Myrna suddenly turned around, and with the instincts honed by years of training, she aimed the tip of her blade at her opponent.
But the next moment, her hand holding the knife froze and couldn't move.
Her hand was grabbed, and the opponent's strength was perfectly controlled—just enough to restrain her, but not cause her any discomfort.
Myrna clearly saw the face of the person who had grabbed her, and she couldn't help but be shocked.
It was the very person she was supposed to protect. She had made a serious mistake by aiming her weapon at the person she was supposed to safeguard.
Though everything that had happened in that split second was purely instinctive, it only added to her sense of failure.
But now that she looked at it, the person before her was clearly skilled in combat. And judging by the way he had controlled her, his strength was no doubt on par with hers, if not greater. So why did Lord Rukkhadevata want her to protect this person?
"What are you doing here?" Yu Xie squinted his eyes and asked again. "Sneaking around watching me at night—are you a pervert or an assassin?"
"No, wait, I don't have any enemies, no one would want to assassinate me. So, you must be a pervert," Yu Xie added with a smirk.
"I'm not a pervert," Myrna said.
"Then what are you doing sneaking around here at night?"
"I…" Myrna hesitated for a moment. "I have my own business to take care of."
"This lady, being stubborn isn't a good habit," Yu Xie said, studying her carefully. Though he didn't sense any ill intentions from her, something still felt off.
"I'm not being stubborn," Myrna avoided his gaze. "I really do have something I need to do."
Yu Xie hesitated, then quickly grabbed the short blade from Myrna's hand and released her grip.
"Nice blade."
"Please give it back to me, it's very important to me!" Mu'er Ya protested.
"This lady, weren't you just about to stab me with this knife? If I give it back, won't you just try to stab me again?" Yu Xie said.
"…Sorry, I've been trained for years. It's an instinct I've developed through harsh training," Myrna said with an apologetic tone. "My job requires me to always stay alert."
"Are you a professional assassin?"
"No."
"Then a professional bodyguard?"
"…Sorry, I can't tell you."
Yu Xie stopped asking further questions and carefully observed the young woman before him.
Her fair skin in the moonlight looked almost like porcelain, nothing like someone who would engage in dangerous work. But the things she had just said didn't seem like lies.
Yu Xie thought for a moment, then tossed the short blade into the air. It spun once before he caught it between two fingers and held the hilt out toward Mu'er Ya.
Myrna hesitated slightly, then took the hilt and sheathed the knife.
"Thank you."
"If it's that important, take good care of it. Not everyone is like me, who can so easily return it to you," Yu Xie said. "But why are you watching me?"
"I…" Myrna hesitated again, unsure how to lie. "I really do have something to do."
"Someone sent you to secretly protect me?"
This question left Myrna stunned.
"Looks like I guessed right. It was Lord Rukkhadevata, wasn't it?" Yu Xie continued. "But you didn't do a very good job. Just now, you had a knife aimed at me."
"…Sorry, you surprised me when you appeared, and I instinctively drew my blade," Myrna said slowly.
Yu Xie sighed lightly, then turned to leave.
"Go back. Tell Lord Rukkhadevata not to worry about me."
"No!" Myrna immediately said without hesitation, quickly following Yu Xie's footsteps.
Since becoming Lord Rukkhadevata's personal attendant, Myrna had never failed a task assigned to her. If she failed this time, she couldn't accept it.
She had already made a mistake in this mission, but she would make sure to compensate for it and complete the task successfully.
"Go back. Don't follow me." Yu Xie did not look back and continued walking.
"Sorry, but I can't agree," Myrna said, staying a short distance behind him.
Even when Yu Xie reached the door of his small house, Myrna was still following him, not leaving.
Myrna thought to herself that since secretly protecting him was essentially impossible now, she might as well just carry out the protection openly.
"This lady, I'm really not used to being protected by others. You should go back," Yu Xie said. "Don't worry. I'll talk to Lord Rukkhadevata and clear things up."
"This is a task given to me by Lord Rukkhadevata. I must complete it. I'll protect you. As long as I'm still standing, you won't be harmed," Myrna said. "And, to apologize for drawing my blade on you earlier, if there's anything I can do, just let me know."
"It's fine, I'm not really bothered by it," Yu Xie said, "You should go back. It's late, don't you have family that's worried about you?"
"I have no blood relatives. Lord Rukkhadevata is my only family," Myrna said. "Though, that's just how I see it."
"Is that so?" Yu Xie looked back at her briefly, but didn't linger, and went inside.
The door closed behind him.
"Go back now, miss," Yu Xie's voice came from inside the house.
Myrna remained where she was, standing still for a long time without leaving.
Late at night, Yu Xie lay in bed, his mind drifting to the information from the system.
[Name: Yu Xie]
[Age: 21]
[Skills: Master of All Weapons (Elite Level), Ashura Flash (Elite Level)]
[Skills: Erasure (Active Skill, no level differentiation. Your left hand can erase anything that touches the 'mystery')]
[Hint: Please proceed to the desert.]
The prompt made Yu Xie pause for a moment.
It felt like a quest guide in a game. Would going to the desert solve the problem he was facing right now?
After some contemplation, Yu Xie exited the system interface and turned to look out the window.
He could sense that the woman assigned to protect him was still outside.
He had to admit, she was quite responsible, albeit a bit stubborn.
Moonlight filtered through the window, time slowly passed, and eventually, Yu Xie felt that the woman outside had left.
Soon after, drowsiness began to settle in.
The next morning, when Yu Xie woke up, it was still early.
The sky was bright, but the sunlight hadn't yet touched the earth.
After having breakfast and packing his things, Yu Xie was ready to head to the desert.
However, as soon as he opened the door, the person in front of him stopped him in his tracks.
"Good morning," Myrna said, her backpack slung over her shoulder, standing at the door.
"You again?" Yu Xie frowned.
"I went to prepare some things. My intuition told me that you might be heading to the desert."
"Your intuition is that accurate?"
"It seems you're really planning to go to the desert. I'll be going with you. You don't have to worry about me; I'm just here to carry out my task," Myrna said. "Also, what I said last night still stands. To make up for drawing my blade, if you have any requests, feel free to ask. Don't worry about me."
"My only request is that you don't follow me," Yu Xie said. "The place I'm going could be dangerous."
"Sorry, but I can't agree to that request," Myrna replied seriously. "In fact, because it's dangerous, I need to protect you even more."
"Do you think I need your protection?"
"You probably don't, but this is what Lord Rukkhadevata ordered. I can't disappoint her."
Yu Xie was helpless.
The determination in her eyes, combined with that stubbornness, made it clear that simple reasoning wouldn't work to convince her, unless he somehow convinced Lord Rukkhadevata to revoke the protection task.
But he doubted Lord Rukkhadevata would easily retract the order, given how serious her concerns were.
"...Fine. What's your name?"
"Myrna."
End of chapter
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