The air in the morning was really fresh. There were droplets of dew lying on top of the green leaves. This was a charming and peaceful scene.
The magic door of the secret room slid open and a soft sound could be heard. The moment the door slid to both sides, a blue haired beautiful woman who was wearing an ordinary dress stepped out. Her complexion was pale and she didn’t look too good.
“I actually failed at the final part? Success was just within reach… This is really too hateful.” The beautiful woman walked into the courtyard as she cursed in her heart. Who exactly was that person who intervened at the critical moment? If everything had gone according to the plan, Shui Linglong would have already fallen under her control. Now however……
“Ye’er, why were you in the secret room for the whole of last night? Your complexion looks very bad, what happened?” When he saw that his wife wasn’t feeling too good, the Dark Pope quickly walked towards her and asked with concern.
The eyes of beautiful woman flashed and her expression immediately reverted back to normal. She hurriedly replied, “My husband, I am fine. It’s just that I tried to activate the dark spirit tablet yesterday. However, I didn’t make any progress on it which made me feel kind of bad in my heart.”
The Dark Pope held onto her shoulders and he sighed, “Ye’er, it doesn’t matter if we cannot reveal the secrets of this dark spirit tablet. The most important thing is your health. You cannot harm your body over this matter.”
The beautiful woman was visibly moved by the Dark Pope’s words and she nestled into his bosom. The pair which had been an old married couple hugged each other quietly as they stood in the courtyard.
“By the way, my husband, didn’t you say that that boy Ximen Yu obtained the Lightning God’s inheritance? Maybe he has already grasped the method to unseal the spirit tablet. Should we capture him?” After a long time, the beautiful woman offered her suggestion.
The Dark Pope was dumbfounded and thought about it for quite some time. After carefully thinking about it, he said, “But the strength of that boy is unpredictable. Moreover, he is as crafty as an old fox. It’s very difficult to capture him.”
“My husband, how can you be so stupid? Although Ximen Yu is powerful, Saintess Leng Youyou and Lingr of our church have deep relations with him. Can’t we just lead the snake out of its burrow?” A cold light flashed in the beautiful woman’s eyes and she gave her suggestion as the Dark Pope embraced her.
“That is a good way. However, if Lingr learns about this, it would be troublesome.” The Dark Pope muttered.
“As long as we don’t say it, how would Lingr know?” The beautiful woman replied.
When all of this was going on, a hint of a dark shadow quietly retreated from the corner. The shadow ran in the opposite direction, away from the old couple. This shadow was none other than Feng Ling.
The moment she ran out of the hall, a man brushed past her. He was covered in a black robe and seemed to be extremely mysterious. He looked at Ling Feng who was running away hastily but he didn’t think too much about it. He slowly walked towards the small courtyard which belonged to the Dark Pope.
“Lafaer greets Your Majesty the Pope.” The man cloaked in black clothes respectfully greeted the Dark Pope. He was Hell Priest Lafaer who had just returned from Blue Moon City.
“I heard about what happened in Blue Moon City. Start talking, tell me everything without leaving out any details.” The Dark Pope said in an indifferent voice.
Lafaer didn’t add superfluous words. He was brief and concise when talking about what happened in Blue Moon City. Finally, he turned to look at the beautiful woman who was in the Dark Pope’s embrace with some hesitation in his eyes. He swallowed the final words of Mist Fairy.
Dark Pope and that beautiful woman fell into silence and sighed after a long time, “Since Fairy has instructed, forget it. It seems like our Dark Church is unable to insert ourselves in the Nalan Empire. It’s such a pity, that was a good chance.”
The beautiful woman coldly snorted and said, “Does that smelly woman think that she can do whatever she wants just because our Dark Church owes her? Now, all the benefits have gone to the Ximen Clan. She is clearly standing on Ximen Yu’s side.”
“Ye’er, what kind of nonsense are you speaking? Could you have forgotten the abilities Fairy possess?” The complexion of Dark Pope sunk as he lowered his voice.
The beautiful woman was startled and her entire body involuntarily shuddered. With a wave of her sleeve, she disappeared.
Shaking his head, the Dark Pope recalled Mist Fairy who was like a celestial being. Veneration flashed in his eyes.
When he saw that the beautiful woman was gone, Lafaer continued to speak, “Young Majesty the Pope, Mist Fairy left some words for you.”
“What did she say?” Dark Pope asked.
“She told you to properly look after your wife. Don’t let her do things which will lead to regret later.” Lafaer lowered his voice. Just a moment ago, he didn’t open his mouth. That was because the Dark Pope’s wife was there as well. Now that she left, he didn’t dare to hide what Mist Fairy said any longer.
The Dark Pope was stunned and the color in his eyes changed unpredictably. He knew that Mist Fairy would never say meaningless stuff. For her to say such things, questions appeared in the Dark Pope’s head. What exactly had Ye’er been doing behind his back?
………………..
The hot weather which lasted for several days caused the people in Blue Moon City to suffer. They were accustomed to the mild weather and they no longer had anywhere to hide now. Now, even the pleasantly cool sea breeze blew scorching hot air. The sea boulders were exposed to the burning hot gaze of the sun and if one were to look closely, they would be able to see faint smoke rising up from the boulders.
Generally, the houses of the common were different from the imperial palace. They were also different from the residence of the big nobles. The residence of the nobles and the imperial palace had expensive magic cooling devices in them. The effect of these devices was similar to the air condition in his previous world. A large number of ice cubes were accumulated and sealed outside the room that would be cooled. A magic agent was used to blow cold air rapidly towards the room. From small holes in the wall, cold air would flow into the room. That would make the temperature in the room extremely comfortable.
When the ice cubes were used up, naturally, someone would replace them. They would not have to worry about not having enough ice cubes.
Today, Blue Moon City just opened the Bounty Hunter Bar. This bar used the same kind of cooling device and it covered a large area. It was said that five to six buildings were able to receive the effects of the cooling.
Nowadays, although the Bounty Hunter Guild didn’t have a branch in every city like Mercenary Guild, its reputation was very good. Bounty Hunter Guild concentrated in their expansion in the Violent Dragon Empire. The huge amount of monetary reward attracted a large number of powerful small teams. The number of solitary experts attracted was not small at all. Now, its prestige and power exceeded the Mercenary Guild where the weak mixed with the strong. The Bounty Hunter Guild only had three ranks. Gold Hunter, Platinum Hunter and Amethyst Hunter. Any mercenary would feel proud if they managed to join the Bounty Hunter Guild. Even if they only joined as a Gold Hunter, there would be countless people who would admire them.
At that time, in the SS ranked Lightning God Forbidden Area mission, numerous first-rate mercenary groups were annihilated. However, the problem which caused the Mercenary Guild to feel pain in their heart was that among those who came out of the Lightning God Forbidden Area, most of them joined the Bounty Hunter Guild. They wanted to take on missions which would reward them with huge monetary rewards even if they needed to walk the fine line between life and death.
Currently, Long Yi was strolling in the streets of Blue Moon City under the scorching hot sun. He wore a pale blue silk shirt which made him look noble and graceful. He looked extremely relaxed and refreshed. This formed a strong contrast with the other sweaty passersby. This attracted everyone’s gaze.
“The business is not bad.” Long Yi stood looking at that imposing huge signboard in front of him. The signboard had three words written on it in huge letters. It was the signboard for the Bounty Hunter Bar. All three entrances were crowded with people. One could well imagine how good the business was.
Long Yi leisurely swaggered into this bar and a row of ladies dressed in sexy costume welcomed him. Only after entering, he discovered that this Bounty Hunter Bar was not just a bar. It also had a separate dining area and there was an area called the ‘Cool Outdoor Bathing Spot’. Every single area in the bar was cooled by the special system and the price to enter every area was also fair. Could it be that the bar had such a huge attraction?
Long Yi stepped into the bar area on the second floor and was surprised to see the huge hall. When he saw the huge hall, Long Yi screamed internally. The second floors of all the buildings were connected and formed the bar area. The lighting was dim and the waiters were shuttling back and forth. This bar was really too big… Long Yi had never seen such a huge bar even though he had lived for two lifetimes.
“Mister, may I ask if you are a Bounty Hunter?” When Long Yi was thinking about how big this place was, a pretty girl in waitress attire greeted him.
Long Yi smiled. Bounty Hunter Guild was founded by Alpha and Arnold under his instructions. Technically, he shouldn’t be counted as a Bounty Hunter. Shaking his head, he asked with curiosity, “What’s the advantage for being a Bounty Hunter?”
This girl pointed to the right which was separated by the golden edged colored glass. She explained, “If you are a Bounty Hunter, you can enter that area. The environment in that place is much better than here. Even the price in there is half of in this main hall. The service in that area is much better than here as well…”
“Oh……” Long Yi was interested. He had never thought that Arnold and Alpha were so savvy. Although this place was merely separated by a screen of glass, the difference in superiority and rank was immediately reflected.
“Is your boss here?” Long Yi asked with a smile.
“You are?” The girl sized up Long Yi. She was clearly not native to Blue Moon City. Otherwise she would have already recognized Long Yi. Even though she might not know who Long Yi was, she had good judgment. Otherwise, she would not have appeared to receive him. From the deposition and noble air around Long Yi, she knew that Long Yi wasn’t an average person. There was also no way he originated from some average noble family.
“Young Master, you came!” An excited voice suddenly resounded in the hall. Arnold, that sturdy fellow appeared in front of Long Yi. He earnestly looked at Long Yi with worship in his eyes. Long Yi was God in his eyes. He would never forget the battle between Long Yi and that SSS ranked magical beast, Carnage Golden Falcon, in the Huangmang Plain. It was a scene he would remember for life. He knew that he could only look up to Long Yi in his lifetime.
“Arnold, long time no see. I can see that you’re doing a good job.” Long Yi smiled and patted Arnold’s shoulders.
“Thank you for the compliment, Young Master. I’ll remember to do a better job next time.” Arnold was so excited that he trembled. Receiving Long Yi’s praise was the greatest glory he could receive.
The pretty girl who received Long Yi was shocked at this scene. Arnold, one of the founders of the Bounty Hunter Guild was unexpectedly being so humble. Not to mention the fact that he addressed the youth as Young Master. She knew that this youth might be the big boss behind the scene. The Bounty Hunter Guild should belong to him. Arnold and Alpha were just his subordinates which he used to establish the guild.
“Young Master, let’s talk inside.” Arnold led Long Yi inside. He didn’t forget to look back at the pretty girl to order her to keep quiet about Long Yi.
In a dark corner not too far away from Long Yi, Mu Hanyan shook the crystal cup in her hands as she muttered, “Sweetheart, how many secret weapons do you have hidden? I want to see all of them…”
[1] Previously I was not sure so I wrote pinyin “Shangjin (Shang – reward, jin – gold, money)”, now I changed it to Bounty, Bounty Hunter Guild