Lucky?

"Huh?" Hearing this, Manna asked curiously, "You can even be hired for a fee? Don't you dislike fighting?" "I fear poverty even more." Kelvin glanced at her as if looking at an idiot. "Otherwise, why would I be tempted by the tax exemption? Hmph, if you want to spend money to hire me, think it over carefully. I'm very expensive!" "Here he goes again!" Manna rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Can't you just talk like a normal person?" Kenpa nodded slightly. "Stepping in once for free... Interesting. If it proves your worth, it's a fair deal." "Take it easy for the next couple of days. Don't rush," Kelvin said, vanishing into thin air in an instant. "Remember to address me as 'My Lord' from now on!" Clearly, the attitude of these knights had gotten on his nerves. Manna continued toying with the token, handing it toward the youth only after a while. "Take a look?" She felt it would be more reassuring to have him inspect such a bizarre object. "Never mind." Wu Youren shook his head slightly. "That man fusses over mere forms of address. With my cultivation level... I'm not worthy!" That was only a small part of his reasoning. Ever since encountering the talking rat, he had maintained a high degree of vigilance toward such mysterious items. Not just him—even Kenpa and the female archer gave the thing a wide berth. Neither of them had a grand knight for a master, after all. Still, one thing Kelvin said was right: they were currently at the center of the storm and needed to lie low for a bit. That night was a rare quiet one for the group. At midnight, it was Wu Youren's turn to keep watch. He walked up a gentle slope beside the camp and sat cross-legged in silence. Every now and then, he would receive a surge of experience points. The main issue was that these bursts came without warning and in unpredictable quantities, sometimes copious, sometimes meager. Therefore, whenever conditions permitted, he preferred being alone, and the others had long grown accustomed to it. As he sat still, focusing his breath and mind, his eyes suddenly snapped open and looked ahead. Visibility in the wilderness night was very poor, and with overcast clouds in the sky, it was darker still. Even so, he could make out a small snake slithering toward him seven or eight meters away. It was barely over a foot long, resembling a juvenile snake, and radiated no discernible threat. The little snake slithered to within two or three meters of him and halted, as the youth had already begun to stand up. With a little creature like this, there was no need to alarm the others, but if it drew too close, it still had to be dealt with. The small snake raised its head, its tongue flicking with a hiss. It was too dark to make out its species. The next moment, a faint whisper drifted over. "No longer planning on going to Tianjing?" Here we go again! Wu Youren was rendered somewhat speechless. After a moment of thought, he muttered softly, "It's not suitable for development there." The little snow harrier on his shoulder had already closed its eyes to sleep; hearing his voice, its talons shifted slightly, though it did not wake. A bit strange—why hadn't the other party possessed Xiao Ha? The small snake continued flicking its tongue. "You don't trust me, do you? Hiding inside the martial academy is indeed a sound choice." Wu Youren fell silent for a long time before replying, "I truly cannot place full trust in you. Brother, please forgive me." "I know you don't trust me," the little snake replied. "I helped you eliminate Namuzha. That fellow harbored ill intent toward you." Huh? Wu Youren's eyes widened slightly. "You... helped?" "You didn't find an identity token on him, did you?" the little snake answered unhurriedly. "It wasn't convenient for me to take the wristwatch." Holy crap. The youth was lost for words. Namuzha's death had indeed felt somewhat bizarre, but he truly had never expected Chen Quanxu to be behind it. As for the identity token, upon careful reflection, he really hadn't seen one—in terms of importance, it was far inferior to a communication wristwatch. The former was merely a QR code waiting to be scanned, while the latter was a smartphone! "If you don't believe me, I can tell you where the identity token is hidden," the little snake continued to flick its tongue. "That... there's no rush for that." Wu Youren did not say he wouldn't verify it. He couldn't help it; caution was second nature to him. The other party was likely telling the truth, but he could not afford to be careless. "This snake is too small," the little snake wriggled its body. "Otherwise, I would have brought it straight to you!" Currently, martial artists were patrolling everywhere across the wilderness, making larger animals a rare sight. The youth signaled that he wouldn't dwell on the matter for now. "What brings you to see me this time?" "Don't touch Kelvin's token," the little snake said, surprisingly aware of everything. "I don't have the energy to save you!" What the hell... Wu Youren felt he had been struck speechless by this fellow far too many times. He felt a surge of relief; fortunate that he had been cautious enough not to touch the token. But would Kelvin dare harm Manna? He thought it unlikely. "Is that guy really that insane?" "A half-baked puppeteer, nowhere close to the real deal!" the little snake stated nonchalantly. "He might not necessarily harm you, but why look for trouble?" "Fortunately, I didn't disappoint you." Wu Youren took the initiative to lower his posture. Whatever he knew, the other party knew; whatever he didn't know, the other party could explain in detail. Facing an entity like this, it was necessary to show some concern. "You should be careful too. That fellow might even be a grand knight." "I could beat down at least three of him," the little snake stated with disdain. "Merely at the level of an apprentice ability master. "It's just that there's no need to waste energy on him." I hope you're not bragging, big shot! Wu Youren pondered for a moment before asking, "Then for the next ambush against the barbarians... can we invite him along?" "That's fine," the little snake replied. "However, with people from the Far West, you'd best not get too close." "Is there a reason for that?" "Now is not a good time to chat." The little snake flicked its tongue again. "Conversing with you like this comes at a relatively high cost. "I'm a bit puzzled. Why do you insist on butting heads with the barbarians? It's a pure waste of time and terribly inefficient." Wu Youren weighed his thoughts and decided to trust the other party. The key point was... even if word leaked out, it wouldn't cause much trouble. "I want to give the Life-and-Death Knot something to do. They're utterly disgusting." "The night execution squad of the Court of State Ceremonial!" Chen Quanxu understood instantly. "They are indeed utterly disgusting. I'd rather face off against the Intelligence Bureau! "You'd better learn a few things from me instead. That bunch of trash only knows how to disgust people. In a real fight, they're nothing!" The youth could no longer hold back. "Pardon my boldness, but what kind of abilities do you possess?" This time, the little snake fell silent and gave no answer for a long while. Wu Youren wasn't in a hurry. The other party had already said that communicating was costly, so he couldn't be inconsiderate of their expenses. Besides, the question was slightly presumptuous. Both were from Hostage Manor; if he could be cautious, why wouldn't the other person keep their guard up? At any rate, he was on night watch and had plenty of time to wait. After about ten minutes, the little snake finally answered, "There's no hurry to talk about that. Can you leave the martial academy regularly?" Looks like an intermediate martial academy really has some weight to it! Wu Youren mused inwardly. If Chen Quanxu wasn't bragging, he was likely the strongest cultivator Wu Youren had encountered so far. Judging from Kelvin's conduct, Kelvin didn't seem particularly afraid of Hong Da, yet this person claimed he could thrash several Kelvins. Even so, an entity of such caliber found it inconvenient to enter and leave Red Pine... "Did you come to see me this time because I said during the day that I wanted to return to Red Pine?" "Red Pine... You're right, it's suitable for quietly developing, but you still need to come out and wander around often." Wu Youren pondered for a moment, then abruptly changed the subject. "How long can you use this snake?" "As long as it doesn't die, I can keep using it." The little snake spoke of its mortality casually. "The main problem is finding no other suitable animals." The youth considered this, then asked bluntly, "Senior, what exactly do you see in me?" The little snake fell silent for three or four seconds before giving an earth-shattering answer: "Your luck!" Wu Youren was completely rendered speechless. "Sounds like nonsense, doesn't it?" The little snake was not surprised by his reaction. "That's because you don't know just how lucky you are." "Me? Lucky?" Wu Youren truly didn't even want to reply. Could an insult be so vile? "If it weren't for the fact that I'm no match for you..." "See, I told you that you don't get it!" the little snake said bluntly. "Without saying too much, let me ask you... Why don't I take control of the snow harrier?" How would I know! The youth ventured, "Because... too many eyes are on it?" So your connection to these small animals counts as control? "Because it possesses an exotic energy," the little snake replied directly. "I can't control it, yet it recognized you as its master!" Wu Youren answered without hesitation, "That was mere coincidence." "I know you don't believe it." The little snake didn't bother arguing. "Given your circumstances, you had no access to the knowledge of ability masters, and up until now, you haven't awakened. "Yet you are only one step away... half a step away. I won't ask how you managed it; I only ask, am I wrong?" Wu Youren could only smile wryly, muttering, "Who doesn't have a little bit of luck? It's just not convenient to share." The little snake ignored his defense. "You know in your heart how poor you were when you came out of Hostage Manor. And now? "Don't think it was all your own effort. As a human, one must maintain a sense of awe! "Including that suggestion of yours about tax exemptions—why on earth was it memorialized to the throne? Do you think no one in Liang ever thought of it before?" So am I truly a child of fortune? Wu Youren sighed inwardly. "If I were truly that lucky, I should be in Jin right now." "Jin?" the little snake scoffed. "If you were truly in Jin, could you have gained this much?" Perhaps due to the annexation of the state, his tone turned caustic. "With the climate there, don't you know about that worthless brat's Hidden Dragon Plan?" "All right." Wu Youren's thoughts smoothed out upon hearing "worthless brat." "Xiao Ha's body, you couldn't seize... you were helpless against it?" "Seize what body?" The little snake was slightly bewildered, but decided it wasn't very important. "If you truly want to maintain communication with me, raise a cat or dog or something. Best not to keep it inside Red Pine Academy." Wu Youren shook his head helplessly. Remote breeding... do you think this is the Blue Planet? "Keep it outside the academy? The barbarians won't spare a single scrap of meat. Can't we just stick with this snake?" "You have a snow harrier on your shoulder!" The little snake grew a bit annoyed. "Have you ever looked into its diet?"