Chapter 89 You’re Different

Chapter 89: You Are Different

Meng Shu, who never cried, actually felt a little choked up—just a little.

He quickly broke into a smile, showing no sign of being down. "By the way, once we enter Devouring Moon Peak later, you have to stick close behind me, okay?"

Ling Qingjue couldn't care less. "Oh."

Meng Shu turned serious. "Did you hear me? You must follow me closely, or I won't take you out again."

Pretty childish threat.

But Ling Qingjue surprisingly played along, letting out a reluctant "Hmph." "Got it."

"Do you think they can beat that dragon?"

"Not really," Ling Qingjue said curtly. "This knight order doesn't seem to have a mage who's good at defensive magic. They're likely to get wiped out as a group."

"Your defensive magic is very strong..."

Ling Qingjue's face went cold. "Not helping."

He wished that Zhang Lin would get smacked dead by the dragon's tail. No way he'd use defensive magic to protect these guys.

"Besides, this is their mission. Why should I get involved?"

Meng Shu thought it over and couldn't argue with that. "Can I beat that dragon?"

"Not really either," Ling Qingjue said. "The stat gap's too big."

He rested his chin on his hand, almost like he was taunting him. "Looks tough. You wanna think about giving up?"

Meng Shu smiled. "You gave me the Cat Sword—how could I let you down?"

"Really?"

"I'll figure something out," Meng Shu paused, then added, "It'll be fine, no doubt."

"We're about to set out." Zhang Lin had finished discussing the battle plan, dressed in soft armor, looking all confident. "Meng Shu, your level's too low for fighting right now. Just follow the second squad and back us up."

Meng Shu nodded quickly. "Okay."

Zhang Lin got him sorted, then turned to Ling Qingjue with a nasty grin. "Are you here to see me today?"

Ling Qingjue shut his eyes, totally ignoring him.

"Still so cold, huh?" Zhang Lin shrugged it off with a light chuckle. "Let's roll! Time to go save the princess!"

Ling Qingjue stayed put, his long legs crossed, right hand propping up his head, his brows, eyes, and lips all in a straight line.

He looked pretty ticked off.

Meng Shu had a sudden idea. Bending down theatrically, he extended his hand. "Cat Princess, please rise."

Ling Qingjue was slightly surprised but still smiled. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I had to say 'Princess, please rise' for you to get up," Meng Shu said, smiling back, a little shy and reserved.

Ling Qingjue put on a reproachful expression, his demeanor haughty. "Where do I look like a princess?"

Pausing, he reconsidered, "But being a princess isn't so bad, huh?"

He still put his hand in Meng Shu's, giving him a meaningful look. Meng Shu immediately grasped it, unable to suppress a laugh, "So we're really not dating?"

This is more intimate than actually dating.

"We're not dating." Ling Qingjue raised his free hand to lightly cough behind his lips, "Your affinity isn't at 80 yet. Right now, you're just my servant."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Princess Ling."

Princess Ling thought for a moment, "Actually, they used to call me Young Master before. You like calling me Princess? These two titles seem about the same in status."

"I'm the princess's trusty lackey." Meng Shu had a very clear sense of his position. Their palms were pressed together, slightly sticky. He was afraid Ling Qingjue would be grossed out by his sweat, and awkwardly tried to pull away, but Ling Qingjue held his hand even tighter.

Meng Shu was floored. Since when does a sidekick get to hold the princess's hand?

"Stop staring at me." Ling Qingjue looked straight ahead, speaking fiercely with a blustering arrogance, "Did you hear me?"

Meng Shu looked at him anyway, tilting his head back, "Are you falling for me?"

"No."

"Then why are you holding my hand?"

"Mind your own business?" Ling Qingjue said this while gripping his hand even tighter, somewhat sophistically, "I'm the princess. Everyone does what I say."

"Princesses get kidnapped by evil dragons."

"It wouldn't dare kidnap me." Princess Ling raised an eyebrow sharply, "I'd burn its den to ashes."

Meng Shu was cracking up.

Ling Qingjue's weird excuses always cracked him up.

He didn't try to free his hand from Ling Qingjue's. The two quietly tagged along at the back of the knights, occasionally whispering to each other.

Meng Shu asked, "We're dating, right?"

"No."

The path to Shiyue Peak was steep and narrow, only allowing one person to pass at a time. Meng Shu walked behind Ling Qingjue, still having his hand tightly held.

He couldn't help staring at Ling Qingjue's tall frame. He noticed Ling Qingjue had broader shoulders than he'd thought, a bigger build, somewhere between an adult and a youth—lean but not frail, effortlessly blocking his view.

When Ling Qingjue threw his fits, Meng Shu always treated him like a little kitten.

He forgot that Ling Qingjue was truly an adult cat. Converted to human years, he was long past the age for marriage.

"Ling Qingjue," Meng Shu called out, "If you fall this easily, you're gonna get taken advantage of."

"I haven't fallen," Ling Qingjue said, "I just think you're clumsy and might fall. I'm too lazy to save you, that's all."

Meng Shu's eyes curved into crescents. He didn't argue, "You haven't fallen, I know. You have your own pace."

Ling Qingjue seemed unable to keep up the act. He laughed to himself, "What a troublesome cat."

Such a troublesome cat.

When they neared Shiyue Peak, Meng Shu stopped as instructed near the dragon's cave.

The advance team went to gather information, while the rest waited in place.

Soon the advance team returned. "Moonbite Azakara is guarding the cave entrance. We can't get inside."

"No other way in?"

"The cave seems to have only one entrance. We searched around the mountain and found no other path."

Zhang Lin frowned at the report and said, "So we have no choice but to attack head-on?"

"We can set up a trap beforehand. As long as someone can lure it out, once it steps into our trap, it will surely die," a mage said.

"Alright, you and the other eight mages set up the Seven Kill Formation. It has to be a one-hit kill."

Zhang Lin waved to a few other assassin adventurers. "You guys, follow me and sneak into the cave. If we can save the princess, we won't have to fight. If we can't, run as fast as you can and lure the evil dragon into the trap."

"The rest of you wait here. If anything goes wrong, retreat immediately!"

As for Meng Shu, being a worthless nobody, he could only stay put.

Watching Zhang Lin and a few others sneak into the cave, Meng Shu sat there bored on a distant hilltop, overlooking the cave with a blade of grass in his mouth. "Do you think their formation is any good?"

Ling Qingjue stood beside him, not bothering to hide. He glanced over and concluded, "Useless. This formation couldn't even scratch a dragon's scale."

"Seven Kill Formation sounds impressive."

"You need the Po Jun Formation," Ling Qingjue said. "Among the three major formations—Seven Kill, Po Jun, and Greedy Wolf—only Po Jun has the most penetrating power."

"Then why don't they set up the Po Jun Formation?" Meng Shu didn't know much about magic.

Ling Qingjue said, "The Po Jun Formation has very high requirements. At the very least, one needs the ability to guard a territory. A small knight order wouldn't have a mage at that level."

He sneered. "Even a Seven Kill Formation requires nine mages to draw it together. I told you, the knight order is full of useless losers."

"Huh?"

He realized he had also insulted Meng Shu. He coughed, his throat suddenly dry. "You're different."