled machine.

Then Baal flapped those two wings, held Wang Xiaoming, and haughtily rushed up into the skies right in front of them.

…

A long while later, conversation started up again in the forest.

“Did I just see some… wings?”

“Yeah, I saw them too. Black.”

“… But not a crow.”

“Looks like the legendary….”

“Mmm. Mmm. Mmm!” A certain Kindred used a muffled syllable to indicate what he was talking about.

“Mmm, mmm, mmm.” The other Kindreds voiced their agreement.

“But why would there be an mmm, mmm, mmm in the Kindred Realm?”

“I am more curious about why he would be with Lord Wang Xiaoming.”

“… They seem to have always been together.”

“Uh, would I be able to wonder… how Lord Wang Xiaoming got here?”

“…”

The direction of the discussion became more and more unpredictable and uncontrollable.

Baal landed at the lake in the center ring.

Wang Xiaoming asked in surprise, “How did you know I wanted to be here?”

“Aren’t you here to find that strange tiger?” Baal asked with raised eyebrows.

Wang Xiaoming was even more surprised. “How did you know?”

…

Was it so surprising that he knew what Wang Xiaoming was thinking?

Baal felt vaguely pissed off. “If you’re not here for the strange tiger, are you here for the pig that’s not a pig?”

…

Wang Xiaoming answered seriously, “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I really do miss it.”

“…” Baal started to suspect that Cain had been easy to persuade this time because the guy had discovered he and Wang Xiaoming had quite similar tastes.

Suddenly, the sound of rustling came from the forest.

Wang Xiaoming curled his body and, just as he was about to become a bat, Baal grasped the back of his neck just in time.

This was the result of Baal’s many experiments.

Soreness would displace Wang Xiaoming’s anxiety and therefore force him out of the involuntary state of transformation.

They heard a whooshing sound.

The tiger leapt out from the forest.

The fierce attitude made Wang Xiaoming take an involuntary half-step back.

As if sensing his fear, the tiger straightened its front paws and bent its back legs, trying really hard to slam down on the brakes. But momentum still made it slide forward a bit more before it stopped. Then it widened both eyes and looked innocently up at Wang Xiaoming.

Wang Xiaoming tapped his own chest, as if trying to give himself courage.

No matter what happened, this time he would definitely and absolutely hug the tiger so that it could feel how much he really, really liked it.

After all, he was already a Kindred and wouldn’t die so easily.

He looked at the tiger nervously.

The tiger wagged its tail furiously to indicate how good it was.

“Onward!” Wang Xiaoming rushed forward.

The tiger stood up excitedly and opened its mouth wide. It was about to express its emotions through a roar—

Wang Xiaoming’s left leg tripped over his right leg and he rushed forward straight into a head-dive—