Book 2: Chapter 33

“Older sister?” Cyil was not as shocked as a member of the immortal refugee would have been. This shell shaking news was equivalent to him learning it would rain the next day. Cyil took things slow, saying, “Yang Wu, let’s talk inside.” Leading the way into the room, Cyil moved as if he was the owner of the place.

Yang Wu’s eyes lit up. Talking is good. Talking would lead somewhere. He hadn’t been denied just yet.

Yang Wu stood from the damaged ground then dusted himself off and followed Cyil into the room.

When Yang Wu shut the door behind himself and solemnly stood at attention by the door, Cyil sighed before saying, “Yang Wu, take a seat.”

“Mmm,” it was only now that Yang Wu moved to seat himself on a wooden stool.

“Now,” Cyil lightly traced the outlines of his hand. “What is it you want me to do exactly?” Glancing up, Cyil locked eyes with Yang Wu.

Yang Wu held the gaze and said, “I know this is presumptuous of me, but I request for senior to delve into the soul of Selia’s sister and cleanse it of the four colored miasma. There is no known medicine for this miasma and it directly latches itself onto the soul like a parasite, feeding off the soul until everything has been devoured. My older brother told me that the only chance of a cure is for someone well-versed in the arts of the soul to transfer the miasma into their own soul...”

Yang Wu paused at this point to gauge the reaction from Cyil, but when he saw that Cyil remained expressionless, Yang Wu continued, “Of course, asking senior to do such a thing is akin to asking a man to take his own life. I wouldn’t dare do that. I just humbly request that senior take a look and see if there are any other solutions to this misiama that has kept my daughter in a slumber for more than a decade. Senior has reached an even higher level in the soul than my older brother so I am sure that if there is another way, senior can find that path.”

“Right,” Cyil’s voice dragged on like an old man’s, before turning sharp and heroic. “Yang Wu, I’ve always said that there are no absolutes in Nakrul, thus I believe there are other cures to this four-colored miasma that has afflicted your precious daughter. You have been good to me so I shall take a look and see if I there is a way.”

At this point Yang Wu’s eyes beamed with joy and as Cyil saw this he quickly continued, “But of course, no need to stand on ceremony and thank me, because I will naturally demand compensation.”

“That is naturally so,” Yang Wu immediately agreed, appreciating Cyil’s directness. “Senior, I am willing to part with almost anything as long as you help my daughter. Although we don’t have much here at immortal refugees, I dare say we don’t lack much either. Please let me know what you desire and I will try my best to satisfy that condition.”

Yang Wu gave Cyil a deep bow, already holding great expectations for this senior’s abilities.

Cyil’s face remained placid, but inwardly he was conversing with the Nefarious Saint and jumping for joy. Their communication was lightning quick and Yang Wu did not notice anything.

“Ahem,” Cyil cleared his throat, preparing himself for the list of items he was going to ask for. “I am in need of certain items for a project so I will need: 2 horns from a baby dragon, a hide from a mature mustard lizard, the bones from a lightning gazelle, 500 grams of fairy dust, 3 kilograms of fiery burst stones, 10,000 magical crystals of each element….”

Cyil’s long list startled Yang Wu, whom had not even heard of some of the things listed. But of course, Yang Wu had resources and he was determined to trade away his accumulated wealth for his daughter.

“Lastly,” Cyil’s voice rose to a crescendo before he descended with his most hefty request. “I would like to access to Immortal Refugee’s library and manuals.”

As Yang Wu heard this he barely managed to halt his shout of anger. If he allowed this senior to view their library and manuscripts that would be equivalent to revealing their biggest secret! Not to mention, the skill and techniques of any organization is always top secret and only taught to insiders. Yang Wu absolutely wouldn’t let anyone view those things, even with his life being threatened, but this was concerning the life of his daughter. And everytime Yang Wu looked at his daughter’s waning face, he felt like a thousand daggers plunges his heart with its every beat.

Yang Wu would also be reminded by his wife’s parting words and the promise he had made with her. “I will keep them safe,” he had promised with certainty. “I will definitely keep them safe.”

“What do you think?” Cyil’s voice interrupted Yang Wu’s thoughts.

“I, senior. I can agree to your every request so far, but I would be so bold as to decline senior’s last request. Of course, if senior manages to heal my daughter then not to mention Immortal Refugee’s manuscripts and library, I will even allow senior to take away copies of manuscripts.”

Yang Wu had steeled his heart and drawn his bottom line. If this senior changed his mind or was to use force then there would be nothing to it. Yang Wu was treading a thin line, but he didn’t know that Cyil was similarly treading an even thinner line.

“It’s probably not good to push him too much,” Cyil said to the Nefarious Saint. “Besides, I can feel that he doesn’t have bad intentions.”

“The intent from a soul cannot be easily changed, so I agree with your judgement. You are also a bit, and I mean only a bit, more skilled in the soul than me. Let’s just take a look at this four-colored miasma and see how deadly it really is. I’ve never heard of such an uncommon affliction.”

Cyil nodded to both the Nefarious Saint and Yang Wu. “Alright, I suppose I should give something first after demanding all these things. Yang Wu, take me to your daughter and I will see what I can do.”

“Right away senior, this junior humbly thanks you very much. Meeting you has been a great blessing.” Yang Wu gave Cyil a deep bow, truly thankful for Cyil’s willingness to even try to help. Most hidden experts were above normal affairs that wouldn’t benefit them so Yang Wu was afraid Cyil would reject. If Cyil rejected, Yang Wu would regret for the rest of his life. Where else would he find another person who had a soul domain? That was more rare than finding people with dual saint attributes!

“Senior, please follow me. My daughter is sealed her away in a remote location where she will be safe from harm.” Yang Wu got up and opened the door for Cyil.

The two traveled with Yang Wu leading and Cyil trailing slightly behind. They walked into the tall tower, but instead of going upwards they descended down a hidden, spiraling staircase. 9,999 steps later they reached the bottom. Here there was a wooden door that seemed as ordinary as any other wooden door, but Cyil could tell that this wooden door was ladened with formations runes so complex it made him dizzy looking at it. A powerful formations expert must have set this up.

“Who is responsible for the formations on this door?” Cyil asked Yang Wu who was busy trying to undo the formations.

“It was my older brother who set up this formation. This formation blocks out everyone, so unless you know how to undo it or can break it through brute force, no one can enter. If I were to perish then only my brother would be able to enter here.” Yang Wu answered with a solemn voice that contained just undeniable pride for his brother.

“You keep speaking of this older brother, but where is he now? I would like to meet him.” Cyil was now greatly intrigued by this mysterious “older brother’ of Yang Wu’s. Not only was this older brother skilled in the soul, but also in formations? This was enough to warrant a meeting. Cyil was just slightly apprehensive in case the mystery man managed to see through his guise, but ultimately Cyil wanted to meet the man.

“My older brother. He…” Again, Yang Wu was put in an awkward position. Anything he say would reveal a lot of information which was the biggest reason why Immortal Refugees never allowed visitors. “Forgive me, senior, but my older is not here at the moment. He is out traveling Nakrul.”

“That’s fine,” Cyil said. “But I would like to know his name…” Then Cyil remembered something and added, ”also, what’s the name of your eldest daughter?”

Yang Wu responded truthfully, afraid of offending the senior by denying him his brother’s name. “My brother is named Yang Su and my eldest daughter is named Claire.”

“Yang Su?!” The name struck Cyil like a lightning bolt. He knew something was familiar with Yang Wu’s name and now he finally drew the connection. Yang Su was one of the big three wanted criminals on the level of Baccaus and the Crystal Cyil, but a lot of information on him had been omitted. Nonetheless, Cyil’s impression of the man in the portrait had not lessened at all. Now this man turns out to be the older brother of the leader of Immortal Refugees?

Cyil felt like Immortal Refugees was a big secret being hidden in plain sight and although he itched to learn of this secret, he wanted to learn of their techniques more. Thus, Cyil didn’t raise the issue with Yang Wu, at least not for now.

“Claire,” Cyil said. “That’s a nice name.”

“It was her mother who named her,” Yang Wu said with a hint of sadness.

“I see,” Cyil responded, noticing the shift in Yang Wu’s mood.

After that the two stood in silence as the door clacked and clanked and finally opened to reveal a brilliant stream of white light that contrasted well with the pitch darkness.

“Senior, my daughter Claire is in here,” Yang Wu stepped inside the room first to show that nothing was amiss.

“Mhmm” Cyil nodded and followed Yang Wu in. After that the door slammed shut and the darkness happily returned to its place.

***

At the same time which Cyil and Yang Wu entered the room…

A few miles from the city that Jughog was murdered in, a little boy strapped onto a horse rode into plain sight. The boy was starved and the ropes that bound him had bit into his flesh, leaving red bloody marks. The horse the boy rode was in even worse condition and simply dropped to the ground, refusing to budge.

A farmer tending to his field saw the boy and ran up to him. Although many would simply ignore an unknown child, for fear of being drawn into a larger forray, this farmer had a kind heart.

The farmer unstrapped the young boy and took him home, nursing him back to health. It took a total of three days for the boy to regain consciousness.

“Boy, can you tell me who you are and why you were strapped to a horse?” The farmer asked the boy.

The little boy answered in a weak voice. “Hello mister. My name is Ralph and my mommy strapped me on the horse. She told me to keep riding until someone came to take me off the horse.”

“Ralph. That’s a good name.”The farmer gave Ralph some water before asking. “Your mother did that? Why would she do that? Do you know where she is?”

“I’m not sure. There was a drumming sound that went along with my humming then my mom just asked if I wanted to ride a horsey. I don’t know where my mom is but she is coming to meet me with my dad.”

The farmer thought about this for a second then asked, “Ralph, you mentioned a drumming sound. Can you tell me how it sounded?”

“Sure thing!” Ralph agreed, his voice regaining some strength. “It goes like boom boom boom thump thump thump. Boom boom boom. Thump thump thump.”

Ralph stopped his imitation then said, “yes just like that! The sound is back!” After this Ralph began to hum his song again to the sound of the beating drums.

The farmer now heard the drums, too and frowning, he went outside.

Off in the flat horizon, the farmer could see a storm of dust tumbling upwards in the air as the sound of the drums became clearer, more chilling, and awfully deathly.