A Terrible Plot

"Don't touch me!" The girl slapped the young knight's hand away, then turned to run again.

"Holy shit, this is getting good!" At the sight, the handful of goofy players nearby erupted into chatter, pointing and commenting while spouting strange jargon.

The young knight frowned at their words. Although he couldn't understand their babbling, he doubted they were saying anything nice.

At that thought, his face flushed bright red. Proud as he was, how could he tolerate other people criticizing him?

As the girl struggled fiercely, his expression turned uglier still.

He darted forward several times in quick succession, clearly intending to take the girl away by force.

The girl, who had already turned to flee, felt a gust of wind behind her and was so frightened that she crouched down with her hands over her head.

Just as he was about to carry the girl off like a kitten, someone suddenly caught his hand.

The young knight looked up and found the strange cloaked man from earlier. "What are you doing?" he asked in a low voice.

"..." Yue Shen paused for a moment before asking in return, "You're trying to abduct a girl in broad daylight. What do you think I'm doing?"

What terrible dialogue. What a horribly clichéd plot... Yue Shen thought.

The young knight froze, then hurried to explain, "Actually, she and I are..."

"What do I care what your relationship is?" Yue Shen declared pompously. "Anything against a woman's will shall be treated as... ahem..."

"You're from the Knight Temple too, aren't you?" Yue Shen pointed at his knight's uniform and changed his line of attack. "Did you swallow the ten tenets of chivalry you swore to uphold?..."

As it happened, Yue Shen had nowhere to vent his frustration after having romance rubbed in his face earlier that day and then spending ages soothing Sol.

What perfect timing-just as he started feeling sleepy, someone brought him a pillow. He had thought this plot was clichéd, but now he was thoroughly satisfied with it.

Besides, judging by the fellow's words and actions, Yue Shen could already tell that this neatly dressed young knight was a beast in gentleman's clothing. At the very least, he was no good...

Since you're no good, and I happened to catch you, don't blame me for being harsh.

And so Yue Shen began by harshly criticizing the young knight using the ten tenets of chivalry and standards of everyday conduct. Then he cited the Temple Alliance Citizen Protection Act-which he had made up-to explain that this was blatant kidnapping, robbery and attempted murder, and that it would land him in prison.

"Damn," the green-haired, curly-haired player beside them said in surprise. "I never imagined this world already had such a comprehensive written legal code."

Although the young knight had no idea what this Temple Alliance Citizen Protection Act Yue Shen mentioned even was, the crowd's reactions and the confidence of the man before him ultimately convinced him it was real.

"Your reprimand is justified." Just as Yue Shen was getting into his stride, the other man interrupted him. "I have come to deeply understand my mistakes."

Yue Shen: "???"

Why are you so meek?

"There is no greater good than recognizing your mistakes and correcting them." Yue Shen quit while he was ahead. "Don't resort to force whenever you have a disagreement. Communication is the best way to solve problems."

"Thank you for the lesson." The young knight suddenly gave Yue Shen a Knight's Salute. "Unfortunately, I still have matters to attend to. I shall seek your guidance another day."

"Mm." Yue Shen stood with his hands behind his back. "Off you go, then."

After seeing off this misguided young man, Yue Shen suddenly felt the weight of his responsibility. He still needed to keep working hard...

Work hard, my ass.

All he wanted now was to run back to his dorm, destroy this black cloak and the mask he had bought from a street stall, and forget everything that had happened today. Speaking of which, who was that man? Since he belonged to their Knight Temple and didn't look older than twenty-five, could he also be a contestant in this year's Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament?

By the time Yue Shen remembered to scan the man with the Identification Tool, he was already nowhere to be seen.

"You actually managed to make that guy listen. You're amazing." The girl's voice sounded beside Yue Shen, carrying a hint of admiration.

Yue Shen turned around and saw the girl who had been hiding behind him.

Rather than respond, Yue Shen opened the Identification Tool. If he could learn her identity, he could probably work out who that hotheaded fellow was too.

[Name: Chen Ying'er]

Goodbye.

Yue Shen turned to leave. So that hotheaded fellow had been Yang Wenzhao.

Well, no wonder he hadn't come to watch the first day of the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament. He had been arguing with his childhood fiancée.

"Wait! Hold on!" Chen Ying'er's voice came from behind Yue Shen, and she ran around in front of him.

"Do you need something?" Yue Shen asked.

"Since you helped me get rid of that annoying guy, I'll forgive you for offending me earlier," Chen Ying'er said.

"I see." Yue Shen fell silent for a moment. "Thank you for forgiving me." With that, he stepped around Chen Ying'er, who was blocking his path.

"What's your name? Are you here for this year's Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament too?" Chen Ying'er followed alongside him, asking curiously, "Which temple are you from? Where are you staying? If that guy comes to pester me again, I'll know where to find you so you can deal with him..."

Yue Shen: "..."

I seem to have landed myself in some serious trouble...

"No comment." Yue Shen suddenly stopped and said, "Also, he won't pester you like he did today again."

"Probably," Yue Shen added.

Then, without waiting for Chen Ying'er to speak, azure motes of light appeared around him, and he vanished on the spot.

A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Ying'er's eyes. More than Yue Shen's sudden disappearance, she was concerned about the elemental fluctuations that had just rippled through the air.

"He shouldn't be from the Magic Temple, should he?" Chen Ying'er murmured to herself.

Only after returning to his dorm did Yue Shen let out a long sigh of relief.

"You really helped me out." Yue Shen stroked the golden crown on Sol's head. "If we run into that blind girl in the finals, we'll settle today's score."

"Grr..." Sol growled softly, seemingly eager to join Yue Shen in teaching that provocative human girl a lesson when the time came.

After removing his mask and taking off his cloak, Yue Shen lay down on the bed.

After thinking it over, he had actually figured things out. If Sheng Cai'er didn't fight him with everything she had, his chances of winning were fairly high.

Although Yue Shen had already left the Temple Alliance Grand Trial Grounds and wandered around a good stretch of the Holy City,

it was still only around noon, and fierce matches were continuing in full swing across the six arenas of the Temple Alliance Grand Trial Grounds.