After dropping the boy off at his home in the middle district, Bat Manlou was on his way home.Like always he took the shortcut through the city"s park, Ju garden.
Bat Manlou was lost in thought as he flew through the various blossom trees at blinding speeds.
[Apart from that abominable woman, it"s been quiet lately. I haven"t seen any trace of Joker Xue nor Mistress Poison Vine.. they must be planning something devious!] Bat Manlou nodded his head as he thought. [No matter what heinous plots they devise, I"ll stop them all.]
"Huh?" Bat Manlou muttered in surprise. He stopped in mid air and looked around cautiously.
He sensed an immense killing intent but it wasn"t directed at him but somewhere else.
As he inspected the area he located the target of the killing intent. A girl who was standing beside a young golden haired boy behind a tree.
He landed and then hid behind a nearby tree, his figure became indistinct and shadowy as he pondered. [Who is targeting that girl?]
[Whoever they are, their intentions are clear.] His eyes glowed with determination. [No innocent shall be hurt under my watch!]
As the two children left down the path, Bat Manlou vanished into a puff of smoke.
He followed the children closely while keeping watch on the surroundings, but he saw no sign of the owner of the killing intent.
When the children met a strange homeless man laid on a bench, Bat Manlou scanned him with his divine sense but discovered nothing out of the ordinary. [He doesn"t seem to be the one.. ]
Eventually they came upon the cliff outlook overseeing the black orchid valley below. Bat Manlou had kept a close eye on the children but nothing had happened yet that would cause him to make a move.
[The killing intent has been fluctuating wildly ever since the two children began chatting, what are they talking about?] Bat Manlou listened intently and heard talk of arranged marriage and casual banter.
[Hmm.. nothing too out of the ordinary, maybe the owner of the killing intent is against this arranged marriage?] Bat Manlou stroked his mask in thought.
Suddenly a powerful wind blew against the children, specifically the girl. The little girl was no match for the hurricane winds and was immediately pushed against the cliff rail, she was close to falling off the cliff!
"Oh no!" Bat Manlou shouted inwardly, as he prepared to make a move the golden haired boy quickly grabbed the girl at lightning fast speeds and held her tightly, preventing her from tumbling off the cliff.
"Not bad." Bat Manlou whispered in praise. [That boy"s movements were far too fast for an ordinary child.. he must already have begun his body tempering.] He speculated in thought.
He immediately turned his direction to the location of the wind and discovered the owner of the killing intent! It was a veiled figure hiding behind a nearby empty pavilion.
[Found you!] Bat Manlou stealthily moved towards the veiled figure and entered a blind spot. He observed the figure and noticed that it was a woman from the curves and outline of her body. She wore an expensive yellow robe decorated with flowers and birds, a white veil covered her face.
The mysterious woman was gripping the pavilion"s support with her hand, her fingers clenched tightly as they dug deeply into the wooden pole.
"Tsk! My little boy saved her.. is he already under her spell? I should"ve known she was a little vixen from the start.. " The woman muttered under an angry breath.
Bat Manlou frowned as he thought. [What the h.e.l.l is she talking about?]
After the golden haired child comforted the young girl, she muttered something which caused the veiled woman to crush the wooden pole in fury. It fell over and made a thump when it hit the ground.
"My wind what? You-you little.." The woman"s bloodshot eyes glared venomously at the girl as she left with the golden haired boy.
"Watch yourself girl.. you never know when you may trip, fall and find yourself decapitated.." The veiled woman spat.
"That"s enough! I don"t know what grudge you have with her but you should never raise your blade against an innocent child!" Bat Manlou said solemnly as he revealed himself.
"Innocent? Nonsense!" The veiled woman scoffed. "She"s a succubus that"s trying to steal my son away and I won"t tolerate such a thing!" She retorted.
"Steal?" Bat Manlou uttered confusedly. [How could she steal her son away? Is she one of those overprotective mothers?] He thought.
The woman turned around and looked at Bat Manlou, she nodded. "That"s right, I"d never allow my husband to be taken away.. not again."
"What? Husband!?" Bat Manlou cried out in alarm. [How could that golden haired child be her husband and son at the same time?] He shook his head in disbelief.
The veiled woman smiled as she fondly recalled. "Yes, last night we shared a lovers embrace.. " Her body quivered as she thought about those intense moments.
"After the death of my husband I felt empty, when I was blessed with a son from the heavens I felt happy again but.. " She sighed. "Something was always missing.. it wasn"t until my son returned to where he was born that I figured out what that was. For the first time in many years I felt complete. "
Bat Manlou gagged as he held his mouth with a scrunched brow. [Mother and son doing that!? Immoral! Insane!]
The woman"s eyes narrowed. "I won"t let some brat take him away.. never."
After a small coughing fit, Bat Manlou managed to regain his composure. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked in bafflement.
The veiled woman fiddled with a ring on her finger as she replied nonchalantly. "Oh I don"t know, maybe to get a little weight off my chest? Anyway, it doesn"t matter though as you"ll be dead soon!" Her eyes locked onto him as her body began to radiate an unfathomable power.
Bat Manlou gasped as he sensed her power, his eyes almost popping out in shock. He shouldn"t be able to but because his unique cultivation technique, he could.
"Nova realm!?" He screamed in fright.
"Oh? Someone in this small city capable of sensing my cultivation level...how curious." She muttered as she eyed him up.
"s.h.i.t!" Bat Manlou immediately activated his forbidden escape technique. He groaned in pain as torrents of his blood essence was sacrificed in an instant.
He went from a rather muscular healthy individual to a withered, pale atrophied man in seconds. s.p.a.ce distorted around him as he vanished into pale smoke.
"What!?" The veiled woman"s eyes inspected the area like searchlights but she couldn"t locate the strange man with the dragon mask. "I even locked the surrounding s.p.a.ce..his cultivation technique is truly mysterious."
"Humph! He better hide like a turtle otherwise I"ll send him to an early grave." She snorted before fading away in a gust of blossom leaves.
Several miles away in a forest, a pale fog appeared several meters off the ground. A skinny figure cloaked in black robes fell out from the fog and landed on to the ground with a thud.
Bat Manlou coughed out blood, his eyes were filled with a lingering fear. "d.a.m.n.. why am I encountering all the crazy women today!?" He cursed weakly.
He sighed before rising to his feet, he cracked his neck and muttered. "I need a vacation."
...
The sun had begun to set on Falling Leaves city, a young boy in tattered clothing walked down an empty street.
Sun Xi was returning home towards his shack in the lower district, in his hand was a small pouch containing one hundred gold coins.
After working tireless at his job for several months cleaning the various paths in Ju Garden, he had earned himself a hefty sum of money.
Sun Xi held the bag of coins tightly, afraid that he might drop it. "With this, I"ll be able to buy a cultivation technique from the store in the middle district," His young eyes gleamed with determination. "And then when I"m strong enough.. I"ll have my revenge!"
"Hey boy!" A voice came from the side of the road.
Sun Xi stopped and turned his head. As his eyes came upon the owner of the voice, he saw an old beggar laying lazily on a bench with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. With his other hand he beckoned towards Sun Xi with a smile showing his three wobbly teeth. "Come boy, I"ve got something good to offer."
Sun Xi looked vigilantly at the strange beggar. He held his coins closely as he said. "W-what do you want?"
"How would like to buy a G.o.dly cultivation technique?" The old man"s eyes gleamed as he observed Sun Xi with interest.