The Birth of a Small-Time Villain
"Nephew, are you okay?" After seeing the commanders take away Ye Fei, Huo Chen went over to Huo Long and asked.
"Don't worry, Uncle, that Ye Fe didn't get to me, thanks to your help." Huo Long answered through breaths.
Huo Chen sighed in relief. He wouldn't know how to face his cousin if he had to bring his son back early with him being injured or even dead.
While the two were talking, Xue Bai, in the back, was watching with relish.
'Even before becoming a Child of the Plane, Huo Long can still attract trouble like a magnet. He made a rational and prestigious squad leader ignore his reputation and career just to beat him down.' Xue Bai was in awe at how strong the Protagonist Halow was.
However, since he was unable to truly speak out his thoughts, he chose something different to say.
"Huo Long, you're like a trouble magnet!" Xue Bai commented in awe as he walked over to the nephew and uncle duo.
At this Huo, Long could only smile wryly.
'I didn't want this either. Who would want to be attacked by a Qi Sea realm cultivator like this?'
"Young Duke, I would've rather not had this happen." Huo Long shyly replied.
Xue Bai didn't respond to that and just patted Huo Long on the shoulder.
'You better get used to it. You could get three mortal enemies just by walking down the street when you awaken. A protected duel like this is child's play.' Xue Bai laughed inwardly.
Though being a Child of the Plane was certainly advantageous, it had its downfalls.
From having your wife lusted upon every time she goes out to having to exterminate an entire clan every other week, being a Child of the Plane was no easy task.
"Enough of that. How have you adjusted to the dukedom so far?" Xue Bai asked with a smile.
"It's been great, Young Duke! I can't thank you enough for bringing me here!" Huo Long's face lit up at Xue Bai's question, "Here in the barracks with all of the soldiers, I feel like I'm in my element. Nothing matters here except how hard your fist is. It's a refreshing change from the usual."
And as Huo Long replied, the glint in his eyes only grew brighter and brighter.
Xue Bai, seeing that, could only sigh, 'Keep your innocence for as long as possible, brother. You have a rough path in front of you.'
"If you're having such a nice time here, why won't you stay a few more days?" Xue Bai offered, "Think of this time as an internship under your uncle. It would be extremely beneficial to your future!"
Even though Xue Bai knew that getting close to Huo Long was a great move for his future, he also started to realize that while being the protagonist's friend was great, it had many downsides.
Being companions with this trouble magnet in human form would force Xue Bai into calamity after calamity, among other things. And to safely survive the tribulations of this, Xue Bai needed to be strong himself.
It wasn't enough just riding on Huo Long's coattails. Xue Bai also had to be strong enough to weather the winds.
So after Xue Bai realized this, he also at the same time lowered his desire to become sworn brothers with Huo Long. However, being close friends would still be beneficial for his future.
And letting the protagonist stay here and train under his uncle would be good for keeping a great friendship.
But surprisingly, the protagonist denied the request, for now.
"Young Duke, forgive me, but I can't stay here any longer. Siyan is waiting for me at home. However, how long does this offer last? I really do love this place." Huo Long looked torn as he denied Xue Bai's offer.
Xue Bai and even Huo Chen were surprised at the protagonist's denial, but quickly they both had different reactions.
Huo Chen got angry and only looked a few seconds away from beating Huo Long into the dirt, while Xue Bai had a slight smile on.
'That girl is a menace.' Xue Bai thought to himself, 'She even has the noble Huo Long at her mercy.'
Huo Siyan was an enigma in "Children of the Plane" as even at the end of the game, the player never truly knew what her background was, only that she could kill almost everything under the Heavens.
She was a powerful hidden expert that Xue Bai had little to no understanding of. But of the few things he did know, the fact that she loved to be around Huo Long was one of them.
So for the boy to be away from home for an entire week meant that Huo Siyan must've been turning the Huo Clan into chaos.
However, on the other hand, unlike Xue Bai's calm acceptance, Huo Chen nearly blew a casket once he heard his nephew deny the offer of a Young Duke.
Thankfully, Xue Bai spoke up before he sent Huo Long into oblivion from his readied backhand.
"The offer will always be there. If anything, it should've always been there. The Zhang Clan, who is also under us, has the same privilege." Xue Bai said.
This was true. Other than the Huo Clan, Xue Bai's father had also become the superior to two other Marquis Clans. One of them, surnamed Zhang, the Li. A few months ago, Xue Bai had seen the Young Marquis from the Zhang Clan come over to the dukedom, for one to visit an uncle of his and the other for training, just as Huo Long was doing.
What Xue Ba was offering wasn't a grand opportunity that he only did because Huo Long was a Child of the Plane, but this was instead something a right that Huo Long should've already had.
Nevertheless, Huo Long was still grateful.
"Thank you, Young Duke!" Huo Long thanked Xue Bai with a sincere smile.
Xue Bai only smiled in return.
The two would converse some more time, with Huo Long innocently asking why Xue Bai had such a bruised-up face and Xue Bai having to despondently answer him.
Huo Chen also saw the bruises on Xue Bai's face, but since he had met with the Duke, he knew the answer to this and didn't ask any questions.
Eventually, Huo Long regained his stamina and had the energy to stand up, and after one more thank you, Huo Long left.
In his words, the strongest commander would be returning soon, and Huo Long wanted to see him. So after picking up his spear, Huo Long left with Huo Chen.
Xue Bai waved the two off and then turned around and left the Outer Region as well.
Even though he had said that he was angry at his father, he knew very well that skipping a day of "training" would only make it worse.
So with a sigh full of resignation, he started his long trek back.
–
Xue Bai was beaten into oblivion that day, like any other.
Now with an even more bruised face, Xue Bai sat in a tub full of medicinal herb-diluted water as he read how Huo Long acted and what he had done this week.
This information was given to him by Big Wang. Apparently, even though the twins left the Duke's army, they still had a great reputation. Plus, since Big Wang wasn't asking any of them for secrets but rather general knowledge, they gave it to him.
Huo Long was the center of attention for the entire week he was there. What he was doing wasn't much of a secret.
Reading throughout it, Xue Bai found what was written to be almost exactly the same as he had predicted.
Huo Long was only with the soldiers for a week, but with his talent and tenacity, he quickly gained a very good reputation there.
Not only had he bonded with a lot of the soldiers there, but after the soldiers found out that his uncle was Huo Chen, a commander, almost all of the soldiers assumed that Huo Long would be one in the future as long as he awakened high Yellow-grade Martial Vein.
So with no one wanting to offend the potential commander, they all built good relations with Huo Long, hoping it would bear fruit in the future.
On a side note, the matter of Ye Fei was also quickly forgotten, with only the commanders really knowing what happened to him.
Xue Bai's parents also knew what had happened. However, since Ye Fei was only a squad leader, they left the punishment to the commanders.
They would've stepped in if it were a commander or a vice commander, but since it was just an overly arrogant Qi Sea realm cultivator, they didn't care much.
Xue Bai only learned what happened recently, and knowing it made him smile.
The commanders decided to strip Ye Fei of his squad leader position and then ban him from ever joining the Duke's army again.
However, what Xue Bai learned was that throughout the entire trial, Ye Fei looked at Huo Long with a look of pure hatred, even when Huo Long asked for him only to be fired. In fact, Huo Chen and the other two commanders who were at the training field had tried to persuade Huo Long to order Ye Fei to be crippled, but the protagonist still said no.
Huo Long didn't think what the man did was too much and only wished he was taught a small lesson, not to have his life ruined.
Xue Bai reading this, couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
'This is the perfect setup for a villain! Even if I messed with the plot line, he would still get stepping stones along the way.'
Xue Bai thought that this was rather tame for the matter as people in the Baishen Plane died for so much less than that, but at the end of the day, he didn't really care about it.
It was a random Qi Sea realm cultivator destined to be a minor villain in Huo Long's story. What waves could he create?
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