Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty

Listening to the cheerful sounds of the assistant playing a finger-guessing game, Lili said to Zhao Rong in surprise, ”Zhao Rong, don’t tell me the assistant is a traitor? Did he deliberately lure us here to get us all captured in one go?”

Zhao Rong, who was carefully observing the situation inside the cave, replied, ”I know the assistant. He isn’t that kind of person.”

The beautiful Yu Lan also spoke up, astonished. ”If the assistant didn’t deceive us, then why is he getting along so well with the enemy? Look at him, eating and drinking, and listen to the sounds of their game. They seem like the best of friends!”

Xuelian, equally curious, added, ”Could the assistant have some kind of special ability that lets him bewitch the enemy? Is that why he’s hit it off with them so well?”

Just as they were all expressing their amazement, the scene inside the cave grew even more exciting.

The assistant sat at the very back of the cave, flanked by two kidnappers, one dressed in white and the other in black. The kidnapper in white was playing the finger-guessing game with the assistant, calling out, ”Eight horses! A toast to you, just a little bit…”

The assistant, making hand gestures as well, shouted back, ”Five firsts! Sixes bring fortune! Seven clever ones!”

After the call, the assistant roared with laughter, pointing at a bowl of wine. He said to the kidnapper in black, ”You lose! Drink up, drink up!”

The kidnapper in black grabbed the bowl of wine, drained it in one gulp, and resumed the game with the assistant. But when playing against the assistant, the man in black never won a single round. In no time at all, the assistant had him completely drunk.

After the black-clothed kidnapper slumped over, the one in white stood up, stared at the assistant, and declared, ”I refuse to believe you can beat me at a drinking game!”

With that, the kidnapper in white began to play the finger-guessing game with the assistant. As they played, the assistant laughed and said, ”To be honest, I don’t usually play this game. This is a rare occasion for me…”

He then proceeded to lose a few rounds on purpose. When the kidnapper in white saw that the assistant was no match for her, she burst into an arrogant laugh. ”They call me Zhu Bajie, the best finger-guessing player in these mountains! I knew it! How could a hostage we kidnapped possibly beat me at my own game?”

With that, the kidnapper in white continued to eat, drink, and play with the assistant.

However, after losing three times in a row, the assistant finally revealed his true skills. In the rounds that followed, he didn’t lose a single time. Before long, the kidnapper in white was utterly intoxicated from losing and drinking.

When the assistant saw that both kidnappers were passed out drunk on the ground, he spat out the mouthful of wine he’d been holding. Pointing at the two figures, he said with a grin, ”I may be useless in most things, but I am a master of the finger-guessing game! I’m confident that no one in this world can beat me.”

With that, the assistant pulled an honorary certificate from his pocket, issued by the National Finger-Guessing Game Association. The title inscribed on it was ”National Finger-Guessing Champion.”

The assistant chuckled, then stepped over the two drunken kidnappers and walked toward the cave entrance. As he reached the mouth of the cave, he suddenly heard a voice from the side. ”Well, look at you, walking out of here so easily.”

Hearing the voice, the assistant immediately turned his head. When he saw Zhao Rong to his left, he gasped in surprise. ”Big Brother Zhao Rong, is that you? How did you find me?”

Zhao Rong looked at him with equal surprise and said, ”Never mind how I found you. First, tell me what happened to you.”

The assistant smiled. ”What else could have happened? The first time we went to Huang Xiaojuan’s dormitory, the building manager downstairs kidnapped me. Then, they threw me in a car, drove around for a while, and took me to some unknown basement. After that, I was brought to this cave. The two thugs who kidnapped me insisted on playing a drinking game with me. In the end, I took them both down all by myself. It was that simple.”

Miss Lili, standing to the right, stared at the assistant with wide eyes. ”Assistant, you’re incredible! If we’d known you could save yourself, we wouldn’t have bothered coming to rescue you.”

When the assistant turned his head and saw Lili, Yu Lan, and Xuelian to his right, he beamed. ”I thought only Big Brother Zhao Rong had come to save me. I never expected you three beauties would come for me too!”

Lili looked him up and down. ”Assistant, are you all right?”

Xuelian, sniffing the strong stench of alcohol coming from him, asked, ”Assistant, how much did you drink? You’re not drunk, are you?”

The assistant chuckled. ”Me? I may be useless at everything, but I always clean my plate. However, I do have a talent that ordinary people lack: I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, and I never lose a finger-guessing game.”

Hearing how capable the assistant was, Zhao Rong gave him a thumbs-up in admiration. ”Assistant, you’re amazing. Facing such vicious kidnappers, you not only saved yourself but also took both of them out.”

The assistant laughed. ”You can’t blame me. They were the ones who insisted on drinking and playing games with me. They even bragged about how great they were at it. As a result, after three rounds, I had them both flat on their backs.”

Zhao Rong praised him, ”I never would have guessed you could hold your liquor so well. From now on, whenever we have a drinking party, we’re definitely bringing you along to take the hits for us.”

The assistant nodded. ”You bet. With my special ability to never get drunk, I don’t think there’s anyone in this world who can outdrink me.”

As he spoke, he suddenly couldn’t help himself. He turned away and retched twice, then said awkwardly, ”Crap, what’s happening? I knew I shouldn’t have mixed beer and liquor. Now my stomach feels like it’s churning…”

With that, the assistant turned around, squatted down, and vomited noisily all over the ground.

Seeing the self-proclaimed invincible drinker get sick, Yu Lan stepped forward, handed him a bottle of water, and said consolingly, ”Assistant, let’s put aside whether you can get drunk or not. Right now, we need to get out of here.”

Hearing Yu Lan, the assistant nodded. ”Right, let’s run! Let’s leave this terrifying, desolate place!”

After speaking, he looked around in a daze at the surrounding Primeval Forest, unsure which way to go.

At that moment, Zhao Rong said, ”We can’t run just yet. We have to get to the bottom of this.”

Xuelian walked over to Zhao Rong and said, ”We need to find out why these people kidnapped the assistant.”

Zhao Rong glanced at the two kidnappers inside the cave, who were still dead drunk. ”Right now, the answers lie with these two.”

The assistant looked at the two people he had gotten drunk and said, ”But they’re both completely unconscious. How are we supposed to question them when they’re like this?”

Zhao Rong smiled. ”Of course, I have a way.”

”What way, Brother Zhao Rong?” the assistant asked.

Zhao Rong shot him a glare. ”Just call me Zhao Rong. Please stop adding ’Brother’ after it. It’s creepy.”

With that, Zhao Rong immediately took a Tianchi Jade Orchid from his Magic Ring, then scooped up a handful of dirt. ”Assistant, grab an earthworm from the ground for me. I’m going to refine a Sobering Pill.”

Hearing the name, the assistant asked curiously, ”You mean this Elixir can completely sober up someone who’s drunk?”

Zhao Rong nodded. ”The Sobering Pill I refine not only sobers a person up completely, but it also makes them articulate and clear-headed. That way, they’ll be able to answer any questions I have.”

Hearing this, the assistant immediately plucked an earthworm from the ground and handed it to Zhao Rong. ”Here’s the earthworm, Big Brother Zhao Rong!”

Taking the earthworm, Zhao Rong turned to Lili. ”Miss Lili, do you see that golden cicada on the tree over there? Can you catch it for me?”

As Lili went to catch the cicada, she asked, ”Brother Zhao Rong, is that an ingredient for alchemy too?”

Zhao Rong nodded, then turned to Yu Lan. ”There’s a spring over there. Could you get me some water?” As he spoke, he handed Yu Lan a plastic bottle.

While Yu Lan went to fetch the water, Zhao Rong gave another task to Xuelian. ”There are hawthorn fruits on that tree. Pick some for me.”

Xuelian did as she was told, picking a few hawthorn fruits and handing them to Zhao Rong.

Once he had all the materials he needed, Zhao Rong took out a pressure cooker and a special flame from his Magic Ring and began the refinement. He tossed all the ingredients into the pot, sealed the lid tightly, and controlled the flame to start the process. He worked incredibly fast, and in no time, a black Elixir was successfully created.

Holding the black Elixir, Zhao Rong told the assistant, ”Break this in half and feed a piece to each of the kidnappers.”

However, as the assistant held the black Elixir, he suddenly felt a bit dizzy from the alcohol himself. So, he ate a small piece before giving the rest to the two kidnappers.

The moment the assistant swallowed a bit of the Sobering Pill, he felt instantly refreshed and clear-headed. ”Brother Zhao Rong, you’re amazing! This Sobering Pill you made from all this random stuff really works!”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the two previously unconscious kidnappers suddenly sobered up and shot to their feet.

As they stood up, Zhao Rong snapped his fingers at the assistant. ”What are you waiting for? Tie them up!”

Hearing this, the assistant rushed forward and securely bound the two kidnappers. When the kidnappers realized the cave was now filled with new faces, they stared in utter shock.

The kidnapper in white looked at the assistant and said, ”I remember before we started drinking… wasn’t it just the three of us in this cave? How did four more people suddenly appear? Am I dreaming?”

The assistant stepped forward and slapped the woman across the face. ”You’re not dreaming. You’re daydreaming.”

Just as Zhao Rong and his group were preparing to interrogate the two kidnappers, a terrifying scream echoed from outside the cave. The horrifying sound was bone-chilling, enough to make one’s blood run cold.