Chapter 123 - New Mission
Hao Xuan went straight back to the base and was met with Third at the entrance.
"Ninth brother where have you been? I've been waiting all day," he said running up to Hao Xuan impatiently.
"Did something happen?" Hao Xuan was taken aback by his senior brother's attitude. He was normally very composed and never lost his cool.
*sigh*
"You will see. Someone has been waiting for you all day," he gestured towards Hao Xuan's courtyard.
Hao Xuan looked at Third for second and then proceeded to his quarters where Yun Wentian was standing outside.
"Why are you outside? What is going on?" Hao Xuan asked with furrowed brows.
"There is someone waiting for teacher. She has been here since morning. We tried contacting you but didn't get a response," he stood up and replied respectfully.
"No response?" Hao Xuan gave it some thought and soon remembered what had happened. They had probably tried contacting him when the Spirit Band was with Green and Red and he didn't check the notifications after getting it back himself.
"Well, it's fine now. I don't understand why everyone's acting so fidgety though. Who is so important?" while talking he opened the main gate and entered the courtyard.
It was about 8 p.m and the night was chilly enough that you could see your own breath. Even Hao Xuan felt like wearing a jacket even though he couldn't really feel the cold that much.
As he stepped into the courtyard, he froze mid-stride. There was a single red maple tree in his courtyard that he sometimes sat under whenever he was bored.
Right now there was a petite lady standing under the tree with her back against the trunk. Her eyes were closed and Zhurong was soundly sleeping in her arms.
Her age seemed to be around 25 at most. She was wearing a simple light blue gown without any lavish engravings.
Her long black hair were coming down to her hips, accentuating her bountiful figure. Even through the loose gown, it was obvious how well endowed she was in all the right places. And with her pale skin, she looked like a fairy under the moonlight.
Even without doing anything at all she was exuding an aura and that made people want to turn away in shame. A holy kind of aura. Although she was standing right in front of Hao Xuan he got a feeling that she was an illusion and was in a trance ever since he laid eyes on her.
The lady sensed his presence and walked towards him with her eyes still tightly shut.
She came right in front of the dazed Hao Xuan and gracefully got down on one knee, "My lord."
Her voice sounded like coming of spring. Flowers blossomed and birds chirped after hearing her speak.
"What are you....?" Hao Xuan mumbled unconsciously as he looked at her.
"This one's name is Xu Qing. I am your slave," she said the last part very softly.
"My.....slave?" Hao Xuan was still in a daze and just repeated her words.
"Yes. My father is the foolish King you encountered in your journey several months ago. You spared his life and our kingdom, and in return, I am to be your slave till the end of my time," she replied calmly, still down on one knee and her eyes shut.
It took him several minutes to regain his composure and finally wake up.
*cough*
He cleared his throat with a blushed face, "How could I become entranced just by looking at a girl?" and berated himself inwardly.
"Please stand," he gestured towards her and noticed she still hadn't opened her eyes.
"You can open your eyes, it's alright, I don't mind," he said jokingly.
"Yes," she complied and opened her eyes which at first looked fine, but after closer examination seemed like rough blue diamonds.
Noticing his silence, she explained, "I was born like this my Lord. I am blind," and she closed them back again.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. My apologies if I was rude in any way," he quickly followed up with a smile and a slight bow but then remembered that she wasn't able to see any of that.
"Although I cannot see, I can still detect vague images and shapes with the use of my Spirit energy," she said as if answering a query that he had yet to ask.
"Aha," Hao Xuan nodded his head with some understanding. No wonder she knew when he entered.
He looked at Zhurong who was purring loudly with a content smile on his little face.
"Must be nice," he mumbled under his breath looking at him snuggle in her embrace.
"Um Miss Xu Qing, that matter has already been resolved. Whatever happened is in the past. I hate slavery and more importantly, do not need anyone to take care of me. You can just return to your kingdom without any worries and live a normal life. I'm sorry to have troubled you so much," he said all in one breath.
There was no way he could take a blind woman with him out into the wild where even his own survival was 'iffy' at best.
"She can't," just as Xu Qing was about to reply, Third's voice came from outside. He walked in as well and sighed looking at her.
"She has cut off all her blood ties before coming here. There is no place left for her to go than with you. The great general told me to tell you this clearly, 'She belongs to you now. If you don't want her then she will be sold off as a common slave where her future will be even worse'."
*sigh*
"She is your responsibility. Whether you want to actually form a slave contract with her or not is on you, but she must stay under your care in this life," he said with a heavy heart and quickly left after giving her a pitiful look.
"Poor girl," he mumbled on his way out.
"Eh?" Hao Xuan was stumped. How did he just gain another person to take care of?
"My Lord," Xu Qing interrupted his thoughts. She bowed and said, "Although I am not that useful in combat, I can still do normal chores without too much trouble. I can cook and clean and won't be a burden on you so please....don't throw me away," the last part was lighter than a whisper but Hao Xuan still heard it clearly.
He looked at her for a few minutes as many thoughts passed through his mind.
"Miss Xu Qing, I cannot take you along with me," he said straightforwardly which made her expression take a turn for worse.
"But I do have a place here that needs someone to take care off. I will not form a slave contract with you or treat you like one. You will have a monthly pay with which you can buy whatever you want. I will be out most of the time so you will house sit for me, Is that okay with you? If not you are most welcome to add any terms," he quickly followed up seeing her sad countenance.
Xu Qing was stunned, "Yes?"
"You heard me. Do you not agree to these terms?" he asked with a smile.
"N-No no, how could I not? I agree," she quickly nodded her head and smiled.
"Good!"
There were only two rooms in the in his quarters so he gave her his own and bunked in Yun Wentian's room.
He logged into the Den's portal and placed several orders for a few different weapons, some spirit bands, storage rings and other things like formations. He basically bought one of every type of equipment there was, some whose functions he didn't even know. He also traded in his Storage ring and bought the biggest one gold could buy.
The requirements for the custom Glaive were also sent and it would be ready within a few days.
The total came out to a little over 310 million gold even with the massive discount.
He then contacted Yangdi once again and told him to buy a place by the next day no matter what.
The next morning he woke up to the smell of a delicious homecooked meal. There were some fried eggs, cooked fish, rice, and several other dishes that made his mouth water.
Usually he skipped breakfast and ate lunch outside so this was very new.
Him, Yun Wentian, Xu Qing, and Zhurong had a hearty meal that day. Of course with Zhurong there would never be enough food so Hao Xuan threw him out after he ate one person's worth but he came whimpering back and climbed up into Xu Qing's lap and just looked at Hao Xuan every now and then with fake tears in his eyes.
Xu Qing couldn't hold herself back and fed him most of her own food as well which pissed off Hao Xuan even more.
He told her not to fall for Zhurongs traps but after hearing his fake whimpering she could only give in to his demands.
The shipment from the Den arrived as well. He gave a spirit band and storage ring to both Xu Qing and Yun Wentian. Yun Wentian also got to pick his own weapon from the ones Hao Xuan ordered and chose a longsword.
Hao Xuan didn't go out and stayed in to practice with a temporary glaive he bought from the Den. He bought a few other manuals and techniques from the military portal with the points he had saved up.
Some of them were very basic which he used to brush up on things and teach Yun Wentian. There were basic sword manuals, movement manuals, and a few books on cultivation in general.
Yangdi called around 3 p.m and told him that he had bought a place for him.
Hao Xuan went out to check the place and fell in love with it at first sight. It was located near the center and was probably one of the safest places in the entire city.
It was quite big and covered an area of over Fifteen Square kilometers. There was a natural spring inside with dozens of different kinds of fish swimming around.
There were many different kinds of trees everywhere and it all melded together perfectly. It looked like something out of a movie.
The buildings themselves had the old Chinese architecture and gave off a very refined aura.
"Good. Very good. That guy has got great taste," he couldn't help but compliment Yangdi after going through the entire place. There was not a single thing wrong with it.
With a wave of his hand Bai, Green and Red were summoned, "Choose your rooms. You guys will stay here from now on. Clean up a bit, I'll be back soon."
He went back to the Red Legion base and brought Xu Qing and Yun Wentian with him as well. It only took an hour for them to pack everything and another hour to reach the new place.
Yun Wentian stood there with his mouth wide open and asked Hao Xuan several times if this was really where he was going to live from now on.
Xu Qing, on the other hand, didn't have much of a reaction, which was understandable since she was a princess herself and had probably seen much better places.
He introduced Green and Red to them both as well which once again shocked Yun Wentian when he saw how respectful these two giants were towards Hao Xuan.
Zhurong ran around for several hours, sometimes chasing butterflies, sometimes trying to catch fishes. He got tired soon and returned to Hao Xuan's shoulder for a good nap.
From then on Xu Qing acted like the perfect wife and took care of everything. She made scrumptious meals every day, cleaned the massive mansion, did Hao Xuan's laundry etc. She was working so hard that he had to tell Yangdi to hire a few trustable servants to take care of the grounds otherwise she would work herself to death.
There was a massive maple tree in the new place as well and Hao Xuan made the area under it into a patio where he would laze around whenever there was time. Several times he asked Xu Qing to sing him some songs and she would happily oblige.
****
Lex called the next day to confirm that the portable camp was being made and would be ready within a week or so. Just that thing alone cost him another 70 Million.
Hao Xuan spent most of the time either practicing the basics or teaching Yun Wentian until his Glaive arrived. The only time he left was to either go to the Mad Saints headquarters or meet First. He took Xu Qing and Yun Wentian with him when he went to meet First in his home.
First's son, Xin Qiye was already walking on his own and speaking a few words. Xu Qing helped Anya to prepare a large feast. They all sat together on the floor and ate since the table wasn't big enough for everyone.
A couple of times First came over as well with his family to visit Hao Xuan's place. Little Han Ming seemed to have taken a liking to the massive mansion and loved running around with Zhurong and Yun Wentian.
Hao Xuan even went as far as to ask First to move in with him free of charge but he declined. He said that place was where he was raised and where he would die. (Referring to his own home here, CH26)
Hao Xuan finally got the Glaive an entire week later.
As soon as he held it in his hand it started humming and vibrating intensely. Hao Xuan cut open his finger and drizzled a few drops of blood on top. All the blood was absorbed by the Glaive and a connection much like the one he had with Bai was formed.
He could detect the Glaive's presence and felt something sleeping inside it. Something alive. It no longer felt like a cold piece of equipment, rather an extension of his own body. Just by holding it he felt like taking on entire armies in combat. It was a wondrous feeling.
It was about the same length as him and wasn't too exaggerated, looking similar to the one he had before. (The one in the cover pic of the novel).
After a few days of practicing he transferred a few million gold to Green, Red, and Xu Qing's accounts and gave them Yangdi's contact information in case they needed help with anything, and returned back to the Red Legion base. He wanted to venture out alone so bringing Green and Red wouldn't be too fun since they were so powerful.
There he officially activated the mission for finding a place for the new city and got some requirements and other information to help him do so. He said farewell to his brothers and sisters and directly left the city like a bullet on Bai.
****
But as he marched off into the wild, a hooded figure silently followed from afar.
****
Authors Notes:
Xu Qing: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4f/85/62/4f856218d66942f97bbbc6ebf1f4499e.jpg
Short url: https://urlzs.com/m8VPS