What is all this mess...

The old village chief looked at Bai Yang, frowning with his aged brow as he pondered, saying nothing, his mind churning with unknown thoughts.

The surrounding villagers glanced at Bai Yang, then at the old village chief, but no one spoke.

Finally, the old village chief looked at Bai Yang and said with immense emotion, "Alright, I accept on behalf of the villagers. We will take these weapons and armor you bestow upon us!"

Accepting was good. Hearing the old village chief say this, Bai Yang broke into a smile.

But because his understanding of the local language and culture was too shallow, he grasped that the other party wanted to take the items, yet he didn't quite comprehend the meaning of the word "bestow."

"However, you must also agree to two conditions."

The old village chief shifted his tone, looking at Bai Yang with utmost seriousness.

Bai Yang could tell from the other's eyes that if he didn't agree, the old man would flatly refuse to accept the weapons and armor.

"Go ahead."

Bai Yang rarely turned serious, nodding as he spoke.

"First, these weapons and armor will be distributed to the hundred strongest villagers in the village. They will all become your personal guards. Second, I formally tell you, in the capacity of Little Cat's grandfather, that she belongs to you completely now."

Huh? Bai Yang's heart jolted.

The first condition was fine—guards, like bodyguards back on Earth, no big deal. It wasn't like he'd have these villagers out chopping people every day, and he wasn't the type to stir up trouble. Agreeing was easy. But the second condition left Bai Yang dumbfounded. "Belongs to me"—what exactly did that mean?

The old village chief raised a hand to stop Bai Yang from speaking, then continued, "Of course, since the hundred strongest villagers are the main labor force of the village, most of their energy will still go toward production and work. I hope you can understand that."

That was fine. Bai Yang understood, so he nodded.

But then he thought again—wait, that wasn't right. The real issue was what was going on with Little Cat?

Bai Yang's mind was blank...

Yet the old village chief didn't give Bai Yang a chance to voice his confusion. He turned to the surrounding villagers, raised his aged hand, and began pointing people out:

"Zhao Shi, Hei Gou, Hu Zi, Zhu Zi, Shu Gen..."

The old village chief pointed out a full hundred people. The others automatically stepped back. A hundred men, built like iron towers, stepped forward. The scene was dead silent, incredibly solemn, making Bai Yang feel deeply uncomfortable.

"Arm yourselves."

Looking at the hundred strong men, the old village chief spoke only these two words. But Bai Yang's "language skills" were still at "preschool level," and he couldn't grasp the pronunciation or meaning of those two characters...

In truth, he still only half-understood everything else.

The hundred burly men noisily tore open the wooden boxes. Each one donned a set of Titanium Alloy Armor, clattering as they put it on, and finally each took a Titanium Alloy Blade.

Xiong Da had even thoughtfully added a hook to the scabbard of the Titanium Alloy Blade, allowing it to hang on the left side of the Titanium Alloy Armor's waist. Bai Yang hadn't thought of that...

A hundred strong men, armored and armed, stood in the field. With a shing, the sound of blades being drawn rang out!

Under the morning light, a hundred mighty armored warriors, a hundred cold steel blades—an awe-inspiring aura that could swallow mountains and rivers.

In Bai Yang's bewildered gaze, these hundred men all performed the same action: they swiped the blade of their Titanium Alloy Blade across the palm of their left hand, cutting straight through the cowhide gloves, staining the blade with blood.

With a clatter, they all dropped to one knee before Bai Yang and roared, "We swear loyalty unto death to Young Master Bai!"

Holy crap, Bai Yang jumped in fright. What the hell was this? This was way too serious, kind of scary. And he hadn't understood a word of that "swear loyalty unto death" line. Confused, he looked at the old village chief.

The old village chief smiled and gestured with his chin toward Bai Yang.

Bai Yang scratched his head. Even though he had no idea what they were doing, he awkwardly raised his hand to signal them to get up. You guys doing this is really confusing for me...

"They are all your personal guards now. Would you like to appoint a guard captain?"

The old village chief said with a smile beside Bai Yang, speaking slowly and adding gestures to barely make Bai Yang understand. The earlier conversation had been the same.

Bai Yang felt completely lost inside, unable to make sense of the situation, but he followed the old village chief's lead and pointed at Zhao Shi, saying, "Him, then."

He had no choice. Bai Yang was most familiar with the Savage Trio. Zhu Zi was unreliable—only cared about eating. Hu Zi was unreliable—curiosity off the charts. Zhao Shi was the most steady.

Zhao Shi stepped forward, cupped his fists at Bai Yang, and said, "Greetings, Young Master."

Then, after Bai Yang nodded in a daze, Zhao Shi turned and rattled off something quickly in a flurry of words to the armored men. The hundred warriors now looked at Bai Yang with a different light, but Bai Yang didn't understand the meaning in their eyes...

In the end, Bai Yang stumbled back to his treehouse in a daze...

"Huh? I still haven't figured out the thing with Little Cat."

When he got back to the treehouse, Bai Yang saw Little Cat standing gracefully at the door, smiling at him like a blooming flower. He slapped his forehead and muttered to himself.

As Bai Yang wrestled with his confusion, Little Cat faced him, dropped to both knees, and performed a full prostration, touching her head to the ground.

"What are you doing?"

Bai Yang was startled. He quickly pulled her up, and in his haste, his speech speed picked up, unconsciously switching back to Chinese.

Little Cat stood up, blinked at Bai Yang, and indicated she didn't understand what he was saying.

Great. Bai Yang was completely lost on the local customs now...

Then, under Little Cat's attentive service, he ate a meal of roasted meat like a lord, being fed without lifting a finger.

After the meal, Little Cat flitted about happily like a butterfly. When she finally had a moment to rest, Bai Yang quickly waved her over and said, "Little Cat, come here. I want to ask you something."

"What does Young Master wish to ask?"

Little Cat didn't sit. She stood opposite Bai Yang, her beautiful big eyes blinking at him.

"Exactly, why did they have to do that before?"

Bai Yang gestured as he asked, referring to the hundred burly men's earlier act of cutting their own hands.

"They were pledging their loyalty to you. From now on, they'll all be your guards."

Little Cat's answer was simple and straightforward, but because of the language barrier, Bai Yang still had to struggle a bit to fully understand.

Pledging loyalty and all that—Bai Yang found it utterly bizarre. How did it give him that feeling of a tiger shaking its body...?

What a mess. Bodyguards have to cut their hands too?

Setting that question aside, Bai Yang scratched his head and looked at Little Cat. "Earlier, your grandfather said I completely own you. I don't really get what that means..."

"It means from now on, I'm your man, Young Master. You can have me do whatever you want..."

Little Cat stared at Bai Yang with intense seriousness as she explained. Though her face was a bit red, she didn't avoid his gaze at all.

What the hell?

Gulp...

Bai Yang swallowed hard. Wasn't this a bit too intense?

"Uh, I mean, isn't this a little too casual?"

Bai Yang asked, deeply conflicted. He'd never seen anything like this—one sentence and he could do whatever he wanted with this gorgeous girl?

His words made Little Cat's expression suddenly turn terrified. She looked at him and asked, "Does Young Master not want me?"

"No, I... Hey! What are you doing with that knife? You're not going to cut me, are you?"

Bai Yang was about to explain further when he saw Little Cat spin around and pull her meter-long broadsword off the wall.

She wasn't going to cut him, of course. Instead, she shot him a heartbroken glance, raised the sword, and swung it toward her own neck.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Bai Yang was stunned. He jumped up and shouted. This was too terrifying—people just casually slitting their necks or palms around here? What kind of place was this?

In his panic, Bai Yang yelled in Chinese...

Maybe because she saw his shocked and angry expression, Little Cat stopped. The broadsword rested horizontally against her slender neck, her eyes red as tears dripped down. She looked at him in confusion. The polished, gleaming blade even had a trace of blood on it!

She was serious. She really meant to slit her own throat...!

Carefully, Bai Yang moved the broadsword away from her neck, then, still uneasy, took it from her hands.

Whoa, it was heavy—probably fifty or sixty jin. Bai Yang nearly threw his back out...

"What do you mean by this?"

Bai Yang tossed the broadsword into a corner with effort, then looked at Little Cat seriously and asked in confusion.

"My life belongs to Young Master. If Young Master doesn't want me, I can only die."

Little Cat's words left Bai Yang speechless...