The people you dislike are often present when you need them least. - Liu Zhenyong said.

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  "I gave my first time to the man I loved most, and then quietly left. Seventeen years passed quickly, he's living well now, and the world didn't collapse because he left me." The beautiful snake lifted Helen's face: "And I, with the most beautiful memories, am also living at ease. Do you understand what I mean...Helen?"

  "I couldn't live without Richard, I'd rather die than leave him!" Helen also understood what her mentor meant.

  "I said the same thing back then. Today, history is truly repeating itself." The beautiful snake let out a sigh: "It seems that our line of apprentices and masters not only symbolize genius, but also have this kind of unseemly tradition, it's really...".

  "I am who I am, and Mr. Mourinho is Mr. Mourinho." Liu said coldly.

  "What I can say, I've already told you. In fact, I sincerely hope that my apprentices will be happy." The beautiful snake obviously saw the stubbornness of the two people in front of her, sighed and stopped persuading them.

  "Mentor, let's handle our own affairs." Helen bit her lip and tilted her head: "Didn't the God of War say that the unknown path ahead is what drives us to move forward?"

  Liu Zhen was shocked by this sentence and almost burst out laughing on the spot. Did the God of War say this just for a teacher-student romance?

  "Helen, the mentor isn't a rigid old lady, let's not talk about that. How is your white sacrificial robe style arranged? And what instrument are you going to choose?" The beautiful and delicate Medusa changed the subject: "Let's arrange it in advance, next time you come back, it will be just right..."

  "Let's hunt for some magic crystals first and then decide what kind of instrument to use." Liu Zhen stood up, put the pouch made from the Xisha beast's bladder on the bed, hugged Guo Guo with one hand, and held Helen's hand with the other: "Who knows, maybe we'll even hunt down a dragon crystal next time..."

  "Next time I come back to the temple, I will be the greatest priest in the kingdom!" Liu Zhenshen said.

  "I'm second best." The little fox burst into laughter.

  The beautiful snake looked at her two juniors in surprise, and from their eyes, she couldn't find a trace of the hesitation and guilt that she had once felt. Their eyes only contained one thing.

  This is called determination.

  "This 'Rite of Sacrifice' was given to me by Lord Murni?o back then, and today the mentor is giving it to you two again. I'm waiting for your triumphant return." The beautiful snake lovingly stroked Helen's fiery red hair.

  The first meeting ended in a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

  As they exited the temple, Helen and Liu Da were about to bid farewell to their master when they suddenly found that outside, Jingyu and Aiyue were surrounded by a large crowd of people, with the Panda Warriors standing tensely opposite them.

  These people are not beastmen, but all humans, each wearing well-made leather armor and chain mail, with cold light shining from the weapons in their hands. The several human warriors surrounding them in front were all sturdy and rough, with ferocious faces that could rival those of the Mongols.

  Liu Zhen knew that this was probably what human mercenaries were all about. Although the official Human Kingdom did not open up trade with the Bimon Kingdom, every year a large number of Dolot human merchants would cross the border into the Bimon Kingdom to prospect for gold, enticed by the lure of huge profits, and Waiserspahn City was their first stop.

  To cope with the swarms of goblins, kobolds and bandits that infest the wilderness like flies and mosquitoes, every well-to-do merchant will hire a bodyguard of skilled mercenaries to protect his safety.

  In consideration of these merchants bringing large quantities of much-needed iron and daily necessities to the kingdom, the Council of Elders of the Kingdom of Baimon also allowed these merchants to have small guards, but the number of people cannot be too many.

  "What's going on here?" Liu Zhenhong roared in anger.

  He saw that these people didn't seem like a good bunch, and from the way Old Good's eyebrows were knitted together, he could tell they were up to no good.

  "Boss!" Gud saw Liu Zhen coming over and hastily pushed aside the human mercenaries in front of him, clearing a path for Liu Zhen. A sturdy human mercenary was pushed by him and almost rolled down the stairs.

  "In front of the solemn temple, why are you confronting us for no reason?" Liu Zhen first picked up his frame and glared fiercely at this group of human mercenaries.

  "May I ask who you are?" A merchant-like man with a fat head and big ears walked out from the crowd of human mercenaries. His chubby face had a large black mole, on which grew several golden hairs, and he stuttered severely when speaking.

  "Better than Mount War Memorial Sacrifice Richard!" Liu Zhen replied with a thumbs up, Old Gao.

  "Richard, your promotion has been successful?" Jingyu approached with a smile, looking at Liu Zhen with a happy face. Next to her, Aiyue's eyes, like spring water flowing, also looked at him with great pleasure.

  "Of course!" Liu was stared at by two pairs of beautiful eyes, and suddenly felt a surge of heroic passion, as if competing with the heavens.

  "What's with the war attire?" The human fatty was apparently taken aback, his beady eyes gleaming with cunning and deceit as he sized Liu Zhen up and down for half a day. Liu Zhen's ordinary clothes that couldn't be any more ordinary filled his gaze with suspicion.

  "Richard!" The beautiful snake swayed her waist and moved over, saying seriously: "Don't talk nonsense, you haven't received the official ordination of the temple yet, you can only tell others that you are a soul worshiper!"

  "Are you a Bishop?" The human merchant's venomous eyes had caught sight of the thorny emblem surrounding the bishop's crosier on his black robe, and his demeanor suddenly became much more respectful.

  Aiyue saw another big beauty, and Liu Zhen was talking so intimately, suddenly pulling her face down again.

  "My mentor's mentor, the venerable Quánzhī Fǎng, the legendary Medusa who possesses the Azure Dragon Familiar, Lady Choi Bae-ja!" Liu Zhenpeng proudly introduced his ancestral master to those beside him.

  "Greetings, milord. We are all followers of Lord Richard." Jingyu bowed respectfully to the beautiful woman with a snake-like jaw.

  The beautiful snake's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, not at the robust and calm bear warriors, but at seeing two beauties that even she couldn't tell what race they were, who were actually followers of her own clumsy disciple.

  Cui Pei is so clever and perceptive that at a glance, she can see the subtle dynamics between these two beauties and Richard, which are not as simple as they seem.

  Even someone as worldly-wise as Choi Bixi was puzzled at this point, what on earth did this mediocre-looking Mike have going for him that he could get three beauties to revolve around him and make Helen so head over heels in love with him?

  A bellyful of questions.

  "It's an honor to meet you." The beautiful snake also politely nodded in return, looking at the two groups of people and asked puzzled: "What is this..."

  "Adults!" The human merchant replied hastily, "The thing is, this Mr. Peir from the Peir tribe came to the Tree House Bar and spread a message about selling mermaid slaves. We were very eager to buy, so we followed him here. Who knew that when we arrived, Miss..."

  The human merchant pointed at Jing Yu and said, "She actually reneged on the deal and refused to sell the mermaid. You know, merchants value their reputation above all else. Oh, benevolent war god! To treat a foreign merchant like this is naturally infuriating, so just now my mercenaries had some verbal clashes with these few gentlemen from Beiru. However, in front of the esteemed temple, we did not make any other impolite moves."

  "Is that so......" Liu Zhen was taken aback and let out a bitter laugh, remembering that before entering the temple, in a fit of anger, he had told Gu De to spread the news and sell off Aiyue. He just didn't expect that Gu De would actually go through with it, not only going but also bringing back the buyer.

  "What's going on?" Cui Peishan's beautiful and straight eyebrows were knitted together, "Where did the mermaid come from?"

  The little fox leaned in close to his mentor's ear and quietly explained the situation, naturally omitting some of the details that should be omitted.

  The beautiful snake's face was instantly filled with surprise.

  She looked at the mermaid's long skirt and legs underneath, then glanced at Liu Zhen, her eyes suddenly becoming sharp.

  Mermaids who are not virgins will have human legs, this is an iron-clad fact. The beautiful snake slowly turned around, gazing at her beloved apprentice.

  Helen was immediately looked down by her severe gaze, and two red clouds rose on her powdered face.

  "What nonsense!" The beautiful snake's lips were trembling with rage: "It's absolutely absurd! Helen! Have you forgotten the lessons I taught you before? This matter... is so serious... I..."

  "Master, I'm sorry......" Helen said, on the verge of tears. She also understood what the maiden's wreath meant for the sacrifice and knew what kind of punishment she would face once the temple found out, instantly lowering her head, her face pale and pitiful.

  Liu Zhenhong pulled Helen behind him, his tall figure blocking the venomous gaze of the beautiful snake.

  "This is also a tradition of our lineage." Liu Zhen said calmly.

  "Ah......" The beautiful snake instructor was choked speechless by this disciple for half a day. This ordinary-looking disciple had an unexpectedly sharp tongue, and actually grabbed her small braid.

  The beauty snake could only bitterly smile, yes, the mentor himself no longer owns the virgin's crown, can he still blame his own apprentice?

  "What's going on?" A loud voice came over from somewhere.

  The handsome Prince Richard slowly walked out of the temple and appeared in everyone's sight.

  His soft golden hair was casually scattered on his shoulders, the stern armor had disappeared, replaced by a linen fencing suit and a pair of shiny leather boots. The distinctive copper buttons on his clothes and the long sword with the crown emblem made him even more majestic.

  Although Liu Zhen was not fond of this person, he had to admit that the prince, although not stunningly handsome, exuded a unique and unparalleled aura of grandeur at all times, making his temperament possess an inexplicable majesty.

  "Hello, Your Highness." The beautiful snake hastily concealed her expression.

  "Why are you crying, beautiful Helen?" The prince stopped in his tracks, looking at the little fox in wonder as it hung its head and wept.

  "It's just because of the wind blowing into his eyes." Liu Zhen was extremely displeased as soon as he saw Richard, extremely displeased.

  "Prince?" The human merchant and his subordinates looked at each other in dismay, their big eyes staring at the small eyes.

  "Don't call me Prince, I am the eternal guardian of the temple. You can call me Richard Knight." The prince said with a gentle smile, playing with a metal egg in his hand that had a sword and a book crossed on it.

  The metal egg in the prince's hand was colorful, with some small gems on it that sparkled with a dazzling array of colors in the sunlight.

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