Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!
/ Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 89 Reunited 3
Which Sand Crab Byrus, leader of the new bandit group in the Northpoint Desert realised was entirely a sham!
From the moment the elder of the Great Tree Sect had opened his mouth until now, all he had talked about was benefits, money or advantages! He had even continued to plaster a look of world-weariness as if burdened by the sorrows of the world as he brazenly asked for cash and a good word to Byrus' master in the Earth Core Sect!
When the leader of the bandit troupe sought his own master's whereabouts, he had found out that his ' master had left to wander the wilderness of the north together with Elder Light Breeze's master. From there, he had had no choice but to seek out Elder Light Breeze for a favour, as Byrus himself did not yet have contacts nor any favours to call on in Gorun City.
Though that was also one of the key agenda of this trip; he planned to get in touch with the Four Lords of the Underworld and the Laughing Man to form a mutually beneficial relationship. Money, treasure, items and the sort in exchange for smuggling channels as well as sorely needed information - a resource he could not do without if he planned to survive as a renegade raider, much less expand his influence in the north!
Currently Sand Crab Byrus and Elder Light Breeze were sitting in the common area of a high-class inn, one of the few that were still operating. They were given the most expensive and grandest private room by the owner (complementary of course, how dare the common charge a grand elder of the Great Tree Sect for use of his premises?!? The fat owner should be grateful that Elder Light Breeze wasn't charging endorsement fees; he should be paid to even show his face here!).
And so they were seated in comfortable cushioned wooden armchairs on either side of a teak wooden table, sipping hot tea in the privacy of their room. From where they sat on the 2nd floor, it would be difficult for anyone downstairs to see them, while they could view the multitudes of people on the street or those downstairs milling about like ants!
Byrus quickly described who he was looking for to Elder Light Breeze: "From what little we know, he should have just arrived in Gorun City about 3-5 days ago. He was able to kill my blood brother Raghu without any signs of a struggle, albeit, from what I saw, it should have been a dirty trick, a surprise attack that made him unable to resist! As such, he has at least a Master level battle power, perhaps up to the lower Grandmaster level."
Elder Light Breeze nodded slowly and displayed a look of deep contemplation, as if recalling the thousands of faces of newly arrived warriors in the city (not that he actually knew them). He then emitted low sounds of rumination from his throat as he put on a show of thinking about it thoroughly.
Then he looked up to Byrus with a sparkle in his eyes, smiling slightly as he raised his hand and said, "Nope, no clues. Do you have any other clues about the killer...?"
'If you don't have any idea, don't lead me on like that, smelly old man! It's no wonder that you're out of favour with your master - already one foot in the grave and you're still barely ahead of me at the beginner World-class level... And you have an infuriating attitude to boot!'
Despite Byrus also looking to be aged, he was actually only in his late 40's, still full of vigour and longevity as every major realm of cultivation would extend the practitioner's life by 10 or more years. In comparison, Elder Light Breeze was probably already past 120 years old! Even with the extension of longevity, the signs of ageing and slowing down were already very clear in the old man!
Byrus looked at Elder Light Breeze solemnly and said, "Yes, there is one more piece of information. I hope it helps - based on one of my team's deductions, the killer wields a slightly unusual weapon. He uses a curved bladed sword, longer than a regular long sword and with a sharp edge. From the cutting marks and the weight of the blade deduced from that, it should be long and thin, so not a scimitar or cutlass."
At these words, the elder's eyes lit up once more, but Byrus dared not raise his hopes in case the sly old badger was just playing with him again.
But this time, he was not disappointed.
"A curved blade, you say... And not a short knife or a scimitar, but something longer and thinner...? That's an unusual weapon... And well, I really did come across someone like that just yesterday!" (Before I turned tail and conveniently disappeared)
Hearing these words, Byrus shot to his feet and gripped the edges of the table on which their cups of tea were laid, shaking the cups with a *CLINK CLINK CLINK CLANK CLANK CLANK* sound. He had been grinding his teeth in frustration at being unable to locate his target and being forced to listen to this huge waste of time old man in front of him, but now he was elated!
'Finally! Finally, finally finally!!! Brother Raghu!!! I shall avenge your death on your killer and his 9 generations! I shall slay even his friends, his business associates, even his pets!!!'
Sand Crab Byrus could already taste the blood of his enemies in his mouth. He could imagine the metallic and tangy taste rolling off of his tongue as he envisioned decapitating his foes and then feasting on his blood as a final rite for his dearly departed sworn brother!
"Where?? Where did you see him?? What is his name, and where might I find him...?" Byrus was so eager to find out that he barely restrained himself from grabbing the old man's collar and shaking him to find out the information he needed. He was glad he still had the sense of mind not to - after all, despite the disdain he held towards the old man, he was definitely weaker than his senior here!
"Well, I saw him right here in Gorun City, over at the Gorun Stadium! He was one of the contestants in the selection tournament preliminaries... Though, there is one incongruous fact..."
"What is it?? Please, elder, tell me quickly! I cannot bear the seconds passing as my sworn brother lies a vengeful spirit in his grave, unable to pass on in the cycle of reincarnation!" He revealed his belief systems regarding the afterlife even as he spoke - a view common to those of planet Yiluo.
"Hmm... Your brother was in the Master class, right...? And he was killed from the front by a cultivator whose battle power must be at least Master class as well...?" The elder raised one eyebrow and furrowed his brows in thought as he posed the question to Byrus.
"Yes, yes! Exactly like what I said earlier! Why? What is wrong? Just tell me, elder! I'll go and wring that person's neck and force them to cough out the truth of just which group is behind my brother's killing!" Byrus grew more and more agitated, his eyes bulging and the edges growing red and bloodshot. He was so engrossed with finding out the identity of the curved-blade user that he did not notice his spittle was overflowing slightly... Much to Elder Light Breeze's digust.
Elder Light Breeze surreptitiously shifted backwards, even moving his chair slightly back as the grey-haired man before him had moved too close, leaning over the small table and nearly dripping his saliva on him!
Then he answered, "Well... Let me check mentally with my information channels..."
"WHAT??? Elder! My great sabre cannot take it anymore! He is lusting for blood!!! Quickly, please, I beseech you!" Byrus threw himself madly onto the table and his hands reached out to grab onto Elder Light Breeze's shoulders, to shake what he wanted out of the older man. Worst of all was that his saliva was spraying out as he shouted frantically!
'Disgusting!!!!' The elder swiftly backstepped and dodged out of range, even as his scowling and grossed out face suddenly lit up with pleasure, apparently receiving some good tidbit of news!
"Byrus! Hold on! I have the information you needed! NO! STAY THERE! NOT A STEP CLOSER OR I'M JUMPING OUT THE WINDOW AND NOT COMING BACK! Okay, right, good. Let's just calm down and sit down and I'll tell you exactly who you're looking for... It's 100% confirmed!" Elder Light Breeze began to relax as his counterpart also sat down, though Byrus' shoulders were still heaving heavily with impatience.
"Alright, it's confirmed - the person I met yesterday wields a curved bladed sword, a katana. And despite his tender age of 15, get this... He is already at the peak Adept level, but wait!" As Elder Light Breeze mentioned his age of 15 years old and his merely Adept level cultivation, Byrus almost blew his top - how could the old man believe the killer to be a mere child 3 major realms below his sworn brother??!
"BUT!!! The boy, even at his lowly cultivation level managed to complete the MASTER LEVEL illusion array stage!" Elder Light Breeze exclaimed dramatically.
But Byrus did not seem very impressed, as he did not know much about the conventional and mainstream practices of sects and major powers. He had grown up as a wild dog-- I mean, crab in the desert, he had never heard of the illusion array!
What he did know was that this confirmed it - this was his enemy!
"It makes sense, it all makes sense! If he were so young and only at the Adept level, it's perfectly understandable why Raghu, as a great Master-level Sword King, would fall for a frontal surprise attack! He would never expect the boy to exert an attack that could exceed his defences!" Byrus' eyes were blazing with the fires of violence as he spoke those words to himself.
Then he turned to Elder Light Breeze and asked his last questions.
"What is his name...? What does he look like, and where can I find him?" Byrus looked at the white-bearded old man with all seriousness as he asked this.
"His name is Lars, an up-and-coming talent unearthed just yesterday! As for what he looks like and where you can find him..."
Elder Light Breeze was about to mention the grand finals of the selection tournament that was postponed to 3 days later when he heard a familiar voice and familiar name nearby.
"Hahah, Charley! It's great that you're so good at talking! Who would've thought that just mentioning the Duke's name would get us such good seats!"
"Heheheh... Boss Lars, what did you expect...? I'm confident that if I claimed to be the number 2 big mouth of Gorun City, no one would dare claim to be number 1! Oh, let's get a seat in the private rooms over there, apart from the 2 old fogeys, it seems pretty empty..."
The Elder's jaw dropped as he nearly lost the next words he was about to say as Lars and Charley waltzed right into the private seating area of the inn they were staying at. They were still joking and laughing around as they sat down noisily and began to call for tea.
The senior cultivator only remembered to continue his sentence when Sand Crab Byrus began to stand up and spray his disgusting spittle again.
"...He's sitting right beside us...?" Elder Light Breeze pointed disbelievingly at the pair of youths who stared right back at them.
Chapter end
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