Meeting the Guard Captains

While Wang Geming went towards the two women having a tour of his tower, Xiao Fan went over to the outside for a change.

He even had a reason for this, and the reason was that the Guard Captain, who with he had been getting friendly with following his impersonation a few days back had invited him to a gathering. This gathering wasn't anything major nor special; however, the people who took part in this very quite special people.

They were the Guard Captains of every Prince and Princess present in this area. And in a way they were the strongest united group inside this world currently since they were all Body Shattering Realm First Grade or Body Strengthening Realm Fourth Grade; it depended on the cultivation of the person they were guarding. No Guard Captain could be strong enough to take on their Prince or Princess alone, but they needed to be strong enough to give them a good amount of help.

Anyway, going there was a good idea, a wonderful idea for Xiao Fan since the person he was invited by was amongst the strongest of this group around twenty or so men, or women at the peak of their life.

'Even if they are having their own relaxation time, it seems that they aren't putting their guard down for a second' Xiao Fan remarked to himself as when he was walking towards the group sitting on logs. He noted how every single Guard Captain pointed out his existence with a glare with one eye while the other still looked at their assigned Royal.

¨Mask!¨ The man who didn't note him with a suspicious glare or an angry stare spoke out.

¨Coming¨ Xiao Fan spoke back and took the spot the Second Prince's Guard Captain whose name he didn't know had reserved for him. He didn't know his name because the Guard Captains couldn't tell others. They were very much so personnel who served only one purpose during their life.

¨Everyone! This is the person I have been talking to, Mask. This guy had even taken my job for a while¨ He introduced Xiao Fan and laid out a good opener for him.

¨It was more like the Second Prince was taking care of me¨ Xiao Fan, knowing to what he was referencing to laughed.

¨Second Captain, why did you invite him here?¨ One of the women in the group asked. She for a moment wasn't suspecting Xiao Fan of something, to her the fact that she didn't know his name was already too much of a breaker in trust and a hazard for her mission.

¨Sixth Captainess, why are you always so strict? This guy couldn't take anyone in here¨ To prove that he was speaking the truth he pushed Xiao Fan with his elbow.

To which the target, of course, fought against, yet gave up pretty soon; before the Second Captain used power considered something in the Body Strengthening Realm.

Everyone seeing this noted that Xiao Fan was in the Second Grade of Body Activation Realm and that he was no hazard to anyone. One problem solved, yet another rose from it.

¨Why are you bringing him here? He's so weak?¨ One of the other Guard Captains asked the Second Guard Captain.

¨He's been getting so close to the Second Prince that I thought it would be a good idea to vet him, and now that he isn't here...¨ The Second Guard Captain spoke why he had invited Mask here.

'Vet? No, no, no' Xiao Fan realised that this was set up, not a friendly invitation to join a club, and this fact he didn't like, didn't like at all!

However, before he got anywhere, well, he didn't try to escape while the Guard Captains took their second eye off their assigned ones and focused onto Xiao Fan, wanting to see any lie being told.

If one Ye De hadn't been enough now imagine twenty of them... Let's just say that all the happy thoughts inside Xiao Fan's head had now disappeared. Yet being in front of them he didn't show too much.

¨Does he hide something?¨ Didn't show much, but it was enough for most of them to nod to this. They all felt that the expression Xiao Fan had just given was enough proof of some trickery going on.

¨Do you have anything to say before we start?¨ The Second Guard Captain spoke ¨It will be easier to let it out now and not lie about it later. The consequences will be different if we catch you lying, I remind you¨ Even the welcoming Guard Captain he had known for a few days had now become a lifeless creature which sole function was to be pressuring him.

¨I don't have anything to hide from you all¨ Xiao Fan spoke, his tone a little off, yet this time he wasn't acting at all.

The Second Guard Captain nodded ¨Who wants to ask him the list?¨ Having nodded to Xiao Fan's statement, he asked the other Guard Captains if one of them wanted to be the one asking questions ¨I don't feel like I can be the one doing it anymore¨ He would have done it himself, but having spent some time together, he felt that he couldn't give an unbiased one.

¨I'll do it!¨ One of them exclaimed.

Xiao Fan took a look at the person 'Of course it is the Sixth Guard Captainess...' The person who wanted the ask the questions was none other than her.

Yet now looking her into the eyes Xiao Fan tried sounding confident and spoke ¨Go ahead¨

¨Starting the vetting process. The person being reviewed is called Mask. Reason for vetting, suspicious yet at the same time very close to the Second Prince...¨ She made some odd listing which sounded something that should be written down, not spoken.

Nevertheless, after that the questions started pouring onto him ¨What is your real name¨

¨Not telling¨

¨What is your real name¨ She asked, her decibels up a notch.

¨Not telling¨ He knew this would be the first question, yet there was no way in hell he would be giving it to them, nor could he fake it here.

¨What is... Forget it¨ Seeing him not telling what could she do? ¨Who do you serve¨ And so she changed onto the next question while the others focussed onto his facial features even more.

¨The Bald Eagle Dynasty¨ He responded while thinking that his occupation was a prisoner who worked for the Bald Eagle Dynasty by crafting straw baskets in his cell.

¨Thank you¨ The Sixth Guard Captain hearing him give a valid answer thanked him.

¨You work in the military?¨ An arbitrary question, yet a question that needed to be verified in this long list she was going over.

¨I guess so¨ Xiao Fan said and looked downwards at the robe he was wearing 'I wonder if they killed someone to get this?' He not wanting to show much emotion thought of something else.

¨Thank you. Please don't look away from my eyes any more¨ She spoke it that mechanic tone she had been using the whole time.

¨Got it¨ Xiao Fan was happy that he survived another question, plus getting into any argument was of no use. All her saying so was just taking one used trick away from him, and used tricks can't be used again.

¨Why are you here?¨

¨I was travelling with my Fiancee, yet when hearing the Tomb of the Four Ancient Ones had been found and would be opened to everyone, we rushed here to seek our fortuness¨

¨Thank you¨ It seemed that every time he gave an answer that these people thought as true or true enough would he get a thank you for it.

Though after that she continued ¨Your Fiancee?...¨ She changed the questions to be about Zhuan An for a moment.

During this, they had the same argument concerning true names, which ended in the same conclusion. After that, there were a few other questions confirming if their status was verified in the registries and such.

¨You haven't gone and informed that you are in a relationship with her?¨ Finally, another Guard Captain opened up. And he was asking why Mask and Facade hadn't done so yet.

¨Can I look at him?¨ Xiao Fan would answer directly but before doing so, he wanting to seem co-operative asked the person asking all the questions since she had the lead in this.

¨Yes¨ She simply replied.

¨We kind off met recently... Everything has been moving fast and me asking her to be my partner happened only two weeks ago¨ That part he didn't need to bullshit as it was all true.

¨I see. Still, I direct you as a higher ranking member, and me being a part of the Guards anyway order you to go and mark your official relationship with her soon as you can¨ His reason for not doing so was valid enough to let it pass, but it couldn't be passed for long. The Bald Eagle Dynasty didn't praise themselves as efficient and precise for this kind of stuff to be happening!

¨Of course¨ Xiao Fan nodded 'What a rule freak' Xiao Fan didn't like rule freaks like him. Rules for him were a guiding factor; furthermore, laws were just a set of playing rules at the end of the day.

Nevertheless, after him saying that sentence he went back to the woman ¨We can continue?¨

¨Yes¨

'Do they have a stenographer somewhere? Why is this so official? Or is this just a Bald Eagle Dynasty thing?' He wasn't really getting all this formality.

They were in the middle of woods, in a world wherefrom they might not get back and all, yet these people are here sitting on logs around a makeshift fire, but act like this is the high court or something. He really wasn't liking how unpractical this was. Even the fact that he had been lured here like he had been was too much for his liking.

Nonetheless, Xiao Fan's thinking of why things were like this wouldn't save him from the fact that he would be questioned by these Guard Captains until Wang Geming would find him and save him, or tomorrow, when this was over, hopefully.

Yet for now, the Guard Captains had decided that they would pepper Xiao Fan with question after another, and when the Sixth Guard Captainess was over with her question, there were still over twenty others wanting to spray their own questions onto the person who had been lured here.

Even the Second Captain, who with he had been getting along so well had his questions and asked them all from him, even worse was that him having been so close to him and working with him the number of questions he had on his mind was many times over the others individually.

'Whyyyyy...' Xiao Fan lamented around the three hours after this event had begun.

'I can't no moreeeee...' Around four hours. By now even the fire that had been in the middle had ended since none of them Guard Captains hadn't bothered to take their focus of Xiao Fan for a moment.

'These guys are robots or something?' There was another thought when they were five hours into this, and he was being questioned by the Second Guard Captain. He was feeling that the Guard Captains and Captainess were some robots, no one he knew could look at a person's face for five hours straight while also having full focus on this mission. And full mission they had, for the people when Xiao Fan, for example, blinked seemed to note it and then asked questions regarding the blink shortly after.

Though while this might seem excessive to others the Guard's, on the other hand, felt that this was completely necessary, not a single one of them was feeling that this was somewhat of a government overreach or that they were breaking some privacy boundaries.