NoGift

"DO YOU know him?" Lei Feng asked. He noticed the slight change in Argent's expression the moment this man, who for some reason fell from the sky, suddenly appeared.

"Yes. He's..." Argent didn't really know what to call Viper. "An acquiantance," she finally chose to say.

Argent took a good look at the unconcious man. Based on his state, she could easily tell that he probably fought with someone. An Si said earlier that there were signs of fighting on this island. Based on Viper's current condition, it's most likely that he was the one fighting against those Apostles.

But why would Viper be fighting with those people? Was he perhaps contracted to kill one of them? But from Argent's understanding, the Apostles of Gaia were a secret organization that not many people knew about. How could someone just easily order a kill for their members? And from what that woman Vixen said when they met, assassins from Dreich Gallere do risk assessment before they completely accept a contract. But wouldn't killing someone from a powerful secret organization whose members probably all wore masks be considered risky? How could you even tell which one you needed to kill?

Argent probably wouldn't know the answer unless this guy regained conciousness. But it would be good if he's really here because he's contracted to kill one of those Apostles. It would even be better if he could give them relevant information.

"Let's move him to the forest. Staying here in the open with an unknown enemy around is not really the best course of action," Lei Feng suggested.

An Liu and An Qi were about to carry Viper but Argent immediately stopped them. "Don't touch him. He's skin is--"

Before Argent could finish what she was saying, she heard Viper groaned. She looked down and saw him slowly opening his eyes.

Viper couldn't believe that he actually lost conciousness because he fell on that portal like thing. He felt like he was stuck in a windmill and that windmill kept on spinning and spinning and spinning. That feeling continued until he felt like he would puke all the contents of his stomach. Then of all the lame things to happen, he fainted.

He slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was an incredibly beautiful elf-like being with silver hair and purple eyes. "Ar... gent? Am I dreaming?"

Was his brain too jumbled up because of that fall that he's now seeing what he most wanted to see? The Argent in front of him even had the same indifferent expression he so missed. If this was his imagination, then why couldn't Argent wear a sexier outfit? You know, something that exposed more skin.

Then the Argent in his imagination suddenly kicked his side. It was not that hard but because of his wounds, he really felt the pain. It completely woke him up.

"Still asleep? I could stomp on your face next if you want," Argent said.

This way of speaking, this was definitely his Argent. Then he's not dreaming? Argent was really in front of him right now? Yes, the pain he was feeling from all his wounds was proof of that. His heartbeat suddenly accelerated. After seven years, finally! "Argent!"

He stood up as fast as he could and threw himself at Argent.

Argent frowned. She knew this guy would be up to his usual antics. She was about to dodge but then she saw Lei Feng about to pull Viper back, without thinking, her body moved on its own and reached for Lei Feng's hand that was about to touch Viper. So she ended up being sandwiched between the two.

"Don't touch him. His skin is poisonous," she said to Lei Feng.

The moment she said that, Lei Feng immediately pulled her away from Viper who didn't hesitate to pull her back.

Now that he's completely awake, Viper finally noticed the other people around him aside from Argent. Especially this guy who looked like he had a stick up his ass. He might look a little handsome, but what Viper really hated was the fact that Argent seemed to care about the guy. Just now, when that guy was about to touch him, he saw how Argent moved instinctively just to prevent that.

In the short amount of time that he knew Argent, he was the type who wouldn't give a sh*t about anyone. Unless you belong to the people he cared about. The fact that Argent prevented this guy from being poisoned and even warned him about Viper's poisoned skin were enough to prove that he didn't belong to the group Argent didn't give a sh*t about. It's irritating. To the point that Viper wanted to poison him to death.

Lei Feng scowled when he saw the sleeve of Argent's clothes that this strange man was holding starting to decay. He wanted to rip him off from Argent. How could he touch Argent when he could possibly poison her? Lightning started to gather in his free hand. Even the wind surrounding them was starting to pick up.

The three dark guards on the side who were happy eating melons while watching the drama suddenly shivered. Their master was definitely upset. They could even feel the static in the air. They looked at the young duke whose face was getting colder and colder by the second. And they shivered again. Why did it suddenly feel like the young duke was more dangerous than their master right now?

"Both of you, let go," Argent said coldly to the two. Being tugged on both sides, she suddenly remembered when Aurum and Ruby used her as some kind of rope in their tug-of-war when they were kids. She really hated that feeling, because it felt like she's not a person but an object.

The two immediately let go. Because it felt like they were going to be slashed if they didn't.

But Lei Feng still worried that Argent could be hurt because of the touch of the strange guy. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there were no signs of rotting on the exposed skin of her arm. Did that mean this guy could control who would be poisoned when touched by his skin? But then, why would Argent's sleeve decay if that was the case? He didn't have time to think of a reason because Argent spoke again.

"Don't ever try to tug me like that again." Argent then turned to Viper. "And you, no touching of any kind. I'm not a kid anymore who couldn't fight back. So don't even try your usual antics. Because if you do, I swear I'll hack you to pieces."

"Eehhh... we haven't seen each other for seven years. Don't be so cold to your sweetheart," Viper pouted.

Lei Feng frowned even more when he heard the conversation of the two. Because even if he didn't know what happened between them, he could easily infer just by that simple context that this man touched Argent without her permission when she was still a kid. That was enough to anger him. His killing intent just spilled out. The static in the air increased even more.

Viper, of course, felt the intense killing intent directed at him. He turned to the annoying guy. He wasn't even releasing that much Mana but Viper could still feel how powerful he was. It's like being stared at by a silent, ferocious beast. But Viper wasn't some prey. He was a snake. A beast on his own right. He smirked at the guy. "What, you want to have a go? I may look battered but I could still take you on."

"I doubt it," Lei Feng simply said. "You wouldn't even last a second."

"Oh? Then why don't we try it?"

"Stop," Argent said before the two really started fighting. She couldn't understand why they suddenly turned on each other. But they didn't have time for that kind of sh*t right now. "You can fight all you want after this, but not right now. Let's go find some place to talk first."

She ignored the two and walked towards the forest.

Lei Feng narrowed his eyes at Viper. Viper, on the other hand, flipped his middle finger at Lei Feng. Then they both followed Argent.

The three dark guards sighed in their hearts. Why did it feel like they just watched some kind of drama where two men were fighting for the attention of one woman? The problem here was, the young duke was a boy! They're starting to believe that the young duke really did have the ability to bend the most straight of men.

They looked at each other, sighed once again, and then followed the three into the forest.