I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

“I’m very sorry for taking up so much of your time.” At noon, the Barbarian Minister summoned Long Tian, Qiu Lihgao, and Guan Dongzi to his residence.

Although Jin Honglian had already left Lion Forest City for the Demon Hundred Forest secret realm, she hadn’t forgotten her promise to reward Long Tian and the others. She had pieced together many valuable items and entrusted the Barbarian Minister to deliver them to Long Tian.

When Long Tian received the gifts, he couldn’t help but catch his breath, for he had never seen such a rich trove of resources. Even if he had to split it fifty-fifty with Guan Dongzi in the end, it was still a considerable fortune. Although many of the items were beyond his current cultivation level, he could exchange them for spirit stones to buy what he needed, enough to support him through the mid-stage of his Nascent Soul without worrying about resources.

“This is a message from City Lord Jin.” The Barbarian Minister handed a sealed letter to Long Tian, who opened it to find the characters written in a neat and powerful script.

The general content, aside from the thanks, was a hope that Long Tian could understand, for the value of the Spirit Passage Token far exceeded these matters. Unfortunately, her purse was light, and Ye Yong had also given a Spirit Passage Token. She still needed to prepare a gift of gratitude, so she could only inconvenience them a little. Jin Honglian also stated that if they were to return to Lion Forest City in the future, she would certainly compensate them for the resources.

‘What a spirit beast that values integrity and loyalty.’ The old Immortal Xuanyin expressed slight admiration.

Long Tian put away the letter, not taking the compensation to heart. For him, the Spirit Passage Token was nothing but pure junk, completely useless. The gift of gratitude from Jin Honglian was indeed less than the apparent value of the Spirit Passage Token, and this was based on the premise of a smooth transaction. Other demons might not be willing to offer so many resources in exchange, and there was a high possibility they would see Long Tian’s low cultivation and choose to kill him for his goods.

Thus, Long Tian felt no imbalance in this; being able to obtain these resources was already enough to satisfy him.

“Lord Manxiang, is there really no problem with Lion Forest City?” After distributing his rightful share, Guandongzi asked Manxiang with considerable concern.

Manxiang smiled: “There shouldn’t be any issues. Lord Jiyu has already broken through to the fourth level of the Demon Emperor. There aren’t many at the fourth level of the Demon Emperor in the Northern Cold Continent. The city’s protective formation is no joke; as long as we hold on for a while, once Lord Jin and Deputy Lord Kuang return, everything will be settled.”

Guandongzi nodded, believing he had no choice but to trust this for now. He urged Long Tian and Qiu Lijiao to leave the city as soon as possible, taking a small path off the main road to avoid being targeted.

“Aren’t you leaving?” Qiu Lijiao asked, puzzled.

“I’ll stay here for now.”

Seeing that Guandongzi had his own plans, Long Tian held back Qiu Lijiao, who wanted to persuade him to leave together, and bid them farewell.

After Long Tian and Qiu Lijiao left, Manxiang sighed: “Guandongzi, why must you do this? Lord Aoyou is no longer here. Bringing back the Dragon Stone should have repaid his kindness; you owe nothing to Lion Forest City.”

Guandongzi watched the figures of Long Tian and the others fade away, chuckling: “Lord Manxiang, I can’t speak for others, but I’m quite confident in my ability to escape. Anyway, I’ll stay behind for now; who knows when I might be needed?”

“How ironic it is that you, an ‘outsider,’ choose to stay, while some of the natives of Lion Forest City, when faced with crisis, think not of defending their home, but of leaving this place.”

“Not everyone harbors noble intentions; selfishness knows no bounds between humans and demons. But don’t think too highly of me, Lord Barbarian. If it truly comes down to a critical moment, I will run.”

“Well, that’s not too bad either.”

“Has Lord Barbarian never thought of leaving?”

“Since the day I met Lord Aoyou, I have made up my mind to follow him for life. Lion Forest City is Lord Aoyou’s labor of love. Though my power is humble, even in the final moment, I will protect this place.”

————

Long Tian and Qiu Li Gao did not leave the city immediately; instead, they went to the Red Reversal Horse Tavern, because they had promised Chi Shi to take his younger siblings away, to the home of relatives in the Southern Xuan Continent.

“Long Tian, Qiu Li Gao, thank you.” Chi Shi had already made preparations and reminded his younger siblings to listen to Long Tian and the others.

“Little ones.” Long Tian exchanged glances with Chi Shi for a moment, saying nothing sentimental about parting, only very simply: “Until we meet again.”

“Until we meet again.”

Chi Shi’s mother held her young son and daughter, crying for a while, while the father gave a few more instructions. Time was short, and Long Tian and the others headed towards the southern gate.

The road was desolate and quiet; the once bustling city now seemed bleak, and though the war had not yet begun, there was a heavy atmosphere as if defeat had already settled in.

Upon reaching the South Gate, a long line had formed at the checkpoint. This side was relatively less crowded; the other three main gates likely had even more people trying to leave.

The side gate was completely sealed off, unable to pass through. Long Tian had a badge given by the city lord, allowing him to cut in line, but he was afraid of drawing attention, so he chose to wait patiently.

Fortunately, the line moved at a decent pace, and after half an hour, it was finally Long Tian’s turn. Suddenly, a guard’s gaze lingered on him, and he quickly ran over to whisper something to his companion. Soon after, several guards pointed at Long Tian and said, “You, suspicious behavior. Come here.”

Long Tian frowned. With so many people and monsters passing through without issue, it was clear they were deliberately making things difficult for him. He knew without a doubt that this was a ploy, likely instigated by some second-generation monsters.

“We’re talking to you! Are you deaf?!” The guards, seeing Long Tian remain unmoved, began to draw their weapons.

Even if he wanted to avoid attention, there was no way to do so now. Long Tian took out the city lord’s badge. “Open your eyes and see what this is.”

The guards were clearly taken aback, not expecting Long Tian to possess such an item. The badge signified protection from the city lord’s estate; not to mention humans, even some high-ranking monsters might not have one.

The crowd waiting in line began to murmur among themselves.

Just when the guards hesitated to act, one of them shouted, “You thief! You’ve got some nerve! That badge was stolen from Young Master Kuang Biao! How dare you bring it out!”

The other guards quickly caught on, surrounding Long Tian. “You still deny your suspicious behavior! Trying to take advantage during such a special time, daring to steal from Young Master Kuang Biao!”

“With witnesses and evidence, surrender now!”

Long Tian let out a cold smile. “How can you be so sure this wasn’t given to me by the city lord?”

“Who do you think you are?”

During his time in Shilin City, Long Tian had kept a low profile, and not many demons knew that the second demon realm secret token had been submitted by him. In the eyes of the gate guards, he was just an ordinary human brat who had offended the young masters of the demon second generation.

“So you’re not planning to let me go?” Long Tian clenched his fist slightly.

The guards here were of low rank, the highest being at the late crystallization stage, as the stronger ones were stationed outside the city, always on alert for the appearance of siege forces.

“Let you go? In your dreams! We should be capturing you instead!”

“Wait,” Long Tian didn’t make a move but took out a communication stone, preparing to contact Man Xiang.

“He’s trying to contact his accomplices! Stop him!” It was still the guard who accused Long Tian of theft, determined to keep him there.

Soon, chaos erupted at the south gate.