Chapter 759: The Crown Prince Becomes Her Sidekick (6,000 Words)_4

“Ha.” Sister Xingguang let out a cold laugh, spreading her fingers on her left hand, and when she pulled her fingers back, a traditional longbow appeared in her hand.

She gripped the longbow tightly and flipped onto an off-road motorcycle that appeared out of thin air.

With a roar, the motorcycle turned into a black phantom, swiftly carrying Xu Xingguang from the mountaintop into the valley at the foot of the mountain.

Ming Lan snapped back to reality and hurriedly chased after, following the trail left by the Eagle Sparrow.

He ran, panting heavily, and reached the edge of a stream only to lose sight of the Eagle Sparrow.

Ming Lan squatted by the river, cupping the stream water to his mouth, when he heard a rumbling sound from the thickets across the mountain.

Startled, Ming Lan looked up and saw the black off-road motorcycle leap from the opposite valley, soaring above him. His young, charming Old Ancestor was standing on the back of the motorcycle, holding the one-and-a-half-meter-long bow, drawing it to shoot an arrow into the stream of the ravine.

This scene was more breathtaking than any classic shot from a combat movie.

Whoosh!

Ming Lan’s gaze followed the arrow’s flight.

The long arrow pierced the pool, stirring up a splash, and a moment later, droplets of blood emerged from the clear surface.

By then, the Eagle Sparrow had landed on the valley shore behind Ming Lan, and the motorcycle was still gliding through the forest out of inertia before stopping on a relatively flat grassy ground.

Xu Xingguang swung her long legs over the motorcycle, stood up, and with the longbow on her back, walked towards the valley shore, saying to Ming Lan, who was standing on the riverbank grassy field below, “Go check the pool.”

The twilight pierced the sunset, flaking onto Xu Xingguang’s shoulders, her disordered hair adorned with golden light, her silver hairpin glittering gold.

The radiant Xu Xingguang almost blinded Ming Lan.

Coming to his senses, Ming Lan hurried toward the pool. The pool was somewhat deep, so he removed his shoes and T-shirt, plunging headfirst into the pool, and only at the bottom did he find the arrow.

The arrow had pierced through a fish’s belly, with blood flowing out from the wound.

Clutching the long arrow, Ming Lan surfaced, holding up the long arrow and the fish, shouting excitedly at Xu Xingguang, “Sister Xingguang, it’s the fish! The deep pool ice fish! A top-notch delicacy!”

Even in the Emperor City of the Divine Hidden Alliance, such a treasure is hard to come by.

Ming Lan had only seen this fish in educational programs.

Xu Xingguang nodded calmly, “Come up.”

*

Xu Xingguang set up a roasting rack by the stream and took out an iron pot.

She divided the fish into three parts, leaving one untouched, intending to freeze it and give it to Elder Tan Nan when she returns.

The remaining two portions, she grilled one and roasted the other.

She snapped a photo of the grilled fish, not knowing to whom she was sending it.

Ming Lan squatted by the fire, drying his damp pants, as the aroma of the grilled fish made his mouth water.

He stared at Xu Xingguang’s skillful hands, but his mind drifted back to the awe-inspiring scene of her standing on the motorcycle, bending the bow to shoot the fish.

He finally believed that Xu Xingguang was indeed Lin Piaopiao.

Could anyone in the modern world achieve such precise archery without using superpowers to control?

No one.

“Here you go.” Xu Xingguang handed Ming Lan the largest portion of the grilled fish.

“Thank you, Old Ancestor.” Ming Lan held the plate with both hands, tasting the delicacy directly with his hands, and it was only after the first bite that Ming Lan realized that the reactions of the guests in food shows were not exaggerated.

In this world, there truly were people who could conquer others with their culinary skills.

Ming Lan cradled the plate of grilled fish and asked Xu Xingguang, “Was food during the Xia Country Era all this delicious, or is it only your cooking?”

“It’s still slightly inferior to mine.”

That was tasty enough.

Ming Lan finally understood why Grandpa was so nostalgic about the Xia Country Era.

After eating, and extinguishing the fire with stream water, Xu Xingguang transformed the Eagle Sparrow back to its original mecha form right before Ming Lan’s eyes.

Ming Lan stared at the tall black mecha, eyes bulging wide, exclaiming, “This isn’t a combat robot; it’s… a combat mecha?”

The Eastern Alliance was the most technologically advanced in weaponry in the Divine Martial Realm, and Ming Lan was more familiar than anyone with the weapons their alliance had recently developed.

He was sure that the machine monster beside the Old Ancestor, capable of intelligently changing combat forms, was not a combat robot.

“Is it a superintelligent combat mecha?” Ming Lan cautiously, reverently, caressed every piece of mecha on the Eagle Sparrow.

He was trembling with excitement.

Seeing Ming Lan recognize the true form of the Eagle Sparrow, Xu Xingguang was a bit surprised, “You recognize it?”

Ming Lan nodded vigorously, “A superintelligent combat mecha is the weapon every master of weapon research dreams of developing. This project has been progressing for over a hundred years without any substantive breakthroughs.”

“Currently, all combat robots deployed to the battlefield are the failed products of their research.”

“Old Ancestor, how do you possess such a treasure?”

Xu Xingguang looked at the Eagle Sparrow’s deep black eyes and said nonchalantly, “I developed it.” The Eagle Sparrow was indeed her personal technological creation.

But in the second year after her death in battle, she had already donated the Eagle Sparrow’s design documents to the Interstellar Empire free of charge.

The Interstellar Empire later developed many Eagle Sparrow 2 and Eagle Sparrow 3 models, but none of those intelligent combat mechas manifested a War Spirit.

The Eagle Sparrow was a one-of-a-kind combat mecha, and it was Xu Xingguang’s partner.

Ming Lan gazed at Xu Xingguang with disbelief.

He couldn’t tell whether Xu Xingguang was telling the truth or fooling him.

But Xu Xingguang owning a superintelligent combat mecha alone was enough to awe Ming Lan for a lifetime.

He suddenly realized that Grandpa sending him to Wuyuan Town was indeed a great thing. With the Old Ancestor, he could learn more than anywhere else, even at the best academy in the Divine Hidden Alliance.

Old Ancestor is truly worthy of admiration.

Returning to Wuyuan Town that evening, Ming Lan parted ways with Xu Xingguang, claiming to have booked a hotel in town.

But the next day, Ming Lan rented a standalone small villa near Xu Xingguang’s home, specifically clearing out the largest bedroom and decorating it as a girl’s room.

Additionally, he prepared a complete set of professional hacker equipment and a holographic game pod in the bedroom for Xu Xingguang.

In the evening, Ming Lan figured Xu Xingguang should be off work, so he waited for her downstairs. Smoking a cigarette, with one hand in his pocket, he leaned against the wall beside her dormitory building.

From a distance, Ming Lan saw Xu Xingguang’s balance-driven flying device. Just as he was about to put out the cigarette and go to greet her, a teenager suddenly dashed out of a nearby beverage shop.

The teenager rushed straight to Xu Xingguang, “Master!” It was Dongfang Yi, who hadn’t met Xu Xingguang in some days.

Master?

Ming Lan stared at the back of the teenager.

The boy was carrying a backpack and still wearing heavy shackles around his feet, obviously waiting here specifically for Xu Xingguang to finish work.

Recognizing the teenager as Dongfang Qing’s brother, Ming Lan was a bit surprised.

When did this boy become an apprentice to the Old Ancestor?

Did the Old Ancestor accept apprentices without considering their talents?