This chapter was brought to you by AnmesicCat, Cindy, and StellarAshes.
The Common Result
Liola and Yandi cremated Anise's remains, or maybe it was Bairui's body. Yandi generously gave the ashes to Liola, and cautioned him, "You have to bring sister back to her husband."
Liola nodded, and tightly held the urn in his hand. Though Miluo was under the Dragon Emperor's control, even it was for Anise, for Baolilong, or even for the fact that Miluo had once let him go, Liola felt he had an obligation to save Miluo.
This was when Liola finally said goodbye to Yandi, not wanting her to follow him back to the Leader, especially with his unpredictable mood. If he were to go crazy and start killing people, Liola knew he would barely be able to save himself, let alone Yandi, and she also knew of this fact. If the Leader was really set on killing Liola, then her presence would end up being a burden rather than help, so it was better off if she didn't go.
"On the next full moon, I will go to Duanchang Cliff." Yandi threw these few words, then parted from Liola.
Liola stared at Yandi's back until he had lost sight of her. He then turned and walked back the way he came from, anxious to go back to his companions. Liola thought briefly, then decided to summon Baolilong because the road was far too long, and he was very worried about Kaiser and Baolilong.
'Baolilong? Baolilong?'
Liola called again and again, but not getting even a single response, it made Liola even more anxious, and he sped up his pace even more. For each call unanswered, his footsteps went a bit faster, and the whole day went by like this. Even for Liola, keeping up at full speed along with using telepathy gave him a terrible migraine, and he was forced to rest at a small inn. He ate a bit of food, meditated for a couple of hours, then continued on his way.
While walking on a crowded street, Liola was blocked by onlookers. When he was about to impatiently circle around the crowd, a familiar yell rang out.
"Baolilong will bite you to death~!"
It was accompanied by the laughter of the onlookers, and Liola charged and pushed everyone in front of him and yelled, "Baolilong!"
The scene Liola saw was rather strange to him, and no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand what was going on. Baolilong was lying on its stomach on a person's back. The person was not Kaiser, but instead a red-haired beautiful girl, and this girl was surrounded by a dozen brutes.
When the two heard Liola's scream, they turned their heads, revealing happy expressions. The girl pushed the brutes back and ran towards Liola, but this made the brutes very unhappy, and the dozen of them rushed up, blocking the girl from Liola.
Now both Baolilong and the girl were angry. She pulled back her lip to reveal her sharp canine teeth, looking like a beast threatening the brutes menacingly.
A guess flashed across Liola's mind, and he yelled, "Flames, ignore them, come here."
Hearing what Liola had said, the girl returned to normal, and replied respectfully, "Yes, Master of Its Highness."
She indeed rushed towards Liola and pushed away the obstructing brutes so hard that they went flying. The onlookers looked at her in surprise, wondering where her strength came from while guessing the silver-eyed man's identity along with his relationship to the girl, and so on.
The silver-eyed man touched the girl's face while everyone was looking, and spoke in a language they could not understand. Seeing them act intimately, the onlookers whispered with flushed faces,
"They must be husband and wife?"
"Of course, didn't you see how cute of a child they have together?"
Liola curiously touched Flames' face and wondered, "So Flames is a girl."
"No, I've yet to have a gender." Flames took a step back. Though it was not to the point of being repulsive as Baolilong found it to be, being touched by a person other than its master still felt uncomfortable.
[T/N: This seems to violate a previous consistency when Yulie tried to touch Flames during the meal, that's what the author said.]
"Just like Baolilong? When will you have genders then?" Liola reached out to take Baolilong, who wrapped its arms and legs around Liola, holding on tightly. If it wasn't Liola it was holding, and instead was someone with less strength, his rib cages would probably have been pulverized by Baolilong's tight hug.
Flames answered honestly, "When we mature. Different Dragons mature at different ages. Us Fire Dragons mature fairly early, around a hundred years of age."
Knowing Liola was worried about Baolilong, Flames immediately added, "Sacred White Dragons, on the other hand, have a varying time for maturity. They vary from fifty to more than five hundred years. Their growth depends mainly not on their age, but instead their master's."
"Me?" Liola did not understand. So Baolilong maturity depended on him?
Flames nodded, and was about to elaborate further, but the brutes around them had another agenda in mind. They yelled, and the dozen of them surrounded them, speaking in all kinds of vulgarity.
"The boobs are a bit small, but her face makes my heart itch!" One of the brutes drooled as he stared at Flames' face.
Another brute was examining Liola, and even gulped down his saliva. "No man could be this delicate, she must be a crossdressing girl."
If these two were normal people, they would've been infuriated by what the brutes said. But for Liola and Flames, one was an oblivious Assassin, and the other wasn't even human. Not only did they not get angry, they practically ignored the brutes. They continued using their language to discuss what had happened in the recent days, including the strange duel Gle decided.
Liola listened and found it strange. Couldn't he just purposely lose to Daylight and Kaiser? But how could Gle let them go so easily? Liola was in doubt, believing Gle must have a way to force him to fight against Kaiser and Daylight with their lives on the line.
Liola frowned, and wondered whether he should find Kaiser and Daylight and hide for a month, then go to Duanchang Cliff during the next full moon... But as Anise said, she had a deal with Gle, so wouldn't it mean Gle knew about this already?
Sigh.
Liola sighed in frustration, and the brutes around them realized the two weren't paying any attention to them. One of them wanted to hold Flames forcefully, but Flames pouted, then pushed him away. He flew for a dozen meters before he stopped, and then fell on the ground, unable to get up.
The other brutes hesitated, and thought they had ran into some difficult opponents. But looking at Flames and Liola's faces, they weren't willing to give up, so they all unsheathed their weapons and charged. But, as if they were in slow motion, the brutes got slower and slower, until even their eyelids closed, and they all fell to the ground.
The onlookers were also not an exception: at first they looked sleepy, then they slowly fell to the ground, snoring.
Liola looked around, and saw that, even in sleep, Baolilong wouldn't let go. With its stubborn little face, it was still talking in its sleep, "Papa don't leave Baolilong, Baolilong will be good from now on..."
Liola in one hand held the dazed Flames and Broken Silver in the other. Even though he knew he couldn't win, the present Liola was no longer the submissive Silver Moon.
"Li, oh, Li, do you wish to oppose me?"
Gle stood proudly upright, towering over the crowd who had fallen to the ground. He then walked over slowly. Despite how leisurely he walked, every step he made filled the air with the scent of murder.
"I will not harm my companions." Liola declared with determination.
"Oh?"
Gle smiled, and his gangster-like smile suddenly reminded Liola of a certain someone. Why had it never occurred to him that Kaiser's smile was so similar to the Leader's?
Liola contemplated, perhaps it was because he was so scared of the Leader, all his smiles and terrifying sneers looked like threats, so he did not dare to even remember the way he laughed. But now he could at least look at the Leader smiling... at least it was some progress. Liola laughed bitterly, knowing this progress wasn't going to make him victorious.
"Bairui is dead, am I right?" Gle said straightforwardly and provokingly. "Do you really think a dead person can send you all back?"
Liola's heart skipped a beat. 'Could Anise's deal with Gle possibly be...'
"The first time Bairui used the magic circle, her body was destroyed. The second time, to send you back, she had to use her own soul, putting her into a long, deep sleep, only able to come out briefly to speak to you. The third time she sent you here, though she had some assistance, it still…" Gle chuckled, "Even I don't dare to open the dimensional portal for a third time, how could a mere Bairui possibly sustain it?"
"Don't speak of her like this!" Liola growled; he would not allow anyone to slander Anise.
"What?" Gle didn't look mad, but instead intrigued, "I'm talking about Bairui, not your Anise."
Liola stared blankly, unsure of what Gle meant.
"Though Bairui forcefully possessed the girl, she probably couldn't bear with destroying her soul."
Gle guessed with interest, "Anise must have been the combination of Bairui and the personality of the host. Because Bairui had opened the dimensional door, spending much of her energy to do so, her soul was practically half asleep. Thus, Anise must have had more of her host's personality."
Gle murmured, very satisfied with his own speculation, and considered it somewhat unmistaken.
Hearing Gle say so, for some reason, Liola felt a bit grateful. He had a strange feeling, and wondered why was Gle purposely telling him this? Could it be... he's trying to tell him Anise was not an illusion?
"Thank you."
Still impressed with himself for his undeniable intelligence, suddenly hearing a thank you shocked him. Gle raised his head to look at Liola with a face full with exaggerated skepticism, but knew well that other than himself and Liola, there was no one awake.
Gle suddenly burst into laughter and Liola was very confused. After laughing for a while, Gle assumed a dark and cold face and said, "Don't think a simple 'thank you' would make me go soft on you. You are simply a toy to me. You are the Dragon Emperor's son, I will never let you off easily!"
Liola's face also darkened, and his grip on Broken Silver tightened.
"Bairui used the Dragon Cross Necklace to lock onto Yasha's position. As long as I use the necklace to open the dimensional door, Yasha would be able to come back."
Gle continued, explaining their deal. "She helps me lock onto Yasha, I help her open the dimensional door, that was our deal. But Li, I never said anything about allowing you to enter."
Liola stared straight at Gle. "Then what do we have to do for you to allow us to enter?"
"You go fight with Kaiser and Daylight. If you win, I'll let you in." Gle revealed a malicious smile.
Liola stressed, "But you told them if I won, you will kill me."
"Hmmph! I'm not a Knight, can't I lie?" Gle laughed like a ruffian, then warned, "Hehe, I'm not that stupid! You're not allowed to say anything to them. To guard against someone like you, I will seal your language ability. You will not be able to talk, write, and likewise, you won't be able to understand what other people say or write. As for your telepathy with your Dragon, I've already sealed it."
Liola was in shock, and Gle said a few last words, "Right, the duel wouldn't be fun to watch if the sides aren't even. I better prison you for now and give you no food nor water for ten days."
No food would be fine, but no water for ten days would definitely kill someone. Before Liola had the chance to remind Gle that an ordinary person would be in danger due to the lack of water for a few days, his throat could no longer produce any sound.
* * *
Wanyuan looked at his apprentice as if he had an entirely new look. If he looked like a wonderful boy three months ago, then he was now like a keen-eyed man with an even more robust and buff body. Wanyuan sighed as if his own child had grown up.
"Daylight, remember to bring me some souvenirs." Little Grass said playfully.
Daylight smiled back honestly, and his keen-eyes curled a bit, as if he went back to being just a boy. He said earnestly, "Brother apprentice Grass, I will definitely do that."
No matter how he had changed on the outside, his personality still remained the same... Wanyuan was irritated but also found it funny. Still, he felt happy overall: if Daylight's personality really had changed, Wanyuan would have most likely felt rather disappointed.
Daylight walked to Flames and Baolilong. The two Dragons had been depressed ever since they have returned to Daylight ten days ago.
Daylight heard that they found Liola, but they both mysteriously fainted. When they had finally woken up, Liola was gone. The person who could make Liola leave these two Dragons behind could only be none other than Gle. Daylight had been praying since, hoping Liola was safe.
As soon as Flames heard they were leaving, it immediately transformed into a large Dragon. Baolilong also climbed up Flames' head while desperately hurrying Daylight to get up. Baolilong really missed its papa.
"I think I better go with you." Though Wanyuan didn't want to get on Flames, his desire to help his apprentice was stronger. In case of emergencies, he thought, he could at least hold back Gle, to help the youngsters.
Daylight looked gratefully at his master, then jumped up on the Dragon's back. Wanyuan also followed and got on Flames' back. When Flames opened her wings and about to take flight...
"Wait! D-Daylight..." Long Yulie rushed up. No matter how terrified she was of the Dragon, she forced herself to stand next to Flames' leg.
Daylight gestured Flames to wait a while. He jumped off Flames, and patiently awaited for Yulie to talk. However, when she saw everyone was looking at her, her face turned red and she couldn't say what she wanted to say. But seeing Daylight was about to leave, if she didn't say anything now, when would she have another chance?
"Cough, cough, Little Grass! Hurry and go help the God of Medicine find herbs. If you're lazy again, he might spill some random crap on you." Wanyuan yelled, and Little Grass hurried off with a shocked expression.
Wanyuan gave out another yell, "Crap! I forgot to take something. My memory is terrible, and I think I'm going to take ten minutes to find it."
Having said that, Wanyuan hurriedly left, while thinking in his head, 'What kind of era is this where the master has to find an excuse to leave so his apprentice could have a date.'
Yulie's face was now entirely red. A woman's shyness got the better of her, and she couldn't say anything clearly.
Seeing Yulie like this, and remembering she had been with him for three months without going back to her faction nor going to look for Auyan Dri, Daylight, unlike Liola, was earnest rather than oblivious. He knew very well Yulie was fond of him.
Daylight said apologetically yet tactically, "Sorry, Yulie, we aren't from the same world. I don't know if I would go back one day..."
"Doesn't matter!" Yulie had already known Daylight was from another world. After struggling with that fact, she had decided she would be with him for as long as possible, or even... following him back to his world.
Daylight had no idea Yulie was this determined. He was moved and apologetic at the same time, but he couldn't possibly accept Yulie. He wasn't an irresponsible man. If he did accept Yulie's love now, he couldn't leave her behind, but he couldn't take her with him either.
Yulie was not Liola. He had no choice, plus when he left, nobody cared about him, so he left without any worries, and probably had never regretted it. But Yulie had so many people who cared about her, how could he possibly take her away?
"Just tell me, do you like me?" Yulie was very stubborn, just like Yandi.
Daylight never lied. He did indeed like Yulie, but instincts told him it wasn't love. He simply felt the girl was nice. He frowned because he didn't want to harm her, and said, "We are friends..."
Yulie laughed sadly, "As expected, you don't like me. I knew about it a long time ago. You don't care about me, and even when I purposely got close to you, your face doesn't turn red at all, nor would you panic in the slightest. To you, I'm probably just an acquaintance."
Seeing Yulie's sad expression, Daylight felt rather sorry. He had no idea how to respond other than apologizing, "Sorry."
"No! Don't apologize. You've done nothing wrong." Yulie wiped away her tear with her sleeve, and kissed Daylight's face with a blush, "Farewell, my first love." She then turned and ran. She didn't want her loved one to see her like this.
Daylight didn't like the feeling of making someone sad, but he had no choice.
"Such a good girl, a pity you don't like her." Wanyuan said on top of Flames' back; Daylight had no idea when he got back.
"Like..." Daylight jumped back onto Flames' back, gesturing for it take off now.
Daylight had been deep in thought on the way, and then he suddenly turned and asked, "Master! If I blush in front of a girl, and if she gets close to me, it makes me feel uneasy, does this mean I like her?"
Wanyuan almost slipped off the Dragon's back. He had been asked many questions in his life, but never in the field of romance. Didn't Daylight notice he was still alone?
Wanyuan sighed. Being a master nowadays was rather difficult, because he still had to occasionally be his apprentice's love counselor.
"Something like that." After all, Wanyuan had been in love before, so he could answer such a question.
"Oh!" After Daylight received his answer, he murmured, "So I like her after all..."
"What?" Wanyuan was all ears.
Daylight suddenly knocked himself in the head, and started blaming himself, "Why are you thinking about this now? You have to concentrate on beating Liola. Everything else could wait for later."
Strange! Any said to blame Daylight should be said by him, the master. Wanyuan thought blankly. So his apprentice having too good of a morality was also a problem.
* * *
Kaiser had been inside the organization for the past three months while training his magic. This morning, he got up early, and meditated on his bed briefly. Then he spent a minute moonwalking to the spot where the duel would take place today, which also happened to be the place where he trained from day to day.
While crouching, Kaiser was deep in thought about the question he had been asking himself for the past three months. What exactly would Gle do to ensure Liola would fight with him and Daylight to the best of his abilities without holding back?
"Would he tell him the opposite instead?" Kaiser guessed, or perhaps Gle tol to Liola, if he lost, Gle would kill Kaiser and Daylight? If that was the case, Liola would want to win even if it would cost him his life. "Hmm, very plausible."
But Kaiser knew, Gle would not kill him. Though Gle would never say this out loud, but he did indeed have some special feelings to Kaiser, who was his descendent.
But would Gle really kill Daylight? Kaiser didn't think so. It was conceivable Gle might kill Liola, because he thought Liola was raised by him, so it wouldn't hurt his conscious to kill him, but he wouldn't kill Daylight easily, and this was what Kaiser's instinct told him.
"Anyhow, Daylight and I have to win."
Kaiser shook his head, how would he hint at Liola to make him go easy on them? Though he firmly believed he had indeed gotten stronger, and perhaps one day, believe he would be evenly match against Liola, but three months was far too short to make it happen.
Even if Daylight used the same kind of death-training as Liola (Or even worse? Nobody could live through it), one spent three months and another spent twenty years, who would be the winner of the two was obvious.
"Kaiser!"
Kaiser heard a yell, and raised his head. Flames' giant body slowly landed on the training ground. As soon as it did, Daylight rushed up to Kaiser and examined him, "Are you okay?"
Kaiser looked back lazily, "Just fine, never been better. You? You look darker."
Daylight smiled, "I'm fine too, also never been better."
"I hope Liola isn't like us, and never been better, otherwise we're in trouble."
Kaiser continued to hold his chin, frustrated at the thought of trying to hint at Liola without Gle realizing. Kaiser suddenly realized, in the corner of his eyes, Wanyuan had also followed Daylight. He jumped up and yelled, "We're saved!"
Ignoring Daylight's confusion, Kaiser went up to Wanyuan, and began to whisper in his ears, "Old man, when we duel, please help me divert Gle's attention, and I will think of a way to give a cue to Liola... as in Silver Moon, so he could go easy and lose."
Wanyuan hesitated, but then nodded. It's not because he didn't have faith in his apprentice, but to defeat Silver Moon based on three months of training was too difficult. Wanyuan also didn't have much of a choice but agree, because he didn't want to see his apprentice lose and cause Silver Moon's death, then have a lifetime of regret and self-blame.
"Rock old man, how come I didn't know you're such good friends with my great-grandson?" Kaiser heard Gle's playful and he immediately jumped away from Wanyuan.
"Liola, how did you end up like this?"
"Papa!"
Daylight and Baolilong both saw Liola standing behind Gle. His face looked sickly, and his already thin body looked even more frail now, and his clothes had spots of blood.
"Why did you beat him up, this duel wouldn't be fair then!" Kaiser said loudly.
"I didn't beat him." Gle replied disapprovingly, "I just didn't give him anything to eat or any water for ten days. Those wounds were because he was too thirsty, and he bit his own arm to drink his blood."
"A-are you an idiot?" Kaiser opened his mouth, "A normal person would be near death from not drinking water for a day. You didn't give him water for ten days, he would've already died if he didn't drink his own blood!"
[T/N: Drinking one's own blood would probably kill them faster when there's no source of water. But this is fiction.]
"Hmm?! Really? I didn't know." Gle scratched his face. Whatever, it wasn't the first time he did something wrong.
Liola had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. To him, everything Kaiser was saying was no different than random screams. Nevertheless, judging from their worried and caring expressions, Liola knew what they were saying. He smiled lightly, wanting to reduce his companions' worries.
"Then do you guys want to give him some water?" Gle gestured purposely and asked.
"Bullsh—! Of course... not." Kaiser held his fist tight, trying to control his eyes to look away from Liola's frail face and chapped lips.
"Kaiser..." Daylight yelled hesitantly. Though it's not like he didn't understand why Kaiser refused to give him water, he still felt guilty.
Kaiser interrupted whatever Daylight might have said, and yelled, "That's final!"
Gle leisurely used magic, and two wooden chairs erupted from the ground. He then beckoned at Wanyuan, "Sit! Rock old man, long time no see."
Wanyuan sighed, and sat on the chair. He tried to persuade him, "Why must you put them in such a difficult position? One of them is your apprentice, and the other is your great-grandson."
Gle raised his eyebrows, and glanced at Wanyuan, "My family, I'll do whatever I want..."
Kaiser saw Wanyuan was talking to Gle, he immediately used this opportunity, and lipped some words without saying it out loud to Liola: "Go easy! Let us win, otherwise Gle will kill you. Don't worry about us, he won't kill us, trust me."
Liola frowned. He didn't not understand what Kaiser was trying to do with his lips. All of his language capabilities were completely sealed.
Kaiser thought Liola was hesitating, so he repeated again and again. Liola raised his head, and then shook it. A painful look was on his face, but he couldn't utter a single syllable. He couldn't explain to Kaiser Gle had duped both him and Daylight.
"Hey! Let's get on with the match." Gle said lazily, "Daylight, Kaiser, and Flames on one team, Li on the other by himself. Baolilong, you choose which side you want to be. The rule is, whichever side faints for more than three minutes loses. Daylight's team will only lose if all three are knocked out, and if Li gets knocked out, then he loses!"
Kaiser asked while acting as if he were oblivious, "As long as we win, it doesn't matter what method we use, right?"
"Right!" Gle answered lazily, "Any other questions? Even if you do, I'm not going to answer. The match begins now!"
This was too sudden, and both sides stood still. Baolilong wanted to run to Liola, but Kaiser grabbed it. Baolilong desperately struggled, but Kaiser yelled loudly, "Stop causing troubles! Do you want to go help your dad to his death?"
Water filled Baolilong's large eyes. It remembered it can't help papa. If papa won, he would die!
Daylight looked Kaiser, waiting for him to make the move first. Kaiser did not attack, and instead said loudly, "Since we can use whatever method we want, then I could simply persuade him to surrender! This shouldn't violate the rules!"
Daylight and others looked at Kaiser, both surprised and happy. They didn't think Kaiser had this move up his sleeve. Kaiser glanced at Gle, saw him still acting naturally, and he even had a smirk on his face. Kaiser suddenly had a terrible feeling in his heart.
"Hey! Liola, don't listen to Gle, they won't kill us. The only person he wants to kill is you. If you win, he will kill you." Kaiser tried to yell loudly.
Liola had no reactions whatsoever, and instead slowly took out Broken Silver from his boot.
Kaiser took a few steps back, and asked both shockingly and skeptically, "Liola? Are you being controlled?"
Liola smiled bitterly, and this smile abated Kaiser's worries. Judging from his expressions, he didn't look like he was being controlled. He flashed, and Liola's figure suddenly disappeared. Kaiser only saw a flash of silver, and didn't even have time to unsheath his gun...
"Papa! No!"
Baolilong rushed up, and stood in front of Kaiser. Broken Silver, however, didn't stop. It landed heavily on Baolilong's neck, and then a kick caused Baolilong's little body to fly away like a broken kite. It landed on the ground far away, and Baolilong didn't move at all.
Liola's face was as cold as ice. His figure flashed again, and a crisp clashing of weapons echoed. Kaiser took a closer look, and he saw Daylight had already appeared in front of him, using his pike to block Broken Silver.
"Damn! You bastard!" Seeing what was happening, Kaiser took out his giant gun.
For the first time, the three companions weapons — a barrel, a pike, and Broken Silver — pointed at one another, unwillingly, but without a choice.
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