章 10: Alone Again
Ace stepped outside the shop's main door when his stealth suddenly wore off like some curtain. Ace's figure was revealed, and now anyone could see him.
'I Knew it. My Qi runs out, damn it!' Ace swore at his lousy luck when Fatty Billy also opened his closed eyes because, in panic, Ace opened the shop's door abruptly.
'RUN!'
That was the only thought that came to Ace's mind, and he sprinted crazily.
Ace was just at the corner of the street when he heard Billy's shrill scream fill with terror from behind.
"Ghossssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttt."
'What, where??!' Ace was startled and quickly looked around, but there was no ghost. He was terrified of ghosts.
'Oh, he means me.' Ace thought of himself as he looked at the full-back get-up. He does look like a ghost.
Ace's complexion was ashen, but he still sprinted even faster. Other shop owners came out when he exited the pill market, and some of them saw him.
They also start screaming like retards.
Ace ran toward the inner region because he didn't want others to think he came from the outer region. So, he tried to mislead everyone.
After running for five minutes, he turned around and saw no one following him. So he quickly changed his direction and circled around the area. Now Ace was heading toward the slums.
On his way back, he first went to the exact rundown Park and headed into a hidden area from everyone's outlook.
No one can find it, and the kids didn't play around here either. So he quickly looked for a mark on the ground, which he had left this morning, and hurriedly started digging the marked area.
After some moments, he dug out a foot-deep hole. Inside the hole was a little string bag. Ace quickly opened it, and inside was a new set of clothes that he had bought today. He changed into these new clothes.
This wasn't just any random hole. It was his escape plan!
Ace planned that if he completed today's mission, he would come here and hide the loot until everything cooled down. But if he failed, he would escape and still come here to destroy the evidence.
Thankfully, he completed his mission successfully, although he was still spotted in the end. Nevertheless, he escaped with no hurdle.
After changing his clothes, he buried the bag full of pills and coins in his black clothes and filled the hole carefully. Subsequently, Ace made sure the area was clear and there was no trace of digging left. He nodded in satisfaction and quickly left.
No one would've imagined that in this barren place was buried a bag worth over 24,000 Ruby coins.
After the deed was done and everything went according to Ace's plan, relief washed over him, and he suddenly felt extreme exhaustion and feebleness. After all, he was under intense pressure this whole time. Now, he wants to go home and cure Alina as soon as possible.
'Everything is finally over,' Ace lamented and exhaled softly as he slowly headed home.
Ace was just about to enter the slum area when he heard quick footsteps approaching. He didn't panic. He just kept his head down and continued walking.
"Hey, Brat! Stop right there!"
Ace heard a loud yell from behind. He immediately stopped moving and turned around and saw two men with burly builds approaching him. One was tall, and the other was short,
'It's those two idiots!' Ace thought as a hint of astonishment flashed past his eyes.
Yes, they were Billy's guards. After being beaten and cursed by Billy, they were searching for that Black Ghost high and low like madmen. But they didn't even find his shadow, much less the whole person.
"Brat quickly tells us if you saw a black-clad person passing by here or not!" The short one asked hurriedly, with a dangerous expression.
"No, sir, I didn't see anyone. I'm coming from work; I didn't see anyone wearing black clothes on my way here." Ace answered calmly with cordiality. He knew he'd be in trouble if he didn't answer them, so he responded as politely as possible.
"Useless trash! Get out of my sight!"
The tall one was in a terrible mood after getting a thrashing from Billy, and after hearing an answer he didn't want to hear, he viciously kicked Ace in the abdomen.
'Bang'
The kick landed on Ace's abdomen, and he was in a fragile state to begin with, so he was sent flying after receiving the vicious kick. He couldn't block it, and even if he could, he didn't dare to reveal his skills.
'Thudd'
He landed on the ground a few meters away from those two idiots.
'Cough, cough'
Ace coughed some blood and nearly fainted from the kick impact, but he endured the pain and kept his head low as he quivered.
"Let's go. We didn't have time to waste on this trash. If we waste any more time and don't find that Ghost, Fatty will kill us both." The short one voiced as he pulled the big one with him, and they left quickly.
'Well, you two are dead for sure, alright,' Ace sneered, and his shivering instantly stopped after those two departed, but he was having difficulty standing up.
'I think something is broken inside.' Ace smiles bitterly.
After standing, he walked like a cripple, and after half an hour of bitter walking, he finally saw his little hut.
A faint smile crept out on Ace's worn face, and he was just about to open the hut door when he saw something was not right because the door was already open a little.
"Alina!!"
Ace forgot about his grave injury and exhausted body. He shrieked in panic as he hurriedly opened the door and saw that the hut was empty, and those two blankets that were supposed to be on Alina were neatly folded and arranged in the corner of the hut.
When Ace saw this, he couldn't endure the shock, and he was injured and exhausted, to begin with, and now Aline's disappearance gave him a huge mental blow as well.
'Thud'
Ace landed face-first on the floor, his eyes rolling upward as he fainted.
---
Outside of River Flower City.
Currently, two silhouettes were moving in the moon's dimmed light at a fast speed, like the wind. One silhouette was little, and the other was tall and sturdy.
They were moving in the forest toward upper-level regions of the Azure Wind Continent.
Suddenly, the petite silhouette stopped moving, revealing a beautiful little girl in the dim moonlight.
Her little face was perfect, with no flaw in it. She seemed like a divine doll made with white jade. But currently, her beautiful eyes were slightly reddened as tears were streaming down from them. She was crying.
"Grandpa, can we not leave like this? Big Bro will be worried sick if he doesn't find me and will search for me around," the small girl cried. Her gentle voice was filled with grievance and longing.
This little girl was undoubtedly Alina!
After Ace left this evening to complete his mission, she was still hanging between the border of life and death because of her blood awakening. But today, her long-lost Grandpa came back to find her. He gave her a shining white pill with beautiful patterns, and her condition changed instantly because her bloodline awakening was successful.
Her black hair now had turned silver, and her blue irises were also light silver. It was a sign of 'Ice Elemental' Hunter's bloodline awakening, and she looked more graceful and delicate with this change.
"Princess, I finally contacted your parents. They were anxious about your well-being. We must make haste and leave the human territory as soon as possible. Since you left a note and money for that kid, he will live well for the rest of his entire life with Princess Grace." So said the old man beside her. He acted like a servant in front of Alina, as he called her princess.
"Bu-but he is my big brother and has cared for me all these years. I can't even say goodbye to him. We might never meet again." Said Alina while crying in grief and helplessness.
She wanted to tell Ace why she was here and who she was, but this Grandpa of hers never gave in to her request, so she could only write a brief note for Ace and leave with this old man hastily. Her heart was filled with bitterness and distress.
"Mortals and Immortals can never live together!" said the old man sternly, with an icy voice and contemptuous eyes, as he looked toward the river flower city.
Suppose it weren't for encountering a mysterious enemy that day; he would have had to go into hiding. He would never allow the princess to be 'molested' by that lowly hobo.
Alina glanced at the city or directly at the boy, who always cared for her like some princess. Even though he was poor, he never let her feel any discomfort and called her 'Lil Sis' gently and full of love.
'Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry, Big Bro Ace!' Alina thought while tears dripped from her snowy face and turned around to enter the forest.
After that, they both drifted away like silver smoke.
---
When Ace was unconscious, the outer region of River Flower City was in an uproar.
The news of someone stealing Pill Shop Owner Billy Bill's entire wealth under his nose spread like wildfire and reached everyone's ears.
News of this caliber was bound to spread like wildfire; even the city's Inner region got wind of it.
"Hey, did you hear someone disable the illusion array with no sound and key card? He even opened a 1-start treasury within minutes? People say he was a black ghost, and he disappeared like smoke. No one can catch him."
This kind of talk was everywhere in the city.
People even named the thief 'Black Ghost Thief,' and every shop owner feared the Black Ghost.
They were afraid that Black Ghost would pay a 'visit' to their shop next. So everyone increased their security around their treasuries because they were worried, and if that wasn't enough, they even hired more guards.
On the other hand, Billy was still searching for the Black Ghost like a mad dog.
Even the outer city guard post got involved in the search because Billy had good relations within their ranks after all these years, solely because of his wealth. But even they were helpless in finding any trace of Black Ghost like he never existed. He has vanished into thin air!
Fatty Billy was going mad over this; he even killed those two idiots' guards after they failed to find the Black Ghost trace.
Billy also heard from nearby shop owners that Black Ghost had escaped toward the city's inner region that night.
He was even more furious and helpless because he couldn't do anything to the inner region. Finally, he tries to report this to inner-city guards, but they chase him away like some random dog.
Now, he can only vent his anger to people around him.
---
The inner region of River Flower City was two times bigger than the outer region.
Inside a luxurious fifteen-story building, on the top floor.
A young, handsome man wearing lavish clothes that weren't even seen in the outer city was standing in front of the window while reading something on the paper.
"Black Ghost, huh, disabled a half-star illusion and lock array with no sound and array crystal card and even opened a 1-Start treasury presumably in minutes. Interesting, how very interesting. Find him. He might be a useful pawn for us." said the young man with a warm smile on his face.
But there was no one around to hear him. However, the paper in his hand had already vanished.
His warm smile became dark, and greed shimmered in his cold eyes as he drank some wine while watching the city from the top floor of the building.
"A thief, eh? Well, this is also good. I won't be bored anymore." He chuckled and closed his eyes, savoring the taste of wine!
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