The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 927: Zander’s Friends
"Just like Brother Edwin said, you are truly lucky. But Because of that, I am also lucky, because I was saved by the people of the Adventurer Guild. I thought I was already doomed at that time, as the Dark Vipers almost got me," Valik said after sighing in relief.
"I was still hiding when the Dark Vipers seemed to sniff the place where I hid. At that time, suddenly, a member of the guild came to me and brought me to the guild’s branch building. Do you know how shocked I was when someone from the guild suddenly came to me and asked me to follow him to the branch building?" Froz said.
Froz was a woman with long black hair and a slim body. Just like Valik, she came from a common background, but she was one of the geniuses who could comprehend ice laws and two other laws, which made her special compared to most cultivators.
Zander smiled. "Well, I’m glad that the two of you arrived here safely. I was truly relieved once I heard that you were safe, you know?"
The others smiled toward him. At this moment, at a table full of feasts where Zander, Evalina, Edward, Valik, and Froz were gathered, they felt complete again after months of separation. They were like this back when they were together on their adventurer group missions, and because of that, they built a strong bond.
Despite two of them coming from noble families, there seemed to be no line separating them. They interacted as if all of them were equal. This was also thanks to Evalina’s and Edward’s families, who supported their descendants in becoming adventurers and forming bonds with commoners.
As they kept talking while feasting on the food, Edward looked at Zander with narrowed eyes.
"Still, I wonder why the Guild Master decided to help you. I never heard of the Guild Master going this far, even when guild members fall into trouble with nobles. How did you persuade him?" he asked.
Zander shook his head. "I really don’t know what is inside the Guild Master’s mind. I’m confused myself. Even when I tried to use the inheritance of Sword Emperor Jitian as compensation, the Guild Master refused it. It’s as if he did it purely out of generosity. You can ask Claire if you don’t believe me. She was beside me when I asked the Guild Master for help."
Edward bit into another piece of meat, then pondered something after hearing Zander’s answer. He looked at Zander as he swallowed the meat. Then he smiled and opened his lips.
"Well, that’s it, we finally got a clue about this man’s true background."
Hearing that, the others raised their eyebrows, while Zander’s heartbeat quickened.
’Did he catch something from just our conversation? I don’t think I leaked anything,’ Zander thought. Among their group, he was the only one who had not revealed his true background.
As part of his training, he had to depend on his own identity and strength on this continent.
That was why, when his friends asked where he came from, he only replied that he was a vagabond cultivator and did not clearly explain his birthplace.
As time passed, another reason emerged for why he did not tell them the truth. He was afraid that the way they acted toward him would change.
He liked finally being able to make friends after such a long time without having any at the academy. He also truly did not have any friends on the Barisan Continent, as he spent most of his time training and cultivating. The only person closest to him, whom he could consider a friend, was Kang Yongjin.
However, Kang Yongjin could not truly be called a friend and was more like a rival. They did not share moments that could be counted as friendship. Instead, they shared many moments as rivals.
If the friends he made on this continent learned that he had someone like Aldrian the Great as his master, he was afraid that they would distance themselves from him. They would hesitate to act normally, thinking that it would be inappropriate. He did not want something like that to happen when he had finally found people he could spend time with as friends.
However, he knew that his friends had already been suspicious about his background for a long time, but they chose not to press him about it. He knew that someday, the truth would come out.
"What clue did you get, Brother Edwin?" Evalina asked, which made Edward look at her with a teasing smile.
"Ish, ish. When the matter is related to Brother Zorzal, you seem quite enthusiastic."
"No, no, I..." she said in panic as she glanced at Zander quickly before turning her head away.
Zander could only awkwardly look away while scratching his cheek. Still, he also wondered what Edward was going to say.
"Alright, alright, I’m just joking. But let’s continue. At least we know that Zorzal’s background is not normal, because there is no way the Guild Master would help a nobody. He might come from a noble family or have someone with great backing."
Hearing that, the others did not think much further and agreed with the statement. For them, Zander’s background was the most mysterious among all of them.
With the Guild Master’s help, it at least showed them that Zander was special. They doubted that this was only because of his ability or talent.
Although Zander was powerful and a rare genius, that still did not guarantee the Guild Master helping him. There had to be something else they did not know but the Guild Master did, and that might be Zander’s background.
"Then do you know who he is or who his backing is?" Valik asked as he glanced at Zander with a slight smirk. Zander also felt nervous as he waited for Edward’s reply.
"Well, as far as I know, the only way for the Guild Master to do something outside of his normal behavior is if His Majesty the Emperor ordered him directly. Besides that, I don’t see how the Guild Master would act willingly. That is also a sign that Zorzal might have a connection to the imperial family, and it could be quite close," Edward said, which made Zander inwardly sigh in relief.
His guess was far off from the truth.
"Is my guess correct?" Edward added, which made Zander smile and wave his hand.
"No, I don’t have any connection to the imperial family whatsoever. Like I said, I’m just a vagabond cultivator. How could I have any connection with such an esteemed family? If I had that kind of connection, I would not have been escaping all this time while being pursued by those nobles."
Edward smacked his lips as he looked at Zander’s expression, which did not hesitate to rebut him. From that reaction, it seemed that his guess was wrong. Moreover, what Zander said was also reasonable.
But then, he smiled again.
"I see, then..." He seemed to have an answer, which the others waited for as all of them looked in his direction. After a few moments of suspense—
"I don’t know. There is nothing that comes to my mind," Edward said, which made Valik smack his lips and the two women show disappointed expressions.
"All that suspense was for nothing. I regret taking you seriously," Valik said as he then took another bite of his food.
Edward was still smiling. "Well, who said that I know about his background? I only talked about the clue, right?"
The others ignored him and continued with their food, while Zander once again sighed inwardly in relief. He also continued to eat his food.
"Well, no matter where he came from, he is our friend and has already become one of us, so I don’t care where he came from," Evalina suddenly said, which made the others look at her. Zander’s face slightly flushed as he tried to hide it by continuing to eat.
Evalina realized what she had said, quickly looked to the other side while she also bit into another piece of meat.
Everyone smiled as they looked at her, but then Valik spoke. "Claire is correct. No matter where Zorzal came from, he is still one of us. It doesn’t change a thing. The most important thing is that we can gather like this in harmony."
"I agree," Froz said before she took another bite.
"Agree. Well, I just wanted to play around and take a guess earlier, so just forget it," Edward said as he also took another bite of his food.
Looking at their reactions and hearing their words, Zander felt warmth in his heart. He was glad that he had returned to the Orian continent to meet them and to solve his problems.
For the rest of the dinner, they talked about many things. They had been separated for months, so there were many stories they could share with each other.
The atmosphere was truly joyous as the five friends conversed and joked with each other without worrying about anything. Their hearts were at ease, and they thought only about happy things. This was very different from some people in other parts of the continent, who could only hold onto their fury without being able to unleash it.
