บท 37: Back on the Road
As the fight between Nero and Tao Jian happened in the morning, it was still early when he returned to the room. He had no trouble sleeping during the day, and no one came to disturb him because everyone was too scared to approach.
Nero didn't want to be in the presence of people who saw him as some kind of freak, so he took a bath and stayed in the room for a few hours until Xiong Zhelan came to call him back on the road.
Xiong Zhelan did not want to stay in this village, so he prepared supplies quickly and was ready to leave before lunch.
When Nero left the room and went through the hall with his backpack, everyone lowered their heads or looked to the side without looking at him. That mood was really shit, but Nero didn't feel bad as he never thought his place was among humans.
But he was still disappointed with Qiao Mei. He could feel that she was in the kitchen, but she would not even show up to say goodbye.
Xiong Zhelan thanked the innkeeper for everything, and the group went out the door leaving everyone more relieved.
As Nero's group headed towards the city exit, he heard Qiao Mei running after them, so he stopped in the middle of the street waiting for her to speak.
Qiao Mei was very confused as to how she felt about Nero, but she will always be grateful to him not only for saving her family but also for giving her a memorable night. Even though she was afraid of him, now she still had to say what she thought about the time they spent together to make things clear.
"I don't regret it!"
Nero couldn't help but smile and continue on his way. He didn't turn around because Qiao Mei didn't want to say goodbye and just make her thoughts clear.
And so Nero left the sunflower village, leaving the entire population with a horror story to tell their children and grandchildren. But one person had much more than the scary parts to tell. Anyway, rumors about a handsome white-haired stranger drinking blood would travel across Xu Dynasty faster than anyone imagined.
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The atmosphere was very different on the other side of the sunflower village. The road from the mountains was long, with a clear horizon and few trees. But the other side towards the west was a road full of trees around, seemed like it was made inside a forest.
After walking half a mile, the group could not even see the village anymore because the road curved with very tall trees blocking the view not only of the sky but also the sides.
Nero could hear the sounds of birds and animals like in any other forest. These and the sounds of the group's footsteps were the only sounds he heard because the group did not talk as before.
The mood was terrible because Xun Lan was walking with her head low, still not knowing how to think, and Zhu Tai would make faces to Nero a sometimes showing that he was upset by Xun Lan's emotional state and blame Nero for that.
Xiong Zhelan couldn't blame them for not understanding Nero, but he came from a family that was never normal, so he sympathized more with Nero than with the others. He didn't want Nero to feel bad or anything like that before he could take him to his sister, so he tried to talk to Nero to improve the mood.
"Ahem! Nero, I didn't tell you about my sister, right?"
That subject made Nero interested because he was really curious about the sister that Xiong Zhelan had already mentioned several times but without giving relevant information.
"Your sister?"
Xiong Zhelan was happy that Nero was willing to talk and started telling things about his childhood and his sister.
The Xiong family was one of the oldest in the Xu Dynasty and also one of the strongest in the past. His ancestors were always incredible swordsmen who left their legends around the world.
But there was a fundamental question about the Xun Family. They were peculiar. In ancient times people believed in honor and did not judge others by characteristics but by their actions. The Xiong Family was highly respected for defending others and the country with their swords always ready to fight.
Even though not everyone in the Xiong Family was purely human, they were not seen in a negative way but as honorable people and excellent swordsmen.
Xiong Zhelan's father died when he and his sister were still very young. He fought a great war to defend the people of the Xu Dynasty from non-human enemies from the South and was considered a hero.
The whole Xiong Family was very proud of Xiong Zhelan's father. He and his sister wanted to be great swordsmen like their father and defend their people to be remembered in history as well.
But times have changed, and people who were not considered entirely human or slightly different were hunted and were not accepted into society. Xiong Zhelan and his family suffered severe losses as many were not entirely human.
Xiong Zhelan's mother was a powerful woman and defended her children by making everyone believe that they had no peculiarities. She took care and trained Xiong Zhelan and his sister very well by teaching them to be good characters and strong swordsmen.
Xiong Zhelan said that he always dreamed of being like his mother because he didn't know much about his father except for the legends, but his mother was a very amazing and strong person. He and his sister saw their mother as the most incredible person in the world and trained hard to one day be like her.
Xiong Zhelan and his sister grew up training hard together with the same goal of reaching their mother's strength. They loved and protected each other, and everything was going well.
"But then a group of people discovered my sister's secret and attacked us. My mom was very strong and could fight several cultivators at the same time, but one of them managed to get close to my sister, and I had to defend her."
Xiong Zhelan was emotional to talk about his sister.
"My sister... Ling'er... Xiong Ling is her name."
Nero can't help but be emotional too.
"Was she okay?"
"Everything was fine with her, but..."
Xiong Zhelan continued the story by telling that he had to get in front of the stroke to defend his sister. It was a spear that pierced his Dantian, causing an almost fatal wound. His mother realized what had happened and killed the attacker quickly, but it was too late, and Xiong Zhelan suffered a severe injury that remains today.
When the fight was over, Xiong Zhelan's mother tried everything to heal him, but no one could do anything. She was very sad and felt guilty for not being able to protect her children, so she went looking for a cure for Xiong Zhelan. For five years, she traveled much of the world, and one day came back with a very rare flower.
The flower was a scarce medicine and cured Xiong Zhelan's Dantian by allowing him to return to cultivate. But after reaching the Martial Warrior Realm, he was unable to absorb more Qi. His mother knew it was a side effect of the flower, but it was still hard to accept that her son could not improve his cultivation anymore, so she left home again in search of better resources.
"So, since that day, my sister and I had to live alone trusting only each other."
"Even though I couldn't absorb more Qi, the Martial Warrior Realm still allows me to have a good life. But my sister inherited our mother's talent and became stronger and stronger."
Xiong Zhelan said it didn't take long for his household's resources to become irrelevant to Xiong Ling. So they went on to the Black Sword Sect's recruitment, and his sister was easily considered as a great talent that hasn't appeared in thousands of years.
He can also enter the sect's inner court because he was young, but after many years he had to become a simple elder of the outer court. On the contrary, Xiong Ling became stronger and more famous within the sect. She wanted to help her brother with her influence, but Xiong Zhelan is very proud and is okay with having a simpler life.
Today Xiong Ling is one of the most powerful elders, and Xiong Zhelan thinks she is even stronger than the sect master.
Nero asked if Xiong Zhelan knew anything about his mother but he had no more news about her since she left. So Nero continued to ask questions about the Black Sword Sect and Xiong Ling as the group went on the road.
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The group walked for hours until night came. They found no beasts or any problems along the way, so they set up camp in a clean spot not far from the road and close to a stream.
They woke up and proceeded on the road. After some hours, they were almost at a crossroads when Nero smelled something like smoke.
"Wait! I think something happened ahead."
Xiong Zhelan remembered that region and knew there was an inn at the crossroads a little further on. He didn't doubt Nero's senses, so he prepared for the worst.
"You guys stay here while I will check."
Xiong Zhelan, as the group's leader, walked towards the crossroads to understand what had happened. He couldn't help but smile when Nero walked beside him. They went on without saying anything because there was no need for one to be polite to the other as they already considered themselves good friends.
While Xun Lan and Zhu Tai hid in the forest, Nero and Xiong Zhelan ran along the road. After running for a mile, they reached the crossroads and saw the inn on fire. Screams for help could still be heard from the flames.
Nero thought that the situation had no solution because the fire had already taken over the entire inn, and there would be no way for them to enter the middle of the flames to save the people who were screaming for help.
But Sarah did not think so and commented about her suspicions to Nero, who become surprised.
"I think his attribute is water, so maybe the situation can be saved."
While Sarah was talking to Nero, Xiong Zhelan started making strange movements with his hands in the air. After two or three seconds, his hands began to shine, and then drops of water started to appear and formed a circle just like the movements he made.
Nero had no further doubts about the element of Xiong Zhelan being water. After a few more seconds, the water circle grew until it was too big to rotate vertically without hitting the ground.
Then Xiong Zhelan leaned without stopping moving his hands, causing the circle of water to rotate horizontally around him as it continued to grow. In less than five seconds, the circle had grown so large that it looked like a river around Xiong Zhelan. Nero had to move away a few meters, not wanting to get wet.
Xiong Zhelan shouted as he pointed a hand towards the inn, then the circle of water like a river under his command was flying towards the fire.
The noise of water evaporating against the fire was very loud because the fire was very intense. It took almost a minute, but Xiong Zhelan managed to keep the water spinning around one hand and running towards the inn by the other until all the fire is extinguished.
He had to consume almost all of his Qi to canalize such much water from the air, so when the fire ended, he fell on his knees on the ground hard breathing. Nero ran to help Xiong Zhelan, but he didn't want any help.
"I will recover. You have to help people at the inn quickly before everything falls apart!"
Nero didn't think twice and ran towards the inn.
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