Mercenary Harem in Murim Novel

Chapter 53 - 53 – New Member, Astrid

"I couldn’t believe I agreed to this..." The brown-haired girl covered her face with her hand and lamented, "And I wore something... like this too. This is too tight. And these pants? This shows the world the shape of my legs! How indecent!"

"There is nothing indecent about that." Jessica commented as she crossed her legs. "We are all wearing that. And you will find it useful in your job later on."

"But still-"

"Putting that aside..." Leo interrupted their conversation. He walked toward Jessica and sat beside her.

The secretary moved to the side to give him some space. Her hands were holding him as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Leo’s gaze was fixed on Peng Li-Yue. He snapped his fingers and grinned.

"If you really plan to throw away your past identity and join us, you will need a new name."

"A new name?" The woman asked with confusion written all over her face.

"Yes, a new name." Leo nodded his head, "Peng Li-Yue is not here anymore. She died after getting attacked by the evil martial artist, Tang Yao."

"My new name..." Her voice trailed off as she fell into deep thoughts. A few moments later, she asked with determination written on her face, "Would you accept Qingyi as my new name?"

"Nope." He rejected her request instantly.

"Huh?"

Having been rejected instantly surprised her.

"W-Why? That’s a good name and has no relation at all with my previous name!"

"Everyone in the Hallowed Insect is given their names by Leader." Jessica pushed her pink-tinted glasses up as she answered in his stead, "We were just living corpses. We are mere insects living in a dead body until Leader appeared and gave us the new light to live. That’s why we are called Hallowed Insects."

"I-Is that true?" She stuttered her words in disbelief before facing Leo again.

"Something like that. Some insects can live with only their head intact. I am simply giving them another chance to live their lives in peace as my limbs."

After hearing what he said, Peng Li-Yue closed her eyes in contemplation before looking up at Leo with firmness in her eyes.

"Fine then. But please give me a good name. One that rings with flowers or elegance."

"Hmmm..."

Leo hummed as he fell into deep thought while stroking his chin.

Many names appeared in his mind. There were some beautiful names fit for her and some that ringed with elegance as she said. However, he already had a perfect name for her in mind.

A name that would suit her perfectly.

"How about Peng Peng?"

"THAT’S JUST HARASSMENT!" She yelled in anger.

"Fufufu, that suits you well, you know? Anya loves to call you that." Jessica commented with an amused grin on her face.

"She’s just doing that to make fun of me! Please don’t make that my name. I will be crazy."

"Hahaha, I was just joking." He laughed loudly before taking a deep breath and stopping. He put on a gentle face and smiled, "From now on, you’re Astrid. It’s a beautiful flower that grew in my hometown. Its other name is flaming sword, fitting your Qi element, no? A purple flame."

"Flaming sword... Astrid. Huh... it’s not bad." She murmured softly as her finger touched her own lips.

"Of course, that’s a good name! Leader gave it to you after all!" Anya’s cheerful voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

The blonde assassin with black bodysuit underneath her white jacket walked toward them with a smile on her face. She sat next to Leo, sandwiching him with Jessica as if it was natural.

"Peng Peng, you’re joining us? Yay, it’s nice to have a cute girl like you!"

"Don’t call me that!" Astrid furrowed her brows as she glared at the smiling Anya. She crossed her arms and puffed her chest, "Now I am Astrid. Flaming Sword Astrid!"

Everyone looked at her blankly. The proud expression on her face and the smug smile. Everything looked at her with deadpan expressions.

"That’s cheesy." Jessica commented bluntly.

"Woah! Was drinking too much destroying your embarrassed nerves? That’s cringe." Leo said, amazed by the girl’s shamelessness.

Even Anya was cringing hard.

"Hahahaha... yeah... Umm, Peng Peng? Let’s take a step back with the Flaming Sword thing. You are not even close to having mastered Qi like the gorilla sleeping with the boys over there." Anya pointed at the snoring Wandering Sword Saint on the side.

Embarrassment quickly appeared on Astrid’s face as she looked away in shame.

"...Please just bury me."

"Hehehe, you’re so fun Peng Peng!" Anya jumped to her feet and pulled her hand forward, "Come on, let’s do something fun. Let’s get along well, okay? I am so bored being stuck here. I will treat you to something to celebrate. Let’s eat meat."

"Ah! W-Wait, I can walk by myself. Don’t drag me! Heeellpp!!"

Astrid could only scream as she was dragged by Anya away from the sofa.

Leo watched them leave the base before turning toward the pile of men sleeping on the floor.

"How long are you guys pretending to sleep? Get up from there. It’s noon already."

Upon hearing his voice, three guys, two young and one old, opened their eyes. They stood up and stretched their bodies in unison.

"Hahahaha, how long since you noticed that we just pretended to sleep?" The bearded old man, Xiao Ah-Tian, laughed as he talked to Leo.

"Probably since the start. Leader is a monster. His understanding of human psychology and nature is above all of us." Shui commented as he walked toward the bar to prepare drinks for everyone.

"Exactly! By the way, how did you cure your hangover? Is it using Qi?" Jack asked Xiao Ah-Tian as he took a seat on the couch.

"Yes, something like that is simple and easy. I just need to throw away the impurities in my body using my Qi. What intrigues me is how you did it. I couldn’t even feel a speck of Qi from you lads’ bodies. Yet, your physical abilities are on par with me... No, even stronger.

It’s really interesting."

Xiao Ah-Tian curiously glanced at Leo and the others while stroking his beards in thought. His eyes were glued on them as he examined every inch of their bodies.

"Will you tell me the secret if I join your group, eh?"

"I will." Leo nodded without hesitation.

He intended to do so anyway. The man would need to know the secret of their power if he joined their group and participated in missions.

But...

"The question is. Do you have a plan to join us?"