Make a Deal

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With a soft sound, Richard's feet landed on the ground. He looked toward Shande in the distance.

Shande had already lost most of his fighting strength. Unable even to remain standing, he sat slumped on the ground, gasping for breath. When he saw Richard appear, he raised an eyebrow and guessed that Richard had probably been the one to save him. But he showed neither the relief of surviving a disaster nor gratitude for being saved. Instead, he was extremely wary.

His past experiences had taught him one lesson, one he had firmly engraved in his heart: no one would show him kindness for no reason. That stupid bear from before might have been an exception, but it was a bear, not a person.

So Shande stared at Richard for a long while before asking, "Who are you?"

"What, you don't recognize me?" Richard said softly as he looked at Shande. "We should have met before. At Blue Lake Manor, I killed the people who had been preparing to ambush you. That was the first time I helped you. This is the second."

"So it was you." Shande understood. He pursed his lips, and his tone softened slightly, but his guard did not drop in the slightest. "Then why are you helping me? What do you want?"

"Don't be so hostile toward me. My reason for helping you is simple. I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal? What kind of deal?" Shande asked seriously.

"I think you should have a teacher," Richard said.

"A teacher? You want to be my teacher?" Shande froze, thinking he had guessed Richard's intentions. Then he refused expressionlessly. "You'd better not. In my eyes, no one is qualified to be my teacher."

"You misunderstand me," Richard explained. "I don't want to