Chapter Thirty-One: Lessons of Escort

  Kano heard Li Xie's shout and rushed into Li Xie's bedroom, still with an excited face: "Sir, the cat has been lured down! We're about to get it drunk, and then it will let you sign a soul contract at will."

  Grandma's, are you still excited? Want to invite credit? Damn it, my fine wine! That's at least over a million gold coins of fine wine!

  Li Ye really wants to slap this damn tendon all the way to Siberia to catch penguins!

  Squinting his eyes, Li Xie suppressed his anger and asked in a sarcastic tone: "So, is my Meow drunk or not?"

  "Tipsy, sir." Kano said with a smile.

  "What's 'tipsy' mean?"

  "It's just a bit drunk." This phrase was still often heard at noble banquets by Canno, and it was said to be quite elegant.

  "A little drunk is a little drunk, tipsy? Screw you! One hundred men can't beat one cat, and you still have the nerve to say tipsy? You drank all the wine in my cellar, do you have the nerve to be tipsy? Tell me, did I agree to let you take the wine from my cellar?"

  Li Xie's anger had completely erupted, his voice stern and severe, it was time to teach this group of guardian slaves a lesson.

  For the past two months, Li Xie had always been gentle and easy-going, but suddenly he flew into a great rage, startling Kano so much that he knelt down on one knee: "Sir, Kano knows his mistake, please punish him!"

  "Punishment? Hmph! Remember, you owe me a cellar of fine wine! Keep it in mind! And, Kano, from now on, you're the leader of the guards. The guarding work at the Evil Earl's manor will all be managed by you. Don't disappoint me again!" Li Xie said, ignoring Kano and walking straight out.

  He didn't actually care about the fine wines, but if the guards were too lax, they would take advantage of it and start taking liberties. Today they could sneak a bottle of his wine without permission, tomorrow they'd be treating the Earl's manor like their own playground, and eventually, the Earl himself would become dispensable!

  Who will still come to protect him? Even if they won't abandon Li Xie, they will be neglectful and careless afterwards!

  Guardianship is guardianship, they should be given constraints and also given responsibilities!

  Of course, Li Xie didn't need to lose his temper with all the guards. He only needed to scold Cano and give him the responsibility he deserved. He believed that Cano would have a way to restrain those guards after all, Cano had once been a military commander!

  Kano, who was kneeling on the ground, slapped himself twice and didn't say a word. He quickly followed Li Xie. These days of getting along with each other had caused Kano to lose his proper place due to Li Xie's easy-going nature!

  It's outrageous that he would secretly take Lord Evil's fine wine without his permission to drink with a cat, which is no different from theft! And the punishment for stealing from nobles in the Dourden Kingdom is extremely severe, especially for attendants and guards. If they were to investigate and punish them, all the guards would be demoted to slaves! And Cano, the ringleader, would be put to death by fire!

  Li Xie did not pursue it further also because the punishment was too severe, and his real purpose was just to let the guards understand their responsibilities.

  With a remorseful heart, Kano followed Li Xie from behind, not daring to say anything, only secretly reminding himself that he was a follower and should help Marquis Ye solve his troubles, rather than add to his worries! And now as the leader of the guards, he should be even more restrained, doing what they should do! Rather than taking advantage of having a lenient and generous master, getting more and more arrogant!

  They came all the way to the apricot forest, and the guards formed a circle around them, with a table in the middle, surrounded by wine jars.

  A guard sat beside the table, on the other side, a palm-sized sky blue kitten crouched on the table. In front of the kitten was placed a palm-sized ceramic bowl, while the guard held a wine bottle.

  "Cheers!"

  "Cheers! Gary is the man, don't lose to a cat!"

  "It's done! Come on!"

  "Die, little cat!"

  The guards were shouting non-stop and didn't notice that Li Xie had arrived at their outer circle. Only a few people on the outer circle saw Li Xie, called out "Sir", and then immediately returned to drinking.

  Li Xie didn't say a word and stood up, just looking at Kano, it was time for him to perform.

  Kano's eyes gleamed with understanding, and he raised his internal energy. With a loud shout: "The Earl has arrived! Everyone, stand at attention for your commander!"

  Using his aura to amplify his voice, Carano's voice was like thunder, causing Li Xie's ears to ring and making him feel suffocated. However, this guy, in order to look cool, had a poker face.

  That group of guards was startled by the shout, and they all straightened up, their long military careers having made them habitually stand at attention, all looking towards Li Xie.

  Li Xie nodded: "From now on, Kano will be your leader, fully responsible for the protection work of the Evil Earl's mansion. From now on, except for my orders, you will only listen to him, understand?"

  "I understand, sir!"

  Li Xie nodded again: "The matter of the wine cellar, I will not pursue it, don't make it a habit! Also, don't let me know if there's any disobedience to orders. You were all soldiers before, those who disobey orders will be dealt with by military law. Cano, it's up to you now."

  Kano clasped his hands together: "Yes, sir." Then he turned to the guards: "Last night, we stole wine from the cellar of the evil Earl. You should know what kind of punishment we will receive!"

  Steal?

  All the guards were stunned!

  This is getting serious! The punishment is even more severe!

  Especially when all the guards had drunk wine, their faces flushed with heat, although they did not dare to refute, but their faces were somewhat dissatisfied.

  Kano, the Seventh-Rank Sword Saint, wasn't someone to be trifled with. He strode forward with large steps, his clothes fluttering without any wind, his aura reaching its peak. With his tall and imposing stature, he was like a mountain pressing down on them. As their long-time leader, his iron-blooded majesty was fully displayed in this moment: "What? You're not convinced? Without the Earl's permission, you took the Earl's wine, is that stealing? Tell me! Is it or isn't it?!

  Kano's aura was so overwhelming that the guards were all startled, and they sobered up seven or eight parts, only then realizing the severity of the situation. They hastily knelt down on one knee: "Sir, we know our mistake!"

  Kano gazed at the crowd, his voice cold: "The master has spoken, this matter will not be pursued and will not be mentioned again! The master is magnanimous, otherwise, it's not just you who would suffer severe punishment, I too would be punished for stealing!"

  "Your Excellency, I'm sorry. Last night, I shouldn't have urged you to fetch the wine." a guard said remorsefully.

  Kano shook his head: "If we do something wrong, we must acknowledge it. We can't forget our responsibilities! Today, although the adults aren't pursuing the matter, we need to remember it in our hearts! We're following a good master, I hope no one will be kicked out of Earl Saburou's mansion!"

  This remark made all the guards reveal a terrified expression! They couldn't believe that there was still a place more free, with better welfare and a more generous master than the Evil Earl's Manor! Who would want to leave? Moreover, being kicked out, as soldiers, what they cared about most was honor, this kind of dishonorable departure was even more unbearable than being killed!

  Li Xie looked at the lesson that had been taught, and the faces of the guards also showed a regretful expression. He smiled: "Alright, get up. It was just some wine. Just remember, you owe me a cellar of fine wine! Don't forget to repay it!"

  "Thank you, sir! We will definitely return your kindness with countless fine wines!"

  "Alright, where's my kitty?"

  Li Xie walked up to the little cat, and the little cat looked at Li Xie with its big round eyes. Its fluffy ears twitched, and it let out a cute meow, its voice as sweet as a baby's giggles, making Li Xie's whole body feel weak.

  "My baby." Li Xie gently picked up the kitten, who sniffed at his hand and rubbed its head against his arm. Its body started to purr and its eyes narrowed, as if it had also gotten a bit drunk from drinking all night.

  Li Xie saw the situation, hastily covered his hand over the kitten's head, and quickly signed the soul contract, making the kitten his contracted beast, able to listen to his commands. Then he said: "Goddess of Life above, your servant Li Xie wishes to... Hmm? Wait, where's my cat?!

  "Sir, Meow has gone up again."

  "I'm doing it, and you're all surrounding me one by one, but no one helps me catch it?" Li Xie felt extremely depressed. Among the hundred or so people around him, a cat ran out of his arms, yet no one helped to catch it. What kind of bodyguards were they?

  Just as Li Xie said that, the crowd of guards, including Kano, all had strange expressions on their faces. They all realized an unbelievable fact: none of them had time to react to Xiao Miao's speed!

  The strongest Kano is here, but I only saw a flash of blue light!

  It's indeed a 9th-tier demonic beast! Even in its juvenile stage, it's incredibly powerful! Its speed alone is enough to dominate the region!

  Realizing it was due to the kitten's speed issue, Li Xie sighed heavily and became even more determined: Let this cat be my main beast!

  But now the problem is, must lure the cat down!

  So, the Earl of Evil's guards were busy again, buying wine and shouting, they already knew the temperament of the little cat: nothing was liked to eat! Only loved wine!

  But soon, they sadly found that the wine they bought had no attraction to the kitten, who was hooked by the wine in Li Xie's cellar. The ordinary wine only made the kitten twitch its nose slightly, and then it would rather blow wind on the treetop and watch the sun!

  Helpless, Li Xie ordered Kano to buy some fine wine. Although he managed to lure the kitten down, it ran away as soon as it was about to sign the soul contract!

  So repeatedly, Li Xie could only temporarily give up signing the soul contract and wait until he was more familiar with it before trying again.

  Without signing a soul contract, the little cat still followed Li Xie everywhere, as if it regarded Li Xie as its father. It would follow him wherever he went and even sleep with him. In short, wherever Li Xie was, that sky-blue little cat would definitely be there, and no matter how hard you tried to shoo it away, it wouldn't leave!

  In the following days, Li Xie lived a carefree and happy life with Xiao Mao and his guards.

  Good days always pass quickly and are soon replaced by even better ones!

  The imperial palace held a banquet again, and this time the banquet invited nobles above the rank of Earl of the Imperial Capital. It can be said that it was the highest standard banquet, and the protagonist of the banquet was our Evil Earl Li!

  The news of Avril becoming the Holy Sacrifice has spread throughout the continent of Gods, and naturally, the Tudor Dynasty is also aware of it. This is a piece of information that cannot be hidden. Afterwards, guests with various purposes came to visit us, almost forming an army! This made Avril, who was terrified, use the excuse of listening to the call of the Goddess of Life to temporarily retreat for a month. What should have been a joyful event for the Tudor Dynasty turned into a disaster on the fifth day after Avril's promotion to Holy Sacrifice, as she escaped to the Tower of Eternity and refused all visitors.

  This directly resulted in Mercedes VII preparing a five-day banquet to celebrate the Duke of Auber's joy, only to find that the protagonist was nowhere to be found! To resolve this awkward situation, according to El, the royal steward who came to report this matter to Li Xie: "His Majesty had an epiphany and decided to make our Earl Xie the main guest of honor for this banquet! Oh, I shouldn't call him Earl Xie anymore, I should call him Duke Xie!"

  Yes, the protagonist of the banquet is Li Xie, and the theme is Li Xie's promotion ceremony! A more grand ceremony than Duke Blair's promotion!