If You Think There Is, There Can Be

On the banks of the Donar River, a party in gleaming armor hurried toward the opposite shore.

A burly Dragonkin Warrior with a sword and shield on his back ran at the head of the party, with two slender, graceful figures close behind him.

"Ironhead, how much farther is it?" The Dragonkin girl with "Xixue" floating above her head was a little out of breath. The long trek had clearly left her quite irritated.

"Almost there. Once we wade across this river, we're pretty much there." Ironhead checked the coordinates someone had sent him again, then fired off a message to the guy telling him their main force was almost there, so quit fucking rushing them.

"Anyway, thanks to your guild for coming to our aid. If you ever need anything, just say the word. We'll be at your service." Ye Fengxing was the one who owed the favor anyway, so Ironhead was happy to make the gesture on his behalf. Besides, judging by all the rumors, that certain someone and Cloud Pavilion's pair of sisters... had always shared some sort of tangled, indefinable connection.

"You're being far too kind." The other Dragonkin girl, named "Qianshuang," smiled slightly. "The gentlemen of Beaconfire looked after me so many times before. How could I ever forget their kindness?"

"Yeah, yeah! When can you come run dungeons with us again? You're always welcome!" Yun Xixue chimed in.

Seeing her sister's expression cloud over, the girl promptly had the sense to shut her mouth.

"Sure... sure..." At the mention of "Beaconfire," Ironhead seemed rather uncomfortable. He offered a couple of words of agreement, then fell silent.

"Xixue!" Yun Qianshuang arched her delicate brows and scolded her sister.

"Sorry..." Yun Xixue stuck out the tip of her little tongue. She looked so adorably pitiful that her cuteness packed a seriously, seriously lethal punch!

As a male of the species, could Ironhead possibly lose his temper with such a sweet, charming girl? Of course not! Absolutely not!

Watching his expression, Yun Qianshuang immediately deduced a thing or two. It seemed the once-mighty Beaconfire Team really might never rise again... So much time had passed, and their problems still hadn't been resolved. Even something as momentous as switching to a new game together hadn't helped them rally. Ah...

Yun Xixue quietly poked her sister's slender waist and sent her a private message.

[Whisper][Qianshuang]: Sis, I did pretty well just now, right? Hehe, I'm a serious actress.

[Qianshuang][Whisper]: Very good, very good. You were just playing yourself.

[Whisper][Qianshuang]: Sis!

[Qianshuang][Whisper]: All right, all right. My Xixue is sweet and clever, brilliant and quick-witted, and a first-rate actress. Happy?

[Whisper][Qianshuang]: I'm done arguing with you. You're just like that jerk Ye, always saying the opposite of what you mean! Oh, right, sis, what exactly happened to their Beaconfire Team? I'm really curious now too. Can you tell me?

[Qianshuang][Whisper]: I don't know either. Your sister has her limits. I can't get anything out of the Yanhuang League.

[Whisper][Qianshuang]: No way... Stop pretending, sis. Didn't that big pervert tell you any inside information?

[Qianshuang][Whisper]: What nonsense! I'm nobody special to him. Why would he tell me?

[Whisper][Qianshuang]: Stop acting, sis... Everyone says you two are... you know, right?

[Qianshuang][Whisper]: Says we're what? It's all hearsay, and the more people talk, the worse it gets. Since when did you become such a gossip too, Xixue?

I've always loved gossip, okay... Yun Xixue grumbled inwardly. They say gossip is a woman's sixth instinct. Sis, I don't think you're anything like a woman at all!

Seeing that she wasn't going to pry any juicy information out of her sister, the girl had to give up on gossip for the moment. Ah... Looks like I'll have to get it out of that big pervert after all. But digging anything out of that guy is seriously hard!

"How should I ask him???" The girl rubbed her temples and began racking her brains...

"Yi Yan."

"Hm?" War Hero Yi Yan looked up and found Invincible Sword of Overwhelming Might standing before him. The kid was an old hand in the Ninth Division too, and had always followed him and Kuang Dao all over the place. Over time, they had grown quite close.

"What is it?" The Guild Leader shook his head, setting all those tangled thoughts aside.

"The guys on lookout sent word. Kuang Dao said you need to make the call on this."

"Go ahead."

"A lot of people from Cloud Pavilion are coming. By our estimate, there are about a hundred and fifty. We're not sure whether more reinforcements are on the way. What do you think, Yi Yan? Should we call in more people?"

"Where are they now?"

"They just crossed the Donar River. Judging by their direction, they're coming straight for us."

"Cloud Pavilion..." War Hero Yi Yan hesitated, then asked, "Who's leading them?"

"I asked that too," Invincible Sword of Overwhelming Might replied. "The guy said they were too far away to make out. The Assassin we sent over had barely gotten close before a Warrior killed him, but that Warrior wasn't from Cloud Pavilion."

"What's the Warrior's name?"

"Ironhead Monk."

War Hero Yi Yan narrowed his eyes and began pondering the name. As far as he recalled... there wasn't any big shot in Light of Freedom by that name. Who could he be?

Cloud Pavilion was one of the Seven Great Guilds of Light of Freedom, with members everywhere and experts aplenty. Its reputation even edged out that of the War Hero Family-though, of course, that was largely thanks to its beautiful guild leader, Yun Qianshuang. Beautiful women were the center of attention and conversation wherever they went.

War Hero Yi Yan had read plenty of information about Yun Qianshuang. How should he put it? She was a woman blessed with both beauty and brains. To manage such a massive guild so smoothly while still only in her twenties was truly remarkable!

After all, the Seven Great Guilds were far more than mere "guilds." Each was an enormous money-making machine! For starters, every one of the Seven Great Guilds had over a hundred thousand members. Managing that many people was no task for an ordinary person, especially a woman.

Since the two sides were competitors, the War Hero Family had investigated Yun Qianshuang's background thoroughly. She was reportedly the daughter of the Yun Group's chairman. Given how inactive the Yun Family's old man had been in recent years, people in the industry said the young Miss Yun was the one truly running the show.

The Yun Group... War Hero Yi Yan's thoughts wandered again. It was a nationally renowned conglomerate encompassing more than a dozen powerful listed companies. Its financial strength was easy to imagine!

With a background like that, it wasn't hard to see why Yun Qianshuang could command so many formidable figures.

Rumor had it-and it was only a rumor-that Yun Qianshuang and One Leaf Windwalk, God Ye, had quite an intimate relationship. Nobody knew exactly what their relationship was, but whatever it was, "innocent" certainly had nothing to do with it.

Neither of the people involved had ever acknowledged those claims, though-of course, they didn't need to. As long as you believed something was going on, then something could be going on, right?

Besides, if they ever did admit it, plenty of people would probably be disappointed. The best thing about gossip was that you thought something was there, but had no actual proof... Chasing shadows and grasping at rumors was the most fun! And if the people involved vehemently denied everything, that was when the gossip truly reached its climax!

War Hero Yi Yan was a grown man with little appetite for gossip, but that didn't mean he knew nothing about it. Plenty of the little bastards under him loved that stuff and spent all day chattering about it. It wasn't as though War Hero Yi Yan had no ears. Even if he didn't want to listen, a remark or two was bound to reach him. Over time, he learned about it whether he wanted to or not.

"One Leaf Windwalk... Cloud Pavilion... Ironhead Monk..." War Hero Yi Yan repeated those names a few times, then suddenly reached out and gave Invincible Sword of Overwhelming Might a pat. "Go send a few more Assassins to check what ranks those Cloud Pavilion people hold in their guild. Be quick."

"Got it." The young man answered and eagerly hurried off.

Inside the cave on the rocky slope.

"How's it looking?" Ye Fengxing sat on the ground with a blade of grass he'd plucked from somewhere between his lips, looking toward the cave entrance.

"They seem to have given up." Sky knelt on one knee by the entrance, glanced outside again, and answered.

Brick was lying in wait on the other side. He cautiously peeked out a few times and frowned. "We can't say for sure yet, but they've definitely been quiet for a while."

"No need to keep looking," Ye Fengxing drawled. "They really shouldn't have time to bother with us now."

"Why?" Sky asked in surprise.

"Because Ironhead's here with a bunch of our guys."

"Fuck! You could've said so sooner!" Brick swore indignantly, turned back into the cave, and plopped down on his backside. After all that exertion, the little fatty was practically half-dead. What could he do? Someone born with the physique of a pampered rich man just couldn't handle fighting this intense. He really couldn't!

[Party][One Leaf Windwalk]: Don't sit down just yet. Let me ask you something: can you dispel curse spells?

[Party][Brick to the Face]: Yeah. What are you doing? You can talk, so why insist on typing? There's nobody else here.

[Party][One Leaf Windwalk]: Who says there isn't? Isn't there a great big bull's head watching the three of us from that corner?

Brick was instantly speechless... True enough, someone had forcibly stuffed Adaric into a hollow at the far end of the cave, and he'd been quiet for quite some time. If Ye Fengxing hadn't mentioned him, Brick would almost have forgotten he was there.

Knowing the way Ye Fengxing thought, if he was deliberately pulling this stunt, he definitely had an ulterior motive. Could it be...

[Party][Brick to the Face]: What exactly are you trying to do?

Ye Fengxing smiled without answering.

What the hell is this bastard up to... Brick suppressed his confusion and continued asking his questions through text.

[Party][Brick to the Face]: Do you need me to dispel that "Flesh Curse" thing on him?

[Party][One Leaf Windwalk]: Absolutely not! I'm keeping him in that state for a reason. Otherwise, I'd have asked you to dispel it ages ago... Honestly, just heal him a little, and with his abilities, even another thousand War Hero players wouldn't make a difference. He'd wipe them all out just the same.

[Party][Brick to the Face]: What the fuck! Then why did we fight so hard just now? Man, what exactly are you planning?

Ye Fengxing still only smiled without a word.

[Party][Brick to the Face]: Fuck... You bastard!

Watching their exchange, Sky's curiosity was piqued as well. He knew asking directly wouldn't get him anywhere, and was pondering how to broach the subject when a deep voice suddenly sounded from the corner...

"Hey, you, Mage."

[Party][Sky Wanderer]: He spoke! He spoke!

Ye Fengxing waved a hand at Sky, signaling him to calm down, then turned around at his leisure and smiled toward Adaric. "What is it, honored Shaman Warrior?"

Old Adaric wasted no time and got straight to the point. "We've been through hardship together, so if you don't mind, I'll call you my comrades! We can't keep going like this forever. Would you... like to learn the art of protecting your comrades?"