The Bodyguard from Hell

After a ten-hour journey, the destination was reached. Passengers began to gather their luggage, preparing to leave the train. Among them, Lin Xiao collected his belongings and joined the line to disembark.

“Yuan Yong, trust me. I will seek vengeance for you and I’ll care for your family. I’ll make sure no harm or injustice comes to them.”

As he gazed at the unfamiliar landscape outside the window, the realization that this was his brother Yuan Yong’s birthplace brought a faint redness to Lin Xiao’s eyes.

At this point, Lin Xiao had been out of the army for half a month. During this period, he tied up loose ends before arriving at his brother Yuan Yong’s home city, the primary reason for his retirement.

Lin Xiao’s mind inadvertently drifted back to the battle that took place more than a month ago when a group of mercenaries, armed with banned weapons, had stormed the forests of Shuizhen Province.

The Dragon Sword Squad was dispatched to drive these mercenaries away from the border. Yet, they didn’t anticipate walking into an enemy ambush.

Although the Dragon Sword Squad was made up of elite soldiers, their adversaries were formidable. They divided and dispersed the squad members.

Yuan Yong, Lin Xiao’s brother, lost his life in that battle. To avenge his brother, Lin Xiao single-handedly pursued the enemy. But despite his formidable fighting skills, even after killing forty-eight men single-handedly, some enemies still managed to escape.

Unknown to everyone but Lin Xiao, Yuan Yong carried a family photo into every battle, claiming it gave him strength and luck. This was against military regulations.

But on that fateful day, Lin Xiao could not find that picture on Yuan Yong, nor amongst the fallen mercenaries.

He was aware of the mercenaries’ ruthless nature. The individuals in the photo were Yuan Yong’s family.

Lin Xiao dared not risk the possibility that they wouldn’t retaliate against Yuan Yong’s kin and that was why Lin Xiao found himself here.

His brother Yuan Yong had fallen valiantly in battle, and Lin Xiao couldn’t bear the thought of any harm befalling his brother’s family.

As the number of passengers on the train dwindled, Lin Xiao, with his luggage in hand, stepped off the train.

Though it wasn’t the peak of the Spring Festival travel rush, it was still a busy time for travel.

The train station buzzed with the comings and goings of numerous people. Amidst the crowd, Lin Xiao blended in. Nobody paid him any attention.

Yuan Yong’s home city was Jinghai City, located in the heart of the country. It might not rival the grandeur of the imperial capital or other major cities, but it held its own as a first-tier city, experiencing rapid development in recent years.

This marked Lin Xiao’s first visit to the city.

As Lin Xiao exited the train station, taxi and motorcycle taxi drivers encircled him, like cats closing in on a mouse.

“Young man, where can I take you?”

“Hey, buddy, heading to Yuqing? I’m just one passenger away from a full trip.”

“Anyone off to Linzhou? Come over here!”

Lin Xiao glanced at the note in his hand, bearing Yuan Yong’s address. He approached a middle-aged driver, asking, “Are you heading to Maple Leaf Street in Yongnan District?”

“Nope, not going there,” replied the driver, after a cursory look at the note. He waved his hand dismissively and walked away.

Undeterred, Lin Xiao directed the same question to several other drivers. The majority declined, all echoing a similar sentiment. “It’s too remote. Not worth the fare.”

A handful of drivers agreed to make the journey, but their quoted fares were startlingly high.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao abandoned the idea of taking a taxi and asked the passers-by about the bus stop. Once there, Lin Xiao examined the route map. A few buses were headed to Yongnan District, but he would have to deal with the inconvenience of multiple transfers.

After waiting a few minutes, Lin Xiao caught the number 103 bus. Two hours and several bus changes later, he reached his destination and disembarked at a dilapidated station.

Yongnan was the poorest district of Jinghai City.

The area wasn’t just economically deprived, it was visibly deteriorating. Crumbling roads curled their way past a sparse scattering of low-rise, aging buildings. No tall buildings marked the horizon, and public safety left much to be desired. Daylight robberies were not unheard of here. As such, few ventured into this district unless they resided there.

Stepping off the bus, Lin Xiao found himself standing in this unfamiliar district, feeling somewhat lost with his luggage in tow.

A voice interrupted his thoughts. “Where are you heading, young man? Do you need a place to stay?” A middle-aged woman at the entrance of a nearby small hotel called out to him.

Lin Xiao responded with a polite smile and nodded, “Ma’am, I’m here to find someone. Could you direct me to 333 Maple Leaf Street?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to book a room? Nightfall is approaching,” she said, diverting the topic.

It didn’t take long for Lin Xiao to realize that unless he did business with this woman, she wouldn’t willingly help him with directions.

Considering the time was already past four in the afternoon and the hassle of carrying his luggage, he conceded, “Alright, I was looking for a place to stay anyway.”

The hotel was modest in size with a silent corridor leading off from the right of the reception, lined with around twenty rooms. It was quiet, suggesting business was slow.

Upon entering, the woman’s face lit up with a broad smile. “Young man, what kind of room would you like?”

“A regular room would be fine,” Lin Xiao replied.

“Alright, hold on a moment,” she said, lowering her head to process Lin Xiao’s check-in.

Just then, a fashionable young couple emerged from the corridor, approaching the front desk. “We’d like to check out,” they announced.

“Please bear with me, I’m currently assisting this young man,” the proprietress responded with a smile.

At her words, the couple turned their attention to Lin Xiao, looking him over with apparent disdain. The woman even pinched her nose and whispered, “Where did this beggar spring from? He’s even worse than one.”

At this moment, Lin Xiao was dressed modestly in faded jeans and off-white sports shoes that had yellowed with age.

It wasn’t that Lin Xiao couldn’t afford better, his severance pay was substantial, and his salary during his time with the Dragon Sword Squad was more than generous. However, he had sent all his savings to Yuan Yong’s mother and sister the previous month.

Despite his plain attire, it wasn’t as exaggerated as the young couple made it out to be. Hearing their derogatory comment, he simply raised an eyebrow, choosing to ignore them, as if he hadn’t heard.

As Lin Xiao calmly sat on a bench, he waited for the proprietress to finish registering his information. However, he couldn’t help but overhear the murmurs of a young couple nearby.

“Can this bumpkin even afford to stay in a hotel? Look at him, is probably his first time in a city, let alone a hotel.”

“Hahaha…”

Despite their attempts to whisper, they couldn’t deceive Lin Xiao’s sharp hearing. Although they were speaking ill of him, he didn’t feel the slightest bit angry, finding their comments more amusing than anything else.

‘Can a sparrow ever comprehend the aspirations of a swan? Would an elephant concern itself with the thoughts of an ant?’ he mused.

Of course not. So why should he care about the opinions of these two individuals?

At that moment, a striking figure entered the hotel. A professionally dressed woman, in her twenties, graced the lobby with her elegant demeanor. With her delicate features and bright, intelligent eyes, she immediately elevated the ambiance of the otherwise unimpressive hotel.

The saying, ‘A mountain is famed not for its height, but for the deity that resides in it, a river is revered not for its depth, but for the dragon that lurks within,’ seemed to perfectly encapsulate this situation.

Lin Xiao merely glanced at the woman before lowering his gaze and dismissing her from his mind.

While this woman was indeed beautiful and captivating, as the leader of the Dragon Sword Squad, Lin Xiao had seen his fair share of stunning women. Be it the bewitching Night Queen of the West, the exceptional Sword Saintess from Wugu Country, or the Saintess of India, all of them were either his allies or his adversaries.

Despite Lin Xiao’s indifference toward the woman, she was considered an extraordinary beauty by everyone else present.

The young man from the couple at the front desk was utterly spellbound by her presence. He stared at her in complete awe, enraptured by her beauty. Seeing this, his girlfriend’s face darkened, and she had to pinch him several times to snap him out of his daze.

The beautiful woman appeared to know the proprietress. After exchanging greetings, she seated herself quietly behind the counter.

“Your room is ready, young man. It’s number 1031. Here’s your key,” the proprietress finally finished with Lin Xiao’s registration and handed him a key.

Taking the key and nodding in acknowledgment, Lin Xiao picked up his luggage and headed toward his room. The room was modest, with only a single bed and a small bathroom, but Lin Xiao didn’t mind.

After settling in, he planned to ask the proprietress for directions. But before he could approach the front desk, a loud, brash voice filled the air.

“You dare to dirty my new clothes? How will you compensate me for this?”