My Fool (Part 1)

Gao Yingjie's voice was forceful and resonant, each word striking Long Haochen's heart like a nail being hammered in. "For a knight, the word 'adventure' never exists in the dictionary, because you are not fighting alone. Prudence is a quality you must always possess."

"What you most need to strengthen now is your judgment of the overall situation and your command ability in battle. To become a leader your companions trust, there is still much, much you need to do. This is pressure, but also motivation. Over the next three months, I will not offer guidance to anyone else. You alone will be my focus. And when the others make mistakes, you will need to correct them. What the others should do will be for you to decide. Within three months, you must become a qualified leader, a qualified squad captain. From the moment you became the captain of the Soldier Grade One Demon Hunt Squad, your life no longer belonged solely to you—it belonged to the entire team. Likewise, every member of your team has entrusted their life to your hands. You must keep striving in order to bear this weighty responsibility."

Gao Yingjie's words were somewhat heavy, and the atmosphere in the carriage grew solemn. Everyone's gaze fell on Long Haochen without prior agreement.

Long Haochen took a deep breath and slowly extended his right hand. In a low voice, he said, "Never abandon, never give up. I, Long Haochen, swear here that I will never abandon any teammate. I will defend the team's honor with my life, and protect each and every one of you with my life. My sword will point the way forward for you, and my shield will hold back powerful enemies for you."

"Good!" Sima Xian shouted. With a smack, he pressed his hand over Long Haochen's. Lin Xin and Han Yu extended their hands almost at the same time, stacking them atop the others.

Wang Yuanyuan slapped her hand down hard onto Lin Xin's palm, making him bare his teeth in pain.

Chen An'er lightly placed her hand on the back of Wang Yuanyuan's hand and puffed out her not particularly ample chest. "I won't hold everyone back either."

By then, Cai'er's hand had quietly slipped in from below, pressed tightly against Long Haochen's palm.

At that moment, a huge paw stretched over as well. Amid Chen Yinger's shriek, it landed on her hand.

It was Haoyue.

Chen Yinger glared at the fellow with all her might. Yet Haoyue's three heads all turned away in unison, their eyes drifting toward the carriage roof as if nothing had happened. The expression was so humanlike that it made Chen Yinger want to beat it up.

Long Haochen shouted, "We are one whole. We are companions who can entrust our backs to one another."

Everyone said in unison, "Never abandon, never give up."

"Woo, woo!" That was Haoyue's voice...

Watching this scene, Gao Yingjie could not help pressing his lips together. It was as though he had returned to the day, twenty years ago, when his own Demon Hunt Squad had been formed. But his companions...

Even Gao Yingjie had not expected the young people in his group to come together so quickly. Without question, this was a good beginning.

"Uncle, Demon Hunt Squads really seem so interesting! I want to join one too." Shi Xiaoxue looked at the group enviously and whispered into Gao Yingjie's ear.

Gao Yingjie's boiling enthusiasm was instantly scattered by a trace of unease and even greater embarrassment. He shifted slightly away from Shi Xiaoxue. "Sit properly. If you want to become a member of a Demon Hunt Squad, then cultivate diligently. You'll still have a chance in five years."

Shi Xiaoxue's eyes lit up. "Uncle, does that mean you agree?"

Gao Yingjie looked up at the roof of the carriage. "We'll talk about it in five years." Though the carriage carried so many of them, along with the huge Haoyue, it still traveled quickly. The eight tall horses galloped at full speed, resting only once every hour. Not until dusk did they stop in a medium-sized city. In a single day, they had covered nearly five hundred li.

Along the way, Long Haochen and the others each cultivated their spiritual power. The carriage rode smoothly, and with Gao Yingjie, a powerhouse of the sixth step, present, they naturally would not waste time. Every additional bit of spiritual power increased their ability to survive on the battlefield.

This city was clearly the first rest stop of their journey. Outside the hotel where they checked in, Long Haochen and the others saw another nine identical carriages. Evidently, the other newly promoted Demon Hunt Squads that had departed before them were resting here as well.

The first benefit of being Demon Hunt Squad members now became apparent. Any member of a Temple Alliance Demon Hunt Squad could stay free of charge at any hotel within the Temple Alliance by presenting the Merit Token embedded in their left forearm. Gao Yingjie also told them that, at the rank of a Soldier Grade Demon Hunt Squad, they could receive a ten-percent discount at any auction house. This discount would improve as their Demon Hunt Squad's rank rose.

Demon Hunt Squads were the Temple Alliance's true elite, so such treatment was only natural. After all, they frequently had to face powerful enemies. How could they lack solid logistical support?

Everyone was assigned a separate room. After a simple dinner, Gao Yingjie instructed them to return to their rooms and rest.

Long Haochen held Cai'er's hand and escorted her back to her room. "Cai'er, you must be tired after traveling all day. Rest early." With that, he turned to leave.

Cai'er flipped her wrist and caught Long Haochen's hand instead. With a tap of her green bamboo cane, she closed the door.

Seeing what she had done, Long Haochen immediately felt his heartbeat quicken, and a blush appeared on his handsome face. A lone man and woman sharing a room was inherently ambiguous.

"Could you stay with me for a little while before you go?" Cai'er asked softly.

How could Long Haochen refuse such a request? Holding her soft hand, he said, "All right." He led Cai'er to the sofa in the room and sat down. Their young bodies leaned against each other, and as he sensed the faint yet tranquil orchid fragrance emanating from her, Long Haochen's heart beat even faster.

Though they had sat together in the carriage, many others had been beside them. Yet now, there were only the two of them.

Long Haochen could not help extending his arm and wrapping it around Cai'er's slender waist. Cai'er did not resist. Instead, she gently leaned against his shoulder.

They both cherished this quiet warmth. Long Haochen's heart raced and his face felt hot, but the feeling was simply too wonderful for him. He did not make any further advances, merely holding Cai'er lightly around the waist. More accurately, at only fourteen years old, he had no idea what else he should do.

Cai'er was his most precious treasure. He would never try anything improper.

After a long while, Cai'er shifted slightly and sat upright. "Haochen, what did Great Grandfather say to you today?"

"Hm?" Long Haochen emerged from that warm tranquility. "He told me to take good care of you and protect you."

Cai'er was slightly startled. "Only that?"

Long Haochen said, "He also said that from now on, I should call him Great Grandfather like you do. He said you've suffered a great deal over the years."

Cai'er's whole body shook. Turning toward Long Haochen, her voice became a little urgent. "He really said that?"

"Yes. What's wrong?" Long Haochen looked at her in confusion.

The next moment, he saw Cai'er's eyes moisten. Her delicate body trembled lightly, and seeing how close she was to tears, Long Haochen's heart ached. He hurriedly pulled her into his arms. "Cai'er, don't cry. What's wrong?"

Nestled against his warm embrace, the trembling gradually left Cai'er's body. She gently removed the veil from her face and pressed her cheek against his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.

"Haochen, do you want to hear about my past?" Cai'er asked.

Long Haochen said gently, "As long as you're willing to tell me, I'm willing to listen." Cai'er's voice was very soft, carrying a hint of remoteness. "I am someone who never had a childhood. In the eyes of the others in the Assassin Temple, I was like a princess. But if I could choose, I would rather have been the most ordinary girl."

"The inheritance of our Assassin Temple is not as simple as that of your knights or warriors, where anyone can potentially learn it. To become an assassin, one must possess exceptionally high perception and talent. Training an assassin is far more difficult than training a knight or warrior, and requires tremendous effort. Therefore, the Assassin Temple gradually developed a secret technique that could determine whether a child possessed cultivation talent at around the age of three. Only those children with sufficiently outstanding talent—those with at least a seventy-percent chance of becoming qualified assassins—would receive the Assassin Temple's training."

This was the first time Long Haochen had heard Cai'er speak so much. At this moment, he was an excellent listener, gently holding her as he listened to her story.

"When I was three, they discovered that my Innate Internal Spiritual Power would exceed ninety upon awakening, making me what they called someone with the Reincarnation Saint Daughter Physique."

Hearing this, Long Haochen was greatly startled, but he did not interrupt her. He merely listened as Cai'er continued.

"From that moment on, my nightmare began." A heart-wrenching sorrow appeared on Cai'er's beautiful face.

"A three-year-old child should still be pampered beneath her parents' protection, playing without a care in the world. But I lost everything I had with children my age. Three years old... I was only three years old then, yet Great Grandfather sent me into a cold, dark cave. There were no family members, not even any food. For seven days and seven nights, the only thing accompanying me was a Black Sword floating in the air."

"I cried and screamed. I wailed in despair. I called for Daddy, called for Mommy. But even after my voice had gone hoarse, even after all my tears had dried up, there was not the slightest response."

"I was so cold. I was so afraid. Even though I was only three years old then, I can still remember everything clearly. No one came to save me. No one. I could only endure that chilling terror alone..."