Chương 113: Fading Traces (V)

"Hm," I mulled over the assortment of things the kids have picked up in the past six days. There were mostly colored textiles--silk, wool, linen, some cotton, and something that looked and felt like sateen. As for why I know what sateen looked and felt like? Ask Ashley, my third girlfriend. We lived together for six months to save on rent, and she was freakin' obsessed with it. Ever tried doing it on top of sateen sheets? Don't. Just don't.

Anyway, besides the textiles, there were some trinkets, some ingots, and an assortment of knickknacks that the sellers promised would 'sell everywhere else', but I highly doubted it. It didn't matter, anyway; it was all for cover. The kids have already gone off, and it's time for me to go off, too. I headed back to the central square because I've kind of gotten addicted to that 'bael' drink and had made it my routine to go there, sit for a little while, and just listen in to the surrounding conversations.

They were still mostly about the Spirit Sword and Fire Sun Sects--but it made sense. After all, the two have been hegemons of the entire region for centuries and have both simply disappeared essentially overnight. There was a major power vacuum left in their place, and there were already rumors about some lesser sects 'rising to the occasion'. It was actually one of the reasons why I wanted to get out of this region quickly (and would have if not for Long Tao)--the wars that will erupt here will be countless.

Sort of like what happens when the empires and kingdoms fall--new ones don't just 'magically' and 'peacefully' rise in their place, no. From the literal ashes they come, as it were. That would be the case here, too. Even if it was a barren corner of the world that most didn't even know about, for the locals, it was the world. And even being a ruler here likely endowed some with a sense of grandeur.

Alas, I can only hope that we figure out the Spiritwood business quickly and move eastward fast after and not get caught up in the web of skirmishes.

"Hey... do I know you?" I accidentally overheard someone ask a question, and something in my ears... tingled. It was an ordinary question--so ordinary, in fact, that my brain should have automatically filtered it out... but it didn't. Something about the tone felt... off. So, I glanced over.

We were dab smack in the middle of the central square, and the person who asked the question was a rather tall young man--I actually remember him, as I inspected him a few days earlier and confirmed he was actually at the tenth stage of Qi Condensation. The person being asked the question was also young and someone I didn't recognize but got a strangely... familiar feeling from. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"No, I don't think so." There was the faintest of trebles in that voice, though it could just as well be due to suddenly being asked a question by a complete stranger. Alas, if the proverbial grandma had the proverbial wheels...

"No, no, you seem familiar." The young man walked up closer and inspected the other one, the former's eyes suddenly widening as a surge of Qi burst from within.

"It's you! The bastard who killed Brother Chen!! One of the bandits who intercepted us on the way over!" As you can imagine, the explosive accusation led to explosive murmurs--I only wished I had popcorn to enjoy the show. I quickly blended back into the crowd, standing out no more than a pinwheel in a desert, waiting expectantly.

"What?! How dare you accuse me?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"No, I'm certain! I would never mistake your bastard's eyes, and that voice just confirmed it! Everyone, I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man here is part of the bandit group that's been attacking people around the town! Fellow cultivators in the crowd, please help me subdue the evildoer!" Hey, look at that heroic spirit! That chivalry! Tsk. I can't believe I'm actually feeling a bit of envy; I'm over forty, for God's sake. Why would I want to spew those cringe lines and be the center of attention?

Nonetheless, while they continued their back-and-forth, I inspected the other guy to confirm it. [--Creator's Eyes used] [Target: Mo Qing] [Age: 29] [Talent: low-Earth] [Cultivation Realm: 11th stage of Qi Condensation] [Cultivation Method: Rapid-Shadow Mantra, First Form (mid-Earth) / Incomplete] [Cultivation Arts: Shadow Fist (Peak Mortal), Heart's Duality (low-Earth)...] [Affiliation: Shadow's End Fortress, Split Heavens Region] [...] [Traits] [Shadow-Wormed (Epic) -- has a Shadow Worm implanted deep inside his heart. It is connected to the Shadow Broodmother. Entirely enslaved to the owner of the Shadow Broodmother] [Agitated (Common) -- was preparing to break through to the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm when the sect sent out an order, casting him to this region and forcing him to accept the mission] [Corrupted (Rare) -- Seed of Qi is slowly being rotted and corrupted. Can be harvested through peculiar arts] [...] [Assessing suitability...] [No special Root, Physique, or Bloodline discovered] [...] [Recommended: future deeply limited due to the Shadow Worm. Requires an anti-parasite Art to expel it. A relatively ordinary talent with limited future prospects. A somewhat useful vessel for Corruption] [Final assessment: An ordinary talent limited even further by being the target of a Broodmother. Even if the Worm is expelled, he is unlikely to reach beyond the Foundation Establishment in his lifetime. The host should not bother wasting resources on him] Oh. Looks like that young guy really can remember a face and a voice as well as he claims. Before I could even modestly reject the idea in my head of helping him out, things escalated further and then entirely exploded. Mo Qing suddenly turned into a rapid blur, appearing before the young man within the blink of an eye and ripping forward with his fist. The latter couldn't even react in time as a massive hole was opened up in his chest where his heart used to be.

He could seldom look down at the bleeding pit before the light was zapped out of his eyes. Gasps rang out, yet the killer was already on the run. Guards cried out to stop him, but the bastard was... fast. Even I could barely keep him within my eyes, and I was watching those monsters fight on the daily. I mean, not like I could stop him even if I tried, but this kind of... worried me. The guy just committed murder in broad daylight and was about to get away with it. Hey, look at that, I kind of, sort of jinxed him.

A sudden burst of alien energy startled me; I watched in abject horror as a massive gash opened up above the town, and an arm came bursting through. Like plucking a flower from the field, it grabbed the elusive shadow with ease, not even so much as touching anything else. The last I saw of Mu Qing were his dangling legs and a panicked expression while he was being dragged into the gash that disappeared as soon as he did. Huh. Hey. What the hell was that?!!