บท 32: Midnight clock

Those blue hues soon faded as Shou moved.

Shou was standing tall a few meters in front of the black cloaked man. Tonight was not the best night for him, as he had upset Hu Zi and ended up searching for her the whole night. Just when he wanted to have a break, this mysterious man came and dampered his mood further.

Shou frowned hard, trying to calculate his opponent's power. That feeling he usually got when he met an element master was missing, but he could also sense that his opponent was not an ordinary man either. Shou's short hair moved as he charged forward once again, intending to end things quickly as he was already exhausted.

The black cloaked man was about to say something, but his stomach was suddenly hit with a wave of pain, and he ended up swallowing his words. When the pain faded and he was ready to speak, he looked up just in time to see Shou running at him. He barely managed to dodge to the side, having calculated Shou's movements in the nick of time.

Shou continued with his attacks and that man kept dodging. Shou silently lifted his palm and striked at the man's chest. "Agh!" The man spurted out blood. He used everything within himself just to jump backward and catch his breath.

The black cloaked man shouted, "Shou, wait! It's me! Don't you remember? I am not your opponent!" He was about to lower his hood.

If Shou was not so stressed and tired, he might have been able to recognize the man's voice or simply not have attacked him in the first place. Afterall, the man didn't really do anything wrong; he only hid his presence and had an aura of someone high above. However, the only thing Shou was thinking about right now was how to end this fight as soon as possible, so he charged once more.

The man could not afford to take another strike in this meaningless fight, so he suddenly switched to offense after dodging Shou's attack. He raised his palm and attacked, managing to push Shou away. Next, he flicked his finger, and the wind around him whirred. In a single strike, he sent Shou flying.

Shou's eyes widened. A wind practitioner? He did not appear to be that old, but his abilities were already to the extent of sending someone far away. Shou, who was flying in the air, began to think of anyone similar to his own age that was also a highly skilled wind practitioner.

The black cloaked man, who was still on the ground, looked at Shou's thoughtful face and was delighted, believing that Shou finally figured out his identity. Unfortunately… Shou did not.

Shou flipped once and landed on top of the lake surface. He put his left arm behind his back while clenching his right fist; bringing that clenched fist in front of his chin, he raised his index finger and began chanted something.

Then, "Twin dragons!"

Two storms formed on each sides of his body, making the lake surface churn violently. Shou's eyes glinted dangerously as the wind storms began to take on a dragon shape and were about to attack the mysterious man.

The man's face paled, realizing that if the storm hit him directly, he would be done for!

"Shou, stop!"

The storm's powerful winds whirled, the gusts causing that man's black hood to fall back. When he saw his face, Shou immediately realized. "You… It's you!"

But he was too late. The twin wind dragons already went straight toward the black cloaked man.

The man muttered, "That demon. He finally realizes after making a ruckus?" Aloud, he hurriedly said, "I wanted to say something but…" The man looked at the moon and quickly calculated the time. "It's midnight, the cinder boy needs to go. Until then, Shou." Then he flicked his right finger and disappeared right in the middle of the blazing storm.

"Wait, come back!" Though that man's presence was vague, Shou, who had regained some of his energy, intended to track him. Unfortunately, before he could even activate that radar-like power, he was stopped by his own dragons. He did not foresee that the storm would still be churning even after it hit the tree that was behind that mysterious man. The rampaging storm destroyed everything that was near the lake. "Oh dear, this is bad!"

It was a good thing that the place was void of civilians. If not…

-----

"I wonder, should I just go to sleep now and meet Master in the morning?"

Hu Zi, who was bored, ended up in a sleeping position on top of the roof. She felt the wetness around her; it was still raining but not much. If she went inside, she would feel restless. If she stayed outside, she would feel bored till tears. Hu Zi pondered for a while before finally coming to a decision. "Let's go inside," she said.

Just after she spoke, she heard a loud explosion. Hu Zi might not be able to see the enormous amount of dust that flew nor feel it because her radar could not cover the distance, but her excellent hearing ability managed to help her determine which direction the explosion came from.

"What was that?" Hu Zi frowned. "I have a bad feeling about this." Hu Zi immediately stood up and jumped from the roof.