Chapter 43: Chapter – 43 - Su Matsao Is Really Alive?!
Phantasm led Wen Haoli out of the clan through the hole, followed by Rihanna carrying the sick girl, Fluffy and the siblings.
'Phantasm, instruct Wen Haoli to leave for his sect from here. The explosives will be going off soon. We need to go through the city gates and leave this city before they go off. The space manipulator Wen Haoli is carrying has a tracking aura, which can keep the Su Clan people off our backs for little while. But we need to move fast and move out of their range before they realize something is wrong. Fluffy, go with Phantasm. You know the way to the gates. As soon as Wen Haoli takes off, leave him and follow us.'
The group parted once more. The two siblings were trembling in fear. Their life may have been full of poverty, lacking even basic clothing and food. But never had they ever been through such misadventure, nor been pushed to leave the only place they had ever known since their birth. Rihanna gave them the invisibility potion, then led the two still hesitating kids to the gate.
Because it was a special day, the gates were opened throughout the night, and young couples could be seen everywhere, holding hands and walking about, enjoying the flood of moonlight from the three full moons, enjoying the new bonding they had created on this special day.
Rihanna waited till a large group of couples passed by, and then followed under their cover, pulling along the two kids. She had tied a rope dyed in invisibility potion and tied it around the two kids and herself. The two beasts had a contract with her, and could thus find her even when invisible. But the two kids were different, and if they got separated, she wouldn't even know where to start searching!
As they made their way out of the gate, the first explosion went off in the Su clan. Rihanna had no idea how large of a damage it would cause, but the sound was high enough to startle the entire city! Oh no! They had to run fast! Pulling onto the rope, she held on tightly to the girl tied to her back, and ran like mad towards the forest surrounding the periphery.
'We're back. Where are you?'
'Run towards the large red tree where we had rested for the night after reaching the city when we came here.'
The large tree was a distance off from the city, on top of a large hill. By the time they reached it, the two children were already out of breath. Especially Young Siyu, who was panting so hard that she couldn't stand. Both of them slid to the ground, unable to even sit for a while.
'Tsk! We are too close to the city! This way we'll get caught by the cultivators once they realize that Wen Haoli is just a diversion!...Little Purple...is there anything that we can do?'
'Do you have any of the strange green fruit you had picked out of the puddles in Poison Swamp? The one which gave you a temporary boost of speed and stamina?'
'Eh!.....Oh...I do think I have some of them still! But....I remember almost dying from exertion after the effects wore off! Do you think these two kids can bear up with the effects?'
'You stay in the front and keep the speed controlled. Also, whenever you stop, give them a drink of the water you filled up at the underground spring. Though they cannot use the spiritual energy in it, it will still be greatly refreshing and refill their body's energy.'
Rihanna felt thankful that she had packed up almost everything she had plucked, picked, uprooted in the Poison Swamp. See....now they were all coming in handy! Yup....the best way to survive a cultivation world was to hoarding all you could see. One never knew what may come in handy and when! Now she definitely needed a much larger space ring!
After taking a sip of the spring water, both the siblings felt a lot better, and energy flooded through their tired body, making them ready to move on. The green fruit tasted very bitter, but a short while after they finished it, their expressions started changing.
'Wha...what is happening?'
An and Siyu looked scared. A sudden warmth and refreshing sensation started running through their body, propelling them to move forward despite their objections. It was like they had lost control of their body.
'It's okay. It is a speed fruit. This will increase your speed for a short while. With this we can get out of the range of this city quickly. I will be running in front, so keep up with me. Don't try to run faster than me, or your energy will drain out too fast. Come, let's keep moving.'
Rihanna looked back towards the city. Though they were now quite far away, the hill gave them a vantage point, and she could still see some small and big explosions going off in the city.
The Su clan must be in utter disruption right now. But it wouldn't be too long before they brought it under control. And then they would chase after the tracking aura of the space manipulator. They had to make use of this time in hand and vanish without a trace.
Little purple let out a stream of purple light, which mixed in with the ground and spread out towards the city following the path they had just travelled, absorbing all of their remnant aura and smell, making it harder for anyone following to track them down.
Rihanna turned back and disappeared behind the hill, carrying Su Matsao's sister and pulling along the two siblings. Followed by the two beasts, the group disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
_________________________________
The light of the first sun was creeping across the horizons. Weary and tired clan members and disciples were pushing their body on, trying to salvage whatever possible from the wreckages in the buildings.
The large gate of the inner regions stood wide open for the first time. Though the damage was not heavy, but it was widespread. There were people everywhere, covered in dust and soot and grass.
Grand-father Su was seething in anger as he stood amidst the rubbles of the Hidden Hall. He had just returned from his study.
The Ancient Heirloom of the family he treasured so highly and kept hidden even from his grandchildren had been snatched away by a ruffian in the guise of a sheep! This boy whom he had known since he was a kid, had benevolently allowed his grand-daughter to befriend, had allowed inside his own house....had gone and destroyed years of his clans hard work, and even stolen two of their heirlooms....the Space Manipulating Orb...and the Aura Restricting Diaomus Bone. The Diaomus was a Supreme Evil level Demonic Beast, as rarely seen as it was difficult to kill.
Both of these had been in the family for thousands of years, having been sought by his ancestors through a lot of bloodshed and battle. And both had been lost in his hands! How was he to face his ancestors now?!
Su Maihiya walked in slowly, appraising the damage done to the Hidden Hall. When Grand-father Su found the Space Manipulating Orb gone from the hidden room under his study, he had at once activated the aura tracker. Unfortunately the Aura Restricting Diaomus Bone had no aura tracker on it. But the people following the aura tracker of the orb had already caught Wen Haoli who was on the run to the Sect, and were currently dragging him back.
But.....why did she keep feeling that something was off about this entire scenario? Was she missing something in the entire scenario? What was it?
"Leader, the man has been brought back to the clan. But he keeps shouting that we are devil cultivators. Though we tried to stop his mouth, but still a lot of people in and around the city heard his claims. Now people from the mayor's office have come over to investigate. Also....the Moon-Grave Sect's branch office in the city was notified by someone, and they too have come o demand an explanation!"
"Damn the Moon-Grave Sect! Every-time a disaster strikes my clan, they are sure to be involved! And what does the Mayor want to know? Just because someone is screaming and shouting, does that make us real 'devil cultivators'? How long has our clan been established in this city? We were once one of the leading clans! Now that we have fallen, they all want to come and kick us while we are down?! Let me see - who dares to enter the clan gates over my dead body?!"
Su Maihiya watched Grand-father Su kicking up a fuss as he stormed towards the outer region, her lips twitching in derision. Truly, if age meant wisdom, then all white haired people would become Sages. Unfortunately, Grand-father Su had never heard of this proverb! The clan was unlucky to be set on the shoulders of such an incompetent fool, who neither knew how to build relations, nor could focus on the long term goals of the clan. All he cared for was his own image as the clan leader!
But.....what was the point still needling her at the back of the mind?.....what point had she possibly overlooked?
Su Maihiya looked lost in thoughts, staring gloomily at the Rubble and ash and crumbling door. Her forehead was knitted into deep lines as her left hand fingers tapped against the right wrist. Suddenly she raised her head in shock, and a sharp light flashed through her squinted eyes.
Turning she immediately headed out of the inner regions and rushed over to the alchemy building at the outer regions. Walking smoothly through the piles of broken wall and wood, she swiftly went up to the second level.
The disciples of the alchemy room were walking around listlessly, their emotions in a turmoil. A lot of expensive ingredients, important files and ongoing research work had been destroyed in the sudden fire after the explosion. Moreover, due to the illusion created inside the hall, it had taken the people a longer time to break through and douse out the fire. All their hard work over the years in developing various poisons for the clan were now gone entirely.
Su Maihiya walked through these trudging groups of people, heading straight for the stewards room.
"Come with me. I need you to unlock the rooms of the experimental subjects. We need to check if they are still usable."
Dragging the steward along, she walked over to the section containing the locked rooms. This area was further away from the area of fire, and was comparatively fine. The steward looked at the intact rooms, then looked at Su Maihiya in astonishment. What could be wrong with the subjects inside when their rooms itself were untouched? But....this was the Young Miss of the clan....he couldn't argue with her.
Scratching his head, he took out the keys, and one by one opened the doors of the locked chambers. Su Maihiya went into each one to check. After a while she came out, her eyes glinting fiercely.
Su Matsao!...It was definitely Su Matsao! Her sister was gone. Which meant that Wen Haoli had been correct! But how had she entered the clan? Living under the noses of so many cultivators without being recognized was definitely not easy for a commoner! How did she disguise herself? And who in the world was helping her from behind?!
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