CHAPTER 369 INVITED GUARDIAN (PART ONE)
A person flew from the inside of the cave. He stood in front of Darren with a perplexed look on his face,
measuring the stranger up and down quickly. He then cupped his hands together and bowed. "May I
know your reason for being here, sir?"
The man seemed calm on the outside, but in reality, he was quite terrified inside. The young man in
front of him did not seem to be any ordinary person as he was exuding with an extremely overbearing
aura. The man from the cave was certain that the young man was an incredibly powerful warrior whose
abilities were much more superior to his. If this young man was here with the intention of killing him, it
would not be difficult for him to take his life in an instant.
"Relax. I'm here just for a talk. How should I address you?" Darren gave the man a friendly smile.
"I'm Gary Gao. What can I do for you, sir? Please tell me straight away." Gary Gao felt relieved upon
sensing Darren's friendliness. He had mistaken the young man as a troublemaker looking to cause him
problems.
"All right. I won't beat around the bush." Darren looked at the man with sincerity.
"I've been to numerous countries. Among all of the reclusive cultivators I've met, you're the most
excellent in terms of cultivation base. You've reached the top level of the primary stage of the Wonder
Realm. I came here with the intention of inviting you as the noblest invited guardian of our Chu Clan.
Are you willing to accept my invitation?" announced Darren cordially.
"I, uh..." stuttered Gary, full of hesitation. He was reluctant to accept such an invitation, but he was
afraid to refuse it. NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
"Why are you hesitant? You can tell me your reasons," reassured Darren in a soft manner.
"Well... I've been leading a reclusive life on this mountain and had kept my hands clean from the affairs
of the outside world for over a decade, sir. I'm afraid I must decline your invitation. I'm sorry," explained
Gary, head lowered and a trace of nervousness evident in his voice.
"Please don't be too hasty in refusing, Gary. I know you live here because you want to stave off from
the troubles of the outside so you can focus on your practice and improve your cultivation base. I
completely understand, but if you would please take a look at these to see if they can help you?"
Darren then summoned out tens of thousands of spiritual herbs and laid them in front of Gary.
"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Gary, his eyes wide in astonishment. The sight of so many spiritual
herbs gave him a huge start. He automatically took a few steps back, hands trembling from the shock.
He felt like his heart was going to pop out of his chest from how fast it was beating.
"I..." Gary was choking with excitement. However, the look of pure ecstasy on his face soon faded
away, giving way to an expression of gloominess. He could no longer finish what he was trying to say.
"What's the problem? Are these not enough for you?" Darren's face darkened at the sudden change in
Gary's reaction. He was starting to get a bad impression of this man now, wondering whether he still
yearned for even more precious things.
"Please don't be mad at me, sir." Gary knelt on one knee as he saw the frigid expression on Darren's
face. He then continued in earnest, "To be quite frank, sir, I have another reason for living here. I'm in
hiding. Going outside would be a big risk for me. If I accept your invitation and be the invited guardian
of your family, I might just bring upon troubles to your clan."
There was a trace of bitterness on his face and a trace of hatred glinting in his eyes as he explained.
Darren suddenly came to the realization that there must be something that Gary was escaping from in
the outside world. 'He's probably hiding in here to avoid his enemies, ' he surmised.
He then released his spiritual sense to do some digging in Gary's homeland. As he reached the palace
where the royal family lived, he found a person whose cultivation base was miles ahead of Gary's.
"Do you have any enemies from the royal family in your homeland?" asked Darren.
"What?" Gary raised his head to look at Darren, eyes full of astonishment. He then nodded and replied,
"Yes, sir. How did you know that?"
"Tell me your story, Gary. If your situation is reasonable enough and you're in the right, I can help you
and even kill him for you." Darren was calm and composed.
Gary felt excited at Darren's words. In spite of his young age, this man in front of him seemed
incredibly powerful. They had never met before, but this young man was able to read his mind. Gary
believed that this mysterious young man would without a doubt be able to help him.
Without any hesitation, Gary told Darren everything about his past.
Gary used to be the Chief General in the state where he came from. Unfortunately, once the most
excellent warrior in the royal family saw Gary's beautiful wife, he thus became madly infatuated with
her. This royal member became so deranged that he molested Gary's wife in front of him and killed her
and their son afterwards. Gary was able to survive because of his skill in the martial arts, but he was
left severely injured.
Gary then fled from his homeland and hid in this mountain. He cultivated tirelessly every day in an
attempt to reach the level of the Wonder Realm and to avenge his family.
The warrior from the royal family even went as far as to hire several other advanced warriors to come
after him. After those terrifying life-or-death fights, Gary discovered that he had reached the limit of his
cultivation base and would not have any chance to improve it any further. It was therefore impossible
for him to take revenge for his wife and son for the rest of his life. In his despair and frustration, he lived
in the mountains like a hermit and had been unwilling to return to the outside world ever since.
If he left the cave and emerged again unto the outside world, there was an extreme possibility that he
would be found and killed by his enemy. Therefore, despite the offer of many spiritual herbs, Gary
dared not accept Darren's invitation.