Zachary stopped talking. He raised his head and barely saw a white figure in the dark, lying on a thin rope that was suspended in the air. Even though Zachary only saw her back, the gorgeous posture and the beautiful shape of her body told him that this person had to be Anne. This was exactly how she was described in the famous martial arts fiction.
"Master Anne, please accept me as your disciple." Zachary was about to kneel down, a ritual that all disciples performed when they were formally accepted by their masters. Since it was an apprentice quest, naturally the first thing he should do was to become her personal disciple.
However, when he tried to bend his knees, he couldn't control his legs anymore. His knees were half-bent and the muscles were stiff.
"Who is your master here? Leave the Living-dead Tomb now! Otherwise I'll throw you out!" Anne said coldly without turning around.
"I won't leave the Living-dead Tomb until you accept me as your disciple!" Zachary was sure that Anne must have done something to make him unable to kneel down. Hence, he decided to sit on the ground instead and waited for Anne to change her mind.
His persistence eventually bore fruit. Anne seemed to move slightly, and soon afterwards, three rays of light shot towards him, each one targeting one of his weak spots.
"Ice Needles?" Zachary sprang up and used the Shadow Pace. He barely managed to dodge the attacks.
"If you continue to stay, the number of needles will be thirty instead of three," Anne warned.
"Even if the number becomes three hundred, I will not leave!" Zachary answered firmly. He recalled that in the martial arts fiction Anne was naturally a kind person. 'I have to complete this quest. I don't believe she'll kill me! She isn't someone who randomly kills someone!' Zachary thought to himself.
And as Zachary expected, Anne didn't attack him anymore. After half an hour or so, the figure suddenly vanished. In the blink of an eye, Zachary saw a beautiful lady appear in front of him. She had fair, soft skin and an immaculately beautiful face. Her beauty was simply beyond description. She was like an angel that mortals could never get close to. Her white dress made her look even more divine and holy.
"So...very beautiful," Zachary stuttered. He couldn't help staring at her. Even Elva couldn't compare with her beauty.
"Have you seen enough?" A look of disgust crept onto Anne's cold face.
"No," Zachary said honestly.
"What will make you leave?" Anne asked in a serious tone.
"Master Anne, you have two choices. Either you accept me as your disciple, or you agree to be my girlfriend and go out with me," Zachary answered with an impish smile.
"I choose neither one. Just go. Don't disturb me any further. Do not think that I will not kill you. I just don't want your blood to stain this place." Anne walked about as she spoke.
Zachary raised his eyebrows. 'Getting her to accept me as her disciple is harder than I expected, ' he thought.
Nonetheless, he never planned to give up so easily.
Three days passed by.
During those few days, Anne completely ignored Zachary. She walked by him several times a day as if he was not there, and she even slept on the rope with him around.
On the fourth day, Anne suddenly said to Zachary, "I want to drink the Sweet Dew. If you can get me some in half an hour, I will accept you as my disciple. If you can't, then you must leave and never return again."
"No problem. Where can I get the Sweet Dew?" Zachary knew it was his last chance.
"If you go five hundred meters north of the Living-dead Tomb, you will find a cave. A large group of huge bees live there. They are all deadly poisonous. One sting is enough to kill you. If you don't want to die, I would suggest that you just give up." Anne then left after she spoke.
"I'm not afraid of bees!" Aware that he had no time to waste, Zachary rushed to the cave.
The entrance of the cave was half-covered by thick bushes. From outside, he could only see the outline of dark creatures flying within.
Without hesitation, Zachary dashed into the cave. In less than a minute, he was driven back out by a group of large and ferocious bees. Luckily, Shadow Pace made it easy for him to escape from the bees; otherwise, he would have died.
The bees returned into the cave after they chased Zachary out.
"Damn bees. I just need to get some Sweet Dew. Since you almost killed me, don't blame me for what happens next!" Zachary exclaimed. He collected some dried twigs, barks and sticks, piled them at the entrance of the cave and then lit the pile.
The wind blew at the fire and it grew bigger. A lot of smoke soon got blown into the cave. Shortly after, the group of bees fled out of the cave.
Taking advantage of the situation, Zachary kicked the sticks away and rushed into the cave. After some time, he dashed back out with a palm-sized honey comb in his hands. There was a fragrant, transparent liquid inside. This should be the Sweet Dew that Anne requested for.
"Got it!" Laughing with confidence and satisfaction, Zachary quickly returned to the Living-dead Tomb and gave Anne the Sweet Dew.
She looked at Zachary and then said in an emotionless tone, "It seems that you're a persistent person!"
"I'm willing to do anything for you, Master Anne! Do you accept me now as your disciple?" Zachary said while smiling at Anne.
"Well. If you really want to become my disciple, then you have to complete ten collection quests first. Get me ten Heavenly Aromatic Herbs from outside the Living-dead Tomb. The Heavenly Aromatic Herbs have a faint herbal scent. Don't get them wrong!" Anne said giving Zachary the instructions.
"Wait a second, Master Anne. You said that you would accept me as your disciple once I got you the Sweet Dew!" Zachary said, feeling cheated.
Anne never planned to explain herself. She remained silent and stared at Zachary coldly without uttering a word.