“What?” Nie Yan rolled his eyes, the annoyance in his voice as clear as day.

“N-nothing...” Mo Yan awkwardly stepped away. Apart from her being a bit short, she was a fairly pretty girl. But in front of Nie Yan, all her confidence seemed to vanish. Nirvana Flame... this was someone who could have countless beautiful women at his beck and call with the snap of a finger. It would be strange if he did take a fancy to her. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw Mo Tao and Mo An signalling her with their eyes.

Seeing this scene, Nie Yan immediately knew the scheme the Mo trio was playing. His heart was filled with even more disdain for them. Even if Mo Yan stripped naked and presented herself in front of him, he still wouldn’t show the slightest bit of interest.

The beauty standing next to Zhai Hao approached Nie Yan. She had a slim build, fair unblemished skin, and a beautiful face. Everything about her was perfect. Her presence seemed to make Mo Yan look like a background character.

Mo Yan gazed at her enviously.

Nie Yan felt this beauty was somewhat familiar. Seeing her name, he realized she was Jiang Yingyu. He didn’t expect her to be with Zhai Hao’s group.

“Nirvana Flame... I didn’t think it would be you.” Jiang Yingyu was just informed that Nie Yan was Nirvana Flame. She was shocked, yet at the same time, she didn’t find this strange at all. He was a person who was destined to stand at the peak overlooking others.

“The world is full of surprising coincidences,” Nie Yan smiled.

Even though Jiang Yingyu couldn’t read Nie Yan’s expression, she felt a sense of distance from his tone, an insurmountable wall that prevented others from getting too close. Her keen intuition immediately made her think of Xie Yao. A feeling of sadness washed over her. She didn’t feel like she was lacking in any way compared to Xie Yao. Only that some things were decreed by fate. She simply didn’t have Xie Yao’s luck.

“Hey, Nie Yan. Didn’t you say you were going to visit the auction house? We’re really sorry for sucking up so much of your time,” Zhai Hao hurriedly interjected after noticing the mood turning awkward. He gave Nie Yan a meaningful look.

“Ah, you’re right. I still have a lot of things to do. I’ll be taking my leave first. Let Sesame Cake and the rest carry you guys through Dark Marsh. Zhai Hao, Li Rui, let me know when you call over Xuchen too. We should all meet up some time. If you guys really see me as a brother, don’t be so formal with me next time, or else I’ll get mad!” Nie Yan laughed.

“Sure! I’ll be sure to tell him to come next time!” Li Rui exclaimed. He was surprised Nie Yan remembered Liu Xuchen despite only meeting a couple of times.

He was deeply moved. Nie Yan became a lifelong brother in his heart!

“Brother!” Zhai Hao heartily patted Nie Yan’s shoulders.

In truth, Nie Yan was feeling the most emotional right now. Having known Zhai Hao and Li Rui for so many years, he really didn’t want for them to drift apart.

Seeing Nie Yan acting so chummy with Zhai Hao and Li Rui, Mo Tao and Mo An were green with envy.

“God dammit. Those two twits really are lucky,” Mo An muttered under his breath.

Sesame Cake and the other four from Asskickers United were also envious. They resolved in their hearts to handle this task even more earnestly. If Zhai Hao and Li Rui needed something, they wouldn’t dare to dally.

“Well, I’m off.” Nie Yan put his cloak back on and departed.

Seeing Nie Yan’s back receding in the distance. Sesame Cake turned to Zhai Hao. “We were told by the boss to keep helping you guys out in the future. If you need something, just give us a shout.” He then turned to the other four Mages. “Blackie, go ask Bird in the Starry Night Potion Shop for some Antidotes. We’ll set off when you get back.”

The five immediately got to work, making all sorts of preparations. Sesame Cake had promised Nie Yan he would help Zhai Hao’s group clear Dark Marsh 30 times before the day ended. He definitely planned on following through with it.

Seeing Sesame Cake and the rest getting busy, Mo Tao and Mo An nudged over to Zhai Hao.

“Zhai Hao, how do you Nirvan Flame?” Mo An asked with an awkward smile.

Zhai Hao was just about to explain, when Li Rui interrupted, “Why the hell should we tell you? We’re not your underlings. We don’t have to report anything to you!” Li Rui’s temper wasn’t good. Recalling how Mo Tao and Mo An mocked them earlier, his anger was reignited.

Zhai Hao hurriedly stopped Li Rui. There was no need to bring things to a deadlock. It was fine to just maintain a distance. If they really had a falling out, there was no telling when petty people like Mo An and Mo Tao would try to take revenge.

Mo An was pretty pissed inwardly, but he put on an embarrassed facade. “ Haha... It’s fine. It’s fine. It was just a misunderstanding, that’s all. I’m sorry about earlier, Li Rui. I was in the wrong.”

With a backer like Nirvana Flame, Mo An and Mo Tao knew Zhai Hao and Li Rui were basically set for life. If they could cozy up to those two, they would also see some benefits. Nie Yan was the absolute ruler of Calore. Such a large city was governed by him. One word from him could turn them from rags to riches, or make their lives a living nightmare.

What a bunch of snobs... Zhai Hao saw right through Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan’s personalities. Previously when he requested their help in running Dark Marsh, they made all sorts of demands while being nasty and rude. If it weren’t for the fact he couldn’t find enough people in his friends list, he would’ve never invited these three siblings. If he had really gone along with Mo Tao’s proposal and invited those people from Dark Hero, he didn’t know how much more he would have to pay in compensation for just a single run.

These three were the type to kick a person when they were down. Luckily, Nie Yan had shown up when he did and resolved the problem.

“Hey, about our previous agreement, giving you all the Mage drop and paying a 10 gold commission fee,” Zhai Hao said.

Mo An realized Zhai Hao wanted to weasel out of their deal. However, he understood that with Sesame Cake’s group there, clearing Dark Marsh had become a piece of cake. He, Mo Tao, and Mo Yan were relegated to side characters, easily replaceable. Even if they kept the agreement, wanting to take all the Mage drops and 10 gold was impossible. “Eh, don’t worry about it. We were just messing around. If we really cleared Dark Marsh, we would’ve never taken that much.”

“My ass!” Li Rui snorted.

Although Li Rui’s voice was quite clear, Mo An feigned ignorance. He didn’t show any reaction, but he was already cursing in his heart. Motherfucker... getting all cocky just because you found a backer! Truthfully, he wanted to find a backer too. Sadly for him, Nie Yan was the most powerful figure around. If he wanted to continue staying in Calore in the future, he couldn’t afford to offend Nie Yan. He could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

If Li Rui had spoken the same words before Nie Yan showed up, Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo An would’ve immediately turned hostile, not acting all polite like they were right now.

After Sesame Cake finished his preparations, he turned to Zhai Hao and Li Rui. “Today, we’re taking you to run Dark Marsh. Some other day, we’ll help you guys get a set of Level 65 equipment.”

“Thank y-”

Zhai Hao wanted to give his thanks, but Sesame Cake cut him off. “Don’t worry, Zhai Hao. No need to be polite. A brother of our boss is our brother as well!”

“We’ll be in your care, Brother Sesame Cake,” Mo An interjected.

Sesame Cake simply gave Mo An a cold glance and continued chatting with Zhai Hao and Li Rui.

After a while, the team set off for Dark Marsh.

Nie Yan passed through the central square and arrived at the Pet Shop. This building was quite large and spacious. It was filled with rows upon rows of cages containing all kinds of pets. Their prices were all different. The lowest rank ones went for 10 gold, while the highest rank ones cost upwards of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of gold—definitely not something an ordinary player could afford.

Nie Yan headed deeper into the shop until he met several NPCs dressed in Beast Tamer clothing.

Nie Yan approached one of the pet appraisers.

“Great Scholar, sir, how may I help you?” a middle-aged NPC called Beast Tamer Collinson asked.

“I’d like you to inspect what inside of this egg.” Nie Yan took out the black egg from his bag.

Seeing the egg in Nie Yan’s hands, Collinson’s eyes sparked. “This is a high rank pet. Are you sure you want me to appraise this pet egg? Appraising it will cost 2,000 gold. If you want me to hatch it, that will cost 20,000 gold.”

Nie Yan nearly jumped in fright. 2,000 gold for an appraisal, and 20,000 gold to hatch it? That was enough to buy another high rank pet!

However, with the appraisal fee being so high, Nie Yan could confirm this black egg wasn’t simple. He wondered if it was just as rare as the Darkwing Dragon.

Since this black egg could be hatched here, he wondered whether the same could be done to the Darkwing Dragon Egg.

Nie Yan took out the Darkwing Dragon Egg, placing the two eggs together on the table. He instantly noticed some differences. The colour of the Darkwing Dragon Egg was much purer, and it also pulsed with energy. This black egg was probably lower rank than the Darkwing Dragon Egg.

“How much would it cost to hatch this Darkwing Dragon Egg?”