Chapter Ninety-Three: The Wily Divine Emissary

Shali could not help but feel a wave of relief. So this young man had been worried about that.

She smiled. “I understand. I’ll keep it from them for you.”

Ye Ran nodded, but did not step forward. From the look on his face, he seemed to be hesitating.

The sound of hoofbeats drew nearer and nearer, and a thin glow of torchlight had already begun to spill in. Ye Ran could faintly make out the Night Walkers in their black cloaks approaching.

“Take it.”

He no longer hesitated. Taking a white pill from his pocket, he thrust it into Shali’s mouth without another word. A cool sensation flowed down her throat.

Shali gave an unwilling murmur and swallowed it, then shot him a deeply aggrieved look. Seething inside, she lowered her head and bit hard into his shoulder.

Ye Ran said, “That was a poison pill. It’ll take effect in three days. Once we’re past the Wall, I’ll give you the antidote.”

Shali huffed and turned her face away.

The Night Walkers arrived quickly. The trolls and blood dwarfs lying in ambush behind them silently melted away. Two squads, sixteen Night Walkers in all, came forward to inspect the area. When they learned that the person behind Ye Ran was actually the divine envoy Shali, they were so startled they nearly tumbled from their saddles. The captain even yielded his beloved warhorse to her.

And he personally held the reins for her, his manner beyond respectful.

“Hmph. Is the envoy’s status really this high? I’d like a horse too,” Ye Ran muttered sourly from the side, ignored and left standing there.

“And this is...”

The captain looked at him, clearly having paid little attention to the young man.

Shali sat astride the horse in a thick cotton-lined fur robe, casting a smug glance at Ye Ran. “He’s my servant. There’s no need to give him a horse; let him walk. Captain Zack, would you mind giving him a little explanation of the envoy’s identity and rank? He’s my newly taken servant, and terribly ignorant.”

She took the chance to badmouth Ye Ran thoroughly, and her mood improved at once.

“Yes, Divine Envoy.”

The Night Walker captain, named Zack, said, “Servant brother, the status of a divine envoy on Horned Beast Continent is exalted, because they are diligent gardeners, burning candles, boundless earth...”

Ye Ran listened in astonishment to this nauseating flattery.

Zack rambled on for quite a while, and Ye Ran finally began to piece together the truth.

The identity of a divine envoy was indeed not what he had imagined. Their office was passed down in a single line: the previous envoy would travel the continent, spreading knowledge among the divine race and the human race and cultivating their abilities.

They were not only elders with the discernment to recognize talent, but also indispensable mentors in the growth of the divine race.

While traveling the continent, they would also take on students to prepare for the succession of the office. One who would become a divine envoy’s heir had to be virtuous, fair, selfless, and filled with the grand aspiration to save the world; in comparison, natural talent and bone structure were secondary.

Ye Ran had originally thought that divine envoys merely searched for chosen ones for the various temples. In his mind, that profession was hardly different from that of a pimp. Only now did he realize how grotesquely wrong he had been.

He looked at Shali. “Virtuous, fair, selfless, and filled with the grand aspiration to save the world. Hmph. You don’t look like any of that at all.”

Shali stuck out her tongue at him and ignored him.

Zack quickly led them back to the Wall. The mounted commander guarding the fortress was once again quite surprised to see the divine envoy Shali.

“Divine Envoy.” He bowed to Shali, then turned and saw Ye Ran following behind the horse. “Mr. Bai Yuqing, you’ve returned from your family visit so soon? Did your wife not come with you?”

“She missed the orchids at home,” Ye Ran said vaguely.

Zack was a little bewildered. Wasn’t this youth the divine envoy’s servant? How had he become the Bai Yuqing of Gruss Castle?

Shali covered her mouth and snickered on horseback.

The mounted commander nodded. “Divine Envoy, the Star of the Golden Warrior Palace came by earlier and said you were searching for someone named Ye Ran. I’ve already sent Night Walkers to Xisai to search for him. If you need anything else, just give the word.”

Ye Ran frowned.

Shali shot him a sly glance, then deliberately put on a sorrowful expression. Sighing, she said, “Alas, that Ye Ran is a truly wicked fellow. If you capture him, you must teach him a lesson for me. I hear he’s in Xisai, very near the Wall.”

Ye Ran immediately glared at her in warning, tense at once, afraid she would go scorched-earth and sell him out.

But Shali changed course and smiled. “Then I’ll trouble the commander with this matter. My servant and I are going ahead to rest and tend our injuries. It’s inconvenient to remain here among so many men.”

“Also, cancel the previous search warrant. Ye Ran, Meng Qi did not abduct anyone from the temple. It was all a misunderstanding. Those two only committed a minor offense; a light punishment will do.”

“Yes, Divine Envoy.”

The mounted commander and Zack respectfully watched Ye Ran and Shali depart.

Ye Ran led the horse, avoiding Shali’s sly gaze. It took a long while before he finally steeled himself and said, “Thank you.”

Shali, who had been glancing at him from time to time, immediately huffed and folded her arms, pretending to be aloof.

Ye Ran said, “What you just ate wasn’t poison. Sorry about that.”

Shali laughed. “You think I didn’t know? That was a little snowball.”

When she spoke, she was smug, with a trace of mockery.

Ye Ran coughed and said, “Picked it up from the ground. There was quite a bit of dirt in it.”

“Ah... ah, ptooey... you bastard... wuuu...”

...

Ye Ran led the horse and stopped in front of the inn in the small town ahead.

Not long before, he and Pandora had stopped here too.

Carefully, he caught Shali as she jumped down from the horse. Once inside, he immediately felt many gazes of envy and jealousy.

This inn was a country roadside establishment, and many of its patrons were regulars from the surrounding area. They had a very deep impression of Ye Ran, because not long ago he had come with a bewitchingly lovely “wife” whose beauty made people practically drool.

And in just a few days, he had brought another one. Though this one could not compare in beauty to the “former wife,” she made up for it with lively, expressive eyes and a face that was pleasing to look at for a long time.

“Two rooms.”

Under those watching eyes, Ye Ran felt his face burning. Under the waiter’s teasing gaze, he took the two keys and hurried upstairs with Shali on his back.

Their rooms were next door to each other. After settling Shali in, Ye Ran left.

“Shali.”

When he reached the door, Ye Ran called to her and asked, “Is A Xue... all right?”

His voice was low. It seemed he did not wish to mention that name.

What had once been the most beautiful of times, he no longer wished to remember.

He only still owed her a greeting. Whatever else, before the martial examination at Redleaf Academy, she had indeed come for him.

Shali was wrapped in blankets, watching his back, and seemed to sense the pain in his heart. She did not tease him again.

“She’s fine. She’s already entered the Silver Warrior Palace. I’m sure she still thinks of you...”

“Mm. That’s good enough.”

Ye Ran suddenly cut her off, gently pulling the door shut behind him. His footsteps gradually faded away.

Shali could not help but breathe out softly. This young man really did have an odd temperament.