Chapter 41 Mission Accomplished

Enzho walked through the hallway with blood dripping from him and Blue while whimpers echoed making the place eerie. He found a stool and laid down Blue carefully, making sure not to hurt her in any way. Looking at the closed doors, he began breaking the locks one by one. The girls were scared by his appearance but he reassured them and told them that he was here to help.

He released nine girls in total, the same girls he was with before. They somewhat recognized the dress but was confused because the body inside was a boy instead of a girl. Eznho felt their strange gaze but did not bother to explain.

“Alright, wait here first, okay? I’ll check things outside first.”

The girls nodded in response and gathered around Blue who was still unconscious. They felt pity and fear at the same time when they looked at her horrible appearance.

Will that be our future?

Everyone thought the same thing and looked at Eznho who was carefully ascending the stairs, their eyes full of hope. Nobody wanted to end up like the unconscious girl.

.....

Eznho reached the black door and tried to listen, he narrowed his eyes and concentrated but he couldn’t hear a thing. Taking a gamble, he opened the door very slowly but was surprised by what he saw.

Two guards were lying on the floor, he was unable to determine whether they were dead or alive. He had a suspecting look but carefully approached them. Using the tip of the knife, he tried to poke one of them but met with no response. He checked again and found out that they were still alive.

Was it senior Talong?

He could not think of any other reason because Talong promised that he would assist him in his escape. Looking carefully, he recognized Hans, he wanted to kill the man but a thought occurred to him. If he would kill Hans, people might suspect why he was the only guard who died which might possibly lead to him so he let go of the idea. He was not a naive young boy anymore, he had more or less had his own fair share of experiences.

Next time,

Ignoring the guards, he checked his surroundings but nobody seemed to be patrolling the area so he went back to the basement and picked up the girls. Carrying Blue, they slowly followed the path they took before, more unconscious guards showed up. Eznho was thankful, it would have been impossible for them to escape if those guards were awake.

They reached the door that leads to the outside after nearly half an hour of tip-toed walking. He opened the door carefully again just for precaution and was frightened when he saw a cloaked person waiting outside. His face was covered, he could only tell that it was a man.

“It’s me,” The cloaked person spoke in a relaxed manner.

“Senior T-“

He was about to say his name when the man raised his index finger indicating him to stop talking. Eznho got the message and smiled apologetically. The girls followed outside and were also surprised upon seeing the cloaked person but Eznho told them not to worry.

Realizing that the mission is nearly done, Eznho had a complicated look on his face. He was conflicted on what to do with the girls, he could not take them in even if he wanted to. It would certainly lead to disaster.

“Thank you, benefactor, for saving us, you don’t have to worry about us. I know we were just rescued due to that poor girl. May I know benefactor’s name?”

One of the girls gathered all her courage and spoke. Her sparkling brown eyes showed intelligence, despite what happened she was able to compose herself.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Eznho answered her with a helpless smile.

“I understand, my name is Vilma, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The girl understood Eznho’s predicament so he committed his face to the depth of her soul. She would never forget the face of the boy who saved him.

Talong waved his hand and small rays of light entered the girls’ forehead making their eyes blank.

“Let’s go,” Talong was not moved in any way and held Eznho’s shoulder. They disappeared in a flash.

The girls were still standing but after a while, they regained their consciousness. They showed confused expressions but Vilma took the lead and urged the girls to get out of the place.

.....

A few seconds later, the trio appeared in a courtyard. Eznho felt dizzy then immediately tossed Blue to Talong and actually vomited, it took awhile before he composed himself and observed his surroundings. Talong waved his hand at the same time and sealed the place for the time being.

“Eh? I am home?”

The place looked familiar, after confirming that he was really at home, he looked at Talong. He did not know what he did to the girls but he was sure Talong did not hurt them.

“What now, senior Talong?”

“Good job on your mission, you now sort of understand the limits of what you can do. It is okay to give a helping hand to others when you can but do not go to the extent that it will threaten your life. I am not saying that you become a cold person, a human without emotion is no longer a human. This is just how the world works.”

Talong showed his approval on Eznho’s performance, he was actually observing the whole time.

“What happens to them now?” Eznho was still worried about them.

“Who knows? At least they would not suffer like this little girl. Let’s just leave it up to fate,”

Talong answered shaking his head while looking at the poor unconscious girl.

“Alright, it is time for us to part little boy. This is your reward, every mission has its reward you know.”

He grinned and tossed three items, one brown card and two nine-inched curved daggers. The daggers were simply designed but it was obvious that it was made from better materials than the previous weapons Eznho had used.

“You know how to use the bank card, don’t you? As for the daggers, they are low-grade magical weapons. You can only utilize them properly once you reach the Halo Stage. I won’t give you a precious material as it will only attract trouble. It's better for you to seek one on your own.”

Eznho caught the items and bowed.

“Thank you, senior,”

“No need for that, as I have said, every mission has its reward,” Talong responded nonchalantly.

“Alright, take this,” He gave another item to Eznho.

It was a round badge with an engraving of a horseshoe in the middle. One the top arch, ‘red’ was written while at the bottom was ‘horse’. Eznho had a guess on what this is, it must be a symbol of a group where Talong belongs.

“When you reach Mercenary City in the future, you can find me using that badge. Do not even attempt to go find me without reaching the Seeker Stage. Alright, this is farewell, little boy, let’s drink when we meet next time. Also, educate yourself, you still do not know many things about the outside world. One last thing, don’t even bother to come if you are past twenty years old and still had not become a Seeker Stage Cultivator.”

Feeling that Talong is about to leave Eznho still had a lot of questions.

“Wait-“

“Little boy, there are questions you have to find the answer for yourself. As for the siblings, I can only tell you that they have a great background, as for whether it would be a blessing or a disaster, that would depend on your luck. I almost forgot, hide your ring and never show it to anybody else, it would only bring you disaster.”

Talong spoke without letting Eznho interrupt and just disappeared in a flash. Eznho just stood there in silence unable to process all the information he just received. The parting was too soon, he could only sigh in regret.

“Is that you big brother?”

Budoy’s voice came from a corner. He was waiting the whole time for Eznho and let the girls sleep. It was dark and he could only see a silhouette so he was cautious and even had a dagger concealed on his back.

“It’s me Budoy, why are you still up?”

Eznho put the issue at the back of his mind and walked out into the light startling Budoy.

“What happened? Are you alright?”

Budoy almost jumped in fright when he saw Eznho’s bloody appearance who was still wearing the pink dress.

“Ah? This? I’m alright, it’s not my blood,” Eznho grinned and reassured Budoy.

“Who’s is it?” He blurted out.

“Evil people who deserve to die,” Eznho answered vaguely.

“Okay, you should take a bath before aunt Minchin or little Aiza will see you,” Budoy did not ask further about the details. All he cared about was Eznho’s safety at the moment.

“Great idea, you should go sleep now, no need to worry about me,” Eznho grinned and patted Budoy’s shoulder then went to take a bath.

.....

After washing himself up he put in new clothes while the pink dress dissipated on its own, it was a separate formation so it only vanished when the energy maintaining it ran out. He did not go to sleep and cultivated instead to clear his mind and make a plan for the future. As for all his questions, all would be answered in due time.

According to Talong, there is only a small chance that the death of the father and son would be traced back to him. Even so, he had to make preparations just in case.

.....

The inner district, a small mountain was wholly occupied by the River Clan.

A young man was meditating inside a hall, in front of him were hundreds of life tablets. On the very top was a single life tablet, it was the life tablet of their ancestor, below it was the life tablets of the direct descendants followed by another series of life tablets. The lower the placement of the life tablet was, the lower the status in the family. Of course, the family had thousands of members but not everyone had the right to place his or her life tablet in the hall.

Crack!

A sound he had not heard in a long time passed through his ears. He was one of the caretakers here and life tablets rarely broke, and when it does most of it were on the bottom so he subconsciously looked at the bottom part.

“Huh?”

He was surprised when he did not see any broken tablet and started to look upwards and to his horror, the broken tablet belonged to the direct descendants just below the ancestor.

Shit! What kind of bad luck is this?

He started to sweat bullets and was speechless for a long time, he heard rumors that the ancestor was attempting a breakthrough and if he were to report now it might have an effect, directly or indirectly.

“I should just report it to the elder,”

He gritted his teeth and sent a message through the message talisman. A couple of minutes later, an old man came through the door with a gloomy face.

“Which tablet was it?”

“Bong greets elder, it was lord Butchog’s life tablet,” The young man greeted with respect and answered nervously.

A trace of relief showed in the elder’s face but the young man did not see it.

It’s not as bad as it seems, although he is a direct and a pampered descendant. His death would not impact the clan’s future.

The elder did not have a good relationship with Butchog, in his point of view, he was just a wastrel and was a disgrace to the family including his son who nearly brought a calamity to the clan years ago. Of course, despite his disapproval, he did not show it in public because both Butchog and his son were pampered by his father and brother.

“I’ll report it...”

Crack!

Before he could finish his sentence another tablet broke apart, it was the life tablet of Taba.

Crap! What in the world happened?

This time, he also had a bad feeling and even got nervous. The father and son maybe wastrels but they were still direct descendants.

“Stay here and update me if anything happens,”

He scowled and ordered Bong making him nod in succession. Wasting no time, he dashed and went to a secret location where the ancestor would attempt his breakthrough.

.....

Inside a hidden location in the property of the River Clan, the grand elder, elders, Killboy and the current clan leader were seated in a lotus position. They were guarding a door, this wooden door was carved with a flowing river, it was the entrance to the pocket realm of the family. It is where their valued treasures were stored and a place to be used when someone important in the family where about to make a breakthrough.

Bang!

The door suddenly opened making everyone open their eyes.

“What is it elder John? You should be in charge of the affairs outside. You know this is an important event.”

The clan leader spoke with a displeased tone.

“Sorry for the intrusion everyone, I have an urgent matter to report,” Elder John spoke hastily.

“Speak,” The clan leader spoke with a commanding tone that brought a pressure making elder John nervous.

“Earlier the one in charge of the life tablet hall reported that a direct descendant’s tablet had broken and...”

Before he could finish his speech, Killboy’s pupil shrunk and interrupted the elder.

“Who’s life tablet was it?” He immediately asked because the first thing that came to his mind was his son who was studying at the Royal Academy.

“It was lord Butchog and young lord Taba,” Elder John spoke with fear, he may be an elder but he was at the lowest rank due to his cultivation.

“What!!?? Say that again!” This time, it was the clan leader who spoke with disbelief and stood up.