Bab 23: Pocket watch
A trail of dried blood and a few bits of flesh lead me down the canyon to a body lying on a sun-bleached rock in the middle of a dry riverbed. A small coyote raises its head and scurries away into the bushes. The remains of the larger river are now a field of river rock with a stream on one side. A small waterfall adds a musical sound to the location. If not for the pudgy man's remains, this would be a nice place to relax.
His body was eaten to the state where it's now mostly composed of bones. As a result, the vulgar smell is drastically reduced. I search through the remains of his shredded clothing for any identifiers. There is a small coin purse with a decent collection of gold coins and a gold pocket watch.
My fingers pinch the clasp and the door of the pocket watch opens. Inside and across from the clock, is the painted image of a girl on a small card. Behind the card, on the door of the watch, there is an inscription
"To my son Odis. May you seize success."
There's nothing else identifiable on this body. Someday I will return to investigate the pudgy man's history. He may be the greatest clue to finding the origin of this body. However, I've learned my lesson. No more interacting with my new body's past before obtaining the strength to deal with the consequences.
As the empty potion bottle in my hand fills with stream water, the Phoenix girl appears. She yawns cutely and stretches her arms behind her back before opening her eyes wide and looking around.
"[Ah... The world is sooo beautiful!]" She skips around reaching out to touch the flowers on the side of the river.
"[Brother you are taking me with you to see the world? I've always wanted to do that! What is this?]" She bends down to poke at the running water.
"... Really? You don't recognize stream water?"
"[So this is water! I'm so excited to see the world with brother!]"
"If I'm going to bring you along, you'll need to keep quiet and learn on your own."
I'd never toss away the phoenix artifact after all the pain it took to get, but she doesn't need to know that.
"[Okay!]" The girl nods her head furiously.
"You should also not come out when others are around. No one else should see you, so we can avoid trouble."
"[But, only brother can see me.]"
"What? How can that be? You've used this form in front of other people and they couldn't see you?"
Nia nods.
"Hmm." Do I have another ability affecting my sight? Am I not only limited to hearing and speaking? Oh yeah, the Void-Soul Spirit-Housing did say she is a soul. Souls usually aren't visible without a special technique… I'll have to investigate this more in the future.
"Well, you should hide around others. There are bad people in the world. They might try something even if they can't directly see you.
[Oh, Okay. Where are we going now, brother?]
"We're going to visit Alphonso's Plain." A certain alchemist's treasure comes to mind.
Alchemist's treasures often include rare and powerful spirit herbs, which is what I'll need to get stronger. Since I'm collecting spirit herbs anyway, the legendary alchemy equipment and techniques left behind in the treasure can only be beneficial. Alchemists usually leave this sort of inheritance in their treasures, so their legacy won't disappear with their deaths.
Assuming time hasn't progressed too far from my last reincarnation, the Alchemist's treasure in Alphonso's Plain is still undiscovered.
Besides, even if the treasure is already claimed, the plain itself should have a lot of spirit-herbs. Not to mention, Alphonso's Plain provides a route north to access the best place for spirit herbs in the local area, the Feywelds.
* * * * *
Sophia crept through the night wrapped in black cloth. She led a small contingent of similarly dressed soldiers. A couple of days prior, powerful experts from an unknown organization clashed again in this area. They needed to investigate with caution. They were here to simultaneously assert their control over the area and avoid provoking the powerful unknown factions involved. However, not everyone in the group was confident in Sofia's ability to lead. She was only a teenage girl, after all.
One of the black-robed men arrived before Sofia. "Leader, I have returned from a reconnaissance in Glitterheim."
"Report." Sophia nodded.
"There is one event that may correspond with the incident. The Swellish ambassador and his aid went missing the day before."(1) The man held out a poster titled, "Missing."
Sophia took the poster with a frown. The poster depicted two chubby men in luxurious clothes.
"Spread this info around our group." She handed back the poster.
"Yes, Leader."
She pulled out a map and traced a finger across it. "This direction!" she led her soldiers from the center. They spread out in a line to comb the area.
"Leader, there's a lone boy ahead... Looks young, maybe around twelve."
"Cultivation level?"
"Early Warrior Realm."
"We should be cautious all the same. I'll take a look."
She crested a ridge and looked at the boy with a spyglass.
As soon as her blue eyes beheld the young boy wearing torn clothes patched with leaves she heard it.
{Vo su mo ta... Po su mo ta... Gar ha mo to... Su vu ou ta...}
A shiver went down her spine. She had goosebumps over her arms and legs. Her hair stood on end.
It's that voice again! She lay transfixed staring at the familiar boy.
Why is the voice coming out again?
She'd seen this boy on many occasions and even held a short conversation with him. But there was only one other time where he had evoked the voice...
It was the first time she saw him, two years ago, she was traveling out of Shingo in a carriage. She was watching the scenery from the back window when she spotted the boy lying on a farmer's cart. His clothes were sown of leaves— a sharp contrast to the luxurious robes he had appeared in ever since. Back then, the voice began the moment she set eyes on him. In response, she covered her face in fear while keeping her eyes fixated on the boy. Except, he jumped off the bridge, and she could swear his eyes met hers.
"Leader... Leader..." a hand tapped her shoulder lightly.
She jolted her body away from the hand. Then she turned to the man her face straining to keep calm. "Yes, what is it?"
"Is everything alright? …I asked if we should intercept him?
"No..."
"Why not?"
"I have a bad feeling about him. It smells like a trap. I'm sure he's an expert in disguise." In the past, when angered at a party, the boy had emitted the most horrifying aura she had ever felt. Besides, the voice was never a good omen.
A female soldier rolled her eyes. "Really? I don't get that feeling at all. What do you suggest we do then?"
Sofia swallowed hard and resumed using the spyglass. "We will..."
* * * * *
The light from the dimming major moon and rising Urnal moon highlights the sparse, rocky land as I travel in the vague direction of Alphonso's Plain. In case they are guarding the border, I'll try to pass through the mountains. I've also got the gold now to bribe the patrolling guard if they catch me sneaking over.
Nia is running around me excitedly bending down to look at rocks and plants while asking questions about this or that.
She calls to me for the millionth time, but this time its content is a little different, "[Hey! Some guy is hiding here! What do I do? Do I really have to hide?]"
"Yeah, yeah..." I pause mid-autoresponse. Is someone there? Should I call them out? Doing so could intimidate them, but it might also force them to react in a way that will disadvantage me...
Hiding the aura of my power, I adopt the hands-behind-the-back pose of an expert with no care in the world. "Friend hiding over there, why don't you show yourself."
A man wearing black clothes flashed into existence next to a boulder. He bowed low. "Please, forgive my rudeness young master. I wouldn't dream of fooling you."
Alright! The intimidation worked!
"I am here to investigate a certain incident. Feel free to disregard this lowly one. Yet, if it's not too much trouble, could you answer some questions about the parties who clashed in the area?"
"I'm a mere sojourner passing through. I ignore all the distractions of this world. Be on your way." I take a few steps forward and then casually ask without turning around, "I've been traveling for so long... Could you tell me the current state of Alphonso's Plain?"
"Err... Young master, two years ago the plain reopened after hundreds of years. In the following scuffle, it was claimed by the Shingo kingdom. After the subsequent year of unrest, the region should be slowly stabilizing."
"Very good!" I continue to walk towards my destination like an expert, but I'm secretly vigilant on the inside.
As my body is about to pass out of the black-clothed man's sight between two boulders, several goblins with green football-shaped heads run headlong into me from the other side.
"Skree. [Human!]"
Crap! I could beat them with my Qi, but I can't let the black-robed man see that I'm not as powerful as he thinks.
"Fellow Goblins! Let this cursed one pass."
"Kawa ski bo tai. [So cool!]" The smallest goblin waves a branch in excitement.
A pale, club-wielding goblin in the middle turns to address its comrades. "Scree za was. [Bigger goblin is stronger goblin.]"
"Zu ba boo ya too. [Strongest goblin is leader goblin.]" A goblin on the side waves a crude spear.
The lead goblin with a crude blade steps forward and bows its head. "Ka ka toe da e. [If you cursed to bigness, you now be leader!]"
It's bad to continue to use my ability in front of my witness, so I can't refuse now. I swish my arm and start to walk past the goblins. "So be it."
The goblins follow me. As they walk, their stubby arms repeatedly raise and lower their crude dagger and sticks in the air. Do they believe they are in a parade?
After walking an hour, I casually whisper to the phoenix, "Is that man still following us?"
Poof! Nia's little girl form reappears. She walks around with her hand flat over her eyebrows like she is surveying the scene and the light above is too bright.
"[Only these small brothers are around.]"
"Brother goblins we part here. Kekek"
"Scree ik. [Curse acting up quickly poke with stick!]"
The closest goblins jump forward reaching out to me with their long sticks but...
<Rising Flame Step>
My body shoots forward leaving behind the excitedly screeching pack of goblins. After gaining a great lead on the goblins, I begin a long-distance travel fire movement technique <Flight of the Firehopper>. (2) I didn't use this technique from the start because I wanted to minimize my aura and keep my reserve Qi for emergencies. I don't trust the safety of the area around where I awoke. Who knows if it's monitored? At least this time, my body has no slave collar they could potentially track me with.
Even with <Flight of the Firehopper> the journey will still take a few days.
* * * * *
A man dressed in black returned to Sofia's expedition. "Leader, I've returned from investigating the expert pretending to be a boy. He is much more powerful than his aura suggests. My stealth technique is invincible under the Saint realm, yet he still detected me. He put a group of goblins under his control without even leaking an iota of his power. Most striking of all is his temperament which does not put the world in his eyes. He asked a question that makes him seem completely ignorant of the politics in this region. In short, I agree with your orders to avoid him and simply report the presence of a powerful entity."
A female soldier wrapped in black next to Sofia patted her on the shoulder. "So, you really do have an incredible sense of judgment! I couldn't tell at all that the boy was an expert in disguise. Your wisdom is inspiring! I'll continue to follow you in the future."
"Good work everyone!" Sofia tightened her fists. Someday I'll be strong enough to fight against your evil schemes, Reinhold. Wait for me.
(1) Swellish people hail from The Great Swell. It's an ocean nation centered around the Swell Archipelago.
(2) A firehopper is a variety of grasshopper adapted to eat various fire element grasses and herbs. Also, despite the technique being named "flight of the firehopper" no flying is involved.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
NitrogenousBeing
NitrogenousBeing Somehow this chapter made it to 2k words... Hope you enjoyed it.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone