บท 8: Wish and Bait
--- Chapter 7 ---
A few days passed after Hayate fainted.
He recovered slowly in the Xia Clan's Manor, but the Silver Lake City's lord, Hong Guan, rolled in rage when hearing this news.
Silver Lake City's the third most famous city in the Blue Wind Empire and slightly behind New Moon City and Blue Wind Imperial City.
However, that's only the surface because the number of strings attached behind the scene was more complex. Hong Guan has created an intelligence squad called [Hidden Shadow Garden] secretly from Hayate, which is almost equal to Black Moon Merchant in terms of information gathering.
Even though Silver Lake City has no Sky Profound Realm cultivator, Hong Guan was rich enough to hire a few of them. She was confident in her management ability.
Hong Guan herself was close to the Sky Profound Realm and waited for the right time to break through. What's a more suitable time for a breakthrough than when her beloved young master got injured by someone.
Xia Qingyue had to interfere with Hong Guan's anger and explained everything to her. It was calmly compromised, but Hong Guan wasn't hiding that she despised Chu Yueli in public.
When Hong Guan arrived at the Xia Clan's manor, she immediately clashed with Chu Yueli, one of Frozen Cloud Azgard's fairies.
Hong Guan didn't even bother to greet Chu Yueli and glanced at her with contempt in her eyes.
"I didn't expect one of the famous seven fairies' judgments to get clouded."
"To the point, she misunderstood a spar and attacked someone who was at Spirit Profound Realm."
"Wow, It seemed those beautiful eyes of yours were just a decoration, huh."
Hong Guan's statements were malicious and could strike someone deeply in the heart.
Even Chu Yueli, who trained the Frozen Heart Arts for years, couldn't maintain her composure so easily. She knew she was wrong, but Hong Guan pushed her to the limit. The Xia Clan's manor was swept over by ice and fire that day.
--- Nursing Room ---
Hayate opened his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar ceiling, grimacing because his memory was blurry for a moment. He remembered when a Sky Profound Realm's woman attacked him.
He frowned and began to use some of Kaiju's abilities to heal himself.
"Ribs, Shoulders, and Lungs."
"All of them are in a bad state."
Hayate couldn't help but wonder just how mighty Xia Qingyue's teacher was because his body should have recovered by itself, but some injuries needed personal treatment.
He meditated deeply for a few hours without getting disturbed and felt Hong Guan's presence within Xia Clan's manor. He breathed slightly and puffed out clogged profound energy inside his body.
"I felt like I wanted to cough blood for some reason." Hayate tried to move his body.
He clenched his hand and slowly but surely stretched every part of his body.
"Huu... I need a few more days to heal these injuries." He commented wryly.
A few loud steps echoed in the hallway, and Hong Guan slammed the door with an excited tone. "Young master, You finally woke up!" She cried while approaching him.
Hayate smiled and responded gently, "Hong Guan."
Hong Guan hugged Hayate carefully and began to cry even more, which caused Hayate to shake his head. She has become too attached to his presence.
It's not a bad thing because Hong Guan would always be loyal to him no matter what happened. Hayate is also more comfortable with her than staying with other people he had controlled in the past two years.
Hayate always wondered why Hong Guan seemed to have a synergy with himself like Koyori and Coach Mei. Well, he did find her rather adorable most of the time.
"Okay, stop crying." He chuckled while caressing Hong Guan's silky red hair. "It's bad for your eyes."
"Yes." Hong Guan sobbed less when Hayate commented that and nodded her head slightly.
Xia Qingyue entered the room with a complicated expression and sighed because this happened because of her fault. Even though Chu Yueli attacked him first because of a misunderstanding, Xia Qingyue's curiosity is the one that caused this incident.
Chu Yueli stood behind Xia Qingyue and stared at the young man with a somewhat surprised yet awkward gaze. She was shocked because he recovered faster than she had expected.
However, reality hit her hard because she was also the one who attacked this young man, making him end up in such a situation.
"Hayate," Xia Qingyue approached Hayate.
Hong Guan stared at her warily, but Xia Qingyue only shook her head in reassurance. "This is my fault." She bowed deeply on the floor.
"I should have quickly told my teacher that we just had a spar."
"I'm truly sorry about this accident."
Xia Qingyue heavily pressed her head on the floor and Hong Guan raised her lips a little, sneering amusingly on the side.
"Heh, your disciple is apologizing for your blindness, fairy?" Hong Guan commented indifferently.
"How shameless can you be?"
Chu Yueli furrowed her eyebrows and stayed quiet because Hong Guan had been provoking her for a few days now.
Hong Guan shrugged and added, "Well, What did I even expect from a woman in Frozen Cloud Asgard."
Chu Yueli snapped inside and indifferently stared at Hong Guan. "Take your words back..." She said with a solemn tone.
"Why should I?" Hong Guan tilted her head in amusement.
Crack!
They released a fiery and freezing aura, creating a storm inside the nursing room.
"Stop," Hayate spoke out with a calm tone.
"B-But, young master-..." Hong Guan turned around and saw Hayate's golden eyes shining in overwhelming shine.
Hong Guan covered her mouth quickly, but deep under her sudden nervousness, there was an overwhelming excitement.
No one in the room notices it yet, but Hong Guan's robe is a little wet than a few seconds ago.
"Xingyue, raise your head," Hayate continued, to which Xia Qinyue responded with a nod.
Xia Qingyue gradually raised her head, and Hayate could see a red mark on her forehead. She pressed her head on the floor so hard, to the point of leaving a red bruise.
"It's not your fault," Hayate stated while glancing at Chu Yueli.
"We both agreed for a brief spar and nothing else."
"It's just unfortunate that your teacher misunderstood that."
Hayate smiled at Xia Qingyue and slowly walked off the bed, releasing a fake painful groan. "I'm okay." He patted her head slightly.
Xia Qingyue felt a horrible sensation in her heart but couldn't do anything except whine inside. She hasn't realized Hayate marked her with a guilty card because she is still naive in his eyes.
"There, there." Hayate moved his gaze to Hong Guan and noticed something. "Haa... Hong Guan, I want you to bring Xingyue outside and heal her forehead."
"I'll talk with Senior Yueli in the meantime."
"Okay, young master." Hong Guan excitedly answered.
She picked Xia Qingyue slowly and brought her outside, staring at Chu Yueli in contempt.
As Hong Guan and Xia Qingyue walked out of the nursing room, Hayate coughed a mouthful of black blood and groaned in pain a little.
Chu Yueli approached Hayate swiftly and supported his body with her hand. "You're still in bad condition." She solemnly muttered.
"It's better to rest than forcing your body." She added, to which Hayate responded with a laugh.
"This is nothing," Hayate answered with confidence in his tone. "I've been injured worse than this in the past."
Chu Yueli wondered about something and replied, "I'll compensate you and pay for any medicine for your recovery."
"I'll take my responsibility." She added with an earnest expression.
"I can't let my disciple bear a guilty feeling on her shoulder."
"I see..." Hayate covered his mouth.
He couldn't let Chu Yueli notice his smirk because she had just given away her freedom to him. Now Hayate can set his palm of Frozen Cloud Asgard with such ease.
Hayate suspected Xia Qingyue's connection with a powerful sect, and her Ice Profound Art confirmed his assumption.
Xiao Sect is a good backup for Hayate's future plan, but Frozen Cloud Asgard is even better than that sect.
Frozen Cloud Asgard is a powerhouse.
'What a steal.' Hayate thought while staring at the beautiful cultivator in front of him.
With the simple price of getting injured, he obtained manageable access to another powerful faction.
"Then, Can you grant me a wish in the future?" Hayate opened his mouth.
"A wish?" Chu Yueli frowned at Hayate's question.
"Just one wish." Hayate raised his index finger. "Don't worry. I won't wish anything related to sexual, killing, or inhuman acts."
Chu Yueli pondered for a few moments and answered, "Fine, I agreed to grant you one wish in the future."
"Then, for the next thing." Hayate wiped the blood off his mouth. "I want to have a fair match with you in two years."
"You want to fight me?" Chu Yueli didn't expect such a statement from a 14 years old teen.
"Haha, yes." Hayate laughed haughtily.
"You know... I'm the type of a person who kept a grudge when something unfair happened to me."
"It frustrates me when you seal me inside an ice, but I couldn't even react properly," Hayate continued with a disappointed look.
He stared deeply into Chu Yueli's eyes and boldly declared, "So Fight Me."
'Interesting...' Chu Yueli thought.
Chu Yueli had never seen a male like Hayate before. 'Anyone I've seen so far is either a pervert or a coward who hid behind their background.' She sighed inwardly.
However, the young man in front of her was different as he possessed great confidence. As if he thought he could win against her in such a short amount of time.
This statement is foolish in Chu Yueli's eyes, but this young man convinced her with his sheer confidence.
"Two years, you're confident to reach Sky Profound Realm in two years from Spirit Profound Realm. Are you joking?"
Hayate shrugged his shoulders and replied casually, "Who knows?"
"Fine, I agreed with this duel." Chu Yueli indirectly smiled in front of Hayate.
"Thanks for agreeing to my selfish request." Hayate bowed his head. "I'll surprise you in two years."
"No, It's understandable." Chu Yueli shook her head softly.
They briefly talked with each other, and Hayate went back to his bed because he felt tired, which was an excuse.
Hong Guan entered the room a few minutes after Chu Yueli left Hayate alone. "Good Job, Guan." He praised her with a smile.
"I don't know how you provoked Chu Yueli so much, but her resistance is weak now."
"I'm just genuinely angry, young master." Hong Guen sat on his bed. "How dare she lay her hand on you!"
"Is that so?" Hayate responded with a chuckle. He patted Hong Guan's head and made her purr in joy.
"Young master~." Hong Guan moaned excitedly.
Hayate noticed a damp mark on Hong Guan's robe and couldn't help but wonder if he praised her too much.
--- The morning ---
A carriage arrived at the Xia Clan's manor to pick Hayate and Hong Guan up. They still have a few things to do in Silver Lake City, and it's been a week since Hayate left the city.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, Junior Hayate." Xia Hongyi said with a face full of regret.
"Haha, it's okay, Senior Hongyi," Hayate replied politely. "We have settled that matter already."
"Hayate, will you visit me back?" Xia Qingyue asked softly.
"Well, why don't you visit me?" Hayate countered with a grin, to which Xia Qingyue responded with a pout.
He patted her and added, "I'll visit you when I have free time."
Chu Yueli watched them from the side and ignored Hong Guan's presence because she was rude to her.
Hayate approached Chu Yueli and offered his hand, "Then, I'll be off, Senior Yueli."
"Remember our promise, okay."
Chu Yueli observed Hayate's hand with a weird gaze and shook his hand gently. "Mhm." She nodded without even saying anything.
"Why don't you visit Silver Lake City sometimes?"
"No, thanks." Chu Yueli released his hand.
Hayate reached over her ears and whispered, "You should have checked my or Qingyue's profound entrances."
"I bet you'll visit us soon."
"Hmm?" Chu Yueli couldn't even check Hayate's pulse because he had already gone away.
Hayate and Hong Guan entered the carriage, and they disappeared quickly from Floating Cloud City.
(AN: Chu Yueli couldn't check Hayate or Xia Qingyue's pulse because Hong Guan kept provoking her for days)
Chu Yueli walked to Xia Qingyue and asked, "Qingyue, can I check your pulse?"
"Okay?" Xia Qingyue agreed without any issue.
Chu Yueli checked her disciple's pulse and found something that made her eyes widen in shock.
"H-Heavenly God's Spiritual Veins." She dumbfoundedly stated.
"Heavenly God's Spiritual Veins?" Xia Qingyue was confused by this unfamiliar term.
Chu Yueli connected the dots and immediately questioned, "Do you know who opened your profound entrances?"
"That person should be an amazing expert in the medical field, right?"
"Um..." Xia Qingyue felt bitter for some reason. "The one who opened all my profound entrances is..."
"Hayate."
"..." Chu Yueli couldn't believe her ears.
"HE WHAT?!"
In the carriage, Hayate grinned mischievously and said, "I've placed the bait, and now I have to wait for the fish."
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