Chapter 86: Mercenary
As Fang Yu and Empyrea were having their fun, Tang Ya joined Fang Lin on acquiring all things that he needed for his journey to the Forest of Death.
After Fang Lin and Tang Ya scoured the weapons and talisman shop, Fang Lin had determined that what he got was enough. He then deposited it on his space ring that Tang Ya gave to him.
After doing this, he pulled of the slumbering Tang Lin off his head. He then passed her to Tang Ya. Because of her invisibility, Tang Ya could not see Tang Li at all. She could only feel some weight pressing on her arms.
“Take care of Tang Li ok?”
“You have time to be worried about Tang Li? You should be worried about yourself!” Tang Ya shot back.
“You will go the Forest of Death, one of the most dangerous places in the Tian Ji Empire! Do you even have a plan on how to go there?”
“Of course I have!” Fang Lin replied indignantly. Upon knowing that he had to venture the Forest of Death, he did some research about it earlier while waiting for his matches to start.
The Forest of Death was located at the western part of the Tian Ji Empire. Due to its unique status, none from the 8 Families dare claim on it as their territory. The forest only exists there, with occasional daring people venturing inside it.
It was called the Forest of Death because of the abundant death qi there, formed by numerous dead beings that reside there. It was said that in the ancient times, the Forest of Death was just a normal spirit forest, filled with teeming creatures.
Then one day, an object fell from the sky and crashed at the middle of the forest. This object released large amounts of death qi that turned the forest into the abomination it is in just a day.
Fang Lin knew from the records that the outer section of the Forest of Death has a minimal amount of death qi, something that can be endured by at least the First Stage Practitioners. But this amount of death qi increases exponentially as one approaches the center.
In fact, not even the former Emperors and Empresses of the Tian Ji Empire managed to reach the center! Only those brave or lunatic enough attempted to reach the center.
As for these fools, all of them ended up as undead in the forest. They are already dead, but the death qi in the forest forced their bodies to be reanimated. Their strengths then depend on the power their previous living body had.
Upon knowing such effects from the Forest of Death, death-attributed practitioners consider it as their Holy Land.
“So you will just go alone to the Forest of Death?” Tang Ya sneered. “That’s some good planning right there!”
“You dare doubt my intellect?” Fang Lin scoffed. “I solved far more difficult problems than you can imagine, musclehead!”
“D**n you Fang Lin! Come back here!” Because she was carrying Tang Li, Tang Ya lost the chance to retaliate at Fang Lin. She could only watch helplessly as Fang Lin rushed outside the spirit ship.
“Geez.....You better come back alive ok?” Tang Ya then went back to her room with the sleeping Tang Li mumbling in her sleep
“Bweastmilk.....”
.........................
Before he had completely left the confines of the spirit ship of the Immortal God Sect, Fang Lin changed his appearance again. The appearance he had now was a healthier, shorter version of Venomshade! Those who knew Venomshade will think that Fang Lin right now was his brother. Fang Lin donned this appearance for two reasons.
Because Venomshade requested Fang Lin to look for his sister, Fang Lin had to do some actions now. By donning the appearance of someone similar to Venomshade, Fang Lin might find some leads. Not only that, but he can also use this to bait those d**ned assassins who killed Venomshade.
If the assassins were here, they might think that Fang Lin was a family member of Venomshade. From observing the matter of Venomshade’s death, Fang Lin knew that Venomshade’s origin was mysterious. Fang Lin’s appearance now will surely spur those assassins into action.
Fang Lin knew impersonating as someone related to Venomshade was a big, stupid risky move for him. If Wang Hao was here, he will shake his head in disappointment with Fang Lin’s attitude.
But Fang Lin always have lived with one principle. Help your friends and torment your enemies!
Fang Lin could not forget all the happy conversations and teamwork he had with Venomshade.
‘So what if it’s dangerous? I will never break my promise to him!’
With his new appearance on, Fang Lin then rushed towards the Capital City.
Upon arriving in the Capital City, Fang Lin had to stop as he looked at the sprawling complex. Huge pagodas dotted the side of the concrete sidewalk. Carriages drawn by Second Stage Horses ran abound the streets. Many stalls and shop were currently open, enticing a lot of customers.
This is the Outskirts of the Capital City.
The Capital City was divided into three portions. The Outskirts, the Inner Complex and the Royal Ground.
The Outskirts were located at the outer portion of the capital city, occupying around 70% of the Capital City. The Inner Complex was a situated nearer the center, occupying the 20% of the Capital City. As for the Royal Ground, it was located at the center of the Capital City and was comprised of the remaining 10% area.
The Outskirts are where the majority of the residents of the Capital City reside. This is where most of the booming business stalls run their businesses.
As for the Inner Complex, only those who reached the Fourth Stage upwards or those with connection to the 8 Families can reside here. This is the subdivision of the elite. The landing port where the spirit ship of the Immortal God Sect landed was located in the Inner Complex.
As for the Royal Ground, this was obviously the territory for the Emperor or Empress. The Tian Ji Divine Palace and the Tian Ji Divine Spear were parts of the Royal Ground.
Each of these areas were separated from each other with tall walls. There were gates in the walls that allow entry from one area to another. Guards were of course stationed here, preventing anyone from entering or leaving illegally.
“Halt!” When Fang Lin was about to approach the gate separating the Inner Complex with the Outskirts, two guards stationed in the gate blocked his way. They looked at him warily as they said
“State your intentions for leaving! You wearing clothes like that makes you really suspicious!”
Fang Lin wore dark clothes now, with a matching black cape on his back. Coupled with his sinister appearance now, the guards had all the right reason to complain.
“Ah...” Fang Lin sheepishly said, “I actually just arrived here due to talking with a friend. He told me all about this Forest of Death. I am actually interested in going there. Do you know any way for me to get there?”
Upon hearing Fang Lin ask this question, the tension in the guards’ bodies disappeared. From their viewpoint, Fang Lin was one of those freaks that wants to learn something from the Forest of Death.
One of the guards said amicably, “In the Outskirts, you can see the Mercenary Organization Headquarters. If you register there as a mercenary, you can apply for missions to go in the Forest of Death.” He then patted Fang Lin’s shoulders as he said,
“Very few individuals managed to return alive from that forest after staying in for a long time. Please do not overestimate yourself.” With that, the guards returned to their posts.
Fang Lin reminded himself to be careful in that forest as he went inside the outskirts. After some questioning with the locals, he managed to find the Mercenary Organization Headquarters.
It was a 6-story building. Its entire surface was glossed with black paint, as if it suggests that this building was entirely for business only. Fang Lin took a deep breath as he entered inside.
What he saw inside was a huge contrast from the outside. What he saw was a bar filled with rowdy people. Most of them were clearly drunk, with no way to think straight. Fang Lin just plugged his nose as he approached the counter. But before he could do so, he felt a meaty hand clamping on his shoulder.
He looked back and he saw a muscled man with an unkempt hair smiling towards him. Just seeing that smile brought chills upon Fang Lin’s spine. He then heard him say,
“You punk, you want to be a mercenary? Stickboys like you will not be accepted here!”
“Sigh, and here goes the obligatory bad guy.”
“Huh?”
“...............”