Long ago, at a magical academy named Qinghua, students would often pass around a song:
"Since ancient times, heroes have loved beauties, and even those who aren't heroes love them too."
Every love story ends in a similar way—the prince and princess live happily ever after. However, each love story avoids confronting two indisputable truths:
Beauty fades with age; a human beauty's prime lasts at most 10 years, while a human prince's charm can last 30 years.Once a prince becomes king, he often has many confidantes or a harem.
Glimpses of the Enchanting Beasts in the Classic of Mountains and Seas
A sudden clatter of footsteps surrounded Amy and Dashan as a crowd of mercenaries and non-mercenaries rushed into the guild, seemingly gathering around those who had just entered.
Amy frowned slightly. With so many people crowding around, it was almost impossible to hear anything.
"We're looking for an escort," a sweet and crisp female voice said to the clerk.
"1,000 gold coins," the female voice repeated.
Wow, Amy jumped up immediately and rushed into the guild—what a crowd! In just a few minutes, the room had filled with 30 people, all craning their necks and staring at something ahead.
Amy was only slightly above average height, and the mercenaries included many large warriors, like berserkers, who blocked her view completely. She couldn't see a thing.
Taking a deep breath, Amy shouted, "Green, don't cast lightning!"
With a thud, everyone in the room, including the clerk, hit the ground. Over the past few days, everyone had been awed by Green's unmatched charm—casting spells without incantations, never fearing exhaustion of magical power, and remaining energetic after striking 20 people a day. Eventually, everyone at the Treehouse Tavern knew to avoid the lightning—by lying flat immediately, as anyone standing would become a human lightning rod.
"Make way, make way," Amy and Dashan carefully made their way to the counter, stepping over heads and legs. "No need to worry, everyone. I've stopped it in time. Alas, even at 200 years old, it's still a child at heart."
"Miss, are you looking for mercenaries?" Amy looked up at the two girls who were still standing:
"I recommend my mercenary group. Is it 1,000 gold coins?"
To everyone present, the two girls were obviously human. The girl in the red dress was slightly taller, with black hair cascading down her back, a delicate face, brown eyes, and a smile at the corner of her mouth. The girl in the blue dress was clearly a mage, with the insignia of a second-level mage prominent on her chest. Her brown hair was neatly draped over her shoulders, her blue eyes exuding a calm demeanor. Both girls appeared to be under 20. Behind them were a few imperial guards, seemingly knights, holding weapons with traces of blood on them.
Clearly, the two girls found the local custom of lying down to greet people fascinating, yet the self-recommendation from two handsome young mercenaries endeared them:
Amy wore a white leather outfit, with one shoulder exposed in the summer sun. Her dark skin, lips, and nose were as finely chiseled as a sculpture, her smile and composed pride reminiscent of nobility, without the lecherous look others gave her.
Dashan was slightly taller than Amy, dressed in black leather, contrasting with her white outfit. One shoulder was similarly bare, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a pure gaze, exuding a simple and honest aura.
The girl in blue pursed her lips slightly, "Sorry, we need an A-level group. The mission is quite dangerous."
"For 1,000 gold coins, we can be A-level," Amy said eagerly, her smile betraying her determination to secure the task.
The girl was skeptical but said nothing further. She shook her head slightly and told the clerk who had just stood up, "Find an A-level or an established B-level mercenary group to take us to the capital of the Hamite Kingdom. Our guide was killed in the conflict."
The clerk picked up a task scroll and carefully wrote: B-level escort mission, requires a B-level or higher mercenary group, unlimited members, fee of 1,000 gold coins, no advance payment. "If both A-level and B-level groups compete, which do you prefer, miss?"
"A," the girl in blue confirmed.
"Alright." The clerk addressed the crowd, "Sign-ups are open now. As you heard, they need a B-level or A-level mercenary group."
"I want to join," Amy, being closest, was the first to raise her hand. A few other groups murmured their interest but quickly quieted down—everyone knew the requirements. Unless it was the Silver Snow Wolf, no one could compete.
"Miss, I am honored to present one of the world's few top-tier mercenary groups," the clerk gestured professionally toward Amy. "Mr. Amy of the A-level mercenary group."
"Ah—" The girls and soldiers were clearly incredulous.
One soldier couldn't help but interject, "We require A-level or B-level mercenaries. We won't accept G or F-level from the Silver Snow Wolf."
"Indeed," the clerk insisted, "Mr. Amy and his partner are A-level mercenaries and leaders of their group."
A mischievous grin spread across Amy's face.
"Miss, we may be a small group, but we possess extraordinary skills. Trust me, I'll take full responsibility for the 1,000 gold coins."
"But it's very dangerous along the way," the girl in red interjected.
"Heh, if it weren't dangerous, why hire mercenaries? Don't doubt our capabilities; ask any mercenary here who has faced more perilous situations than us." To secure the 1,000 gold coin mission, Amy fully exercised her initiative.
All the surrounding mercenaries shook their heads.
"Fine, it's settled with you. Let's discuss the mission," the girls exchanged a glance, seemingly more charmed by the young mercenaries than convinced by their skills. Ignoring the soldiers' objections, they reached an agreement with the small group.
In a secluded room, the group began negotiations—the girl in blue ensured a sound barrier was activated to maintain privacy.
It turned out the girls were envoys from the Amy Empire, sent to the Hamite Kingdom to retrieve a magical beast.
"Magical beast?" Amy and Dashan perked up. Dashan interjected, "Weren't they supposed to be retrieved last year? It's only every five years."
"Clang—" The young imperial guards leapt up, drawing their swords, "How do you know about the magical beasts? Did you attack the delegation?"
"What's so strange about that?" Amy remained calm, her noble demeanor demanding respect:
"My teacher is the imperial mage Lei Ge. Do you think I wouldn't know?" Amy reckoned Lei Ge had returned to the capital, so she risked using his name as a shield—after all, she couldn't admit that both Chi Hanfeng and Lei Ge once plotted to steal the magical beasts.
This time, the girls were surprised: "Mage Lei Ge? You're his student? That's wonderful. No wonder you're so young yet so advanced. A great teacher indeed."
The imperial guards didn't know who Lei Ge was, but seeing the envoy's reaction from the capital, it seemed trustworthy.
"The retrieval should've happened last year, but the black and white suns' magical powers greatly increased, preventing their alignment. Thus, the magical beast sanctuary couldn't be opened. Oddly, the beasts that should have procreated last year didn't produce offspring. After coordination among various nations and calculations by celestial mathematicians, the timeline was postponed to this year," explained the girl in blue. "We left the capital two months ago and reached the empire's icy forest border last month. A squad of 20 glacier infantry was dispatched to escort us, but as we exited the forest, a squad of black riders ambushed us, leaving eight dead and six wounded."
That surprise attack left the imperial guards bewildered; the enemy seemed well-versed in their route. As the delegation barely emerged from the forest, they were met by 40 masked riders in black, leading a charge.
At the forefront was a black magical beast horse.
The result of an ambush by many against a few was predictable.
The glacier infantry's current captain and ten others desperately held off the riders, allowing the delegation leader—Amy Empire's Deputy Foreign Minister—to escape. The infantry captain and ten comrades suffered seven deaths and four injuries, eventually retreating under the forest's cover.
When the two surviving factions regrouped, they discovered a stray arrow had pierced the Deputy Foreign Minister's chest, nearly killing him. After emergency consultation, the severely injured were sent back, while the imperial court's lady-in-waiting, a second-level mage and disciple of the imperial grand mage Yu Shang Lin, the girl in blue, and the Holy Church's special envoy, the girl in red, Sha Ruo, led the group, abandoning their original route to detour to the Hamite Kingdom's capital.
"Did you encounter the enemy again?" Amy questioned further.
"How did you know?" Lin Yushang was puzzled.
"You bear injuries, and your numbers are few," Dashan added.
"Indeed, they divided their forces to pursue us, and we encountered one group of seven. In the second skirmish, both guides perished, along with two soldiers, but using magic, we defeated all the enemies. We hope to find a guide and mercenaries to help us reach the Hamite Kingdom's capital, Snowfield City," the girl in red timidly interjected.
"So dangerous," Amy feigned difficulty, "In that case, about the payment..."
"As I understand, if we leave immediately, we can reach Snowfield City in ten days at the latest," an imperial soldier interjected.
"Ten days, 240 hours of life-and-death urgency!" Amy shivered, "How about this, I won't ask for more mercenary fees, just a bit of mental stress compensation."
"You—" Lin Yushang slammed the table.
"I'm not trying to make things difficult," Amy waved it off.
"Amy, let's help them," Dashan, unable to watch any longer, interrupted Amy's performance.
"Why am I always the bad guy, and you're the good one? Fine," Amy sighed heavily, seeing the cooked duck fly away but feeling helpless. When the vice leader had spoken, there was no choice but to acquiesce.
An imperial soldier murmured softly, "Never seen someone so lacking in chivalry."
As night began to fall, Amy and Dashan conferred briefly and decided to set off immediately, traveling through the night to gain half a day ahead of the pursuers.
From the Treehouse Tavern to Snowfield City, the most convenient route was the Dragonfang Mountain highway. In summer, the snow had melted, making travel easy, but given the pursuers had horses, traveling on the highway made being caught likely, and escape from a cavalry charge difficult. So, they planned to head north into the fringes of the icy forest, then east to Snowfield City.
The delegation originally had four sleds, but the long-distance sled dogs were exhausted after days of travel. With Lin Yushang's approval, they spent an additional 100 gold coins to replace them with fresh sled dogs at the inn near the Treehouse Tavern.
As dusk settled, under the envious eyes of other mercenaries, four sleds departed from the Treehouse Tavern.
Not far from the tavern, Amy nudged the dozing Green.
"Mm—" Green turned over, burying its head under Dashan's clothes, continuing to rest.
"Hey, hey, your turn," Amy persisted, "I didn't raise you just to freeload, Green."
"Mm—mm—" Green buried its paws under Dashan's clothes, hugging its head—seemingly to block its ears.
"Hehe—" Amy, with a face that seemed to say 'I can still handle you,' pulled out two lizard jerky strips from a nearby pack. Rubbing them vigorously, the dried meat crumbled slightly, and a fragrant aroma wafted out, quickly filling the entire sled.
"Achoo—" Green, smelling its beloved scent, immediately climbed out, squinting in the night, using its nose to locate the source.
Amy covered Green's mouth just as it was about to open, "No work, no food, you understand?"
Green, eyes brimming with affection, nodded rapidly like a pecking bird.
"Firstly, you haven't done any work for four days; secondly, we're in a very dangerous situation. Many people are coming to steal your jerky." Amy portrayed a shared sense of indignation.
Green's expression instantly turned grave, its green dragon breath huffing out.
"In an hour, fly up and check if they're pursuing us. If you see anyone riding at night, they're likely the enemy. Let's give them a hard time. I've heard they have plenty of lizard jerky." Amy said while stuffing the jerky into Green's mouth, then patted its back, "Go, sleep during the day."
In the sky, Green spread its massive wings, soaring on the night wind, eyes fixed on every movement below.
On the ground, Amy spread a bear skin blanket over herself, squeezed alongside Dashan, and whispered, "Green's getting harder to trick. We need other excuses. I'm worried he'll get tired of the jerky, then what?"
Finishing, she ignored Dashan's bemused expression and began to snore.