Whatever trouble Ella had gotten himself into, I was absolutely not going to be a part of it.
So, I folded my arms and sat back down where I had been sitting, wanting to continue my meditation.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ella pressing against the stranger’s chest, trying to force out whatever water he had swallowed.
Ella continued pressing against the man’s chest with surprising patience. Water spilled from the corner of the stranger’s mouth each time he pushed down. His soaked clothes clung tightly to his body, and his face remained frighteningly pale. For someone who constantly acted foolishly, Ella looked strangely experienced at saving drowning people. I clicked my tongue. He truly enjoyed picking up trouble wherever he went.
Even from where I sat, I could hear their conversation.
The man slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ella.
"Young maiden... you rescued me. Please, can you take me home? Thank you very much for saving me. My name is Canaan. I am willing to repay this great kindness you’ve shown me."
The moment I heard that, I burst into laughter.
Just like me, he had mistaken Ella for a girl because of how feminine he looked and dressed.
What was wrong with him?
Going around dressed like a woman was only going to keep confusing people.
Then again, perhaps he enjoyed confusing others. Humans were strange creatures. Some cultivated for power, some for wealth, and some simply enjoyed making life difficult for everyone around them. Ella belonged to that last group. Even after traveling with him for this long, I still couldn’t understand what was going through his head.
I coughed and pretended not to be interested in their conversation, acting as though I hadn’t heard a single word.
Meanwhile, the stupid turtle was circling around me together with the baby panther.
The baby panther noticed that another person had appeared, as though someone had stepped into its territory. It immediately puffed out its tiny chest and let out a loud, "Rawr!"
It sounded as though it were asking, Who are you? Are you Master’s companion? I’m the senior disciple here.
I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous scene my imagination had created.
Ignoring the commotion, I continued cultivating.
Soon, I noticed that my cultivation had risen from Aura Level Twenty to Aura Level Thirty.
Well...
Not bad.
These lower levels were easy to break through.
The real challenge would begin once I approached Level Ninety... then Level One Hundred... and eventually the final Level Two Hundred.
That was when cultivation would become truly difficult.
Which meant I also needed more power stones.
And more beast cores.
Most importantly, I needed to obtain them without letting the system discover what I was planning.
"Master, when can I start cultivating?"
The boy who insisted on calling himself my disciple asked eagerly.
I still didn’t even know his name.
I sighed, rolled my eyes, and folded my arms.
"When are you going to cultivate? When did I ever say I was going to help you cultivate? Stop bothering this king."
"But, Master, you promised to take me with you."
I ignored him.
"Master..."
"Master..."
He kept calling me over and over again.
His constant shouting made my head ache until it felt as though my brain was spinning inside my skull.
Finally, I snapped.
"Enough."
"You want to cultivate? Fine."
"Let me first see whether you even possess a spirit root."
I looked him up and down before carefully examining him.
After checking, I discovered that he possessed a Metal Spirit Root.
I sighed.
"What trash talent."
I lied, his spirit root was good, a single root he had.
"Still... you can cultivate. It’ll simply take much longer than ordinary cultivators."
"Now, follow my instructions."
"Fold your hands."
"Take a deep breath."
"I’ll teach you how to awaken your Aura."
So, I began teaching the ignorant brat how to awaken his Aura.
Truthfully, I wasn’t even sure why I was doing this.
Still...
Since the boy insisted on following me, perhaps he could become a useful pawn for my future plans.
The boy happily folded his arms before sitting down with his legs crossed.
He closed his eyes and carefully followed every instruction I gave him.
Time slowly passed.
Then, all of a sudden, the boy’s eyes flew open.
A huge smile spread across his face as he jumped to his feet so excitedly that spit flew from his mouth and landed on my robe.
"Master! Master! I can feel it! I can sense my Aura! I can feel my spiritual energy!"
"Yes, yes," I replied lazily. "You can sense your Aura now."
"Keep practicing."
"And find yourself some spirit stones."
Just as I finished speaking, I heard footsteps approaching.
I looked up.
Ella had returned.
Beside him was the stranger, who had now completely recovered.
The man bowed respectfully toward me.
"Thank you for saving me, Savior."
"I wasn’t the one who saved you."
"But Ella said you’re the one who saved me."
"Well... thank you, Savior."
Only then did I remember the name he had introduced himself with.
Canaan.
I hissed inwardly.
This damn Ella.
He was obviously trying to throw his own responsibility onto me.
Perhaps Canaan had made some request of him, and now Ella wanted to dump that burden onto this king instead.
Canaan looked at me hopefully.
"I’d like to return home. Could you please escort me there?"
"No."
I rejected him immediately.
Just then, the system interrupted me.
[Young Hero Mission!]
Escort Canaan home safely.
Reward: Hero Points.
Reminder: The artifact I promised is still waiting for you.
I clicked my tongue.
System...
You can’t fool this king.
That artifact already belongs to me.
I’m the one doing all the work.
Every reward and every point you hand out belongs to this king.
I looked Canaan up and down.
His clothes were made from expensive fabric, and even the ornaments hanging from his belt were finely crafted. It was obvious that he came from a wealthy family.
Well...
If I wanted to survive in this mortal world, I needed silver.
Escorting this rich young master home might earn me a generous reward.
A small smile appeared on my face.
"Very well."
"This king will personally escort you home."