Kagang stood frozen, completely stunned.
He had never imagined that Ling Xiao, who had been only a Dou Zhe a year ago, would give him such a shock when they met again today.
"Da Dou Shi?"
He himself had only just reached the Two-Star Dou Zhe level, and he'd been proud of that for quite some time. But compared to the young man before him, he was nothing.
Was this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person?
Looking at Kagang, who was so shaken that he seemed to be questioning his whole life, even Xiao Ling felt a little awkward. He rubbed his nose, coughed lightly, and changed the subject.
"Um... Brother Kagang, what mission did you take?"
Truthfully, he hadn't planned to team up with anyone. But Kagang and the others were his friends, and given his relationship with Qingxin, he was willing to lend a hand with anything he could manage.
After all, a person needed a few friends in life.
At that, Kagang came back to his senses with a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Come on in, Brother Ling Xiao. I'm sure those boys will go wild when they find out you're here—especially that girl Ling'er. She talks about you all the time..."
"Haha, then I'll have to trouble you to lead the way, Brother Kagang."
Xiao Ling held Qingxin's little hand as he followed Kagang. The three of them chatted and laughed as they turned down a street. At its far end stood a small, old but very clean courtyard. It was the sort of place that was small but had everything one could need.
"Brother Ling Xiao, this is the little courtyard I saved up to buy after taking your advice back then. What do you think? Not bad, right? Does it have that feeling of home you talked about?"
Kagang noticed the surprise in the young man's eyes and smiled as he explained.
"Uh?"
Xiao Ling smiled wryly to himself. Back then, he'd merely been reminiscing about how much he'd valued the idea of "home" in his previous life. He hadn't expected Kagang to take his words to heart. It left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"It's nice. It really feels warm and welcoming."
Xiao Ling smiled.
"Haha, come on, Brother Ling Xiao. I'll introduce you to the others."
"Sure!"
Xiao Ling smiled and nodded.
Then the three of them walked into the courtyard.
"Boss, you're back! How did it go?"
"Is Qingxin all right?"
The moment they stepped inside, a string of questions greeted them. Kagang pointed at the White-robed Youth behind him and laughed.
"You little stinkers, come over and see who's here!"
"Who?" Several youths in their teens and early twenties, each wearing a shield-shaped badge made of crimson feathers on the left side of their chests, looked past Kagang. They froze for a moment, then exclaimed happily, "Boss Ling Xiao, what brings you here? Is something up?"
"What, I can't visit unless something's up?" Xiao Ling looked at them with a smile. "Have you been slacking off this past year? Your strength doesn't seem to have improved at all."
Kagang's face reddened with embarrassment. "Ahem... Well, Brother Ling Xiao, how could they compare to you? They've already pushed themselves as hard as they can just to get where they are."
"That's right, Brother Ling Xiao. We've been working really hard, but our talent is limited. It's already quite an achievement for us to get this far."
Qingxin, standing beside Xiao Ling, smiled faintly. Her cool eyes held a hint of frustration, though there was nothing she could do about it.
Just as Brother Kagang had said, their talent was only average. There was no way they could compare to Brother Ling Xiao.
They'd reached their current level through tireless effort, day and night.
She wasn't dissatisfied with that. Ordinary people simply had their own way of living.
At that, Xiao Ling narrowed his eyes slightly, then changed the subject.
"By the way, Brother Kagang, what's your mission this time? I happen to be free, so let's go take a stroll through the Magic Beast Mountain Range together. It's been a long time since I was there, anyway."
Kagang's eyes lit up. He turned to the White-robed Youth and cupped his hands with a smile.
"Then we'll have to trouble you, Brother Ling Xiao. Our mission is to hunt ten second-rank Purple Sables. You'll only need to back us up."
"What do you say?"
"No problem."
Xiao Ling smiled and nodded. Then he looked at Kagang. "When are we setting out?"
"Anytime. Just give the word, Boss Ling Xiao, and we'll flatten the whole place."
Kagang joked.
At that, the youths glanced at Kagang and stepped forward one after another.
"Boss Ling Xiao, we'll follow your lead. Just point, and we'll strike."
The youths' voices sounded quite imposing.
Xiao Ling only smiled faintly and didn't comment.
After meeting them again, he'd picked up on what Kagang and the others were thinking. But if they wanted to follow him, shouting slogans wouldn't be enough. Besides, he wasn't ready to take them under his wing just yet.
"All right, let's go."
With that, he took Qingxin by the hand and walked out of the courtyard.
Kagang wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. He turned and called to his team members, and they followed.
But they hadn't gone far from the courtyard when a childish voice came from behind them.
"Wait for me... Wait for me... Brother Ling Xiao, wait for me..."
"Ahem... ahem..."
A little girl of about four or five, wearing a pink one-piece dress embroidered with flowers, came running toward them on her short legs, stumbling as she went.
She must have been tired from running, because she started coughing and gasping for breath.
"Br... Brother Ling Xiao... wai... wait for me..."
Everyone turned around. A little girl in a pink embroidered dress stood panting in the middle of the road, waving and calling to them.
When she saw everyone stop and look at her, the girl straightened up at once and hurried toward the White-robed Youth in the crowd, still stumbling on her short legs.
"Br... Brother Ling Xiao... wait for me..."
"Ahem... ahem..."
Seeing this, Qingxin glanced at the White-robed Youth beside her, then hurried over. She crouched down and picked the little girl up, smiling gently. A hint of warmth showed in her cool eyes.
"Be good, Ling'er. Brother Ling Xiao is going to do something very dangerous. If we bring you along, something could happen to you. So you have to stay home and be good. When I get back, I'll buy you candied hawthorns."
"R... Really?"
Ling'er blinked her innocent, wide eyes at Sister Qingxin.
"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" Qingxin said gently.
"Th... Then I want two... three... no... five... five candied hawthorns!"
Ling'er held up her little hands and counted on her fingers. Her wide, innocent eyes were filled with thoughts of candied hawthorns, and she was so excited she could barely speak clearly.
In the end, Qingxin successfully bribed her with "five candied hawthorns."
Everyone watching was both amused and exasperated...
Xiao Ling could only shake his head again and again. It was hard for him to connect this little girl with Ling'er from the original story.
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