'Did I just swallow a rock?'
Tang Rui had no idea how in the world he was still alive.
"Rock brother, I'm Li Yun. This little girl is my daughter, Li Yaoxie. I need you to take her back into the Inner Sector of Eternity City. You can reach in about half an hour if run south," Li Yun hurriedly said.
"Don't take this the wrong way, rock brother. It's not that I don't trust you, but… no actually I really don't trust you." Li Yun hesitated but still decided to be honest. "I've placed a protective talisman on my daughter in case her life is threatened or if you try anything weird"
He handed a heavy golden token to Tang Rui.
"This is my shop token. With this, you'll own my shop within the Inner Sector of Eternity City. It's not much, but consider it my thanks. Just please, take my daughter to safety."
Having shown the carrot and the stick, the tension in Li Yun's shoulders visibly loosened. 'Even though this guy's a bit weird, his clothes look decent, and Yaoxie is at the 9th Level of Foundation Establishment, there shouldn't be any problems.'
Tang Rui blankly held the heavy, golden token.
"I'm going to divert the enemies' attention."
After taking a few steps, Li Yun couldn't help but pause and take a moment to look back at the sleeping girl.
"Tell her not to do anything stupid. I'll return for her once this whole matter settles down."
With one final look of longing, Li Yun sprinted towards another direction and shouted to draw the enemies away.
Tang Rui was still frozen with shock, he tried his best to understand what in the world just happened.
An hour ago, he had been sitting in a comfortable home with his father. An hour later, he had a shop at the Inner Sector, an unconscious little girl, and a huge f*cking rock in his stomach.
Oh, the damn wonders of life!
Looking at the unconscious little girl, he felt a tug of cowardice which urged him to run. But his rationality told him that he won't die a good death if he did.
It was unknown whether Li Yun would truly die. But what if he survived and came looking for his daughter?
Even with a shop within the Inner Sector, he'd have to live his life in constant fear that Li Yun might come back to settle the score.
So despite his reluctance, he walked towards the little girl and carried…
He carried…
… carried…
"What the heck? Why can't I carry this little girl?" He panted. The little girl's height only seemed to be a little over 145 cm, and yet, she weighed at least a hundred kilograms.
"There's no way we'll make it back like this." Tang Rui despaired.
He tried his best and managed to get her off the ground. But he could only advance for a few good meters before losing his balance, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
"Urghk… it hurts!" Li Yaoxie grunted, the impact forcing the air from her lungs.
"Eh? You're awake!" Tang Rui beamed with pleasant surprise, seeing the little girl move.
"Who are you? Where's my dad?" Li Yaoxie asked, her voice hoarse with pain.
"Your dad went to divert the enemies' attention. He tasked me to bring you back to the city. My name is Tang Rui and I also live in Eternity City," Tang Rui replied honestly, but instantly bit his tongue. He had just told her that her dad was in danger, wasn't this simply urging her to do something impulsive?
"I see, alright then. Tang Rui, carry me back into the city," Li Yaoxie ordered calmly in a cute voice, although her brows were knitted tight with worry.
Tang Rui blinked, not expecting such a response. He thought this little girl would be unreasonable and go to her father. At least he would have done so if he was still her age.
"Are you dumb? What are you dawdling around for? You better hurry your ass up before those bastards catch up." Li Yaoxie's cute features twisting into a scowl.
Tang Rui wasn't expecting such curses to come from this little girl. But this also snapped him back to reality. She's right; they were still in danger, and if he continued taking his sweet time, the rock in his stomach might see the light of day again after his body is blown to pieces.
"Alright, hang tight!" he shot back at her. He hauled her up again and moved forward with more determination than last time. He actually walked a few more meters until… he stepped on some animal sh*t and slipped.
"You... what the hell are you doing?!" Li Yaoxie could barely breathe. She was already heavily injured and this incompetent dumbass couldn't walk if his life depended on it.
"Don't blame me! Who in the world would take a sh*t in the middle of nowhere?" Tang Rui shot back, his pride wounded.
"Just endure for a bit more, we're almost there."
They'd barely gone past a few meters before they once again fell as he tripped over his own foot.
"Aghh! My foot!" Tang Rui screamed in agony.
'That's it! I'm done with you!' Li Yaoxie snarled in pain and shoved him off, using a nearby boulder to stand up.
"You… are absolutely the most worthless fool I have ever met," she seethed. "Forget it. I'll walk myself. Just... prop me up and assist me."
However, Tang Rui remained motionless.
"I… can't."
"You can't?"
"I… er… I think I sprained my ankle? You'll have to help me." Tang Rui winced.
The shamelessness of the request rendered Li Yaoxie speechless.
For goodness sake, she was a severely wounded little girl. It was already bad enough that this useless rescuer of hers couldn't help her. But to actually be shameless enough to ask her to carry him?
"Tell me, is my Dad's shop token with you?"
She was familiar with her dad's behavior. Since he entrusted this stranger with her life, surely, he must've given him some sort of reward. And the only thing they had of value left was their shop.
Tang Rui shivered under her predatory gaze.
"I—I do, I can give it back to you if you want." Tang Rui didn't dare lie. Not to mention that he knew he was now the burden in this situation.
Li Yaoxie's expression slightly softened. She was actually considering killing Tang Rui or leaving him here to die if he tried to lie.
But now that he admitted it and was even willing to give back the shop token, she decided to spare him for now.
Tang Rui was unaware of how close he was to losing his little life.
Li Yaoxie sighed in frustration. "Get on my back."
Tang Rui was overjoyed. He immediately got on her back. It felt a bit awkward to piggy-back ride on a little girl, but hey, beggars can't be choosers, it was better than being carried like a darling princess.
Li Yaoxie winced in pain the moment he got on.
"Are you okay?" Tang Rui's heart shook with guilt, but he was left with no choice. He'd rather thicken his skin and ask to be carried by an injured little girl than to risk dying here.
As he clung on, Tang Rui found himself in an interesting position with his face right against her nape.
He couldn't help but take a quiet sniff.
The little girl stopped dead.
"Did you just… sniff me?" she asked, her voice dangerously calm.
However, Tang Rui didn't reply and sniffed once again.
"Urgkh, it smells like rotten pig sh*t."
Li Yaoxie almost couldn't believe her ears. She was already carrying this useless mortal and he still dared to insult her hygiene?
"I'm covered in blood and sweat, you ungrateful piece of—"
"Don't misunderstand, don't you smell that? Something seems to be burning."
"Quit sniffing me or I'll leave you here to die." Li Yaoxie suddenly paused. "Wait, what do you mean by something's burning?"
Tang Rui ignored her threat as he sniffed again. "I get it, it's your Divine Armor. Your neck guard is misaligned with the pauldron. Whenever you move your shoulders, the metal grinds together."
He poked the warm metal near her neck. "See? It's rubbing against each other too much. The Divine Armorer who made it didn't properly understand how to fit the pieces and instead used tons of cheap Spirit-Beast grease to make the movement seem fluid. But obviously, that would only be fine for a few weeks or so. Little girl, you got scammed.
Li Yaoxie frowned in confusion, her neck indeed felt uncomfortable, especially during the fight earlier. It even limited her movements which caused her to take some unnecessary hits.
Tang Rui's nose suddenly became runny as it filled with snot due to the stench. This made him sniff to prevent it from dripping down Li Yaoxie's shoulder.
However, Li Yaoxie misunderstood it as if he was taking another sniff.
WHACK!
She delivered a sharp chop behind Tang Rui's neck and adjusted his unconscious body on her back and started walking again. But as she walked forward, she couldn't help but smell the burning lubricant Tang Rui was talking about.
She touched her neck. She felt a stinging sensation which came from a red rash where the liner had rubbed her skin raw during the fight.
'He's right,' she realized with a jolt of horror. 'There really is something wrong.'
She had bought this armor from the prestigious Phoenix Divine Armor Shop owned by the Lin Family because she thought her father's traditional methods of crafting Divine Armors were outdated.
But this mortal simply sniffed this master-class Divine Armor for a few seconds and dismantled its entire reputation.
"Whatever, I'll think about it later."
…
As Tang Rui was being carried like an oversized backpack, the darkness of the unconsciousness gave way to a painful memory.
In this memory, Tang Rui was once again a five-year-old child, clutching at a silk skirt that smelled of rain.
"Mom, please don't go! Dad will miss you, Big Sis will miss you, I will miss you!!" Little Tang Rui's voice cracked.
The woman's eyes held no warmth. She simply stared ahead.
"Mom is someone who's meant to change the world. And your Dad… he doesn't deserve an unfaithful woman like me."
She tore her skirt from his grip, the silk slipping through little Tang Rui's fingers like an illusive dream. She walked away toward a luxurious carriage without looking back.
The pain of the memory flared in Tang Rui's unconscious mind. As it did, the black rock in his gut thrummed, syncing with the beat of his heart and a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his consciousness.
[Searching for Host...]
[Mortal. Soul compatible. Ambition and Motivation detected.]
[Host... Tang Rui... Confirmed.]
'Oi oi… are we seriously choosing this mortal as the final heir?' A young man's whiny voice sounded from within Tang Rui's consciousness.
'Why not? He seems like a decent child.' A lady with a seductive voice purred.
'Decent is not enough.' a raspy ancient voice grunted in annoyance.
'This is the one that Fate Venerable has chosen, we should trust her judgement,' an authoritative voice boomed.
There was silence for a few moments before they all unanimously agreed.
'Since it's Fate Venerable, then we can rest assured.'
'Fate Venerable may not be the most outstanding amongst us, but I trust her decision.'
After the figures heard the name of Fate Venerable, the voices of discontent faded into silence.
'Since all nine of us are in agreement, we shall choose this boy as the heir.' The authoritative voice sounded once again, declaring the finality of their decision.
[System Binding...]
[The Ancient Armorer System… Activated!]