"Yes—"
"Boss!" Before Leng Yueyan could finish, a group of three, grinning lads rushed toward them.
Qin Meng smiled, and said, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean, boss?" Yan Yunjie rolled his eyes at him. "We are going to crush those devils under our feet. How dare they kill innocents and use their blood and soul for their nefarious cultivation."
"But—"
"Ptff!" Suddenly someone burst into a peal of laughter. Qin Meng frowned and found that they were the four people that Leng Yueyan had brought with her. One of the two third-year boys looked at Yan Yunjie and others, saying amusedly, "You want to fight with devils?"
"Why, yes, of course," replied the pudgy boy proudly.
The boy chuckled and said to his companions, "Did you hear that? He wants to fight with devils. Have you seen someone so eager to die?"
The others chuckled, of course, except Qian Jie and Leng Yueyan.
Qin Meng ignored them and turned towards Leng Yueyan. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Actually," she said, "I wanted to invite you to join our group."
The same fella, who mocked fatty, snorted, peering at Qin Meng with a twisted face. 'What's his problem?' thought Qin Meng. Then he eyed Leng Yueyan. "I can't join your group," he shook his head. "I know you are making an exception for me, but I don't want to leave my friends alone."
"Isn't it easy to solve?" said Qian Jie from beside Yueyan. "Let them come with us as well."
"Qian Jie," interrupted one of the girls. "We are already being generous to let you guys join Qin Meng, but you also want to drag three liabilities together with us? No way!"
"Sun Yu, you—"
"I also agree with Sun Yu," said the fellow, who had mocked Yan Yunjie. "We can hardly babysit a single first year. How do you expect us to look after four of them?"
A frown appeared on Leng Yueyan's face. She looked at the boy and said, "If you have a problem with them just leave, Xia He."
"Yueyan—"
"Miss Yueyan," said Leng Yueyan as her deep gaze pierced Xia He. "Don't take other people's silence as a sign of weakness or approval."
"No—"
"Leave."
"What?" Xia He's eyes widened. He felt as if he had misheard her.
"I said get lost! All four of you!"
Xia He froze for a moment. When he came to his senses anger bubbled on his face. "Do you think you will be able to win a place to enter the Spirit Lake with these weaklings?"
"That's none of your business. Now, get lost, before I run out of patience."
Xia He snorted and, with Sun Yu and two other companions, walked away at a brisk pace, shoulders trembling in sheer anger.
"Good, I didn't like them, anyway," said Qian Jie with a broad smile, as if showing how pleasant she was by this turn of events.
Qin Meng rolled his eyes at her and turned towards Yueyan. "I caused you trouble."
"No," Leng Yueyan shook her head. "Their attitude just now gave me a good estimation about their capabilities. They would pee as soon as they saw the devils."
Qin Meng and others chuckled at her words. Then he said worriedly, "But what about the—"
"Team?" Leng Yueyan said. Then, "There is one more person coming. Other than that I don't know if anyone else would like to join our team."
"If we are such a bother—"
"No," said Leng Yueyan, this time more forcefully, so they could hear the conviction in her voice. "You aren't a bother, neither are you a liability. You are an asset, a very important one. And you are going to prove it to them. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sister-in-law," said the fatty and the other two nodded vigorously from behind.
Qin Meng was smiling when Leng Yueyan looked in the distance and waved. He turned around and eyed the strolling figure and a shocked look appeared on his face. "Her?"
"Yes," chuckled Leng Yueyan, spotting that gobsmacked expression on his face.
The girl arrived in front of them. "Sister Yueyan, Qian Jie—" then she turned towards Qin Meng and smiled "—Young Master."
The girl was none other than the maid who was taking care of House Qin all this time. Qin Meng stared at her academy dress and that academy insignia, and the smile on her face. Then he looked between Leng Yueyan and his maid—he didn't even know her name—and understood everything.
Leng Yueyan curled her lips and said, "Meet Yao Ying, she is a third-year student, like me. She is also our team member."
Yao Ying was quite beautiful, though not as exceptional as Leng Yueyan, but still as pretty as Qian Jie. Her short hair waved slightly below her shoulders and the bangs were falling over her forehead. She had a small, round face with red lips. Her short height of 5 feet gave her a cute appearance, but her bursting breasts gave her the maturity of Vice Principal.
"Hello, Sister… Yao Ying," said Qin Meng. Still in shock.
"Actually I sent her to protect you," Leng Yueyan said. "I knew that some people won't remain silent, and would try to do something nefarious. I was right. Yao Ying encountered quite a few lurkers around House Qin. Once, she almost lost her life. If I hadn't arrived on time, she would have died. Though we couldn't find the people behind this. Although I can guess some of them, I could do nothing to them without any proof. Anyway, we will talk about it later—"
"Hi Yueyan," a voice said from not far away from them. Zhong Liqiu.
"What are you doing here, Your Highness?" asked Leng Yueyan. "Shouldn't you be forming a team?"
"Oh, I tried that…" she shook her head. Then, "Do you have a spot for me in your team?"
"Oh, of course," said Leng Yueyan pleasantly, "if you want to join our team."
"Alright, then," said Qian Jie excitedly. "Let's go and kick some ass."