Chapter 002: Come Here

After thinking for a while, Du Fan became quite confident. He figured he probably wouldn’t face any danger in this city of Moduo. While those people hadn’t arrived yet, he could take a look around and come up with a plausible lie. Du Fan wasn’t stupid enough to reveal everything about his past—otherwise, there would be no need for any lies at all. Just the High Priest Gan Nong alone would surely kill him.
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a faint moan. Du Fan turned around and saw Ling Yin, who was lying on the bed, having slowly awakened.
He went over to take a look. Although Ling Yin’s complexion was still pale, she seemed much better than before. She had fainted after her magic was suppressed and her body had no protection. Du Fan assumed she would wake up after a few days of rest, so he didn’t bother spending much effort on her.
Now that Ling Yin had woken up, Du Fan sat down by the bed, touched her forehead, and said, “Well, Miss Ling Yin, how do you plan to thank me?”
Ling Yin frowned slightly, pushed Du Fan’s hand away, and struggled to sit up. She looked around in confusion and asked, “Where is this? Why am I here?”
Du Fan took a breath, shook his head, and sighed, “Miss Ling Yin, if it weren’t for me, you would have died many times at the hands of your teacher in the Demon God Temple. I’ve saved you now without asking for anything in return, but you don’t have to treat me like this! You can’t just ignore my thanks and act this way toward me.”
Ling Yin’s expression changed. “You defeated him!”
Du Fan shook his head. “I don’t want to lie to you. Although I, Du Fan, do have some skills, your teacher is an angel—a true saint. If my mediocre abilities could defeat him, I wouldn’t have been captured by your tribe for no reason!”
Hearing Du Fan talk about the past, Ling Yin’s face turned red. After a moment, she said, “I didn’t know at the time. If I had known it was like this… I would never have listened to him.”

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Let’s not talk about the past. But what do you plan to do now? Your Kara tribe is still under the control of that high priest Ganon. If you go back, you’re just asking for death… If you don’t mind, why not follow me? Although I’m not a good person, working under me, you definitely won’t suffer any wrongs. But besides being a noble, I’m also a White Robe Priest of the Holy Church. If you follow me, you can forget about your identity as a Kara member. Otherwise, even I won’t be able to protect you!”

Listening to Du Fan’s words, Ringo’s face had been somewhat rosy, but halfway through, it suddenly changed. She stood up abruptly, though her steps were still unsteady, and snapped, “Du Fan! You saved my life, so I owe you! But I’ll never forget what you did to me. Don’t delude yourself into thinking I’ll just forgive you! I, Ringo, am clear about debts and grudges. One day, I’ll repay you what I owe. As for your life, I’ll definitely come back for it!”

With that, ignoring her weakness, Ringo cast a spell and tried to leave through the window.

But just as she lifted off, Du Fan’s face appeared in front of her again. To her surprise, he seemed to have blocked her path without her noticing, as if he had always been there.

Seeing Ringo’s astonished expression, Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “After all, I’ve gained the power of an angel. Though I only reached the pseudo-saint rank for less than an hour, I’ve acquired a lot of knowledge—understanding of power and the so-called three great barbarian secrets. Once Ganon put them in my mind, they couldn’t be removed. So my understanding of power might be a bit strange now, but it’s not surprising that I can do these things. Well, let’s not talk about this for now. Miss Ringo, if you want to leave, you may. But before you go, I have a few words for you. After all, you’ve been with me for so long—do you really care about a few more words?”

Ringo’s expression changed slightly as she slowly said, “Speak!”

Du Fan replied calmly, “If you leave me, what do you plan to do?”

Her expression changed again as she shouted, “My affairs are none of your business! Is that all you have to say? If so, move aside! Though you’re strong now, you should realize I’m still an eighth-level shaman priest. You’re not my match!”

Du Fan sighed slightly and said, “Miss Ringtone, do you truly think so? You know my strength is not even one percent of yours. But throughout this journey, who has been saving whom? I think you know better than I do. But it’s meaningless to talk about this now. How about I guess instead—what do you plan to do after leaving me?”
As he spoke, Du Fan glanced north through the window and said, “If I’m guessing correctly, you plan to return to the barbarian tribe, either to assassinate Gannon or find a way to expose his schemes, right?”
Ringtone was stunned and asked, “How did you know!?”
Du Fan reached out and slowly placed his hand on her forehead. She trembled slightly for a moment but didn’t pull away.
“Do I really need to guess? All your thoughts are written on your face. But Miss Ringtone, do you really think you can succeed by yourself? In terms of strength, you’re not even one percent as good as Gannon. In terms of influence, he is the high priest of the Kara tribe, while you’re just a minor shaman priest. If you try to take him on, do you think the Karas will side with you? I don’t think I need to answer that question for you.”
Ringtone’s face turned as pale as paper. She took a difficult breath and said, “This is none of your business!”
Du Fan smiled. “What if I insist on getting involved? Miss Ringtone, look—I have a long-standing grudge with Gannon, and you also have a feud with him. Yet our goals in this matter are the same… Why not work together? You must know something about my identity. Using me to achieve your goals would be much better than trying to do it alone and risking your life, right?”
Ringtone bit her lip tightly, which made Du Fan’s desire surge. He was no longer a young virgin; the beauty of women was truly indescribable.
Seeing Du Fan’s smile, Ringtone shook her lips before finally making up her mind. “Promise me two things, and I’ll pretend nothing happened to what you did to me before. Moreover, I’ll serve you from now on as your subordinate, at your command!”
Du Fan smiled calmly and said, “Go ahead, tell me.”
“The first thing is that you must help me kill Gannon under any circumstances. The second is that you must find a way to protect the safety of our people, the Karas, so we won’t be led to destruction by Gannon.”
“Is that it?”
“That’s it!”

“Ah, so there are indeed two conditions.” Du Fan touched his nose. “As for the first condition… I can’t agree to it. All I can say is that when I have the ability, I will definitely help you kill Gannon. As for the second condition, if the first one is met, do you think it will be difficult?”
Reine’s expression improved slightly. “So you’re agreeing?”
Du Fan replied coldly, “Miss Reine, aren’t you asking for too much? According to my terms, it’s not impossible to agree, but I also have my conditions. After all, everything in this world is based on equal exchange!”
Reine said in a low voice, “Speak!”
“First, under any circumstances, no matter what I ask you to do, you must do it without hesitation.” Du Fan smiled. “Also, I can help you kill Gannon and regain control of the Kara tribe, but if possible, I’ll use all the resources of your tribe. By then, you can’t refuse me!”
After hesitating for a moment, Reine said, “Okay, I agree to you… This deal is done then!”
“So you’re not leaving?” Du Fan smiled slightly.
“I’m not leaving!”
“Good. Since you’re staying, we can do something meaningful. I still remember everything that happened in the Sunken Valley that day. Now I suddenly feel like I want to do it again. How about we give it a try?”
“What are you saying!” Reine trembled with anger. “You’re dreaming… I’d rather go and confront him myself. Even if it means dying, it’s fine!”
Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Miss Reine, if you don’t want to, it’s fine with me. At most, our deal will be canceled. But I have to tell you that aside from your amazing magic, you’re just a barbarian princess who fails more often than she succeeds. You’re impulsive, willful, stubborn, and self-righteous… Perhaps all this was deliberately made by Gannon, but with your current state, do you really think you can achieve anything? To be blunt, in terms of wisdom and insight, although I was once your prisoner, I’m definitely above you. In front of me, aside from your strong magic and decent looks, do you really think you have any other value? A woman should know her limits. No matter what you do, there’s always a price to pay… If you don’t even understand this, why should I complete this deal with you?”

Reine trembled all over. No one had ever spoken to her like this, no one had ever dared to look down on her in such a manner. But though she was angry, deep down she knew it seemed all to be true. A blaze of dark fire flashed, melting the rock formations in the hotel’s courtyard into molten stone. When the dark fire died out, Reine had already slowly closed her eyes. She ripped off her robe, revealing her bare body, her long hair fluttering in the wind as she said slowly and deliberately, “Come then!”