On the outskirts of the outer capital city, Shalam stood conflicted. The news from his hometown has left him in a state of shock. "How can this be?" In a state of disbelief, the downcast man shook his head.
Shalam was at a level of cultivation where he could fly, but he chose to travel on the ground. Although he could travel faster through the air, he was not a grand mage who can cover vast distances in a single leap.
Lacking any chance to look for any other viable means of transport, he chose to walk in the direction of his city. *WEEEEHH* Shalam had not even taken ten steps when a giant shadow covered him.
The puzzled man found himself right u underneath a mammoth wyvern. The monstrous being was exceedingly close to the ground and for some reason, it chose to dive right ahead of him.
Powerful gusts of wind threw his clothes in disarray and covered him in dust but Shalam didn't care. The man found himself staring right back at the scaly creature.
*Ggrerrr.. Eerrghhh.." The wyvern probably felt intimidated by the man, hence relying on exposing its entire set of sharp knife-like teeth. "Easy there.. boy." A mellow voice broke the charged atmosphere.
Not expecting to see the person on the back of the wyvern, Shalam can only smile bitterly. "It's not good manners to follow people around, Mrs. Cia."
"Haha.. dream on, peasant." The lady behind the white mask laughed heartily as she poked her large mount to close the gap. "Didn't I tell you, I got business in the Gustump city. We seem to be going in the same direction."
Felicia can tell the man was probably trying to hide something from her. And that made her all the more intrigued. How was this guy related to the governor of Gustump city? From their earlier discussions, he confessed to living the life of a vagabond with no blood relatives around.
"Do you?" Shalam recalled. Cia did actually tell him about her business. It's just that he was too muddle-headed at that time to register her comments.
The wyvern's head was quite close to Shalam at this moment, so much so that the air from its blowhole was ruffling his hair. "Indeed." The woman replied with a soft scoff. "Now you can either come with me or walk all the way over."
Though he can't see, Shalam can tell Cia was laughing behind her mask. This woman sure was calculative. Her playful eyes gave an impression that she already knew what decision he was going to make.
Shalam never liked playing a passive role, but too bad for him.. he was in a tight spot. "Suhhh.." With a sigh, the man dropped his head only to find a hand drop over to his face. "Can you make up your mind? I am on a tight schedule here, you know."
**In Korua**
"Aunt.." Paula had still not gotten used to being called an aunt so affectionately. Hence everytime she heard that word, her body will inadvertently flinch. As soon as she had walked into the room, a girl hugged her snuggly.
Paula found herself hugging the girl back. It's like whenever she was in her presence, she turns into a different self totally. "Sorry for leaving you all alone last night, young one. Aunt had some tasks to take care of."
Sophia can smell a fresh scent emanating from the woman who seems to have taken a recent bath. With a slight nod, she created some distance between them and made sure to get a good look at her face. "It's like a dream, aunt. I.. I still can't believe.. you came back."
Paula noticed tears threatening to spill out of her eyes and immediately held her chin. "Hey.. hey.. no tears, okay?" Sophia was still very emotional but managed to wipe the corners of her eyes and reveal a cheerful smile.
"That's more like it." Paula this time took the initiative to embrace the girl of her own accord. "You must stay here for a week, girl. I promise to bring you out with me."
Fully aware that this matter was nothing but a bone of contention between the two parties, Sophia refrained from raising it up right now.
"I am fine with it, aunt. But first can you please take a look at aunt Amelia? She had not woken up since yesterday. I am worried for her." She pleaded.
Paula simply had no qualms for any human life, other than Sophia. Still, since the girl asked her for it, she can't possibly deny her request. "Let me see.."
Walking over to the naked woman who was laying in the recently arranged bed, Paula sat next to her, holding her hands out on her chest. A concerned Sophia sat on the other side, hoping for the best.
A few seconds passed and then a few minutes but Paula could not decipher the exact reason for the strange slumber, the middle-aged woman fell under. "Hm.. she doesn't look injured to me. It's like her body has gone into an extended sleep.. if I had to speculate.. I will say she is trying to heal herself from something."
Sophia's face fell. Amelia was Ryu's mother and from what little interaction she had with her, the lady had been very caring towards her. She can't allow anything to happen to her.
"Aunt, I don't mind you keeping me here. But can you please take Mrs. Amelia along? I think she needs medical attention." Paula shook her head. "Firstly, my girl.. I told you I am not exactly the aunt you knew. I am no longer human. So please don't expect the same sincerity from me."
Although it will sound cruel to the young girl, Paula had no other way to put her point across. "Secondly, you think any so-called doctors in this raggy place can heal her better than me? What a joke..!"
Paula tried to put up a brave front but the simmering eyes of the silver-haired girl were piercing right through her soul. "Still, I will check with the boy on what triggered this stasis in the woman. Maybe that will give us a better clue on her condition."
Smile returned to Sophia's face when she heard that. "Thanks, aunt.. See? Why would you say you changed? Isn't this what we call sincerity?"
Paula was stumped, lacking any retort. Sophia was telling the truth. Her sincerity might be directed more towards the girl herself than the ailing woman, but it was there nonetheless.
"You cheeky devil.." Unable to reprimand her, Paula chose to pinch both of Sophia's cheeks until the girl was screaming for mercy. "Hahahaha.." Both of them broke out in loud animated laughter.
Away from the town chief's mansion, a red-haired girl stood on the porch of her house with a newborn baby suckling from her exposed right breasts. It's been hours since she had been here, looking outside and waiting for someone.
Eventually, her prayers were answered when she noticed a woman walking over to them. "Mother...!!" She found Amelia stepping into their lawn and approaching her. "Where have you been last night, mum? You didn't tell anyone.. Father had been worried all day long."
Ruby got up and half hugged the lady with her child in her arms. "Yeah.. it was my bad, I left without informing." The daughter sighed not sure what else to say. "Anyhow, at least you didn't stay out too long. You know how impatient father gets whenever you spend the night outside."
Paula found herself staring down at the youngling in Ruby's arms while she was being chided. As far as her role-playing duties were concerned, she was in no obligation to continue this facade of impersonating Amelia.
And yet, she was here. "I know. It's fine. I spent the night at Mr. Eric's place. Here, I brought some fruits." Ruby was made to exchange her baby with the bag of fruits from her mother.
There was something about this young life that allured Paula. "Guuhhwe.." The young girl in her arms seems just as happy to see her, taking the initiative to grab onto the offered finger then bringing it to her mouth and suckle on it happily.
As Ruby left, Paula sat down on the doorsteps, cuddling the newborn on her lap and choosing to spend some time of her day playing with her.
**Somewhere deep inside the Northern forested lands**
A massive land area had been stomped to oblivion, thanks to a pair of centaurs making it their wrestling ground. Darla spat a mouthful of blood and forced herself back onto her hooved feet. "You don't need to be so ruthless, aunt."
"How are you going to improve if I go easy on you?" Naila carelessly walked over, closing the distance between herself and her niece.
Meanwhile, Darla grabbed her lower jaw which would have probably dislocated had she not diverted some of the energy behind the punch that hit her face. "Even then, hit me somewhere else. Don't disfigure my face."
"Hmph.. how futile.." *Bam* Naila could not care less, throwing another punch at the younger centaur without any warning. Darla was forced to deflect and hit her with another punch of her own.
Owing to the fight being extended for hours, Darla was at the very end of her stamina and hence her fist lacked any explosive power. "Strength is supreme for us, Darla." *Bam*
Naila didn't even bother to defend against the punch coming her way, instead throwing an undercut that hit the girl squarely in her stomach. "Cough.. Shitt.."
Darla took multiple steps back, thoroughly exhausted and deeply in pain. "Yes, but I don't want to be like you, aunt. After an exhausting duel, I.. I want to lay my head.. in my beloved's lap and take a relaxing... Nap.."
*Thud* Those were her last sentence before Darla fell to her knees and then to the side. Naila didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Even while going down, Darla still managed to rub her loneliness on her face. "I must admire your courage."
"Heh.. heh.. heh.." The girl on the ground laughed in agony before losing consciousness. "I hate to admit it. But you might actually be right, love." Knowing she can't hear her, Naila dropped down and raised Darla's steed body into her arms before leaping into the air.
In the same forested lands, at a distance of hundreds of miles from the centaurs, a group of humans was busy erecting their temporary tents. "You think he will be fine on his own, master Lyod?"
It's been more than an hour since Ryu had been sent by the old teacher to hunt down an armored Kilur. Being a native of this place, Itzel was aware of how dreaded a fully grown Kilur can be, even for cultivators.
"Don't worry about it. That brat is much stronger than he lets out. I probably should have asked him to hunt a more ferocious beast." Laying under the shade of a tree, Lyod looked like he was here on a vacation.
Itzel can only smile wryly. Hopefully, Ryu was aware of the dangers lurking in this forest and will be careful in his endeavor. She can only pray for the boy at this point.
"Brother is smart, mother. He will not take unnecessary risks." Jenny reacted out of the blind faith she had developed in the boy. "Yeah, yeah.. now put your back into preparing the tents. I will fetch some herbs for our dinner."
Itzel remained clueless as to why she was given the job of a maid since there was not much work to do around here. "I will come with you, big sis." Courtney offered and Itzel didn't deny her. "Sure. Let's go together."
