Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty-Chapter 46 - 42: The Heart of a Gatekeeper, The Fate of a Sect Leader

Realizing someone was there, Mage Yizhen scratched the back of his head and said irritably, "Damn it, it was so much more comfortable being a gatekeeper at your training center. I went all day without a single worry, didn’t have to deal with anything, and no one bothered me. Now look at me. I’m being watched by countless people all the time, and there’s always someone trying to eavesdrop or even assassinate me..."

Zhao Rong watched Mage Yizhen and thought to himself, Heaven is fair. If it grants you the greatest power, you also bear the greatest burden. If Heaven doesn’t grant you power, it won’t lay a heavy burden on you, either.

So, Zhao Rong comforted him, "Gatekeeper... oh, I mean, Mage Yizhen, don’t be discouraged. Things will definitely get better over time."

Hearing Zhao Rong’s comfort, Mage Yizhen grew very nostalgic for his days watching the gate at the training center. He sighed, "Ah, when I was a gatekeeper at the training center... Every afternoon, I’d have a little drink, munch on some peanuts, and lie by the entrance watching the beautiful women come and go. Now that was a pleasant life. It’s nothing like now, living in fear every day with no quality of life at all."

Listening to Mage Yizhen’s complaints, Zhao Rong reflected, Mage Yizhen has the heart of a gatekeeper but was fated to be a Sect Leader. He was born at the wrong time and into the wrong life.

Just as Zhao Rong was lamenting Mage Yizhen’s poor fortune, the Mage suddenly looked at him with a serious expression and said, "Zhao Rong, if I were to marry my daughter to you, would you then be able to rightfully take over my position and become the Great Sect Leader of the True Martial Sect?"

Hearing this, Zhao Rong was completely stunned. He looked at Mage Yizhen in amazement and said, "Sect Leader, I’m just an ordinary bodyguard. If you marry your daughter to me and hand over the sect... wouldn’t that be too much of a good thing for me?"

Clearly, Zhao Rong felt that neither his abilities nor his circumstances were enough to marry the Sect Leader’s daughter and reach the pinnacle of life. Although Zhao Rong politely declined Mage Yizhen’s kind offer, the Mage still thought very highly of him as a future son-in-law.

While Mage Yizhen fancied Zhao Rong as his daughter Tao Hua’s future husband, the Chairman also thought highly of Zhao Rong as a suitor for his daughter, Lili. One was the Sect Leader of the True Martial Sect, the number one sect in Xijing City. The other was the Chairman of Hongda Company, the city’s top corporation. Although the Chairman was exceedingly wealthy, Mage Yizhen was not far behind. In fact, Mage Yizhen could be considered the legal representative of the True Martial Sect. Setting aside his other assets, the plot of land the True Martial Sect owned in the city center was worth an astronomical figure.

Just as Zhao Rong was feeling troubled, Tao Hua dragged in the person who had been eavesdropping. When Zhao Rong saw that the man Tao Hua had caught eavesdropping at the back door was Four-Eyes, the person who had harassed Yu Lan a few days ago, his eyes widened in shock.

Zhao Rong looked at him and said, "Four-Eyes, why is it you?"

When Four-Eyes saw Zhao Rong with Sect Leader Yizhen, he had a sudden realization. "Zhao Rong, no wonder you wanted to kill the Bald Demon Fudi on your very first day here. It turns out you’ve been one of Mage Yizhen’s men all along."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rong was taken aback and thought, The reason I killed the Bald Demon Fudi was entirely an accident. I never intended to kill him. Moreover, I hadn’t taken sides between Mage Yizhen and Mage Erzhen. Everything was just a coincidence and a misunderstanding.

After Tao Hua dragged Four-Eyes in, she kicked him to the ground and demanded, "Spill it. Who sent you to eavesdrop?"

Four-Eyes was defiant. "I came to eavesdrop on my own."

Hearing the lie, Tao Hua slapped him hard across the face, making him see stars and bleed from the corner of his mouth. She interrogated him, "You brat, did Mage Erzhen send you to eavesdrop?"

Four-Eyes remained stubborn. "Didn’t I just say? I came here on my own."

Evidently, Tao Hua alone wasn’t enough to intimidate Four-Eyes. Standing by, Zhao Rong saw that Tao Hua was getting nowhere and that Mage Yizhen was too compassionate to act, so he decisively made his move.

Zhao Rong neither scolded nor hit Four-Eyes. He just slowly and leisurely picked up a pot of cactus from the windowsill. He looked at Four-Eyes and said, "Ah, if I’d known back then that the cactuses from our True Martial Sect were so poisonous, I wouldn’t have used one to prick that bald head."

When Four-Eyes saw that Zhao Rong was about to prick him with the highly toxic cactus, he instantly chickened out. He immediately knelt before Zhao Rong and pleaded, "Grandpa, I beg you, please don’t prick me with that poisonous cactus! I’m a Turtle Spirit! It took me over a hundred years to cultivate from a turtle into human form! Just ask whatever you want to know. I’ll confess everything."

Hearing that the man in front of him was not human but a Turtle Spirit, Zhao Rong’s eyes widened again. He sucked in a cold breath. What the hell is wrong with the True Martial Sect? When they recruited disciples back in the day, didn’t they use some kind of detection device to check? How did they end up recruiting all sorts of demons and animal spirits, like Fudi demons and Turtle Spirits?

When Tao Hua heard Four-Eyes confess to Zhao Rong that he was a Turtle Spirit, she looked at him admiringly. "Zhao Rong, you truly have the Eyes of Golden Flame. Neither my father nor I noticed that this Four-Eyes was a Turtle Spirit... but you saw right through him."

Hearing this, Zhao Rong was taken aback. He chuckled and said, "Hey, why does everyone always misunderstand everything I do? Actually, I didn’t know he was a Turtle Spirit either. He confessed it himself."

Hearing this, the Turtle Spirit could only curse his bad luck. If I had known Zhao Rong hadn’t found me out, I would have kept it a secret. It’s over now. Once humans discover I’m not one of them, I’m a dead man for sure.

Tao Hua stepped forward and pressed him, "Turtle Spirit, hurry up and tell us who sent you to eavesdrop on our conversation."

Four-Eyes looked at Tao Hua in terror and said, "If I tell you, you have to guarantee that I’ll live."

Tao Hua nodded. "No problem. As long as you reveal the mastermind, not only will we release you, but we’ll also ensure you can leave here safely."

Hearing this, Four-Eyes glanced around nervously and then said, "It was Er—"

Suddenly, before he could finish his sentence, a dart thrown from outside struck him in the heart. Before Four-Eyes could even react, he fell to the ground, dead.

Seeing there was an assassin, Zhao Rong and Tao Hua instantly shot outside. However, when they got out, they couldn’t find the person who had thrown the dart. Clearly, the assailant was an absolute expert.

Returning to the house, Mage Yizhen looked at his watch and said, "It’s getting late. You two have classes tomorrow, so go back and get some sleep."

Zhao Rong nodded and started walking toward the nearby dormitory. After only a few steps, however, he suddenly remembered that he had come over tonight to secure a patron and prepare for his duel with Wang Jingang in the arena tomorrow. It seemed that so far, not only had he not leveled up, but he had also failed to find a backer.

Just as Zhao Rong was puzzling over this, Tao Hua seemed to read his mind. She said, "Hero Zhao Rong, don’t worry. I’ll take you to a secret cave that only I know about. I will help you train and level up."

Hearing that Tao Hua was going to help him train, Zhao Rong asked, "You mean we’ll be training in the cave alone? Just the two of us?"

Tao Hua nodded. "Yes. Otherwise, how could I help you train, hm?"

Hearing this, Zhao Rong thought to himself, In the dead of night, alone with the beautiful Tao Hua in a secret cave... A man and a woman, all alone together. Could it possibly be that...