183: Xie Ning's Guardian
The news from the Cultivation Association invigorated Xie Ning; his headache even disappeared.
He quickly got out of bed, washed up, and while brushing his teeth, didn't forget to ask, “By the way, how was yesterday’s competition?”
At the mention of it, Su Qin laughed and gave Big Brother Xie a thumbs up: “I was busy with the other academies’ matches later, but I heard they were very boring. Everyone below was discussing you and the people from Dragon Cultivation Academy. There were very few people in the stands, so the matches ended hastily, starting strong but finishing weak.”
This kind of friendly match was more for sparring, only having individual wins and losses, with no rankings.
“After those people finished their matches, except for the nephew of the Feng family whom you severely injured, the other Breeders all slipped away under the cover of night.” Su Qin said, seemingly recalling yesterday’s scene, a smile still in her bright eyes, “You didn’t see it, but when those people arrived, they were all arrogant, but when they left, they were all deflated.”
Xie Ning nodded at the words and quickly finished washing up.
“Oh, right, I’m going out of the academy. If Master comes, remember to tell him.” With that, Xie Ning rode the White Fang, who had unknowingly achieved a Breakthrough and was so happy it walked with a bounce in its step, straight towards the academy gate.
Su Qin was stunned for two seconds, then couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh no! I forgot to tell him! I hope he doesn’t get scared…”
After yesterday’s matches, Xie Ning’s reputation in the academy had reached an unprecedented height. Almost as soon as he called out, thousands of students would immediately respond.
“I hope Big Brother Xie doesn’t get torn apart by those crazy fans.”
...Xie Ning never expected that one day he would become famous.
He had just left for a short while when a crowd of people swarmed him, blocking his way. At first, he thought they were looking for trouble, but it turned out they all ran up to take photos with him.
After finally taking photos with these people, he looked up again, and there was a dense crowd, stretching as far as the eye could see, with people running down from various buildings.
How could that be? Xie Ning started to decline, but with his refusal, the frenzied crowd actually tried to lay hands on him, some pulling his hair, some tugging at his clothes, all under the guise of “keeping it as a souvenir.”
In the end, Xie Ning only escaped with White Fang thanks to the Fire Shadow.
At the school gate, looking back at the dense crowd in the distance behind him, Xie Ning couldn’t help but shiver.
A student was running into the academy and, seeing someone at the gate, patted his shoulder and asked:
“Classmate, did you see Xie Ning? Where is he?”
The latter nodded vigorously: “I saw him, I saw him! Look, he’s surrounded by that group of people in front. Hurry up, you’ll be too late!”
“Ah, then we must hurry. Thank you, classmate!”
With that, seven or eight students rushed towards the crowd, shouting, “Xie Ning, husband! We’re here!” as they ran, and crucially, two of them were men.
Watching the departing people, Xie Ning shivered twice more, ignoring his composure, and vaulted onto the wolf:
“White Fang! Let’s go!”
With a ‘boom’ and trailing flames, White Fang ran at an unprecedented speed... Approximately half an hour later.
Xie Ning arrived at the Cultivation Association and went straight to the counter.
“Hello, I received a message saying there’s new progress on my guardian application.”
This time, standing at the counter was not the cheongsam beauty he had seen last time, but a dark-skinned, seemingly naive male receptionist.
He took Xie Ning’s identification, looking surprised, and checked back and forth between the ID and Xie Ning. After a moment, he reacted and said, “Please follow me.”
With that, he led Xie Ning towards the interior of the Cultivation Association.
As soon as they left, another receptionist immediately came to take over his work.
Walking on the rosewood floor, listening to the sound of footsteps.
Xie Ning saw the receptionist several times wanting to speak but closing his mouth, so he smiled and asked, “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Ah, I’m truly sorry to have caused you trouble. Um… it’s like this, if you see this guardian and are not satisfied, you can refuse, and we will arrange a new one for you.” The receptionist was startled at first, then said honestly.
“Oh? Is there anything special about the other party?” Xie Ning was dumbfounded at the words.
The receptionist thought for a moment, nodded, and said, “The other party is a female Gold-rank Demon Tamer. Her strength has passed the test and is at an intermediate level, but her appearance… how should I put it… I’m sorry, as a staff member, I shouldn’t negate a distinguished Gold-rank Demon Tamer, but…”
“Is she ugly?”
“Not exactly, no, well, yes. Her appearance…” The receptionist looked around, confirmed there was no one else, and then whispered, “She’s burned, very scary.”
Hearing this, Xie Ning was slightly startled, then thought of the person he had seen in the region of Jingzhou.
It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, could it?
Soon, he arrived outside a door and looked inside through the glass door.
Wow! It really was that much of a coincidence.
“This is it. I’ll wait for you at the door. The door is soundproof, so you don’t have to worry about your conversation with her being leaked.” The receptionist said, slowly opening the door.
Xie Ning walked in and saw the familiar figure shrouded in a black robe standing in front of the large glass window.
“Ahem.” Xie Ning cleared his throat.
The other party was startled at the sound, turned around abruptly, and seeing Xie Ning standing near the door, couldn’t help but exclaim, “How is it you?!”
This person shrouded in a black robe was precisely the woman Xie Ning had seen in Jingzhou. However, at this moment, Xie Ning still didn't know that she was the Demon Cat Woman who had almost taken his life before.
At this moment, the Demon Cat Woman’s heart was also extremely unsettled. Ever since Xie Ning rescued her in Jingzhou, she thought Xie Ning was from Jingzhou, so she fled to Lingnan City, wanting to stay away from this person who had harmed her and then saved her. Who knew that upon arriving in Lingnan City, she would still see Xie Ning.
“Why can’t it be me?” Xie Ning looked at the scorched face revealed beneath the black robe and smiled, “Please sit, let’s talk.”
The Demon Cat Woman, however, was like a startled cat, watching Xie Ning warily, not saying a word, nor showing any intention of sitting down.
After a few seconds of stalemate, Xie Ning shrugged helplessly and said, “You don’t need to be so cautious. I bear you no ill will; after all, I saved your life last time. Besides, you are a Gold-rank Demon Tamer, and I can’t beat you, so there’s no need to be so wary of me.”
The Demon Cat Woman did not answer.
A few more seconds passed.
Xie Ning said, “Why don’t you change your clothes? That outfit looks like a hateful Fallen Demon Tamer.”
“None of your business?!” the Demon Cat Woman retorted.
Xie Ning asked again, “You seem to know me? Who exactly are you?”
“None of your business!” the Demon Cat Woman retorted again.
After several consecutive attempts to speak were met with a rebuff, Xie Ning also got angry and shouted, “Why are you being so sarcastic?! Did I demolish your house? Or did I trick you into bed? Is it really that satisfying to retort to everyone? Do you understand manners? Sit down!”
The Demon Cat Woman trembled all over from the shout. For a moment, it was unclear whether her scorched face showed grievance, anger, or something else, but she did relax and, following Xie Ning’s words, plopped down heavily onto the sofa.
Xie Ning then nodded in satisfaction.
Sure enough, at critical moments, a loud voice worked best.
“You applied to be a guardian, and I applied for a guardian to protect me. According to the process, it’s your turn to introduce yourself.”
After Xie Ning finished speaking, the Demon Cat Woman looked bewildered, “Aren’t you a Demon Tamer?”
“Who says a Demon Tamer can’t do a Breeder’s job? This is my certificate, take a look.” With that, Xie Ning threw his Cultivation Qualification Certificate to the Demon Cat Woman.
The latter easily caught it, opened it, and her eyes widened. Emotions like grievance and anger temporarily vanished, replaced by utter shock.
Watching her reaction, Xie Ning felt a rush of satisfaction, then reminded her, “Now it’s your turn to introduce yourself, right?”
“…” The Demon Cat Woman didn’t answer, but her expression was noticeably less stiff.
Xie Ning continued, “You can also choose not to speak, but if we can’t talk things over, then you’ll have to wait for the next Intermediate Breeder, and who knows when that will be.”
With that, he stood up and was about to head for the door.
“Hey, wait, wait…” the Demon Cat Woman urgently called out.
After Xie Ning sat down, the Demon Cat Woman picked up the water cup, drank it all, and looked at Xie Ning with complex eyes: “Now that I’m burned like this, it’s no wonder you don’t recognize me.”
“Actually, we met before, at the Experimental Base near Pingan Village.” Saying that, she raised her hand and summoned a large cat.
Xie Ning looked at the large cat, his expression unchanged, but if one looked closely, one could see the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He picked up the water cup, drank a few sips to moisten his throat, and then said, “Soul Hunting Dread Cat. So, you are that Demon Cat Woman?”
In that case, why she was completely scorched also made sense.
“Indeed.”
The information was verified, and Xie Ning’s heart suddenly constricted, but he still calmly asked, “A Fallen Demon Tamer appearing in the Cultivation Association, and as a guardian, what is your purpose?”
‘Purpose?’ The Demon Cat Woman scoffed at herself, then said, “After the Experimental Base was destroyed, the Fallen Demon Tamers are hunting me, and if the City Defense Force discovers my identity, they will also pursue me. The way I am now, I’m just a stray dog who can’t walk the line between good and evil, and even trying to charm others is disgusting.”
She stopped there, but from the changes in her eyes and expression, it was clear that the past few days of being hunted had not been easy.
Hearing this, Xie Ning slightly relaxed and, following the information she provided, inferred, “So you think your Gold Rank strength is the only thing you have left to offer, and you plan to use it to gain the protection of the Monster Taming Alliance?”
“Mm.” The Demon Cat Woman nodded.
Xie Ning asked again, “Why should I trust you?”
“Once the Guardian Agreement is signed, both parties must abide by its rules. The guardian cannot harm the Breeder, nor can they use the guardian identity to probe the Breeder’s information. You don’t need to trust me, but you can trust the Guardian Agreement.” The Demon Cat Woman said, pushing the scroll on the table.
Xie Ning opened it. The scroll indeed contained rules binding both parties. After reading it, he nodded slightly and asked, “Then what are your conditions for being my guardian?”
The Demon Cat Woman was startled at first, looking at Xie Ning with complex eyes. After a moment, she said, “Besides the inevitable benefits of a guardian, such as evolving and healing Demon Tamers Beast, if there’s an opportunity in the future, help me restore my appearance.”
“I can agree to that.”
“I am currently being hunted by Fallen Demon Tamers. Once the agreement is signed, you will also face attacks from Fallen Demon Tamers.” The Demon Cat Woman warned.
Xie Ning smiled, “That suits me perfectly.”
“Then… then I have no problems.”
“Let’s sign.”
“With you?”
“Otherwise?”
“Oh…”
Both parties signed their names on the Guardian Agreement. As the names were signed, the Guardian Agreement split into two copies, each holding one, and at the same time, two beams of light converged in the air and entered their minds.