Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty

Just as Zhao Rong was about to get intimate with Miss Lili, a sharp, piercing voice suddenly echoed from within the cave. ”Damn, if you’re here on an adventure, how do you still have the leisure for this kind of thing…?”

With his eyes already closed, Zhao Rong was just about to take the final step with Miss Lili when he suddenly heard someone speak and abruptly stopped. His eyes darted around in their sockets as he asked, ”Who’s talking? Could the assistant from the Magic Ring have woken up?”

At that, Zhao Rong thought, It’s that meddling troublemaker of an assistant again. So many of my good times have been ruined by this guy. It seems that in the future, if I’m trying to handle this kind of business, I absolutely must not bring the assistant along. Even when that guy is asleep, his senses are still on high alert, always watching me, stopping me from partaking in the happiest thing in the world.

Seeing Zhao Rong stop so suddenly, an infuriated Miss Lili punched him on the chest. ”Brother Zhao Rong,” she said, ”let’s just do our thing and ignore that beast of an assistant! Let him talk. After all, he’s in the Magic Ring and can’t get out or see what we’re doing. Just let go completely! Unleash your manliness and might!”

Hearing this, Zhao Rong thought it made sense. The assistant was in the Magic Ring, and unless he opened it, the assistant couldn’t come out. Even if he protested, grew envious, or became jealous, there was still nothing he could do.

So, Zhao Rong nodded, looked down at Miss Lili, and said, ”Alright. Then let’s begin with our full, undivided attention.”

However, just as Zhao Rong was about to give it his all, someone else spoke.

”When you two do your business, you could at least find a hidden, safe, dark place! Doing it right here... are you trying to give this old man a nosebleed?”

Hearing such a sharp, shrill voice, Zhao Rong immediately kipped up to his feet. ”No,” he said, ”that doesn’t sound like the assistant’s voice.”

Miss Lili quickly dressed, her eyes scanning the surroundings. ”This voice isn’t the assistant’s, nor is it Yu Lan’s or Xuelian’s. So where is it coming from? Who’s speaking?”

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Zhao Rong stepped forward to protect Miss Lili. He immediately drew the Dharma Sword from the Magic Ring and declared, ”This is bad. It must be the Thousand Year Old Demon.”

Miss Lili said in disbelief, ”Could we have found the Thousand Year Old Demon this easily?”

Hearing Zhao Rong and the beautiful woman beside him call him the Thousand Year Old Demon, the person in the shadows immediately objected, ”I am an E.T., all right? Don’t just call people a ’Thousand Year Old Demon’ at the drop of a hat; that term is pejorative.”

Upon realizing the person hiding in the dark was indeed the Thousand Year Old Demon, Zhao Rong grew more vigilant. In contrast to his heightened alertness, Miss Lili remarked with humor, ”Listening to this Thousand Year Old Demon, he actually sounds kind of funny. Not like a terrifying, bloodthirsty murderer at all.”

Zhao Rong shielded Miss Lili, standing in front of her. ”Since we’ve found so many skeletons along the way,” he said, ”it’s certain this Thousand Year Old Demon is a bloodthirsty villain.”

Just then, the Thousand Year Old Demon spoke again. ”Would you please not wrong me? I didn’t kill those people along the way. They simply sought their own deaths.”

Although the demon’s voice was sharp and fearsome, his tone was somewhat childlike. Zhao Rong grew very curious about his true form. ”I can’t imagine what kind of person you are,” he said. ”But we’ve encountered so many skeletons on our way here, and besides you, there’s no one else in this cave. If you didn’t kill these people, did they kill themselves?”

The Thousand Year Old Demon sounded aggrieved. ”I swear, if I, the Thousand Year Old Demon, have killed even a single person in this cave, may I die a horrible death!”

Hearing his words, Zhao Rong scoffed. ”Thousand Year Old Demon, stop playing innocent. Even though you didn’t kill these people with your own hands, you released a neurotoxic gas that made them slaughter each other.”

Upon hearing ”neurotoxic gas,” the Thousand Year Old Demon sounded even more wronged. He struggled to explain, ”There’s no such thing as neurotoxic gas in this cave!”

Hearing the Thousand Year Old Demon’s excuses, Zhao Rong pointed the Dharma Sword into the air and shouted, ”Thousand Year Old Demon, you’re just a poser! On our way here, we clearly smelled the neurotoxic gas you released in the cave. What’s more, three members of our team started killing each other because they inhaled that gas!”

Listening to Zhao Rong, the Thousand Year Old Demon retorted, ”If you all smelled the neurotoxic gas I released, then why did only three people in your team start slaughtering each other, while you two did not?”

Before Zhao Rong could reply, Miss Lili interjected, ”That’s because Brother Zhao Rong and I were quick to react. We soaked pieces of our clothing in water and used them to cover our mouths and noses. That’s how we effectively blocked the neurotoxic gas from entering our respiratory tracts and destroying our nervous systems, which would have caused us to hallucinate and kill each other, ultimately dying in this cave.”

Hearing Miss Lili explain that they had used wet cloths to cover their mouths and noses, the Thousand Year Old Demon seemed to have a realization. In a sharp voice, he said, ”I’ll tell you the truth. There is no neurotoxic gas in this cave. What’s here is a killing magnetic field.”

Zhao Rong had heard of various magnetic fields, but never one that could kill. The notion that a ”killing magnetic field” existed in this mysterious cave seemed utterly incredible. He immediately challenged the demon, ”If it’s a so-called killing magnetic field, then me and Miss Lili blocking our mouths and noses with wet cloths would definitely not have prevented it from affecting our nervous systems. After all, it’s a magnetic field! So why weren’t we affected, while the assistant, Yu Lan, and Xuelian—who didn’t use wet cloths—were? The magnetic field affected their nervous systems, causing them to attack each other, and they still haven’t woken up.”

He finished speaking and thought, If it’s a magnetic field, then using a wet cloth to cover our mouths and noses would be useless. There would be no way to stop a magnetic field’s influence on the human nervous system, no matter what we tried. After all, it’s a phenomenon of micro-electronic movement, not a gas.

Hearing this, the Thousand Year Old Demon frowned. After some thought, he said, ”To be unaffected by the magnetic field, one must be protected by a Dragon Crystal. Only a Dragon Crystal can block its effects.”

The mention of the Dragon Crystal reminded Zhao Rong of the first one he had tricked Ma Long of the Dragon Clan out of back at the True Martial Sect. He also recalled the Dragon Crystal that had belonged to Ma Jie, another member of the Dragon Clan, which Principal Black Phantom had given him at Xijing University. All told, he now had two Dragon Crystals on his person.

Although Zhao Rong was protected by Dragon Crystals, another question arose. If the crystals could fend off the magnetic field’s influence, that would explain why he was unaffected. But what about Miss Lili? She didn’t have a Dragon Crystal on her. Yet, she also avoided the influence. Why was that?

Unable to stop himself, Zhao Rong wondered, Could it be because Miss Lili was so close to me? Did the Dragon Crystals protect her as well?

Just as Zhao Rong was puzzling over this, Miss Lili suddenly took a Dragon Crystal from her pocket and handed it to him. ”Brother Zhao Rong,” she said, ”I almost forgot. Yesterday, at the Wang Family’s mass graveyard when we were eliminating Fierce Ghost East City, you accidentally dropped a Dragon Crystal from your Magic Ring. I picked it up and quietly put it in my pocket. I originally intended to give it back to you as soon as we returned to the Ghost Hunting Academy, but with the sudden turn of events, I completely forgot.”

As she spoke, she placed the Dragon Crystal into Zhao Rong’s hand.

Seeing the Dragon Crystal from Miss Lili, Zhao Rong had an epiphany. He looked into the dark depths of the cave and addressed the demon hidden in the shadows. ”Thousand Year Old Demon, you are correct. The reason Miss Lili and I weren’t affected by the magnetic field is indeed because of the Dragon Crystals we carry.”

Miss Lili also spoke with sudden insight. ”It seems the Thousand Year Old Demon was right. It really was a magnetic field that affected our nervous systems and caused us to attack each other, not some neurotoxic gas.”

Zhao Rong heaved a long sigh. He handed the Dragon Crystal back to Miss Lili and said, ”Miss Lili, you should keep this. It might still protect you. Also... it looks like we really did misunderstand the Thousand Year Old Demon.”

Miss Lili took the Dragon Crystal, placed it back against her abdomen, and asked, ”Brother Zhao Rong, do you think the Thousand Year Old Demon could actually be a kind-hearted demon?”

Zhao Rong first nodded, then shook his head. ”We mustn’t make hasty judgments before meeting him in person. After all, anyone who can live for a thousand years in this sunless cave is certainly no simple character.”

Miss Lili nodded in agreement. ”You’re right, Brother Zhao Rong. If the Thousand Year Old Demon doesn’t show himself and we don’t interact with him, we can’t judge whether he’s good or evil.”

Just then, the Thousand Year Old Demon, who had been concealed for so long, suddenly spoke. ”Fine, I’ll reveal my true form. But when you see me, you absolutely must not be surprised... and more importantly, don’t you dare laugh.”